Reading

Day 173: Jeremiah 47-49

There's not much to say today, probably because I don't really understand it all. I'll keep reading until I do.

Random Thoughts

Day 172: Jeremiah 41-46

Just like God spares Jeremiah's life, he also spares Baruch's life. He protects him from harm. God cares for his people.

Listen to this verse. Jeremiah 46:20: "Egypt is a beautiful heifer." Huh? What does that mean? Is that supposed to be a good thing? I don't think that was a compliment back in middle school, but maybe in Bible times, it was.

A Powerful Prophet

Day 171: Jeremiah 37-40

The story of King Zedekiah and Jeremiah reminds me of Joseph and his relationship with Pharaoh. It's amazing to me how these people who have so much earthly power seem to bow and humble themselves in front of the Lord's appointed people.

Jerusalem falls to Babylon, but King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gives orders to his men to take Jeremiah but not to hurt him. It's interesting that he spares him.

Written Words

Day 170: Jeremiah 33-36

As a teacher of writing, chapter 36 really interests me. Here, you find the instructions given to Jeremiah to write down all the words of the Lord. Jeremiah dictated the words of the Lord to Baruch, and Baruch wrote them down on a scroll. After they were all written down, Baruch then read the scroll aloud to all the people outside the Temple.

We take for granted having access to the words of the Lord. Bibles are prevalent. We probably have several located around our homes. We can even read it for free on the Internet. Our access is abundant, and we take it for granted.

But those people in the Old Testament didn't have such access, and so when things were written down they were highly valued. People came from all over to hear the words read. Oh, how much they valued scribes and people who could read. So, as we read our Bible, let's remember just how valuable it is and treasure the words of the Lord within.

Hope and a Future

Day 169: Jeremiah 29-32

Jeremiah 29:10-14: This is what the Lord says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."

I include this passage in its entirety so that you can better understand the context out of which it is written. Jeremiah tells the people that they will be exiled to Babylon for 70 years. After that time, God will come and fulfill all the promises he has made to them. He knows the plans he has for Israel, and they are good plans, hopeful plans.

That passage is very meaningful to me. It shows me more about God's character and how he deals with his people. It shows he's a good God, a loving God, a God who wants to bring hope instead of pain and suffering. This is a God I want to know. This is a God I want to be one with. This is a God that makes me enthusiastic about my life in Christ. Like Israel, God knows the plans he has for us, and these plans are for GOOD. Good plans. A hopeful future.

This makes me smile.

A Prophet without Honor

Day 168: Jeremiah 25-28

Poor Jeremiah. He must give the Israelite people such bad news, news filled with destruction and annihilation. His news makes them want to kill him. They threaten him and try to kill him. But the Lord protects Jeremiah from harm.

What must it have been like to be a prophet? To be so connected to God that he uses you to speak to his people? This prophet, like many others, was without honor or prestige. But he was available and God used him to deliver messages to his people.

Are you available to God? Are you open to being used by him? Are you willing to become a person without honor in this world so that you can be used by God?

Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves

Day 167: Jeremiah 21-24

Jeremiah contrasts the corrupt leaders of Israel to Jesus, the coming Messiah. He will be righteous, come from the line of David, will rule with wisdom, and will do what is just and right throughout the land. How hopeful that seems! That someone, who is called "The Lord Is Our Righteousness" will do what is right and just. He will save. Jeremiah 23:6b says, "In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety." Wow. Israel will be saved. We will be saved. Jesus will save.

Sustainable Trees and Lifeblood

Day 166: Jeremiah 17-20

Jeremiah 17:7-8.
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

The Bible often uses evocative language to communicate ideas. In this passage, a simile is used to compare trust in the Lord to trees planted along a riverbank. I love the imagery of those verses. Just imagine trees along a riverbank, roots extended deep into the ground, into the water. These trees survive all sorts of conditions, and what's more, is that they never stop producing fruit. These trees not only survive; they flourish. They sustain us and give us food. So, too, does God sustain us. When we place our hope and faith in Him, we are nourished; we are fed.

God uses concrete examples, such as the trees, to demonstrate abstract and complex principles, such as what it means to trust and hope in the Lord. Thank you, God, for understanding our needs and providing us words with how we can think about you.

