LOVE

The Mix "Tape"

We finally ditched DirecTV for $8/month Netflix.  Out of the hundreds of channels available on our previous satellite provider, there never seemed to be much of anything on in the way of quality viewing.  Sure, we watched people make moonshine out in the woods, but did we honestly need to know how this process works?  Yes, I learned how to incorporate a gummy skeleton into a dessert dish in only twenty minutes, but I do not think I have to worry about repeating this in my own kitchen.  Taking all of this into account and combining it with the rising costs of satellite channels and the increasing quantity of commercials, it was a decision we have not regretted to date.

Luckily, this change occurred over Christmas break, so we were able to become fully acclimated to this new form of viewing on demand minus commercials.  Moving the treadmill in front of the television, I have now actually walked on it while watching the series Lost.  Okay, I was hooked at the beginning and then ended up watching just to see what finally happens.  What ensued was a philosophical look at death, the afterlife, and the true necessities needed for survival.  Scavenging from the suitcases of airplane passengers, one male "survivor" found a cassette tape and showed it to a fellow female "survivor" with whom he had a flirtatious relationship.  The female response was, "Is this my mix tape?" which, in turn, brought a smile to my face and a flood of memories from the past.  I then sought the hub out and asked if we had ever created a mix tape which represented our love, and we agreed we had not.

Fast forward a couple of days, and I found a cd sticking out of my cd player in the mom van.  I figured it was the girls' dance cd, put it in, and thought nothing more of it.  Later, the hub asked if I liked my surprise, and he informed me that said cd was made for me.  Thus, the reasoning behind the love message written on the outside of the cd which I had not seen.  Now, the songs placed on the cd make sense to me.

While at the stoplight in my sweats and pink breast cancer awareness coat, you will probably see me rocking out to Nelly's Hot in Here (so take off all your clothes) or Ice Cube's You Can Do It (put your back into it) with the hugest grin on my face knowing my hub took the time to make this "mix tape" just for me.

So, I vow to have the thirteen-year-old neighbor show me how to burn a cd or rip mp3s (correct lingo?) so that I, too, can show my love for the hub through music for Valentine's Day.

By Courtney Winkler

A Mother's Love

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love ~ I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love ~ my children learn of cleanliness, not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
As a mother there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is ... LOVE.

- Unknown ♥

Submitted by Carol Pigg

Rescue, the Best Kind!

Saw the best bumper sticker, but it was raining and I was driving.  So, no pix.  While it’s for adopting pets, how good it is to think about God’s love for us.

Bumper sticker read:

Rescue, the Best Kind!

God rescues us continually, to help us strive to be the best people for him.  Don’t you just love the image of God going to our man-made shelters, and picking us up to love unconditionally?  No matter how dirty, no matter how matted, no matter how smelly we may be, HE loves us.  HE rescues us.  He makes us a home in His kingdom!

Hallelujah!

Carol Pigg

Love Him like I Love You

It was January 24, 2008. It was a cold Sunday afternoon. I remember where we were. I remember what I was wearing. I remember the look on his face. I remember walking out of the house and seeing the looks on my girls' faces. Would this be the last time they would see their Mommy and Daddy together?? It was the day I thought our marriage was over. It was the most gutwrenchingly worst day of my life. And yet, however, it was also the most lifechanging.

I remember driving around on the snow covered country roads, crying out to God and asking "What do I do? I don't know what to do now!" And as clearly as if He was sitting right there in the empty passenger's seat next to me, I heard God say, "Love him like I love you." But how can I do that?? There's been so much hurt. So much said and so much done. How do I do that?? What does that look like? Love, forgive, show mercy, give grace....that's how God loves us. He sees us at our worst and loves us still. That's what I had to do.

It wasn't easy in the beginning. In fact, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's hard to break old negative habits. It's hard to forgive deep emotional hurts. It's hard to work on your marriage when even some of your closest family and friends are telling you that it's over. And yet, day by day, we loved each other more and more like how God loves us. And day by day, it got easier and easier. We've done more talking in the past year than we've done in the almost 18 years we've been together. We are open and honest about everything now...how we're feeling, what we're thinking, what our plans are, what are hopes are, what we love about each other and what we don't like so much. I'm not going to lie and say that everything is perfect now. It's not. We've learned that to have a great marriage, which is what we want, it takes a lot of work. It takes love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, respect, humility, compassion, humor and passion for each other.

We have gone through a lot these past few years. God has transformed our marriage from the worst to the best it has ever been. I love my husband more today than I ever have. I see him now for who he really is. He is a loving father. He is a giving son. He is a caring grandson. He is a talented musician. He is a genius mechanic. He is a terrific friend. He is smart. He is funny. He is giving. He is compassionate to those in need. He is goofy. He is humble. He is the man that I have been with now for nearly 18 years, and the man I want to be with until I am old and gray.

Today we can say without a shadow of a doubt that God has saved us from divorce. He has transformed us and transformed our marriage and our family. We love being together now. We love to spend time together as a family now. We miss each other when we are apart. I can truly say that our marriage would not be as strong as it is today if we had not gone through this really hard time in our marriage.  What Satan intended for evil, God has used for our good.  We knew that as we were walking through this dark time in our lives that God would use us to save other marriages and to change people's lives. Our hope is that we can share our story so that other people's marriages can be saved. Since that time, we have had several opportunities to talk with other couples who are going through the same thing we did.  Our message is one of hope.  It is NEVER too late.  God can and will REDEEM your marriage, if you ask Him to.  Nothing is impossible to God!! He is mighty to save!!!

by Lisa Powell

Secret Santa Sister Surprises

This year I signed up for the Secret Santa Sister program at church because, you see, I love secrets and surprises, even the ones where the home pregnancy test dot changes color. Thank you, Lord, for Rebecca!

