He loves me! He loves me not!

He loves me! He loves me not!   


My favorite flower is a daisy.
Behind my childhood home and beyond the baseball diamond there was an open field~populated by daisies.

Many a sunny afternoon I would wander into the field and sit among the white petal yellow centered flowers. I could not resist picking one and delicately dislocating a petal with the words 'He loves me!'
Subsequently, pulling off the next petal with the words, 'He loves me not!'
Continuing with each one of the white parts of the flower head, alternating between 'He loves me'! and 'He loves me not'!

So, what happened when the final petal ended with the declaration of 'He loves me not'? Well, I didn't let it wilt my spirit~I just would select another daisy from the meadow and begin again.....and if need be, again and again...until the last petal concurred with me...that 'He loves me'!

The 'He' varied over the years. In grade school, it was Benji, then later, Robert, then John and then Timmy...until my collegiate years when I began dating David.

David and I lived a forty five minute drive from one another. Often, he would arrive at my Parent's Home on weekends with a bouquet or two of flowers for me.
Wild daisies~he had stopped and hand picked along the route from his home to my heart.

I never plucked a petal from the plethora of daisies that I received from him~as I did not have to question does 'He love me'? or does, 'He love me not'? His actions (not limited to picking me wild daisies) showed me~ 'He loves me'! Period. No 'love-me-nots' about it!

Moreover, there are no 'love-me-nots' with God. I never have to ponder with each petal of my life if 'He loves me!' or if, 'He loves me not'! God’s love is unconditional, it is not conditional in that:

...if I am good--He loves me!, if I am not--He loves me not!

...if I am nice at all times, to all people--He loves me!, if I am not--He loves me not!

...if I live life successfully by society's standards--He loves me!, if not--He loves me not!

...if I never have a wrong thought or moral failings--He loves me!, if I do--He loves me not!

...if I do enough good works and jump through enough hoops to please man--He loves me!, if not-He loves me not!

These arrays of petals are plentiful...and can plant seeds of doubt of God's love...
based on what I do or don't do, say or don't say, act or react.
However, His love for me....and you..is based on His character.

He loves me. Period. No 'love-me-nots' about it. And...
He loves you. Period. No 'love-me-nots' about it.

His unconditional love for us reminds me of a chorus to a song about God.
'Not because of what we've done, but because of who You are;
not because of who we are, but because of what You've done.'

Wendy's Witz-dom:

Next time you see a daisy~smile :)--knowing that
no 'love-me-nots' about it~God loves you!


God's Wisdom:
    
'We love because He first loved us' (1 John, chapter 4, verse 19)

'This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us AND sent His only Son
(Jesus Christ) as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. * (1 John 4:10)

*Think about being unable to pay a debt...
not hard to imagine during our current economic times...
and then being informed that your debt has been PAID IN FULL.

Truly, a 'He loves me!' petal~His only kind!!!!

'Sell-ebrating 30 years of Marriage'

Sell-ebrating 30 years of  Marriage! 
Why the mis-spelling of celebration? For those who don't know~my maiden name is Sell~
and becoming~ Mrs. David Witz on August 23, 1980 gave me,
Wendy Sell, the ultimate reason to celebrate, thus 'Sell'-ebrate!

Over the 30 years...
   Multiple joys
   Two girls & two boys
   Much laughter
   Many tears (happy and sad)
   Memories made together...
          shared together...
          remembered together
   Loving each other--
     through thick (weight fluctuations! l.o.l.) and thin
   Trust, Honesty & Communication--
     the 3 vows we made to each other when we began to date
     and clung to...during our 30 years as each other's mate
   We love each other, yes..
      however, we are also 'in love' with one another
      and that is marriage at its best!
   I could ascribe to clichés of, 'He completes me',
     or 'He's the wind beneath my wings' or even that
     he is my 'True Love' (think movie, Princess Bride),
   as well as, additional (personal) truths of~ that he loves me so well,
     so completely and (most of the time) unconditionally!
Yet, suffice it to say~concerning my 30 years
     as David's Wif     (no 'e'--inside joke)
     I would say,  I Do,  all over again
     no buts, ands, or if

*David~
Thanks for keeping the 'Happy' in each day of every month of each year's Anniversary!
And by the way,~ what are you doing the next 30 years?
You won't have to ask me three times again....the answer is YES!

Words of Witz-dom: 
'My beloved is mine, and I am his' (Song of Songs  2:16a) (The Bible--King James Version)

    

It's Dog-gone hard being a Military Mom!

:

To Airman Witz:

I am watching ‘your boy’ today...

