Tag: love
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For the Joy Set Before Him
Imagine you can have everything you’ve ever truly wanted. Deep, perfect relationships with everyone you love. Life with God, seeing Him face to face without any cause to doubt that you are fully known and fully loved. Freedom from fear, want, and pain. Access to every answer, every good opportunity, every wonderful place and experience….
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Childlike Fear
At a large event, I watched as a toddler played gleefully on the bleachers. She was unaware of her fancy dress and the decorum around her. Free and safe as she wriggled between her parents, she was happy. Then…her foot slipped. With a terrified wail, she announced to everyone in the crowd her fear and…
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What Does It Cost Me? (Mini-Series Part II)
He plucked at his fingernails with his arms crossed. Defiant young eyes averted and glazed over in anticipation of another scolding. At the end of a long work day, in the midst of an already stressful week, I felt certain my patience-tank was too empty to be as loving as I ought to be toward…
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Why It’s Impossible to Keep God’s Love to Yourself
A sweet older lady sat in the middle of the sunlit room. Visitors gathered as she looked around the space lovingly. She spoke of the woman who lived there, and the children that woman raised. One of the children was Billy Graham. His mother’s caregiver and friend, this sweet lady had come to share stories…
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Love Prays
Over the years in our marriage, I’ve watched my husband struggle with things. This shouldn’t have surprised me, but especially as a young newlywed- it did. My guy is a good one. He is godly, discerning, full of integrity, persistently loving, and so humble he’ll be annoyed I’m complimenting him publicly. So the reality of…
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Who (Isn’t) My Neighbor?
Love. That’s the spirit of God’s law. Jesus made it clear, even saying that “loving others” is the second greatest command. When talking with Jesus about the command, an expert in the law asked “but who is my neighbor?”* The question- and Jesus’ answer of the parable of the good Samaritan- are often talked about…
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Questions about Loving Well
Paul’s greeting to the church at Philippi warmly displays his godly affection for the fellow believers he was so invested in. Each expression of love in the greeting teaches us something about what it means to build one another up in Christ. Let’s not gloss over this passage as a nicety. Will you take it…
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One Kind of Love I Want to Emulate
7 ½ years ago, a goofy guy made an ice cream cone man using spinach leaves and other veggies. He walked up and introduced me to his frozen friend. Ever unable to keep a straight face, I tried to hold a serious conversation with the melting monster. I don’t know if he knew I needed…
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Self-Love: Biblical Fact or Fiction?
Ever wondered why loving ourselves well is so hard? The answer is simpler than all the “10 keys” and “tip sheets” let on. We seem to get the idea of self-love from the second greatest commandment: “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Mt 19:19). Reasonably, we complete the logic puzzle: if we only love…
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To The Wanna-Know-It-Alls
“I don’t know.” You say it when someone asks you to do something and you aren’t sure how to answer. The words are uttered in annoyance by kids everywhere as parents inquire about homework, grades, and missing toys. “…Anymore” is tagged on when tragedies strike and we’re left in shock. Feelings of doubt, loss, vulnerability,…