He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not

How was your Valentine's Day?
A week has passed since.
Were you thrilled, surprised,
disappointed with the gift, attention,
or lack thereof?

He loves me; he loves me not.... comes to mind.





Each of us is so human that loving consistently and selflessly is difficult. Human-love has its ups and downs... he loves me; he loves me not.

However; God-love is different:
 He loves me; he loves me; he loves me.
You get the point.
With God-love there are no ups and downs; it is unconditional; it is sure.

Still with me. If you have time; read the "love" letter below. I discovered it years ago in a Christian magazine...

Dear Friend,

How are you? I just had to send you this letter to tell you how much I love and care about you....  I waited all day long, hoping you would talk to Me. As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a cool breeze to rest you, and I waited . . .

I saw you fall asleep last night, and I longed to touch your brow, so I spilled moonlight upon your pillow and face. Again, I waited, wanting to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you.

You awakened late and rushed off for the day. You looked so sad, so alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand. I try to tell you in the quiet green grass; I whisper it in the leaves and trees, breathe it in the colors of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain streams, and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you with sunshine and perfume the air. My love for you is deeper than oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need you have.

We will spend eternity together in heaven. I know how hard it is on this earth.  ... and I want to help you.  ...  Just call Me, ask Me, talk to Me; it is your decision. I have chosen you, and because of this, I will wait. . . Because I love you.

Jesus

Considering Emotional Intelligence

The first intelligence test was created in 1905 by Alfred Binet and Théophile Simon to determine which French school children were too “slow” to benefit from regular instruction.  Scary? ... too "slow" to  benefit from regular instruction?    
 

 

The IQ test still exists for varying reasons and is given in a number of ways; however, the EQ test is a newer concept, and there is no standard test that I know of to determine it. Thank goodness!

 

EQ, or emotional intelligence, refers to relationship skills and includes things like compassion, self-awareness, self-control, stress management, and optimism.

 

Our IQ test is somewhat fixed due to heredity and environmental influences at a young age. However, our EQ can be improved.

 

Jesus not only modeled EQ but he desired for us to do so.

 

 Galatians 5:22,23 speaks of the fruits of the Spirit being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. .. and vs 25 . . .

 

 since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

 

Sound emotionally intelligent to you?

           

                                                           

Echo Words

 

 
 


An echo is a word or phrase coming back to the listener --after the first word or phrase is spoken.

As a child, we had fun echoing in an empty room, in a canyon or valley-like area.


Words from the past that have hurt badly enough to never be forgotten sometimes "echo" in our brains when we find ourselves in an empty room, isolated. Or, in the valleys or canyons of our lives.

We've accepted these words in shame. Or, we fight back and attempt to destroy the thrower with words of our own--more echoes. Both unproductive.

How do we stop it? Staying out of the canyons and valleys of our lives seem like an obvious solution. However, sometimes we land in these places without warning, unaware: those closest to us hurt us with words---perhaps due to their own pain and hurt.

It happens. No immunity, here. When we do end up in this place, it helps to know that God feels your pain, He sees your pain, He knows it, He cares.

 

He asks you to respond as He would: With LOVE...

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

The idiom, wake up and smell the coffee, is used when someone is misdirected or uninformed and may need encouragement to re-think a possible stance. Personally, I enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning. It doesn't have to be Starbucks; my Kuerig One-Cuper makes a fine cup. The aromatic smell of coffee, itself, got me started. I just finished a Guatemalan Coffee Pods pack and want to keep the package just to smell it.

If you google coffee-history, you'll find words like Ethiopia, monastery, the 15th century, and lively birds. Obviously, another topic for another time.

In a recent conversation with a friend, over a cup of coffee, she shared that she was a Christian (sort of), but didn't know if she believed in this heaven/hell stuff. I stifled a wince. I have recently been reading/listening to a Beth Moore Bible study on Daniel. Yes, the Daniel of-the-Lion's-den. You may remember that Daniel interpreted King Nebuchanezzar's dream. This dream covered the times to come for them and for us. Thousands of years of history have recorded the fulfillment of this prophecy. Who are we to think that the rest would not possibly come true?

Yes, God's kingdom will come and fill the whole earth.

Wake up and smell the coffee!

Questions With No Answers

 I've asked a couple of questions recently... ones that were easy to answer.

How/when do you pray?

Do you remember your first sin?

I'm winding up with two--

       questions that are very connected.

What is unsolved in your heart?

 What questions have you locked away?

 

It seems that all the why, what for, when, how, where questions that rumble around inside our heads are connected to issues that are unsolved in our hearts. For me some of the unanswered questions I have, I have had for years, even decades.

 

I have to remind myself that God's understanding is not my understanding. How could I possibly "get" something that the Creator of the Universe "gets."

 





Rainer Maria Rilke wrote ... be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and... try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue...

This is a rather interesting way to consider what is unsolved in our hearts, our locked-away questions. Dear friends, life is a mystery. Chapters unfold in sometimes scary, sometimes incredible ways. But, God's finger is on everything. So: trust.

Do You Remember Your First Sin?

I was in Woolworth's with my mom--and a brother or two. The wooden floorboards were warped  and made squeaky noises with every step. Dust bunnies hid in the corners and cracks and shifted slightly as the over-head fans did their best to keep us cool. I had just stolen a stick of Juicy Fruit gum from the large barrel by the check-out corner and slipped it into my pocket. I followed my mother out the door; I followed her down the hot, cemented sidewalk and to our station wagon. I fingered it all the way home not daring to unwrap and taste the sweetness of if.

At home, I was extra quiet and a tad-bit fidgety.  I soon escaped from the house and ventured to our treehouse, the gum still in my pocket. Alone, I took out the gum, folded and folded it until it was crushed. Next, I hid it under the sticks of our little tree house make-believe fireplace and prayed no one would find it.

I never told anyone for years because I was ashamed. It was a child-hood thing and a forever lesson. I had no desire to feel that uncomfortable again about doing something I should not have done.

...the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing... Romans 2:15

Enough said...

We Need More Leo's in Our Life.

We need more Leo’s in our life! I know three. Two of them live in my hometown. One is older and has accomplished much due to generosity and an industrious nature. The other is very young, adventurous, and has his entire life ahead of him.

I just finished a re-read of the book BUS 9 TO PARADISE by another Leo. Buscaglia is his last name and although the book was published in l986 and Leo died in 1998, the book speaks to me today. If I tell you that he was known as “Dr. Love,” this will all start to make more sense.

Buscaglia, while teaching at USC, was moved by a student’s suicide to contemplate human disconnectedness and the meaning of life. He began a non-credit class called Love 1A. Can you imagine his full classrooms? At one point, his televised lectures were the top earners of all PBS programs.

For what it’s worth, I am sharing a few thoughts/quotes from his book.

 With everything going on in the world today….some of this may help.

*In reality we never lose the people we love. They become immortal through us. They continue to live in our hearts and minds and therefore participate in much of what we do…

*..in the act of forgiving we release ourselves from bondage…. To not forgive hurts us more than anyone else.

*…when we are loved, the people who love us want us to be what we are, not what they are.

*It’s a fact that all of us are just a little crazy, and… we should rejoice in our foolishness from time to time.

*Sometimes, to do nothing is to do something.

*You have a right to be yourself. So many of us live our lives to please others and conform to their image of us.
 

*We have been taught to follow the Golden Rule—not that we become shining examples of behavior, but that we realize one more way of better understanding one another.

Love God.

Love your fellow man.