Honest Reflections

One-minute read.

“Love Remains,” a book I published in 2023, focuses on the 16 words in today’s verse. Faith, hope, and love, often referred to as divine sisters, guide us on life’s journey.  At the end of the day, when everything else disappears, love remains.  In life, we need faith to believe in what we can’t see, which gives us hope to persevere.  But when God calls us home, we’ll no longer need faith, nor hope, because we will bask in the love of the Lord forever.

Jesus introduced us to true love when He came to Earth to save us.  His actions, rooted in love, teach us how to actively care for others unconditionally.  Paul understood Christ’s love and worked tirelessly to help others understand the concept as well.  Not passive, love acts, giving us direction and purpose for our lives.

To fulfill the greatest commandment, love God and others (Mark 12:30-31), we must learn about love and understand it.  Nothing will grow you more than finding ways to love others, even the ones you don’t like.  I have felt hatred towards individuals who have harmed me or my family, learning to love them drew me closer to God than ever before, and helped me mature in ways I never imagined.  Love does conquer all.

Live by faith and the hope of what lies ahead, the eternal love of Jesus, in whose presence you will dwell forever.

Journal Question:

How do the divine sisters work in your life?

Random Act of Kindness:

What loving act can you do today towards someone you struggle to like?

One-minute read.

My mother comes to mind when I think of love. In second grade, when I broke my wrist, she slept with me, holding me in her arms and comforting me amidst my pain. As an adult, when I went through the valley of depression, she again held me in her arms and comforted me. And just before the Lord called her home, weak and frail in her bed, her body full of cancer, she once more pulled me into her arms and held me, a moment I will never forget.

Love has a desire to protect us from the hurts of the world. Amid our valleys, love gives us hope and helps us persevere through our struggles. Just as my mother held me, God has us in the palm of His hand, keeping us safe, despite the storms that blow around us. We can find refuge in the Lord; He never leaves nor forsakes us.

When Christ gave us the greatest commandment—to love God and others—He did so to help us discover our purpose in life. Love prompts us to prioritize others’ needs over our own. Jesus taught us how to love by His life, death, and resurrection. Following Him teaches us how to utilize the powerful emotion in our lives. As we become more like the Savior, our love will continue to grow and blossom, always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always persevering.

Journal Question:

How have you felt God’s love in your life?

Random Act of Kindness:

How can you make love an action verb in your life today?

One-minute read.

Jesus set an example for us to follow.  In the face of persecution, Christ didn’t strike back; instead, He did all things with one result: love.  Placing our faith in the Savior begins a journey of self-discovery that unearths the not-so-pretty parts of ourselves, uproots the old, and plants new seeds.  Love requires action that starts with faith, which causes us to produce goodness as our knowledge and self-control increase, allowing us to persevere and become more like God’s Son.

In the past few days, I’ve made a discovery about myself that has revolutionized my thinking.  After an intense therapy session, my counselor helped me understand where my fear of people originated.  Getting to the root of the problem allowed me to dig out the lie and plant a new seed.  Adding goodness to my life in this situation means giving people the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming the worst, which allows me to love better and not let fear keep me from the blessing.

The more we put our faith into practice, the more we will discover God’s plan for our lives.  Living a life for the Lord adds to it goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.  Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead our lives transforms us from our past selves into devoted followers of Christ, loving God and others with our whole heart.

Journal Question:

How has following Jesus transformed your life?

Random Act of Kindness:

How can you add goodness to your life today?

One-minute read.

Covering all sins doesn’t mean atoning for someone else’s frailties, but instead not broadcasting them to the world. When I discover a fault in my husband’s behavior, instead of telling others about it, I keep it to myself and honor him by not sharing embarrassing stories about him. He does the same for me. In other words, we hold each other’s secrets as a way of showing our love.

Christ teaches us to forgive others’ faults because He forgave ours. Once we understand the gift of grace, we want to extend it to others. Everyone falls short of the mark, expecting perfection from people only sets you up for heartache. Allowing others to falter and loving them anyway gives them room to grow. We learn from our mistakes, not define ourselves by them. I don’t want people to define me by the mistake I made thirty years ago; becoming a new creature in Christ allows me to leave those sins behind and do things differently today.

Instead of broadcasting people’s shortcomings to the world, cover them with love. Allow them the space to learn and grow from their mistakes, experiencing the saving grace of the Savior. Become more like Jesus by forgiving others’ sins and loving them unconditionally.

Journal Question:

How has experiencing Christ’s saving grace helped you show grace to others?

Random Act of Kindness:

Whose sins can you cover with love today?

One-minute read.

Experiencing unfailing love gives us the confidence to live our lives to the fullest. When Jesus came to save the lost, He did it for more than one reason. Saving us from ourselves and giving us an eternal connection to the Creator opens the door for abundant life. We can let our faith stay ahead of our minds as we overcome fears and take bold steps into the unknown because Jesus has our back, loving us unconditionally, even if we fail.

Loyal love defines God’s affection for us. Nothing we do can separate us from the Almighty once we place our faith in Him. Like the Israelites of the Old Testament, we turn from the Lord, getting lost in our selfish desires, but He doesn’t leave us. When we recognize the error of our ways and confess them to the Savior, He wraps us in His arms and loves us, thankful for our return.

Jesus knew some people would reject His gift of salvation, yet He died on the cross anyway. Imitating the Son means we do all things in love, even if people reject it. We can’t control what other people do, but we can control our actions. Becoming more like Christ means having loyal love for the people in our lives, always leading with truth and affection, taking the next right step, regardless of the outcome.

Journal Question:

How does knowing God loves you, no matter what, give you confidence?

Random Act of Kindness:

What can you do to show unconditional love to someone today?

One-minute read.

