Love is....

I was pumping gas last week and on the other side of the gas pumps, a van pulled over. As the mother opened the driver's door, I heard a little girl's voice, yelling at the top of her lungs, " Mommy!!! Mommy!!!" The mother answered in an irritated tone of voice, "What????" And the little girl, in a much softer tone now said, "I love you, mommy!" I didn't hear a response from the mother...I was hoping at that moment that the girl's innocence wouldn't think much of it, of not getting a response from her mother....My heart was sad for the girl at that time. I was hoping and praying that the mother would come to her sense of feeling her child's expression of love. I couldn't judge her. Maybe she was going through a tough time like the rest because of this economy. And that was also another sad thing.

My child is in his teen years now. When he looked back and remembered the memories we had all spent as a family or as mother and child, he spoke of the times we shared laughing and sharing jokes. He mentioned how he would try to cut the spring roll wrappers and pretended he was making his own "egg rolls" when I would make him cook with me. He remembered the "Saturdays" that he and his dad spent making some pancakes of two sizes, one bigger, and the others were mini-sizes meant for him. He remembered the fun he had when we drove the car in Disneyland together and with me or his dad, carrying him in our arms, that was the only way he would take a picture with Disney characters. He remembered he used to say "yo...yo..." when he was only a tot, meaning "I love you" but it meant so much for me and my husband. He remembered the times when him and his dad would pretend they were racing with his "hotwheels cars" and his eyes would glisten whenever he won! He remembered every afternoon, he had his play time with his father, even though he was tired from work.

That was then...Now is the same. Material things do not give us the "happiness and the love" we long for...It is in those simple things, of making memories together, even without having anything, but just having love incorporated in every moment, is something that no money can buy nor any words can ever express.

I had bought this "Valentine's stamps" recently from the post office. "The words "all heart" caught my eye and a man, sort of running while carrying a big, heavy heart was enough for me to remember that not only on Valentine's Day nor on special occasions, but everyday, we must have a "big heart" and in everything we do or say, we must "give it or do it with all of our hearts." If we can learn how to love, we must look up to God first. He is the Author of love. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love each other as a result of His loving us first..."

The apostle Paul had expressed the true meaning of love [from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, Life Application Bible]....."Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever..." "There are three things that will endure - faith, hope and love - and the greatest of these is love"...

1 Corinthians 14:1 - "Let love be your highest goal."

Mark 12:30, 31 - Jesus said, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself."

1 John 4:7,8 - "Let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God - for God is love."

Romans 13:8 - "Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God's law."

1 Peter 3:8 - "All of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds."

Don't Go With the Flow

I like to watch the surfers whenever my family and I take a stroll by the beach. It's amazing when they try to go against the currents at first, paddling with all their might to steer towards the deeper end and then, to wait for that "big wave" they're waiting for. It looks tiring as they go against the currents...But they never seem to quit.

Then, the "final glory" comes when they are able to ride their surf boards and balance adeptly as they glide smoothly on top of a nice wave, that carries them back to the sandy shore.

A Christian way of life is very much the same as these surfers. The Lord doesn't want us to go with the "flow" of this world. We should never quit with our ways of going against the flow or currents. Then, we will reap the "great glory" as we head back to the Lord's home. The things of these world are not of the Lord's...[1Corinthians 7:31 -"those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed with them. For this world in its present form is passing away."].
In our workplaces, "grapevine" is such a common occurrence. Many have lazy work habits and are not willing to help out in whatever way they can. It's hard to go against such people but as Christians, we must strive to "not go with the flow" and set an example. We should be encouragers not discouragers. We should be the light in dark places. We should show our strength in areas where there are weaknesses. We should be able to share the love that we have received from our faithful God with those who don't know what love is. We should have the patience despite the rush and time pressure. Then, someday, when our time is done, and we are about to catch the wave that will bring us back home to Jesus, then we can proudly tell Him, that we didn't quit and that we "didn't go with the flow"...






Psalm 19:14 - "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer."

Philippians 4:8 - "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Psalm 1:1,2 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law, he meditates day and night."

Psalm 1:3 - "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all he does, he prospers."

God's Greatest Attribute is "Love"

Having a personal relationship with the Lord made me appreciate His creations

more and more...He created all things, big or small, but most important of all, He

created all of us "in His image"... Genesis 2:7 says, "from dust, God breathed

into us the breath of life..." To me, the greatest of all of these wonderful things

is His unfathomable love....

May you also come to know the Lord's love as you happen to peek at this site...God bless.

2009

Welcome 2009! Another year of living in an uncertain times. With the house market continuing to decline, the cost of food items rising, a lot of people losing their homes and with people not knowing how safe their retirement investments are, how are we able to overcome all these? Wars between nations are continuing. We just felt an earthquake last night, a couple of strong jolts for a few seconds. What are we to do if natural disasters occur?

There are so many roads we travel in this lifetime. But there is only one road that leads to security. And that road is the one that leads to Jesus. Jesus is our security and nothing or no one else is.

As we travel in this lifetime, we can't look back since we needed to move on forward to reach our destiny. Yet, we are facing a lot of "unknowns" as we move forward. I think the best thing to do is to "look up" and remember the "Master" Who knows and Who feels for what we go through.

This is another year but many more will come and go...Time slips through our hands like sands do through your fingers. Forget the New Year's resolutions we haven't accomplished.

Isaiah 40:26 -"Lift up your eyes on high, and see Who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing."

Psalm 23:6 -"Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

John 6:27 -"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

Romans 8:38,39 -"I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, not height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."