Julie Gumm - Author

God’s Love is All I Need

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Originally posted in June 2007

Last weekend at our women’s retreat we heard from our beloved Beth Moore on the subject of “Loving Well”. She of course said it much more eloquently, and in much more detail, but the bottom line of our weekend was that we need to live, and love, out of the overflow of God’s love for us.

God is love. He loves us completely and unconditionally and we need to accept, and truly dwell in that love before we will be able to love others. Loving others is the second greatest commandment and really a measure of our spiritual maturity. (Mark 12:28-31)

Some probably have a really hard time just accepting the fact that God loves us unconditionally but I think I have a pretty good grasp on that.

But what does it mean to let God’s love “fill me up”? Because, really, if I let his love fill me then it should be enough for me. Love from my husband, my kids, my friends – that would all be icing on the cake, not a necessity.

So, since  my “love language” is acts of service I was thinking about how God loves me through acts of service.

What came to mind first is the biggest act of service – he sacrificed his son to die on the cross so that I would not have to pay the price for my sins. I do not know of a greater way that God has shown his love.

While I can’t pinpoint tangible acts of service (like doing the laundry and the dishes) I know that God loves me in this way. How? Because Jesus, his son, chose to love by serving others.

1. Attending a wedding and realizing the bride and groom were out of wine, he chose to perform his first miracle and turned water into wine…really good wine. (John 2:1-11)

2. He healed many, even raised some from the dead.

3. He calmed the storm when the disciples were fearful for their lives. (Matthew 8:23-27)

4. He washed the feet of the disciples. (Ew, gross – that takes a true servant’s heart.) (John 13:1-17)

5. Jesus prayed for us. (John 17)

6. He takes away my fear and anxiety. (Phil 4:6)

There are so many more but this gives me a start. So what’s your love language? (Acts of service, words of affirmation, gifts, physical touch, quality time?) Think about it and then think about how God speaks to you in your love language. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Together for Adoption Conference comes to Phoenix

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Since it’s a bazillion degrees outside (okay, maybe just 113), I’m trying to keep my mind off the heat by thinking about the fun and exciting things happening this fall. A major one is the annual Together for Adoption Conference being held HERE in Phoenix, October 21-22nd. Yay!

First, just to clear it up, this is NOT just about what most people think of when they hear the word “adoption”. It’s about the gospel and what it says about God as our Redeemer and adoptive father. It’s about how we answer the call to care for the orphan (and that can take MANY different forms). It’s about facing fears and overcoming them with knowledge.

And it’s about people. One of the most incredible things about these gatherings is the people. It’s electrifying to be in a building with over a thousand like-minded people who want to make a difference in the global orphan crisis.

I’ll be live blogging the conference as one of their featured bloggers, conducting my breakout on Creative Fundraising for Your Adoption, and attending as many great breakout sessions as I can.

Hopefully I’ll also be catching up with some online peeps. Looking forward to connecting again with some of the amazing women I got to meet and hang with last year – Kristen, Jody, Jamie, Angel…Mary are you coming? I hope some of my readers are there – if you plan on coming let me know so we can be sure to meet.

If you’re beginning to hear the cry of the orphan but just aren’t sure where you fit in, come and ask God to show you his place for you in this battle.

My post about last year’s T4A Conference: