How do you show love?

       How do you show love?  Some people we know how to show love to. Our kids, our husbands, our parents they are the easiest to show love to and we have had the most experience at giving them love.  However, how do you show love to a neighbor, a co-worker, a judgemental in-law, the cranky mom you bump into at your kids practice?

   I believe Love is a verb, an action.  So how do you show love?  I think reading the book "the five love language" helped me not only to understand how I receive love but also understand better how others receive love.  

    A thoughtful gesture of bringing baked goods, sending a card or letter, works for some but so does the gift of having a listening ear, giving a hug to a widow, to letting someone go first in line ahead of you. Offering the gift of forgiveness, or the gift of friendship. 

Sometimes love is just showing up for someone else.  Even if you have nothing really in common.  Has someone surprised you with a gift of love or have you worked on giving someone else love even if they were unlovable?  

Family

Last night my family and I watched the 9/11 documentary that was on TV. Beyond remembering how shocking that day was. How watching the rescue workers work for weeks following that day was heroic.

I remember reading that cookbook sales surged and church attendance grew. Why? Was being vividly reminded that life is short made us pause and prioritize what was really important. How did we really want to spend our time. Yes, I think it did for awhile.

However as humans our memories can be short at times, our calendars slowly were filled back up. We returned to being busy. Now when we are. Not out and about many of us are guilty of having our head down above a computer or iPhone. Yes, I will be working on doing better.

Isn't that one lesson that we can take with us. Remembering to pause and really focus on the people who God has given us to fill our lives (the ones we love & the ones we are learning to love). That's my prayer today.

Lord please keep me from being so busy that I miss the opportunity to have face time with those that I love and those you want me to learn to love. Amen


-Amy

Encouragement

Help!  I need some advice.   How do you give encouragement?   In what way do you like to receive encouragement?  What practical ways or impractical even, have you seen or witnessed encouragement being given to other people?

Be it the person needing encouragement is:

*grieving
*elderly and does not get out much
*lonely
*discouraged
*or someone struggling with depression

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up"  Proverbs 12:25

I appreciate that you would take the time to leave a comment on the subject!  I am really trying to learn about how to be a better at giving others encouragement.  Thank you

The One sentence Challenge

Ok, here is the challenge that really got to me this weekend. I was listening to "Elevation Church" podcast while cleaning up the kitchen the other night. When Steven Furtick (the pastor of Elevation Church) challenged everyone to put in one sentence what they want their life to stand for, or what you would want others to say about you after you have lived your life.

Because how we live this life is important! We are leaving a legacy what will mine be?

So at first I thought about the old Japanese proverbs:
Fall down seven times, get up eight.

I thought I could tweak it:
Fall down seven times, and by the Grace of God get up eight.

However, after I thought of it, while I do want that to be part of my story-do I really want that to be All of my story. No, not really.
I would really like it to be said that:

Amy loved others like God loved them.

Which when I started to think about made me giggle because if I was to really start to love others as Christ. I would have to "give up all my little "pettiness" of feelings & thoughts and love others". How, by doing what Steven Furtick said, "re-cast the staring role of my story with Jesus, not myself"

Whoa! Your probably thinking that "aren't you, supposed to be doing that al ready." Well yes, I am. However it can be harder to "do" than it seems. I admit when someone has been rude or hurtful in their actions or words to one of my daughter's & then I run into that person at a store etc.. It can be hard to be really loving. Really looking at that person and seeing what they are needing, being willing to see that person as God sees them & not thinking little judgementally thoughts (I know! I am probably all alone here, when I think or wonder if some teens or kids are acting all nice or sweet in a fake way as being an "Eddy Haskell". Does anyone remember who that character was from Leave it to Beaver"?)

Well I am going to try to start "capturing" my thought life, and not let my thought life control me. I want Jesus to be my main character of my story. So that maybe, my sentence of my life will be:

Amy really loved others, like God loved others.

What would your sentence be???? Or what do you want it to be?

will you need to change anything to make sure that your sentence is true?

-Amy

Lonely, far away

Have you ever heard of the "no parcel" club? It's a nickname given to soldiers who serve in our armed forces in far off countries who do not receive mail or parcel. Men & women who are fighting for my freedom, and serve our country proudly who have no one willing to write them or send care packages filled with such basic goodies that it brings tears to my eyes at how blessed I am.






God laid this burden on my heart. I am a simple stay at home mom. I can't go to forgein lands to love others for Christ. However I can send a letter and a care package once a month to soldiers.

I get my addresses and names from the website. www.anysoldier.com. Sometimes I receive a letter back from a soldier sometimes I don't. That's ok, I know they are busy. However, I know that they feel appreciated, that a stranger cared enough to take some time to send a care package.

Military mom blog has some great ideas for packages her blog is: http://militarymomathome.blogspot.com/2009/01/care-package-ideas.html?m=1

Check it out, for some wonderful ideas! The main thing I have learned is not to mix hygiene products with food items. The website anysoldier.com says at temperatures at 110 no matter how well sealed cookies are if sent with deodorant it will taste like that. (ugh! Who would want to eat deodorant chocolate chip cookies!)

