Love is Patient...

After reflecting and praying about my word "love" for the year,

God has put it in my heart to take hold of our wedding verse (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

and spend time focusing on "what love is" according to this scripture.

The first line of the verse reads, "Love is Patient" and for some reason I felt like starting with this photo of Miss Daisy and her "furry friend" as they patiently say good-bye to me as I head back to the office from my lunch hour. 

The definition of patience...

"The ability to wait without becoming annoyed or anxious"

(Daisy is doing a fabulous job of this as you can see!)

 

Waiting with Patience...

A lot of time in our lives is spent waiting and change is a process.  People want change, but they don't want to go through the waiting process.

The truth is, waiting is a given...we are going to wait. 

The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way?

If we wait the wrong way, we'll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God's way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait. 

It takes practice, but as we let God help us in each situation, we develop patience.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  It's developed only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations.

There will be times in your life when you will want to run from difficult situations.  May I encourage you to trust God and know that Patience is a Fruit of the Spirit that can bring Hope to all of us in the midst of trials.

 

 

"But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing." James 1:4



Happy Valentine's Day..Marriage & Cookies?

 

Valentine's Day is here and this afternoon I took some time to reflect, pray and plan to show Steve how much I am thankful for his LOVE!  I had given Steve this card above a few days ago and here's how it reads on the inside...

 

 

A funny card, yes...but this card does bring up a very important point. 

In marriage, you will have times in which one of you may feel "at fault."

 

Thankfully we have a forgiving God that loves us very much and

He wants us to be compassionate towards each others faults and

trust in Him to help our marriage grow into the oneness He desires. 

 

 

In order to show my appreciation to my loving and forgiving

husband who has stood by my side through all our "faults" together,

I decided to bake him some cookies this afternoon for Valentine's Day. 

 

As I prepared the cookies, I thought to myself....

marriage is a little bit like baking cookies.

 

 

You start out with all of the yummy "ingredients" that need to come

together in a marriage like romance, balancing careers, home and family, etc.

 

 

Just when you have all of the "ingredients together"

nicely formed on the pan, then comes "the oven"...

 

 

...."the oven" could be those trials in life in which you feel like

"in the heat of the moment" things are going to get

too "hot" or too difficult to handle and fall apart.

 

 

Thankfully we have the wonderful gift of "time" that brings patience, peace, understanding, communication, prayer....all of these aspects of love that help you move forward together through the trials of life.

 

 

Over the years, I have kept all of the cards that Steve and I have bought for each other for birthdays and holidays.  It's fun reading through all of them and it also makes the holiday feel even more special.

 

 

Well, the "ingredients" came together...and survived the "time in the oven!"

With all of the Valentine cards and a splash of candle light...

...I would say it's a beautiful creation!

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day Steve!  Thank you for being the "light of my life" and for loving me for better or worse.  You are a beautiful example of God's love and I know that He has a good plan to see our marriage and faith grow. 

 

 

 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3