HOW KIDS DEFINE LOVE - Lorna Seilstad shares

A group of professionals posed this question to a group of 4 t0 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"

A few of their answers:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on after shave and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 6
"Love is when you kiss all the time. And then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." Emily - age 8

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. " Tommy - age 6

"I was on stage for my piano recital and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and then I saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8.

"Love is when my mommy sees my daddy all smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend you Hate." Nikka - age 7. (Yes, we need a few million more Nikkas on the planet.)

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out." Karen - age 7

"You shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot." Jessica -age 8


SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST:

A four-year-old lived next door to an elderly man who had recently lost his wife. One day the boy saw his old neighbour crying. He went over, climbed into the old man's lap and just sat there.

When he came home, his mother asked what he had said to the man.

"Nothing," he said. "I just helped him cry."

We could all learn from that little boy's compassion. And as they say...'out of the mouths of babes...'

Thanks, Lorna, for sharing these lovely insights. You can follow Lorna at  http://inkspirational messages.com

The Silversmith Refining and Purifying - An Inspiring Truth

There was a group of women in a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about 

the process of refining silver and get back to the group a their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest or her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot- then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered "yes," he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eye on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy. When I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of deep disappointment, betrayal, pain, loss of a loved one, or financial reverses, just remember that God has his eyes on you and holds you securely.

CAN INFANTS BE ATTRACTED at the VERY, VERY FIRST SIGHT??

Regina Merrick shares her story when asked, "When did you two meet?"

When I was about six months old, I was taken to a church picnic.

A toddler wanted to trade his brother for me, because I was cuter and more active than his brother.

But it was his OLDER brother, all of five-years-old, who snuck up to his mother’s ear and asked how old he would be when I was eighteen. He knew that eighteen was the magic number, since his mother was eighteen when SHE married! Well, as it happens, I didn’t get the oldest brother, or the youngest, though I love them as much as if they were my own brothers. I got the middle brother. Funny thing that!

We grew up together, went to church together, went to the same schools with him being three years ahead of me, grade-wise. After years of playing together after church, and my being considered his younger brother’s contemporary, we started to “notice” one another when I was a freshman, and he was a senior in high school. Our youth group put together a play, and of course both of us were in it. I couldn’t figure out WHY I seemed to stammer and giggle my way through my part every time we were on stage together.

We didn’t start dating until after school was out for the year. I kid him that he just didn’t want to be known for dating a freshman in high school, so he waited until I was officially a sophomore.

So that’s the story of how we met. The rest, as they say, is history . . . .

About Regina: Regina is Christian, wife, mother, musician, librarian, writer . . . still trying to connect the dots and constantly in wonder at how they all fit together.” A follower of Jesus since age 8, Regina has been a wife to the love of her life since age 19, a mother since age 25, and a college graduate since age 35.

Thanks for sharing your sweetly amusing story, Regina!

GOD HAD OTHER PLANS - A Romantic Ever-After by Anne Greene

While at the beach gaining a tan, I met Don.

Soon, I was dating him and other guys in my life faded into the background. We dated two years. I discovered his leadership qualities, his wonderful family, his love, his integrity, and oh, yes, the man did have a temper. We shared a similar life outlook, though he was a farm boy and I was a city girl. We were both Christians, and he was baptized in my Church. We married, followed the Lord together, had a beautiful daughter and a wonderful son.

One day we were jogging together, he had a massive heart attack and died. I felt I had been split in two. Our marriage had been so sweet, but so short. But I will see him again. He will meet me at the heavenly gates when I go to be with the Lord.


I thought my life ended, but God had other plans.

Two years later, I entered a new Singles  Fellowship Class at a new Church and was immediately surrounded by a group of men. One man stood out. We started talking. He grew up near where my book, Trail of Tears, had occurred. He knew all about the things I had written. He was easy to talk with and I was immediately attracted. But he took two long months before he asked me out.

Our first date he flew me in a little Cessna to a lodge on a lake and we had a romantic dinner. Impressed me! We went roller-skating and to art galleries and really fun places. He took my picture—a lot. That impressed me. He had so many good qualities and was a committed Christian. His two sons were loveable and well-behaved. And he didn’t have a temper. He could fix anything around my home—and did. We fell in love. When a hurricane struck the night of our wedding, I almost backed out. Did I mention, I almost backed out of my first marriage? Really cold feet both times.
  
Second marriages, with children on both sides, require really difficult adjustments. But our God is good. Larry Greene and I learned together that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. We have a truly romantic happily-ever-after.


About Anne: ANNE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. She writes both historical and suspense novels. After falling in love with several countries and their people, Anne set a number of her books in exotic locations. She and her hero husband, Army Special Forces Colonel Larry Greene, have visited twenty-five countries, including three communist countries.

Thanks ANNE for sharing this wonderful story of God's grace.