LOVE...

(WARNING: I am just being real and honest in this post! If you have never struggled with LOVE then you need to stop reading this note.) *Ü*

LOVE for others.  It is easy to LOVE people that I see as lovable, but not so easy to LOVE those that are getting on my nerves.  I know that isn’t right! I have to remember I don’t know what is going on in others’ lives. God, forgive me for my aggravation towards those people I see as just plain wrong… please help me to see beyond what they are doing and just see who they are and how You LOVE them. It is not what they do… it is who they are.

I can point my finger all I want but that makes me no different than I am accusing them of being. 

Recently, I watched the movie, “The Shack”… I read the book years ago and got so much from it… I know there is a whole controversial thing going on with some believers… I am not addressing that here. What I do want to share with you is this one part of the movie where Mack, the main character, goes into a cave, and he has a conversation with a woman named, Wisdom. This really impacted my heart of how I choose to LOVE others. Such a great reminder that I have no right to judge peoples’ actions… rather showing grace… showing compassion… showing LOVE! I have no idea why a person may be the way they are… what they may have been through. It is not saying it is okay, but it is saying I LOVE you in spite of it… just like Christ did for me.

“Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” ~ Philippians 2:2-4

Those words, “selfish ambition,”… what does that mean for me? To LOVE someone with a pure heart…. not because I expect anything in return… not to make myself look better… just out of LOVE. Lord, if anything I have done or spoken for selfish reasons… I ask Your forgiveness. Help me to see others through Your eyes. Cleanse my heart of anything that is not of You.

I am reminded of what LOVE is… patient, kind, rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes, hopes, endures all things. 

I am also reminded of what LOVE is not… envious, jealous, boastful, arrogant, conceited, prideful, rude, unbecoming, wants its own way, selfish, resentful, touchy, offended, rejoices in someone else’s problems… LOVE is not failing! 

The only real and true thing we can have in our life is LOVE… that is the only sure thing… real LOVE … LOVE that comes only through Christ living in us and through us.  When I look at the list of what LOVE is and isn’t with human eyes, my first thought is, “I am sunk!”  But because of God sending His only Son to die for my sins and to redeem me… that is an incredible example… the only real example of true LOVE.  Having Christ in me is the only way I can even start to LOVE others… when someone is annoying me or I just don’t like what they are doing or understand the choices they are making… it is then I need to dig down deep and let Christ’s LOVE live through me.  It is a choice to LOVE… it is a choice to give God the control… it is a choice to see people for who they are and not for what they do.

“So faith, hope, LOVE abide, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

I pray that my life will be used for God’s glory… that people will see Him in my face even before I open my mouth.  My hubby & I went through the LOVE Dare devotional and the prayer that came from one of the “dares“ was “Lord, teach me what real love is and make me a loving person.”  It is unbelievable that simple prayer prayed daily or a couple times a day can have such an impact.  I dare you to try it for a week.

If you made it to the end of this note, please LOVE me for who I am and not for what I do, and I will do the same for you.  Also, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on LOVE in your life.

Rejoicing in Truth!

LOVE, Carin

Intentional KINDNESS

Just a few thoughts from my heart to yours!

I have been thinking about KINDNESS… especially when you see so much cruelty in the world. I’ve been going through some tough things lately, physically, emotionally, even spiritually. I know it is only God’s grace & mercy that has brought me through, but something else too… a KIND husband!

What a gift his KINDNESS has been to me! My crying & complaining… not to mention my moodiness & down right ugliness at times… and what has he given me in return??? KINDNESS! There is nothing like a little KINDNESS to encourage a person’s heart! And you know you don’t have to understand exactly what someone is going through to just be KIND!

You hear all the time about doing, “random acts of kindness”… what if KINDNESS wasn’t just random… what if it was an intentional act?And what if we started doing acts of KINDNESS daily in our own homes with our own family??? What would that look like? How would that change the dynamics in the home?

“Love is patient. Love is KIND. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up!” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I think KINDNESS is one of those things that is so overlooked! It is not about a “political” statement… it is about a condition of the heart! To be KIND doesn’t have to infringe on your rights! To be KIND doesn’t have to cost you anything, but your pride & selfishness!To be KIND doesn’t go against your religious beliefs!To be KIND takes way less effort that it does to be cruel! 

I’m not talking about just ignoring the bad things going on around you, I am saying to speak the Truth, but speak it in love! Ephesians 4:15 talks about “speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things unto Him who is the head - Christ.”

And men, you have a great task ahead of you! God has placed you as the head of the home, to love your wife as Christ loved the Church & gave His life for it (Ephesians5:25). That is the ultimate KINDNESS and act of love! KINDNESS is obedience… obedience is expected! Are you doing what is expected from God? I have a great husband, he sets the “bar” pretty high, but he is not perfect… however he is working on himself daily… and how do I know that??? Because he shows me KINDNESS even when I am not so KIND!

  

How can any of us show KINDNESS when we don’t really feel like it? Through prayer, being in God’s Word, & encouraging words through the KINDNESS of others. See it is a continuous cycle! Try showing a little KINDNESS today, for the love of Christ! 

Rejoicing inTruth! 

Carin