a revelation

i was disappointed when church ended today.  more specifically when dr. parle (a guest speaker) stopped preaching.  he's preached a few other times in the past months that our church has been looking for a new pastor, but none of his sermons touched me the way this one did today.

he always begins his sermons with a prayer.  now while this is not unusual for most pastors, his prayer is different.  he leads the congregation in a soul & mind cleansing prayer to enable you to be open to the Word & what God has to say to you.  one of the things he tells us to do is to ask God to show us just one thing that will make our lives different today.

today i earnestly prayed that part.......God, please show me the one thing that i really need that will make my life different.  the one thing that i really need to learn today. 

and when he prayed that God would speak through him, i prayed, yes, God, speak TO ME through him.

the title of dr. parle's sermon was "what is love anyway?"  his text was 1 corinthians 13, verses 4 & 5 in particular. 

"love is patient"

as he went over each of the words describing what love is or isn't,  i came to the realization that patience isn't my problem. 

i've thought it was.  i've been praying for God to make me more patient.  after this morning i believe, truly believe, that God has accomplished this!   i've just been praying for the wrong kind of patience!!  

i didn't use to be patient.  i would explode at the slightest thing.  i'm ashamed that i behaved the way i did sometimes, but that's in the past. 

in his notes, dr. parle writes, "patience means 'slow to anger', patience becomes evident when there is pressure on a person & when that person does not react to the pressure in anger, either inwardly or outwardly.  when one is patient, he is forebearing, calm, composed, & of a meek & quiet spirit, even when wronged; he endures evils, whether real or imagined."

over the years of my life i've been wronged quite a lot of times.  i didn't handle a lot of those wrongs in the right way.  but as i look over some recent wrongs, i can honestly say that i have handled them with patience!  the "wronging" was not my doing, but how i handled it was!  and i handled it with love!  (now i need to be conscious of how i am towards people so i don't wrong them.)

so now, rather than praying for patience, i'm going to pray that God will help me WAIT.  because waiting & being patient are 2 different things!

"love is kind"

"a kind person, then, is one who is helpful, who is serving others, whose life is useful because he is seeking to promote the happiness of others.  he is friendly, affectionate, gentle, mild, & gracious in his manner.  while patience is love passive, not retaliating at the inconveniences put upon it, kindness is love active, reaching out to minister good, beneficial things to others, even when they don't deserve it."  (& i might add - even when they don't reciprocate.)

i don't have a problem in this area.  i love to serve others, i'm friendly & affectionate (the church hugger!!), etc.........i really try to promote fellowship & unity amongst others & i hope they see this in me.

it's THOSE OTHER  "virtues "  i struggle with!!!

the worst one is jealousy. 

this hit me like a load of bricks this morning!!!  this was the "one thing that i really need to learn today to make my life different."

i struggle with this sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.  i'm not going to go into all the things i'm jealous of here.  God & i have talked about them.  He knows.  i'm going to seriously begin to pray about this "problem" & hopefully one day i will be able to write on this blog that i have successfully mastered this problem too!

i corinthians 13:4,5
"love is patient, love is kind & is not jealous; loves does not brag & is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered"

and his sermon next week, 13:6,7
"does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

pray with me & for me.


on another note,  here's what i've done the past couple nights!! ---

a little skin for ya!!!!

ha ha nancyb!!!!!


this makes the BEST bubbles!!!  and it smells wonderful!!!!!

well, the sun has come out, so i'm headed to the virgin islands!!!  see y'all later!!!!

what a BLESSED DAY!!!!!!