October 28, 2011 · 4:32 am

The First Snow Of The Season


I have lived in New England a long time.

I do not remember ever having snow before Halloween.

Until today.

The rain turned to snow around 6:30 this evening. My daughter immediately began cheering and ran outside, spinning in joyful circles around the driveway, arms outstretched, face upturned.

What happened next would surprise those who know me and my typical less-than-enthusiastic greeting of the winter season: I went outside and joined her. 🙂

This would not have happened in the past before I read Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts.

That book has truly been life-changing for me. I have learned to treasure each moment I have been given, both big and small. My life has become a river of thanksgiving to my beautiful God and the result has been overflowing  joy.

So, rather than stay inside and bemoan this early start to our snowy season, I decided to embrace it and soak in this moment with my daughter.

My son joined us and the three of us took a walk around the neighborhood. The night was still and silent, as it always seems to be during a snowfall. Our neighbors’ windows glowed bright and warm.  The air was crisp, fresh and clean. I inhaled deeply and could not stop smiling. All three of us turned our faces up to the snow, feeling  the big flakes fall gently onto our faces.

It was so good to be here, in this place that I love with my two favorite redheads, laughing and enjoying our first taste of winter.

This was so much better than sitting inside.

One member of our family refused to join in on the fun…

Buddy was born in south Florida and I don’t think he ever got over moving this far north. In fact, I think he holds a grudge.

He was quite the curmudgeon when he saw the snow. From the comfort of the doorway, he gave a quick sniff, looked disdainfully at me as I urged him to come outside, then promptly turned away, retreating to the comfort of his  favorite spot near the fireplace.

Long after Josh and I had gone inside, my girl was still enjoying the first taste of winter…

The only thing that finally brought her back inside was her daddy coming home.

After greeting him, she promptly began listening to “Let It Snow”  on her laptop and played it a few million times.

As is typical of New England weather, tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and clear, near fifty degrees.

But for now, my family and I are watching “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” while the snow continues to fall.

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October 27, 2011 · 7:43 am

One


Photo credit: andrechinn

As Jesus  continues to teach me about I Corinthians 13 love, I was reminded of a very important truth while reading an incredible book called Kisses from Katie: A Story of  Relentless Love and Redemption.

Katie Davis went to live in Uganda when she was 18, answering God’s call to serve orphans there. Today, at 22, she is the adoptive mother to thirteen precious girls, as well as the founder of Amazima Ministries, which feeds, clothes, and educates hundreds of children who otherwise would have nothing.

She is one of my heroes.

Katie admits to sometimes feeling as if she is “emptying the ocean with an eyedropper.” (p. xviii). However, she does not allow that feeling to overwhelm her. Rather “I have learned to be okay with this feeling because I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person…and if one person sees the love of Christ in me, it is worth every minute. In fact, it is worth spending my life for.” (p. xix). 

Nowhere in His Word does Jesus tell us to save the world, to try to be everything to everybody.

He asks us to live within the parameter of one 24 hour day, to serve those He brings into our lives during that period of time.

So, for today, take the hand of Christ and walk with Him into your day, asking Him to give you His eyes to see that one person who may need a listening ear, a kind word,a few dollars, a bite to eat, a smile, a Bible verse, or to hear the glorious good news of the Gospel.

Never underestimate the power of your one  life to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else.

“A journey of one thousand miles begins with one step.” —Chinese proverb

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October 26, 2011 · 4:39 am

A Velveteen Mom


2008

Ann Voskamp has written a most beautiful article on being a mother entitled Tiger Mothers? Or the Making of Velveteen Mothers that really ministered to my heart.

The first quote she used took my breath away and stopped me right in my tracks: “I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley

What. an. enormous. responsibility. we. have. been. given.

When I read those words, I instantly panicked, thinking of all the many ways I have messed up.

But almost immediately, Jesus reminded me that I am His “Plan A” for Josh and Julia….that He appointed me to this role and when He did it, He already knew everything about me, good and bad (Psalm 139:1-5).

Yet He still qualified me because He is the Redeemer: He takes my mistakes, covers them with His wondrous grace, transforms them, and gives beauty for ashes.

