Adventure is out there

My favorite life motto... "Adventure is out there." 

So much to this phrase, yet so much that's misunderstood.

I love adventuring. I love experiencing different smells, foods, cultures, experiences, and changes. There's something about exploring something new and joyfully embracing every sensation and detail it has to offer. There's something about fresh new journeys that open your eyes to the beauty of this diverse and creatively made universe that than our eyes will ever be able to see. 

I love that our generation is one of adventure-seeking. But, I see people all the time, including me at times, that seek adventure for the wrong purposes, such as finding satisfaction or bragging rights. It's almost like our culture tells us that if we do not seek traveling and adventuring 24/7, we don't have a life worth living. You are boring if you don't travel whenever you get the chance. You are boring if you do not post on Instagram every day of some new adventure. You are nobody if you do not do something extraordinary. 

If we find our satisfaction in adventuring, it will quickly fail us. Even if we got to travel the world, we still would not find satisfaction. That satisfaction in life only comes through Jesus. He is the only one that can deeply satisfy us. Not only do we find satisfaction in Him, but He is already satisfied with us. We do not have to have the approval of others or even ourselves. 

We tend to compare ourselves with each other as we adventure through our day. Comparison is the thief of joy. When we compare our current circumstances with others, that is when we lose that satisfaction; We take our eyes of the deep satisfaction we have in Jesus, and put it into comparing ourselves. 

So how do we be a lover of adventure but seek Jesus at the same time? I believe God created us to love adventure. But, I believe these adventures are to point us closer to the Creator and His creation, not our own achievements. How often do we put the focus on us accomplishing the journey, rather than the journey itself? Yes, I believe it is healthy to travel and experience new things, but adventure is so often misunderstood as only doing something extraordinary and far from home. But, the extraordinary is found all around us. I think adventure is found in the everyday things we get to experience. The problem is that we don't let those things become adventures. They are only monotonous duties or scenes to us. What if our point of view changed? What if we saw the things all around us as adventures? What if we changed our perspective when things go wrong and see them as new journeys? What if we experienced life to its fullest and saw seemingly monotonous things as adventures? What if we let Jesus show His glory through what we see as a common flower, simple sunset, simple conversation, and simple landscape. What if we allowed the Lord to open our eyes? If we allow Him to, our life transforms into one of pure, life-giving adventure.

Yes, I deeply enjoy new places, countries, languages, and scenery. I believe the Lord wants us to see His creation. I am a seeker of adventure. But, I want to use adventures to seek my Jesus. I used to think adventures were only found through traveling. Now, I know adventures are also in the everyday things. Adventures are found in the moments when you drive to the tallest hill in your neighborhood and watch the sunset. Adventures are found in starting a campfire when it keeps failing. Adventures are found in walking barefoot outside, experiencing the softness of the grass and the perfect breeze. Adventures are found in having a dance party in the pouring rain. Adventures are found in going for a walk and not focusing on a destination, but the exploration waiting for you. Adventures are found in listening to stories of friends from other countries and even friends that have lived in the same house their whole life. Adventures are found in laying in a hammock, getting lost in your imagination, while reading a book. Adventures are found in seeing things as if you had never seen them before. 

Adventuring is less about doing and more about experiencing.

This summer I have gotten to go kayaking (with the "occasional alligator"), camping, go to the lake, and others. But, my favorite adventures were found in the simple things that nobody else would have seen as an adventure, such as setting up our borrowed tent in the dark, while hanging up twinkle lights (a camping must) and attempting to start a campfire, and experiencing the water that splashes you while kayaking. Another one

was when it was pouring the whole day while I nannied, so we decided to go have a dance party in the pouring rain, and simply enjoy the moment. One of my other favorites was taking one of the girls I nanny to the flower nursery to simply marvel at the Lord's creativity and pure beauty. I don't think I have ever gone to a flower nursery without the intent of buying anything. My favorite part about it was hearing the 7 year old I nanny say, "Wow! Look at all these colors the Lord made. Aren't these cool?!" The key to adventure is allowing the Lord to open your eyes to see the adventures all around us, that we only see as monotony. True adventure creates pure delight in the Creator. Adventure is out there. Will you dare to see it?

