The Proof of Your Love

I've been thinking and meditating on the Love chapter recently.  Then I heard this song on the radio and I had to write down my thoughts.

"The Proof Of Your Love"

(for King and Country)

If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love 

1 Corinthians 13 is an excellent chapter that people like to read at their weddings because it is such a beautiful picture of the characteristics of what love really looks like.  I've memorized those characteristics and tried to practice them in my own relationships with people.  But the beautiful thing to think about is that not only does this apply to our dealings with people, this is the way God loves us.  1 John 4:8 declares that God is Love.  So if we want to know what love looks like, we need look no further than God.  Scripture is full of declarations and examples of God's love.

Love is patient, 1 Corinthians 13:4.  Psalm 145:8, The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Love is kind, 1 Corinthians 13:4.  Romans 2:4, God's kindness leads you toward repentance.

Love is not easily angered, 1 Corinthians 13:5.  Psalm 103:9, He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.

Love keeps no record of wrongs, 1 Corinthians 13:5.  Psalm 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Love does not delight in evil, 1 Corinthians 13:6.  James 1:13, God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.

Love never fails, 1 Corinthians 13:8.  Psalm 100:5, For the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I am struck by how Scripture describes God as always being faithful, always loving, always, kind, always, always, always.  And at other times, never failing, never giving up on us, never, never, never.  In counseling situations, we exhort couples to not use the words "always" and "never" because they can be inflamatory and usually untrue.  But with God who is eternal, He truly is always what he says he is and truly never fails.

Then I was reading Ann Voskamp's blog a week or so ago and she wrote about her pastor's sermon on Psalm 23.  Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue all the days of my life.  He said that you can think goodness and mercy just follow you, but the Hebrew word for ‘follow’ is ‘radaph’ and it means to “to pursue, to run after, to chase” or, quite literally, “to hunt you down”. The word radaph, that one that goodness and mercy is doing in Psalm 23:6 is first found in Genesis 14, when Abram discovers that his nephew Lot has been kidnapped and Abram gathers an army of 318 men and “pursued them unto Dan” (Genesis 14:14). The word ‘pursued’ there? It’s ‘radaph’.  Chased!   The goodness and mercy of God isn’t just following after me placidly. The goodness and mercy of God pursues after me passionately. It’s what I keep thinking, picking up lost legos, errant books — like how my mama used to dash off the front porch and run down the lane after me, waving about whatever book I forgot for school — and who else is behind a forgetful, rat-race world but the chasing God?
God is so bent on blessing, He chases.
God’s not out to get you — He’s out to give to you.
And God’s blessings don’t pursue temporarily — but relentlessly. It’s right there in His Word: His goodness and mercy pursue me not just some days — but all the days of my life. When I’m in a wilderness, His mercy and goodness run after me. When I’m hurting, His grace hunts for me. When I’m plagued by problems, His goodness pursues me.


Psalm 23:6:  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life...God's love pursues me.  I love that picture. He's chasing after me with His love.

Birthday Bash

With 6 birthdays in our family in a space of just 8 weeks, that sounded like a good reason to have a party.  Saturday, August 18th, was the day we chose.  All the kids and grandkids were able to make it.  While Christy and I were on vacation, we planned the menu, then I assigned different dishes to Christy, Dawn, Amy and myself. 

The menu:

hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill

baked beans

deviled eggs

7 layer salad

broccoli salad

chips & dip

carrot cake

cookies

iced tea

Everything turned out delicious with lots of food left over.

The birthday people:

Kira, July 28

Christian, September 26 & Tommy, August 6

Mother, August 15

 

Amy, August 24

Mom, August 24

The kids spent a lot of time playing outside.  Ricky had brought his bows and arrows along, so the guys did some target practicing.  The girls and I had a lot of time in the kitchen to chat and fellowship.

Believe it or not, none of us took a single picture the whole day.  C & C brought their very good camera and they didn't take any pictures either.  So we'll have to keep the memories in our hearts.

Amy went up and got my mother on Saturday morning to bring her along for the day.  Then Mother stayed overnight and went to church with us on Sunday morning.  After church, she had lunch with us and Dawn and Kira before we made the drive to Berks County, PA to take her back home.

It was a very good weekend, one that will warm our hearts and make us smile till the next time we're together.

Out of the Ordinary

After our 2 fun and exciting weeks in Maine, I was anticipating a quiet, run of the mill, getting back in the routine time this week.  But life rarely turns out the way you think it will.  So here goes on the chronicling of this last week in our little corner of the world.

