Monday, October 2, 2017
A Different Kind of World
"... ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Jesus ~ Mark 12:29-31
But let's be honest, Jesus' whole life was about this - this isn't just one thing He said one day when people were challenging Him - not just one little verse. A whole life of
1. Love God with everything you've got.
2. Love people.
And here's where I'm just guessing because it took a long time before I got here but I'm just guessing that we're supposed to be loving people with the same kinda' stuff that we're loving God with.
How much different would the world look if we started living like that? LOVING like that? With everything we've got?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Prayer Focus
I was recently asked to write the Prayer Focus for our church's weekly Newsletter. After consideration (and prayer), I agreed. And then I promptly began to panic over what I should write!! I had a good idea of what I wanted to say, but (and I know this is going to surprise you), I'm not known for being succinct. My dad used to (and probably still does) marvel at my ability to make a short story go on and on forever! Well, I knew I needed to get the job done last night, so I finally sat down and started to write (type). Amazingly enough, it didn't take long, and I think I managed to keep it brief enough... So, here's what I came up with. Enjoy!
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." ~John 13:34
Jesus had a no-holds-barred attitude about love. He touched the unclean, forgave the sinners, healed the lame - on the Sabbath, no less! This week, ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities you have, to love with abandon - the way that Jesus commanded us to. Pray that God would soften your heart to the needs of others and give you whatever you might need to reach out and touch them in His name.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." ~John 13:34
Jesus had a no-holds-barred attitude about love. He touched the unclean, forgave the sinners, healed the lame - on the Sabbath, no less! This week, ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities you have, to love with abandon - the way that Jesus commanded us to. Pray that God would soften your heart to the needs of others and give you whatever you might need to reach out and touch them in His name.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Introductions
Okay, so... I'm Amanda. I'm a Christian. I'm married. I'm a mom. I'm 40 and I love being 40! I enjoy photography, cooking, music... I hate cleaning, but I like being in a clean place - in the coming year, I hope to blog about all of those things, including how I overcome my distaste for cleaning! I anticipate a great year ahead!
I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, really. As a child, I was raised in a Lutheran church and, when we moved, my family began attending a Baptist church. Once on my own, I went the "non-denominational" route and now I attend a Pentecostal church. I remember asking Jesus to come into my heart and be my savior when I was about... 9 or 10 years old. I even planned to be a missionary, when I was a Senior in High School. But, not long after I graduated, I got "wooed by the world" and I sought other means of satisfaction in my life. I walked away from my God when I was 18 and did the whole Prodigal Child routine on and off for the better part of 10 years. Now, looking back on those years, I see that God had his hand on me and was looking after me the whole while I was looking away from Him... I'm glad He never gave up on me!
I've been married for almost 16 years to John/Mick - family name John, nickname Mickey. Mostly I call him Mick. He's a wonderful husband and a great father. He's a strong provider; he is SO SMART; he is kind, and generous and loving. He can make me laugh and he can make me furious. He's a computer/techno/net geek. He is dashing, has a wonderful laugh, a great smile and even greater eyes... What more can I say?
Mick and I have 2 daughters. Taylor is 26 and married. Gabe is 11, still at home & unmarried (although, we have considered marrying her off...). More on our beautiful girls another time. They deserve their very own Blog entries!
We also have a cat, KUF (Kitten Under Foot). KUF is more than 17 years old and the proof that she's going senile is that she actually allows strangers to pet her. Then there's Q (short for Quizzo), our loyal Husky-mix-rescued dog. He's 4 - I think? I can't recall... And, last but not least, our younger daughter, Gabe, has a bird - a Rosey Bourke, to be precise - named Currituck (or Tuck, for short). He's 2. It's a menagerie, for sure.
{SHEW}
We live in Apex, North Carolina and we love to travel and laugh... We watch entirely too much television, but that has already begun to change. I think we'll whittle it down even further in the coming months. We fancy ourselves "Foodies", so eating out is a lot of fun (especially for someone who hates to clean), but eating at home can be a lot of fun too, when we've got a new recipe or a favorite meal to prepare! I think this year, we'll start having people over more frequently, so that we can try out new recipes on other people.
So, that's about it. Soon, I'll start blogging what I hope will be interesting thoughts and stories and I hope that you will drop me a note from time to time and let me know what you think! I hope that what I share will bring smiles and laughter to your faces, encouragement to your hearts, and blessings to your lives.
You are loved. Be blessed!
I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, really. As a child, I was raised in a Lutheran church and, when we moved, my family began attending a Baptist church. Once on my own, I went the "non-denominational" route and now I attend a Pentecostal church. I remember asking Jesus to come into my heart and be my savior when I was about... 9 or 10 years old. I even planned to be a missionary, when I was a Senior in High School. But, not long after I graduated, I got "wooed by the world" and I sought other means of satisfaction in my life. I walked away from my God when I was 18 and did the whole Prodigal Child routine on and off for the better part of 10 years. Now, looking back on those years, I see that God had his hand on me and was looking after me the whole while I was looking away from Him... I'm glad He never gave up on me!
I've been married for almost 16 years to John/Mick - family name John, nickname Mickey. Mostly I call him Mick. He's a wonderful husband and a great father. He's a strong provider; he is SO SMART; he is kind, and generous and loving. He can make me laugh and he can make me furious. He's a computer/techno/net geek. He is dashing, has a wonderful laugh, a great smile and even greater eyes... What more can I say?
Mick and I have 2 daughters. Taylor is 26 and married. Gabe is 11, still at home & unmarried (although, we have considered marrying her off...). More on our beautiful girls another time. They deserve their very own Blog entries!
We also have a cat, KUF (Kitten Under Foot). KUF is more than 17 years old and the proof that she's going senile is that she actually allows strangers to pet her. Then there's Q (short for Quizzo), our loyal Husky-mix-rescued dog. He's 4 - I think? I can't recall... And, last but not least, our younger daughter, Gabe, has a bird - a Rosey Bourke, to be precise - named Currituck (or Tuck, for short). He's 2. It's a menagerie, for sure.
{SHEW}
We live in Apex, North Carolina and we love to travel and laugh... We watch entirely too much television, but that has already begun to change. I think we'll whittle it down even further in the coming months. We fancy ourselves "Foodies", so eating out is a lot of fun (especially for someone who hates to clean), but eating at home can be a lot of fun too, when we've got a new recipe or a favorite meal to prepare! I think this year, we'll start having people over more frequently, so that we can try out new recipes on other people.
So, that's about it. Soon, I'll start blogging what I hope will be interesting thoughts and stories and I hope that you will drop me a note from time to time and let me know what you think! I hope that what I share will bring smiles and laughter to your faces, encouragement to your hearts, and blessings to your lives.
You are loved. Be blessed!
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