LOVE:

Love can be an area of fear for many people, yet it is the paradise for others. Why would that be?

It is the viewing, the seeing and the perception.

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QUOTE: “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.”

(Richard David Bach)

We all can easily say that in loving someone else we must be careful not to get hurt. But this very resistance to let ourselves go, prohibits any likely advancement and success in love.

As we go through life we have an opportunity to gain from our experiences. If we can do this with a certain degree of success we can call this having WISDOM.

This principle also applies to love, although agreeably the understanding isn’t so simple. But nevertheless we can expect to use wisdom to guide us where necessary.

We must learn to enjoy the moments we encounter together. As humans we have the skill to adjust our life, gain knowledge, gain experience and plot a more fulfilling loving relationship. We are the controller! If we cannot find the knowledge we need to move forward in our reasoning, we must trust in the ‘allowing’. Allow events to happen and go with the flow. This encourages a freedom and ALLOWS a new experience to develop.

Today’s excerpt is one that plots the way to paradise. Discover whether this resembles your proposed route.

MY HEART SPEAKS

Ah, Paradise exists in so very many places. It can be found in a quaint little restaurant, dimly lit by candlelight; on a beach at twilight, with a dinghy’s bell heard in the distance; it exists in a park, on a blanket, spread beneath the trees, with gaiety and laughter heard all around.

It’s a state of mind between two people that occurs when love - sometimes gently and quietly, sometimes with intensity and fervour – enters the threshold of the mind, and swiftly carries them into a warm, revered mood, and a locus* filled with awe.

If you’ve never been to Paradise, it’s Magic - the possibilities, limitless. To get there, you must close your eyes and open your heart; let the real you unfold and blossom. Once Paradise is discovered, your heart and soul will flourish and both will dance in jubilation. You’ll see life in a way you may never have imagined.

It’s metaphorically flying… It’s Euphoria.

Paradise is a way of life between two and is a constant behaviour. It stays steady regardless of what life presents. It takes time and doesn’t happen instantaneously. It must be nurtured and protected, by two mature people who realize life not only has great trials, but also offers tremendous joy, especially when shared.

Yes, everyone wants the fairy tale – to be loved, and love that one special person they have been seeking their whole life. But very few are willing to share their heart and soul in the manner required and, initially perhaps, they don’t realize when they’ve made that connection.

We are a very quick people. We want instant gratification – we want soul connection and instantaneous love. When we don’t get it, we, quite simply, forsake those who offer that which we seek because those offerings may not be readily apparent and take time to unearth. Instead, we choose to take the road most travelled, awaiting the next opportunity; we cling to the hope that Paradise might be found when we knock upon the next available door. Very few want to board the slow train to Paradise, because taking the slow train means being patient. It means not only offering our strengths to support the other’s weaknesses but also accepting the other’s strengths to provide a foundation for our own weaknesses. Taking the slow train means giving freely of ourselves and being open and willingly receptive to the offerings of others.

Where does the slow train go? On a metaphorical flight – to Euphoria.

Ultimate destination? Paradise.

*Locus - a line, plane, or place, every point of which satisfies a given condition and which contains no point that does not satisfy this condition.

(Tami C Ryan, October 20, 2002)

QUOTE: “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the ‘atomic age’ – as in the being able to remake ourselves.”

(Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi)

Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow. Today was Daddy’s Day at school, and she couldn’t wait to go. But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home. Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone. But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say. What to tell her classmates of why he wasn’t there today. But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone. And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home. But the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all. About a dad she never sees, a dad who never calls. There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet. Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats. One by one the teacher called, a student from the class. To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed. At last the teacher called h er name, every child turned to stare. Each of them was searching, for a man who wasn’t there. “Where’s her daddy at?” she heard a boy call out. “She probably doesn’t have one,” another student dared to shout. And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say, “Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day.” The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom. And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on. And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak. And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique. “My Daddy couldn’t be here, because he lives so far away. But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day. And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know. All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so. He loved to tell me stories, he taught me to ride my bike. He surprised me w ith pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite. We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone. And though you cannot see him, I’m not standing here alone. ‘Cause my daddy’s always with me, even though we are apart. I know because he told me, he’ll forever be in my heart” With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest. Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress. And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears. Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years. For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life. Doing what was best for her, doing what was right. And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd. She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud. “I love my daddy very much, he’s my shining star. And if he could, he’d be here, but heaven’s just too far. You see he was a fireman and died just this past year. When airplanes hit the towers and taught Americans to fear. But sometimes when I close my eyes, it’s like he never went away.” And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day. And to her mother’s amazement, she witnessed with surprise. A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes. Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside. Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side. “I know you’re with me Daddy,” to the silence she called out. And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt. Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed. But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose. And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining bright star. And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far.

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My Dad is A Rising Star

It’s nice to know that you’re secured with that someone. That even if the rain is pouring hard and the sky is almost dark, he’ll never leave you just so you won’t feel alone. Even if his friends had left him (and even if he has to be somewhere else) he’d still stay by your side, just so you won’t feel alone. It’s so good to know that you have someone who’ll be willing to help you cope up in every frustrations you’re having. Every depressing moments, every down moments, every self-worthless-realization moments, he’d be there, not because you want someone to be with you, but because he wants to be with you. It’s great to know when a person appreciates every little thing you do. Even a smile would mean a lot to him, just because you own that smile. And that even if no words are expressed as long as the eyes understand, you’d be able to communicate, just like that. It’s overwhelming when a person tells you that he loves you for who you are. He may not have an answer when you ask him why, but really, he doesn’t have to have reasons for loving you. It’s more grateful to know that someone is grateful to have you. We don’t choose the people who enter our lives, so it must be luck that you have that person, then you have to be thankful. It may just be coincidence or fate, but whatever the reason is, you have to be thankful in having him the same way he is thankful for having you. It’s a wonderful feeling when you’re on the verge of giving up the things you’ve worked hard for, someone isn’t just helping you carry the weight on your shoulders, but he carries it on his own because he’d also be in pain when you are in pain. And then you’ll realize, trials would all be worth it as long as you have him, not because he would do things for you, but because you gather all the strength you need, in him and his love. It’s a superb feeling when one is willing to take the risks just so you’ll be happy. Unselfishness rule in him just so happiness would take over you. It’s a nice feeling that when you’re apart, and days seem to be long, that person misses you. Yes, you might feel bad about not being with each other, but knowing that you feel the same way would drive those blues away, thinking, you’d fight over that feeling because you’re looking forward to seeing each other, and that’s something to be happy about. It’s a great feeling when he wants to be with you because of the happiness you have when you’re together. That even if corny jokes and senseless stories are told, it won’t matter as long as you’re together. It’s a lovely feeling when someone thinks about your future, with or without him. He cares and he cares enough to think of you and what you’ll be someday. But of course, he also wants to be in it someday. It’s a nice feeling when you can be who you really are with that person. No pretentions, no lies, no hypocrisy, because he accepts you for who you are. You can be funny, you can be embarrased, but it won’t matter coz it doesn’t matter to him. Trust and faith in each other keeps you alive. And it will always do. It’s good to know that you have someone who’ll not have the intentions of breaking your heart. Instead, he would be willing to mend it, picking up the broken pieces of your heart that your past love have scattered in the ground. He may not be able to put the pieces back to where they really belong, but you shouldn’t mind, because he had repaired that heart of yours, and he fixed it in his own way. He loves you in his own way, not the way your past did. He fixed your heart in a different way, to keep you from feeling the pains of your past heartache and to make you feel, the love, that he’s unselfishly giving. It’s a great feeling when that person has every effort to let you feel what he feels for you. Because of the distractions, you may not hear him shout it to the world, but as long as you feel it, his efforts has paid off, big time. And when you feel the same way too… He’d feel as if he’s the luckiest person alive. … when in fact, you’re more blessed to have him.

