L O V E <— how are you doing with this in your life…loving?

Each week in February I’m going to talk about…L O V E.  I know it’s a little “cliche”  to be talking about this in the month of February, but stick with me as I unpack the most commonly sited scripture verse in weddings…

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This week I challenge you to think about verse 4: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Are you patient?  Are you kind?  Are you envious? boastful? proud?

Looking in the mirror I know there is work that needs to be done in my life…

Patience?  This “fruit-of-the-spirit” –long-suffering– isn’t always present.

Kind?  There are times I say things to people I “love” that are NOT kind.  Most often it’s my words that are not kind {sometimes, the look on my face, or rolling my eyes can reveal this too!}

Envious?  This is one area of my life, thankfully, that I’m genuinely doing good at.  I am authentically happy and excited for others.  I rejoice with others in their successes and want the best for all.

Proud?  I bring this one to God in prayer often.  My desire is it to be humble, but I am aware that pride can sneak in when we least expect it.  I know that I. am. nothing. without God and everything with Him and because. of. Him.

That’s my honest look in the mirror as I reflect upon what L O V E is…

What does this look like in YOUR life?

Photo Credit:   Freeman Mester

Monday:  Action Conquers Fear

Tuesday:  Purposely Equipped

Wednesday:  10 to Happier

Thursday:  Three Faces of Eve

Friday:  Thorns Have Roses

I literally have notebooks full of quotes, and verses. Hand written and kept for reading through. I use them for inspiration, for ideas and to help me understand how other people thought. Some are funny, some are inspiring and some require a lot of thought. This quote by Alphonse Kerr is one of my all time favorites. It speaks to my heart and mind about perspective. Thorns and roses go together…

…always have. always will.

The challenges of life are surrounded by blessings. The thorns that snag us, cut us and hold us back grow on the same branches as the roses who sweetly scent our lives with their fragrance and color our days with their beauty. We could go about dethorning the roses but we’d soon lose the roses as well.

Thorns are not always a bad thing, often they are necessary both for roses and for people. For lives and for faith. The thorns keep animals from eating the tender flowers, the thorns provide shelter for the birds and insects who live in the roses’s branches. The thorns grip and grab to keep the roses upright and growing towards the sun.

If the challenges, and thorns, were removed from our lives would we be striving to be strong, would we keep reaching towards the sunshine and would we grow as lovely? Some thorns get too big, too sharp and we have to deal with them. That is very true. They grow close to the roses we cherish. They try to snag us and keep us away from the roses.

This quote is a reflection of faith as well. We are seeking the Son. We need to face towards Him and His grace. The thorns in life can be sharp and harsh but if we can be thankful for them we can use them to help us grow stronger, more lovely and show true grace and beauty. The most important thing for me to remember when I feel surrounded by thorns {and some days it feels like I can’t move an inch without a cut or a snag!} that there are roses here too…

…there is beauty. there is love.

Sometimes the thorn and the rose are close together. The loving husband or cherished child can have their thorny moments. Sometimes we are our own thorns, ugly and sharp. Keep looking for the roses! The roses have the scent, the beauty, the grace and the peace in our thorny lives. Be thankful the thorns have roses and you’ll remember to look for them first as you struggle with the thorns. You may even find that the thorns have their own beauty. “Some complain the roses have thorns. I, for one, am thankful the thorns have roses.” Alphonse Kerr

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Today’s Quote is shared by: Shanyn Silinski.  She is an author of poetry and fiction, a guest writer for a number of publications and a regular contributor to Christian Women’s Voice. She blogs from her kitchen table at her ranch where she raises cattle with her husband and son. Shanyn’s blogs are: Mystic Mom, Strawberry Roan, Sunflower Poetry, and Scarred-Seeker.  She is a passionate advocate for those who are suffering from and healing from abuse, human and animal. Bright blessings!

We’re going to look at the Three Faces of Eve: her created face, her fallen face and the hope found in the inherited face of Eve. Then we’ll investigate the gospel implications for us as her daughters. Her story is published in three installments.

The Created Face of Eve

In the beginning God created….

God said. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth,”

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-31.

Why did God make Eve in his image?

God created Eve and Adam to bear his image because he’s awesome and wants to multiply his greatness and share himself with others. He chose man as the vehicle to imprint himself upon creation, to be the crown and glory of all he made and spread his likeness all around the world.

How was Eve affected by being made in the likeness of God?

HARMONY

The Trinity has perfect harmony with each other therefore man, made in the image of God was created in this harmonious likeness. Eve and Adam had thoughts about God and desires for him. Her heart was vacant of desires that superseded her love for God. There wasn’t a hierarchy of wants and needs that created an internal battle about how to spend her time or with whom to spend it. It would have seemed absurd to Eve to consider whether she should work in the garden, talk to her husband or walk with God. Working in the garden and being with Adam were as much a part of life as talking with God. It wasn’t one or the other. The created face of Eve had perfect harmony in her soul, with God, Adam and creation.

SIGNIFICANCE

Eve and Adam were intensely aware of their value and importance. They understood their position as created beings. They knew God as the creator and accepted being his creation. Adam was privileged to experience God’s greatness as Creator when Eve was created from his body. Eve and Adam were rulers in the kingdom. Eve knew she was significant, important and trustworthy because she knew God, knew who he said she was and she believed God. Eve and Adam were happy to live under God’s rule and to rule in his stead, the world he created for them. They understood this was a position of importance.

Paradise was tightly entwined with deep knowledge about who God is and who he said they were. This knowledge gave Eve and Adam significance and they enjoyed this reality in their souls, with God, his creation, and each other. Paradise was a free gift from God. They did not ask for it. It was all God’s idea because he is so good. God asked Eve and Adam to live within his boundaries as created beings. He said, “You may eat of any fruit in the garden except the fruit from the Tree of Life. If you eat from it you will die,”

God is God. Eve and Adam are creations.

Their job was to rule creation, even the slithering animals, but not God.

I imagine Eve ruminating and thinking about this one rule, “If I do not eat from the Tree, my life will stay as it is, but what does it mean to “die”? I walk and talk with God every day. I wonder if “die” means we won’t walk and talk with him?” Eve hasn’t experienced death but she knows it’s true the same way you and I know robbing a bank is wrong even though we haven’t stolen money before.

Will the created face of Eve last for eternity?

When I complete this series you will be able to follow this link to read The Fallen Face of Eve and this link to read our hope that is found in The Inherited Face of Eve.

How do you long for harmony?

What causes you to doubt your significance?

How do you get tangled up in doubt and confusion about your identity in the likeness of God?