LOVE.

God's Love and Ours

"Dear friends, let us love

one another,for love comes

from God. Everyone who

loves has been born of God

and know God. Whoever does

not love does not know God,

because God is love.This is how

God showed his love among us:He

sent his one and only Son into the

world that we might live through

him. This is love:not that we love

God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.

And so we know and rely on

the love God has for us. God

is love.Whoever lives in love

lives in God, and God in him. In this

way, love is made complete among

us so that we will have confidence

on the day of judgement, because

in this world we are like him.There is

no fear in love. But perfect love drives

out fear, because fear has to do with

punishment.The one who fears is not

made perfect in love.We love because

he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love

God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar.

For anyone who does not love his

brother, whom he has seen, cannot love

God, whom he has not seen. And he has

given us this command: Whoever loves

God must also love his brother. - 1 John 4: 7-21 (NIV Study Bible)

...a perspective...

i am not God,

but may i see you through God’s eyes?

God is Love,

but may i look upon you with the same?

many hate you,

many judge you,

but who says they are right?

how did we gain the authority

to proclaim ownership

of the final judgment

that belongs to the One

who created us?

if all we could see

was the innate nature of the soul,

this magnification might shift its focus

to exemplify the soul

as beautiful;

not colored or white,

not “homo” or “hetero”,

not rich or poor,

just beauty.

God is Love…

may i love your soul?

Greater Things

Isn't it amazing how God works through us every minute, every second of our lives? Isn't it crazy to be in anguish one minute and deliriously happy the next? God works in so many different ways and we get so caught up in the trials and tribulations that we forget that everything is under control. God is there, he has a plan, and if you let him, he will take you on the greatest adventure you could possibly imagine. For greater things are yet to be done.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fasten your seatbelts.

It's going to be an amazing ride.

How Sweet The Sound

Amazing...rolls of the tip of one's tongue like the splash of water onto a cool, stone-covered ground.

Amazing...the expression of the tug at one's heart that is clearly sent from heaven itself.

Amazing...levels of love that mold and shape hearts into transformed rays of light.

Grace...the condition to be able to try again, and again, and again.

Grace...forgiving the unforgivable.

Grace...received through faith.

Saves wretches.

Finds the lost.

Gives sight to the blind.

So that we ALL may see.

Love Lives On

"and even though I cry like crazy,
even though it hurts so bad;
I'm thankful for the time God gave me,
even though we couldn't make it last.
I'm learning how to live without you,
even though I don't want to,
and even with you gone... love lives on"

- Mallary Hope, Love Lives On

Insignificance

Remember the movie the Holiday? At one point, one of the characters talks about how it feels to be as small and insignificant as possible. How? When you realize that you haven't moved on from the person like you thought you had. When you hear, from him, that he, just a couple months later, has already moved on. After hearing so many people who have been through this say that it takes at least a year...it's like the slap in the face. He already has feelings for someone else, which of course, is like the icing on the most sour cake on the planet.

But wait a minute...

Didn't you break up with him in the first place? God willing, you were able to handle it in a fashion that allowed him to do just that; think that there was no hope for the future and to move on as quickly as possible.

It's amazing how much it hurts, especially when movie clips play in your head of all of the times you had together and how happy you were.

But wait another minute...

Maybe God is granting you the same favor? Clearly, he has moved on. You have no idea if there's anything to hope for in the future with him because only God knows that. And if you two will be together, you will.

So pull yourself together, mend that heart of yours, and start living your life without worrying about what's going to happen in the future.

Today, live the life that God gave you today and don't think about tomorrow until tomorrow comes.

Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

I know that we haven't spoken in awhile, and I hope you know that I have tried my best to stay away. But Friend, you must know, I am in anguish over your pain. You don't know how many times I have gone over my decision, over and over and over; reevaluating, looking at all the possibilities to see if I missed something or acted too hasty. I thought that discovering that I had made the right decision would ease my pain, but it did just the opposite. The fact that my decision was the right one is simply the worst. You see, because it was right for me, I can't go back and change it. I can't make it better for you. And oh how I wish I could! I feel so incredibly selfish to have done this to you, even if it was right...for me. I trust God and all that he has planned for both of us, but right now I am painfully hoping that someday we can speak again, maybe even laugh again. As I write this, my heart throbs with pain for you and tears well in my eyes; how I wish that we could talk again! Nights plagued with dreams of you only make it worse; you loathe me in every one and I awake in pain. And you might think that I deserve it...but why? Am I such a repulsive person to you for following my heart and God's direction? Would it have been fair for me to stay even though I knew, I knew that things had to end? Maybe what you don't know is that it took me a couple of weeks to gather the courage to finally do it. Because I wanted to find a different way; a different solution. Anything that would be the easiest for you. But finally, what seemed best turned out to be one of the most painful for you. I know you are sick of hearing me say this, but I hope you know that I only repeat it because it is so strong in my heart. I am so sorry to have caused you so much pain. Please know that I am praying for you and for further direction from God for both of us. I continue to think about you often and I pray that someday, we might be close friends again. You are one of the few people on this planet who know who I am through and through, and I hope that one day the thought of talking to, or even seeing me, ceases to cause you pain.

Wishing you every happiness,

your friend

Breaking a Heart

This summer I realized that, no matter what way you go about it, breaking up with someone is going to be painful no matter what. You can go about it one of two ways: 1. Let the other person know what is going on in your heart, what you're thinking or that you're lost or whatever, and suggest taking a break. But then, where does that leave them? With nervous hope for who knows how long that there might be a chance that everything will go back to normal eventually. OR 2. Break it off right away, no matter how sudden or unexpected it may be. It is the most painful possibly, but does it save them months of anguish, or false hope? My dad put it this way: What kind of knife does a surgeon use? One with a very smooth and very sharp blade. Why? To make the cleanest cut possible; to ensure that the fastest and most precise healing begins immediately. Yes, the cut hurts, but it will heal much faster than if it had been cut by, say, a knife with a serrated edge, which will take longer to cut and longer for the wound to heal. What it comes down to is this: If caring about the person and the amount of pain that he is in is very important, then breaking it off suddenly is going to be greviously painful, but the best for both in the end.

Everlasting Love

Think of your mother.

She is a person on this earth who loves you, and will love you until the end of time.  She will love you no matter if you deserve it or not.  

When did you decide to love your mother?

You didn't.

She loved you before you were even born and loves you uncondtionally.  You can't help but love her as a result of the "forever love" that she lavishes on you every single day.  

Is there anything that you can do to make your mother stop loving you?

Only one.

But we tried that with Jesus...and it didn't turn out that well; he rose again and still loved us.

Christ died for us because he loved us.  Christ loves us like a mother loves her child; unconditionally and without falter.  

The least we can do is rejoice and praise him.

Love.

The Mirrored Word

Look in the mirror and what do you see?
Is she pretty enough?
Is she thin enough?
Is her nose too big?
Are her lips too thin?
Is her hair the wrong color?
Are her legs toned?
Is her skin tan enough?
Are her eyes too small?

Look in the mirror and what do I see?
I see:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against these things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live in the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." -Galations 5:22-25

The written Word on my mirror, obstructing my vision from
self-judgment
self-criticism
self-disrespect

When I look in the mirror, I want to see

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control

shining right back at me.

If the beauty of the heart does not shine from within, how can there be beauty at all?