AN INSIDE LOOK

Hi!
It's been quite a while since I've written on my blog.  Life has it's seasons, doesn't it? In this season of our lives God has my husband and I starting a church (also called planting a church).  I'm writing this today as the planting pastor's wife.

God has been at work preparing us for this work over the last 15 years.  In fact it has been in his plan even before we were born. About 45 years ago God led a small group of pastors together to pray for the Fox Valley of WI. One of those pastors happened to be the father of a pastor that the Lord brought into our lives right before we got married. A pastor who has prayed for us, along with his wife, every day for the past 15 years! Those prayers helped guide us in our relationship with the Lord and at the proper time God then moved our family to the Fox Valley (to read the full story of a bigger plan click here).  It has been amazing to see God recently reveal this bigger plan to us!

God has walked us through many valleys that have opened our eyes to our utter dependence on Him in all things. When He shared His plan with us to plant this church, God promised to provide all that will be needed.  In the midst of this journey he has also reminded us to always remember that our allegiance is to Christ and not to the task, and to never let the work of our hands become more important than our relationship with him. Christ is our most important relationship. Every other relationship flows from it.

Relationships are very important to my husband.  As we have stepped out in faith to begin this church, we have had to raise funds in order to get it started.  It has been one of his least favorite things to do.  He never wants to hurt a relationship by asking for financial support.  He has stepped into it though trusting God, and God has been faithful! In May he began to work part-time doing construction and part-time church planting. While it has been good to have 2 days/week to focus on planting the church it has also been hard as his time and mind have had to be divided.  So we have been praying everyday for God to provide a transition into full-time church planting.

During our process of discerning if this was the will of God to plant this church we had other offers from churches to come work for them.  As we discussed our options I said to my husband, "I will go to these other churches if that's where Jesus is leading us, but the question that is heavy on my heart is 'What about all the people HERE?' "  To which my husband replied, "I've been feeling the same thing". God has given us a love for the people here and a desire to care for them spiritually!

This past Sunday our radio alarm went off and at that very moment a man giving a message said, "IF YOU ARE IN THE WILL OF GOD, GOD WILL PROVIDE, AND HE PROVIDES THROUGH PEOPLE".

We need people! What a reassuring word from God to us that he will provide as he said he would. God's focus is always on people, and so that's where our focus is also. In order to love the people well and shepherd their souls, we need to raise support. God has put before us a God-sized vision and it can only be accomplished through His power and through God working through the help of other people! We can't do this alone. God is allowing us and everyone who supports Village Community Church, an opportunity to be a part of a plan that is bigger than ourselves! What a thrill! We are so excited!

Our goal has been for my husband to begin focusing his heart and mind full-time on church planting and building relationships (which he loves) by SEPTEMBER 2016. God has provided many material goods and financial support already! In order to reach our 3 year goals, support needs to continue to be raised. If you would like to help make this possible and be a part of something bigger, please click here. This will take you to the church website for more info on ways to give.

Thank you so much for your part in God's plan to build his kingdom! Thank you also from our hearts to yours!!

All donations are tax deductible.

DRILL A MAN

WORDS...they come together on page. Right?

Alone... they don't mean as much, but put them together with each other and they become more meaningful.  Such are the things of life.

Have you ever entertained the thought..."What if I am just a fool... A Dreamer living in a dream world?  What if all that I've been believing isn't even true?  What if the hope I've been clinging to is silly?"

I have.  Those thoughts have came knocking at my door, and unfortunately I let them in.  I know they're lies, but somehow they grabbed hold of me and began to affect my emotions.  They became real to me.  As I let them seep into my reality I began to feel even more depressed.  In that depressed feeling I began realizing with even more clarity that my hope in God and the work of Jesus is solely what has kept me going amidst trials and hardships year after year.  Without a hope that God has a bigger plan and purpose for me, what's the point?  There is no point.  We'd all be living life aimlessly, but not REALLY living at all.

Think about it...if there is no God, no bigger plan, and nothing after you die...what are you doing here on this earth?  To love my family and do good for others, you might reply.  But for what?... Why? So they can be loved to just die and it all be meaningless?