A New Invitation

How many times do you aimlessly walk through creation without reflecting on His majestic creativity? How many times do you look at a tree and think it's just another tree, without marveling at it's strength and detail? How many times do you choose not to find the shapes in the clouds or see the faces in the tree bark, because you think that kind of creativity is merely for children who are too imaginative and not realistic? How many times do you pass up the invitation to truly live and marvel at life, only to aimlessly walk through a beautiful and wildly creative world, blinded and focused on the ground?  

Do you ever sit and day dream about God creating the beauty around you? I love asking people this and hearing the different perspectives. Some of my more analytical friends see God as an analytical creator who put time and effort into his majestic creation as He thought about each segment and how it would react with the rest of the world. When I think about Him creating things, I think about a creator who is giddy with excitement as He gets to be creative. I imagine Him with big eyes, picking out a color, texture, and scent for His creation. Then, I see Him squealing with excitement as He gets to choose each detail. I love that we reflect the image of God and get to see Him in different perspectives.

Will you accept the invitation to sit in awe of the little things? We live in a culture that tells us we must travel to another place, one that is beautiful and different, in order to see God's beauty. Yes, His beauty is found in those places, but we are so quick to put a blindfold on wherever we are.

Have you ever thought about the fact that the Lord delights in bringing us joy? Did you know that He created us to seek joy? The sad thing is, we often seek for the joy that only He can bring through other means.

How often do you see a shape in a cloud and point it out and move on, never thinking about it again? I would dare to say that He takes great joy in creating the clouds each day and takes joy in creating shapes out of them! Sometimes, I think He knows exactly who will take the time to look up, and creates a shape that will bring us joy and even laughter. If you don't believe we serve a God of child-like imagination, open your eyes and look around. Take time to look at the shapes in the clouds...they aren't by accident. I only wish I could sit by my king every day and watch His joy and laughter as He decides what kind of crazy imaginative shapes He can make in the clouds.

This is something the Lord has been challenging me with lately. I was first challenged to change my purpose behind my instagram account. It's so easy to use it for the wrong things, whether that's posting things for the likes, or the thought that if you don't post a picture, it didn't happen, or thinking that if you don't post a picture from an event that everyone and their mom posted, that you must not be a good friend. These are silly things that so quickly entangle us. Am I saying Instagram is some terrible thing that we should get rid of? Absolutely not, but I do think it was necessary for me, personally, to re-purpose my account. I was challenged to use it to capture seemingly monotonous things that we quickly do not recognize as beautiful. I am so quick to pass up the invitation to see the simple beauty in life and marvel at it. I am so quick to pass up the invitation to have a child-like faith and see God's humor and creativity in creation. 

The other day, I went hiking with a friend and we felt challenged to use it to simply take joy in the creation around us and to not quickly pass by aimlessly. This was such a life-giving experience as we saw the detail in the trails, including ombre leaves (He did it before it was cool...no big deal...), fields of flowers, detailed tree bark, massive trees, trees that had grown together to form a long tunnel to walk under, shiny shells by the lake, a clear and distinct

path, and my favorite- a face in tree bark. We saw the tree bark and stopped and stared at it, laughing and trying to make the face we saw. We kept walking, and had to go back to see it again and take pictures. We began talking about it and discussing how there's no way anyone had ever seen it and paid attention to it and how most likely the Lord made that face in the bark just for us, knowing that in years we would be walking that path, our eyes ready to see His beauty, and laugh at His sense of humor. That's what I love about my Jesus- not only does He care about the big things in life, but He takes the time to create faces in trees and shapes in clouds, because He's simply hilarious, imaginative, and joyful. All we had to do was open our eyes and be ready to receive joy abundantly. Are you ready to marvel at His beauty all around you with hands open, ready to receive that joy abundantly?  

How I See the Gospel through my Tonsillectomy

When you first read this, your initial reaction was probably something like, "Ok, this seems like a little bit of a stretch." The truth is, the gospel is so powerful that it stretches over every day of our lives, not just the day we become a Christian.

Taking my pain meds before writing this may or may not have been a good decision....

First of all, what exactly is the gospel? The gospel says that we are so sinful and so messed up beyond belief that someone had to DIE for us in order to make things right. But, we are so incredibly loved that someone ACTUALLY died for us!! It's the shattering truth that shows us not only how much we need someone to save us everyday, but that we have a God that loves us so much that He is willing to work on our hearts everyday and reminds us of the all-consuming grace He shows us every day of our lives.

