An open letter to my children about love

Dear Yennixon, Nahiara & Markel,

There are so many things about love I would like to tell you before you grow! You will find many ways of love that will nurture your heart: our love as your parents, the love from your family, the love for your friends, the from your espouse in the future… But nothing will ever compare to the love God has for you.

He created you and loved you even before you were born

Psalm 139:13 - For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

He sent His Son to bear your sins in the cross and give you eternal life

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son

that whoever believes in him should not perish

but have eternal life.

He is the only one whose love never fails because He IS love

1John 4:16 - So we have come to know and to believe

the love that God has for us.

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God,

and God abides in him.

He gives you undeserved mercy. Always. He is faithful. Always.

Jeremiah 31:3 - I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

My dearest children, accept His love, treasure His love, rejoice in His love…

…When you don´t know what to do

…When you are hurting, sad and down

…When you feel lost and lonely

…When you think no one loves you or that you don´t deserve to be loved.

…When you are in trouble

Remember that God loves you with and everlasting love. That His love never fails. That His love will help you endure whatever situation you might face. That His love is perfect and it never ends.

Today's post  was written by Edurne Mencia.

BIO – Edurne Mencía de Nieves is a wife and mom from Spain serving God as a missionary to tribes in the jungle of Venezuela. She met her husband Maracucho at Word of Life Bible Institute in Argentina and they have 3 little children (Yennixon, 6, Nahiara, 4, and Markel, 2). She blogs in Spanish in Elviajedeunamujer.com and co-leads the Spanish section of Good Morning Girls at BuenDiaChicas.com.

Godly Example

Sibling Love

   "You two be nice to each other. Someday I will be gone, and all you will have is one another." My mom has been saying that to my brother and me for as long as I can remember. The truth is, we both have spouses and children and we probably won't be completely alone when my mom goes to Heaven, but it is a nice sentiment all the same. The love I have for my brother is in a class by itself. I would do anything for him. I respect him. But does he get under my skin a lot? YES!

   When Andy and I were talking about expanding our family, we discussed the pros and cons of having siblings. He is the youngest of four boys, and I am the oldest of two. We loved Wyatt so very much and we often wondered how we could possibly love another child as much. And then there was the question of how Wyatt would feel about us sharing our love. When Scarlett was born, our hearts grew immensely. We were able to love BOTH of our children equally.  But, as we’d feared, Wyatt did not feel the same way. Since Scarlett's birth, we have heard a variety of expressions from him regarding how he feels about his sister: "When is Scarlett going to go back?" "Why does that stinky Scarlett always take my toys?" "I wish I didn't have a sister."

   That is when I realized I have to teach him HOW to love his sibling.

   Looking to the Bible, there aren't many stories revolving around sibling love. You can find the basic idea of what it means to love: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love"( 1 John: 7-8). We can take verses like that and build on—or extend—the love that one has for God to a sibling. Sometimes it is challenging because teaching siblings to love each other is shadowed by whose turn it is to sit on mommy's lap or watch their T.V. show. Modeling love becomes a must. If I model loving mysibling by showing him respect, loving him unconditionally, helping him when he needs it, then hopefully my children will imitate that behavior and learn to love one another.

   And as children grow into adults, and possibly more siblings are added to the mix, we as parents must look to God to teach our children how to extend the love we have for Him to others-including siblings. Our day-to-day routine can encompass reading God's Word to our children and modeling what love looks like in all that we do-because, after all, "We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

This post is written by Michelle Wiest 

I'm Michelle Wiest, mother to Wyatt and Scarlett. I have always wanted to be a mother and am so blessed that my desire to be not only a mom, but a stay at home mom, was able to come true. I am a former Middle School Language Arts teacher so I have always taught others to write but never

 really tried myself. I'm so elated to have the chance to combine my love for God's

 word with my love for writing.

God's Love

      God's love. Wow. I am in awe of how to tackle this subject. It is a beautiful mystery which I am continually in the process of unraveling, redefining, and expanding my view of. As the apostle Paul aptly wrote, "And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:18, 19 NLT) 

      The love of God cannot be comprehended by the human mind - it is far too vast. It is like asking a child to count the grains of sand on the shore or swallow the waves of sea. As we know from these familiar analogies, it simply cannot be done. So, instead of exhausting ourselves with these foolish tasks, we spread out our beach towel, soak up the sun and enjoy the soft sand between our fingers and the licking waters swirling around our toes. We don't try to take on these wonders of creation, bottle them up or tame them them - we just enjoy them. I believe we have to approach God's compassion in the same way. We can't measure it or confine it - no matter how many hours we meditate on it or comb the Bible. At some point, we just need to let go and enjoy it. Bask in it. Open up our heart and minds and let God immerse us in His kindness, instead of trying to make it intellectually make sense to us or fit into our limited experience of love.