In Jeremiah 18-20, Jeremiah delivers a message from the Lord to Judah and Jerusalem. He tells them that the Lord will destroy them if they turn to evil and refuse to obey God. God will even withhold blessings from them. The people respond back to Jeremiah that they will continue to live as they want. They don't care. It doesn't matter that God tells them he is the potter, and they are the clay, and He can do with them what they want. They will continue to follow evil and reject the Lord. So, as a result, the Lord will destroy them, if He so chooses.

God deals with us the same way. He can destroy us if he want; he sure does have the power. He can bless us if he wants; he has the power to do this, too. He can upset our plans, just like he did with Judah and Jerusalem. He could allow us to be slaughtered, leaving our bodies as food for vultures and wild animals, just like he promises to do to Israel. He can destroy our cities, us. He can shatter us.

And He probably would shatter us....except for one thing. Jesus. God sent Jesus to earth, and now Jesus is the one who intervenes on our behalf. Jesus is our Savior. Whereas God wants to destroy us because of our wickedness and refusal to be blessed by him, Jesus pleads on our behalf. Jesus is the only reason we have hope in coming into the presence of God. What a mighty story we are a part of!

The lifeblood of Jesus allows us to produce fruit. It allows us to be like sustainable trees. May we continue to put our trust and hope in the Lord.

Planning Our Own Course

Day 165: Jeremiah 10-16

Jeremiah 10:23-25. Hear the words of Jeremiah, the prophet:

"I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die."

This passage is interesting to me for a variety of reasons. The first sentence ("I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.") speaks true to me. This life I have is a gift; the lives we all have are gifts--gifts from the Lord. He decides when we live and when we die, and he is in control, literally, of our lives.

The second sentence, however, doesn't ring quite so true to me. We are able to plan our own course. We decide where we live, what we do with our lives, how we raise our children. We decide whether we go to church and, if so, where we go. We decide how we treat people, what sins we commit, and how we love. We are in control of many aspects of our lives.

So, what else might Jeremiah be saying in this sentence? He could be talking about predestination. Many church faiths believe that God has called people--a select few--before the creation of the world, and that those few are already predestined to follow God. My religious faith does not believe this principle. We believe that anybody can become a child of God. Perhaps God already knows who will make the decision to follow Him, but he allows us to make this choice rather than pre-selecting it for us. I tend to agree with my church heritage because I believe in free will.

So what else could he be saying? If you look at it within the context of Israel--the people who was selected by God to be his people--then it seems that we could also read this passage from that of a people who are already committed to the Lord. For these people--people who want to live a life committed to the Lord--then many of the decisions are determined by God's words to us, his instructions on how we should live, how we should treat people, and how we can become more like Christ in our daily lives. When we look at that sentence through this lens, then we can read it differently. Our decision to become a Christian and our decision to commit to God should, theoretically, lead us to give our lives away. Less of self and more of thee. We no longer make our own decisions; instead, the decisions we make are shaped and formed by our decision to live a life for the Lord. Wow. How amazing is that!

And the last part, verse 24, is so human. Jeremiah says, "So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die." Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? For God to be gentle and kind, rather than harsh and angry? Have you prayed for God to "correct you"? Perhaps we can see more about how kingdom life by reading these words. More about humanity. More about our Lord. More about ourselves and the plans we have for our lives.

Boasting in the Lord

Day 164: Jeremiah 9

Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says: "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord have spoken!"

When I was growing up, I was taught not to boast. We were instructed not to boast about our gifts, our talents, our accomplishments, and our strengths. We were to be humble about what the Lord had given us.

Over the years, though, we were also introduced to the idea of spiritual gifts--attributes or talents we had that were given to us by God. A few weeks ago, we had an event for women at our church. We get together monthly to spend time together, and the woman who planned it for this month planned hers around this idea of gifts. What were our talents? What were our gifts? We even went around the table and shared what we thought our gifts were. Some women, perhaps surprisingly, responded that they had no gifts. Many others claimed that they didn't know what their gifts were. A small few were able to tell their gifts, but even they looked bashful and embarrased about saying it out loud--out of fear of boasting or seeming prideful.

This response about spiritual gifts is probably very common in church circles. We don't want to boast. We don't want people to view us as bragging or having too much confidence in ourselves. However, it is a worthwhile endeavor to figure out what gifts we have so that we can use them for the Lord, and when we do figure out what our gifts are, we can boast about knowing God. We can brag to our friends and loved ones about God's goodness, glory, sacrifice, and love. Then, we can delight in God and the gifts he has given us. God is holy, and he made us. And because he made us and loves us, we can boast about who we are because we know him and are loved by him.