The sad part is, we live in a culture that gets tired of hearing the gospel, because we believe the gospel is important for salvation and nothing beyond that. We get tired of hearing the gospel because we don't think we need it anymore. That was me until about a few years ago. Once I started going to Stonegate Church, the Lord gently opened my eyes to the many ways I misunderstood the beauty of the gospel. Then, by showing me the life-altering grace He shows me every day of my life and just how much I didn't deserve his love and grace, He wrecked my heart and showed me how the gospel is for every day of our lives. 

When the Lord put the idea of knowing Him more on my heart for my new year's resolution, I had no idea how hard but life-giving it would be. What started off as a few annoying tonsil stones early on turned into sickness after sickness, and ultimately a tonsillectomy this Thursday. The surgery is easy, the recovery is hard. 

Promises of the gospel:

• God is GREAT, so I don't have to be in control.
• God is GOOD, so I don't need to look for satisfaction elsewhere.
• God is GRACIOUS, so I don't have to prove myself.
• God is GLORIOUS, so I don't have to fear man.

God is great. Because I serve a God that is great and undoubtedly sovereign, as a Christian I get the opportunity to go into surgery without worry. Did I have worries and fears at times? Yes, but the Lord sweetly reminded me that because He is so much bigger, that I could trust Him. 

God is good. Boy, is this true. He is so sweetly satisfying. It is so easy for me to find my satisfaction in people and in friends and I love when the Lord takes me away from those things and refocuses my heart, even though it is painful at times. I have no choice but to find my satisfaction in my Jesus. I am in a lot of pain, at home, away from all my friends, and I can't even talk (I'm counting on the next time I play charades, because domination station is to come ha!). I can't even say a word. It hurts to swallow. It hurts to stay hydrated after painfully swallowing, only to throw it up. I am weak. Eating is hard. I'm so stopped up that most of the time is is hard to breathe. This may sound like a pitty party, but it is so much more. As hard as this has been, I am learning so much. I struggle with self-dependence and it is so humbling and so good to be at a place where I literally have to depend on my sweet Jesus just to breathe and swallow. I never thought twice about needing Jesus to help me do the most simple things like that. I am so thankful when He reminds me that I am just as dependent on Him today, as the day when I saw for the first time that I needed Him when I was 6. 

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." 

2 Corin. 3:5

God is gracious. I spent most of my life trying to bring something to the table. Now, I realize he wants nothing in our hands when we come to Him, just hands that are stretched out to Him in utter dependence. Obviously, I have nothing to bring to the table right now. Especially since I can't even go to church on Easter. But here's the great thing, I get to worship my sweet Jesus even from my bed as I'm too sick to read and too sick to sing. My hands are open, and that's exactly how it should be. 

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 

2 Corin 4:16-18

God is glorious.The more I recognize how powerful my God, is, the more I trust Him and even love the things He is doing in my life, even when it's not fun. Here's what I love about being a Christian. Tonsillectomy recovery isn't something that I just have to get past then it will all be better. I get the chance to see how much the Lord is working in my life through this. I am thankful for the pain and the idols it easily uncovers. Does that mean I'm constantly happy and frolicking in my house? NO..... haha but I am so thankful for all that He is doing. There's meaning to this pain and there's a deeper love that I could ever have imagined. I no longer just pray for things to be easy and for an easy and fast recovery. I get to pray that my Jesus will continue to work in my heart, since that is the real depth behind all of this. 

Rocking the new style. I will most likely regret putting this bad boy up...

Just the fact I was just able to write this while tired and taking intense pain meds shows He is indeed graceful. It isn't easy or fun, but I love being reminded of this truth through Jesus and through friends during this time. 

He's a Funny One...

Whoever said God doesn't have a sense of humor hasn't read the Bible. 

One of my all-time favorite passages that makes me laugh every time is 1 Samuel 5:1-5. Five verses of pure humor and love. 

