🙌It's the Friday Call to Worship!🙌

More than 30 countries around the world are celebrating Valentine's Day today. Much of humanity holds its breath on the 14th of February (and every other day) for our greatest pursuit: to love and be loved.

My husband pursued me ten Februaries ago in the most un-Valentine's sort of way. In fact, I call it "the business meeting" when we recount our love story.

We were casual friends when he came over and sat on a couch opposite mine. He shared God's calling and convictions for his life, and I shared mine. He was made to build the Church, and I was designed to strengthen families. We knew those things go together, and we both wanted to live Christ-centered lives. So we verbally chose each other that night. That was our starting point - before an iota of oxytocin hit our systems. We had never even been on a date. The comically pragmatic conversation was Spirit-filled and sacred at the same time. We awkwardly side-hugged at the end of it, committed to letting God work out the details and add romance. We married eight months later, wildly in love.

There is just nothing like knowing you're chosen and choosing back.

Love has always been a choice. Our sovereign God gave us free will just so we could experience real, choosing love.

You were chosen before the creation of the world to be loved. It's your core design, the only mold you fit in. You find your fit when you let go of everything less important or more distracting to choose the One who loved you first. Jesus pre-chose you. He chooses you again and again. And He loves to do it.

"Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." (Ephesians 1:4)

Listen to "Loved" by Pat Barret and Cecily.