Special Days!!!!

Today Spring Break started for all the little kiddo's in my family. It is also the start of "Special days" with Aunt Donna! Whoo Hoo!!! My 5 youngest nieces and nephews LOVE to have one on one time with Aunt Donna and Aunt Donna LOVES to have one on one time with each of them. Each one of them are unique and special. I also have 2 older ones (Andy and Sarah) that have grown up on me and became adults when I wasn't looking...but the youngest 5 still have time for me. :-)
Caylee is 13, Ryan is 11, Jeffrey is 9, Megan is 7 and Jenna is 7 (yes the last two are twins). Caylee,13 going on 23...She is thoughtful, pretty and a has a GREAT imagination.
Ryan wants to be a DJ when he grows up. You can see his emotions in his eyes. He is a special angel in our midst and has taught each of my family members things about ourselves we would have never realized without him.
Jeffrey is so smart and keenly aware of injustices. He knows what he likes and doesn't like. He has a GREAT sense of humor.
Megan is the most like her Aunt D. She is a girly girl and loves to hug and touch. She likes to be right next to me.
Jenna is our little athlete. She is sooo funny, determined and goes 90 miles a minute. She gets cracked up easily and laughs hard and often.
You see each one of them is precious to me. I love them each for their unique gifts and talents. I watch them grow and learn and my heart bursts with love and pride. I will admit there are times that they misbehave (trust me at times it is often) but it doesn't change my love for them. They are my heartbeats and without them I would not be me. I can't imagine what life would have been like without one of them.
I think that is the way our Father thinks about us. Each of us have our own unique personalities and quirks, yet He loves us anyway. I am hilarious (at least in my own mind), a girly girl, love to hug and touch, determined, prideful, pretty and some time just stubborn, yet He loves me despite me. He loves my unique gifts and talents. How lucky am I that His love is sooo wide, so deep that I cannot misbehave enough to change His love for me.
He also wants to spend special days just with me. One on one time to feed His truth into me. He longs for me to know how special I am and how much He loves me. There are times that I long for those special days and yet I allow life to get in the way. He asks me all the time to spend time with Him and sometimes, I admit I say...in just a minute. Sometimes those minutes turn into days and then before I know it, I am feeling unloved and empty. I then go to Him and spend that one on one time with Him and He fills me up. Why do I wait till I need it?
I am one of His heartbeats. He mourns when I leave Him. He loves to watch me grow and learn and I can just imagine that He bursts with pride and love when He watches me. I will admit that sometimes I put the fact that He is watching and waiting for me to come to Him. I take it for granted that He longs for me. Just time with me. I LOVE spending time with my Father...He is my best friend and my heart is filled with Him. Don't you wish you could have that special time with Him. The One that loves you despite you...
When is the last time you spent a "special day" (could be a moment, a day or a week) with your Father? He has invited you and He wants to. He will change around His schedule for you...Will you change your schedule for Him??

Captured by Grace,
-D

PS....
If you want to experience an intense, intimate weekend with God, you should make plans to attend Steppingstones Ministries weekend encounter. Go to steppingstones-ministries.com and find out how to register for one of these AMAZING weekends.