The Titus 2:4 Project

One of the gifts that God has given me, is the gift of empathy, and the ability to express, through words, other people's thoughts or feelings.  I used to write 'by request' poetry for customized birthday invitations, birth announcements, funerals and any other time a person would share their heart with me and ask me to write for them.  It was always such an honor to share this gift and see how powerfully others were affected by it.  One such instance, was a poem I wrote for a girlfriend back in 1994, who was going through the painful, emotional post-abortion healing process.  After talking with her for hours and crying with her and praying for her, God gave me a beautiful poem that literally took just minutes to put on paper.  I know my friend isn't alone in her pain.  I have had many friends share their guilt and shame with me over the years regarding this same issue.  My prayer is that if you are one of the many women suffering in silence...

I looked up the word labor in the dictionary: "physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind; toil." That's what I expected. That's probably what most people think of when they think of labor. Especially mothers. We nod our heads, and think of childbirth. Laboring for hours...sweating, panting, pushing, moaning, maybe cursing...hard work. But oh, so worth it.  Everyone told me that childbirth would be the worst pain I would ever forget. They were mostly right.  I've forgotten how it physically felt, but I will never forget the experience. But what I want to focus on today is a different kind of labor. It's still physical or mental work, especially of a hard or fatiguing kind...the labor of love in a marriage. I was reminded of this as I worked through my current Bible study yesterday. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 when Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica and commends them for their labor prompted by love. First things first, though, I...

None of us is perfect.  We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)  So if God is willing to forgive us...who are we to withhold forgiveness from each other?  A recent discussion with my ladies small group Bible study really got me thinking about this subject.  Forgiveness, just like love, is a decision - not an emotion.  Deciding to forgive someone for hurting you doesn't mean that the pain and heartache just blow away like a tumbleweed.  Some pains may take years to get rid of.  Deciding to forgive is more like trying to chop down a tree.  You can get rid of the biggest, most visible part, but after a while little stems start popping back up from the ground and you can keep mowing them over so you can't see it...but until you deal with the roots, it's never truly gone. God is the ultimate landscaper.  He knows how to deal with pesky roots so that the things we want to be rid of will be gone...forever....