Love is kind...

There it is in Biblical print, love is to be kind.

In our relationships we need to remember the Golden Rule: "Treat others how you want to be treated." We all want to be treated with kindness and to feel good, so we must show that kindness to others.

I think it is important to put yourself in the other person's shoes. We need to ask ourselves how would we feel if somebody shot my ideas down, put restrictions on me, inconvenienced me, or put me in a rock and a hard place...choosing between them and something else (family, activity, dreams, etc).  We wouldn't pick any of those things for ourselves, so why do we want to put our loved ones in those situations.

It is very easy to say what comes to our minds in the heat of the moment or poke fun at each other, but sometimes it is best to "bite our tongues." I mean there must be a reason someone coined that phrase. When things are said or written down they can't be taken back.

So it is a New Year, lets replace these negatives in our relationships with some positives. We can start with compliments...when you are happy with someone or like something they do let them know! Be specific and really pin point the things you love about people. Kind words really do warm the heart! If we feel those "mean" person moments coming, really stop and think how would I feel if _____________ did that to me. If you think you would not be very happy...then stop your "mean" streak right there!

Alright! Two January posts and it is only the 4th...already better than December :)

Happy New Year!

Well I think it is obvious what my New Year's Resolution needs to be...to write on my blog more consistently! I am sorry there has not been much on here lately!

Christmas was filled with lots of family time. I was only home in Indy for about a day and a half the entire Christmas break. I am very thankful for the teaching break schedule, it really allows for lots of time to see the ones we love the most but live away from. I hope you all found the real spirit of Christmas this year. Can't forget that Jesus is the reason for the season!

It is off to bed now, I have to go back to work in the morning! Happy New Year to you all :)

Teacher Talk

It is always so good to meet up with my favorite teaching BFF Lisa. The two of us have a mutual understanding of what it means to be a teacher. Sharing stories, struggles, and celebrations makes me thankful that I have chosen teaching as my profession. I think the part of 1:C:13 that speaks the most to the job has to be, "love is patient."

We have to keep in mind everyone works at a different speed and has different needs. No matter how irritating someone can be we need to take a step back and be patient with them. You just never know what the other person maybe dealing with. Patience might be that little hint of care that they need.

So make sure to give people the space and time they may need to be successful! It will have a more happy ending than constantly harping on someone!

Gift Giving

Tonight's focus:  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.


The way I am interrupting this verse today is more in the realm of  gift giving and the reasons we give to others. (I know that probably isn't the traditional break down of this verse, but I think scripture can be interpreted in different ways. And I think it can be perceived differently based on the message we need to hear. )I think this is important to think about during the Christmas season of giving. 


Giving to others is great, especially when you are giving to those who are truly in need. But we need to evaluate why we are giving.


If we are giving just to be going through the holiday motions, that is lacking love.
If we are giving to show off to the recipient, that is not being done with love.
If we are being charitable and boasting about it to get some good PR, then the love is sucked out of the gift. 
If we are giving in hopes that we will receive something back, then we are not showing selfless love. 


God knows our inner intentions. He is hoping that we are giving to others to spread love and goodwill to others. We should have no self motives for giving. So if we are giving, but do not have love in our hearts when we do it...we are not in tune with God's desires for us. 


So I am challenging myself and you this Christmas season to give gifts with love! If you don't, you really don't have anything at all.


Until next time...

Disclosure

Just to make sure everyone knows these posts are written ideas that come to me about breaking apart 1 Corinthians 13. They are generalizations, not emotional blogs about things that are going on in Tommy's and my marriage! They are how I try to approach situations that occur whenever and with whoever!

I don't want people to see things on forgiveness and  being hurt and think Tommy and I had a fight or anything :)

So if you were hoping this is a "reality show" blog on the inside of the Turner home, I am sorry to let you down haha.

My mom is also staying with me this week and thought it was funny that I was writing about being frustrated with people we love at times. For the record the two of us are having lots of fun :) It was just the first part of 1C13 that I wanted to break down!

There is no scoreboard in love!

Love doesn't keep track of wrongs, neither should we. We are all human and make mistakes. When your spouse, family member, or friend does something that frustrates you just remember you probably frustrate them at times. Also, make sure to accept apologies and show forgiveness. Those who love you are truly sorry when they hurt you. If you keep hold of the wrong, it will just keep eating away at you and put distance between you. So move on and don't hold past mistakes against your loved ones! Everyday is a new opportunity to build your relationship so move forward in the journey.

Finally!

After months of saying I was going to start a blog...here it is! 

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


1 Corinthians 13 is Biblical scripture most people are pretty familiar with, but do people really try to live each day loving like Jesus does? 


My husband and I have been married for a little over a year and have been together for 4 years. We have made it a priority to love each other in the way 1 Corinthians 13 addresses love. We had this scripture read at our wedding, not because it is the "love chapter," but because we wanted to commit ourselves to the words God revealed in Paul's letters to the Corinthians. 


Tommy and I have a wonderful relationship and we really do believe focusing your love around the core principles of 1:C:13 is the trick! So in this blog I will be sharing how we apply this bit of scripture into our everyday lives, with hopes that it can bring happiness into other's relationships. 


I also want to stress that these commands are not only meant to be between spouses, we need to spread God's love to all people that we have contact with. 


So today I will leave you with the word of the Lord that this blog is focusing on and my purpose for entering the blogging world!


God Bless, Kristin