Love One Another

This is a topic that I happen to LOVE talking about ;) So I'm just going to dive right into this and tell you that this has been on my heart for quite some time to get this message out. At first I thought about doing several different topics that are in this same category but this one was at the center of them all anyway.

I want to start off with a verse from John chapter 13: "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (Verses 34-35)

If you've read John, you'll know that Jesus was telling his disciples he didn't have very much time left with them on earth and all he requested from them was love. Notice just in these two verses Jesus refers to love four times, and says LOVE EACH OTHER twice. 

 Personally, and this is just me, loving a stranger and showing an act of kindness can sometimes be much easier than loving or caring for the ones closest to you.
Loving your friends and family can sometimes be really hard, with our humanity we tend to get angry and offended A LOT. Especially with the people we see all the time. Emotions can run high. And that's where God should come in and humble our souls. 
"But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers." -1 Timothy 5:8

We sometimes get caught up in our own lives and providing for the family under our own roof, that we miss out on the opportunity to spend time and care for the rest of our family. Or maybe your situation is completely different, maybe you've tried to reach out and you've gotten nothing because you lead different lives. Whatever your circumstance, NEVER give up. God NEVER gives up on His people. If He did, we would all be dead. The key is to pray for your family, for God to heal your family and help everyone come together and love each other.

And I have to tell you I am one of the biggest prayer warriors, I love praying to God about everything. God loves feeding our faith in Him, He wants to hear our prayers. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says "You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." (Verse 22) 

A few months ago my sister, Tosha, moved closer to where we live so we are now both in the same town and just minutes away from each other. So we decided to start a family game night to try to build our relationship. Her daughter, Kailey, is in the band at her high school and she plays on Friday nights football games. Therefore, we decided that for every away game that Kailey had and would have to travel with the band on the bus, that Tosha, her husband, and her other two younger boys would skip it and come to our house for a domino night. So basically every other Friday night, but since then we've caved and done it on Saturday nights too because we love it so much. Tosha and I are very far apart in age so I didn't get the chance to grow up with her I guess you could say. But I have grown to feel very spiritually attached to her, we have a lot in common and value our faith the same.

Having best friends and other girlfriends is wonderful but there's something about being closely connected to your family that is very satisfying. To know that no matter what, you will always have someone to call when you need anything at all. 

We should never lose sight of our love for everyone, and this doesn't mean just saying, "Of course you know I love you." Show it with your actions.

Love one another always :)

From our family nights! My nephews and baby Levi with his Grandmama!