Love is the Answer

Living and Loving Beyond Fears

5 Characteristics of a Loving Community

David Jeremiah identified 5 keys to a "loving community":

1.  Humility ~ The Attitude of Love
2.  Unity  ~  The Atmosphere of Love
3.  Diversity The Assignment of Love
4.  Intimacy ~ The Action of Love
5.  Security  ~ The Affirmation of Love

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Let's work on our attitude, our atmosphere, our assignment, our actions, and what we affirm today!

Loving Well

In reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero, I found two quotes that encapsulate the gospel of good news:

"Loving well is the goal of the Christian life."  (p. 175)

"Loving well is the essence of true spirituality."  (p. 179)

Either way, we get the gist:  Loving well is what we should be all about.
That is what this blog is about:  finding quotes on love that spur us on to love in a meaningful way, that impacts others and ourselves.

Love on.
Love well.
Love with new fervor.

He also said:  "Love in practice is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams."  (p. 175)
What this tells me is loving people in our dreams is easy.  Loving people in reality is hard.
No one said it would be easy.  What we learn is it is necessary; not only for us but for 'them.'

What can you do today to extend love not only in your own heart but in your 'little' world???

Love Teaches

"Let love invade you.
It will never fail to teach you what you must do."

Carlo Caret
Letters from the Desert

What do you reveal?

"Love is 'to reveal the beauty of another person to themselves.'"

Jean Vanier
Becoming Human
p. 22

Is your soul generating love?

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.  A soul generated by love."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love always involves commitment

"To love means to commit oneself without guarantee,
to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will
produce love in the loved person."  (Erich Fromm)
And, may I add in our hearts and world as well...

What do you not do?

Love’s greatest triumph is not always in what love does but — more often than not — in what love refrains from doing.  ~ O.S. Hawkins, The Joshua Code

Enough?

A little devotional book, Healing Prayers for Every Day, ask the question:  "Do you have enough love to help those who can't help themselves?"  Or, as I thought:  Do you have enough love to love those who can't even love themselves, much less others?

It ends with a prayer:  "Lord, let me feel Your love explode in me so I can love as You love."

(page 105)

A Powerful & Prevalent Passion

"Love is that powerful and prevalent passion, by which all the faculties and inclinations of the soul are determined, and on which both its perfection and happiness depend."

p. 37 (ebook)
The Life of God in the Soul of Man
Henry Scougal
17th Century

To see the best...to think the best ...and to treat them that way...

"To love someone is to see the best in them and to act toward them as though they they were the best...To treat them with respect and love is to call them to be worthy of that respect and that love.  And we can say that to love someone is not to avoid seeing their flaws, but to avoid so focusing on them that the person gets a feeling of hopelessness about changing them."

p. 233 (ebook)
Eric Metaxas
If You Can Keep It

In this book, Eric Metaxas is writing about our country.  But he also teaches us not only about our history but how to truly love.  Whether we love a country or a person, love needs focus and attention. And not on the things that are wrong or lacking, but on what is right and true.

How do you salute?

"Love...consists in this, that two solitudes protect and border and salute each other."
-poet Rainer Maria Rilke
(p. 59, Letters to a Young Poet)

What can you do today?

The Basis is Love, The Goal is Love, The Delivery is Love

"Our Bible is a revelation of the fact that God is love.
When we preach justice, it is justice tempered with love.
When we preach righteousness, it is righteousness founded on love.
When we preach atonement for sin, it is atonement necessitated because of love, provided by love, finished by love.
When we preach the resurrection of Christ, we are preaching the miracle of love.
When we preach the abiding presence of Christ, we are preaching the power of love.
When we preach the return of Christ, we are preaching the fulfillment of love."

~ Billy Graham

HEAL

"Love heals."

page 11
Healing Prayers for Every Day

Love indefatigably

"What we need is to love without getting tired." ~ Mother Teresa

Here's what Billy Graham has to say on the subject

If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. — 1 John 4:12

Love In Action by Billy Graham, Wisdom for Each Day Signature Edition

Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. — 1 John 4:11-12 (NIV) Jesus said, Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). But how do we put that love into action? Serve one another. The Lord modeled this when He washed His disciples’ feet. Be patient with one another. This is possible because of the Spirit’s presence in us. Be courteous to one another. Even if someone is difficult or disagreeable, treat them with gentleness and love. Set an example for one another in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity (1 Timothy 4:12). Forgive one another because God forgave us. If we do not extend forgiveness, God will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:15). We are not to judge one another. That is the Lord’s job. We may be called to rebuke or reprove in love, but we are not to judge. Be subject one to another. That will mean not always having things our way. Edify one another. We are to encourage and build up our brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for one another. What a privilege to come before the Lord on another’s behalf. Excerpted with permission from Wisdom for Each Day by Billy Graham, copyright the Billy Graham Literary Trust. Published by Thomas Nelson.

Need a miracle?