Praise the Lord.

God's Desire

I am a bit behind in posting, but I have still been reading along and writing down everything on paper. We have been traveling and we've also been having intermittent internet problems, so I haven't been able to post when I'd like. So, look for me to add these posts over the next several days, until I catch up. Thanks for staying with me.

Day 163: Jeremiah 5-8
Israel continues to reject the Lord, and so the Lord sends enemies to invade and destroy them. He wants them to come to him and to know him, and he will take drastic measures to ensure that they come to know him. Jeremiah is the prophet who delivers them this news and prophesies about what's to come if they don't repent and return to God.

So often, we run away. We get busy. We put obstacles in our lives that separate us from God. And just like he desire with Israel and Judah, God wants us to repent, too. He wants us to return to Him and live the life that He has meant for us to live. He may convict our heart. He may allow us to get into a situation that will teach us about Him, about ourselves. He may discipline us in other ways. He does all this because He loves us. God wants all of us, and he has the power get it from us. But he doesn't coerce. He doesn't beg. Instead, he grieves. His heart is broken. He hurts with he hurt of his people, and he mourns with them, too (Jeremiah 8:18-22).

When we are separate from God--either because of sin or because of situation or because of resentment towards God--he hurts with us. What a mighty God we have. A true friend.

Be not afraid

Day 162: Jeremiah 1-4

I write today with a heavy heart. The girl that we have been praying for lost her legs today. I'm sad for her and her family, and I'm grieved over how life is going to be so different for her and her family. As I'm reading through the Bible right now, I'm reading through this lens of grief, pain, and suffering. I'm looking for comfort, for explanation, for understanding.

In addition to Jenny, another person is on my mind. This past week at Baylor, we found out who got tenure and who was denied tenure. Tenure is a huge thing for academics: if you get tenure, then you have job security and academic freedom; if you are denied tenure, then you lose your job. And I'm sad because a colleague of mine was denied tenure. This news is just crushing. If I put myself in her shoes, I see how I'm forced to give up a job I love, move away from family and friends, try to find another job, and make a new life for myself. This news is also scary and devastating, especially to those of us who are on the tenure-track and looking to get tenure ourselves.

I ran into this colleague today, and her demeanor surprised me. She was joyful, literally joyful. When I expressed my disappointment over the decision and offered her my empathy, her response surprised me. She said, "You know, it's just a job. This denial of tenure doesn't define me. It's just a job. I can find another job. What's important is your family, how you treat people, and the Lord." What a testimony of faith. She's right.

In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord calls Jeremiah by name and instructs him not to be afraid. The Lord also knows us. He knows Jenny Bizaillion. He knows my colleague. He knows me. And he knows you. He has called us all by name, and he instructs us not to be afraid. Fear not, for the Lord is with us.

God Is Mighty to Save You

Day 161: Isaiah 62-66

Isaiah 63:1a: "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

The Lord is "mighty to save." Wow. That's amazing to consider for a moment. God is mighty to save! Many of you know that this mantra has become the prayer of the Bizaillion/Ross families as they pray over Jenny. This song has touched me in so many ways, and I'm delighted to have found it in scripture today. Yes, the Lord is mighty to save.

These words "to save" are important for Christians because of salvation. Jesus has saved us, and he continues to save us every day. He sanctifies us and makes us new. He saves us from anything and everything that we need saving from--whether we know it or not.

And the word "mighty" shows God's great strength, and it also shows his character. He will do this with all his might. He will save all people because he is mighty to do so!

This verse is so encouraging, and I pray it brings you encouragement today. In your life, you can be confident that God is mighty to save!

Restoration and Renewal

Day 160: Isaiah 56-61

God is at a distance from the Israelites because of their behavior and disobedience to Him, but God also promises them that they will be redeemed. When Jesus comes, they will be restored. The Israelites will be close to him again because of God's great love.

This past month has been crazy. My children have been dealing with broken arms and allergic reactions. Parenting has been challenging for various reasons. My job has been extremely stressful. We have friends suffering with major illness. Yet, through all this craziness of life, God is there. He is our strength and deliverer. He is our protector. And in the end, he will win. He will restore us, and we will all be made whole.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Restore our souls.

Renew our spirits.

Make us whole again.

Prophecy about our Lord Jesus

Day 159: Isaiah 50-55

I love Isaiah 53.To learn about our Lord Jesus. Just to comprehend all that is described about him. Wow.