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It is…

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother, but I only have seventy-five cents and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me, I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes,please ! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s home. ***************************************************** Treat your parents well while they are still healthy, do not only show your respect to them when they are in the grave. ***************************************************** Sacrifice Love ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little boy was told by his doctor that he could save his sister’s life by giving her some blood. The six-year-old girl was near death, a victim of disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier. Her only chance for restoration was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor. “Johnny, would you like to give your blood for Mary ?” the doctor asked. The boy hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled, and said, “Sure, Doc, I’ll give my blood for my sister.” Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room - Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and the picture of health. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As his blood siphoned into Mary’s veins, one could almost see new life come into her tired body. The ordeal was almost over when Johnny’s brave little voice broke the silence, “Say Doc, when do I die ?” It was only then that the doctor realized what the moment of hesitation, the trembling of the lip, had meant earlier. Little Johnny actually thought that in giving his blood to his sister he was giving up his life ! And in that brief moment, the final decision that he had made was the greatest love of all……… the unconditional sacrificinglove……………. **************************************************** Sacrificing PART of what you have is human’s nature, but sacrificing all of what you have needs a lot of LOVE. Nowadays people always think of what they can get in return before giving, if the return is less than their givings, then they will be reluctant to give. **************************************************** BE………… Be understanding to your enemies, Be loyal to your friends. Be strong enough to face the world each day. Be weak enough to know you cannot do everything alone. Be generous to those who need your help. Be frugal with what you need yourself. Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything. Be foolish enough to believe in miracles. Be willing to share your joys. Be willing to share the sorrows of others. Be a leader when you see a path others have missed. Be a follower when you are shrouded by the mists of uncertainty. Be the first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds. Be the last to criticize a colleague who fails. Be sure where your next step will fall, so that you will not tumble. Be sure of your final destination, in case you are going the wrong way. Be loving to those who love you. Be loving to those who do not love you, and they may change. Above all, be yourself. ******************************************** Sometimes a simple action, or something that you think is unimportant can change another person’s life or thinking. ******************************************** THANKS for spending your precious time to read the story and hope you can gain some meaning out of the story

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Unconditional Love

LOVE:

Love is such a complex subject. It is said that before you can love others, you must first love yourself. You must respect and admire your own actions, not to fuel your ego, but to make you credible.

When you see this love, you can then offer an equal to others.

Upon my study of anger, I found that 95% of the time anger is self inflicted. That is when you are angry at someone, you were first angry at yourself.

Love is exactly the same. If you sense your love is fading, first look at yourself and correct and tweak your own actions.

If you could avoid expectations in love, you’ll be surprised at how frequent love repays your own endeavours.

photo courtesy: easy-upload.net

Imagine a few blissful hours with your children in the park. You’ve bonded a little more. You walk home alongside the supermarket and seen and old lady struggling with her shopping. You have no hesitation; you tell the children to hold on a moment until you’ve helped pack the shopping in the car boot for this lady.

You return home and your partner has cooked the perfect meal, the house is tidy, the dining table set for a banquet. The children flitter through the house, find a seat to rest their tired body and sit quietly reading or watching television.

That may or may not be the perfect ending to a few hours play in the park, but it was if someone was watching.

The love you gave your children in the park, made you alert enough to see the lady struggling at the supermarket, whereas another day you’d have missed it. Your partner another day may well have been on the phone when you arrived back and flustered with the daily chores.

If you give it, you’ll receive it back! If you live in a world of lies, you’ll only ever dream of love…

Whilst this next story is called ‘Great Expectations’ it should be called, ‘Apply the Truth and Bliss Will Follow…’

Great Expectations

Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, and I have never met, but he taught me something so valuable that it changed my life.

Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb’s all time hits record. One reporter blurted out, “Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to get the 78 hits?” Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very matter-of-factly said, “78.” The reporter yelled back, “Ah, come on Pete, you don’t expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats do you?”

Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly boastful claim. “Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to get a hit! If I don’t expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in the batter’s box in the first place!”

“If I go up hoping to get a hit,” he continued, “Then I probably don’t have a prayer to get a hit. It is a positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place.”

When I thought about Pete Rose’s philosophy and how it applied to everyday life, I felt a little embarrassed. As a business person, I was hoping to make my sales quotas. As a father, I was hoping to be a good dad. As a married man, I was hoping to be a good husband.

The truth was that I was an adequate salesperson, I was not so bad of a father, and I was an okay husband. I immediately decided that being okay was not enough! I wanted to be a great salesperson, a great father and a great husband. I changed my attitude to one of positive expectation, and the results were amazing. I was fortunate enough to win a few sales trips, I won Coach of the Year in my son’s baseball league, and I share a loving relationship with my wife, Karen, with whom I expect to be married to for the rest of my life! Thanks,
Mr. Rose!

(Barry Spilchuk, Speaker and Author)

QUOTE: “I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling the truth than adore me for telling you lies.”

(Pietro Aretino)

The pictures are absolutely hilarious . They are pictures of dogs and their owners. I think they were once part of a promotion for Cesar dog food and the dog owners were doing their best to support the old rumor that dog owners resemble their dogs — or vice versa. In the case of these images, they were spot on — sorry, pun intended. And the “look-alike rumor” is based on a deeper truth: we do take on the qualities of the object of our love. Which brings me to the theme of “neighboring.” “So just who is my neighbor?” This question was launched by an expert on the Old Testament law to test Jesus. While it may seem innocent enough at first glance, underneath it was the push to find out just what is needed to qualify for eternal life (Luke 10:25). To put it crassly, “What’s my minimum requirement on being neighborly?” Jesus addressed the question in three powerful ways, never letting the “expert in the law” off the hook . Jesus was going to make sure this expert had to “own” his answer. Jesus asked the man to state his understanding of God’s truth twice, rather than Jesus giving the “expert” an answer (Luke 10:26;  Luke 10:36). First, Jesus made clear the issue is about “neighboring”: intention and emotion are important, but godly compassion always involves action (James 2:14-17;  1 John 3:16-17). Jesus made this powerfully clear by answering the question by telling the story of “the good Samaritan” (Luke 10:30-35). The question is not, “Who is my neighbor [who I must serve]?” Instead, the question is, “Who needs neighboring: who needs my help and support?” And Jesus frames the story by the emphasis on “doing compassion” by framing the story with these two phrases: (1) “Do this and live” (Luke 10:28 TNIV), and (2) “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:35). Second, Jesus demonstrated what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” A simple scan of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — the books in the Bible that tell the story of Jesus — help us understand just what “neighboring” means. We meet men and women, religious and non-religious, leaders and powerless, rich and poor, able-bodied and those who are sick, dying, and dead. Jesus simply ignored the categories we so easily force people to fit. He broke social barriers, gender barriers, and religious stereotypes. He did not meet someone who was not his neighbor and he calls us to live the same way. Third, Jesus always kept the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” connected to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). We become like the One we love! We cannot love God and not love others (1 John 4:7-21). So what’s the point of all of this? Simple: it’s not about figuring out who is our neighbor, but about neighboring those around us in need! Make a list of all the different kinds of people Jesus served — take a quick scan of the gospels to remind yourself of all the different kinds of people Jesus’ life touched in a redemptive way (Matthew 8:1-38;  Mark 9:1-50;  Mark 3:1-64;  Luke 7:1-50 are a good start). What do you think the message is for you and how you are to “neighbor” others based on Jesus’ example? How would you describe what “neighboring” others means in your daily life? What leads you to keep from “neighboring” those who need our help? What makes it hard “neighboring” others you may not know? What makes it hard “neighboring” those you do know? I’d love to hear from you on my blog about this: http://www.thephilfiles.com/2009/02/01/neighboring © Phil Ware. All rights reserved. Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click here . Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

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Neighboring