Rufus is definitely your son…before you puff up with fatherly joy…consider
 ‘My Day in your Dog’s life’

As I try to work at my desk-he claws at my legs, he has scratched them so much that I won’t have to shave for weeks!

When I pick him up & place him on my lap, he squirms & squirms, making doing my work--using the computer keyboard—-im-paws-ible!

I think he ‘wet’ my hand (how do you say ‘yuk’ in Iraqian?!?)

He has crawled under the bed and made his way thru-- many i.e.d.s—cause only God knows (& maybe the Taliban) what is all under there!

He has gotten a Kleenex out of the waste basket and ripped it apart & littered it all around my desk!

Yes, there will be a littering fine..waiting for you, upon your return.

He licks me non-stop---did I mention that I loathe (no, it is not a misspelling—I mean loathe NOT l-o-v-e) warm puppy kisses!

I have lost count on how many times I have called him Casie…and Dad & Jordan are tiring of reminding me to call him a he not a she (like Casie)!

I have to carry him...to the grass as he prefers to water the concrete!
Regardless, more than not he goes all over himself (have you found out yet how to say ‘yuk’ in Iraqian ?!)

I would pray that he would go awol, at least, -- to the deck-- however it is scorching hot…and I am trying to be a compassionate Christian to your canine!!!!

And if you think you are immune….when Dad left his ‘office’—Rufus jumped up into the executive chair—with a dog gone defiant look of ‘I am the Top Dog’ of the Company!!!! (I have a picture to prove it!)
So--at the next board meeting—it might not be who has the most stock in the company (since you claim to own 51%)…but whose tail is wagging in the CEO’s chair!!!

So, do you really think you have it ‘ruff’ in Iraq?????

Spending a day... guarding freedoms has got to be paws-itively less hazardous than my ‘ruff’ day in your dog’s life!!

I am heading to the recruiting office…

*Did I mention Rufus’s version of explosive devices ~hidden stink bombs~in my yard that I have to try not to step on?!?

It is dog-gone hard to be a Military Mom! (or grand-maw!)

Caterpillar...to Butterfly!

Caterpillar…to…Butterfly


Butterflies are beautiful~varying in brilliant colors. They glide gracefully in days of sunshine and even during the rainy seasons.
Their wings enable them to soar above their surroundings…and fly distances.

Every butterfly, though, has its beginning as a caterpillar.
A caterpillar is limited to the ground or low places of dwelling where
it can crawl. It does not have good vision.

Do you feel like a caterpillar? Limited in your vision? Confined within the perimeters of your current surroundings or circumstances?

The caterpillar stage is essential~providing the time necessary for development.
Staying put….resting…remaining warm and protected in a cocoon setting can become comfortable…but sooner than later…we long to spread our wings…instead of inching our way along.

However, to do so, there must be a transformation from being a
caterpillar to becoming a butterfly. The dictionary defines "transformation" as: A marked change in nature, form or appearance.

Likewise, God says, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ *
When we ask God into our hearts and lives…He changes us.
A transformation has occurred…we no longer are the same.

We will be transformed through the renewal of our minds**which changes our attitudes, behaviors and our vision…which is no longer limited to what we can see around us—on the contrary, we will gain an eternal outlook.

We will no longer just inch our way along in life but will be able to spread our wings and soar - in our faith…enabled now ~with God~ as the wind beneath our wings…to glide during non-windy, sun-shining days and also soar above our circumstances during the rainy seasons of our lives.

Is the transformational change immediate?...No---it is a process, that takes time~not much differently than the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Also, once you are a new creation, like the butterfly—will you always soar~with no turbulence, only blue skies ahead? Again…no!

Just the other day, there was a beautiful purple butterfly just sitting on my sidewalk. As I watched it just sitting there, seemingly content, making no effort to flutter its wings and take flight. I could relate...at times I have desired to just sit life out for awhile and crawl back into my comfortable cocoon. Or I have forgotten (subconsciously or purposefully) that I am a new creation...and resort to behaviors befitting a caterpillar!

At those times ~maybe not immediately, but (thankfully) eventually~
I ask God to renew my mind, restore my hope and refill my strength…and remain the wind beneath my wings.

Words of Witz-dom:
Every caterpillar can be transformed into a Butterfly!
How? Ask God to transform you.
Then prepare to fly!

*2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version of the Bible)
**Romans 12:2 (NIV)

The best ride of your life!--(sorry Disney!!)

Half-witz: (usually refers to when only half of my Family is together, however, this is for another~ always at witz end blog~at half week!)