Always and forever, He speaks grace to me.

Lord, never let me forget the awesome responsibility You have given me…and let me never stop looking to You for  Your ever-present help!

Ann speaks of becoming  “a velveteen mother—made real by the years…worn and weathered down to the exquisite beauty of the frame of the Cross.”

The longer I am a mother, the more passionate I am about leaving that very legacy for my children. All that I could teach them, all that I could dream for them, all that I could desire for them boils down to one grand, glorious Name: Jesus.

To the best of my ability, I have  tried to show them the Savior who has so radically changed my life.

I have taught them to delight in nature which reveals His beauty and creativity.

I have studied His Word with them and shown them how to apply it to their lives.

I have prayed with them over things big and small.

I have assured them of His faithfulness and goodness in the midst of pain and confusion.

I have had to humble myself and ask their forgiveness and have been gracious when they have asked for mine.

I have tried to teach them His ways and remind them of His love for the unlovely.

I have taught them to trust His plan and His timing when it differs radically from theirs.

When we have laughed so hard that our stomachs hurt and tears stream from our eyes, I have reminded them that He is a God who smiles and laughs.

I have shown them how I get back up when I’ve blown it.

I have attempted to open their eyes to the world beyond their comfortable lives  in America to the enormous need and desperation around the globe.

I have reminded them that this world is not their home. It is not all there is…and that this life is a journey that ends in seeing the face of the One who loved them enough to die for them.

Most of all, I have endeavored to teach them to cherish the cross. The cross represents their hope, their freedom, their gateway to joy, their dignity, the end of their shame, their victory, their forgiveness,  their peace, their promise of eternal life, their beautiful redemption.

I have done none of this perfectly. But I have done it passionately.

As the years have passed, I pray that they have seen less of me and more of Jesus.

Jesus has given me these children.

I have given them Jesus.

And they have given me joy.

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October 25, 2011 · 4:44 am

1%


“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another.” —Jesus (John 13:34)

photo credit: greg

Like everyone else, I have relational challenges in my life.

Author Mary Southerland calls them “sandpaper people.”

Maybe  I am  someone’s sandpaper person. 🙂

Loving difficult people intentionally and well can be very hard work.

It is the work that Jesus is calling me to right now.

Regarding I Corinthians 13, D.L. Moody wrote, “The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other. Would that we could all move into that Love chapter and live there.” 

As of today, I am moving in and living there.

Fortunately, I won’t be there alone. Jesus will be there with me, every step of the way.

He will direct my cold, selfish, stubborn, hard heart right into the very center of His love. (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

That is my only hope.

I don’t have much love to give on my own. I love those who love me, those who are easy to love. There is nothing supernatural about that; it’s human nature.

But Jesus calls me to live in HIS love, to display HIS love to a dark and dying world.

His  is a love that prayed for His enemies even as they viciously killed them.

His is a love that laid down His life so that others could rise to eternal life with Him.

His is a reconciling love, a passionate love, an unconditional love, a redemptive love, a perfect love.

I need to be willing to die to self and let His love flow through me. I need to cooperate with Him and submit to Him because He is Lord. I need to always remember the astonishing love He has shown to me.

Love is so important to Jesus that He tells me in His Word that without love my life amounts to nothing in His eyes (I Corinthians 13:1-3).

It does not matter how talented I am, how much money I give away, if I am in church every time the door is open, if I volunteer five days a week at the local soup kitchen…if I do those things without genuine love, it means nothing at all to Him.

N-o-t-h–i-n-g.

That is very sobering, is it not?

When I accepted His invitation recently to take an honest, no-holds-barred look at my life in light of I Corinthians 13, I had to admit that much of what I was doing amounted to nothing because I didn’t do it with love…especially when it involved the sandpaper people in my life.

To my dismay, I realized that I had actually been patting myself on the back because of all that I had sacrificed, thinking I was doing the noble thing. But all along, it meant nothing to the One I want to please the most.

While on the outside, I may have appeared accommodating, in my heart I was filled with resentment.

