How do you define love?

What couples have inspired you?

As a preteen my siblings and I were going to an event. A couple from the church was taking us and we were split up into two separate cars.  At a red light the husband jumped out of the car behind us and ran up to his wife's window and said "I miss you!" from her response I could tell she missed him too.  They had grown children! Watching her smiling the rest of the way to the event made an impression on me.

Steve and Annie Chapman speak about "old love"  that's what I love at weddings...they are standing in the doorway and the future is so bright..there is a hope of deep and beautiful

Old Love  to come.

at the same conference I heard the Chapman's say "We believe man and wife would have a better life if they tried out serving one another." (Philippians 2:2,3)

I have found this to be true.  Someone at college told me that once you are married you might will look back and think that you treated your roommates and friends even strangers better than your husband. It is a laziness, we are often most selfish with the ones we love the most.

  I have been prompted lately to be more polite to Steve.. it is such a simple thing, but I want the opposite to be true of us, I want to treat him better than I treat any other person.

There is a picture a me as a little girl, beaming ear to ear. I was leaning in the doorway at my Grandmothers house and in the foreground my parents we kissing.  I remember that feeling..thrilled to see them in love.  Years later when Grandma was going through her things..she gave the picture to my Mother and as soon as I saw it I remembered the feeling perfectly.

This was a special wedding for me, Janet was a bridesmaid and  Julie made the cake. The parent's of the bride were a couple Janet has spoken so highly of:

 "I want a marriage like that".

"They are always showing signs of affection, always uplifting each other.  They are genuinely happy to be with each other." after a moment Janet added "They are very serious about doing what is most important."

Janet has talked about them like this for years and here, on the day of their daughters wedding we were able to meet them, and it was obvious that their daughter was going to follow in their footsteps.

I just heard John Piper say:

"The sweet sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ is like granite under your feet" So true here, like Granite holding up the marriage.

I took so many pictures I decided to put a lot of them in the photo log, if you click on the word "PHOTO" in the top left of this screen it should bring you there.  You can click on the pictures to see them full size.  (You can see Juls cake there!)

"Love is patient,

Love is kind,

and is not jealous;

Love does not brag

and is not arrogant,

does not act unbecomingly;

it does not seek its own,

is not provoked,

does not take into account a wrong suffered,

does not rejoice in unrighteousness,

but rejoices with the truth;

bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never fails;

But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8,13)