Learning to Live Loved

I was reading "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado.

I thought this was a great chapter. It has some deep stuff that I'm still trying to chew on! I thought I would share it with you! This is a selection from one of his chapters in the book.

-------

God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his.The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but god will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the
unloved and make them beloved.” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With
unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.”

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (I John 4:10 NIV). Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!

Don’t forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God’s work, and what is the first fruit you see? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal.5:22 NIV, emphasis mine).

Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve? No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit produces the fruit” (Gal.5:22).

And, this is so important, you are a branch on the vine of God. “I am the vine, and you are the branches” (John 15:5). Need a refresher course on how vines function? What is the role of the branch in the bearing of fruit? Branches don’t exert a lot of energy. You never hear of gardeners treating branches for exhaustion. Branches don’t attend clinics on stress management. Nor do they groan and grunt. “I’ve got to get this grape out. I’ve got to get this grape out. I’m going to bear this grape if it kills me!”

No, the branch does none of that. The branch has one job-to receive nourishment from the vine. And you have one job-to receive nourishment from Jesus. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing” (John 15:5 MSG).

Our Lord gets no argument from us on that last line, does he? We have learned the hard way apart from him we can’t produce a thing. Don’t you think it’s time we learn what happens if we stay attached?

His job is to bear fruit. Our job is to stay put. The more tightly we are attached to Jesus, the more purely his love can pass through us. And oh, what a love it is! Patient. Kind. Does not envy. Does not boast. Is not proud.

Let’s rewrite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 one more time. Not with your name or Jesus’ name but with both. Read it aloud with your name in the blank, and see what you think. Christ in _____ is patient, Christ in _____ is kind. Christ in _____ does not envy, Christ in _____ does not boast, Christ in _____ is not proud. Christ in _____ is not rude, Christ in _____ is not self-seeking, Christ in _____ is not easily angered, Christ in _____ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ in _____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in _____ always protects, always perseveres. Christ in _____ never fails.

Will we ever love like that? Will we ever love perfectly? No. This side of heaven only God will. But we will love better than we have. By being loved, we will love.

8. Nose

I'm thankful for my nose. I can stop and smell the flowers! I can smell the aroma that comes from the kitchen when someone is making something super duper tasty! I can tell when my clothes needs to be washed when I almost pass out from smelling it to see if it's clean. lol. I can avoid food poisoning if I can smell the sour milk! Imagine life if I wasn't able to smell those things! I would be getting food poisoning all the time, wearing smelly clothes (thus scaring people away), has no desire to try food because the smell doesn't attract me to try it, or appreciate flowers for its sweet smell, simplicity and beauty!

Thank God... for noses!

7. Hands

I’m thankful for hands. I’m in awe as I’m typing this blog. All ten of my fingers work together to push buttons in a certain order to create words with the help of my brain!

Our hands have 5 fingers on them each...each finger is important in our daily rountie. We use hands to open/close doors/drawers/jars/presents, to pick up something you dropped on the floor, to hold your significant other hands, to pray, to throughly wash our hair, to hold & move the toothbrush to brush our teeth, to cook, to bake, to sign ASL, to raise our hand to ask questions, and the list goes on!

I’m just amazed at the many bones and muscles that are in our hands alone! And..how well they work together.. If one part was missing...life would be so much more difficult! God’s just pretty much awesome in that way.

YAY for hands! :)

Validation :)

My boyfriend found this video a year ago and I thought of it today (probably because I'm editing the WU Catalog 11-12 and I working on the "Validation of Credits Policy" section). It made me smile. I hope it makes you smile too! :)

6. Feet

According to Web MD :
"The feet are flexible structures of bones, joints, muscles, and soft tissues that let us stand upright and perform activities like walking, running, and jumping."

It's crazy how a simple yet complex structure of bones, joints, muscles, and soft tissues that is at the ends of our legs can be so helpful! We can move from place to place by walking, running, jumping, skipping, side-shuffling, swimming and all that jazz. Feet helps us to maintain our balance, support our weight, and keep us moving. It's crazy how fast the brain has to communicate to the feet to pick up one foot in front of the other... it's a long way from the brain yet it happens less than a second, and it's almost of an instinct because we don't have to concentrate so hard... "left foot, move 2 feet in front of you in 2 seconds when you see the right foot pass you." Thank goodness. I already have enough things to think about! God is brilliant!

I guess, I got this sudden weird feeling of thankfulness yesterday because someone was telling me the broke bones in her feet in 4 different places over the years. She would have to rest for months to wait for those bones to heal. It seems like we aren't thankful for our health until we get sick. Maybe it's a good thing that we get broken bones, bruises, cuts, illnesses, and so on because...it reminds us to be thankful for all the times we didn't have those things.

Oh! And another side note...another added bonus of having feet is that girls can be creative on the toe nails using awesome and colorful nail polish. :)

5. Water

I used to not like water as a kid because it's flavorless and certainly not colorful! I used to drink nothing but milk, koolaid, and pop! But I think I started to like water when I was in P.E. classes. Boy! When you work out like crazy and sweatin' like a pig, there is NOTHING more refreshing then a glass of icy water! So refreshing.

Now.. I drink water and milk most of the time. I have juice every once in a while. I hardly ever drink pop...only when it's a party, a cookout, or pizza night.  I like pop but I prefer it to have it as little as possible. Beside, water is good for your body. I noticed that when I drink more water and milk and less pop...I feel less 'ugh' it's kinda hard to explain. haha.

Water is amazing. It's so simple yet it's so important to life! Our bodies are made of about 60% water. Our food is also made of mostly water.We need lots of water every year to keep our plants growing so that we can survive. Water is good for cooking, baking, showering, bathing, swimming, cleaning, etc... It's crazy how much we use water. We take water for granted.

Thank you, God for water. :)

4. Gum

I'm thankful for gum. Yes, gum. You know...that thing that you chew for a while and then spit out? Yes, that. I really like gum. Seriously, it's like my caffeine! I don't drink coffee or tea. I chew anywhere from 1-5 pieces of gum a day. I love gum because it helps me to focus on my work and stall my hunger until it's mealtime or snacktime! Some people tap their foot or their pencil to help them concentrate...I chew chew away! Personally, I love chewing Watermelon, Polar Ice, Cinnamon, and Peppermint. I do not like Spearmint. It was the only gum my mom would buy when I was growing up, now I'm sick of them. I really like the other flavors tho... Have you ever blew a bubble gum and blew another one inside of it? My Aunt Jodi taught me out to do that. I know how to do it! If you don't believe me...just give me a Bubblicious gum and I will show you! And maybe even teach you how to do it too.