Susan and Edmund the other day, and for no apparent reason that I could detect:
I love you, Edmund!
I love you, Susan!
And a mutual bear hug as if to convince the sibling.
Cool, huh?
Paper Bridges
just another Jesus freak, homeschooling mom with a blog
Posts tagged ‘love’
The friendships of women
Friendship is a reoccurring theme with me.
I have this post. And this. All about how we need each other, especially those of us home with our children day-after-day.
We need to lift each other up. Encourage and love.
That’s what this video is about, the need we have for each other. And the power in true friendship.
Watch it, then go be a good friend.
Related posts:
Mom’s night out
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez
On my nightstand: October 2008
I’m behind in my reading and late on linking this at 5 Minutes for Books. Below is what I’m working through right now:
Community is a hot buzz word in the church.
My first Driscoll book.
Love that title, and really LOVE the subtext.
That’s it for me for October. Be looking for my next On My Nightstand list at the end of this month.
Six things you can do today to help fight poverty
In my previous posts, I talked of the facts of poverty, with images that help make give a human face to the numbers, and I listed many Bible verses that specifically address the Lord’s concern for the poor.
Now you may be thinking: Okay, I get it. There is suffering and children are starving and dying. I had no idea there were so many scriptures that talk about poverty and what our response should be. What can I do? I’m just one person in the world.
Excellent question! Here are some ideas to help us in the war against poverty:
Six things you can do today to help fight poverty:
Pray. I believe in an all-powerful, loving God who listens to the cry of His people. I pray for them, especially the littlest ones that seem to suffer the worst. I also pray that the Lord would use me to help and to give me opportunities.
Give. Yes, money helps, but it’s not the only thing to do. Throwing money at a problem is a typical knee-jerk reaction for us Americans. How much can I donate to make the guilt go away? We need to give out of love, not because it’s easy and fast to write out a check. Giving your time may be a bigger sacrifice to make – I sure know it can be for me. Let’s give our time and energy to organizations that seek to help those in poverty.
Teach. If you are a parent, then teach your children about poverty around the world. Don’t be afraid to give them the honest truth. You may be surprised at the compassion and understanding from your children. Give them the chance to help out.
Love. Our motivation for everything we do. Without love we are… just a loud, ugly noise. If I give everything I own to the poor, but have not have love, it’s a waste (I Corinthians 13: 1-3).
Go. The natural response of love. A soup kitchen in your city. A building project. There are many opportunities if you just look. Before I was married, I witnessed horrible living conditions in my travels to South America and Asia. My church denomination offers women’s mission trips to work with the poor.
You can also go to compassion.com right now to sponsor a child trapped in poverty. My family has sponsored an Indonesian girl for several years and I know our monthly support and letters are changing her life.
As for Number Six? I’m leaving that one up to you.
What can we do to fight poverty? Leave your suggestion in the comments, or write your own post, and I’ll link to it here.
Let’s inspire each other!
***
photo credit: angela7dreams
More thoughts on church: I’ll not give up
Sunday wasn’t the happy Sabbath it could’ve been; you figured that out from Tuesday’s post. I didn’t write that snippet of life to stab my church. I love my church, that’s why it hurts much when it doesn’t feel reciprocal.
I realize this is a public forum for personal church problems. I have no intention of going into great detail regarding my church family and all it’s faults. And, oh boy, do we have our ups and downs. If you have attended a fellowship for any length of time, I bet we could swap stories. That’s the way it goes. Christians screw up.
Enough, Monica. Get to the point.
Yeah, why am I telling you all this?
Why share here? Why not just write this in a paper journal kept next to the bedside, in a book only I will ever read? Because I suspect there is another Christian walking this same road. Maybe she is a home school mom like me, home with kids all day, with little time for herself, scant close friends to lean on. She feels the same as I do.
This post is for her.
She feels a bit lost in the crowd, discouraged and maybe like church on a Sunday isn’t worth the hassle. Especially after a Sunday like I had.
I want her to know – I’m not quiting the church. As much as I want sometimes to stay home, or find a better, all-together church (Does it exist? Show me). I’m in it for the long haul.
I go to church to worship God, not make friends.
I attend my local church to learn from the Word, not to feel good about seeing friends. Even though it sure is a nice perk.
Church is to grow in Christ. And that’s why I won’t quit gathering together with other Christians. As imperfect as the church may be, I won’t give up on her. She’s imperfect, just like me. I’m glad one day we will be made new together.
Related posts:
“I love God, but find it difficult to pray.”
Eleven years
The Christmas cards came out so well the other day, I decided to scan my favorite wedding picture. This is Doc and I eleven years ago. We held our garden wedding on the first Saturday of the fall season, picking the date based on the Farmer’s Almanac online. The advice did us good – we couldn’t have asked for a more lovely day.
I look at this picture now and I wonder what I’m saying to my husband. I’d like to remember, I’m curious. And yet… I like the mystery of not knowing. Just like we can’t go back to being young newlyweds.
I love the distance between us and our photographer. I like it that I’m touching his lapel. Today that hillside is dotted with houses. The scenery is gone, but we remain.
You can see more Wordless Wednesday pictures at 5 Minutes for Mom.
