Love, Love, Love. Love Is All You Need

It's a bright, crisp morning. 39 degrees! Brr. After sitting out the makings for chili for tonight's supper, I curled up in my chair with a soft, fuzzy throw and a chihuahua. I read from Proverbs and then flipped to Corinthians. One of the most well-known and a personal favorite...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." I Cor. 13:4-7

 Wow. That's the kind of love that we are to aspire to. Pretty impressive. The bar is set awfully high, and I don't know about you - but I fall short far too often. I get tangled up somewhere around the "self-seeking" and trip over the "always trusts". *sigh* Next thing I know, I've fallen on my face. Again. But I get up and dust myself off. If we were truly capable of perfection - we wouldn't be here walking the Earth still.

Does anyone else have trouble with the whole love thing? Love thy neighbor and all? I mean, it's so easy to love those we already care about. But the dirty, drug-using homeless guy on the corner? The obnoxious relative who is always trying to tear you down with words? The neighbor lady who gossips about absolutely everyone and is constantly making up lies? I have a tough time with those, not gonna lie.

The freaky part? Those are the kind of people that Jesus sought out to spend time with when he was on the Earth. He came to help sinners. Once I was able to stop and think about it in that light.... it became a bit easier to stop turning up my nose at them. Not that I plan to start having them over for supper. But if there was something worthy inside those people that Jesus saw.... who the heck am I to decide they don't have worth??

Some days, I really fail at this Christian thing. I just know God is up there shaking His head at me, probably wondering exactly how many times that I can mess up. But the good news is: He forgives me. He knows that the only one perfect is His son.

Happy Friday to all of you! I hope that you have a nice weekend. Food for thought - what if it was God looking out from the eyes of that person that you look down on/are angry with? Would you treat him or her differently?

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to My Blog......

I got sidetracked by postings on Facebook. Ever have that happen? Yeah, I thought so. *smile* There was a discussion going on that I didn't so much take part in, as follow along with the comments. We can learn a lot by holding our mouth (or fingers, in this case) and listening to (reading) what others have to say. I used to be quick to respond to people, but I'm getting much better at taking a breath and thinking before replying now. I get more from interactions that way.

Happy Thursday to all of you! My house smells amazing this morning. Hubs made his locally-famous Blue Devils to take in to work today. They are deviled eggs made with crab meat. YUM! And spiced with your choice of Old Bay or smoked paprika seasoning. He had 40 halves and said they lasted about 15 minutes. LOL He seriously needs to open a cafe.

Do any of you have a fishtank? (hey, the blog title SAYS random thoughts haha) We originally got this one for Grandad's room/the man cave. The lively gurgling sounds of the bubbler is so relaxing! Sometimes I sit in there and just watch the fish. Which is the point, right? But it truly is serene. I'm glad that he got much enjoyment from it, and now we are as well.

From today's reading....

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."  

~Proverbs 4:23

We really do have to keep a close watch on our hearts. (with a nod to Johnny Cash) What we carry in there is what rules our lives. How we treat others. How we react to situations. Our beliefs. Every little thing that makes us "us". We need to guard our hearts against things that go against who we are and want to be. It's far too easy for evil, doubts and fears to sneak in.

With political correctness running amok and everyone worrying about offending everyone.... people have stopped being as vocal about what they believe. Those who need to speak up are being silenced by the loud voices of those who just like to hear themselves talk. The ones who latch on to the latest and greatest new idea and tout it for all they're worth. Only to move on to the next big thing when it comes along.

The Word of God has stayed the same for thousands of years. People change. Society changes. Some say His Word is archaic. No longer applies to "modern times". I cringe inside when I hear that falsehood being spread. God's Word applies always and forever. People might try to poo-poo certain parts of His teachings because they don't go along with the life that person is/or wants to lead. But the Word hasn't changed. People's respect for it has.

It's sad what is being forced upon us in the name of "tolerance". Guard your hearts.

Trusting

From this morning's reading....

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"  ~Proverbs 3:5

One of my favorites, yet possibly the most difficult for me as well. Like everyone else, I want to make sense of the world and my part in it. When something happens, I want to be able to understand the whys. To reason it out into a logical explanation and be able to say, "Aha. Got it." Unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way. It can be extremely difficult to accept that there is a reason for an event to occur and something good to come from it. Especially if it was painful. Fortunately, it is possible.

Life is all about attitude! "Bad" things happen, but we are in control of how we react. We can focus on sadness - or we can be thankful for what we had. We can wallow in self pity - or use the experiences to become stronger. We can become bitter - or we can see the need to be a kinder person.
There is always a choice.

The farther that I get on my spiritual journey, the easier it becomes to "trust in the Lord with all your heart". To stop being so hung up on needing to understand every little thing. Reality is: I have no idea what's going on half the time! LOL Humans are a complex breed. I don't presume to "get" why others behave as they do. The important thing for any of us, is to worry about our own behavior. We are the only ones that we have control over anyway.....

*sipping my hazelnut tinged coffee*

There are 101 things that I need to get accomplished today. Sitting on my tush, nibbling honeybuns and getting my caffeine fix aren't any of them. But sometimes - we deserve it. Pamper ourselves in some small way. A few blessed moments of down time, before the rest of the world starts making demands on us.

I hope that all of you make the time for a few moments to yourselves today. To breathe in deeply and just be thankful for all the people & things in your life. We really are fortunate, moreso than many. And yet often, we are far less grateful.....