Love

"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels,

but have not love,

I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal"

1 Corinthians 13:1

     I was part of a conversation the other day about the word love.  Many of the people said that they only used the word love for their immediate family.  They feel that if you use the term to much, it loses its meaning. They have no problem telling their spouses or children that they love them (and most say it often to them), but they rarely tell others "I love you".  I think that is sad...I have enough love to go around and I want my friends to know that I love them.

     I love my husband with all my heart.  I tell him often that I love him.  I try to show him every day that I love him.  He tells me the same.  I don't remember the last time that we didn't say I love you at least once during the course of the day.  Jim and I both tell Delainey that we love her every day.  We want her to know that she is loved completely.  We tell the boys that we love them every time we talk to them.  No matter what, they are our children and we will always love them.

     I tell my family members that I love them.  Any time that I talk to my brother, we end the call with saying that we love each other.  I love my family.  We aren't perfect, in fact we have lots of flaws, but I love them all. I would say that I even love the crazy cousin in the family, but I have been told by some that I am the crazy cousin.  I am not sure about that one...

     I don't remember when I started telling my friends that I love them, but I have always loved my friends.  I can't imagine my life without my friends. I cannot imagine not telling them that I love them.  I don't say it every time I talk to them, but I say it often enough to let them know I mean it. Sometimes I tell a friend that I love them because I think that they need to hear it that day.  If you are my friend, I have probably already said that I love you, but if not, just wait, you will hear it at some point!

     I have come to realize that my job here is to show love and to give love to others.  The really cool thing about that, the more that I share my love, the more love I feel from others.  I try (and I fail often) to love people, even when I don't want to love them.  We all need love.  We all need to know that others love us, even when we don't feel lovable.

     Just know, my friends, I truly love you!  I leave you with the most important thought about love:

"This is My commandment:

 that you love one another

as I have loved you"

John 15:12

Stronger....Month Two

     I am still taking baby steps to becoming stronger in 2013.  Rather than trying to make a bunch of big changes all at once, I making slow, gradual changes in my life.  Every three to four weeks, I plan on adding something new to my life.  January I focused on becoming stronger in my faith.  I spent time each day with a devotional, the Bible, and prayer.  I have come to look forward to that time each night.  I truly feel that my faith in God is become stronger and deeper than ever before.

     My next focus is becoming stronger through healthy eating.  I wish that I could say my body craves healthy foods.  It doesn't.  Coke, cookies, Little Debbie snack cakes, Jalapeno Cheddar Cheetos ....mmmmm!  I have found that if I cut these foods out completely, I will binge on them at some point.  I have to portion them out in moderation, which is hard.  There are some foods that I cannot have at home or I will eat them all.  It is better for me to have one ice cream at Dairy Queen than to have an entire gallon at home.  I have gotten much better, but I still have a long way to go!

     I want to eat more "real" foods.  Jim and I agree that real food is much better for all us.  We don't mind paying more for certain things if we know that they are better for our bodies.  Processed foods bother me.  Chemicals in my foods bother me.  Chemicals in my daughter's food bothers me even more.  It is hard to cook from scratch.  It takes time to plan the menu.  It takes time to grocery shop.  It takes longer to prepare the meals.  It is worth the time and effort to feed myself and my family food that is better for us.  I am getting better about making things ahead of time and freezing them for a quick meal.  Much better than going to the local fast food place.

     In the spring and summer months, my family and I make weekly trips to the local farmer's market.  The food is local.  It doesn't have chemicals added to it to make it last longer.  The meat is hormone free and we know the people who raise the cattle.  We can talk to the growers of our food.  We can ask what things are and how they should be cooked.  There is also a local whole food co-op not far from us.  There isn't a large variety (we live in a small town), but we always come away from there with something fun for us to try. I am also going to try my hand at having a small garden this summer.  How much more local can that be?  I am not promising that veggies will grow, but I am going to give it a try~my grandma would be proud of me!

     Hopefully, the steps that I am taking will make me stronger.  I am trying!