Our actions anger God, but thankfully, He has everlasting kindness.  You can’t blame the Creator for getting upset when we do things we know we shouldn’t do.  After all the Lord does for us, we repay Him by knowingly disobeying His commands.

For instance, when I visited Lowe’s a few days ago, I became upset with the employees.  Picking up a pre-made fence for my shop, the young girl took forever, which lit the flame of my anger.  After watching people cut in line and ignore my presence, the fire grew.  By the time I checked out and waited for help to retrieve my purchase, I had passed the no-return point.  After waiting even longer, when I requested they call again, hearing, “They’ll just have to be patient,” blew the lid off the teapot.

Thankfully, I knew I had crossed into the danger zone.  Grateful for Ron’s presence, instead of releasing my rage and sinning in my anger, I sat in the truck and let my husband deal with the people I so badly wanted to annihilate with words.  I’m sure I disappointed God in those moments, and I spent the next morning repenting.

We serve a Creator who has everlasting kindness and compassion.  Realizing we disappoint HIm helps us humble ourselves and receive God’s mercy.

Journal Question:

When have you knowingly disobeyed God?

Random Act of Kindness:

Who can you display everlasting kindness to today, even if they disappointed you?

One-minute read.

We need correction. Developing a network of believers who will hold you accountable and give you necessary correction will help you live life to the fullest. As a writer, receiving feedback sometimes hurts. I remember the first book I wrote, when I asked a longtime friend to read it and give me her opinion, it didn’t go as expected. Her words cut deeply, and I had to take time to lick my wounds, but they also helped me become a better writer.

Allowing people to speak into your life helps you grow and mature as a follower of Christ. We all have blind spots, areas we can’t see our flaws. If we want to stand against the deeds of evil doers, we need wise people to help us see our vulnerabilities. Becoming aware of our weaknesses allows us to work on them, strengthening them through the love of Christ and the example of those who live for Him.

Surround yourself with righteous people, develop a core group of friends who will speak the necessary truth into your life, helping you see what you can’t see. Submit your weaknesses to the Lord, giving Him access to all areas of your life. God turns our weaknesses into strengths when we give them to Him.

Journal Question:

Who do you have in your life who helps you see your blind spots?

Random Act of Kindness:

What act can you do today that will begin to strengthen your weakness?

One-minute read.

Growing a vegetable garden, I love watching the produce come to life.  First, a vibrant flower appears.  Then, what seems like overnight, from the petals come rewards: dark green zucchini, orangish-yellow squash, spiny cucumbers, and long, lush beans.  Picking the vegetables brings joy to my heart and fills our bellies with wholesome food that nourishes our bodies and makes them strong.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us produce fruit in our lives.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness all come from the seed planted in our hearts when we place our faith in Jesus.  As we begin to follow the Savior and apply His teachings to our lives, He transforms us.  Weeding out the gardens of our soul, God removes the non-productive plants, replacing them with seeds of hope that grow daily.  

Eventually, the small seed grows into a thriving garden that yields an abundance of fruit. As we share our crop with others, we plant seeds in their hearts, helping them transform their lives. Living in the Lord’s will helps us produce a harvest that leaves a lasting legacy in the lives of all those who taste its fruit.

Scatter God’s seed everywhere you go, pray they take root in rich soil, producing good fruit that makes the world a better place.

Journal Question:

Who produces good fruit for the Lord in your life?

Random Act of Kindness:

How can you give away the fruits of the Spirit today?

One-minute read.

Paul’s Jewish audience agrees about the wickedness of Gentiles, thinking themselves morally superior to them.  Unfortunately, the listener doesn’t understand their guilt and can’t see the plank in their eye. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Romans 3:23

Metanoia, the original Greek word for repentance means, change of mind…the state of changing any or all of the elements composing one’s life: attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living; note that this state can refer to the foundational salvation event in Christ, or to on-going repentance in the Christian life.¹

All have fallen short of the glory of God and need to repent.  Ignoring the Lord’s kindness shows contempt for the Savior and our need for salvation.  We miss the plank in our eyes and focus on the splinter in someone else’s.

A repentant heart acknowledges their shortcomings, accepting that they have no right to judge the sins of others without admitting their own.  Accepting Christ into our hearts allows us to receive His grace, as well as extend it to others.  Because of Jesus’s kindness, we can receive and share His mercy.

Journal Question:

When have you deemed someone unworthy of God’s grace?

Random Act of Kindness:

Who can your kindness help today?

1. NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary. Copyright © 2015 by Zondervan. ↩︎

One-minute read.

“It’s not about wrong or right,” my pastor told me years ago.  Working through a conflict, I could only see my position from my moralistic viewpoint, which I deemed right.  For years, I didn’t understand what the pastor meant by those words.  But now I do, reconciliation matters more than right or wrong.

Jesus came to Earth to restore our broken relationship with the Father, reconciling us to Him.  Sin separates us from God, but Christ reconnected us.  Confessing our mistakes with a repentant heart and placing our faith in the Savior restores our relationship with the Creator, enabling us to offer the same grace we received to those in our lives who need it.

Taking moral stands can destroy relationships.  Thinking we have all the answers and people must do things our way hurts everyone.  God sits on the throne, not us.  We only see in part; the Lord sees the whole picture.  Submitting to the Savior means acknowledging we don’t know everything, and shouldn’t judge others from our partial perspective.

Instead, the Lord wants us to offer grace to those who hurt us, accepting their freedom to live as they choose, and reconciling broken relationships. Agreeing to disagree enables us to coexist harmoniously with others and honor God.  

Journal Question:

When have you hurt a relationship because you pushed your agenda on someone else?

Random Act of Kindness:

What can you do today to reconcile a broken relationship?