In the movie "Moneyball", based on the true story of Billy Beane and changing the game of baseball he said this:

Billy Beane: It's hard not to be romantic about baseball. This kind of thing, it's fun for the fans. It sells tickets and hot dogs. Doesn't mean anything.

Peter Brand: Billy, we just won twenty games in a row.

Billy Beane: And what's the point?

Peter Brand: We just got the record.

Billy Beane:  I've been in this game a long time. I'm not in it for a record, I'll tell you that. I'm not in it for a ring. That's when people get hurt. If we don't win the last game of the Series, they'll dismiss us.  I know these guys. I know the way they think, and they will erase us. And everything we've done here, none of it'll matter. Any other team wins the World Series, good for them. They're drinking champagne, they get a ring. But if we win, on our budget, with this team... we'll have changed the game. And that's what I want. I want it to mean something.

Just as Billy wanted meaning for what they were doing for people in baseball...Our reason for existence has to mean something.  Or otherwise we are just living here to be erased and as Billy Beane said, "NONE OF IT WILL MATTER".

As I wrestled through getting the lies out of my mind I remembered something someone once said:

When God wants to drill a man,

And thrill a man,

And skill a man

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed,

Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects

Whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him,

And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which

Only God understands;

While his tortured heart is crying

And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never breaks

When his good He undertakes;

How He uses whom He chooses,

And which every purpose fuses him;

By every act induces him

To try His splendor out-

God knows what He’s about.
- Anonymous

This really helped me to get my focus back, kicking those lies out and jump-starting my believing again that all the trials and hard things my husband and I keep going through have distinct purpose and meaning for our good and God's Kingdom plan for people.  There is a point.  It's not just a big waste of time.  God is always about the people.  Our pain and trials will be used to bring comfort to someone else going through similar pain and God will use it to build our character as well and bring Him glory.

When I'm going through sufferings and hard times I always like to know that there is at least one person who can relate and understand how I'm feeling.  It always comforts me to remember that Jesus, my Savior, walked the road of suffering.  He knows what it feels like to be betrayed.  He knows what it feels like to step forward in love to love people, and have them spit in your face, mock you, and walk all over you.  He knows how it feels to be rejected and under-appreciated.  When He came in the form of a human, to set us who are captive to our sinful nature free, He wants us to know that he knows the pain and how it feels.

If you are struggling right now or have been for quite some time through hard times...I understand.  Let's press on together asking God to show us the meaning of our pain and trials.

If you are struggling with believing if God is real...open up a Bible and sincerely ask God to show you who He is.  He will show you.  It may not be when or how you expect, but if you seek Him He will answer.

What's your hope that keeps you going through hardships and trials?

I hope that you find your Hope in God's bigger plan.  His great love for you and Jesus Christ's redemptive work on the cross.

Just like words, if you take seasons and moments of your life and separate them to stand alone, they may seem meaningless.  But put them all together and you will begin to see them forming into a meaningful story with purpose if you walk with God and salvation in Christ.

Are you desiring for just one person to love you unconditionally and not make fun of you?  Someone to lead you and have your best interests at heart?  One who can, most importantly, free you from the wages of your sin which will only lead to eternal death?  One who wants to have an intimate relationship with you and who cares for you so deeply that He watches over you all the time...never sleeping?  I did!!  And still do!!  I've walked the road of feeling like I don't belong, being stuck behind the prison bars of insecurity and feeling like you don't matter, and frequently feeling overlooked.  But not anymore!  If you feel like that, I want you to know that God did NOT overlook me!  And He does NOT overlook you!  There is love and freedom for you through Jesus!

Jesus is that ONE.  God is waiting for you to accept His free gift of love to you through salvation in Jesus if you haven't.

I believe that you can't speak into people's lives about things you haven't experienced yourself.  So I want you to know that I speak all these words and anything I write on this blog from personal experience.  Let's walk together!

THE LITTLE BROWN BOX

A few years ago, we started a Christmas tradition...

One that will continue in our family for many years to come. 

It's Christmas Eve...The tree is lit and decorated.  We gather together in our living room.  Each family member is given a piece of paper and a pen.  On that small piece of paper, we write something that we personally want to give to Jesus.


It could be a dream...something we need His help with...whatever we personally want to give over to Him.  We then put all our papers in this little brown box (in the photo) and put it on the Christmas tree.  It is our gift to Jesus that Christmas.

