Category: love

Light: Something that Makes Vision Possible

 
Blessed are those who
have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light
of your presence, O Lord.
Psalm 89:15 NIV

I like Mondays. On Mondays, I observe a day of rest. I call it my extra Sabbath. On Sundays, my husband and I serve and worship at our church. And I often take a nap in the afternoon.

But resting on Mondays is different. I don’t schedule any outside appointments. I don’t have to rush anywhere. I can linger with my coffee. I let go of agendas and I do my best to listen. There is no hurry to leave the presence of God. I read, journal, listen and pray to my heart’s content.
 
This particular Monday, I am enjoying time on our porch swing on a warm, balmy winter day. The sun is shining, the birds are calling each other with warbles and whistles and chirps and trills.
 
Sometimes, I go back and read over my journal to gain insight. To see what light has been poured out through my pen. I notice what God and I have been dialoguing over the past several weeks. Since I had the leisure to do so today, I thumbed through my journal, highlighting the glimpses of a theme or a direction. Path, desire and want were common words. Also hope, blessing and love. Here are some quotes and musings that resonated with me today. I hope they are a sweet balm of warmth on this wintry Monday.

“As wonderful as it is to have Jesus’ blessings,
it is even more wonderful to have Jesus.”
(Roy Lessin)
 
 
 
“O LORD, the house of my soul is narrow; enlarge it that Thou mayest enter in. It is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases Thy sight; I confess it, I know. But who shall  cleanse it, or to whom shall I cry but unto Thee? Cleanse me from my secret faults, O LORD,
spare Thy servant from strange sins.”
(St. Augustine)
 
 
“To have someone to absorb us, who wants to understand the shape and structure of our lives, who will listen for more than our words,
is one of friendship’s greatest gifts.”
(Paul D. Robbins)
 
 
Below is a written prayer that I copied down today, and my response to that prayer:
 
“Almighty God, whose word is authority and power and whose way is love, grant us today clear minds, understanding hearts, and willing spirits so that we may wisely appropriate Your word of truth. Amen.”
 
 
My response:
 
“Let us not try to change each other, but rather trust each other. Trust ourselves. Accept that each other’s personalities, skills, gifts and life experiences inform the whole of who we are and how we interact with one another. Let us love one another.”


Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. 
(1 John 5:21 NLT)
 
 
 


 

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Epiphany: An Illuminating Discovery

On the twelfth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me
an Epiphany!
 
 
 
 
 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely,
just as God knows me now.
 
There are three things that will endure
 — faith, hope, and love —
and the greatest of these is love.
 
Let love be your highest goal,
but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives . . .
1 Corinthians 13:11-14:1 NLT


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Love is . . .

On the eleventh day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
more than eleven facets of love.
 

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

 Love never dies.
 
(1Corinthians 13:4-8a The Message)
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Fruitful: An Abundant Yield

On the ninth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
nine gifts for fruiful living.
 

 

 

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
(Galatians 5:22,23a The Message)

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True Love

 
 
 
On the fourth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
four calls to love.

Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind and
with all your strength.
(Mark 12:30 NIV)
 
 
On the fifth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
five golden rules.
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
(1 John 3:11 NIV)

 
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
(1 John 3:23-24 NIV)


Dear friends, let us love one another , for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
(1 John 4:7 NIV)


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. (1 John 4:11-12 NIV)

Love your neighbor as yourself.
(Mark 12:31 NIV)
 


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