Happy Valentines Day! I Corinthians 13 for Wives and Mothers

Happy Valentines Day!


A time to be thankful for those whom we love and for those that love us.


I Corinthians 13: 1-8
 ¹If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
 ²If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
 ³And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
 ⁴Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
 ⁵does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
 ⁶does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
 ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 ⁸Love never fails;

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I Corinthians 13 for Wives (by Jim Fowler)

• If I exercise my freedom to speak my mind and say what I think, but do not have love, I am just a squeaky wheel or a dripping faucet.
• If I know the mysteries of how to please a man and the guidelines of a Proverbs 31 wife, but do not have love, I am just going through the motions.
• If I submit myself to my husband in total availability, and do not give myself in love, I am but a pitiful marital martyr.
• A wife's love is patient with all her husband's "big ideas," adaptable to his preferences, and supportive of his leadership.
• The love of a Christian wife does not nag; does not keep a running list of all the times he has hurt her feelings.
• It is not provoked when he does not pick up his own things, does not come home when he says he will, or wants to do something at inconvenient times.
• In love for her husband a wife will keep herself attractive, join him in his recreational pursuits, and express her admiration for him often.
• A wife's love bears all the insensitivities, believes that God will mold the marriage and the man as He desires, hopes that God will be glorified in what they do, and endures the inevitable marital conflicts (OK - fights!).
• All the feminist propaganda will disappear.
• All the latest fashion styles will soon be old-fashioned.
• All the material things will break down and deteriorate.
• Now abides faith in God's sufficiency,
• Hope for a marriage that glorifies God,
• But the greatest of these is Love that puts the other first so as to enjoy God's intent for marriage.

I Corinthians 13 for Mothers (by Jim Fowler)

• If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.
• If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.
• If I scream at my children for every infraction, and fault them for every mess they make, but have not love, my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.
• Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
• Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
• Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
• Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
• Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,” the taxi-driver to every childhood event, the counsellor when my children fail or are hurt.
• Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
• Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
• Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.
• All the projections I had for my house and my children have faded away into insignificance,
• And what remain are the memories of my kids.
• Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture, dishes with missing place settings, and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,
• But the greatest of all is the Love that permeates my relationships with my children.

SOURCE

FAMILY & FRIENDS: Love Between Brothers

Psalm 133: 1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

My older son (age 20) did something today that absolutely warmed my heart. He invited his younger brother (almost 15) to spend the day with him sometime this week. As you know, our older one moved out of our home to share a house with some college friends closer to school on August 1. The adjustment has been the hardest for me, but I think our younger son misses him as well. Although we see him every other week or so and talk or email even more often, it is not the same as him living with us and seeing him every day. I was just delighted when he invited his younger brother to spend some time with just him.

How did this happen? Why do they have a good relationship? There is a 5-year age gap between them, so there never has been what I would call sibling rivalry. The older one has always looked after and protected the younger one and I have always encouraged him to do so. They shared a bedroom when they were very young for 3 1/2 years. After that they have had their own bedrooms next door to each other. Homeschooling has helped tremendously since we would all be home together from the time my older son was in the 5th grade. They did field trips together, had many friends in common through our church and neighbors, ate almost all their meals together, played together and have enjoyed many of the same interests. We have never allowed them to roughhouse with each other as I have seen in other families. It's shocking for me to see brothers beat the tar out of each other and I don't think it's helpful to their relationship or with the rest of their families.

It has always been a "mission" for me for them to be at least as close as my brother and I are even to this day and we're in our 50's. I have specifically prayed for them to be good friends as well as brothers and also to love each other well. Parents usually die before their children and I have tried to instill in them that one day when they are older, they will probably be each other's best friend and thankful that they have each other, regardless of their own families. This is a legacy that I hope they instill in their own children. For now, I will just rejoice in their relationship. :) :) (Photo above is when they were 9 and 4 years old.)