After a whole year has gone by...we gather ourselves around the tree on Christmas Eve and open up the little brown box.  Most of us usually forget what we had given over to Jesus the previous Christmas.  So it's always exciting when we take out our papers and see what Jesus has done over the last year with the gift we gave to Him.  How He has worked in our lives, how He has grown our character, and how He has loved us in that specific thing we gave to Him.

Did you notice?... This gift to Jesus is not wrapped in fancy paper...It's just the box, as it is.

When we give a gift, we usually wouldn't just give it in the box.  Right?  We want it to look pretty on the outside...all put together.  Nice to look at.

Sometimes we do that with ourselves, don't we?  I know I have at certain times in my life.  We want to look nice to others.  So we wrap ourselves up to give the appearance that we are all put together.  When underneath we're really not.  After all we wouldn't want others to see the box underneath the pretty paper, in its real condition...would we?  We've all been there.

This little brown box represents our family giving to Jesus as we are.  Jesus doesn't need the fancy paper.  He can see through the paper.  What we are giving Him inside that box is from our real selves.  He prefers it that way.

 This Christmas do you know about the gift we are celebrating?

God loved you and me so much that He gave us the best gift!  When He brought this gift into the world it wasn't wrapped in fancy paper with big flashy bows.  It came...if you will... in a little brown box.

This gift was Jesus.

He was born humbly.  In a barn.  Not a fancy place at all.  His mother who bore him was a little girl-13years old.

But this gift was so important that the angels came out of heaven blowing their trumpets and sounding their horns.  They couldn't miss such a joyful and important occasion.

This gift was sent  for you and me to save us... and allow us to have a relationship with God and spend eternity with Him.

This Christmas, look for the little brown box.  Do you see it?  Maybe it will be on your nightstand...or on the kitchen table.  Maybe it will be in your car...or on your desk.  Maybe on your pillow...or on the window sill, as you look from your hospital bed.  Or maybe it will show up in the middle of a fancy party you're at...but you're the only one that can see it.  You move a little closer.  Right there on the tag, stamped in love, there's a name on it.

 Is it YOUR NAME? 

Sure enough...Plain as day

Open it...Receive it.

When your time here on this earth comes to a close this will be the one gift you'll be glad you didn't try to return.

FOR MORE ON THIS GIFT-JESUS: READ MY OWN PERSONAL STORY

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

THE SOLDIER'S COST

                                   

FREEDOM... 

I was traveling on Thanksgiving Day and I heard a Jimi Hendrix song on called, "Freedom".  That word Freedom... kept rolling around in my head. 

Everybody wants freedom.
 
Freedom...to be themselves
Freedom...of speech
Freedom...in religion
Freedom...from sickness
Freedom...from addiction
   
 The list could go on and on...  

But the thought came to me that freedom never comes without a cost.  

If you want to be free from an addiction, you have to suffer the hardships of the withdrawal.  For freedom from slavery and segregation...someone had to pay the cost.  To live in a free country many have paid the cost.

I write today to... you, the Soldier... past or present in service.  You certainly know what it means to pay the cost.  The cost of sacrifice.  The cost of being away from loved ones.  The cost of sleepless nights, haunting thoughts, terror filled dreams.  The cost of losing an appendage to your body.  Or maybe the cost of a life time of suffering emotionally or physically due to what you experience as a soldier.

You are sacrificing and giving the cost of your life.  Scripture says "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

I hope today... that you do not feel forgotten... or feel that your suffering and sacrifice have been in vain.

Whatever you are going through or have gone through as a soldier laying down your life for your loved ones, friends, and country...please know that you are not alone. 

As you have been the one sacrificing and protecting for someone else...There is someone who has done the very same thing for YOU.   One who sacrificed and suffered...was rejected, and under-appreciated.  One who endured many wounds and the wrath of God...all for the purpose of protecting and saving YOUR life.  

Jesus Christ showed the ultimate love and laid down his life for YOU, his friend.

Jesus Christ knows exactly what you feel and has walked in your shoes.

YOU, the soldier, can identify with the work of Christ.  The best part is... now you can be on the receiving end.  As you may have rescued others from the wrath of evil men here on this earth, you can rest knowing that Christ has rescued you from the wrath of God and the evil one and taken your punishment.  The punishment that we all deserve as sinners. Do you believe?