Faith is more than believing that when we sit on a chair that it will support our weight and not go crashing to the floor. It is not just hoping that when we
bungee jump that the cord will hold up and not snap…or that the parachute
will open when we pull the rip cord as we quickly descend to the ground...or that the
roller coaster is going to stay on track!
These are all more wishing for something to occur –not actual faith that it will happen with 100% certainty.
Faith~is just as—if not more—exhilarating.
It is believing ---without seeing first.
It is stepping out…taking the leap…letting go…with 100% certainty that
God is who He says He is…that He loves you…and that He has purpose for you.
Go ahead…pull the rip cord of faith…you will be in for the ride of
your life!

Thank God for Un-answered Prayers!

Thank God for Un-answered Prayers!

Most of the time~if not all of the time~it is only in hindsight that we can say
thank God for ‘un’-answered prayers.
Have we not all really, really, wanted something…or someone in our life?
We convince ourselves that we must have it or should have him/her—
to be happy or fulfilled. So--if our prayers are not answered accordingly~we cry,
and/or we attempt to manipulate the situations to get what we want, and/or we negotiate with God.
I have a personal experience concerning a boyfriend in high school. I believed he was—you know—being my first love-that he was to be my one true love…for life. My mother had always told me, ‘one love for life’~ I do believe she’s right…however, she wasn’t back then—no matter how much I wanted her to be…and I wanted her to be, very badly!
Except my love for him was unrequited.
In hindsight, I wasted years (of loving him) and wasted tears (of wanting him).
As the saying goes, ‘hindsight is 20/20’…or maybe just with the passage of time and maturity…there is clarity of what I truly desired in a future spouse.
However, there are really no prayers that are ‘un’-answered…
So, reminiscent of a chess game~circumstances played out~for me to meet my husband, the man who loves me so well and so completely and fulfills my heart’s desire!
Were my former prayers ‘un’ answered? No. My prayers were just not answered the way I thought I wanted them to be…at that point in my life. However, God knew/knows
the desires of my heart…not just the shallow layers of the flesh but the depth of my heart’s truest wants and needs.
So now, in retrospect of hindsight—I thank God for the answered prayers of my
‘un’ known deepest desires.
Are you praying concerning something…or someone? Do you think if your prayers
are answered according to—how you pray—that you will finally be happy, feel
complete or be fulfilled? Do you even get mad that God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers…your way?!?
I would rarely recommend this about myself—but 'trust me' in this…
you can trust Him.
‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah 29:11—in God’s Word, the Bible)
You will be amazed--at all the times that you also will be able to say,
Thank God for ‘un’answered prayers!

Words of Witz-dom: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires
of your heart! (Psalms 37:4) He really will!!!

Is God a God of 3rd Chances?!

I was asked, 'Is God a God of 3rd Chances?'.
Most of us adhere to the creed of giving others a second chance
and also being the recipient of being given a second chance.
However (and there is always a 'however')--what happens when the
person 'blows' the 2nd chance? Major disappointment, for sure.
And we usually...move on....end of story...period.
However, (see what I mean?!) I wasn't asked about 'human response'~
I was implored concerning God bestowing 3rd chances.
This was just not a rhetorical query. This person's eyes were filled with unspilled tears and there was a lump in his throat, as he asked the question,
'Is God a God of 3rd chances?'
I know 'why' the question was needing answered since I knew the 'who'
that the question was concerning. My own heart ached. So, 'what' was/is the
answer?
There are always consequences. Damaged relationships. Loss of reputation.
Legal ramifications. Hurt feelings. Broken circle of trust.
Separation from loved ones...and God.
However, (l.o.l. {laugh out loud}--there IS always a 'however'!)
with God~there is grace. What is grace? A popular girl's name? A prayer before a meal? Yes, to both.
However, (ok~you get it by now!) God's grace is undeserved. Not earned.
Never achieved by our 'works'. Nor can it be bought.
Grace is a gift.
Period...end of story...move on.

Is God a God of 3rd chances? No.
No? No~because God is a God of infinite chances!
'Where' do we find God's grace? At the foot of the cross~ 'When we confess our wrongdoings to God~He forgives us' (1 John 1:9)...and He gives us 3rd, 4th,
5th, ...umpteen...milliion...billion....chances of restoration with Him,
and with others.

G--od's gift
R--eceived
A--lways
C--hanges our 2nd chances to
E--ndless--incrementally infinite...chances!

Are you in need of a '3rd chance'? It's yours for the asking...from God!

Words of Witz-dom: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace
may increase? By no means! (Roman 6:1, 2a)