My Beloved spoke and said unto me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away" Song of Solomon 2:10

Here are a few additional things that I read in Chpt. 4, I pray it ministers to you all.

Read below as the author, Leslie Ludy, uses her marriage as a analogy to what our commitment with Christ should be like. Here is what she said:

"When I married Eric, I took his name. I became Mrs. Eric Ludy. I took on Eric's name to solidify my marriage covenant with Him. It wasn't just accepting the title "Mrs. Eric Ludy" - it was totally a change of focus and lifestyle.

What would be the point of taking on the name Ludy if I didn't change my life after the wedding? What if, after the vows were spoken, I went back to my own house, slept in my own bed, and went about my daily life as if I were still single? Bearing Eric's name meant building my life around my new name.

To truly bear the name of my husband - not just in title, but in my daily reality- I had to leave my own life behind and join my groom in my new life. I had to become one with him."

Did you get what she was saying? If not, let me adjust a few words and maybe it will help.

"When you became a Christian, you took Christ's name. You became His daughter. You took on Christ's name to solidify your eternal covenant with Him. It wasn't just accepting the title "Christian" - it was totally a change of focus and lifestyle.

What would be the point of taking on the name Christian if you didn't change your life after accepting Him as your Savior? What if, after the vows were spoken, you went back to your own sins, continued to live against His commandments, and went about your daily life as if you were still of the world? Bearing Christ's name meant building your life around your new name.

To truly bear the name of our Savior - not just in title, but in your daily reality- you haveto leave your own life behind and join your Bridegroom in your new life. You have to become one with him."

When viewed from this perspective, it made perfect sense. If I had chosen to bare Christ's name, if I had chosen to accept Him as my Savior, my Comforter and King.. it would only make sense to leave my old sinful ways behind for better days with Him. We can not only devote part of our lives to the Lord, rather it must be all parts of our lives. We wouldn't part ways with our husband and go back to living as a single woman, so how is it that we somehow convince ourselves that we can return to our sinful lives while still loving Christ? It would be like having a affair while still completely in love and happy with our husband. It is not possible.

Sisters, I truly challenge you to live above what the world considers "norm", we are called to be set apart for Christ. Whether it be in the way we dress, the music we listen to, the way we speak, the way we choose to socialize, our reactions to others or our personal relationship with the Lord, let us keep one key thing in mind: do any and everything to honor and glorify His name. After all, it is the one we have chosen.

"To become a true Christian- one who bears the names of Jesus our beloved Bridegroom- we must leave behind our own lives and come away with Him. We must put aside all of our own selfish desires and pursuits. He must become the sole focus and worship of our lives. As it says in Psalm 45:10-11, "Listen, O daughter. Consider and incline your ear. Forget your own people also, and your father's house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, worship Him."

Our precious Bridegroom is calling us, beckoning us to leave all behind and come away with Him.

He is faithful..

In the past few weeks many changes have taken place and this past Saturday I found myself in tears, crying out to the Lord. I came to the end of my ropes and, as strong as I perceive to be, I could not hold on any longer. Somehow, some way, in the midst of all this chaos, I took my eyes off of the Maker of all things and led myself to believe that it came down to me to fix things, to make something happen. I was alone in my apartment, crying out to the Lord. There were questions of what His plans were in the upcoming months. I didn't know what my next step was. I asked God "where?", "when?" and "how?". He responded with a soft whisper "wait and trust Me". I pouted and cried like a 5 year old. :\

Woe to me.

The the Comforter, along with encouraging brothers and sisters, reminded me of Philippians 1:6 which says "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I had forgotten that the Lord had His hand upon me, that he was guiding me through every single step. I had to pick myself up and bounce back into reality, back into His promises. Not only is my King loving but He is faithful. I realized that even when I find myself on my knees crying and questioning His ways, He never forsakes me and He holds me in His hands. He knows the limits to my strengths and weaknesses. And above all of that, His plans for me are greater than mine.

Though I had given Him my all, I was still left in a position of not knowing what my next steps were and there was no reason to be careless and irresponsible. So, I called my management when I arrived home from work today. I wanted to speak to them about the terms and conditions of my lease, to prepare myself as I was terminating my contract.

What a moment of relief!

You see, I moved into this apartment 5 months ago. And with a 12 month contract, the terms of my contract states IF I violated the lease, my penalty would be $2,000 AND the responsibility of paying the rent until the end of my agreed 12 month term (unless a new/replacement tenant took over the payment). This was VERY heavy on my shoulders as I live by myself and off of my own earned income.

HOWEVER, are you ready for the GOOD news? PTL, that as of 2 months ago CBU (Calvary Baptist University, the college neighboring my apartment complex) purchased our property. I had no idea what this meant for me until my property manager explained that CBU's plans for our community was to change it from public housing to school housing. What does that mean? Well since CBU had purchased the property, they had made plans to renovate and change alot of things over. One of these changes was that they had WAIVED EARLY LEASE TERMINATION FEES. Can you belieeeeeeeeeeeve that? Because CBU purchased our property, they waived the penalty fee of terminating my lease early, which saved meTHOUSANDS of dollars. I HAD to have the property manager repeat herself a few times.

The Lord not only gave me peace in waiting and trusting His ways but He delivered me from a troubling debt that was massively weighing me down.

With that being said, my dear California family, I wanted to inform you all that I have given my management my 30 day notice. My move out date has been set on March 12, 2011. I am excited to see the great things that God will reveal to me in the journey that lies ahead, but at the same time I am sadden that our time together will end shortly. I am terrible at farewells and because I have built so many great relationships here, I know the next few weeks will be a emotional roller coaster. But I am grateful for the opportunity that God had blessed me with to have known such great individuals. I will definitely keep in touch with you and I pray that I will see you all again one day, if not here then in His kingdom.

This is a amazing story that I wanted to share, to encourage you all that its true: "sometimes God takes us out of our storms while during other times He rides along through them". Its obvious that God had placed all of these things in my path since the day I moved here. He knew what hardships I would face and He prepared a way out. PTL forever and ever. Continue to live for Him, and through your trails CLING onto Him. He will never let go, so hold on as much as you can!

I love you all and thank you to my King and to you and your prayers.

Psalm 92:4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands

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