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it to the house of Dagon, their god. Dagon was an icon in their culture. He was their fish god and fertility god and was what they thought the second most powerful god in their culture. Little did the know, the real God was about to rock their world. They sat the ark right by their god. When the people woke up the next morning, they walked in (probably to worship Dagon) and Dagon was on the floor face down in front of the ark. So, they probably thought someone accidentally knocked him over, so they put him back in his spot. The next morning, they walked in the room only to see Dagon once again face down in front of the ark but with his hands and head completely cut off. They stood in awe, realizing the power of the true God and never went across the threshold again.

I have never been able to read this passage without laughing. Our God has such a sense of humor. I picture Him saying, "Oh, you wanna put that stone that you worship right next to me, the God of the universe, the God that made you? Ok, Ok, BOOM BABY. I just destroyed your wimpy little stone...what are you gonna say now?"

As funny as this is, I am so much like the Philistines in that I often worship the TRUE God, but so often will place God right by the idols of my life. I will still worship things in my life that I put before my God. So often, those idols in my life, such as a possession, friends, my own plans, and relationships often fall face down completely destroyed. I can't help but laugh when that happens because I am reminded how silly I am for trying to worship God as well as the stupid little idols in my life. Thankfully, He is gracious enough to destroy our idols since He loves us more than we can imagine. He is jealous for us. God isn't after a half-hearted worshiper, He is after a love affair that passionately consumes our desires, passions, actions, and thoughts. Are you placing your idols next to the living God? 

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze

If that's the measure you must take to crush the idols

Jerk the pews and all the decorations, too until the congregation's few, then have revival

Tell your friends that this is where the party ends

Until you're broken for your sins, you can't be social

Then seek the Lord and wait for what He has in store

And  know that great is your reward so just be hopeful

...

Shine the light on every corner of your life

Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open

Then read the Word and put to test the things you've heard

Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken

'Cause you can sing all you want to

Yes. You can sing all you want to 

You can sing all you want to 

And still get it wrong

Oh, worship is more than a song

We must not worship something that's not even worth it

Clear the stage, make some space for the One who deserves it

Anything I put before my God is an idol

Anything I want with all my heart is an idol

Any anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol

And anything that I give all my love is an idol

Jimmy Needham Clear the Stage 

Uncomfortable Grace

As beautiful as grace is, it can be more than uncomfortable at times, but it is still grace.

Out of obedience, they climbed into a boat and sailed off, only to be met by a massive storm. Their boat rocked back and forth and went nowhere for about 8 hours, no matter how hard these men tried to sail out. They painfully tried with all their strength for hour after hour, but everything was against them. They were discouraged. They were exhausted. They were terrified. They were uncomfortable.

Then, as they are sitting there, trying with all their strength to sail out of the storm and make headway, they see what seems like a ghost walking on the water. They cried out, only to find it was Jesus. Seeing how terrified these sailors were, Jesus told them not to be afraid. Then, like a father, entered into their pain with them and got into the boat and calmed the sea.

I'm sure the disciples were wondering where in the world Jesus was. The last time He was with them in a storm, He simply spoke and the storm immediately ceased. I'm sure they probably thought since He was not showing up, He didn't care about them and was not in control. Funny how we are the same, isn't it? Trials come and we immediately think Jesus isn't for us. We immediately think He must not care or He would have stopped our trial and made everything good again.

Jesus' reaction is full of grace and compassion. He doesn't tell them to suck it up. He enters in their pain with them. He crawls into their pain and loves them.

The disciples were doing exactly what they were supposed to do. Jesus had told them to get into a boat and go to the other side. Do you ever feel like you are obediently following your sweet Jesus, and storms come? In those times we are quick to think He is not showing grace; however, He is...He is showing uncomfortable grace.

Jesus placed them in a boat in a storm so He could produce in them what only He can: trust and dependency.

I can relate to the disciples in so many ways. For example, right now I know I am in the exact major the Lord wants me to be in. He has made that clear and I am walking in obedience. However, there is a class that is let's just say placing me on the struggle bus. It's frustrating and I don't always feel like my sweet Jesus is truly helping me. Does He care about something so little? If He cares, why is it such a struggle right now?

It's because he is teaching me dependency through uncomfortable grace. He is showing me grace because He loves me enough to let me struggle as He knows how important and life-giving dependency on Christ is, even when I struggle over and over again through self-reliance. Grace isn't always comfortable, but I am so thankful for storms that teach me the most life-giving things, even when I try to fix them myself before crying out to my sweet Savior.

