Love.

Over the past week I've enjoyed reading your comments on what love means to you.  From saving the last brownie, to mountains of laundry,  to feeding a baby at 1, 3, and 5 am,  there are thousands of different ways we can feel loved and show love to the ones that matter most to us.  
But have you ever wondered what it truly means to love someone? 

We're bombarded today with  movies, songs, and romance novels that give us a false sense of love.  The ooey-gooey feeling we get when looking into someone's eyes won't sustain us forever  because there is more to love than a feeling.  Love is a choice.  Sure, we can "feel" love quite often for the ones we hold dearest, but how about when things get tough and the ooey-gooey feeling is gone?  All we're left with then is a choice.  Have you ever heard the phrase "love is a verb?"    Saying we love someone and actually showing it is vastly different. 

It's easy to love those who love us.  What's difficult and sometimes nearly impossible is to love those who are the most difficult to love.  It's hard to love those who hate us.  Some would say not to give those type of people the time of day, but God tells us the exact opposite.  He tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us. (Luke 6:27-29) Why?  Why on earth would we want to do that?  What purpose could that serve? 

In order to understand WHY and HOW to love the unlovable, we need to understand love isn't only a verb, it's a noun too.  God is LOVE.  He is the origin of love. He is the ultimate definition of love.  He sent His son Jesus to die a cruel death here on earth so that He could pave the way for those who turn from their sins and put their faith and trust in Him to be with Him forever.  Jesus, who was both 100% God and 100% man, made the ultimate sacrifice when He chose to go to the cross for our sins.   He chose to sacrifice Himself for us, even though he prayed that night "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."  Luke 22:42.   He chose to give Himself for us because of His overwhelming love for us.  He is the ultimate example of true love.  Accepting His love is what enables us in turn to be able to fully and truly love others.

Do you sometimes feel empty?  Do you feel like you're not enough? Do you ever lay your head on your pillow at night and wonder if there's anything more to this life? We've all been there.  When we accept the love God has for us, it is then we are able to truly love others, even when we don't "feel" like it, because we are loving them through the overflow of HIS love for us.   His love for us is the greatest gift.  Through Him, we can live life to the fullest, pursuing love.  If you have never felt that type of love, I would LOVE to talk to you about it!  I'd love to buy you a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or hot tea (my personal favorite!) and just chat!  We ALL have questions in life, we all have doubts, we all have problems.  If you've been feeling like there's more to it all, please contact me, I'd love to talk to you! 

On this Valentine's Day, I challenge you to pursue love, pursue kindness, pursue sacrifice, not out of your own strength, because our strength fails us, but out of the strength that can only come from Jesus.

It's been so fun reading through everyone's comments on love.  Love is one of my favorite topics.  I love watching families love. I love to see people showing love.   I love scrolling through Facebook and seeing everyone's happy posts, especially on Valentine's Day.  Life is short.  Too short, sometimes.  Let's live each day as if it were our last, because we'll never know when it actually will be.

We had our random drawing tonight with all of the wonderful entries, and I'm so happy to announce the Giveaway winner:  Sarah Harstine! 
Congratulations! You've won a free 30 minute session with Full of Hope Photography!  I can't wait to capture the love you share with your family!  Contact me for more details!
I  really, truly wish everybody that entered could have won!  Because of that, I'd love to offer a special discount that's never been offered before to everybody that entered the contest.  Contact me for more information!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!