Haha… so I titled this “love is kinda” – just thought that was funny. On with the notes…

===Notes from the small group session===

1 John 4:19 We loved because he first loved us.

Romans 5:5 Hope does not disappoint us,, because God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy spirit, whom he has given us.

In many ways, our sensation of “needing” him is actually a calling of him for our love.

Loving someone when not feeling lovable.

love & respect: crazy cycle

philipians 2:1-4 if you have any encouragement from being united with christ… make joy complete by being like minded…(note the if-then statements)

long term perspective… don’t get caught up in the moment; consider our lifetime, consider eternal things.

===Thoughts===

Heather & I had a bit of a conflict earlier today where I was less than loving in my response to not listening to her explain her staying later at work prior to connecting with me. Really it was all a large misunderstanding. More thoughts coming later…

As part of a married couples small group, Heather and I are now going through The Love Dare as offered up by the movie Fireproof. This first day talks about the concept of being patient with your spouse.

Some highlight points (exerpts):

• [Love] always does what is best for others.
• Love is built on two pillars that best define what it is. Those pillars are patience and kindness. All other characteristics of love are extensions of these two attributes.
• When you choose to be patient, you respond in a positive way to a negative situation.
• Anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something is mixed with disappointment or grief. It is often an emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness or evil motives.
• Patience helps you give your spouse permission to be human. It understands that everyone fails. When a mistake is made, it choose to give them more time than they deserve to correct it.
  

As I think back on my days, I feel that, largely, I’m a patient man. In the book, it offered the example of what could be considered impatient, and in reflection, there are certainly times where I am impatient or distressed by something she’s done, and in those times, I can certainly put more focused energy towards expressng my love rather than feeling slighted by whatever thing happened.