So often, we are crying out for grace, not realizing we are covered in it. No, it's not the grace of ease and relief, but it's the grace we so desperately need. God is prying our hands open so the things that control us, such as self-reliance and the things that don't truly satisfy us fall freely out of our hands so we can truly grasp the satisfying saving grace of a sweet father that loves us beyond our
inadequacies.

"Grace will enable you to face shocking truths about yourself that you have hesitated to consider, while freeing you from being self-consciously introspective. Grace will confront you with profound weaknesses, and at the same time bless you with new-found strength. Grace will tell you again and again what you aren't, while welcoming you again and again to what you can now be. Grace will make you as uncomfortable as you have ever been, while offering you a more lasting comfort than you have never before known .Grace will work to drive you to the end of yourself, while it invites you to fresh starts and new beginnings. Grace will dash your ill-founded hopes, but never walk away and leave you hopeless. Grace will decimate your little kingdom of one as it introduces you to a much, much better King. Grace will expose to you the extent of your blindness as it gives you eyes to see what you so desperately need to see. Grace will make you sadder than you have ever been, while it gives you greater cause for celebration than you have ever known." John Piper

Are you experiencing uncomfortable grace right now? Our sweet Jesus uses it to develop in us what only He can. During that struggle, He enjoys being a father to us, as He gently and lovingly enters into our pain. Will you let Him in? He has the power to stop every trial, hurt, and heart ache with a single word, but that is not what is always best for us. He loves you enough to make things uncomfortable at times.

Mark 6:45-52

Yielding Inadequacies

If there's one thing I have learned about my sweet Jesus this month it's that He is adequate. I am not.
I used to think I was adequate. Now, I know I am not even close, but I serve a God who is. I serve a God that enjoys using the most inadequate people in the most illogical situations so that it is clear that He is the one that is adequate. 

Christ Shows His adequacy to change the world and do things beyond our imagination if we yield our inadequacy to Him.

While I knew I was not adequate, but He was, I lived as if I was adequate to do anything.

I will never forget sitting at a table on January 30th this year reading through Psalm 36. I got to verse 6-7, which says "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights." That verse stuck out big time but I couldn't figure out why. Then, the word refuge stuck out big time but I couldn't figure out why. Little did I know, the Lord was about to blow my mind three minutes after reading this. After reading through this verse a few times, the Lord revealed to me He was calling me to work with prostitutes in Madagascar, and teach them the new trade of jewelry making, which has always been one of my favorite hobbies. Then, He started putting the puzzle pieces together. The coffee shop He has called me to start will not only sell the jewelry those precious ladies will be making, but will support the organization I now feel called to start, which will act like a place of REFUGE for those women. This refuge will be a place for these broken-hearted women and children to come to in order to be loved on. 
Ok, Lord. Mind blown. I remember thinking, "you mean you are not only calling me to start a coffee shop, but to start a new organization for prostitutes? That sounds great, but believe me, I am so inadequate for this. I have never even worked with prostitutes. How am I going to be able to understand the deep, crushing, hurt they have experienced? I am so inadequate."

Then, He simply responded, "Yeah, you are. But, I'm not."

I sat there at the table and started laughing. He sure does love taking the most inadequate people and using them. Not for their own glory, but for His, since it is clear in those moments where the strength comes from.

Throughout the Bible, God delights in taking the most broken  and inadequate people and using them to meet the needs of other people. 

One of my favorite moments in the Bible is when Jesus walks up to Matthew, the tax collector, in the midst of his sin and brokenness and calls Him to follow Him. He immediately follows Jesus as he is in awe that Jesus would walk up to one of the most hated men in the town and love Him enough, even in the middle of his sin. (Mark 2:13-17)

He is adequate despite of our brokenness and sin.

Another one of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus narrows Gideon's army down from 33,000 to 300 to defeat an army of well over a 100,000 men. "The Lord said to Gideon, The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel boast over me, saying 'My own hand has saved me'." That's like God telling me to lift an elephant. That's not logically possible. My scrawny arms would fall off before that was possible. (Judges 6)

He is adequate despite our doubts and  and inadequacy.

