LOVE 2020: LOVE KEEPS ON GOING

Good Morning!

I trust you had a great Valentines’ Day yesterday –

I did … it was very relaxing and peaceful

The store was crazy yesterday!

People standing in line to get fresh chocolate-dipped strawberries

Flowers, chocolates and desserts were being purchased,

And, of course, all the fixings for dinner – lobster, shrimp, steaks

And now here we are –

The day after Valentine’s Day

The ‘specially packaged’ chocolates will be marked down 60%

The dozen roses which went for $25 yesterday – will be back down to $10

The cupcakes & cookies will be tagged at a discount

And the retailers will work to clear the shelves to set up or the next merchandising event

But what about the LOVE?

Do the feelings end? No …

Do the expressions of love cease? Certainly not!

Love keeps on going …

It goes back to something I said a couple of days ago:

Valentine’s is just an extra day to demonstrate love –

Love which we should be showing one another all year long

In fact, I would argue that some of the most meaningful expressions of love –

fall outside of Valentine’s Day

There is something about someone thinking of you –

                without all the expectations, obligation and reminders of a ‘formal holiday'

There are a thousand ways to show love and appreciation:

§  That short morning text message to say: I hope you have a great day;

§  A greeting sent – an actual physical card or note – to say I was thinking about you;

§  Getting the coffee that they like;

§  Taking the time to listen – truly listen to what they have to say;

§  Walking in grace and extending forgiveness when needed;

§  Being patient and honest …

These are just a few ways to make sure love keeps on going

And keep in mind …

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things’ 

I Corinthians 13:7 

Love never ends, it never fails … it never dies I Corinthians 13:8

Love keeps on going –

Keep celebrating love with those you love – every season, any reason

Have a Blessed Day!

THANKS GIVING 2019: OUR VETERANS

Happy Monday!

I pray your week is off to a great start;

And there is no better way to start the week –

   than to acknowledge our service men and women for all they do

Today is Veteran’s Day

HOWEVER –  I hold a special place in my heart for our military at all times

I love my country and I love and appreciate those who serve [and have served] selflessly

Being a former military spouse, I know that service comes at a cost

In my post on Memorial Day earlier this year, I noted some of those cost – which often go unseen:

§  There are also those, who live among us, who have also sacrificed their lives
 §  There are those who may not have experienced a loss of physical life;
§  Yet, they are the ones who have suffered the loss of a way of life which they held dear,
§  A life which was compromised while they selflessly served [and still serve] this country.
 §  There are those who have experienced the death of relationships –§  Those who have suffered the painful demise of a marriage … while they served.
§  There are those who have endured the loss of a loved one –§  Where they could not be present because they were off serving this country on foreign soil.
§  There are those who have experienced the loss of a life which they knew –§  Those who have lost health and wealth while serving or upon returning from service to this country
§  There are those who have cried tears that only they and God know about –§  Those who deal with the ongoing emotional trauma of having served.

I am so thankful for those give their all every day –

So that we may enjoy the freedoms we experience on a daily basis.

Today, I honor and celebrate all service members [and their loved ones and families]

I humbly and gratefully say …

Happy Veteran's Day and God Bless!

LOVE INEXPLICABLE ...

Hi Friends

I pray you have had a blessed week thus far

It has been a little while since I’ve written … so much going on

I have actually had this post in my mind for several days - as I think about the situations currently occurring and those that have transpired over the past few years

THIS HAS BEEN A TIME OF GREAT LEARNING …

THIS HAS BEEN A TIME OF GREAT HUMBLING …

THIS HAS BEEN A TIME OF GREAT GROWTH ...

And, in the midst of it all –

I keep receiving regular reminders of the fragility of human life

I am becoming increasingly & keenly aware of how quickly things can change – in an instant

I am identifying more and more the things which truly matter to me

Earlier this year, I spent quite a bit of time on the subject of LOVE

It was appropriate as those series of posts occurred around Valentine’s Day

HOWEVER –

This love thing is so much bigger than a day on a calendar

It is so much bigger than a season or time of year

EVERYTHING in this world [and beyond this world] hinges on LOVE

The presence of it … or the absence of it

Every genuine act of compassion … the presence of love

Every hate-filled rant, every despicable act of violence … a result of a lack of love

I was on a site earlier which asked its readers to define love in five words

If I had to sum it up in five words – this thing called LOVE – it would be this:

LOVE FOR GOD, SELF & OTHERS

All three loves are important

• ·       It is impossible to love others as yourself … if you do not first love yourself
• ·       It is impossible to love yourself without first receiving the love of God and being in a love relationship with Him
• ·       It is impossible to live this life in any sort of meaningful way without the love of GOD

    There is a spot in each one of us that only He can fill.

