Dear God, today allow me to live with….
Love>Hate
Grace>Judgement
Forgiveness >Unforgiveness
Truth>Culture
Faith>Fear
Present>Past
~OC
Three Simple Words
Good morning! Another week has come to an end. It was a busy week in my neck of the woods. We faced the uncertainty of being hit by a hurricane. I also faced the challenges life brings on a daily basis. I am sure you can relate to that one. This week, I saw the good and the bad in people. I bet you can also relate to that one.
As I went through my week, God kept sharing three words with me. Three words that seem so simple, but are so difficult to live out at times. Hard to live out because we are so consumed with the busyness of living. Hard to live out because some people have never experienced these three words truly being lived out. Hard to live out because we have bought into what the world says about these three words. But if we could truly live out these three simple words, our lives and this world would be so different. Are you ready for this mind blowing revelation? Here we go. The three words God laid on my heart this week were, Simply Love Others. I know, your mind is blown. I will let you recover before I go on. Are you okay? Can I finish up?
Simply Love Others. Three simple words, that could radically change the world if we truly lived them out. Are you ready to truly live out these three simple words? I know I am. I also know I will continue to fail miserably at times. I will apologize when I fail to live out these three simple words. I will ask for forgiveness when my words and actions fail to live out these three simple words. Even when I fail, I will keep trying. I will never stop trying to live out these life changing words. Will you join me in Simply Loving Others? ~OC
True Friendship
*True friends Encourage you.
*True friends Respect you.
*True friends Support you.
*True friends Stand By you.
*True friends Reach Out to you.
*True friends Listen to you.
*True friends are Honest with you.
*True friends Forgive you.
*True friends Walk the Journey with you.
Dear God, please help me be this type of friend. ~OC
Love Over Hate
Hate can be easy. Hating someone or something, means you don’t have to learn about what you hate. You don’t worry about finding the truth. Hating is an excuse not to deal with your feelings. Also hate is easy to find. Just turn on the news. Turn on your computer or phone. Go outside. Take a look at our so called political leaders. There is enough hate to go around. But I believe hate is also tiring. Lonely. Have you ever watched a racist on tv? They all look mad, tired and lonely. Why would anyone choose to hate? It definitely does not look healthy.
Love can be hard. It takes time. It takes the choice to actually listen to other opinions. Not to close down when someone challenges your beliefs. Love means you have to be willing to forgive others. Even when your right. Love means that sometimes people will take advantage of you. Your heart might get broken. More than once. Why would anyone choose love?
Even though love can be hard, it is always the right choice. Love brings out the best in people. Love allows strangers to speak up for each other. Love allows us to look past our differences. Love challenges us to be the best version of ourselves. Love forces us out of our comfort zones. People who choose love are full of life. Love doesn’t keep score.
I wish, when we opened up the newspaper or turned on the news, the first stories that greeted us would be full of love. When we scrolled down social media, we would smile/laugh more than we would cringe. That would be amazing. Not sure that’s going to happen anytime soon, but this blessed overcomer is always going to choose love. How about you? ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 