February 1, 2016 Image

Being in Love is a Wonderful Thing

I was driving down the road one evening when I heard an old Motown tune playing on the radio.  The singer was crooning, “Baby I’m in love with you”.  It made me think about the people and things that I love and later that night before going to sleep, I told David, “Honey, I don’t just love you, I’m in love with you.”

The next morning, I read this quote in a card:  “Being in love is a wonderful thing.”

I thought, “Okay Lord, You’ve got my attention.  What are trying to say to me about the difference between loving something and being in love?”

I love music and reading and hiking and beautiful autumn days when a lovely cerulean sky is the backdrop for colors that artists only wish they could produce on canvas…I love my mother’s eight-layer chocolate cake and my mother-in-law’s chicken pot pie…I love to hear the laughter of my grandbabies and holding them close to my heart…

The things I love often provoke a physical/emotional response, but being in love with someone transcends the natural realm.  “God is love” (1 John 4:8), so being “in love” is a spiritual issue and demands a response that goes beyond our feelings.  It is based on giving, not getting. (John 3:16)  It requires sacrifice and service above and beyond the call of duty. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a)  But Love is the very expression of God and has no expiration date! (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Oh yes, being in love is a wonderful thing.

May your hearts be filled with His love for those you are in love with today.

o_facecoverz.com-13177704185

January 29, 2016

I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart

“When you obey me, you remain in my love… I have told you this so that… your joy will overflow.”  ~ John 15:10-11 NLT

joy-3

According to Jesus, there is a formula for joy: Joy = obedience + love, or to simplify: Joy is found in loving obedience.  I discovered this truth today as I looked up scriptures that highlighted the example of Christ that his “followers” should follow.  Jesus was always challenging us with choices that seem way out of our reach and this one definitely is a stretch.  We all want to remain in the wonderful, comforting love of the Lord, but coupling it with obedience raises the difficulty factor.

So many times when we walk in obedience we find ourselves questioning the Father’s plan and struggling to embrace joy.  Could it be that the elusive emotion is not joy, but happiness?  Happiness comes and goes with the circumstances of our lives; but true joy abides and cannot be impacted by the situation we find ourselves in.  Knowing that we are loved and held in the palm of the Father’s hand should cause joy to explode in our hearts, no matter where those (physical) hearts may currently be residing.

   Dear Father, as I struggle to obey joyfully, please help me to never forget that your never-ending, perfect love is also written into the equation.  YOU are love and when I am in You, joy will occur as naturally as the breath I breathe.  Thank you for this truth.  Please help me to remember it…  Joyfully yours, Amen.