1Corinthians 13:7 (Love) “…bears all things…”
The word ‘bears’ in this context can also be rendered as “support” – supporting others is a huge part of what it means to love.
I’ve always felt that if Jesus was the foundation, how one builds their house is up to them. I taught my children this, explaining that just because one mommy runs her home a certain way that is different from another mommy, doesn’t mean she’s not a mommy. I love all Believing denominations and feel each is special in its own way. Some are so beautiful in their symbolic worship while others just as beautiful in their zeal for education and Bible reading.
In fact, when reading the New Testament I believe on face value the part that says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:8)
Speaking on love himself this month, yesterday my pastor did the most supportive thing I’ve ever seen a pastor do in church. He was talking about what it means to encourage and lift up other believers. He stopped in the middle of service and prayed, asking God to bless the other believing churches in Las Vegas. It was so amazing to be in church as the pastor prayed for the blessing of other churches in the valley! If you want to listen to the sermon it’s here. Click on Agape Week #3.
When I was searching for a church home a few years ago, one of the MAIN reasons I kept going to Grace Point was that I never heard Devin put any other church or denomination down.
What I witnessed yesterday is a true example of how to be a person of God who lifts up, bears all and brings grace to others!
Standing Ovation for Devin Hudson! Awesome message!
Thank you for coming to Sin City, bringing God’s agape love with you!
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a fixed time…”
Last night my teen daughter (almost 16) went on her first date. Her dad and I took her to the movie theater that her and the young man (who we both have met and talked with) decided to meet at. It was at a casino. Not about to let her walk into a casino alone, we walked her up the escalator to the cinema and waited only a few short minutes at the food court with her until he walked up. We then kept ourselves occupied by various errands and Face Book posts by me till it was time to pick her up.
Only in Vegas would kids meet in a casino to go to the movies. Most places have cute old movie houses that smell vaguely of stale buttered popcorn. However, the point of this post isn’t about Vegas being a strange place to raise kids or how much faster or more sophisticated teens grow up here.
What I realized last night is my little girl isn’t my little girl anymore.
– She’s grown up into a stunning svelte dancer.
Being her mom, it seems prejudiced to say that she literally turns heads when she walks into a room, but it’s true. Her long thick mane of curly red hair and dark eyes contrasted against her porcelain skin are definite show stoppers. 
This is the time when she will be experiencing life more without me by her side.
She’s a young adult now.
Gone is the time when I held her hand to cross the road,
teaching her about looking for cars both ways. 
Forever entangled in her memories are the lessons I so desperately wished to instill in my little girl’s mind, coming forth only when called upon by her.
This is the time I never wanted to come – The time when my baby would grow up. But just like the baby bird isn’t meant to stay in its momma’s nest, so a daughter must learn to fly.
1Corinthians 13:6 (Love) “…has joy in what is true”
I don’t think most of us have a problem with being joyful in what is true. We all can be joyful when we see others being blessed. How many of us love Extreme Makeover where the family gets a new beautiful house? We rejoice with them and our hearts go out to them. It’s easy being happy for the good that is done to others with a pure heart.
It’s also about rejoicing when it is made evident that others have goodness coming from them. How many times are we brought to tears over an innocent child’s actions out of a pure heart? I read a blog where the mom was handing out allowance. Her young son thought he needed to bring it to his mom and brought a hand full of change. What a pure, sweet heart!
Here’s rejoicing in a true relationship with the Lord, one that is pure of heart, one that knows all good things come from God.
As I finally settle down to blog today, I am thankful for so many things.
I feel so blessed to have been able to spend quality time with a niece who just turned 18 today.
I am SO thankful that the sun came back to the desert! It was only a few weeks we didn’t have sun, but I missed it terribly.
Since going through this ‘love exploration’ as I call it, I am so thankful for discovering what a wonderful family I have. Sometimes we must look within to see what we have on the outside.
I am not the only one who has had to take a journey to find love that was within reach. My friend Lisa at Homespun Simplicity has a beautiful story of how she met her husband. It’s worth the read.
My ‘love exploration’ took me to all kinds of highs and lows this past couple weeks. I found this blog at Do You Weary Like I Do? that really helped me when I was brought keenly aware of my judgment of others. I pray you are blessed by it as much as I was.
Finally, I was healed through a blog that I read at Light Enough To See realizing I’m only in a season in life. I am thankful for both this season and that it will pass!
I am very thankful for each and every one of you who stop by my blog! Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting!
Till Tomorrow, Lord willing -
1Corinthians 13:6 (Love)… “…takes no pleasure in wrongdoing”
After pouring over the commentaries as to what they have to say about these 6 little words, I am again ashamed as to how my own heart ‘takes pleasure in wrongdoing’. Let me explain.
- Yes, I’m guilty of ‘I just KNEW IT!’ feelings when someone I haven’t been too fond of has been caught and also guilty of having that satisfaction that they are now proven evil to the whole world.
