Love one another

Just heard this from my precious children and I had to record it...

Eric and Amy were sitting at the table eating lunch when Amy says, "I'm done."

She got up and started making her way to the living room when she says, "Hey Eric, wanna play Charades?"

Eric: Not right now, I'm still eating.

Amy: Okay, I'll just play by myself.

(By the way, how does one play Charades by oneself?)

Eric: Nooooo, Amyeeeeeeeeee. I want to play with you. You are my best friend.

At that my heart swells and a broad smile takes over my face.

"This is My commandment, that you LOVE one another, that your joy may be full." ~Jesus

I know why God commands us to love one another and I know how much joy it brings Him when we love each other. My kids say they love me all the time and yes I love to hear it and I appreciate it. I know they love me. I gave birth to them, I nursed them, I held them close for hours on end and bonded with them early in their lives and everyday since. So I really do not have to hear from their lips that they love me...albeit wonderful...I just know they love me.

But when I hear them say that they love one another and that they are best friends... that warms my heart infinitely more than when they profess their love for me. Why is that?

Now as I type this they are making Lego space ships for each other. Such a joy to peek in on them.

This is the greatest commandment, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and the second is this, love thy neighbor ~Mark 12:30

Getting Up

Getting up early to read, pray and write.

What is it with me and getting up early!?! Why is it so hard and such a battle in my mind? My husband gets up for work and leaves by 5:30 every morning. So I feel like I have at least some motivating factor to help get my tush out of bed and see him off.

But no. I stay and sleep.

"A little sleep, a little slumber, and a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." Proverbs 24:33

That's convicting. Is it convicting enough for me to get out of bed?

A few months ago I was enjoying a lovely evening with a group of women. All of these women were married to physicians (be it residents or attendings). So one major action that the two wiser and more experienced ladies did was to get up every morning with their husbands and fix his breakfast or get his coffee.

They GOT UP!!! One admitted that she didn't do much for her husband at 4:30am in the morning except heat up a muffin for him, but hey, getting one's head away from a warm, soft pillow and one's feet onto the cold, hard floor of the early morning says she did MUCH!

These ladies were on the same team as their husbands. They were for them and they didn't just say it, but they lived it. They anticipated the needs of their God-given spouses and put some action in the mix.

I say that I am a relational individual and that I have often 'taken pride' in the fact that I am just "so relational". The truth is I am a very poor communicator. So the whole 'relational' thing is thrown out the window because how in the world can one have a relationship with anybody unless there is communication?!

So here I am, communicating with myself really and writing for the world wide web to see that I have resolved to get up at least two mornings a week to communicate with my husband (my most important human relationship) before he leaves for work. Additionally, I will stay up in order to have a time to communicate with God (my most important relationship).

"His grace is sufficient for thee"