There is a standard.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NLT

Been LIT

Pretty Girl, don't waste time feeling less than; YOU CERTAINLY SUFFICE. No "glow up" needed; live with pride. Besides, you've been LIT, Loved, Intentional, and Tenacious. Hold your head up and smile big. Seriously girl, you've been LIT!Recognize who you are and honor your being. Recognize whose you are and glorify your Creator. Take your beautiful determination and choose a life of self-lovery. With the self-love you find wear self-acceptance bravely. Then translate internal radiance to external compassion
and watch your light make illumination happen.

I know a gentleman.

I remember the night I took this picture. I primped. I did my version of getting cute. I even decided to carry a purse.

A young man invited me to dinner, and I was excited to accompany him. We had interesting conversations on an array of topics. He seemed rather intelligent and respectful. I actually looked forward to our dinner; it was my first post-divorce, mid-twenties, "real" date.

He picked me up on time, opened the car door, and offered compliments. He drove safely which was a big deal to me. He effortlessly weaved through subjects during the 20 minute plus drive to the restaurant. It was Salsa Night. Although he wanted to dance, he was understanding when I apologetically declined. We sat, ate, sipped, and talked. Things were going well.

It was disappointing when his true intentions were revealed. As the evening progressed, it became clear to me what he wanted. I was actually taken back. Upset, I discreetly requested an Uber and abruptly ended the date when the car arrived.

Often times it is difficult to determine motives. It is not always easy to establish the true reason(s) someone wants to know you and enter your life. I know as a teenager and young woman I was wrong about intentions, motives, and hearts more than once especially when it came to young men. Even so, I finally came to know, really know, a Gentleman...

I know someone who waits with readiness to give not anxiousness to get. I know someone who loves without condition and terms. I know someone who wants to spend time with you without any hidden, wrong, or selfish intentions. I know someone who cares about your being and heart. I know someone who wants to be your lifelong companion.  I know Jesus.

At the end of the evening with that young man, I sat in my apartment and cried. They were tears of disappointment and frustration. I was not ready to have to spend my time decoding people and fiercely protecting myself. (Dating requires both.)

Today, I still cry. Sometimes I can't help it. In fact, I cried all throughout church today, but these tears are different. I cry today because I am acutely aware how deeply, purely, and unconditionally loved I am by the loving, consistent, awe-inspiring Creator of all. I didn't have to do anything. I didn't have to sleep with anyone. I didn't have to give anything. 

I am loved because I am His, and He is Love.

Do you know that you are loved, seen, and valued by The I Am? For God so loved you and me that He gave His only Son; whosoever believes in Christ will not perish but have eternal life. Trust me; He does not disappoint. God is so faithful.

Men can be beautiful.

You are beautiful. I know you believe beauty is reserved for femininity, but you're wrong. You are beautiful. Like the lines of my most favorite poems, you are beautiful. Like the Creator's sky, moon, stars, and sun, you are beautiful. Like the voice of India Arie, you are beautiful. Like the coos, smiles, and face of my niece, you are beautiful. You are beautiful. I know you think beauty starts and stops with women, but men can be beautiful too, and I find all the elements of beauty in you.

You've been raised.

While on Oprah's Masterclass, Dr. Maya Angelou recalled the time when she, a seventeen year old, single mother, told her mom, Vivian "Lady" Baxter, she was leaving home. Ms. Baxter's response was perfect, empowering, and comforting. It is quite a jewel to impart to a young person.

"You've been raised...Don't let anybody raise you."

I have been raised. Everything my parents know was shared with me, and as they continue to gain more information, knowledge, and wisdom, the sharing continues. When previously held beliefs change, they share. When they have a strong conviction about something, they share. They are dynamic people. As they grow and change, I benefit from every lesson, trial, win, loss, experience, and observation. I am grateful for that. I've been raised. I know right from wrong. I will not allow anyone else to raise me.

It is important to understand who your wise counsel is composed of and be firm in your convictions. This world is great at trying to convince us that everything lies in gray areas. I know everything is not black or white, but I also know where my unambiguity lies. These are the areas with good judgment, my parents' counsel, and the Holy Spirit's guidance there is no wavering. I have been raised.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 AMP

Two Things #6

I am taking a Nutrition class this semester, and I keep mentally rehashing one of the things I read. That excerpt from Perspectives in Nutrition by Wardlaw is pictured above. Please read it.

At around 6:30 this morning, jolted from sleep by a dream, the differences between hunger and appetite came to me again. I've retained the information for academic purposes, but its applicability to spiritual life is so good. I see parallels between hunger and appetite and the spirit and flesh. I also find it interesting that one is physiological and the other psychological. There is more, so many connections to be made, and I look forward to digging deeper into the Word to discover and examine the topic further.

Today I wanted to share this...

Two things:
(1) Hunger and appetite are powerful. In order to be spiritually effective we have to know the differences between them, apply discernment to determine the driving force behind a desire, and utilize wisdom to choose who, how, when, what and where to achieve satiety. Most importantly, we have to stay hungry for right standing with God and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  See Matthew 5:6 KJV & Galatians 5:16 NLT

(2) We have to practice discipline and be willing to deny both hunger and appetite. We have to fast, and the Bible is not mute on this matter. See Matthew 4:4 MEV, Mark 9:28‭-‬29 AMPC, and 2 Timothy 1:7 AMP

10.3 Eating Behavior Regulation

Two factors drive our desire to eat: hunger and appetite (Fig. 10-6). Hunger, the physiological drive to find and eat food, is controlled primarily by internal body mechanisms, such as organs, hormones, hormonelike factors, and the nervous system.11 Appetite, the psychological drive to eat, is affected mostly by external factors that encourage us to eat, such as social custom, time of day, mood (e.g., feeling sad or happy), memories of pleasant tastes, and the sight of a tempting dessert.

Internal and external signals that drive hunger and appetite generally operate simultaneously and lead us to decide whether to reject or eat a food...Although hunger and appetite are closely intertwined, they don’t always coincide. Almost everyone has encountered a mouthwatering dessert and devoured it, even on a full stomach. Alternately, there are times when we are hungry but have no appetite for the food being served. Where food is ample, appetite—not hunger—mostly triggers eating.

Fulfilling either or both drives by eating sufficient food normally brings a state of satiety, in which we feel satisfaction and no longer have the drive to eat. The hypothalamus, a portion of the brain, is the key integration site for the regulation of satiety (Fig. 10-7)...If these internal signals stimulate the satiety centers of the hypothalamus, we stop eating. If they stimulate the feeding centers in the hypothalamus, we eat more.11 Surgery and some cancers and chemicals can harm the hypothalamus. Damage to the satiety center causes humans to become obese, whereas damage to the feeding center inhibits eating and eventually leads to weight loss.