"He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 He was despised and rejected by others,
       a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
       Like one from whom people hide their faces
       he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
       and bore our suffering,
       yet we considered him punished by God,
       stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to our own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
       Yet who of his generation protested?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was punished. 
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
       he will see the light of life and be satisfied,
      by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong, 
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being our savior.

God's Presence

Day 158: Isaiah 46-49

It's amazing how God works in the lives of people. I am so thankful to be a part of his kingdom. God worked then, and God works now. He is not absent. He is here. He is involved and present and interested in us. Thank you, God, for being present. Your presence is comforting, and in you, we have our hope.

Isaiah 49:1 says, "Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name."

God knows us. He loves us. He formed us. He calls us by name, and this is comforting, so comforting. Especially in times of trial.

Lord is God

Day 157: Isaiah 42-45

The Lord is God, and there is no other. This idea comes up again and again and again in Isaiah. God is God. I believe it, and I'm comforted to read these words in scripture.


I'm still reading along. Busy times right now and not much to say.

Prayer and Eagles

Day 156: Isaiah 38-41

In Isaiah 38, Isaiah tells Hezekiah that he is going to die. Isaiah's message is from the Lord. Understandably so, Hezekiah becomes distraught and fervently prays to the Lord. The Lord hears Hezekiah, and grants him 15 more years of life. Prayer changes God's mind.

This story is interesting to me. I have been thinking about the meaning of prayer a lot lately. I even taught a Bible class on it Wednesday night at church. I've also witnessed miraculous happenings through prayer. Prayer is powerful. It can change God's mind, and it can form us. And here in the OT, we have such an example of prayer changing history.

One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture: 

Isaiah 40:28-31
  Do you not know?
       Have you not heard?
       The LORD is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.
    He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.
    Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;
    ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

Let's pray so that we can soar on wings like eagles.

God's Verbs: Judge and Redeem

Day 155: Isaiah 34-37

This passage concerns how God will deal with his people, in two primary ways: First, in chapter 34, God will judge the immoral people, those who are faithless and corrupt. Then, in chapter 35, God will redeem the faithful. God judges and redeems. This story will come up again with Jesus. God will judge, and Jesus will be the sacrifice so that we can be redeemed. I love how the biblical story repeats itself.

Isaiah's Admonitions to Trust!

Day 154: Isaiah 30-33

Our friend Jenny is doing even better this morning. Last night I went to sleep praying for her and her family. Things did not look good when I was going to bed, and many were fearful that this would be her last night. But no! God had other plans. He is working miracles up there, and thousands of people all over the world are praying for her. Thank you, God, for your miracles.

Isaiah reminds us of all the nations who turn away from God, of all the people who don't trust him at his word. These nations will be punished and destroyed and when God destroys all the earth, they will perish. Let's not be one of those people. Let's remain faithful and trusting, fervent in prayer and hopeful that God will restore the earth.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Day 153: Isaiah 26-29

I am praying hard today. A college friend named Jenny Bizaillion, is not doing so well, and we are praying for her and her family. God, please work your miracle on her health so that she can come out of this. A lot of people are praying. Facebook is just amazing for stuff like this. Who knew that this is one of the results of this social networking tool. I bet the founders never envisioned stuff like this. But, wow. It's amazing. We're praying for you, Jenny and Dave and family.

The reading in Isaiah was so encouraging to me. Isaiah tells us to TRUST in the Lord, and that is just what we're doing with Jenny, and just what we do every day of our lives. God is in control, and He wants us to trust him. We will "keep in perfect peace" (26:3) and we will "worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem" (27:13). 

Praise the Lord for he is good. I will trust in you for all the days of my life. You will protect me. Although I will experience pain, I know that you are there for me. You are my comforter, my counselor.

Prophetic Accounts II

Day 152: Isaiah 22-25

More prophecy against cities. Today, Isaiah prophecies against Jerusalem. But he also prophecies about God's devastation of the whole earth. The earth will be completely laid to waste, destroyed. Because of our sin, God has cursed this land. At this time, the Lord Almighty will reign--on earth, in Jerusalem, and in heaven. Isaiah is pleading for these people to turn from wickedness and return to the Lord.

In chapter 25, Isaiah praises the Lord for all the prophecies have come true. And now all the people have turned to God to worship him. We trusted the Lord, and he saved us. He redeemed us. He kept his word.

