HELLO HEART PARTNERS! I hope this finds you well, and wondering about YOUR LOVE METER! YES…this past week was NOT so lovely, or LOVE-FILLED, so after hearing a sermon on LOVE, and a lot of personal reflection, I thought we all could use some conversation about LOVE! Now, I am not referring to romantic love, or being “IN LOVE,” but instead I am focusing on 1John 4: 7-21, specifically verses 7-8 – “Loved ones, let us love one another, for love is of God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is LOVE!” Right away we see that LOVE is a serious topic, and in order to know what our “LOVE METER” is reporting, we had better get busy and ACTIVATE LOVE GOD’S WAY!

So, is it easy for YOU to LOVE everyone, and SHOW them LOVE? I mean REAL GENUINE LOVE, not fake demonstrations where YOU are hoping and praying that GOD doesn’t truly KNOW how you feel! YOU see LOVING people is not as easy as one might think, because we all struggle with personalities, character traits, behaviors, and acceptance! Depending on the context of your day, whether you work outside the home, or barely have to encounter people, LOVING OTHERS can be very challenging or downright IMPOSSIBLE! Now, just like you, I want to BE LOVING, SHOW LOVE, and even MODEL LOVING BEHAVIOR in all circumstances, but am I able to at all times? NO…or least its a BIG NO to my own heart as I know exactly how I am feeling in the moment. This past week I was challenged on this topic, as my GOLDENS who are dear to me, were once again put in a situation where they could not receive as much attention as they need or deserve. YOU all understand this as I know YOU feel this way with your children, or close friends/family…somehow someway there isn’t enough time, energy, resources…or whatever and YOU can’t BE all that YOU desire for them! Well, that would have been a sad enough story, except, I also was pulled aside and spoken to about how things were going…I am reserving harsh words as at this present moment as GOD has changed it all and performed another miracle in my life. To say it was ugly, unpleasant, and embarrassing does not do it justice, and YOU can imagine…YES I SOBBED! OKAY, I pulled myself together, prayed, and continued onward to be a MODEL of LOVE and forgiveness which was NO SMALL TASK!

That evening as I processed the words said to me with YESHUA, I prayed for the messenger…and the next morning on my way to work I PRAYED and asked YESHUA to keep HIS cross between us, and to POUR HIS LOVE out of me as HE IS OUR TRUE RIVER OF LIFE and LOVE! Now, YOU know many other ugly things took place in my mind such as, I need to quit, get away from this nightmare, etc…BUT GOD…HE had already been working HIS MIRACLE, and I was spoken too with kindness, grace, and the entire situation resolved! WHOA, I was BLOWN AWAY…until I caught my breath and remembered the GOD of my LIFE! Did YOU even know HE cares about the way we are spoken to as HIS sons and daughters? HE DOES, and HIS word is very clear about what should come out of our mouths…I have many favorite scriptures regarding speech, but here are 2 of my favorite! Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Luke 6:45: Jesus says, “out of your heart, your mouth speaks.” My whole heart desires for my speech to be soothing, and a real TREE OF LIFE to others, but when we are confronted oftentimes our WOUNDS SPEAK! Fortunately, this time I walked away wounded and turned to JESUS, and by HIS GRACE HE took over and the healing began! My day was 100% better, and ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD! So, YOU might think…”OH AMEN, or WHEW…that’s over…NO GOD HAD MORE…

On Sunday, our message was on LOVE…and one thing I love about our new Pastor is she is HONEST, and does not hold back! She speaks from God’s word with authority, and shares relationally so that HIS MESSAGE can sink in with GRACE! The question she posed was, “Is YOUR LOVE FLOW on or off? Hmmm, my LOVE FLOW? Well, its like this, if our UPWARD FLOW is activated, which is our relationship with JESUS, then we should be FLOWING LOVE outward toward the world , and then LOVE should FLOW back in, and we then can LIVE LOVE toward other BELIEVERS…all with words and actions! So now I was challenged with a “CHECKING SYSTEM,” which will become my LOVE METER!!! Truly, it doesn’t matter what YOU decide to call it, we all need a “checking system,” so we can stay aware of HOW WE ARE LOVING, IF WE ARE LOVING, or AREAS of LOVE we need to work on with specific people! WHAT A GIFT!! Over the past couple of days I have not physically been well, but my LOVE METER is activated and with each encounter I have had, I can clearly say, that LOVE IS FLOWING! It’s a great test when we are unwell, or challenged in any way…so now I challenge each of YOU to check YOUR LOVE METER…is it FLOWING, stuck, broken, or does it pick and choose who YOU show LOVE to? LET’S CHOOSE to GROW in our LOVE TOGETHER!!! Side note of GREAT IMPORTANCE…the Pastor was led by Holy Spirit to come and PRAY for me…WOW another miracle as she had no clue what had taken place!

I am so very GRATEFUL for GOD’S WORD, HIS LESSONS, and HIS MESSENGERS!

FOR NOW…I pray YOU can integrate HIS message that is JUST FOR YOU!! Remember HE LOVES YOU DEARLY!

I am ALWAYS here praying and loving each of you!

SHALOM,

DanaKae

I grew up singing this song…ENJOY!