Tag Archives: love

Feb27

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Genesis 34. “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, ‘Get me this girl as my wife'” (Verses 1-4). He loved her?! Clearly his meaning of love is not the same as mine. I have wondered at why the Bible said that Shechem loved Dinah, when his actions towards her seem like anything, but love. Contrast. Love, TRUE love (the one that comes from God)  seeks out what is good for OTHERS (example: Jesus and the cross). Love, FAKE love (the one that society totes) is all about SELF gratification (example: Shechem and Dinah). True love puts the needs of others above its own. Does our love make others better or does it only benefit us?

Feb21

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Genesis 29. “Laban said, ‘It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.’ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her” (Verses 19-20). It does exist! Love. The kind that sees nothing else, but you. The kind that would endure manual labor just to be to be by your side. Jacob endured seven years of labor and to him it seemed like no time had past. Why? Because he LOVED Rachel. The Bible says that a thousand years is like a day to God. Why? I submit, it is because He LOVES us. 

Feb3

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Genesis 11. “So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth” (Verses 8-9). The world would be so much easier if we all spoke one language, so why did God change that? Our hearts, instead of using our power to praise and glorify God, the goal was to build a stairway to heaven (literally). To get to heaven on our terms and not God’s. He created it ALL, He has the right to make the rules. Yet we spend our whole existence trying to find ways around God’s rules. There is only one way in, He has given instructions on how to get there. STOP trying to find your own way in.

Feb1

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Romans 8:28-39. (We interrupt our regularly scheduled travel through Genesis to bring you breaking news…) Nothing, NO, nothing can separate us from the love of God. More over we are predestined, called, justified, and glorified.  Why? Because God is for us and therefore (not matter what comes), nothing can come against us. Does that mean trials won’t come? Does that mean we won’t experience pain, and unhappy moments? No. It means in those moments He will be there too, walking through it with us providing us a way of escape. Today I woke up to song written by my talented friend Gen. It was these verses put to song. It reminded me of how much God loved me, not just me, but all of us. Hold on to the truth of God, (if you know it) the world will seek to steal it away and make you feel less than for believing. However, this truth ALWAYS constant: “If God is for us. Who can be against us?”

(PS checking with Gen to see if she’ll allow me to link the webpage. I’ll post it once she replies. So check back on this page to see if it has been updated).

 

 

Jan18

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Revelation 21. “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Verses 1-4). Okay this will sound weird, but there are some days when I think about the world passing away and I feel a jilt of nervousness. Does anyone else ever feel that? Not that I am scared of God’s way, I know He has good in store for me. But more like it’s so majestic, so otherworldly that I am not sure how to think or feel and so I get jittery. However, at the same time I am excited to live in place with no tears, no hate, no lying or cheating…I am excited to see God.

Dec26

DAY 360

Posted on by
Standard
No matter where the road takes you. You CAN go home again. (Picture by Lisa R.)

No matter where the road takes you. You CAN go home again.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

I have been asleep all day today, which is highly unfortunate since I was at work. Falling asleep on the job is frowned upon, but I have to admit that on more than one occasion my head knocked my desk. I guess I am experiencing a holiday hangover (for the record there was no alcohol involved).  This Christmas was one of the best we have spent together. We laughed, and laughed, told stories just spending time as a family. However, this holiday season is bitter sweet as it will more than likely be the last one my brother spends in Florida. Why? He is moving to Buffalo in March. It’s the first time that we have separated (in a while), and it is my brother’s first time being away from his family and on his own. It’s odd because we all know this change is coming, but during this holiday season we have decided to live like March is a 100 years away. The goal to make the small amount of time that we have left together, COUNT. I am excited for him, and incredibly proud of him. But I am also a little sad, at the thought of him not being around. Change is like that though, even when it’s for the best, it leaves behind a little sting. I believe that sting is to remind you that you are a part of something, a part of a family. It reminds you that someone is thinking about you, someone loves and cares for you. But most important it reminds you that you will always have a home to come back to. I am not sure who said, “You can’t go home again”, but from where I stand, home is the ONLY place you can go back to.

“So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

So what am I thankful for today? That home is home no matter how far we roam.

Dec21

Some Stories Just Need to be Shared:

Posted on by
Standard

My friend Lena just posted this experience on her FB status. It was beautiful and humbling, and a TRUE picture of friendship and the irrelevance of status and wealth. People should be judged by who they are NOT what they have.

Thank you Lena this story truly blessed me:

2 homeless men came up to my sister and I outside of CVS one was crippled with a set of beautiful blue eyes and the other was fairly normal he held the hand of his friend to help him walk. He asked for change to get a snicker bar to share so I said, “I’ll buy it for you”. They weren’t allowed in the store because people seem to be annoyed by beggars. So I bought them snacks and brought them out to them. I was humbled by their friendship. They stuck with each other for the sake of love that they have for one another. Then they invited us to church tomorrow. I swear in that brief 10 minutes I learned so much. – Post by Lena N.

Dec19

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 John 4. “We love because He first loved us” (Verse 19). This is my life verse. It’s simple and straight forward (and easy to remember 🙂 ). God is LOVE. He has called us to LOVE. In order for us to LOVE out loud, we need to get our LOVE from God (the “real” kind), then give it out. Therefore we can only give “real LOVE, because God who is LOVE, loved us first. We LOVE because He LOVED…

Dec15

DAY 349

Posted on by
Standard
What we cultivate is what we'll give to those around us. (Picture by Lisa R.)

What we cultivate is what we’ll give to those around us.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

One of the things I love about my church is that we normally study the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse. I like this because it keeps personal opinions to a minimum and uses God’s own words as the interpreter of the book He wrote. Right now we are in the book of Luke in the sixth chapter. During the service Pastor Bob made this point, “You can’t give what you ain’t got.” While the statement is worded humorously the sentiment is very serious. If you don’t have it you can’t give it. If you don’t have time you can’t give time. If you don’t have love, you can’t give love. If you don’t have forgiveness, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, you can’t give them to those that need it. As I sat listening to my pastor I started to wonder about the things I have been cultivating in my life. Am I storing up crops that will bless those around me, or is my store house empty? We too easily share anger, pain, hurt, violence and lies. Why? Well it’s what we have and we can, (as previously stated) only give from what we have. So today my question to all who read this post is: What are you cultivating? Is it love or hate? Joy or sadness? What we grow is what we’ll give away. So grow in love, faith, joy, peace, understanding, tolerance and grace. It will be what you give to those around you.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

So what am I thankful for today? Cultivating good “crops” 🙂 .

Dec13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on by
Standard
I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Peter 1. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (Verses 5-9).The Christian walk can be likened to building a house. You start with a foundation, in this case Faith, then you build upon the foundation. To faith we add goodness, to goodness we add knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control we add perseverance. To perseverance we add godliness, to godliness we add mutual affection, and to mutual affection we add LOVE. Notice it starts with FAITH and it ends in LOVE. Our goal then should be to build upon our  faith till our knowledge of God is expressed through our unconditional love.