Well if this touches your heart and you have some time to put together a package and write a letter I would encourage you to do so.

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Right choices

Hum.. I am redhead who is pretty outgoing, a talker, and yes even a quick temper. So at the age of 41 God has started to work on my actions or how I choose to word my opinion when I get angry.

Ugh!!! This has been so hard for me!!! My oldest daughter came in crying a few weeks ago because a mother (yes, an adult & a friend of mine got upset with my daughter, based on what her daughter said.) Now I had already heard my daughter's side earlier in the day. Now as a 41 year old I know that there is always two sides to every story, and did I mention that the girls are 13! (oh, the drama!). I was very upset & disappointed that my friend decided to vent about my daughter since she is "friends" with several teens on Facebook and that we are from a small town. However I knew my daughter was watching to see how I would handle this. I took a deep breathe, said a quick prayer and remembered the verse that states:
"A gentle answer deflects anger,

but harsh words make tempers flare. "(Proverbs 15:1 NLT)


So I took another deep breathe and re examined the facts. 1) this mom was a friend of mine 2). It's tough being a mom and sometimes we are all guilty of reacting first. 3)If feelings were hurt I would apologize, however an apology does not mean my daughter's intentions were to hurt her daughters feelings. It simple means we were sorry that their feelings were hurt. 4) The wall of Facebook was not an appropriate place to have this conversation. 5). There is always 2 sides to every story.

By contacting the mom, making an apology it saved not only my friendship, but also kept the situation from escalating and kept our daughters friendship in tact as well.

Now is this how I "felt" Like responding -no! In my own flesh I wanted to let her know that I had a 13 year old who was now crying, and that we teach our children not to air their problems on Facebook, but I knew me being right or wrong was not going to solve this situation. I also knew just because this is how I felt, that this would not have been a right choice before God and my daughter's watchful eyes for me to do. Praise God that he is still shaping and molding me!


Have you ever gotten mad & handled a situation the right way or even an incorrect way?


Being a mom is so hard!!


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How are you loving??

Well the other day during 114 degree weather, I got out off my car and noticed that the parking lot that had multitude of cracks and imperfections. Someone had taken tar (or something that smelled hot, I did mention that it was 114 degrees outside) and tried to fill in the holes. I even took a picture!





It reminded me of the verse from the bible in 1 Peter 4:8
"Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins."(1 Peter 4:8 NLT)


Which made me think, "how am I loving others?". Is my love filling the cracks, or imperfections of their lives??? Sadly, not good enough- I need to do better!! Love more, love better, get in there and love enough to overlook the things that can drive someone crazy!



How are you doing loving others?
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Can you be good without God?

USA Today website reported yesterday that the Freedom from Religion Foundation is taking 4Th of July as an opportunity to publicly proclaim their presence in the United States. Their group mailed out over 15,000 "happy human" pins to it's members who are atheist. Encouraging them to wear them on the 4Th to promote conversation about their motto: "You can be good without God". As a christian God fearing woman "I AGREE" you can be be "Good" without God!

The bible (I know shocking isn't it) says in Luke 6:32 & 33 "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!"

Isn't that interesting, the bible says that doing good to those who are good to us is in our very nature. However, the Bible radically challenges Christians to do more, go farther in their actions - put love into actions that is so radical that it goes against our nature, and what makes sense to us in our thinking!

It states in Luke 6:27&28 "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."

Say what? You want me to nice to the lady who just almost ran me down with her shopping cart at the Walmart? You want me to be nice to the lady who makes fun, of me & my husband that we go on "date night"? You want me to be forgiving and kind to the lady who is never nice at the gym? You want me to be kind, to the lady who always grumbles and complains? You want me to be nice to the mom who does not encourage her children to be kind to others, in fact I have heard her praising them when they have been behaving with self centered actions? You want me to be nice to the lady who invited a bunch of women out to eat but did not include me? You want me to be nice and kind to a kid who makes my child's life miserable at school? You want me to be nice to the lady at the pool, who mocks people who are struggling with weight issues? Lord that is asking a lot from me, from anyone!

God that is a lot to ask! How can I even begin to do the things you want me to do. To love the unlovable, to be kind to the unkind. When in my nature I just want to cross my arms over my chest, take my toys and go home! I only am able to love others, be kind, when I realize how much God loves me, and see others how God sees them, and how much God loves the unlovable, unkind, prickly person standing next to me at the store. (1 John 4:11 & Colossians 1:8) I can not do this on my own! No matter how much I want to be "good"!

I am afraid more of us christian do not put that love in action, so the Lord of Lords does not get the praise and credit that is due to him. If I would not be so worried about "my rights", "my feelings", and more worried about loving others for God, he might get praised!

1 John 3:10

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
1 John 3:9-11 (in Context) 1 John 3 (Whole Chapter)

Wouldn't it be so amazing if Christians "really started loving people" who were unkind, unlovable, difficult, prickly people -so much so, that people were just awe struck! Then God would be glorified, and he would get all the credit, and how would good really measure up against love then?

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4Th of July, and I hope you take some time to ponder if you are "good" or are you showing Christ's love to others?