{ Who Said Love Is Pretty?}

Who said Love is pretty?
Love is not a fragile flower
Or a delicate blossom
Love is a stubborn weed that refuses to be uprooted.

Love is not a silky, elegant fabric
It’s a stained and sturdy tarp
A rough and lowly burlap

Love is a rusty anchor
A moss-covered boulder
A weatherbeaten barn.

Love has been through
Waves
Trials and
Storms
And love will be there forever.

Love gets
Wrinkled
Burned and
Scarred

But love is too busy
Doing
Working and
Praying
To look into the mirror

~~~
© Lisa M. Luciano 2020
Image by Bernhard Stärck from Pixabay

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{ God’s Valentine }

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name,

You  Are  Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
  And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43: 1-3 ESV

~~~

Although this love message was written to God’s chosen people, Israel, it can speak comfort to all believers. In the New Testament, God’s never-changing love is affirmed in verses like Romans 8:38-39:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~~~

Photos:

Hush Naidoo

Chandan Chaurasia

 Ryan Stone

{ Better Than }

God’s steadfast love is better than life. ~ Psalm 63:3

A good name is better than great riches. ~ Proverbs 22:1

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9

The end of a thing is better than its beginning. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. ~  Ecclesiastes 7:8

To obey is better than sacrifice. ~ I Samuel 15:22

But God treats us much better than we deserve… ~ Romans 3:24

Consider others better than yourself. ~ Philippians 2:3

Photos:

 Annie Spratt

 Michal Janek

 Tim Marshall

{ Magnetic }

I didn’t get a free book or anything for writing this mini review ~just so you know. ☺

I just discovered a book I want to read: Why Nobody Wants to Be Around Christians Anymore…and How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Faith Magnetic by Thom and Joani Schultz.

LOVE.  It is how the early Christians showed they were radically different. It’s still how we, as Christians in the 21st century, shine as “lights in the world.”

True agape love is rare & magnetic.

Agape [Greek word for love] says, “I will love you when you are unlovable.  I will love you still more when you don’t love me back. I will keep loving you no matter what.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I peeked…

The 4 acts of love are:

• Radical Hospitality
• Fearless Conversation
• Genuine Humility
• Divine Anticipation

Yep,  I’m gonna learn a lot from this book 🙂

“First John 4:9 says, “God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (The Message). What does it mean to “live through” someone? Jesus is reliable and, once you get to know him, irresistible. His love never fails, and that’s the kind of power source that never runs out. His is the kind of light that never dims. Wouldn’t it be great if it were obvious to anyone who knew us that we were living through Jesus? It can be.” 
― Thom Schultz, Why Nobody Wants to Be Around Christians Anymore: And How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Faith Magnetic

Magnetic“>