All You Need Is Love!

"Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith" 1 Timothy 1:5

"Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble." Psalm 119:165

"If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" 1 John 4:20

I get asked quite often why I do some of the things I do. I will spend an entire day making strawberry jam- picking the berries, washing and cutting the berries, processing the finished jars, etc. It takes a full day to make jam, and I love doing it. Often I get asked if these things that I do are things that my mom did when I was growing up. I do remember her making jam a few times, but that's not why I do it. And I do save plenty of money throughout the year by making our family's jam instead of buying it. But that's not why I do it. I also am able to control the healthfulness of the jam we eat by serving them jam without preservatives. That's not why I do it either. I also enjoy sharing the jam I make with others, because I know to them it will be a great treat, but of course, that's not why I do it either.

I do all these crazy things at home, like make jam because of love. Plain and simple. I make strawberry jam because of love. I make homemade bread several times a week because I am filled with love, and that is a great way to share that love with my family. God has blessed us with so much, and I love that. He has filled my heart to capacity with an overwhelming love for my family and those around us, and they best way I can show my love is to do all these crazy things. When I spend an afternoon sewing up new curtains for Zander's bedroom, I'm sure many people think that is crazy, when I can buy a perfectly serviceable pair for very little money. But I love the smile on his face when I show him the new curtains. And when he sees that mommy loves him so much to spend an afternoon working on a project for him, it just makes him light up so. I love to see my children happy.

I show my husband daily how much I love him by using his very hard-earned income to the best of my ability. I make those meager dollars stretch as much as possible by doing as much as I can myself with what I have. He loves nothing better than to come home from working outside on a cold blustery day to a loaf of hot homemade bread and a pot of homemade soup or stew. It warms him up to his core- both physically and spiritually.

I do this crazy devotional every morning out of love! I love exploring God's Word and seeing what he has to say to me each and every morning. I love that he has blesses me with the opportunity to share what I learn with others around the world! It warms my heart to open up His Book and find a message written just for me, pointed out to me just when I need it most. And I know above all that God loves me, Jesus loved me so much that he died for me, and it seems to me that the least I could do is do what I can to share that love with others.

So it may be a cliche' song, but I think today's post is spot-on. All you need is love, and love will guide you. Another person's tasks of love may be different than mine, but as long as you search within you will always come out better on the other side.