Prophetic Accounts I

Day 151: Isaiah 17-21

Isaiah prophesies about the destruction of Damascus, about how the city of Cush will listen and respond to the word of the Lord, about how Egypt and Cush will be destroyed, and about how Babylon, Edom, and Arabia will suffer because of their faithlessness.

Not much to comment on today, except to say that I think these prophecies were meant to show the people during that time that there was a God. These prophets could predict what was going to come, and they were connected to the Lord. When these events came to pass, perhaps people of these lands came to believe in the Lord.

Still going

Day 150: Isaiah 13-16

Still reading along...learning and struggling with Isaiah.

Also praying for a college friend of ours who is in the hospital with pneumonia. Scary time.

Jesus, the Counselor

Day 149: Isaiah 9-12

I love this passage from Isaiah 9:6

"For to us a child is born,
       to us a son is given,
       and the government will be on his shoulders.
       And he will be called
       Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

I especially appreciate how the author has used the word "Wonderful Counselor" to describe the future Savior. Think about what this description means. Jesus is the one who counsels us. He offers us hope and gives us a way out of all the pain that we experience in this life. Depression. Addiction. Loss. Death. Sin. Jesus is our counselor.

I went to a counselor for a while last year. It was my first time to do so, and it didn't exactly work out like I hoped it would. I think counseling is great, and it's a healthy way to work through issues in our lives. And it's comforting to know that Jesus, too, is described as our counselor. Our WONDERFUL counselor. How comforting is that! We can talk to him about anything, and he will lead us through it. He has saved us. Amazing.

Hope for a Future Christ

Day 148: Isaiah 5-8

Isaiah, the prophet, communicates here how God's anger burns against his people, the Israelites, for all the sins they have committed. They leave and deny God again and again, and his hand remains upraised.

Yet still, Isaiah prophesies about what he sees. Isaiah 6:1-7 contains beautiful imagery and prophesies about the redemption that Jesus Christ will bring:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

       "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
       the whole earth is full of his glory."

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

What beautiful hope is found here.

Resistance

Day 147: Isaiah 1-4

I have to admit that the book of Isaiah scares me. I'm not exactly sure why, except if my memory serves me correctly, it's abstract and difficult to understand, and it's very, very long. In spite of this, though, I'm going to plunge through in hopes of gaining greater insight into this book. Today's reading, though, puzzled me somewhat, and I still don't understand it. However, what I do notice is that Isaiah is prophesying about things to come and retelling things that happened before, ways in which the Lord was alive and working. I may have to start using a commentary if I want to understand this. I hope it's going to become more clear to me.

The Love Dare: Write It Down!

Day 146: Song of Solomon 5-8

Typically when I'm in my care, I listen to Christian radio. It's encouraging, uplifting, and I can have it on when the kids are in the car with me. Ever since I have been commuting to Waco in the morning, I have had on K-LOVE (a radio station broadcasted in numerous markets nationwide). The morning DJs, Lisa and Eric, are currently participating in and advocating a 40-Day "Love Dare." This dare is based on the popular book, The Love Dare, from which the popular movie Fireproof was based. Now I have not seen the movie, nor have I read the book or completed the 40-Day Love Dare. However, what I have gathered by listening to them talk about this dare on their radio station is about the importance of loving, honoring, respecting, and encouraging your spouse.

After finishing Song of Solomon today, a book filled with words of love between people and about one's loved one, I noticed how descriptive these people are of their loved ones. They list numerous positive characteristics about their "beloved," and they focus on all the wonderful characteristics held by their loved one. I don't know how often we write down the things that we love about our spouse, but I do know there was an exercise like this in The Love Dare. I think that writing down the things we love about our spouse can do several important things, and at the top of the list is that this activity can remind us of the positive things. So often the one or two things that bug us about our loved one seem to come up again and again and again, but when we write down the positive attributes, our focus changes. We become more in tuned with our spouse. We are happier. We forgive more. We give our spouse the benefit of the doubt. Our perspective is altered. We see our spouse differently. Perhaps the book and the activity of The Love Dare is so popular because we come to see our spouse in ways that God sees him or her.

I have always been an advocate of writing-to-learn, the theory that says writing is generative. You learn what you think by writing it down. And I think it's important to write down all the wonderful things about our loved ones--spouse, children, boyfriend/girlfriend, sister, brother, mother, father, friend. By reflecting on what we love about them, we come to see them as God sees them, as we should see them, and we love them more. During this month of love, I hope you will consider writing down in secret the things you love about those most precious to you.