"Love Forever"

We all want love that lasts forever. I recall there is a lyric, " Where the love lasts forever". All of us should start with loving ourselves forever. The poets explain that we need to first and foremost love ourselves. Then we can be free to love others!

We must love God to truly know what love is. Gods' love is forever!! Our love of others may be subject to life's complications. Love from and to God has no such barrier. "God is Love" (John 4: 16).

Love of our families is also complete and forever. No matter what we experience our love endures. It may be strained but at the core we love those in our families. Moms, Dads, Sisters, Brothers all share a mutual love of each other.

My personal experiences are vast and varied. I have loved, been loved and suffered loss. I have been blessed with four beautiful, awesome, loving and lovable children. Praise God for that comfort and knowledge in my life!! Thank God for having what and whom I need to love and receive love from. Verses: Heb 13: 1-6 1John 4: 21 Matt 5: 43-48

"Love Found"

Ever witness two lovers? Ever just know that a couple are head over heels in love? I am sure we all have, either as that couple, or blessed to witness them.

The greatest love of all comes from God. Fall in love with God and your life begins anew. The love God can provide is beyond any other. The love we feel for God is deep and whole.

I have met and will meet many people whom I love or will love. All of them have influenced my life to grow and deepened understanding in me. Still I feel that I have plenty more to learn!

Love is mysterious! A song writer put it this way: "As we get older why do we realize how much we don't know, and how much of life turns out so different than we expected?"

Love is our expression to others of God in our hearts! Love is hard to comprehend, or explain, but it sure brightens our days!! God: Thanks for love in all forms and levels and most especially, your love, God!! Verses: John 15: 9-17 Heb 13: 1-6 Eph 5: 1-2

"Love Lost"

I can't imagine any of us that haven't lost a loved one? Well maybe the very youngest of us haven't? Almost sure all of us have experienced the loss of a dear pet.

The losses may or may not have been expected or of our choosing. God has a master plan that is not always easy to grasp. Love lost because of a relationship change is hard. Some of my best friends have been lost because of location.

God has got us covered in all cases. Death, break-up, moves, all can contribute to our losses. God can use life changes to build character and compassion in all of us.

Enough glum, let's look at the upside!! God also introduces new friends and acquaintance's into our lives. If we accept that all people are an image of God, then all those that we know or have known are a bigger picture of God! Pray, God: Love us, lift us up when we are down, and propel us forward to find more of your awesome creation, (us).
Verses: Song O S 8: 6-7 John 13: 34 John 15 : 12-14

"A Maze of Life"

I am just thrilled that life is complicated and never complete.We get filled with experience and growth every day! The teachers idiom is that we learn something every day. The smallest of successes and failures are important for our continued growth.

Some things seem pretty ordinary but I believe there is always something new and unique. The simplest sunrise or sunset can set the stage for us. A rainbow has the power to lift us and awe us too!

Getting lost can open up more doors and sights than we could have imagined. Just stopping our routine and acknowledging some one can change the course of our days. All those we have met and will meet add something to our lives. Some will be more substantial than others, but all are meant to show us just a little more of the face of God!! Each of us is a picture of Gods' creation and greater world around us!!!!

"A.G.I., Assume Good Intentions"

I attended a class and if all I got out of it was this, then I am satisfied! It is so easy to take the defense or be skeptical. It is more mature and rewarding if we allow this to be our thinking. Generally most people are not out to hurt, cheat, or mistreat anyone else. Their approach may seem that way but it is usually our own interpretation.
The classic cinema movie will show our stereo-type thinking. A black man running from a crime scene is automatically guilty!! An attempt to honestly help someone else is taken as an unwelcome advance. There is something to be said about being careful. We should be aware of the dangers in this world. We can be more compassionate and accepting of others and their intentions. Pray, God: All of us could use a little more of your unfailing and all encompassing love!! A.G.I. Amazing God Incarnate
Verses: Col 3: 12-14 Heb 10: 19-25 Psalm 20(all)

"Amazing Grace"

Quite the amazing song, I would like to say!! Also quite the gift from God. Grace is beyond any human understanding. Gods grace is all encompassing and complete. Our grace to others, always less so.

Grace is defined in many ways, but my favorite is unwarranted forgiveness and acceptance. That is an amazing, God and only God redemption.

Forgiveness that is complete is hard to accomplish. We can say we forgive and then build resentment. That would be counter to true forgiveness. Our human frailty is that we can't reach Gods' level in any of our choices.

Our goal has to be to improve ourselves to be more God like. We can also accept that we area work in progress! The " journey is the story, not the destination". Pray God: We want to do, be, and act in all the right ways. Encourage and guide us all. Verses: Romans 3: 21-31 Ecl 2: 1-10 Titus 2: 11-15

"Amaze Others"

If you are one of those who won the spelling "bee" you have amazed others. If you have held a distraught friend or family member in a time of great stress, you have comforted them with your strength. I have been amazed countless times by the power and impact a song can have on me!

Often just being gentle, loving, caring, and genuinely concerned is an amazing act of kindness. All of our lives are intertwined with each of us lifting up all those we know. Some I will admit may try to tear us down or demean us. It then is up to the rest of us to uplift and support others.

A good life's' goal is to grow in our faith and become more and more like Jesus. He was the most amazing of all men!!! Jesus sets the bar and the rest of us will have to aspire to be more like him. Verses: 1Cor 12: 25-26 Ex 33: 12-23 Psalm 146: 9