"Love is always a miracle."  (my thought today)

Swim in the River

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Monday, May 2 The Golden River In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11 Recommended Reading 1 John 4:7-19 Love is an emotion that’s hard to describe. It’s an emotional longing for another person and a deep satisfaction when that love is reciprocated. It suffers intense anguish when it isn’t. Love is an attitude that operates more deeply than feelings. Attitudes are dispositions of the heart that anchor our emotions, just as the unshakable mountains support the trees on its slopes. Love is a supernatural virtue instilled in us by God. “The fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22). Love is an action. It manifests itself in selfless service. When we love others, we do things for them. “Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17) Love is a choice. We can determine in our hearts to love even the unlovely. This comprehensive, inclusive quality of love can only be experienced by opening our lives to Calvary. When we receive God’s love through Jesus Christ, it flows through us to others like a golden river. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God (1 John 4:7). A Single Thought: Just as God chose to love us, we must choose to love others.

Did you know? Today is GLOBAL LOVE DAY

Wishing You a Happy Global Love Day May 1, 2016 A Celebration of Humanity. "Love Begins with Me"   Dear Friends, We are celebrating our thirteenth year of Global Love Day - May 1st.  Our theme each year is “love begins with me” and this annual celebration of our humanity is symbolic in meaning and even more powerful in its intent. We honor this special day as an example of living with love every day. Along with some additional updates below, including amazing new proclamations, enjoy the annual Founder's Address for some additional inspiration. We consider every one of you an awesome presence of love in this world making a positive difference. Have a joy-filled day of unconditional love. Send us a photo or two of your special celebration! Love and hugs, Harold, John, Tam, Lanis, Philip, Erik and Liz The Love Foundation Board of Directors   Find out more or contact us at... www.GlobalLoveDay.org

Founder's Global Love Day Address May 1, 2016   Welcome Dear Friends to Global Love Day 2016, Like a sparkling sunrise beckoning us to explore our boundless potential, a fresh new beginning is emerging on our exquisite earth. Around the world our collective heartbeat is starting to pulse in unison, ushering in the timeless reminder that we are one humanity on this planet. We are linking across the globe in ways we never dreamed of, while simultaneously connecting to our very own heart center at a depth never imagined. These inner and outer connections are synchronizing at a pace that seem to defy our comprehension and yet, day-by-day we are rising to this call of love. The quantum simplicity is in the knowing that all life is interconnected and interdependent and that the choices we make in our thoughts and feelings affect the whole. We are realizing we have the power to change the very fabric of life by the way we choose to live, and when we share in the universal bond of love, all life benefits. We are here today to celebrate this loving essence that flows through each of us, igniting our combined creativity and ingenuity. With courage and strength, and through self-acceptance and forgiveness, we are healing generations gone by and those yet to come. We are building the foundation for our children so that they may walk a path of peace, grace and harmony, in ways we never have. It is with the utmost respect and compassion that we embrace the diversity that makes us all unique. Our grand tapestry is woven with infinite colors and each strand is vital and equally essential. We are turning on our inner light and revealing the ever-changing kaleidoscope of brilliant possibilities and allowing the collaborative nature of our being to come forth. We are making a difference through love. This is clearly evident, especially when we recognize it is our own heart beating, expanding and embracing the world around us. This is our gift to life; being a presence of love right where we are. With gratitude for your courage to share your love so beautifully, I welcome you to our thirteenth celebration of Global Love Day. Love, light and peace, Harold W. Becker Founder and President The Love Foundation Inc.     Join the Celebration!

Boldness from Love

"How bold one gets when one is sure of being loved."  ~ Sigmund Freud

Love takes Commitment

Love is a commitment.

Love is a commitment to be.

Love is a commitment to be right.

Love is a commitment to be right with someone.

Love is a commitment.

Love is a commitment to do right.
Love is a commitment to do right by someone.

Billy Graham on Love

Our Bible is a revelation of the fact that God is love.

When we preach justice, it is justice tempered with love.

When we preach righteousness, it is righteousness founded on love.

When we preach atonement for sin, it is atonement necessitated because of love,

provided by love, finished by love.

When we preach the resurrection of Christ, we are preaching the miracle of love.

When we preach the abiding presence of Christ, we are preaching the power of love.

When we preach the return of Christ, we are preaching the fulfillment of love.

~Billy Graham

Zero Sum

"Life minus love equals nothing!"  ~ George Sweeting

 Life - Love = -0-

 Life
-Love
_________
Nothing

Love strengthens

First Corinthians 8:1 says..."it is love that strengthens."

Have you ever noticed that before?  I hadn't.
Love strengthens.  Love builds.  Love helps us.  Love helps us help others.
Definitions tell us it is a power.  It enables us.
Be strengthened in your love.  Strengthen others with your love.  

Forgiveness essential for relationships

"...love and forgiveness are inextricably bound together...

God cannot love us unless He forgives us and cannot forgive us without a commitment to love us.

I cannot hope to ever love someone unless I am committed to forgive him."

Dan Allender

Energy for Love

"The energy for love flows not out of any effort,
but simply from being loved."  ~ Mike Mason

Where do you give yourself first?

"You will give yourselves to many things;
give yourself first to Love."
~Henry Drummond
The Greatest Thing in the World
page 29

How is your soul?

"Love is the life of the soul."
~ David Thomas