Love is all you need?

For awhile have been wondering what is my purpose? While I was pondering this our preacher talked about the end of Ecclesiastes in one of his sermons. "...here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Okay so what are his commandments? Jesus said himself; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your strength and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." This seems fairly easy. I love God, that is why I go to church and worship him. I love my neighbor, or at least I don't hate them.

I think that I love but what does Jesus say it means to love?

For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son,...

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she LOVED MUCH. But he who has been forgive little loves little.

The reason my Father loves me is that I LAY DOWN my life -

But love your ENEMIES, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love ONE ANOTHER.

My summary of the list above is this : Jesus believes that love is giving of yourself, forgiving much, willing to give your life, caring for my enemies as well as other Christians.

UMM...maybe I don't love as much as I would like to think. I tend to take care of myself first then make room for family and friends and sad to say fellow Christians and God seem to be sitting in the 3rd row of my Christan SUV. For myself forgiving seems to come easy. Not saying I'm perfect on that part but grudges don't linger and I can't really sit here and tell you one thing someone has done to hurt me in the past that I am holding on to. As far as life giving.....I like to think I would make a stand for Christ and God if called upon but there is a nagging suspicion that I would lie and run like Peter did if I truly felt my life was on the line. I guess only having the situation forced upon you will you know the answer to this question. Now for caring for my enemies and other Christians. I can't say that I care for my enemies, that is kinda what makes them my enemies. This must not have scratched the surface of my Christianity deep enough for I have not shed a tear for a dead Taliban or Al-Qieda member and my soul doesn't ache for the militant God hating atheist that knows not God. As far as caring for other Christians, I could always do better but try and serve others, but then again I've stated above where they fit into my priorities when compared with my own self interest.

If your are wondering the point of this post, These are the first and second commandments according to Jesus himself. Numbers three through ......... are out there but not numerated nor given a quantitative value by Christ. However these are the two greatest and it appears that I have enough work to do with these two so anyone wanting cast stones for how services are conducted, how much works is enough, or any numerous other things that Christians fight about go right ahead. I have my hands full figuring out how to love appropriately. I'm not saying that there are not things worth standing up for but I am going to start trying to remove this huge plank from my eye and once that is done then I will try help my fellow brothers and sisters with the sawdust in their eyes.

The conclusion of the matter? Maybe the Beatles however misguided were right. "Love is all you need".

Bye-Bye Passy

I believe that we are officially done with the pacifier! For the last few nights and also nap times Caleb has gone to sleep without his passy. He has given us very little fuss about this matter too. Last night he asked for it and Sarah just kept asking him which book he wanted to read, finally he decided a book wasn't a bad idea and went with Sarah to read and then bed. One of the great things about this is that thus far it seems he isn't waking up (when he looses his passy). In other words when he slept with it if he got a little restless and awoke a little he would realize his passy was out of his mouth and usually holler until he found it. As of now if he has woke up during the night or his naps he is not hollering and hunting for that passy. I am amazed that it has been as easy of a process as it has. He kinda has my temper and his mother's hard headedness, so I assumed there was going to be a long hard fight when it came time to give it up, but obviously it hasn't. Much kudos goes out to Jen and Derrick who don't let the kids have pacifiers after about 6 months or a year at their daycare. While this caused much consternation among Sarah and I about them not letting Caleb have his passy at nap times I must say I think it is what has allowed us to make the transition so seamless.

Love the One Your With!

When you leave the house in the morning make sure that you tell your loved ones how you feel. I recently had a friend pass away in a car crash. He was a great guy who was married to a wonderful woman. At the funeral we found out that he tended to go to bed early. The night before he passed he did just that, headed to bed early. His wife wrote him a note that night telling him how much she loved him, how proud she was of him, and what a wonderful dad he was. She left it out for him to find in the morning. He read the note that fateful morning and it was in the car with him when he passed away.

Yes your spouse and kids may drive you batty from time to time, but please try and think about your family before you go to bed angry or leave the house with harsh words. Many many times they are not going to be the last you have with those people, but for a few it will. And you or they are going to have that as the last memory of that relationship.

How much better does my friend have it knowing that her husband read her loving words and was probably still brimming with pride and love as he drove down the highway that morning. Remember the good times and let the bad slip on by cause life is short and what good is staying mad going to do anyone? Kiss your loved ones, hug your loved ones, tell them you love them, and over look their faults, after all they are YOUR loved ones, and we only get one shot at this rodeo called life and there is no guarantee just how long we've got.

My son is almost two years old! Everything he does brings such great joy to me and his mother. His sweet little "Tank Jou" that is thank you or always kissing everyone before we can leave practically anyplace. He has such a beautiful heart that is already being displayed day to day. He loves animals even the ones that don't necessarily love him back. His face lights up when he sees his Aunt Dallas. I asked him this afternoon if he wanted to go see great papa...."no, no" he said. We went anyway and as soon as we pulled in the driveway he started looking around and when I turned around to look at him he shouted "PAPA!" He is a great helper and is most always very willing to help pick up around the house. At daycare he helps pick up the mats and blankets after nap time and even gets onto Derick if he is too slow. The Spirit of a child never ceases to amaze me.