Love on Him

By Lori Freeland –

“I hate night class. My throat is on fire—”

During the lengthy pause, I wondered why I had answered my cell.

“—and I got a 65 on the test.”

Kyle’s cranky attitude set my stress on fire.

Twice a week, he griped about Spanish night class and twice a week I lectured about ten key ways to study for college.

I gripped the phone. The semester ended in a few weeks. Not much time left to pull up his grade. “Come home and we’ll talk about it.”

He cut our connection with a typical, “Whatever.”

What did he expect? You have to work hard in college—even if you are still in high school. His college transcript reflected these grades. That’s what dual credit meant.

That’s not what he needs to hear.

Lord, of course that’s what he needs to hear. Slacking off is not an option. Where’s his drive? His motivation?

Love on him. No lectures. No advice.

Over the last year, I’d given a lot of advice in an attempt to fix him. Study more. Use better time management. Make a plan. Beg for extra credit.

Love is the fix.

This has nothing to do with love, Lord. Love doesn’t motivate him or push him to try harder. Look at all the mistakes I made when I was seventeen. I didn’t realize my choices then would affect my life now.

This isn’t about you. Love on him.

The garage door opened with a slow grind and a few seconds later, the back door slammed. Kyle wandered in, dropped his backpack on the couch, and kicked off his shoes in the middle of the hallway. I opened my mouth—

Love on him

—closed it and wrapped my arms around him. Taller than me, he rested his chin on the top of my head. Where was my little boy?

He shivered. “I’m cold and my throat hurts.”

Ah, there he was.

Love on him. Say the opposite of what you want to say.

I wanted to say, you were sick last week. Instead, I hugged him tighter and mumbled into his chest. “Do you want to take a hot bath? I can make you some hot chocolate.” I waited for his standard, “Whatever.”

It didn’t come. He pulled back and lifted the corners of his mouth, just a bit. “A bath and hot chocolate?” His smile deepened. “You gonna run this bath and make the hot chocolate?”

I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a mug. “Right now.”

“We’re not gonna talk about the test?”

“Nope.” I filled the cup with milk and stuck in the microwave.

He picked up his backpack and shoes and headed for the stairs. “Cool. Be right back.”

I slumped against the counter. You were right, Lord. You always are.

Kyle needed loving, not fixing. He needed understanding, not pressure—so he could relax, renew, and recharge.

Exactly the way I do when Jesus loves on me.

Now, Lord, help me remember that next week.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 NIV).

The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love

By Jarrod Spencer –

Most of you will remember the slogan the Peace Corp used many years ago, “One of the toughest jobs you’ll ever love.” When I was young, I thought that the Peace Corp would be something enjoyable to do. Maybe it was a desire to help people, which has been my focus much of my professional life. So, maybe I wasn’t too far off.

However, I believe there is another job that could be one of the toughest jobs that you’ll ever love—the job of being a mother. No matter how many children she has, her love continues to multiply. Her willingness to go the extra step never runs out. Her desire to nurture never loses its passion. Her tears never dry up.

I watch mothers more now that I am married and have my own children. I observe one of the best mothers each and every day. As I grew up, I was immature and oblivious to the real sacrifice that comes with being a parent. Now that I am a parent, and my wife is a mother, I understand much of what goes on in being a mother, based on observing my wife.

Girls start out caring and nurturing. As they grow, they enjoy playing house and being “Mommy.” Girls already understand that some of the roles a mother takes on include caring for the house, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children.

When the woman becomes a mom, she becomes even more sacrificial. It is a 24/7—365 sacrifice. She will do anything for her husband, but if her husband does not love her back, that may fade away. However, for her children, that love (usually) never fades. She will get up in the middle of the night to make sure her child is fed or changed, stay up until they fall back asleep, then get up when needed, despite the lack of sleep she’s had.

There is no retirement from being a mother. It doesn’t matter if you go to bed at night or your children move away from home, nothing says retirement to a mother.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Thanks Moms for all you do. Without you, we’d be in trouble. Thanks for taking on the toughest job you’ll ever love. Happy Mother’s Day!

PRAYER: Father, thank You for mothers! Thank You for my mother and thank You for my wife who is blessed to be a mother. May You replenish all mothers as they sacrifice for their children.

Weakling

By Heather Allen –

When I was younger, my days were spent racing alongside the boys that littered the neighborhood. Somehow I managed to withstand their boyhood shenanigans. Every summer day was spent streaking through imaginary borders in an attempt to capture a flag. And when that game grew weary we simply ran off the backyard dock, leaping high as we cannon balled into the lake. I felt invincible.

But then adulthood set in. I found my belief that adults are always right shattered along with my presuppositions that life is logical. And I learned that being older does not necessarily mean being wiser.

Today I listened to a sermon download that ended with this verse “If God be for us, who can be against us?”(Roman 8:31 NIV). The pastor described that what is being conveyed here is that Christ took our place, and no can undo that cleansing forgiveness. A year ago I painted this verse and placed it on my fridge, liking the thought that God was cheering me on, an “I am for you” kind of chant ringing around me. I did not see the depth of what was right in front of me. So much bigger than having someone on my side, I had someone think I was worth buying back. And that someone just happens to be the Creator of the universe.

