love like Jesus Archives - Happy Day Moment

My 2015 sentence

So now January is over. And we’re halfway through February. And maybe that means all those expectations you wrote down are feeling less motivating and more paralyzing. Or maybe you chose a “word” to be your focus throughout the year and the letters are blurring.

I did not make resolutions. And since I’m a yakkety-yak, no single “word” for me. But I do have a sentence that has swirled in all the corners of my heart for months and months, a sentence which I know will carry me through 2015, which I pray will keep me motivated and moving forward and in focus. The sentence, the words: “Love like Jesus.”

The sentence that becomes a motto. A tattoo. A prayer.

All of us should want to love like Jesus, no matter our doctrine, theology, ideology or denomination. I want to learn to love like Jesus. I want my husband to love like Jesus. I want my sons and grandchildren to love like Jesus.

I want to be generous, forgiving, and compassionate enough to love people unconditionally. To understand sacrifice and selflessness. To get over being the center of my world, and to focus on looking for those who need my help every day.

I want love that is patient, that is kind, that doesn’t envy, that doesn’t boast, that isn’t proud. I want love that doesn’t dishonor others, that isn’t self-seeking, not easily angered, that keeps no record of wrongs. I want love that doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

I want love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. #happydaymoment

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I want to understand that every day love makes a difference. That life is a gift. That love is a gift. That each day I awake and breathe is a gift.

It’s the only gift that I have right now. And my only appropriate response is gratefulness.

May my heart and eyes be open to loving like Jesus.

Open to love; closed to resentment. Open to forgiveness; closed to bitterness. Open to grace; closed to mercilessness.

Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around me. And all around you.

Love each other as I have loved you. ~ Jesus [John 15:12]

For the next eleven months, I’ll be writing and meditating on what it means to Love Like Jesus.

Want to join me?

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February 16, 2015

Happy Day Moment Echoes: 12.14

Mostly I thought about love during December … and other words of grace …

Others were thinking the same thing.

On a recent shopping and dining trip with a couple of girlfriends, our discussion wound its way, not around clothes or food, but around the philosophical and spiritual approach to living. Said Rachel …

“It’s about how you live, and more, about how you love.”

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“And it’s about giving grace,” Gail added.

“And it’s about forgiving,” I added.

“I just think we need to love like Jesus. To everyone.”

Amen.

Here’s a compilation of other stuff I’ve been thinking about, my postings from the Happy Day Moments Facebook Page, Echoes from December 2014:

May we start letting grace have the last word.

Sometimes the hardest people to love are those who need it the most. Keep loving.
How others treat you is their issue, how you respond is yours. Love others anyway.
Love does not give up. Love does not lose faith. Love is hopeful. Love endures through all circumstances.

Loving others is more important than winning arguments.

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When you love God first, you love others better.
Where there is love, there is acceptance and forgiveness and grace and all good things.

Share your happy moments. Fill your world with what is good, what is lovely, what is true.
Live out of your strengths and passions and not out of your weaknesses and pains.
When your journey leads you through fog, God is still there.
If we have faith in God, we need to have faith in His timing.
Promise yourself to forget past mistakes and move forward to a better future.

Choose to let go of the stress that comes with constantly trying to prove your worth to others and to yourself.
May you be filled with such joy that you realize how rich you are.
You’re sparkly. I’m sparkly. We’re all sparkly.
Stay conscious of your blessings. Stay focused on what you have, not what you don’t.
Let’s choose to believe in the reality of redemption.

With each breath, let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret and frustration. Breathe in joy and peace and blessing.
Always remember that kindness is free.
If your circumstances seem to be shouting defeat, take heart and listen. You may soon hear, “victory is on the way.”
Examine the experiences in your life to find the wisdom and purpose they hold.

Let what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel remind you of God’s love and provision.
Believe in yourself, and declare this attitude, not in loud words but kind deeds.
Contentment doesn’t mean we accept injustices, but it does mean that we trust God more than we trust circumstances.
Remember: words spoken can’t be unspoken.
Worry does nothing but steal your joy.

Choose joy. Every day choose joy. It’s the best way to live each day. Hands down.
In the middle of pain and disappointment, let’s actively expect God to do something.
When waiting makes you feel lonely and empty and worthless, breathe deeply and keep praying.
It is courageous to be vulnerable; it is not weakness.
Be patience when you have little; be grateful when you have more than enough.

It’s all about how we love.

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January 6, 2015