Monday was a catch up day at work.  I worked an extra hour and still had some left over to do on Wednesday.  But it was good to be back.  Fortunately, I like my job and enjoy using my gifts and abilities in that way. 

On Tuesday, Dawn had arranged to go bike riding with Andy so she showed up with Kira who stayed with me while she and Andy were gone.  Kira and I had a good time together.  She is very good at directing (a nice way of saying it!), being a first and only child.  But she's so cute that I don't mind taking orders from her.  She wanted to dress up, then she wanted to color.

And it went on from there.  We have so much fun while she's here that she has a very hard time leaving.  It's a challenge for Dawn, I know, but Andy and I are flattered that she likes it here.

My neighbor gave me a bag of zucchini.  I look forward to her generosity in that department every summer.  She plants a huge garden and faithfully waters and takes care of it.  Then I benefit from her hard work.  So it was time for stuffed zucchini and corn on the cob.  I always thought the best corn on the cob was grown in Berks County, PA, but after moving to NJ, I have to say, there is no better corn anywhere than Jersey Silver Queen corn.  It is so delicious that I don't even butter or salt it.  It is stand alone out of this world.  Andy's dad related to me that if you microwave the corn on the cob for 4 minutes, the husk peels right off along with all the silk.  You have to cut off the end of the cob right above the end stalk and leave it in the husk to microwave.  It was a good trick.

The zucchini recipe:
Cut zucchini in half.  Scoop out most of the zucchini, then dice very fine.  Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan/Romano cheese, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1 garlic clove, minced.  Put this mixture into the scooped out zucchini boats.  Top with diced plum tomato and mozzarella cheese.  Bake in oven for 40 minutes.

A delicious summer supper

While we were eating our supper, I looked out the window and saw a huge moth just sitting there.  As quietly as I could, I snuck out the deck door to take a picture.  As I was wondering what kind of creature this was, Andy googled "big green moth" and discovered it was a luna moth.  It's pretty rare to see these moths because they are only adults for one week.  They probably are well camouflaged if they remain in the trees because they look like leaves.

Then yesterday we were excited to have the Eberly kids come spend the night.  Amy and Ricky had bought tickets to a Phillies game so they brought the kids over to stay with us.  They got here around 4:00 pm on Saturday and we had a little time before dinner to play on the swing set.  We had dinner of pizza, then ice cream - what else do Grammys and Poppops have with the grandkids!  Our mission is to make everyone happy.  We certainly had a good time:  watching Veggie Tale videos and reading books, then bed time up in the apartment.

Ricky and Amy returned for the kids at 9:00 am this morning.

Before we started renovation on the kitchen, the kitchen sink started draining very slowly, sometimes backing up significantly.  We thought when Andy put in the new sink and changed out some of the piping under the sink, the problem would be taken care of.  However, the problem persisted and this week became so much worse.  We were wondering if we would have to tear out the new cabinets and flooring to get at the problem, but on closer investigation, Andy and his dad discovered that the piping in the basement had sagged causing dirt particles to collect and clog up the pipe.

So Andy worked Saturday morning to take out the old pipe, put in a new one and prop up the new pipe to prevent the sag and make sure there was enough downward slope to the pipe to keep the water flowing and forcing debris to keep moving through.

We were amazed at how clogged the pipes were - it's a mystery how anything was getting through at all.

Pretty disgusting!

Well, the new pipe is in, and although it still looks pretty level to me, Andy says they added a cleanout so that if there is a problem in the future, it will be easy to get a snake in to take care of the problem.

It's so nice to be able to run the water in the kitchen without it backing up into the sink.  I'm very thankful for a handy hubby!

So that was our eventful week.

Summer Vacation

We were privileged to have a 2 week vacation this year at Moosehead Lake in Maine.  We left early Saturday morning on July 21 (3:00 am), stopping only briefly for gas and bathroom breaks.  I had packed some egg salad and snacks so we could have our breakfast and lunch in the car as we drove.  Because of not stopping, we were able to get there in only 10 hours.  It took C & C a couple more hours but they still got there in enough time to enjoy the late afternoon and evening at the lake and to have dinner with us.

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, fluffy white clouds and a cool breeze blowing.

On Sunday morning, we went to church in Greenville, then enjoyed the rest of the day on the dock at the lake, just relaxing.  Andy did some swimming with the kids and Christian.  They also did some canoeing.  The weather was warm and pleasant, the lake was calm.