“Pretending” to be loving doesn’t cut it. Nor does gritting your teeth and hiding behind a fake smile.

The love that Jesus requires of those who follow Him must be genuine and sincere. (Romans 12:9). It must be real to the bone.

That is my stumbling block.

So, He is going to take me on a journey with Him to learn how to love like He does.

I made several copies of I Corinthians 13 from my Bible. I put one on my bathroom mirror. I will carry one in my purse. I am using one as a bookmark. I will listen to it being read on my Bible on CD while I drive around town. It is the first thing I will see when I turn on my Kindle.

I will memorize it until it drops the eighteen inches from my head into my heart.

And I will watch to see how Jesus takes my willing, imperfect heart and transforms it until it beats in time with His and pours forth His love.

Something our Sunday school teacher said yesterday gave me an excellent place to start.

During class, he quoted author John Maxwell. When dealing with difficult people, Maxwell advised focusing on just 1% of the good in them. My first thought was, “I can do that!  I can make the choice to focus on that 1%!”  (Philippians 4:8).

I left the class filled with resolve and optimism.

You can imagine what happened next.

I have said it before and I truly believe it. Our God has a sense of humor.

One of my sandpaper people called!

I saw the name on the caller ID and just burst out laughing.

Then I prayed, “Lord, show me the 1%!”

And He did, praise His Name!

I am marking that one down as a victory! 🙂

I am under no illusions. I know that this is going to be one tough battle. Love in the Bible is not portrayed as a fluctuating emotion, though emotions are involved. It is primarily an act of the will.

But I also know that Christ promises that He will always lead us in triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14) when we are doing His will. He will do that for me.

If I speak in tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, 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.

Love never fails…And now, these three remain: faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:1-8a;13).

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October 24, 2011 · 5:16 am

A Brand New Day


Sing halleljuah
the sun’s breaking through

To take back the dark sky
And make everything new

We knew joy was coming
We just had to wait

And now we sing hallelujah 
‘Cause it’s a brand new day

So let’s sing hallelujah
The dark night is gone

Creation is singing 
So come join in the song

The Father is calling
To come out and play

So we’ll sing hallelujah
Cause it’s a brand new day

Sing hallelujah
It’s a brand new, beautiful day

Notice the rainbow cross in this photo

It’s a brand new, beautiful day…to love freely and deeply…to live filled with gratitude for gifts big and small…to laugh often…to celebrate the Savior who gives life and makes all things new.

This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24)

*”Sing Hallelujah” by Steven Curtis Chapman

*Photographs by my son Josh

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October 20, 2011 · 5:12 am

Celebrating LIFE!


Last night, my home was filled with dozens of women celebrating a very special lady…and a powerful and merciful God.

T. turned 50 on Sunday. Rather than dread or bemoan this birthday, she met it with joy and gratitude…because at one point, she didn’t know if she would live to ever see that milestone.

Eight years ago, T. was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The doctor was starkly honest: the odds of her survival were extremely slim. Her only option was an experimental treatment that would practically kill her before (if) it healed her.

What followed was a grueling treatment, as well as a time of  unparalleled intimacy with Jesus.

T. is one of most humble women I know. She made it clear that she did not want the focus of this party to be her.  Rather, she wished to have the spotlight shine brightly  on her Savior and what He has done. Her entire life points to Him so last night was no different.

At one point in the evening, she blessed all of us with a few words of encouragement. She spoke of a tender Savior who speaks personally and intimately to our hearts from  the pages of His  precious Word.

She spoke of the sheer joy of a life lived in full surrender and total dependence upon Him.

She spoke of a refreshing humility that is borne of adversity and loosens the confining shackles of self and the illusion of control over one’s destiny.

She spoke of a deep desire to spend the rest of her days bringing glory to the One who healed her body of cancer…but more importantly saved and redeemed her soul.

She spoke of a Savior who breathes hope into every circumstance, no matter how dire.

T. makes me want to press on to know Jesus better. She radiates His beauty and His peace.

The entire evening was filled with love, sweet fellowship, good food, lots of laughter and even some silliness… Bob the Banana did make an appearance. Because really…what says, “Happy 50th birthday!” like a 6 foot tall velvet banana?!

