The Heart That Loves Us: No Greater Love Than That of Our Heavenly Father

By Jody Diehl

Blessed is the star of joy
That God may send our way.
It draws us ever closer,
Sends us to our knees to pray.

We must not see it as a cloud
But as a ray of light.
A star of joy from heaven
That will bless us in His sight ...
—jody diehl

God not only loves us as our Father, but also as our Creator and Shepherd. His love is what gives us joy, peace, comfort, hope, strength, and wisdom. No matter what happens during our earthly lives, God will never leave or forsake us. His grace will sustain us, and His mercy endures forever.

In a collection of inspirational poems, jody diehl shares God’s messages that allow spiritual seekers to gain a deeper understanding of Him and their faith. Her poems reflect on all the ways that God is present in our lives, why we should believe in miracles, and why He sometimes sends stars from heaven. Included within her verse are scriptural passages that guide seekers to find further inspiration within the pages of the Bible.

The Heart That Loves Us shares moving poetry that gently reminds all of us that we are dearly loved by our heavenly Father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973647072

Jody Diehl

Jody and her husband, Bob, have been happily married for 43 years. They have four wonderful sons, three beautiful daughters-in-law, and five precious grandchildren. They live in Shippensburg, PA. They are members of Salem United Brethren Church in Chambersburg, where Jody is the leader of the Prayer Ministry.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Jody Diehl.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4708-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4709-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4707-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018914086

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/13/2018

CONTENTS

Special Thanks

In Memory and In Honor of

Mission Statement

Byron’s House of Hope

Introduction

Summary

Mission Statement

Chapter 1 GOD IS

Chapter 2 God’s Unchanging Character

Chapter 3 God Does

Chapter 4 Our Trust in God

Chapter 5 Giving Thanks to God

Chapter 6 Blessed by God

About The Author

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my heavenly Father. You alone are worthy

of glory, honor, and praise.

Without You I am nothing, I have nothing, I can do nothing.

Romans 11:36 (KJV)

For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things:

to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

SPECIAL THANKS

To my loving husband, Bob- You have always been my loyal support and encouragement. I love you. You are my gift from God.

To our son, Stephen- You had no idea that your provision of a laptop for me was needed and would be used to bring glory to God. You even chose the original password…Poetry. You are a blessing. I love you dearly.

To Ellen, who is now with her Creator- Thank you for the inspiration that became the title of this book.

To those who prayed- My eternal thanks. May God’s abundant love and blessings be upon each and every one of you.

IN MEMORY AND IN HONOR OF

Byron Boyd went home to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ, in December, 2012. Byron was co-founder of Convicted by Christ, an organization that began in September 2011 and helps men coming out of prison learn how to successfully integrate back into beneficial, productive lives.

President and co-founder, Brian Myers, continues to serve God and his fellow man with CBC. As their leader, mentor and friend, he helps former inmates find purpose in life through loving and serving God.

MISSION STATEMENT

As a band of brothers, Convicted by Christ provides support and accountability to men coming from jail or prison – men working to be free from addictions, past life patterns, and mental instabilities so that these men can integrate back into healthy lives, families and communities.

Along with God, Convicted by Christ is here to help men be transformed and break the bondages of whatever their prison may be.

BYRON’S HOUSE OF HOPE

Byron’s House of Hope (BHH) is a program/home based in Farmington, NM that opened in January 2018 and is directed and staffed by the men of Convicted by Christ. It was named in honor of Byron Boyd (former-inmate) mentioned above. BHH is a state-approved, faith-based, half-way house for men being released from state-prison in New Mexico.

Convicted by Christ

P.O. Box 1032

Bloomfield, NM 87413

Phone [phone]

www.convictedbychrist.org

INTRODUCTION

In February, 1969 I walked down the aisle of a little country church, knelt at the altar, and gave my heart to Jesus.

In February, 1985 I knelt at the altar of my church and surrendered my life to God. I told Him that if He could use a stay-at-home mom with three little boys, I was His … totally and completely. Not long after that, God began blessing me with poems that He would lay on my heart. I began including a poem in encouragement cards I sent, and that was the beginning of what has continued to present day.

I like to think of my inspirational poems as God’s messages. In February, 2011, God blessed my heart to know it was time to make it possible for more people to be blessed and encouraged by His messages and compile some of them into a book. My obedient heart has done that … all for His glory.

But life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus-the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love. (Acts 20:24 Living Bible Translation)

SUMMARY

Traveling through the pages of this book, you will be blessed