Many waters cannot quench love!

How long will love last?   Even when we throw it away in society, under the legal term of divorce, is love still there, lingering deep in the recesses of the heart?   If two are brought back together by some great big occurrence, is there still a bond?   God talks a lot about everlasting love, and longsuffering love, and love never failing.   I think instead of the fairy tales and romantic comedies being so flawed, it is perhaps, society that thinks those are flawed.   We can throw away a relationship, and even a marriage, but the lingering remains of love, those embedded in our hearts, can be tugged at many years later, and we find then, that the bonds of love run deeper than society gives them credit for.   A judge can sign a decree and declare a marriage over, in the eyes of the law, but no one can stop the bond that marriage created from being there.  
What can affect love?  Conflict, stubborn ways, selfishness, criticism, neglect, lack of fun, too much stress, and much more.    However, after all of that has come and gone and the years pass, if one has a chance to talk to that person who once held one's heartstrings, one will find that there is still a bond.    If that bond is still there after affairs, enormous stress, neglect, etc, then what would happen if we behaved like it would always be there in the first place?   What if our throw away society trended towards being GREEN in relationships?   We believe in recycling glass, paper, and plastic and we don't realize that the most powerful force in the universe cannot be re-harnessed?  The problem is we view love as needing to be constant.   We view it that if the good feelings seem gone, that they are forever gone.  We view it that if it has been war tattered by all the world can throw at it, that it is demolished for good.   Instead, out of the ashes, beauty of love rises.   Love cannot be quenched by many waters.   It lies there dormant, waiting for human beings in their haughtiness, to realize that they cannot control this force of nature that exceeds all human understanding, and that this deep bond of love has been dwelling in the secret most parts of the hearts, and that years, later, sometimes decades later, it comes back as if it had never been gone.   This power, this love so strong that most adversity can harm it but not destroy it, is what the world indeed needs now.   Love for our spouse that won't just give up bc the feelings have ebbed, love for our wayward child, love for our neighbor, love for our fellow man.   This love when put into action or just waited on, will come back and will overcome obstacles to bring good out of bad.   Love is a brighter, lighter, hope-filled force that can overcome disasters of all kinds.   We, as the human race, have to know that though first.   We must respect this bond and know that though we may throw it aside acting like we can extricate ourselves from it, that it is a force far beyond our knowledge, and when we least expect it, it will come back around like a boomerang hurled into space.   Love bears all things, endures all things, and love never fails.   Humans, we fail often.   But love, the force of all that is good in the universe, it will not fail.   Wait on it long enough, and it shows it has sustained all and that it still exists.   So, take comfort that once loved, always loved to some degree.   We may move on to other relationships, but binding ties of love remain and will stay to prove the test of time.   Now, let us all go out today knowing the love we show and sow will matter and remain.   Don't accept the new way of viewing love as old-fashioned and meaningless.   Love was and is and is to come and it will NOT be discarded, no matter what humans may do or say.  Faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these IS L-O-V-E.  
Go love today! 
L

Uncompromising love!

I got to hear Steven Curtis Chapman on Dr. Dobson's program today. It was a comforting broadcast, even entitled, The God of ALL Comfort. Steven emphasized that the Bible states that God is the God of all comfort and that that truth has helped his family cope with their grief. He also said that he was not angry at God, but angry at the enemy of God. I could totally relate to that point. As Satan has almost kept at an attacking stance on me and Zach and lately David, it has been apparent to me that the enemy is wanting to work overtime right now to attack the people who have been most open to doing things for God and to pouring His truth into the lives of those around them. Satan is attacking and we need to attack back. We need to have an uncompromising love that says, "Not my marriage Satan, and not my children Satan". This is a time of heated up battle in the spiritual realm, and the Lord has called us to not faint or grow weary, but to believe and fight the good fight with the armour of God. The battle is the Lord's but we must be dilligent in our prayer life and in standing firm with our family and friends in prayer. I am reminded today that God's love is not changed or shaken because of great tragedy or Satan's attacks. God's love is unshakable and we are vessels the Father's love is to flow through. So, today God, in honor of Maria Sue, and my wonderful gifts David, Zachary, and Andrew, I offer myself as a living sacrifice and state that your love can flow through me in spite of what is happening in the physical realm, and that I will not be shaken if I hold firm to your word, your voice and your people and your songs! Thank you that the TRUTH will set you free and that what Satan has meant for evil, you will use for good. Alleluia to the Lord! He is mighty to save. All will bow to Him one day, and He is the Lord of Hosts! Let my love not be compromised because of people who let me down or hurt me. Let me love as Jesus loved, unconditionally and fully! Love covers a lot of sins and it draws all to the Father, the author of love! Jesus we praise you!~ We lift up your name! We know that Maria Sue is dancing in heaven, and we look forward to the day we can all dance with you! Thanks for the ministry of the Chapman family! Bless them today and pour out your perfect peace on their hearts and their homes. Fill that home with a joy unspeakable, because you are able and because you care about their hearts. Let not their hearts be troubled, as they claim that they believe in you and that you have OVERCOME the world! Praise be to the one true God. His love can comfort anyone in any situation! Thank you Lord for your sacrifice and your saving us! Help us to keep sharing your love with the world! Maria Sue, you are not forgotten, but I think many will come to know your dad's music who never would have, except for the news that your passing to heaven brought to the world. May many souls be saved and Satan paralyzed in his attempt to bring down the Chapman's ministry. Bring reconcilation Lord and healing! Love, L