And all the while, I felt the smile of Christ who is the Author of Joy and delights in His people.

Happy birthday, sweet T. You are loved!

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October 18, 2011 · 7:07 am

Sweet 14


Today my daughter Julia turned 14 years old.

I find that incredibly hard to believe.

It seemed like just yesterday she was a little girl who loved vanilla ice cream cones and men riding motorcycles.

(Funny story: when Julia was three years old, we were having lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant when four Hell’s Angels walked in and sat at a table near us. She was absolutely transfixed. She spent the rest of the lunch saying, “I like those mans! I like those mans!” 🙂 ).

This led to my brother-in-law warning us that one day she might come home with a tattooed, leather-clad boyfriend named Thor.

We shall see.

Julia has always had a sweet spirit and a kind heart.

Do you notice how her hands are folded in the above photo? She did that constantly during her first year and I have no idea why but it was so darned cute.

The morning we had her dedicated at church, she allowed Pastor John to hold her and as he turned her so that she was facing the congregation, she folded her hands in a very ladylike fashion and coolly surveyed the people, totally unfazed.

Pastor John was so charmed that it led him to say, “Let this be a lesson to all the parents out there.” 🙂

Julia has always had a perpetually sunny personality.

In fact, her entire room is decorated in a cheery smiley face motif. (Along with the Abbey Road Beatles poster, Audrey Hepburn from ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s, a calendar entitled ‘Nuns Having Fun’ and a Ted Williams tin touting the soft drink Moxie).

Her tastes are a tad eclectic.

What is missing is a poster of Clay Aiken of  ‘American Idol’ fame.

When Julia was five years old, she developed a love for Clay Aiken and insisted that she was going to grow up and marry him. (Note the huge departure from the aforementioned Hell’s Angel type).

Doug and I decided to buy tickets for the AI summer tour that year and her excitement level was off that charts the night of the concert. We had pretty good seats and the highlight of her night was seeing Clay perform in person.

Afterward, she asked if she could please, please, please have a poster of Clay for her room.

We stood in a very long line to purchase the poster and she happily clutched it all the way home.

However, the instant the poster was unrolled and ready to be hung, the honeymoon was over.

She began to cry while pointing at the photo of her beloved and wailing, “It’s so ugly! There are things all over his face! Take it away!!!”

Those “things” were freckles.

Clearly, she is not a fan.

Nor is she a fan of the French braid.

Julia has always been a tomboy and she barely tolerated any kind of fussing with her hair.

However, when my friend Ida Mae was visiting many years ago, she asked Julia if she could braid her hair. Julia agreed and seemed quite happy to comply. That is, until she saw her reflection.

This was her reaction:

Needless to say, the dreaded French braid never made another appearance.

Since an early age, Julia has loved to create. She draws, writes, paints, plays the flute, and last year, she was in her first play, Little Women.

Like her grandfather, she is also a big history buff. She watched every single debate during the 2008 election season and knows the names of her governor and her representatives. I had no clue about any of those things when I was her age.

I think she may have politics in her future. A few years ago, the kids had an opportunity to participate in a program called “Exchange City.”  It is an excellent program that teaches kids what is involved in running a city. They have 3 1/2 months of classroom instruction, followed by a two-day simulation at an Exchange City location. They had to interview or campaign for their jobs and Julia was determined to become the judge of the city. She campaigned by creating a campaign poster and writing a speech about what she would do as judge and sent it out electronically to kids from all over the state who would be doing the simulation with her.

She lost…but when the next semester came around, she decided to go for it again. We admired and encouraged her tenacity. This time, she won and that was one of the proudest days of her life. This is one of my favorite photos:

This week during a field trip sponsored by her school, she is going to have the opportunity to see and hear a Supreme Court case being argued and she can hardly wait.

I would not at all be surprised if one day she actually becomes a judge.

I have already signed on to be her campaign manager when it’s time for her to run for office.

Julia loves animals,  watching old black and white movies with her daddy, and all kinds of music.