Then, there's the story of the young shepherd, David. David, the youngest of his brothers was delivering food to his brothers during a war against the Philistines, when He knew God called him to fight against the giant clothed from head-to-toe in thick armor. The king quickly replied, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from youth" (1 Samuel 17:33). When I think about David, I think back to my glory days (except not) back in high school, during basketball games. Every once in a while we would get switched during a pick and I would end up with Bertha, the Amazon woman....at the post position....pretty sure they planned that one. That was always terrifying. I feel ya, David. Once they agreed to let the little guy go against the giant, they started putting heavy armor on him. Knowing that he did not want to try this with his own strength, he took it off and proceeded to pick up stones to fight Goliath with. "You come with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (1 Samuel 17:45). Sometimes, I feel like a small shepherd boy with a few pebbles in my hand facing a world with a spear. 

He is adequate despite our pebbles and lack of strength.

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God, Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:4-5).

Have you yielded all of your inadequacies to God, so He can trade it in for His perfect and sovereign sufficiency? We are not adequate, but He is.

Why I Wear this Ring

In our culture, it is easy to be legalistic. It's easy to try to be self-sufficient. We try to gain the strength to keep promises and be "good people".

I looked up the history of purity rings and here's what it said:

“Purity rings really got their start in the 1990s when the Bush administration began promoting safe sex and STD/STI prevention/protection. "Under the Bush administration, organizations that [promoted] abstinence and [encouraged] teens to sign virginity pledges or wear purity rings have received federal grants. The Silver Ring Thing, a subsidiary of a Pennsylvania evangelical church, has received more than $1 million from the government to promote abstinence and to sell its rings in the United States and abroad.” 1What is a Purity Ring?It can be simple or it can be fancy. It can be cheap or it can be expensive. It does not matter. A purity ring is a ring that represents a promise, vow, commitment or goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Purity rings are typically worn on the left ring finger. It is significant, in the fact that it is the same finger on which a wedding ring is worn. It is to remind an individual their desire and goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Once marriage takes place, the purity ring is removed and replaced with a wedding ring" (http://www.purityringsonline.com/history-of-the-purity-ring). 

No, its not bad to promote the idea of saving sex until marriage. But, I think we are missing something. In our culture, we try to mask the root of problems by creating some sort of legalistic promise that we do our best to keep. 

When I got this ring many years ago, for me, at that time it was a legalistic issue of trying to be "really good" and doing my best to keep the promise I made. Now, it's so much more. I don't wear this ring to say, "Hey, look, I'm perfect and I have it all together", but I wear it as a physical reminder of how broken I am and how dependent I am on my sweet Jesus every day of my life. What I like about my ring is the heart in the center of the cross. This represents so much to me. It represents the fact that Jesus holds my heart, it represents the overwhelming grace my sweet Jesus has on me due to the cross, and it represents how satisfying my loving Jesus is.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." -John Piper

God gives us commandments throughout Scripture but even more so, He is concerned with the heart. 

Many of us see Christianity as a duty-defined willpower of do's and dont's. God sees it as a passionate love-affair with our Savior.

In Mark 12:28, the legalistic scribes asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. They were looking for something tangible to do or not to do. But, Jesus replied in verse 30 saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Love God with all your heart (to where it physically affects you). 

Love God with all your soul (with all that you are and with a driving passion).

Love God with all your mind (where it adds to everything you do and has an internal aspect of who you are that is then shown externally).

Love God with all your strength (and the totality of your life being dedicated to loving God).

Why is God more concerned with the heart than following a bunch of commands? Because the heart is our source of life (Proverbs 4:23). The heart contains the motives. When we are passionately in love with our Savior, we see how satisfying He is and it becomes easier to love Him deeply above all else. If you are anything like me, you are so dependent on Jesus that every day you need a physical reminder of how broken you are and how dependent you are on the grace of the cross. I am so dependent on Jesus that I need a physical reminder to pray that He will sweetly satisfy me that day.

I am so dependent on my Jesus that I have to ask Him every day to satisfy my heart and help me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

"I realized that manageable, duty-defined, decision-oriented, willpower Christianity now seemed easy, and real Christianity had become impossible...That is supernatural. Now there was only one hope, the sovereign grace of God. God would have to transform my heart to do what a heart cannot make itself do, namely, want what it ought to want. Only God can make the depraved heart desire God."

                                      -John Piper