LOVE is patient

Love is patient.


Let's look at the 3 categories of who to love with patience:

1. God. I need more patience with God when waiting for a response with prayer. Sometimes I find it's so hard to be patient to wait for God to answer our prayers. Patience that God's Will will be done and that He is in control of all. It's all to easy to question God and his Will at times, but loving Him fully and completely means having patience that His plan and purpose will come to pass even when it doesn't make sense and we question why things happen.

2. Those I "love". Why is it, those that we say we love the most, sometimes we have the least patience for. We have no problem showing our true colors to those we love. Sometimes the complete strangers bring out the most patient side of us. I learned this working retail, where customer service was of upmost importance. It's all too easy to smile and say "oh no problem" and if that was someone in our life we loved, we would yell at them, with zero patience and tell them they are crazy. It's just how we operate. Our fuse is much shorter with those we "love". It's like we feel like they should know better. They shouldn't ask so many questions, and don't ask stupid questions, right? If I really love them, I should have patience to let them ask me 100 times and each time give them a calm, loving response.

3. Those we don't love. As stated above, sometimes it's easier to show these people patience (to their faces!). Because we are tolerating them, and because we are really good at putting on a front. But then once they are gone, what do we do? Talk about them behind their back. I have no patience for enemies in my life. And yet, it's the 2nd greatest commandment, to LOVE them with patience. How do I do that? How do you have patience for someone you can't stand? And, I'm suppose to love them too!?! oh boy. This category is the hardest for me. It's almost as if these people in my life, before they even open their mouth to talk, I've already lost patience for them and what they are saying.

Lord change my heart. Lord, you love these people just as much as you love me! Help me love like you love. Give me patience to hear what they are saying, give me patience to take to you any struggle I have with them and their character instead of talking bad about them behind their back and in turn becoming a bitter, hateful person.

How to apply patience into my character this week:
Write the word patience on pieces of paper and put them in the bathroom, fridge, car, wallet...this way I'm constantly reminded to be patient in all circumstances. My goal is to be perceptive and take note of how I'm treating God, loved ones and enemies this week and if I'm treating them with patience. If I'm not treating these people with patience, then I'm not loving them. If I'm not loving them, then I'm not doing the #1 and #2 commandment of God's. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing I can do in my spiritual walk with the Lord. If I call myself a Chrsitian, I need to love.

Let me know how your week goes. Were there situations where you realized your lack of patience? How did you respond? How did you help remind yourself to be patient? Any good tips for me or ideas?

Lord give me patience for you and for every person in my life. Open my eyes to where I'm lacking patience.

LOVE Challenge

Matthew 22:36-39
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself"

Wow, what a reminder. LOVE. That little four letter word is full of power. Tis the season to love, right? The most imporant thing we could do in the life on earth is to Love God with everything we are. The challenge we are all faced with is giving every ounce of our devotion to God, something that I'm not sure any of us do well enough. How many times have a said to Josh, "I love you with all my heart" --- ok wait a second, if I'm loving Josh with all my heart, then what's left for God? I think it's something we all need to evaluate.

But what I can't believe, is the second MOST IMPORTANT thing we need to do as Christians on this earth....LOVE people. I think we can all agree, it's super easy to love certain people in our lives. For me, Josh is super easy to love, so is Ty, my parents, brothers, friends, etc. but what about everyone else? Those people that are just so unloveable?

Over the last couple weeks God has really laid on my heart a desire to revaluate how I love. One reason being, this crazy little thing called love, is just too huge to God to not take a good look at in my own life. And another reason being, I don't love like I should. So anyone out there who's reading this and relating to every word I'm saying, take this challenge with me! Let's seek out what God has to say about LOVE and start doing it in our own lives.

What I've felt God nudging me to do is to take a look at how God defines love, and not just read them, but to dive into the definition and make it a reality in my own life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."

I'm going to pick apart these verses and take a look at my own life and take another look at how I'm loving the following:
1. God
2. Those people I say I "love"
3. My enemies

I'm going to take these verses part by part and let each portion marinate in my mind for a week, so that it's not just in one ear and out the other. But something I think about for a whole week, forcing myself to Love how Christ commands I love. Again, I'd love for others to take this journey with me and share your weekly struggles and successes, so we can encourage one another! Anyone on board?

Trick-or-treat memories

I have the best memories as a child dressing up with my brothers and trick-or-treating! It's moments like these that make HOME so sweet to me.

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

I love starting Trick-or Treating memories with Ty! Can't wait for him to look back at these pictures and when he gets old enough, to think back on these fun times and smile and get that warm fuzzy HOME feeling. :)