I am not aging as gracefully as I had hoped. The wrinkles are spreading and signs that I am decaying crop up at almost every dentist appointment. Yes, I do floss. But I am increasingly aware of my frailty physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Growing older has only taught me that I know less than I thought. And reading Scripture has convinced me that I am utterly lost on my own, incapable of anything good or right or true.

Sometimes I lay awake trying to understand why God created us, knowing what we would do, and what it would cost to redeem us. Perhaps the moments where I stand at the edge of my children’s beds, visually tracing every facial detail I love, while they sleep, is the closest I can come to understanding this. I know I would give my life for them, and I would do it without being asked. And yet even with that expression of great love, laying down my life, I would not be able to change their eternity. But praise God because He could and He did.

He is the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through Him.

False religion is everywhere, even in the church body. And some of the falsehoods are easy to swallow because they are partially true and told by people we believe. I am weak and often unwise and being told that the gospel requires more from me is something that can motivate this perfectionist. But the simple, beautiful truth is my part is trust. And even that is a gift from Him. I have sinned and deserve hell. Christ paid for my redemption. He is both the author and perfector of my faith. I may be weak, but it’s okay because He is strong.

Your Body – A Fat Burning Machine

By Don Otis –

I was having dinner with some friends when their 24-year-old daughter asked me if I would help her get in shape. That is a pretty innocuous question. I asked her what she wanted to accomplish, how much time she could devote to fitness, and what she’s done before. She held up her arm and said, “I want my arms to be more toned.” Then, she added, “I can’t ride or run more than a mile before I am too tired.” Poor stamina is always the smoking gun of poor fitness.

Just as God has made us for relationship, He has also made us physical beings for activity. Living a sedentary lifestyle is relatively new to humanity and is not part of our Creator’s original design. This means we have to be intentional about activity. There are many culprits that invite us to an inactive lifestyle–television, dishwashers, lawn mowers, or even our vehicles. The bottom line is that we are now forced to be intentional about fitness.

You have heard the old adage “Use it or lose it.” This applies to your physical body too. My advice to anyone, whether they are a 24-year-old female who wears a size 4, or a 60-year-old man who wears a size 44: Get active! God has made you to move. The term aerobic means “with oxygen.” When you hear the term, aerobic exercise, this refers to how your body processes and uses oxygen. Elite distance runners or cyclists can run or pedal efficiently because they train their bodies to use oxygen sparingly.

Aerobic exercise is simply any exercise that gets your heart rate up beyond its normal resting rate for an extended period of time. Cardiorespiratory fitness is what defines the status of your heart muscle, lungs, and circulatory system. The first advice I give anyone who wants to “get in shape” is to get started on a fat-burning routine–aerobic exercise. Here are some of the health benefits of aerobic fitness.

• Reduces blood pressure
• Increases good cholesterol (HDL)
• Decreases total cholesterol
• Decreases body fat stores
• Increases aerobic work capacity
• Decreases anxiety, tension, and depression
• Increases heart function
• Helps prevent type 2 diabetes

There are a host of physiologic benefits and responses as well, which range from decreased workload on the heart, increased blood volume, lung diffusion capacity and many others.

Our bodies adapt to workload. This means that if you start an aerobic exercise program, it will be more difficult in the beginning, but gradually it will become easier as the weeks progress. Be patient with yourself. Choose activities that increase your heart rate and keep it there for 20-30 minutes at a time. These exercises are diverse. They can include walking/running, cycling, court sports, hiking, swimming, or climbing stairs.

The Bible enjoins us to love the Lord with our heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). How can we love the Lord with our strength if we have none?

Determine this summer to increase your metabolism, increase your strength, and decrease your weight!

Looking at the Bright Side of Bird Poop

By Elaine James –

“Is that bird poop on your back?” I asked my husband who just came back from fishing.

Without hesitation, he replied, “How did that happen? I thought God had my back.”

Let me back up to that morning and explain.

My family and a couple of friends woke up in our beach house to a sunny clear blue sky and the birds were singing. I blurted out “They are worshiping God.” My heart leaped with the reminder from God’s Word, “Praise the Lord—the birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.”

“LOL, Mom! You are so funny,” my daughter responded.

This is a teachable moment. God gives these teachable moments. I am not crazy! I need to say what I’m thinking and not lose the moment.

I explained to everyone that day, that when I think of birds, I think of God saying “Elaine, I’ve got your back.” They began laughing at me at this point.

I continued explaining my point by quoting scripture. “Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

God is telling us not to worry for a second. So when I see a bird it reminds me not to worry, because God has my back.

My hope is that when you hear birds singing you will think about this and remember: “I do not have to worry. I just need to listen to the birds sing and enjoy life. God has my back and He is going with me!”

This lesson reassured my husband that God has his back and he is reminded of this each time he hears the birds sing. Perhaps being pooped on by these birds was simply God sending that message a little stronger and His way of saying “LOL!”

PRAYER:  Lord thank You for having my back today. Thank You for Your love today. Each day I get up help me to remember this message and know that I am loved by the Creator of all things. Forgive me for worry and busyness and leaving You out of my day. I want You to be with me all the way.

“Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all His kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord” (Psalm 103:22 NIV).

« Previous Page — Next Page »