Men and women...Soldiers- past and present...Hear me when I say this:

"The love of Christ has come to YOU today.  
He has NOT forgotten YOU!"

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE 
AND YOUR SACRIFICE!

THE ROYAL FAMILY

  

Prince William...Duke of Cambridge...elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales...grandson to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


Prince William has been born into the Royal Family.  No matter if he fails in something, or gets disapproval from others, is treated harshly, betrayed, hurt, wounded, alone, insecure, feels unloved by those around him, makes a bad decision, or is unsuccessful in his life...none of that can change the fact that he is a part of the Royal Family.  He is still royalty and always will be royalty.  He will always be the Prince...son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana...grandson to Queen Elizabeth II.

ROYALTY ... it sounds good to some of us, doesn't it? 

Jesus has invited me over the years to see that I... AM ROYALTY!

YOU... MAY BE ROYALTY!

Right now... YOU... might be being handed an invitation to... BECOME ROYALTY!

When we enter into the Family of God, accepting our sin condition and Jesus Christ as our Savior, we enter into God's royal family.  When we are adopted into God's Family we become co-heirs with Christ, as he is the first born son of the Holy, Mighty, Everlasting God.  There is nothing that can then change your value and who you are as God's royal heir.

My value and identity was something I struggled with for a long time even after I began my journey with Christ.  In Christ's unconditional love for me He invited me into a long process of healing.  I thought at times that I knew my identity in Christ, until something would happen that triggered my feelings of insecurity and I got pulled back toward that pit of worthlessness.

I remember after years of this process when I found myself again feeling hurt and a wound arising.  I cried out to God saying "God...will I ever be free of this insecurity and imprisonment to it?"  I continued to pray fervently for freedom and for God to lock in my identity and value as his daughter.

And one day...after God repeatedly kept reminding me that only God sets my value, God locked it in and it has stuck with me ever since.

Jesus has the same immense love for YOU...

If YOU become adopted into the Royal family of God...YOU become the beloved Prince/Princess, heir to the Royal King of Kings, Son/Daughter to the Creator of Heaven and Earth.  You bear the mark and image of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.  You belong to the Holy, Mighty God...and He is your Father....

Prince William sometimes wears the clothes of Royalty...the son/daughter of God wears the clothes of the Redeemed.  YOU have been cleansed and washed inside and out.  YOU are new.

No words...
or feelings...
or man...

can change Prince William's identity as a son of royalty...

and no words,
feelings,
or man

can change YOUR identity (if you are in God's family) as the son/daughter of the Most High God.  When God locks that into your belief system you will feel the freedom!

If this is touching your heart and you do not belong to God's Family...

Jesus says "COME..." 

If you are...Walk on today wearing the royal clothes of the Redeemed, believing that YOU are His beloved, cherished one, the apple of his eye...and nothing and no one can EVER change that.

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

How does she know you love her?
How does she know she's yours?

How does she know that you love her?

How do you show her you love her?

How does she know that you really, really, truely love her?

It's not enough to take the one you love for granted
You must remind her, or she'll be inclined to say...
"How do I know he loves me?"
(How does she know that you love her?
How do you show her you love her?)
"How do I know he's mine?"
(How does she know that you really, really, truely love her?)

Well does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?
Send you yellow flowers when the sky is grey? Heyy!
He'll find a new way to show you, a little bit everyday
That's how you know, that's how you know!
He's your love...

You've got to show her you need her
Don't treat her like a mind reader
Each day do something to need her
To believe you love her

Everybody wants to live happily ever after
Everybody wants to know their true love is true...
How do you know he loves you?
(How does she know that you love her?
How do you show her you need her?)
How do you know he's yours?
(How does she know that you really, really, truely-)

Well does he take you out dancin' just so he can hold you close?
Dedicate a song with words in
Just for you? Ohhh!

He'll find his own way to tell you
With the little things he'll do
That's how you know
That's how you know!

These are words from the song on one of my favorite movies...Enchanted.   Why is it one of my favorite movies?  Because although I am an adult woman...I still have a little girl's desire ... to be a princess swept away by the strong knight in shining armor.

