How Do You Love

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends...faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 

Love.
It has been something that I have been learning lately. We all think we love but do we really or is it just an emotion we feel and we call it love.
Many people say they love someone, then the next thing you know, they don't talk anymore wether it be a friendship, family or spouse. But that just proves that the love they were talking about wasn't the true meaning of love, it was an emotional love. True love is the verse above, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13.

Francis Chan explains it very well in his book "Crazy Love". He says, "take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love." So I did, [Gaby is patient.] Wow, to be honest I laughed when I wrote that because if you know me, you know I'm not the most patient person. It opened my eyes and made me evaluate how I love.

I don't want to have that emotional love, I want to have the true love. The love that is patient, kind and slow to anger. I want to share that love that this verse talks about to the people around me.

• To not keep any records of wrongs, because I love you.
• To be patient and kind, because I love you.
• To not be envy or boast, because I love you.
• To not be arrogant or rude, because I love you. 
• To bear all thing, believe all things, hope all things and to endure all things, because I love you.

That no matter what, I will always love because it's not just an emotion I'm just feeling, it's far more then that. Love is something that we invest in and shouldn't be selfish with.

The word of God shows us such a great example of love:

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

How incredible. It's tough to believe that God loves us that much, even though we still sin and hurt him. If anything, we need to learn from that verse and cherish it. If God is able to love us even though he knows we are sinners, why can't we love our friends or family when they hurt us?
Next time you get mad at someone you truly love (spouse, family, friend), remember that Christ died for you when you/we didn't deserve it because that's true selfless love. So forgive and love because that is what God has taught us. It goes back to 1 Corinthians showing us that love keeps no record of wrong.

God knew we were gonna make mistakes but yet he still died for our sins. We know that the ones we love are going to make mistakes, so we should still love them.

Take a step back and evaluate how you are loving. God never once said welp, you messed up so my son is not gonna die for your sins. It was the exact opposite, he said "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

"Love is a long term investment that requires daily deposits. Don't treat it as a short term investment, it requires daily deposits because it's long term."

Love doesn't just come and go. It's a selfless everlasting love. We tend to think of love as hearts and kisses but love is far more then that.

This past Sunday at church, my pastor shared with us a love quiz to take to help us evaluate our love.

The Love Quiz:

1. Do I get mad while waiting?
2. Am I nice?
3. Am I happy when others succeed?
4. Do I think I'm better than them?
5. Am I sarcastic?
6. Do I compromise with others?
7. Am I easily irritated?
8. Do I hold grudges?
9. Am I happy even when proven wrong?
10. Do I stick with things?
11. Do I believe in competency of others? (Or am I the only one that can do it.)
12. Am I committed no matter what?

My eyes have been opened to an entirely different type of love, real love.

I apologize if this is all over the place and doesn't make much sense. Kinda word vomited all over my keyboard. Have been kinda out of it lately ha.

A Heart for you

As I sit here, I think of how amazing our God is. I know many women have written posts and books on being single. 

Most are encouraging books on how to wait for God's promise, 

Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

But friends, as I write this, I can't help but to think of why we hold on to that so closely.

As women, we (mostly) long to be loved, to be wife's, and to be mothers. But, what if that doesn't happen? Are you willing to be ok with that? 

Many will honestly admit that they will not be ok with that. Many desire and long for that in their life and think that they can't start living their life until that happens. 

I found myself asking this question this weekend. Would you be ok if God doesn't allow this for your life? In the beginning I sorta just chuckled and was like "Ha are you kidding? No, I would not be ok with that!"

As soon as that thought entered my head I thought, where is my heart.

Shouldn't our hearts belong to God? Shouldn't we live a life for Him and to bring glory to his name? If it is in his plan for us to have all the other things then he would allow it, we have to trust him.  

I know that's a tough one to swallow because as girls we are raised with this fairytale of a dream. As cliche as it sounds, the real "fairytale" story of our prince happened an entirely different way. He came down to this earth and died for us...because that is how much he loves us.

Some think our sole purpose is just to live happily ever after. I think we need to understand that our real happily ever after is in the eternity we get to spend with God.

I'm NOT saying that marriage is bad or anything because honestly, I so want to be married one day and have kids! But being in this season of singleness and seeing many friends getting married or having children, it get's tough. 

I have found a peace though. A peace in Gods love. That if all I ever have in this life is only his love, then I would be ok. And if he decides to send someone into my life to share a life with and a love with, then that would OBVIOUSLY be ok too ha.

I am learning to cherish this season of singleness. Changing my mind set from "Where is my husband" to "Where is God." 

Ruth 1:16 "Where you go I'll go, and where you stay I will stay."

I can't help but to think of my sweet best friend Lauren. I know that she would have been an absolutely amazing wife and mother, but unfortunately her life was cut short. As best friends, we would talk about our futures, weddings, husbands, kids...but in the midst of those conversations, that was never her main goal or worry in life. I would joke with her so many times saying, "Look there's your husband" and she would bust out laughing HER laugh. I think I was more obsessed with her getting married then she was. She lived her life solely for the Lord and she trusted His plan for her life, even when she didn't always understand it.

[ Lauren's blog: Life Beyond Texas: Success ] 

That's what I want. I want to live a life for God that I just focus on him. That I get to a place where all I need is his love and with that, I know that everything else will be ok. 

