michi-beach love

We took full advantage of the 60 degree November weather and headed out to the beach for a little sunset enjoyment. We caught some great photos, but the 3 year olds could only stand a few minutes of the whipping wind before begging to go play with their toys in the Mounty. At least we got a few pictures with Judah...he didn't seem to mind the wind.





I cannot get enough of my babies as of late. It seems my heart for them grows each day. I count it such a privilege to nurture them, to teach them of God & his great love for them.

It has been a joy to have my sister, Elizabeth, and her daughter, Chloe, here. They are beautiful and strong and full of life.

Aron was dreaming yesterday of the camaraderie he hopes to one day have with his son...hitting a bucket of balls, camping, building hatchets, climbing mountains, maybe even playing music together.

These girls are two peas in a pod. Chloe is Elizabeth's mini-me. 

And my boys...I am so thankful for the husband God has given to me. I count him my biggest blessing, and from his love more and greater blessings abound in our children. 

#6 Love is forgiving.

"[Love] keeps no record of wrongs." - 1 Corinthians 13:5

"Forgive and forget." We've all heard that a thousand times. But how it plays out in our lives is more like, "Forgive, but remember what they did wrong or how you got hurt, you know, just in case they need reminded." That way, you have ammo later on to humble the proud or to defend yourself from being hurt again. The truth is, though, we deceive ourselves if we think we've offered forgiveness while choosing to remember the offenses against us.

Webster defines the act of forgiving as "ceasing to feel resentment" or "granting relief from payment of".  Since we are not God and cannot physically erase memories from our consciousness, this must look more like choosing to separate the offense from the offender. As the Psalm 103 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

When we fail to forgive, we are condemning this person to be the personification of this offense for the rest of their life. With their repentance, Jesus has spoken complete grace over them, yet with unforgiveness we are acting on behalf of the enemy to shackle their soul with the very sin for which Christ died. We are essentially robbing them of the opportunity to be a new creation - whole and restored - and making a mockery of the death of our Lord as powerless to offer forgiveness for sins.

Understand, though, that forgiveness is imperative even when repentance has not occurred. Love has the power to transform a person, and forgiveness is quite possibly its most powerful vehicle. When we truly forgive, we offer love when it is least deserved. Even when the wrong cannot be made right. This does not mean we fail to acknowledge a wrong has been committed or that we ignore the pain or suffering involved (by definition the need for forgiveness merits a wrong to have taken place). On the contrary, by fully accepting the pain and choosing to walk through it without demanding recompense, we unleash the full power of love's transforming nature.

Forgiveness offers life. The Bible says that, "while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." He didn't die for the righteous, he died to forgive those who least deserved it. As the Bible says in another way, "while we were still sinners Christ died for us." 

Perhaps the most powerful imagery of forgiveness is that of Christ on the cross. Talk about a fresh wound from a severe offense. These people had moments ago nailed him to a crude piece of wood, and yet, as he hung there dying he looked up toward the heavens and said, "Forgive them, Father."

Let's love the people in our lives the same way Jesus loved us, when they least deserve it and letting go of resentment even as they commit offenses against us. Then we will experience the full measure of true love, because love is forgiving.

APK/ejk

Tonight...

Overflowing giggles

Tiny coo's

Toys strewn

Piercing screams of glee

Princess dresses flowing

Spinning dances floating

Toothless grins

Breathless words

Skips of delight

Whispers of love

Melodies transcending

Hearts at home.

Lord I am overwhelmed by these blessings.

ej

(video below captured with everyone else unaware. If you listen closely toward the end you can hear the girls giggling in the background).

#5 Love is selfless

"[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered" - 1 Corinthians 13:5

One of my friends who goes to our church told me about how he used to become easily angered with his kids. At his children's slightest disobedience, he would lose it: yelling, spanking, punishing, words of condemnation, etc. After years of parenting this way, he became a Christian and started attending our church. As he started to submit himself to the Way of love, God gave him an epiphany about becoming easily angered. He told me how God showed him that he became angry so easily not because his kids' trespasses were so great, but rather because they were so inconvenient for him. He began to see that his anger was really quite selfish because he didn't want to have to deal with disobedient or unruly kids. 