- Yes, I’m guilty of feeling utterly fulfilled when I’ve signaled someone they are “number one with a bullet” in traffic after putting up with their idiotic driving; wondering WHERE is the policeman to give this person a ticket, as I pass them by…
- And the one thing I’m most ashamed of is being so giddy when I found out a church I’d been hurt deeply by years ago finally closed. I felt so vindicated, so self righteous. Now the world knew too, that they didn’t deserve to be called a church.
What evil nasty thoughts I have!
But you know what? A heart that has truly been converted over to the Lord only feels sorrow when these things happen not gratified…not self satisfied…not joyful in any way.
It is so fitting that I’d feel deeply aware of my sin and shame today, as it is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, or the 40 days before Easter that many Liturgical churches observe.
I am glad that I’m brought to my knees in shame, because it shows me how much farther I need to grow in the Lord in order to be that person whose heart is truly cleaned and purified before Him.
Dear Lord,
I’m sorry for the error of my thinking, and the self righteousness of my thoughts.
Help me overcome these heart sins so that
I only have heart ache over these kinds of things.
Please continue to cleanse my heart as I go through this exploration of love
in order to come out of this a better person than when I started.
1Corinthians 13:5 (Love)“…takes no account of evil”
- Have you ever stewed over something someone did or said to you?
- Have you ever wondered if someone who did something nice for you had a bad motive behind their actions?
- Have you ever kept score, thinking about how many times someone hurt you?
… Me too, and I am ashamed to admit it.
How far can I make the story “living in Las Vegas, I am more jaded than I should be” spread? I mean, really – maybe that’s my excuse for keeping a hard heart?
I want to cultivate a heart of love within myself that is so governed and influenced by the love of God that I can’t think of evil in others unless it slaps me in the face.
Heavenly Father,
Clean my heart and help me sweep unfounded suspicious thoughts away.
Help me be like You in forgetting the wrongs done to me by others.
Teach me to live “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”
as Jesus said on the cross when He was dying for the sins of the world.
Today we get back to exploring love and it gets kind of touchy (pun intended).
1Corinthians 13:5 (Love)… “is not quickly made angry…”.
Growing up, I had a very cranky grandfather. He was my mother’s step dad to be exact. But he was the only Gramps I knew. He and my Gram helped raise my brother and me. My Gramps also drank… a lot.
I happened to be left handed. He thought that was the sign of the devil. I will leave you to your own thoughts as to what happened if he caught me eating or writing with my left hand. I don’t like to remember the beatings. However, I mention him because he’s who I think about when I think of love that is quickly made angry.
My husband is the direct opposite of my Gramps. In the 29 years we have been married, I have seen his temper ONE time. Yes you read correct. There has only been one time has he shown anger around me. I think that’s why I’ve been able to heal from the abuse, because Rick shows me God’s love, not irritable or conditional love.
I’m so glad that the Lord sent my husband to me in order to show me what His love looks like. I literally never knew this kind of love while growing up. It would be a shame to never know love that is gentle and kind, and slow to anger.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for showing us Your even tempered love.
Help me to pass that on to others as well.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I have chosen this verse to post:
1Corinthians 13:13 “But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love”.
Today I have NO appointments, I have NO commitments, and NO crisis has occurred, so I’m going to follow the letter of this verse:
Exodus 16:29 “… the Lord has given you the Sabbath, …let every (wo)man keep where (s)he is; let no (wo)man go out of his (or her) place on the seventh day.” (items in parenthesis mine)
It feels so good to just be able to REST! AND I’m not going to feel guilty about it, either!
I hope you rest some time this weekend, yourself. It isn’t an option, our bodies really need it!
Till Next Time,
1Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love…doesn’t seek its own way…”
When I read this part of the passage, I immediately think of my husband. He is the most unselfish person I know. Over the years I’ve learned not to tell him about things I’d like to have because he will find a way to buy them for me. He has given me so much, I cannot… I will not ask for more from him. This wonderful man has worked up to three jobs at a time, in order to provide me a life where I can stay home and raise our children. He has always felt the most important thing he can give his children is a mom who has time for them. In years past, he has had to spend holidays in truck stops just to be able to provide this luxury for his family. He has truly shown me what love looks like when it doesn’t seek its own way.
I see him tirelessly drive 2 hours, into a neighboring state, to his parent’s house in order to do yard work or house repairs for them. He does all he can to make sure they are all right. The first thing he thinks of when the weekend comes is if he should go see his dad and help him. Of course his weekend schedule is so crowded with the needs of others that he can’t get to his parents as much as he wants. But his heart is always with them, wondering what else he can do to show them his love for them.
This Sunday we will celebrate our 30th Valentines Day together. After all these years, he never forgets to thank me for making dinner, no matter how bad it turned out, and he always tells me he loves me before he leaves the house or gets off the phone with me.
I would be selfish if I hadn’t noticed his selflessness over the three decades we have been together. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be the person I am today, healed from a terrible childhood of abuse. He is the first man I truly ever trusted, and he’s never broken that trust. He has shown me the earthly version of what God’s love looks like. For this, I am eternally grateful to him.