When I'm in distress there is a desire in me to see my knight riding in... on his horse... ready to save me... and catch me... as i'm falling from the trees. 

From what I've learned, men, you also have a desire...a desire to be the hero of the day for your woman.  Right?  Come on...you can admit it.  Men truly do deep inside desire to be the knight riding in and rescuing their lady.

That is an attractive quality in a man.  It meets the woman's deep desire to feel loved, and it meets the man's deep desire to feel loved... and respected.

Ladies...there is a reason we have these desires.  The "Knight" desire orginated from Jesus Christ.  He is our Protector, Rescuer, and Sheild.  He is the real and ultimate "Knight in Shining Armor" that we women desire.  Our desire is for Him (whether we realize it or not).  Christ holds out his arm in love and strong protection to pull you up on His horse to safety. That is where real security lies.

It sounds good, doesn't it?  Do you want to be His?  Do you want to be the one receiving that kind of love?  Someone you can feel safe with and be protected?

 Yes...I'm talking to you.

Even me?...you ask.  Yes, absolutely YOU!  Reach out your hand to his.  Talk to Jesus.  Find out for yourself who He is.(click here for more inquiry)  You won't be disappointed!

Husbands...
Your desire to be the hero is linked also to your desire for Christ.  He is your leader.  Want to know how to be the "knight in shining armor"  and win the heart of your lady...

Follow Christ's example.

How does YOUR wife KNOW that you love her?

Do you still pursue after her after 10, 20, 30 yrs of marriage...?  Do your actions show her your relationship with her is of utmost importance after God?  Is your relationship with her valued above your job...your kids?

Have you laid down your life for her?.......

If not, that's ok.  The grace of Christ is a beautiful thing!  Repent and reach for the hand of Jesus.  Christ's hand is also out there for you.  There's never a better time!  Only He can provide the strength for such a task.

SURVIVAL...

I heard a story yesterday morning about a little girl who was in an orphanage in another country.  The agency had sent scans of the little girl's brain to the family looking to adopt her.  They had the scans looked at by several doctors and all confirmed that this child was missing parts of her brain and she would never be able to respond to them in any sort of way.  As the adoption progressed they also told the family that they believed this little girl was also deaf and blind.  The mother who was looking to adopt told God there was no way she could adopt this little girl.  How could she pour out love to this child and never get anything in return.  In time, she surrendered to what she felt God calling her to do.  So they went to get this little girl who would be their daughter.

When the agency handed the little girl over to the mother in her arms, she said it was like looking at a shell with nothing inside.  The mother felt overwhelmed and like this was too much for her.  She handed the girl to her husband, went into the bathroom ,and sat on the floor sobbing.

For each one of their previous children, this mother and father, had a special song they had sung to them and that would be their special song.  When the mother came out of the bathroom she saw her husband holding their new daughter and singing to her, her own special song.

They continued to hold her and sing to her day after day and she eventually made eye contact with them, then one day she smiled, and laughed.  It turned out that this sweet little girl never was deaf or blind.  She had just closed herself off to everyone around her because of her previous experiences.  When they got her home they said she just bloomed!  And is doing wonderful!

What a sad and beautiful story all in one...It is sad to my heart when people (children or adult) don't feel loved.  That pain touches my heart deeply.  But it is also a beautiful story to me of how God can pour His love through US to others and make all the difference in the world!!

Isn't it true how many of us are that little girl walking around in an adult body.  I found it fascinating how when wounded emotionally and deprived of the healthy kind of love we need that even a small child will naturally pull herself in and close herself off, as a self-defense mechanism to protect.  There are so many adults who have done the same thing, and may not even realize it.  I didn't, until God began to open my eyes to the wounds I had, and the unhealthy ways I had taught myself to survive.

God spoke to my heart several years ago and said, "Let me stitch and heal all of your wounds".  At that time I thought, "what wounds?  I don't have any wounds".  I had calloused myself so much and stuffed things away in this little invisible box in me and became an expert at truly getting myself to believe that I was okay.

Can you relate in some way?  Only God knows what wounds you have.  You can see from my story that God knows us better than we know ourselves.  Seek Him.  Ask him to show you.  Ask him to heal you.  He wants to.  If we keep running away and pretending the wounds aren't there we will live a restricted life never experiencing the freedom of being healed.