Monday was our first hiking day, but we waited till after lunch so Claire could get a good nap.  Christian and Andy, along with Grace & Aiden canoed over to Kineo, while Christy, Naomi, Asher, Claire and I took the shuttle over.  Then we hiked to the top of Mt. Kineo.  In the book we have of Maine hikes, Mt. Kineo is listed as strenuous.  And it is, but it's always such a feeling of accomplishment to make it to the top.  The kids are such troopers, even 4 year old Asher, although I think Claire had the best option this year!

While we were coming down the mountain, we heard thunder and had a sinking feeling.  Would we be stuck on Kineo till the storm passed by?  Deja vu.  Last year, we got soaking wet in just such a situation while we were waiting for the shuttle to take us back across the lake.  But even though it continued to thunder, the storm clouds were to the north of us, so we didn't get rained on.

Tuesday was another hiking day, leaving after lunch again.  Eagle Rock was our destination.  We have to drive back toward Greenville and turn off on a dirt road.  If you're not watching carefully, it's easy to miss the road.  As we were driving back to the trail, we saw a black bear on the road with her 3 cubs.  It made us a little nervous about hiking, but we went anyway, making sure we made a lot of noise to scare away the bears!

The trail at the beginning was very buggy and as we went in further, it got very steep and strenuous.  It's so worth it, because the end is at the top of the mountain with spectacular views and the breeze is so cool and refreshing.  We stayed up there for a while before hiking back down.  It's not as difficult coming down, but it's still hard on the knees and shins.

Andy was in hiking mode that first week and Wednesday was no exception.  Christy and I were ready for a break so when Christy said she wanted Claire to get a good morning nap, I offered to stay with her.  Naomi and I started playing a game, but everyone else went out and hiked a trail called Burnt Jacket Trail.  I was sorry I didn't do it with them because I had never gone on that one.  Well, maybe next year!

 So much for the break - the next day, Thursday, we went to Borestone mountain.  That is a difficult hike, too, but again the rewards are great:  beautiful views at the top, refreshing breeze, and feeling of accomplishment.

On top of the world!

On Friday, we stayed at the house, sat on the dock, read our books and relaxed.  The sun was shining, a cool breeze was blowing gently.  I got some sun burn but it was just some nice color, not uncomfortable.

Another hike was fit into our schedule for Saturday.  We did the Little Moose/Big Moose trail.  We thought we were going to do a simple 1.5 mile hike on Notch Pond Trail but the markings were unclear and we ended up doing the Loop Trail which was 2.5 miles.  It was a very nice trail with pine needles carpeting the path.  It was steep in several spots, strenuous, but mostly a moderate beautiful hike.  Great views from the top again and bugs were bad again.  It took longer than we expected because of the longer hike, so we stopped in town and had pizza for dinner.

Getting a little hike-weary, I think

 Let's put on some fake smiles!

Sunday was declared a day of rest:  no hiking!  We went to church in Greenville, then enjoyed the lake, swimming, canoeing and sitting on the dock watching the kids.  So relaxing!

We got one more hike in on Monday.  After lunch, we borrowed the landlord's canoe and along with C and C's canoe, we all paddled over to Kineo.  Andy and I took Naomi and Aiden in our canoe, and yes, I paddled!  C and C had Claire, Grace and Asher in their canoe, the Flying Frank W!  It must be about a mile and a half across the lake, then we hiked overland about a mile to Pebble Beach.  The kids and men played in the water, while Christy and I sat on the pebbles with Claire.  There was a rope swing there that the kids had fun with.

  
Then of course, we had to hike and canoe back.  I was a little nervous about the canoe ride back because Moosehead Lake is famous for strong winds coming up unexpectedly with people out on the lake struggling against whitecaps.  But the day stayed nice and calm, thankfully, although it was still tiring to go that distance even on a calm lake.

The rest of the week was spent at the house - no more hiking.  The kids played in the water, we sat on the dock and watched them.  Andy did a lot of swimming and playing with the kids.  I worked on a tan.  I spent a little time reading to the kids, but because the weather was so perfect, we spent most of our time outside.

The house we stayed in is so nice, very comfortable.  It has free wi-fi, a washer and dryer and dishwasher - all the conveniences of home!

We were blessed with beautiful weather the whole 2 weeks, with temperatures in the 70's and low 80's, with sunshine and cool breezes.  What a nice break from the heat we were experiencing in NJ before we left.  There was only one day when it rained for about an hour that forced us to stay indoors.


All too soon it was Saturday morning and time to go home.  We left by 3:30 A.M. and were making good time till we got to the NJ turnpike.  Then we hit stop and go traffic with people going to the shore.  It probably took us an extra hour and a half, but it didn't matter.  It was worth it to be able to spend 2 weeks in Maine.