I've got to be the most blessed gal ever! Seriously, I think I am sometimes! God grants me so many joys in this life, often I feel as if I'm going to burst. I wonder sometimes how this temporal body can contain the glorious blessings from God without spontaneously combusting from it! Can you feel my excitement?!

A dear friend and precious sister in our Lord Jesus Christ, Carrie Cooper has recently been granted by God, an open door into radio ministry...on two stations, 91.3 fm KDKR in Dallas/Ft. Worth and 94.7 fm KKIM in New Mexico. Both radio stations love her short 30 minute segment and have joyfully invited her to air U2 Have Hope on their stations. Naturally, living in this world, that takes money and a lot of prayer.

Carrie is trusting God, who opened this door, to speak into the hearts of His faithful children to:

• fervently pray and ask others to pray also
• prayerfully consider financially supporting this ministry
• faithfully help to spread the word: in person, by email, via blog/web post, Facebook, Twitter and any other resources the Lord has provided you to have a voice and impact for His Kingdom work.

This radio program is not your typical women's program. It's an exceptional program where women share their real-life trials and how the Lord Jesus Christ manifests His magnificent power over every earthly pain (John 16:33). I've had the immense privilege of listening to her first interview and I was blown away. For those of you who've been with me for a while now, know that when I say that, I don't mean on an emotional level, I mean in a great and awesome spiritual level. This show will not only comfort those who've been afflicted, but will also inspire us to take everything to the Cross of Christ and leave it there so He can lift us and carry us through. Our strength is limited and we are nothing compared to the glorious power of Christ.

The focal point of this program is to share the Gospel of Christ and proclaim His majesty in the lives of all who belong to Him. It leaves you with comfort, peace and hope in Christ and Christ alone.

A precious sister in the Lord, whom God has graciously given me to disciple, just shared this wonderful sermon from Tullian Tchividjian given at the 2010 Desiring God conference.

Our faithful brother Tullian addresses three issues regarding the Gospel:

1. Motivation - we need to be motivated to share the Gospel to share all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus and not what "good works" we can do in His name.
2. Identity - Believing our sole identity is in Christ and His finished work and not in anything we do or what others say about us and what we should do, will provide us the true freedom Jesus suffered and died to give us. We already have God's favor Christ. We can't do anything to gain any more. What's more than Christ?
3. Idolatry - There are more idols in the church than outside its walls. Many Christians today fall into Satan's trap that obedience and/or good works will provide more of God's grace and blessings. NO! We receive God's grace and blessings all because of Jesus and what He has done. Don't allow your "ministry" become your idol and purpose for living or even going to church. Let Jesus alone be your reason for every breath you take.
   

"Jesus plus nothing equals everything! Everything minus Jesus, equals nothing!" ~Tullian Tchividjian

My darling husband is more than my Valentine. He is the second greatest gift to me from God; Jesus being the first and greatest of all.

Just like many little girls, I used to dream about what my future husband would look like. Not just on the outside, but more importantly, on the inside. I would dream that my God would give me a husband who loved me well, more than he loved anyone. I dreamed he would work hard for our family and be the perfect father to our children. I dreamed he'd take me wherever I wanted to go and do whatever I desired. I dreamed that his every waking moments thoughts would be about me. I dreamed my perfect husband, would be more committed to me than he was to anyone or anything else. I just wanted someone all to myself, for myself. To me, that was the most perfect husband. Oh, and of course, he needed to be handsome beyond belief. That was understood.

Well, one day I grew up. And found that most men were just as self-centered as I was and their dream wife was nearly just the same as my dream husband. Of course, this wasn't going to work since part of my dream had nothing to do with giving to another person the way I expected to be given to. Not only that, but the men I did meet that was near the description I had dreamed were a bit more obsessed with me than I realized I'd ever be comfortable with.

After years of searching for my dream husband, I gave up after realizing that he doesn't exist...at least not my version.

At age 20, I prayed, repented and asked God to bring me the husband He made, perfectly fitted for me, just as God pleased and not as I pleased. I was also open to staying single for the rest of my life, if that's what was most pleasing to the Lord. I knew He would make me able to do anything He chose for me. During this time, I enjoyed the greatest freedom I'd ever experienced in my life and grew more and more in love with my awesome Savior, Jesus Christ my Lord!

A year later, with great love, mercy and abounding grace, God moved my husband right next door to me. I guess so I wouldn't miss him. And I didn't.

It was more than love at first sight. It was forever at first sight. Like never before, from deep within, I knew got put in me, a great and abiding love for this man that I had never known. There was a sense of newness and familiarity all at the same time. I'm not sure how these coexist, but it did for both of us and we knew we were both the ones we'd been praying for.

Did my husband fit my "dream"? Thanks be to God, NO! He was more than I ever knew I could even dream of. He's beyond handsome, inside and out! And I'm not his first or one and only love. I am his second, because Jesus is his first. His ever waking moment is on Christ and then on me. He's not the perfect father and never claims to be, rather he faithfully points our sons to the only one who is, the LORD God Almighty. He's not obsessed with me, nor fulfills my every desire, for some of my desires are wicked. Instead he prays for me, loves me like Christ loves the church, protecting me, sacrificing his desires for mine, considers me the weaker vessel and washes me daily with the word of God. My darling husband's only obsession is Christ Jesus our Lord. And his greatest desire is not to fulfill all mine, but to please Jesus with every breath he has.

I didn't know I could ever have a husband like this. I am sure I don't deserve him, but am so grateful to God that His gifts of grace aren't given based on me, but they are based on His Son, therefore, He gives me all things in greater abundance than I will ever deserve.

These are all the reasons why my darling husband is more than my Valentine. He's God's second most greatest gift to me and my second greatest love. I pray I will forever demonstrate to God my deepest gratitude my second love.