I was so excited! I had dozens of ideas of how I might surprise my designated sister . . . crazy and creative schemes to shower her with love and encouragement. I thought about renting a skywriting airplane, putting an ad in the classified section, staging a flash mob, getting a tattoo, asking the mayor to declare a day in her honor, having a flag flown over the capitol, naming a star after her, writing a song, and you get the idea, generally broad siding her with gee-whiz moments. Well, you know what happened?! The holidays happened. There were tangled lights and cold-tingled limbs; stocking stuffers and stuffing myself into stockings; dropping needles and gaining weight; carpal tunnel Christmas card-itis; parties, lunches, teas, and cocktails, dinners, balls, desserts, and brunches; Silent Night and loud malls, angels harking and dogs barking; board games and bored games; losing the tape, finding the scissors, finding the tape, losing the scissors, losing my mind, finding Nemo. Jesus got lost in the shuffle, somewhere between aisle two and ladies’ lingerie, and so did my Secret Sister. Oh, yeah, I managed to mail a few items, write a few notes, and sneak a few packages on her front porch, but I had planned oh so much more. It was my goal to bombard her, slather her, dunk her, plaster her, impress upon her, undergird her, surround her, and astound her with the love and grace of God through Christ Jesus. Since I failed to carry out my mission the first time around, let me tell you, Secret Santa Sister, what I would give to you if I could.

I would give you peace . . . not world peace, though that would be awesome, or whirled peas, though they would be healthy, but God’s peace, the peace that passes all understanding. It has the power to penetrate and overtake every ounce of our being and to smooth out and assuage every ragged emotion that is part of our human condition. It is the balm of Gilead, not sold at Bath and Body Works, and it does, indeed, make the wounded whole. It is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I would give you hope, the hope that is spelled out in Jeremiah 29:11 . . . the Lord’s plans to “prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” This kind of hope provides sure footing for our life journey and a spring in our step that far exceeds anything that a little pink pill can do. It opens wide our eyes to the friends who accompany us, the joys that bloom along our path, and the secure knowledge that we have a Divine purpose in our walk. Above all, hope is the assurance of eternal life in the very presence of our Creator God. It is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I would give you faith -- unshakeable, rock solid, unwavering, unswerving, steadfast, Gorilla-glue-like faith. Yep, I would give you a little chunk of genuine faith, about the size of a mustard seed, because that is all you need to see you through the storms of life. I would give you the will to do faith work-outs, sorta like Zumba class and water aerobics, but not exactly. That is, I would encourage you to grow your faith muscle by regularly exercising it through the practice of the Spiritual disciplines (you’ll have to read up on those). Invite the Holy Spirit to be your faith fitness coach and boom, the faith you need to move mountains will be yours. It is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I would give you grace or, as the definition says, “God’s unmerited favor.” In other words, I would give you the knowledge that you were, are, will be . . . in every tense . . . forgiven! I would also give you the mercy and goodness you need to extend that forgiveness to others – radical, extravagant, other-worldly forgiveness, because that’s what God offers us, self-centered creeps that we are. This kind of grace and forgiveness was made possible through the sacrifice of God’s only Son. It is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I would give you love, in all its many forms: storge or affectionate love; philia or friendship love; eros or romantic love (We gotta keep those home fires burning!); and agape or unconditional love. Agape love is found you know where. It is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Oh, dear Secret Sister, on top of all that, I would also give you a diamond bracelet; a cruise to a Caribbean resort; a life-time’s worth of his and her massages; a personal chef, tailor, gardener, hairdresser, and housekeeper; a Mary Poppins babysitter at your command; every New York Times best-seller; a membership in the Chocolate of the Month Club; and a super sweet red convertible.

I would also give you good health, a bevy of wild and crazy girlfriends, and laughter, laughter, laughter. It is, without a doubt, the best medicine, unless your pelvic floor muscles are weak.

Finally, I would give you the answer to your question: “Who is my Secret Santa Sister?” Your secret sister is me! I love you, Courtney, and will continue to pray that peace, hope, faith, grace, love, health, girlfriends and laughter are yours, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. As for the rest, well, you’re on your own! When do you want to do lunch?

Sue Busler

Dannette's Devotional: God's Love

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38

Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:2

Nike

Nike is the most affectionate cat I’ve known.  She sits on our laps and purrs whenever we give her the opportunity.  Her greatest desire is to be close to us.  Too often my hectic life limits my time for her.  On my busiest days, the only attention she is guaranteed are those few minutes in the morning and evening when I stuff a pill down her throat and quickly fill her plate with cat food. 

Recently, Nike jumped on my lap and snuggled close when I finally settled down after several busy days.  As I petted her silky fur and felt her contented purring, I marvelled: “I don’t deserve the love you give me, Nike.”

In that moment, I felt an overwhelming reminder of God’s love.  Too often, I get so caught up in my demanding job and overloaded schedule that I don’t spend enough time with God.  Yet, His love for me never ceases.  He loves me much more than I will ever deserve.  Nothing can separate me from His amazing, enduring love.

As we go through our busy days, let us make time for God and marvel at His amazing, enduring love for us. 

Dannette McKellar