Being rude and getting angry easily are really symptoms of a larger disease: selfishness. What  causes us to be rude or become easily angry are not offenses so morally deplorable that they merit a strong reaction. No, they're usually just inconvenient for us (think traffic jam or kid crying at the grocery store; someone didn't do their job and now you're stuck making up for it). 

In his book "Walking With God," John Eldredge writes that when a person's negative reaction to a situation in their life is significantly more severe than the situation merits, it's usually a sign of a wound in their heart that the situation has brought to the surface. This world is full people who are the walking wounded, and selfishness is their best attempt to protect their wounds or save themselves from further pain. And in our vain attempts to save ourselves, we commit grievous acts against others, which usually merit selfish and sinful responses from those we hurt as they try to protect their wounds.

This viscous cycle will continue until someone is willing to love selflessly. That means someone who is willing to take the offense, the inconvenience, the pain, and not retaliate. The Bible says that when Jesus was being tried to die on the cross, he did not open his mouth to defend himself. He knew that he was innocent. He knew that he was God's son. But he also knew that his act of selfless love on the cross could bring healing and restoration to the entire world. As 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin."

Jesus' one act of love on the cross covered the sin of the entire world. But he doesn't just want us to say, "thanks, man, heaven's gonna be great!" and go on living in the same old patterns of selfishness and depravity. He wants to see us follow his example and see our realm of influence be transformed by love, but that means the selfishness within us has to die.

Jesus said, "if anyone would come after me, he must take up his cross and follow me." I used to think that was such a condemning statement. Like Jesus was standing there shaking his finger and saying, "I died. You have to die too!" But I'm starting to realize Jesus made that demanding statement because he just wants us to love each other. And love is selfless.

APK

reunited

They may only be 3, but these girls love each other dearly, and have been anticipating their reunion for weeks. Every time Elizabeth & Chloe got in the car she'd ask, "Mommy, is this the way to Aron & Erica's? I want to go see Isabelle!" Dad even said she was trying to get him to bring her up while he was babysitting her. Belle could hardly wait for her to arrive.

This last shot of Judah is random...and doesn't fit with this post at all, but I thought I'd squeeze it in. He LOVES his classic pooh mobile just like his sister did. When the music plays he sings along and kicks his little arms and legs so excitedly. 

cheap magazines!

I just purchased a year subscription to Country Living for $5 bucks. No strings attached. Amazon.com has a deal going on, and there are quite a few magazines offered.

Click here for the details & follow the link provided by Deal Seeking Mom.

ejk

#4 Love is...

It (Love) does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Envy

Boasting

Pride

As I have been turning this over in mind the past week, it seems there is a common denominator linking these three 'anti-love' verbs.

It seems that both envy and pride are the result of one thing: looking in the wrong place for validation (assurance of one's self worth). And this begins with an action we mindlessly do countless times a day: 

Comparison.

"Does he better provide for his family than me?"

"Am I more beautiful than her?"

"Do my friends like me more than so and so?"

"Could I perform better than him in that role?"

When we ask these internal questions, we have two possible scenarios:

#1 The answer is "Yes...I am better than this person" in some way. As soon as the satisfaction from this answer touches our heart, we're inviting pride to take residence.

#2 The answer is "No... this person exceeds my capabilities." While there is humility in acknowledging the giftedness of others, when we compare to see if we 'measure up', we are allowing seeds of envy to be planted.

Boasting, it seems, follows when we externalize this internal struggle for worth. We need to ensure others are aware of the reasons we should be valued.

The world casts value based on appearance, performance, beauty, success, pleasure...

Those who don't measure up are cast aside as worthless. We are left to compare ourselves to man-made standards, and envy and pride grow where love should abide.

Love speaks a different language. Love says you are infinitely valuable because of whose you are. Because you are made in the image of your creator, and you are his beloved child. There is no need to perform, no need to measure up. You - even in your wounded, broken shell of a person - are precious beyond comprehension. Love crossed heaven and earth to help us understand just how valued we truly are. And finding validation or self worth by any other standard leaves us hating each other or hating ourselves. It turns what was intended as a gift of community filled with genuine bonds of love with one another into a cut-throat competition laden with self-serving motives and shallow relationships. 

So you see, comparing ourselves against other mutually insecure humans makes a mockery of the true worth we were intended to experience in relationship with Christ. It is for this reason...

Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

ejk