She insists that her first car is going to be a used black Hummer, of all things. Here she is posing beside one back in May:

She decided to follow her brother and attend the local high school after years of being home-schooled and she is thriving. She plays the flute in the band and is on the volleyball team.

On her Facebook page, Julia writes that “I love my family and friends more than anything.”  And oh, how they love her!

Julia and Daddy

Julia and Aunt Dot

Julia and Grandma

With her brother

Julia and her cousin Sarah

Julia, Grandma, and Uncle Jeff

Julia, me, Auntie Leslie

I am so blessed to be the mother of this amazing young lady.

I can hardly wait to see the plans God has for her.

I love you, sweet girl! 🙂

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October 14, 2011 · 11:10 am

Gladness and Rejoicing


Photo credit: onejamephilly

I opened my Bible this morning and saw this verse: “Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.” —(Psalm 16:9).

What a wonderful verse! I would love to live this day with my heart being glad and my whole being rejoicing!

But how?

I have been taught that when I see the word “therefore ” in Scripture that I am to ask, “What is it there for?”

Context is always key.

So, I read verse 8 above: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Aha. Living like verse 9 describes is conditional.

I cannot be glad and rejoicing when my focus is on the troubles that may surround me….or the people who annoy me….or the worries about what tomorrow holds…or the current state of my bank account.

True joy and gladness comes when I focus on the One who never changes (Hebrews 13:8).

How?

Focus on His Word like a laser beam.

Look up verses that apply to your situation. Write them down on index cards and post them all over your house. (If I am going through a particularly tough battle, I will tape a verse to my dashboard so I can read it when I am stopped at red lights or stuck in traffic).

Insert your name within the verses in order to personalize them. After all, the Bible is how Jesus reveals Himself to you. That is where you will always hear His voice most clearly.

Choose to place what God’s Word says above your feelings or what you can see. That is walking by faith and it pleases Him.

Listen to the Bible on CD or turn on some praise music, particularly the CDs that put Bible verses to music (such as the “Glory Revealed” series).

Praise Him for everything you can think of (starting with the extravagant, beautiful gift of your salvation).

As you “set the Lord always before you” in this way, you will become aware of His Presence. He is always with you (Mt. 28:20).

Jesus is Joy personified and He desires to give you His joy (John 17: 13).

He alone can make your heart truly sing with gladness, regardless of your circumstances.

Not only does He desire to fill you with His joy, He also is always willing to fill you with His very strength so that nothing and no one can shake you.

In the original language the word for shaken is “mowt” and it means: ‘to totter, to slip, to be overthrown, to be greatly shaken.”

Picture Jesus saying to you: “Because I am with you always and you are clinging to Me in faith, I will not let you slip. I will not let you be overthrown by your circumstances. There is no need to be greatly shaken.” 

He is always and forever firmly on His Throne and in complete and total control. There is no need to fear. (Yes, you will feel fear. We are all human. However, we do not need to give in to that fear and allow it to control us).

Choose faith instead.

Is it easy? No.

But it is simple.

Faith or fear? You cannot operate in both at the same time.

Choose faith and watch to see the gladness and rejoicing that will follow.

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October 13, 2011 · 9:04 am

One Of Those Days


Photo credit: Ashok Gazula

Did you ever have one of those days?

I am having one today. 🙂

I overslept, which meant that I got my kids to school just in the nick of time.

When I got home, my dog Buddy had left me an unwanted, smelly “gift” to clean up. The entire time I was scolding him, he looked up at me with those innocent big brown eyes of his as if say, “Who, me?”

I logged onto my computer to see an email from my daughter that said, “PLEASE READ THIS!”

Somewhat alarmed, I opened the email to read that her field trip had been cancelled for the day, which meant that she had her Honors English class after all. Could I please bring her folder to the school?

My eyes slid over to the kitchen table, where the bright blue folder lay. Just a few minutes earlier before I took her to school, I suggested that she might want to take that with her “just in case.”

She said she wouldn’t be needing it due to the field trip and would like to conserve room in her backapck.

Sigh.