A lot of times, we don't get what we want. We pray for things that we WANT but don't really NEED and we get angry when God doesn't answer our prayers. But in this case, I have prayed for my husband because yes I want him right now, but I can't get angry at God for not answering my prayer because ultimately He knows what's better for me then I know for myself. 

"A women's heart should be so lost in God that a man must seek him in order to find her."

I long to have a heart for God. 

To fall in love with him each in everyday. 

Through every difficulty and every joy. 

That I will always long for Him and that in Him I will find everything else.

David Crowder- Only You

The "Why" Question

A struggle I face every day is trying to not get angry at God. I don't want to be angry at him but sometimes I let my brain wonder and question things that I know I may never get an answer to. I know that I have to be ok with not knowing the answer, but I'm still at the point where I'm not.

Thoughts rush through my head, "Where was God? Why didn't he help Lauren? Why didn't he allow her to go a different way on her run?" but to those responses I say, "But I know there is sin in this world. I know Satan is in this world and if this world was perfect it would be called heaven, but it's not."
Then the circle continues.

How am I supposed to pray to a God for protection when I don't feel like he would protect me. But isn't this when faith comes in?
Satan wants us to go through all of these questions. He wants evil to take over and for us to lose faith in God. I will tell you now, I'm not going to let Satan win. Even though I struggle with all of these thoughts and constant questions, I know that at the end of the day whatever happens, good or bad, God will turn any situation to good and use it for the glory of his kingdom.
How can I be so upset when I see how many people have been effected by Lauren's life? How can I possibly be angry at God for that? When I see people who didn't even know Lauren be so touched by her life and her faith in God. There is no explanation for that except that God turned this tragedy to glorify his kingdom.

Satan will continually try to ruin our lives in any way he could. He will try to deter us and have us question God, but who are we to question God? Shouldn't we have such strong faith and trust in him and know that no matter what happens that he is going to protect us eternally and allow us to enter the kingdom of heaven if we live our lives for him. Satan is a good talker and he knows exactly how to get us. He knows our weakness and our struggles. I was not ready to face any of these struggles I'm facing right now. But my God is a strong God and he has been my strength and that's how I know that he is real and loves us. Even in the midst of my anger, I somehow still had peace, I still knew everything was going to be ok. God definitely gave me something I was not ready to handle, and through that he has showed me that I may not be able to handle everything, but he is. And that's all the more reason why I need HIS strength. Because I am weak but he is strong.

Yes, I will still have these constant back and forth struggles in my head but as much as I don't like these struggles, I'm kinda thankful for them because these struggles are what's making me trust in him even more.

It's a confusing mess I know.
But if you're dealing with not only grief but any form of questioning God and wondering the "why" question, STOP. Instead, switch it around and remember that evil is not from God. Ask God to be your strength when you feel like giving up and show people God's strength. That will be an eye opener to so many and kick Satan in the booty!

"...her lamp burns late into the night."

Due to my random insomnia, I decided to write about what's been on my heart.

In the midst of dealing with grief and depression, I am going through the process of discovering the woman God wants me to be.

This process is uncomfortable. I am a little snappy and edgy, it's a constant battle because my snappiness is what I'm so used to, but instead, I want to learn how to act with love and grace.

The perfect way to describe this is Proverbs 31: 10-31.

What does it mean to be a Proverbs 31 woman? I wish I can fully answer it but I am still in the process of trying to figure it out. Learning how to be a better friend, bring good instead of harm, not lazy, strong & energetic, helps everyone, dresses elegantly, and fears the Lord.

Bluntly, none of those things come easily to me. I struggle with 99% of this list. God has a lot of work to do with me still and it is uncomfortable because I'm used to just having my little attitude and living in my own world, because honestly, that's easier then dying to my old ways.  But I know sticking to my old ways will not get me anywhere and will only hold me back from what God has planned.

Waking up in the mornings with a joyful heart, getting things done and working, not in anger but in love is a glimpse of what I hope for. That's a big challenge for me, especially since I'm not a morning person...at all. My flesh is not going to like this process but I know God will help me and mold me to be the woman he wants me to be.

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

    She is more precious than rubies.

11 

Her husband can trust her,

    and she will greatly enrich his life.

12 

She brings him good, not harm,

    all the days of her life.

13 

She finds wool and flax

    and busily spins it.

14 

She is like a merchant’s ship,

    bringing her food from afar.

15 

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

16 

She goes to inspect a field and buys it;

    with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 

She is energetic and strong,

    a hard worker.

18 

She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

    her lamp burns late into the night.

19 

Her hands are busy spinning thread,

    her fingers twisting fiber.

20 

She extends a helping hand to the poor

    and opens her arms to the needy.

21 

She has no fear of winter for her household,

    for everyone has warm[c] clothes.

22 

She makes her own bedspreads.

    She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

23 

Her husband is well known at the city gates,

    where he sits with the other civic leaders.

24 

She makes belted linen garments

    and sashes to sell to the merchants.

25 

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

    and she laughs without fear of the future.

26 

When she speaks, her words are wise,

    and she gives instructions with kindness.

27 

She carefully watches everything in her household

    and suffers nothing from laziness.

28 

Her children stand and bless her.

    Her husband praises her:

29 

“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,

    but you surpass them all!”

30 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;

    but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

31 

Reward her for all she has done.

    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31: 10-31