What does Love look like?

It's been a while since we've posted anything but I found something in a book I'm reading that is good to think about. This is out of order but i'm going back to the subject of Love. Which I guess it's all about love, isn't it?

The following is a quote from "Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control" by Heather Forbes and B.Bryan Post. It's a really good book so far and it's about parenting children with past trauma. That trauma can be a lot of things from minor to major (adoption, frequent moving, abuse, neglect, medical trauma, etc.) but I think this book can be for anyone. Here they talk about loving your child:

"I have found one of the best ways to consider love is to understand that love is what we bring to the space that surrounds us. Love is not possessive or controlling. It simply exists in the present space and time. Any two people are capable of experiencing love at any given moment if they are able to put aside their fears and preconceived notions for what love is supposed to be. Love is being fully present in the moment.

To love a child is merely to be present with her, to not be thinking about work, chores, or the day's duties, but rather to be present, attuned, and in harmony with the child's needs and desires. Not that you will give in to every need, want, or desire, but you will open yourself up with the ability to be present to her without judgement or a need to change her. This is to love a child."

How often do we do this with each of our children? Or our spouses? Or our friends and family? Just think about your day and see how you can take time to be fully present. That means putting aside the stresses and the worries. I've started to be conscience of this as I'm reading this book. I'm also reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I highly recommend this book to everyone. We are doing it for small group and it has a dvd that goes with it for the group study. It's about the crazy love that God gives to us and what our response to that should be. You can google Francis Chan and find utube videos of him speaking. It's really good.

The challenge here for today is to to conscience of being fully present in the moment. In the end, how we've loved people is what is important, not our to-do list.

Amy