      I have been there, over and over again. Oh, how I tried to make God's compassion for me make sense. Foolishly, I endeavored to earn it and fearfully, I tried to define the lines that, if crossed, would cause His love to cease. In recent months, I have abandoned the striving and erased all the lines imposed upon me by my own perfectionism and the trappings of religion. The straightfoward fact is this: God's love is LIMITLESS. 

     "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalms 136:1 NLT)  

     I'm kind of partial to the Message version of this scripture as well, which bluntly puts that last part: "His love never quits." I absolutely adore that! It ministers to the depths of me, which for so long wrestled with the acceptance of God. I always thought - and was even taught for many years - that His love was contingent on my performance. If I failed, struggled, and sinned enough - God would no longer receive me and care about me. I lived under the shadow of a God whom I perceived was scrutinizing my every fault and waiting for me to fall. I wondered when He would abandon me. The pressure spurred both bouts of anxiety and anger. I was breaking down as a human being.  

     When I came into mamahood, I began to realize God's unconditional love in a new way, as I felt great compassion for my little bundle of joy. However, it was just the start. I still had much to learn when it came to wholeheartedly embracing His love. Little did I realize how much it was hindering me from being the mother God created me to be. I knew I loved my little girl, Emma, with all of my heart. Yet I found myself frequently upset with her, for various reasons. Maybe she blatantly ignored my command. Perhaps she accidentally spilled her food. Or interrupted my plans. Or disrupted my day with a bad mood or a temper tantrum. Kids can test our love walk in a myriad of ways! Sometimes I passed the test, but not as I often as I wanted to. I would repent and condemn and beat myself up and resolve to react better the next time, only to inevitably fall into the same trap once more. 
   
      What was the antidote to my dilemma? It wasn't harshly demanding self to do better. It was receiving the endless, patient, gracious, forgiving love of God. I had to remove the limits off of His love for me, and when I found the courage to do this, I uncovered a pleasant surprise: the limitations on my love for Emma began to fall away. I experienced peace even when she threw a royal fit. I found joy even if she was moody and irritable all day - over the smallest of issues. I could discipline with wisdom when she crossed the line. I was fully released to exhibit the love of God in my heart for her - because I was finally receiving it for myself. 

     As our trusty Bible tells us:  "Love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:39, NLT 

      Grant me the liberty to rephrase this so you can see it with new eyes: "Love yourself, so you can love your neighbor." The amount to which you receive and accept yourself directly correlates to the amount you will accept your neighbor. Especially small neighbors in very close proximity to you - i.e. those living in your own humble abode. Whether they came by your own womb or another's, these growing, developing neighbors can sometimes present the greatest challenge to practically walking out God's awesome loving kindness. Don't attack yourself if you fail. Dust yourself up and accept God's forgiveness and get back at it. He loves you, He will never leave you or forsake you, and you CAN do it. (Phil. 4:13)

      Mama, you are an awesome creation of God and, what's more, He loves you. He delights in you. He accepts you. Let these truths permeate your heart and free you to enjoy and care for your little neighbor in a way like never before.   Amen.

This post has been written my Elizabeth Hamm

     Elizabeth Hamm is mommy to vivacious three year old Emma and wife to Kevin, her loving, supportive husband of 8 years. She is a graphic designer by day and by night, a woman with a passion for the pen and voracious love for God's Word. She credits her strength to the grace of God and her daily cup o' joe. Say hello to Elizabeth at lizhamm01@yahoo.com.

Love is Patient

    The first attribute of love mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 is that Love is patient.  What does that mean?  Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.  It is how we act while we wait or go through a trial.  So if we love, we will act in a peaceful manner while we wait or while we go through something with someone.  

     Have you ever gotten angry with your children, then regretted your actions and feelings later?  

     As humans, we do tend to get upset when things aren't going well, like when our children are misbehaving or disobeying.  We need to step back and ask the Lord for patience as we parent.  We don't want to blow our testimony in front of our children because we lack this character quality. We want to show love that is patient and long suffering instead of quick to become angry and frustrated.  

     We can not obtain patience without enduring trials and tribulations.  It is acquired through suffering and waiting.  It has to be cultivated by actually going through things that cause us to look at how we act during hard situations.  Our children will learn how to act and react by watching us.  

     Today I encourage you to ask the Lord to teach you patience on a daily basis.  Remember as you go through things, that this is teaching you how to respond to hard times and difficult people and situations.  

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, 

be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12