Love and Fear

Love is focused on others. It is not self-centered. It reaches out to others... sees other people's needs and willingly extend a hand. Fear is focused on protecting oneself. Because of this, most women who has this unhealthy kind of fear talk more about themselves, what they have and are.

Love thinks no evil. Fear broods over potential evils.

Love focuses on the present. Thankful and contented of the blessings today. Fear frets over the future.

Love moves us toward involvement with others. Fear forces us into withdrawal and isolation from others.

Love is based on fact and on faith. Fear is based on emotion

Love is the highest expression of our humanness and Christlikeness. Fear is a base, instinctive reaction that we have in common with the animals.

Love is a mark of a Christian who trusts God. Fear is a mark of doubt and lack of faith in God.

Let's pray that God perfects us in love for this is a powerful antidote to the toxin of unhealthy fear.

Mama Merie

For Mother's Day this year, I bought Mama a flowery blue silky dress. She is one who is much into dresses, so I am positive she will love it when she gets the box I am sending her this month. I also made her a photo book of the pictures from that day we celebrated her 50th Wedding Anniversary to Papa. On the last page of that book, I wrote a personal note. I might as well share that note here since I talked about it...

Ma, there are so many women in this world who look and act noble but you are the best of them all! A businesswoman, Bible teacher, philanthropist (as you cared for those homeless tribal kids), excellent wife and praiseworthy mother!

You have always been an excellent wife to Papa! I am a living witness how you served him with all of your strength and heart. I've seen how you gave up yourself for him. There might be times in the past that you disagreed with his ideas but you always ended up following his leadership... and that is wonderful! It shows how pro-active a woman you are. I love your sweetness to Papa. It is very cute to see you kiss his cheeks and not blushed about it.

As a mother, you have displayed your strong love to your children by working so hard just to earn the resources we needed to get our college education. We owe our education to you! I remember you would wake up very early in countless mornings to make breakfast for us and to prepare your (whatever) goods to sell. It looked like you didn't care how exhausted you were from selling your goods all day long, you came home with a smile and made dinner for your family. You washed your entire family's clothes by hand... you even ironed our school uniforms! Where did you get the strength to do so many things with only two hands? Where did your laughter come from after those days of total labor? I am amazed! See, I am now a wife and a mother and I have all kinds of appliances at home to supposedly do things for me, but I sometimes forget to smile and laugh being tired from doing the household chores! Ma, what an inspiration you always are to me! Thank you for your hard work and devotion to take care of us growing up. Thank you that you were always home when we arrived from school. Thank you for making me and my sister dresses that made us look like twins, even though I am 2 years older than her. That was pure cute! Thank you for your hugs and kisses...*sobs* even when we thought we were too big and grown up for them, we still got them from you.

I must also thank you for asking me so many questions (I felt like I was on an interrogation stand ;)when I got home later than you expected me to be home. It really helped protect me! Thank you for giving me your (unsolicited) criticisms about my suitors when I was in college. When my heart broke for the very first time, you were there to comfort me and tried to make me feel better by airing your disgust about my heart-breaker. Funny how I didn't think you were right about your poor ideas of my crushes... because I can see them clearly now. They were way far from my guy now, who I married close to four years ago. Yes, you were right... you were right... you were right!!! It pays to wait!

I just love your wisdom, endurance and inner strength to live a full life even after you lost your first four children. It's a situation way too impossible for me to imagine. It had to be God! It had to be the Almighty God who made it possible for you to live a life of joy, love and contentment after such a traumatic experience as deaths of your own children. You are a woman of strength, indeed! And it's only because of your wholly surrendered life to Jesus.

Most of all, I want to thank you for teaching us the most important thing in this world... to be right with God at all times! This is the best of all memorials you have given us. I never forget to start and end my day with prayer and meditation of God's Word because you and Papa had planted that truth in my life! The busyness in this world has tried to uproot it from my life but it has not been very successful because it's was planted right and has grown into a big tree. Thank you for pinching my side every time I refused to wake up at 4 am for our family devotion! Thank you for posting all kinds of Bible verses around our house and printing them on cards for us to memorize every morning when we gathered for breakfast! How wise a woman you are! You knew we needed to be filled with the Word of God rather than with what the world could offer us.

Ma, I love you!