love one another and you will see a new light shining

This was a song my church sang when I was very young. The end of the chorus was "a new light shining in thee." God always calls us to do the opposite of what seems right to our flesh. Loving our spouse in times when they are stressed and maybe not very loving to us, can get a new light shining within us. So many times we don't choose to show love in the face of stress, but when we finally do, we are surprised that we are the ones who are uplifted and encouraged. Showing and giving love are always the keys to the greatest joy. Take shopping, for instance, I can love to shop with the best of them, but not even an awesome day shopping for myself compares a bit to the feeling of giving a gift to someone else. To go further, nothing brings more joy than to give a gift in secret. One year I gave some gift cards to people I knew needed to have money at the holidays or in the summer for clothing for their kids. The cards were sent anonymously from the retailer, and I had such joy knowing that they would open their Secret Santa card and not know who listened to the Father's prompting to give. Do we really get the verse that says, "Give and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, give and it will be given unto you!" I don't think we do, at least I know I don't always get that down deep into my soul and actions. At times of great financial stability, it was easier to live that giving lifestyle, and it brought great joy. However, to give in times of financial uncertainty certainly also would bring the same joy and would be so needed by the recipient. So, let us love one another as Jesus loves us, and that is by giving all He was for us. Enjoy giving until the enemy does not know what to make of us. Let's give and trust the Lord to sustain us. L

serve one another

Who can serve? Anyone can serve. However, we often choose to look at how we are not being served, instead of how we can serve. Why is that human nature? I guess, in our humanness, we keep score, and especially notice when someone whom we have been serving does not serve us in return. If we are not believers, then that issue is important, as giving more than you are getting is a problem. However, if we are believers, then God has said that we should do good to our enemies, give to one who takes our coat, turn the other cheek, and let someone in need borrow without expecting to be repaid. These ideas run contrary to our culture and certainly contrary to our human nature. However, if we trust that God sees all and that He does work all things for our good, then we can let go of the fear of being taken advantage of, and we can know that serving and doing our best unto another is seen by our Father in heaven, and that is the only one whom we need to be concerned with anyway. Lord, let me have a heart of a servant. Let me trust that you see all and that when I serve you notice and you will honor those who honor you. As a wonderful song stated, "Make me a servant today." If Jesus served those He came across on earth, then certainly no one is unworthy of my service. Change me, shape me, mold me Lord. L

Sold out!

I used to love that Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Sold out believer". I still love the song. I have been watching Perry Noble's series on marriage online. It is the best, serious, direct, get real series on marriage that I have ever experienced. You can tell Perry's heart is to fight back against the enemy to keep marriages together. He talked often about how Satan attacks marriages and how we need to be ready as married couples to fight back against Satan. To hear that it is to be expected for Satan to attack one's marriage is reassuring to hear, only in that it puts things in perspective. You stop blaming your spouse or yourself for all of the craziness, and start telling the enemy that he can get behind you b/c you are not surrendering your covenant relationship. This series put hope and a framework to how to get our marriage stronger. For anyone married a day or 50 years, this series is wonderful. Check it out at http://www.newspring.cc.org/. To David - I believe in Jesus's power to make our marriage stronger and in His power to change us and shape us into the type of spouses He wants us to be. I pledge to you to not return evil for evil, but to do good to you even when you mess up and are not nice, and ask you to please do good to me when I mess up and am not nice. Let's be doers of the word so that Satan cannot gain a foothold. Let's walk in love so much that Satan can't get us to take his bait anymore. Thank you God for loving us first and help us to love each other with that same unconditional, undying, ever committed, waters cannot quench love. With God ALL things are possible! Thank you God for our marriage and for your work you want to do in and through us. To our best year yet in our marriage - by faith I claim that! L

Keep on keeping on!!!!

