What is Love? by Pamela Ballard

In order to love you must clothe yourself in mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. You must leave room for error and forgive the person who offends you (Col 3:12-13). This is a simple formula on how to love people but not so simple to do. Why is that? We no longer live in a society where turn the other cheek applies. It has become more like ‘an eye for an eye’ or ‘tooth for a tooth’. But where does that get us? Nowhere... Most of the time we are afraid to love because we want to protect ourselves from hurt. How ironic is that, to protect yourself from love when love is the most important piece of armor you will ever wear? Love is what binds us together. Love is good. Love is pure. Love is power. Love is trustworthy. Love speaks truth. Love communicates. Love forgives. Love transforms. Love strengthens. Love restores. Love can conquer fear. Love does all these things but yet you may still say you don’t know how to love. Well let’s go to where it all began... It began with God. He loved us so much He gave us His only begotten Son. John 4:16 says God is Love. So if He created us in His image, we all have the capacity to love. While we may not love perfectly and overlook faults the way that God does, our love still has the power to make the impossible seem possible. Love is a choice that you make. When you are offended or wronged by someone, even though you’re mad at the person you can choose to continue the relationship whether it is family, friends, marriage or business. That is because love acts as an entity that has a character of its own. 1Corinthians 13:4-8 says Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails. In order to become a star athlete you have to practice. Love is the same way. You can’t just say I love you, you have to show it. It’s easy to say if it doesn’t come with a cost. Practice makes perfect. Sometimes relationships fail, not because we don’t give love, but because we won’t receive love. We have failed at relationships in the past and never moved past the hurt so we guard ourselves. Instead of absorbing love like a sponge, we let it bounce off us. 1John 4:18-19 says Such love has no fear because perfect love expels fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. We love Him, because He first loved us. This implies that we must receive love before we can give it away. Sometimes we see love as a hindrance instead of the good things it has to offer. We feel if we get “caught up” it becomes a distraction. Some of us grew up seeing no communication between the family, some saw our fathers go to work and pay the bills and thought that was love. Some who had no father in the home, subjected to different types of abuse or adversity, still have another outlook on what love is. Yet there are some in spite of the lack of affection, they still are able to love affectionately because it’s a choice they made. This is why it is so important to trace love back to its roots—God. Without him there can be no love. While this relationship is the ultimate one we should seek first, realize God uses people to love through them to get to you. In turn He uses you to love and reach others. So the most important relationship of love is the one you have with yourself. You must give love to yourself so you’ll know how to receive it. How do you do that? You see only the best in you, and you share that with others. Love is a gift that keeps on giving.

Groom As You Grow... by Pamela Ballard

As we go through experiences we learn what not to do, or what we should do. In essence it makes you wiser and a better person. Right? Well sometimes it doesn’t work out like that and you find yourself stuck in the same place over an over again. It leaves you discouraged, “busted and disgusted.” Why do you suppose that is? It’s because you didn’t groom yourself while you were dealing with the situation or struggle you tried to overcome. Example (1): You got in trouble, locked up in jail because you were guilty not by doing wrong, but by association. You get out of jail, three days later the same fellas want to hang out, and you go. Groom Tip: Change your environment and it could change your circumstance. Example (2): Your girlfriend gave you money to catch up on your bills last week. You get paid this week and have a little extra. You see this dress you want and think you deserve to treat yourself. You know that if you do get into another bind, your girlfriend is your ace in the hole. Your girlfriend doesn’t see you’re trying to help yourself and she is less inclined to help in a pinch. Groom Tip: Put the extra money in savings for backup until you are financially stable. Just because God allows things to grow it doesn’t mean it’s at its best. Grass grows but do you not mow it? Hair grows but do you not trim it? Nails grow, but do you not mani/pedicure them? These are all examples of grooming while growing. You actually grow faster and healthier if you groom. Grooming is the preparation you do to anticipate what lies ahead. Grooming is the isolation you go through to eliminate confusion. Grooming is the meditation on who you are, where you see yourself, how you see yourself, and how God sees you. Grooming is the sacrifice of instant gratification versus delayed gratification. Grooming is discipline and self-control. Grooming is acceptance of where you are NOW, taking responsibility for HOW you got there, and having courage to ALLOW the process to change you. Just like you trim your beard or arch your eyebrows, groom as you grow into a new you.

My Attitude

This is so powerful. If you can just do the first one, everything else is easy. This was passed on to me by my First Lady of Anointed Word Christian Ministries where we connect Woman to Woman. I PROMISE MYSELF: 1. To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind. 2. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person I meet. 3. To make all my friends feel that there is something in them. 4. To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true. 5. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best. 6. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. 7. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. 8. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature I meet a smile. 9. To give so much time to the improvement of myself that I have no time to criticize others. 10. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. My attitude…is my life. …author unknown