There have been countless situations which have tried to steal all of these things from me –

LOVE FOR GOD, SELF & OTHERS

Yet, I will not surrender them so easily

AMAZING LOVE ...

I love my children – and I cannot imagine any situation which would ever change that

Yet – it is that type of love which I see developing in my heart for others

It is being formed and fashioned through experiences that I will not go into detail discussing

It is mind-blowing and it has me thinking a great deal about the love Jesus has for us

The love which kept Him moving toward the cross … for me … and for you

• I imagine – for those guards who were close enough to hear Jesus mutter the words, ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)’ – I imagine they thought to themselves, ‘Fool!’
• As He looked through blood-caked eyes toward the criminal that hung on a cross beside Him, and as He offered the assurance, ‘Today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:33-43)’ … I imagine that other criminal hanging on the other cross to the other side thought, ‘Idiot!’

Yet, none of that deterred Jesus in His love for those individuals and for all of humanity.

I believe He also does not desire for us to be deterred when it comes to love

I LOVE THE LORD

I do not love Him perfectly, but I do love Him sincerely and I will never apologize for it

I LOVE MYSELF

I have not always loved myself, but I have reached a point where I love me dearly

I will not apologize for that either

I LOVE OTHERS

And again, it may not be perfect. Indeed, many might call it foolish

However, I can see an earnest love developing deep within my heart … a love for people

A LOVE INEXPLICABLE …

Praying You Have Blessed Evening 

LOVE: VALENTINE'S 365

Good Afternoon Friends!

I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine’s Day … FULL OF LOVE!

My intention was to write yesterday. But it turned out to be quite a day. Up at 3AM [unable to sleep]; traveled five hours for a meeting which was supposed to take all of a half hour – but ended up taking five hours; then a 6-hour drive back. Let me say that exhaustion [physical, emotional & mental], coupled with heavy traffic and crazy drivers [compounded by the fact that I am not even supposed to drive at night] – well it did not make for a great combination. I did not get home until midnight. However, on a brighter note, I finally managed to sleep in on a Saturday!

Shifting the focus off of me and back to us –

I have truly enjoyed our series on love

And, as promised, our discussion on love will continue

BECAUSE LOVE DOES NOT END WITH VALENTINE’S DAY

We need to understand –

The love that is demonstrated on Valentine’s Day…

It should be an all year thing and not a one day thing

NOW – 

I am not saying that there should be all the fanfare which accompanies Valentine’s Day

HOWEVER – 

There certainly should be the creativity and intentionality which accompanies Valentine’s Day

GENTLEMEN – if flowers are an expression of your love for that special lady, it should not only be on Valentine’s Day. It should be spontaneous and done randomly throughout the year. HINT: it would be less expensive at any other time of the year

LADIES – if you love how your guy smells, buy that special gift of cologne any time of the year to surprise him. Men appreciate unexpected thoughtful gestures as much as we ladies do. HINT: Buy the scented shower gel too and get creative planning an entire evening of romance [this hint is, of course, for my married friends]

ALL – if a special meal was the choice for a love-filled evening on Valentine’s Day, keep in mind that restaurants are open all year round. HINT: So is your kitchen…

PARENTS – if sweet surprises were the order of your love-demonstration for your family; candies, chocolates, cakes and brownies are available at any time during the year. My family loves when I make a dessert for no other reason than I thought they might enjoy it. HINT: It also gives you a plausible excuse for relaxing any dietary disciplines you might have in place J

FRIENDS – if you took time to let people know how much they are loved and thought of on Valentine’s Day; those expressions of care and concerns go a long way at all times of the year.

The main point is that we have 365 days a year to demonstrate: LOVE

We have daily opportunities to be intentional about our demonstrations of LOVE

YOU SEE – the primary reasons there such displays on Valentine’s Day is … EXPECTATION

It is understood and expected that there will be demonstrations of love

We can argue the correctness of it some other time while still recognizing the reality of it today

BUT – WHAT IS GOD’S EXPECTATION?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” John 13:34

AND HE HAS LOVED US LAVISHLY AND LOVES US DAILY

“I have loved you  … with an everlasting [continual, never-ending, eternal, ceaseless, perpetual, undying & unending] love.” Jeremiah 31:3

HINT: That is some kind of love … we should follow suit!

I am going to go back to relaxing now … and recovering from yesterday

Praying You Have a Blessed Day

     & Wishing You Much Love …