♥ Heart ♥

It's been exactly one month since I last blogged! How time flies when you're doing algebra! It seems like homework is all I ever do - even though I procrastinate quite a bit!

Well, being Valentine's Day and all, I figured I'd spend the time writing about - yep you guessed it, Love. But more than love, heart. Why do hearts represent love? I find it fascinating that in the sense the definition is almost universal - the 'heart' is the center. The 'heart' can be loving, generous, kind, open - but at the same time it can be evil and hardened.

So what does that mean when you really think about it? I look the 'heart' as my spirit or my soul. It is feelings or intuition. It is courage and strength. Those are the qualities I refer to when I use the word 'heart'. "I don't have the 'heart' (courage/strength) to do it." "In my 'heart' (spirit/soul) it just feels right."

So let's talk spiritually in regard to the heart. When I did a search of the word 'heart', I found it is in the bible 725 times!!! Can you believe that?? The word 'love' is in there 686 times!!! I encourage you to check that out for yourself and compare the differences in the meanings of that word.

I also have to mention, that in our women's group, we've been learning about being a lover. The point was mentioned in reference to I Corinthians 13. (I used the Message Bible version).

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.

Now, God is love. So replace the word 'love' with 'God'...I loved how it was mentioned that so often in marriage we look at marriage the wrong way and we reference these verses and feel like failures because we know we may be falling short of these characteristics - or maybe we look at our spouse and feel he/she is falling short. When in reality we are chasing love, and not God. Since God IS love, if we desire Him in our marriage or other relationships - then He gives us true love.

Now, finally....try replacing the word 'love' and say 'I'. I don't know about you, but that was hard for me to swallow. Talk about seeing where I fall short. I am so grateful that I am a child of God and that He doesn't love me because I am perfect. I have to quote Tonia Woolever because this is one of my favorite quotes....

"Grace is God's insistence that his love for me does not depend upon my perfect performance. His love comes to heal my flaws, not punish them; to cover them with his garment, not magnify them. God accepts me completely, the bad and the good. He does not condone the bad, but keeps walking with me so I can learn to be like Him. His new mercy comes to meet me every morning. His undeserved favor is His love leaping over my flaws to stay close."

LEAPING OVER MY FLAWS to stay close!! Now who can you say you love enough, that you would be willing to leap over his/her flaws just to stay close, to support him/her??? Now that is love!!!

Just food for thought! And I LOVE each and every one of Y-O-U!!! Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day. And remember the One you should be most in love with, God....