Think of it this way...if you get a deep gaping cut on your leg, you go to get it stitched up right away, right?  If you leave the wound open, it's going to debilitate you making it harder and harder to walk on that leg and as time goes on it will make you sick.  That wound will restrict you in your daily living.  But if you let the physician stitch up your wound and it begins to heal over time, you get to experience life without the pain of the open wound and you get relief from the restriction it was having on you.

While we are seeking to look at our wounds and have them healed we also need to be open to allowing love into our lives.  Love and meaningful touch have so much power!  Did you know that over one-third of our five million touch receptors are in our hands!  In one of my favorite books, "The Blessing-Giving the gift of unconditional love and acceptance" by John Trent, PH.D. and Gary Smalley, it says that Dr. Dolores Krieger, a professor of nursing at New York University, has made numerous studies finding out that both the toucher and the one being touched receive a psychological benefit.  How?  It goes on to tell how inside our bodies is hemoglobin, the pigment of the red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the tissues.  Repeatedly, Dr. Krieger has found that hemoglobin levels in both people's bloodstreams go up during the act meaningful touch.  As hemoglobin levels are invigorated, body tissues receive more oxygen.  This increase of oxygen energizes a person and can even aid in the regenerative process if he or she is ill.

It also went on to say that: 
In a study at UCLA,  it was found that, just to maintain emotional and physical health, men and women need eight to ten meaningful touches a day.

Wow!....

Whether you are a man or woman, child or adult, baby or teenager...we all need to feel love and meaningful touch!  Don't kid yourself.  It's how we were designed.

Is there anyone in your life today that could use your love and meaningful touch?
or... Do you realize that you need the real love and caring touch I've been talking about?  If you do, ask God to share his love for you, through someone in your life.

This life is hard and sometimes reality really sucks.  Let's not sugar coat it.  That's why we need Jesus and his love to make it through.  In the book "The Blessing", it also tells of a little girl who was scared in the night.  Her father came into her room and said, "Don't worry, the Lord will protect you".  In the honesty of the child, the little girl snuggled close to her father and said, "I know that, Daddy, but right now I need someone with skin on!"

Don't we all!!!  Let's be that someone with skin on to each other and be a vessel that God pours His great love through.

ALSO please share this with someone you know is hurting...

Click here to view the lyrics to a song my husband wrote about our hurt called Calling You.

HELP!!!!!

We all are created with a desire to be loved and not rejected.  We desire deep inside to be
loved... when we make mistakes,
loved ...when we get hurt,
loved... when we feel alone, and
loved... when we are sick.

Who is going to love us, with this ugly condition, that we see under our mask?

Trying and trying on our own to fix it hasn't worked.
We need help!...the three words we don't like to say.

Admitting a need is half the battle, right?  So often, due to past circumstances and our own pride, we want to say that we don't need anyone.  If we need someone then we open ourselves up to getting hurt.  It's painful to continue to get hurt emotionally, so we develop self-defense mechanisms without even realizing it.

Over the years my self- defense mechanism has been,
"I will take control.  If I'm in control, I won't let myself get hurt."  I put up an invisible wall for many years, and pounded invisible pillars around myself that would protect me from getting hurt.
See MY PERSONAL STORY

Anybody else?  Do you have a way you self- protect?

Putting our pride aside... the truth is- we all need help.  We weren't created to be lone rangers.  Help is not a bad thing.  Receiving help, I've experienced, can be a very healing experience.

Who then can help us with this sin condition? 

JESUS.

 He is the only  one who can heal us.  The only  one who can cleanse us of our condition, forgive us of our daily sins, and pour out grace and mercy to save us from what we deserve.


By the grace of God, He showed me that His love was the only love I would find that was capable of loving me unconditionally the way I so desired to be loved.   As a physician has a treatment plan for his patient so does God in His great love for you and me, have a plan for our sin condition.  In the sickness of our condition we try to substitute ourselves for God.  In God's treatment plan He has substituted himself for us.

How?  God sent Jesus to die on the cross and take our punishment for the wrath our sin condition would bring upon us. He conquered death and rose again.

God is holy and righteous and just.  He has to punish sin.  What greater love is there than to save us from such punishment so we can enjoy his love and have relationship with him.