1
2
3
Ask yourself this question. “Are we really putting our focus on the true mission of the Church.” I believe that in the last many years there has been a focus shift that is dangerous within the body of Christ. It has become all about “ME.” If we are truly a reflection of God in the earth, then the picture the world is seeing from the Church is one of selfishness, pride, and arrogance. That is not the God in whom we serve. We serve a God the is not only full of love he IS love. So what is Love? Affection, devotion, passion, desire, warmth, respect or loyalty. You choose. It doesn’t really matter which one because they are all forms of love. Some are powerful and demand attention while others are more subtle and just below the surface. In recent years, love has drifted from these subtle levels to the more noticeable ones, namely passion. In my opinion, our society downplays the real necessity for genuine affection. By this I mean that we, as a society, spend so much time focusing on only one level of love (passion) that we tend to neglect and not recognize the need for closeness and trust (friendship). Love is an all-encompassing emotion that can be powerful and demanding, but also rewarding and pleasurable. Love is commitment. To love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Commitment can be called the backbone or building block of love. In other words, commitment is needed in order to build a stable and trusting relationship. Without commitment, love would not be able to grow and flourish. It can be extremely demanding on someone who isn’t ready or sure that they want to commit to another person. I do have to admit that sometimes this can be extremely difficult and may leave one feeling a bit vulnerable. Commitment is the ability to take a risk and to accept the possibility of disappointment or pain. Again, I have to agree that commitment can be demanding, but to look on the bright side, it can also be rewarding. To be able to stay in a committed relationship, says a great deal about a person; at least it does to me. Love is sharing. By this I mean to share one’s life, feelings, and downfalls; not just one’s personal property. Sharing is being honest about yourself and allowing the other person involved in the relationship to really get to know who you really are. It takes more strength and courage to be able to share in a relationship. It has been my experience, that sharing keeps the relationship growing. Not only do you share life experiences, both new and old, but also you learn to communicate. Communication is a very important aspect of sharing. Just being able to communicate your problems or solutions with each other is a step in the right direction to a loving relationship. So many marriages or friendships in recent years have ended simply because the couple could not communicate and share their feelings. Sharing is not an easy thing to do, but it is fundamental to the success of a relationship. Love is compassion. Compassion is being able to care about the feelings of another. It is understanding and listening to the loved one’s needs and desire’s. To me, in order to have compassion one must first feel empathy towards another person. Compassion and empathy go hand in hand. They are the state of being ultimately concerned about the health and welfare 4
of another person. Love is faith. This has to be the most difficult form of love to conquer. Most of the time when people discuss faith they are referring to the relationship that they, as individuals, have with God. Now, I believe that having faith in a God in itself is very important, but faith should not be limited to religious deities. Faith can be applied to “normal, everyday” person to person relationships as well. In a marriage, you have faith that your partner will be monogamous and supporting. Of course, when referring to a friendship, family member or coworker one must also have faith that the loved one will be honest and forthright with you. There are so many levels to faith that we should not forget or ignore them. It takes a great deal of faith to have a good relationship with another person.
it can cause problems, but it has answers too. To say that love is subjective would be an understatement, but in order to have it we must first look within ourselves. Love is having compassion for others, sharing feelings and your life with another person, as well as, having faith in others and forgiving those we love for the many errs that they may make. Most of all, we must be committed to those we love. Of course, this is only my opinion. No matter how
Love is forgiving. The ability to forgive is a great showing of love towards a loved one. I believe that because we are human we will make mistakes and should be forgiven for those mistakes. We have no “real” right to judge anyone else for their mistakes because we are just as susceptible to them. Now I’m not referring to murder, rape or infidelity. I mean the common mistakes that the average individual makes everyday. People need to realize that we, as a society, have our flaws and that not everyone is going to faultless all the time. We need to “forgive” those we love of small indiscretions and allow for individuality otherwise this world will never evolve. Forgiveness shouldn’t be hard to give or earn. If only we (humans) could see how artificial and trivial the thousands of boundaries we have created to separate and divide us really are. Humans separate themselves not only by class or gender, but also by color, religion, or nationality. I believe that we have only one choice in life and that is to love other people and forgive them when they need to be. This choice can only be made if we overcome our fears, our distrust of each other, and our assumption of separateness. I know that that sounds romantic, but it is still a hope of mine. It has taken me years and some tough experiences to realize that love is necessary in every form. It doesn’t matter if it is to a friend, spouse, parent, or child. Love is love in any form. People need to use it more often.
long I try to explain what love is ultimately it is up to you, the reader, to define what love is to you. So let me leave you now with the words of Erich Fromm, “Can anything be learned about the art of love, except by practicing it?” The greatest example of love ever viewed was in the life of Jesus Christ. It was love lived, love given, love perfected. Let us all strive to practice that kind of love. Love that is not just taken, but love that is lived....
I once read a passage from the Bible about love and it has always stuck with me. “Deep waters cannot quench Love, nor floods wash it away.” (Songs 8:7) Love is powerful and beautiful if one knows how to show and possess it. Granted 5
6
7
8
9
What a glorious day! I’ve been praying earnestly for so many needs in my family, friends, church family etc ….and thinking of all the blessings I have in my life and how great God is to me. While I am truly blessed I am not the only one. Sometimes in our hectic lives we forget to take a minute and just look around us and see how fortunate we are to have what we have, be able to do the things we can do, see the things we can see…..so many blessings. But the greatest blessing we have in life is serving Christ and serving others. Some people are not happy. It’s because they are not serving others. They simply live their lives for themselves. God knew when he made us exactly how we would be. He tells us in the scriptures we are to serve others. When we do……….we realize the joys he intended! Something as simple as holding a door open for someone, making the coffee for others even when you don’t drink coffee. Smiling at everyone you meet and saying something that makes them “feel” good about themselves. Going out of your way to do something to add a little joy in someone’s life. Even if it’s just taking out the garbage (and you’re not even asked) or buying someone a candy bar when you know they’ll tell you they don’t need it…but their eyes will light up just because you thought about them. Taking a moment to be the extended hand of God to bring life and joy and happiness into someone’s life. That’s LIVING! I today am so thankful that I’m living and have an opportunity to bless those around me. I pray today that everyone that reads this blog will take a moment and bless 2 or 3 people before the days end. Think of how that will make God smile! God Bless Brenda Gartrell
This month on Mother’s Moments I want to share a tip for Hard working Mothers like myself. I know with out a doubt that every Mother at one time or another has had to throw away a Barbie, or a Favorite Doll you bought your little angel on Christmas that they just had to have. And you probably had to stand in line for hours at the last store that had it in stock on Christmas Eve to get it. Then a few weeks later to come home and discover the little angel you went through all that for has gotten a pen or marker a decided to draw a new face on it or draw jewelry on it’s arms. I have the answer for you, don’t throw out anymore dolls. All you have to do is buy some acne cream with atleast 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. Rub it on to the marked up area (be generous)lay the doll outside in direct sun light and let it lay in the sun for a couple of hours and check it. Leave in sun until all is gone. It will look just as new as the day you bought it. I love this tip. I have saved alot of the girls dolls, and barbies this way. Tell your litle ones to go and mark nomore. LoL. I hope this helps you in someway. God Bless You until next next week... Deborah Maharrey 10
11
12