More on Loving the Unlovable

Wow, has God been talking to me lately and then what's even crazier is that He talks to me and then on Sunday, Pastor Todd confirms what was said to me.  It's just crazy!  I'm really beside myself!
So, here's what I was spoken to this past week...

Day 7, Step 4  "The Top 10 Ways to Love the Unlovable"...
I highlighted the following excerpts from the page and then rolled off of those.  So, I will bold & italicize the excerpts. Underline some things that jumped out at me...

So Evinda quotes the scripture, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free".  Another saying I've learned to live by is actually a name of a book written years ago by the wife of Raul Reece: "For things tto change, I must change."...As long as you do something with it, in other words, work on you, that unlovable/difficult person no longer holds the same power over you!

This step does require some honest reflecting into your own character because you must go back and look at the three adjectives you used to describe that unlovable person and asee if any of those adjectives actually equal a mirror held up reflecting you.  Most of the time you WILL see yourself staring back at you through those descriptive adjectives....

If you still don't really see your own reflection after digging deeper, then you can move on.  Don't get frustrated because after all, it never hurts to examine your attitudes and behaviors because the reward of understanding yourself better equates to less junk in your trunk.

First of the the verse Evinda quotes jumped out at me and I needed to dig deeper.

It is located in John 8:32, "Then you should know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

Are you asking God for his glasses to see others through?  Do you want to see the truth about what junk you are carrying inside of yourself?  The bible obviously says, "...The Truth Shall Set You Free."  It's the truth about YOURSELF!  Not the difficult person/people in your life.

Luke 10:26 in the Message Bible says,

He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"
He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

vs 27 states what?  AND THAT YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS WELL AS YOU DO YOURSELF."

SAY WHAT!?!?  Oh yes it does!  And don't try to think for one minute, "well that's my neighbor, it's not the difficult person in my life.  Their two different people.  My neighbor is so sweet, caring and easy." --Oh whoops, did I just speak my thoughts out-loud?

These people are in your life for a reason.  And it may just for us to dig into our own crap or junk and see that we've got some cobwebs to clean out.  It may be to touch that person with the love they've never received before.  It may be to show them the LOVE (agape) that only the Lord can give.  Maybe it's for them to learn from you.  

OH BUT WAIT!  What read just one more verse further and what does it say?

vs.28~"Good answer!" said Jesus.  "Do it and you will live."  ~Message Translation  

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. ~King James  

And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE. ~New American Standard  

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ~NIV   

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”  ~New Living Translations

Guess what, EVERY SINGLE TRANSLATION QUOTES THE SAME 5 WORDS THE SAME...
"DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE."
What does that mean exactly?  I wanted to know, so I dug.  The bible says in John 10:10 ~"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." NIV  Some translations say "I have come so that you may have life and have it more ABUNDANTLY."  So, what does Abundantly mean?  According to Dictionary.com it states:  
adjective

1.

present in great quantity; more than adequate;oversufficient: an abundant supply of water.

2.

well supplied; abounding: a river abundant in salmon.

3.

richly supplied: an abundant land.

So in other words John 10:10 is telling me that He has come so that I can live my life in great quantity, adequacy, being well supplied.
Now let's put this all together shall we...
God wants us to not only see others through "His Glasses", but He wants us to see ourselves this "His Glasses".  By doing this, we can love our "neighbor" or the difficult person in our life with the "abundant" love or supplies He has given us.  When we love our difficult person, He is then able to give us our life even more "abundantly".
I pray this opens your heart to unspeakable joy knowing that through God, we can live an abundant life in and through Him!
Learning to love my unlovables...

Loving the Unlovable

So, remember my last post on Bible Study, we were going to start the series, "Loving the Unlovable".  I *thought* I was going to update you on this study and maybe even blog my thought's, journals.  BUT, I honestly can't.  As much as I'd like to, some stuff just doesn't need to be out in the bloggasphere (Melissa's made up word).
But, I did write something last week that I thought I'd share on here.  I know I wrote it last week, but I just haven't taken the time to put it on here.  I seriously need to be waking up at like 6 am to beat these kids to 'bug mode'.  Once their awake, I feel like I'm at their becking call...UGH!  I shouldn't be complaining, I'm SO BLESSED to be able to be at home with my babies, but sometimes!
Anyway, this isn't a rant post or a post about my kids.  It's a post about something that God spoke to me.

So, day 4, Step 1 of "The Top 10 Ways to Love the Unlovable"...
I highlighted the following excerpts from the page and then rolled off of those.  So, I will bold & italicize the excerpts. Underline some things that jumped out at me...


First step in recovery is the most important because the admission of their problem opens the door to their recovery, so does acknowledging the unlovable/difficult people in our life open the door to healing...
As a result of you changing, that person may or ma not move off the list you have, but...their unlovable, difficult attitude will no longer have the same power over you! CAN I GET AN AMEN!!!
With in all of this was the word LOVE that I highlighted & underlined.
Psalm 4:4 "Be angry and do not sin.  Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still."
The word "meditate"-The act of thoughtful deliberation with the implication of speaking to one's self."
This is what the Holy Spirit took me to:
John 3:16, we all know the verse and can quote it, but I pulled some things out of it...
For God so LOVED the world.
LOVE~ Immeasurable LOVE, Agape (the highest and purest form of love, one that surpasses all other types of affection.) LOVE.  We need to have that for each other.  Doesn't mean we accept the wrong from others, it means we love despite. <-OUCH!
WORLD~The world (we the people existing) are full of unlovable characters/traits.
But despite our nstiness/ugliness, God gave his ONLY son to come and die for us.
God set the example of how we should love those, despite all.
So, what this all says to me is, despite every "ill" thing done, I am to love still.  Doesn't mean I have to allow the "ill" in my life.  Doesn't mean I have to live in misery or listen to the "ill".  Doesn't mean I have to allow it to penetrate my soul.
It simply means, "Show God's unconditional love, despite it all."

So, in all of our ugliness, I pray that you can see past that unlovable/difficult person in your life.  I like to say, get to know the story before you judge the cover.  You never know what's behind all of that anger, hurt, illness coming from that person.
As you allow God to change your heart, I pray He gives you HIS Agape love that you can pour out to those difficult people in your life!

And my gum

Last night I was putting the littles to bed. We were in Delayna's bedroom saying prayers. When I got done Delayna said to me, "Mama, a pwayers my gum!" So we closed our eyes & thanked Jesus for her gum we bought her earlier in the day. Then she said, "Mama, a pwayers sissy's gum." So of course we had to say prayers for sissy's gum too.
Sometimes, through all the exhaustion, these kids make me so full of joy!

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