1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love
The first semester of my fall semester is coming to a close. Never before in my life have I been so confused, so happy, and learned so much. It's a rather strange time. But the thing I have learned the most this semester at OBU, away from home, is LOVE. I have learned to love the girls that I live with, though once we were all strangers. I have learned to love strangers. I have learned to love those I have known my whole life, and am now hundreds and even thousands of miles apart. I have learned that love is patient, kind, other focused, and rejoices in truth. Truth is love. People that I pass in the halls, at Walmart and Starbucks-I have learned to love them.
The root of all this? Glad you asked. God. I have learned to love God. With all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Kind of. I'm still working on it. I started this semester reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I don't think that much about loving God, but this has shed a new light on that. In church we used to sing a song that says "I will love the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength..." In fact, my friends and I made motions to it that we did to the day we graduated. When we made them up in our freshman year of high school, we thought we were pretty awesome. But I never grasped what it meant to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. And in all honesty, I still don't know what it is truly like to love God with all four of those aspects. But, I'm excited to learn more.
Here's a few things I love...
My family is crazy. I'm not sure if this picture does justice enough. :)
This is Grant, my nephew. I taught him how to pull grass. Ha.
I basically grew up with these girls. And I love them to death.
I live with these girls. These are just a few of the fantastic ladies I live with. I have learned to love each and every one of them and love absolutely every moment I get to spend with them.
God created this. How ridiculously amazing!! I love nature. Camping (though I have yet to go for real). Hiking. Swimming. Walking. I'd say running, but that would be a lie.
But yes. I love these. A lot.
Challege: Go love!!! =)
As Lauren would say.....
Peace out Dudes!