Inspired by a sermon on marriage I watched tonight on the web from New Spring churches series called " I Want a New Marriage", I wanted to share a few things. One, it is right to listen to that little voice inside, for believers, the HS, saying, it is better to trust God and obey Him than to seek divorce for God hates divorce and He is greater than any problems we face in marriage. Two, commitment to our spouse is supposed to be like Christ's love for us, unconditional, not based on our spouse's response, etc. The culture does not support that, but that is the love we are called to have. Three, a covenant is a promise to be the spouse God called us to be until death. Four, marriage is work and Satan will attack it often, but God's ways are powerful and He is able to help us kick butt against the enemy's attacks to fight for our marriage, family, etc. Fight for your marriage, kids, home, etc. Fight with God's word and with faith and with tennacity. The Lord reigns and nothing is too hard for Him. He can preserve marriages. May I be mindful this week of what God wants me to do in my marriage to make it better. I rely on Him for that wisdom and the obedience to follow through.

To the one who gave love that we might have love, I praise Him and rejoice that He has made me glad and that His love can conquer the enemies of my marriage. L

What Is Love, Anyway?

Ah, the day of love! It seems to mean a lot to chics and not be something men really get into as much, but they can be great creating a romantic date to celebrate. But, on this day, I ponder what is love? In the beginning of a relationship, it is a high like no other. Romantic gestures are natural and overflowing. Chemistry is strong and life seems richer and fuller, and it is. Later, things get more subdued, and the opposite traits that once attracted us like a moths to a flame, now are our biggest irritation. When those opposite traits clash and we wonder what it would be like to not have to deal with this or that trait, that is when it is time to re-create love moments. What came naturally in the early stages of love, now has to be planned or done with the mind intentionally and not just the heart. However, we will find that feelings follow action. So waiting to feel like doing something loving for our spouse will mean we wait forever sometimes. But buying flowers anyway, giving a massage anyway, saying something loving anyway, can stir up the loving feelings. In fact, that is why affairs can be so tempting, as that person is usually complimentary, fun, and stirring up good feelings.

While we live in a society that says, leave the marriage if the "feelings are gone" or find someone else while you are married so you can be happy, those actions don't resonate with what God's word says about love. Isn't it just like God, to teach us and cause us to do the opposite of what we feel like, only to then, after we have obediently done so, to bless us with more loving feelings than we could have gotten by seeking a worldly way. So, today I am reminded that Love is not proud, it does not boast, it does not demand its own way, it always bears things, and love never fails. To our flesh those descriptions sound like we would be misearble if we followed them, and of course, that is always Satan's trick to get us to focus on the flesh and refuse to follow some of God's most anti-flesh commands. Yet, when we do reach out and not demand our own way, when we bear ALL things, when we are not prideful with our mate, then it is a miracle to watch what Jesus does. He honors those who honor Him and when we humble ourselves to love the way God loves and moreoever, in the way He teaches us to love, then, and only then, do we really experience deep love. We can re-create the passion and fire of from when we first fell in love with our mate. But it takes deliberately choosing to act first, and then like a big surprise, all of a sudden, love shows up again. Today, as many are on tighter funds than before, let's remember that love bears all things and to see our mate the way Christ sees them.

I am so thankful for my parents' having raised me in a home where the Word of God was taught and lived. Without it as a way for living, we really mess things up. Cheers to all who are in love today and for those without a special someone, know that the Greatest Love of your heart is there and He can and will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. So let Him love you, as He has to be the foundation for the way you will love another human being eventually anyway. So, Happy Valentine's Day, and let's remember that the greatest commandment Jesus gave was "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind , and soul AND love your neighbor as yourself.". Choose this day to love.
L