I suppose I could have refused to take the folder to her but this is her favorite class and she had no way of knowing the field trip would be postponed for a week. However, I do plan to gently remind her that she might want to take her mother’s advice from now on. 🙂

I looked at the clock, knowing I didn’t have much time before her English class began. That meant I didn’t have time to put on any makeup.

I am not a natural beauty. I have rosacea, bed-head hair, and big bags under my eyes when I wake up in the morning. It’s not a pretty sight and takes me quite awhile before I look presentable to the public.

There was no time to worry about that now, though.

I put on my favorite comfy sweatshirt jacket (which went nicely with the sweatpants I was wearing), grabbed my purse and the English folder and headed out into the cold, rainy morning. As I drove to the school, I hoped that I wouldn’t see anyone I knew.

After pulling into a parking space at the front entrance, I lifted the hood of my jacket over my head and tucked the bulky English folder under my jacket to protect it from the rain.

As I hurried to the entrance, I noticed the policeman who patrols the school walking toward me.

He looked mildly alarmed.

“Hey…what you got there?” He called out, hurrying closer.

I realized suddenly how suspicious this looked…a hooded person holding something large inside a jacket while moving purposefully toward the entrance of the school on a dark and rainy morning.

“Good morning officer!” I said in my brightest voice, pushing the hood off of my head and opening my jacket to reveal the English folder. “I’m just delivering my daughter’s folder to her.”

He glanced at the folder, then at me  before nodding and wishing me a good day.

Now my hair was wet, which only added to my fabulous look.

I made it to the front door only to hear the bell ring and see that the halls were instantly flooded with students. The secretary buzzed me inside where I joined the stream of kids on my way to deliver Julia’s folder to the main office.

If I saw one of my kids’ friends, I saw ten.

“Hi Mrs. Brown!”

“Hey Ms. Brown!”

I could not believe it.

How many times had I come to the school with my hair done,  fully made up,  not wearing sweats as I was today…and saw no one?

I delivered the folder, ran back outside to the car and turned on the radio as I left the campus and headed home.

I burst out laughing when I heard the speaker on the radio quote this verse: “This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps. 118:24)

You can’t tell me that our God does not have a sense of humor! 🙂

I hope this day finds you rejoicing too, despite the weather or your circumstances…because life—even on the messy days— is such  a precious gift.

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October 11, 2011 · 8:03 am

Whatever You Do…


Photo credit: Thomas Hawk

Jesus led me to Colossians 3 in my quiet time with Him this morning: “Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus…” (v. 17, italics added).

He then invited me to live in that verse today.

I exhaled in grateful relief, feeling His peace saturate my heart.

Before I opened my Bible this morning, I was feeling somewhat frustrated. I happen to be very tired following a busy (but fun!) weekend and I regretted that I allowed that fatigue to manifest itself in  speaking rather harshly to my daughter this morning.

I was upset with myself and wearily asked Jesus to help me overcome my stubborn fleshly reactions.

Colossians 3:17 was His answer.

After reading that verse, I found myself asking, “Can I speak harshly to my daughter in Jesus’ Name?”

Um….no!

Can I worry in Jesus’ Name?

Can I be selfish in Jesus’ Name?

Can I harbor negative thoughts in Jesus’ Name?

Can I judge another in Jesus’ Name?

Can I be lazy in Jesus’ Name?

Can I give a half-hearted effort in Jesus’ Name?

The answer is no to all of these things.

What a clear and refreshing way to look at each day!

The word “whatever” in this verse encompasses all of life. Whatever choices this day holds for me , I can choose to ask myself, “Can I take this action, think this thought, say this word in the Name of the Lord Jesus?”

If not, I will ask His strength to make the choice that will honor Him and His precious Name.

He gives me guidance for ways to honor Him in the rest of Colossians 3:

*Set your minds on things above, not earthly things (v.2)

*Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature (v.5)

*Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (v.12)

*Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (v.13)

*Above all else, put on love (v.14)

Today, this can be Jesus’ invitation to you as well.

Go..and do ALL in the Name of Jesus.

You will discover that a day lived to His glory is a day filled with His joy.

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