The Grass Is Green Enough

Its no secret that fall is my favorite season. I absolutely LOVE the burst of vivid colors of yellow, red, orange, and brown. Everywhere I look, I see a a big hodgepodge of messy beautiful. The only thing better than fall is being able to enjoy it with those I love. On Friday, I got to take a drive to Apple Hill with my husband and his mom. Sweet to be sure. Yesterday was even sweeter. I got to savor a few precious moments with a dear friend, sharing our hearts while walking up and down streets strewn with fall color. Nothing beats that. Well, only one thing: after sharing our hearts with one another, we got to share our hearts with Jesus. Being able to fall into the arms of Jesus together, like jumping into a pile of leaves, it's what Christian fellowship is all about. It's absolutely beautiful. And at times, it can be messy beautiful - like the fall colors. We shed tears, we praise, we petition God for help. When we pray and pour out our hearts to God together, it can be

In my Bible study this week, we are learning about Jesus, the Good Shepherd. "I Am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (John 10:14). "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out" (John 10:3). Wow. I'm simply blown away that Jesus knows my name. The creator of the universe, the one who determined the number of stars in the sky and called each of them by name. Not only does he know my name, but he pursues me personally.  I remember the first time I heard about this name-knowing. I was 19. There I was at a Christian concert, and the performer closed with a song called "Nobody Knows Me Like You".  Nobody knows me like you  You put your arms around me You bring me through And there's many times I don't know what to do Though some know me well Still nobody knows me like you I re-dedicated my heart to Jesus that night. How could I not? It was more than 30 years ago. Since then, my Good Shepherd continues to call