Taken With You

I shared this over at Christian Women Take Root and will tomorrow at the Surrendered Scribe. Yet, it's a message resonating so deep in my spirit, I wanted to share here as well. As you can see, it's a very busy season for each of us. We're so grateful you stopped by and we will post as God leads us. Thanks!

Recently I watched the Liam Neeson movie, Taken. It's an action adventure thriller rated PG-13 for violence, language and theme. I'm not saying it is a Christian movie at all. I'm sharing what God showed me about His intense Love for us in relation to the movie. If this kind of movie is something you typically watch, does any of this resonate with you?


Taken is about a dad who after losing his marriage gave his successful career as a government "preventer" up to be closer to his teenaged daughter. They have a good relationship, but he wants it to be better. The ex wife is very bitter and not helpful, the new husband is the epitome of wealth, nice guy, but possible secrets.

The daughter has an opportunity to go across the world and spend time in another country, so her dad is led to believe. He learns it's more than that and feels betrayed, but allows her to go with restrictions.

She ends up taken almost immediately in the country for human trafficking.

And you can bet, daddy is going to do His all to get her back.

Here is what God Showed Me:

---Our Havenly Dad/Father is taken with us, even when we betray and/or let Him down.

---His arms are open and He will pursue you with unconditional love to the ends of the Earth.

---He is not a stern, miserable father, but a warrior dad who will protect and cover you with His undying love for you.

---Even if you can't see it, He is violently fighting the forces against you.

---No matter what you've done, said, thought about, He WILL come back for you. You just have to ask Him.

---The world offers so much and mocks boundaries, but in the end, things are just things and the One setting boundaries is the One who offers the most freedom in the world. The world will end up bowing down to the Dad who everyone made fun of at first.

If nothing else, KNOW He is TAKEN with YOU!

I'm not on my computer today so you're spared my picture! You can learn more about me, Julie Arduini, at The Surrendered Scribe. My next published work will be a story in Kathy Vick's giftbook, Run Like A Girl, by Howard/Simon and Schuster. It releases July 7.

With Love . . . God

(classroomclipart.com)

The past few weeks I have been reading a book that I absolutely love and don't want to end! The title is Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren.

In the book Kay describes dangerous surrender like this (pp.23-24):

Surrendering means that we have come to an end of our independence from him, our reliance on self-sufficiency, and our insistence that we don't need him. Surrender to God changes everything. Why add the word dangerous to surrender? Because we don't surrender to a benevolent but impotent grandfather figure; we surrender to Almighty God-the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

Each chapter is just raw and loaded with thought provoking insight. It has left me both wrecked and ruined, and as Kay writes, "gloriously ruined." As the book comes to a close I have been struggling with how to 'walk out' what I have read, to 'see' what dangerous surrender looks like until a present arrived on my doorstep with a tag that read, "With Love, God."

Last weekend my husband and I picked up a friend to go to a wedding. When we arrived at her home one of children answered the door with his bright smile. Within a few minutes she hurried into the car and we were on our way. In the car she shared that another foster child had arrived this week, one hour before her small church group was to arrive at her home for their weekly study. (So now they have nine children with a wide range of special needs that they are loving and caring for.) Her words were this, "I said okay Lord!" And then she calmy said, "I told myself I was not going to lose the affections of the Lord." I thought to myself, "Did she just say what I think she said? I think I need to pinch her and see if she is for real." The beauty of it, she truly is!

After the wedding we went to her house to visit and when we arrived one of her best friends was putting together a crib because they needed another place for a child to sleep. Nine children in a small home filled with love and the joy of the Lord! (They have already fostered over 65 children.) We spent the evening visiting, each of us with a small child on our lap while the older children slept. When I went to bed that night I laid there thinking about our evening and the incredible couple the Lord has placed in my life. As tears streamed down my cheeks I felt as though God had handed me a gift with a tag that said, "With Love, God" and inside was a picture of my friends and the title underneath was "Dangerous Surrender."

For Him, Kim

(Kay's book can be found at the local library, on-line, or at your local bookstore. Join me each week at http://divingintohisgrace.blogspot.com/ where I am journaling my thoughts one chapter at a time. Enjoy!)