I am the vine and you are the branches

I like that Bible verse. It's very true. God is the vine. We are the branches. If we remain in Him, we will remain healthy and strong. If we cut ourselves off from the vine, the branch will die. Oh sure, we may be able to fake it for a while. We may not die instantly. But we begin that process. And the truth of the matter is: when we are no longer rooted in God's word, we are dying. It doesn't matter how you slice it. "Oh, I haven't found a church yet." "I'm planning on going back to church soon." "I'm just too tired on Sunday morning. But I still love God just the same." Dying. Death. Destruction.

Steve and I went to Hermann Missouri this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary. It was special since he's been out of the country for the past month. We had a lot of time to talk and get to know one another all over again. For those of you that know us well, you KNOW we had a lot of great wine and brought a case home with us too! But that's not the highlight of the weekend. It was connecting. It was being a couple again. A family. Sure, we had spoken every day he was gone. We IM'd back and forth almost every day. We emailed, and had phone conversations. But it wasn't the same. I thought I was doing okay for a while. But then it hit me like a brick. I miss my husband! I want him HERE. I want to drink coffee with him in the morning, and lay next to him at night. I want to kiss him goodbye when I'm leaving for the gym. I want to eat popcorn and watch TV with him. I want him HERE. And it wasn't until he got home and we were doing all of those things that I realized how very deep and painful our separation had been.

You can fool yourself for a while. But I promise once you get back into a personal relationship w/ Christ, you will realize just how much you've been robbing yourself. I'm feeling that way myself w/ this Bible study. There's something about reading the Bible every single day. Studying. Praying. It makes God closer to me. It makes me closer to God. And it makes me realize just how much I've missed Him.

On a lighter note: We WILL be sharing some of our wines next month on a wine night. Be checking your mail for an invite!