Fruits of the Spirit: Love

The way we are meant to love one another is clearly laid out in 1 Corinthians 13.

Christianity is simple.  Love other people as Christ has loved us.  If we are living in such a way where Christ's love is not shown through our daily actions, we need to check ourselves.  What our our motives behind the things we do - to glorify ourselves, to bring recognition to ourselves, or to brag about the good deeds we have done for others?  That is not love.  Acts out of a place of love are selfless acts.  Through that type of love, others will see the Holy Spirit living within us.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul teaches us that when we are patient, we are living in love.  When we are kind, we are living in love.  When we do not envy or boast, when we are not arrogant, and when we are not irritable, we are living in love.  And when you live in love, you begin living the life of Heaven on earth, and the very glory of God is manifested within you and your actions. 

If we want to see the full glory of God come to earth, we must learn to love.

Paul says himself "that the greatest of these are love".  Love covers a multitude of sins.  By our love, people will see the kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Who are we to judge other people for what they have done when we have done just the same sins?  Judgement is not up to us.  The Lord calls us to love others, no matter what the nitty-gritty might be.  Through the power of love and community, the enemy will be conquered.

The world is crying out for love.  Everyday we hear songs about worldly love, we see pictures of worldly love, and we watch movies about how 'love is supposed to be'.  But PEOPLE!  When someone experiences the true, compassionate love of Jesus for the first time, they are blown away by how selfless, how forgiving, and how humble it really is.  The love I talk about is not love of this world, but supernatural love.

The church I attend has started a series called 'Marks of a Disciple', which I don't think is a coincidence at all.  The Lord is teaching me about His Spirit, and also about how I should be behaving as a disciple for Him.  They recently did a sermon about a disciple being a lover.  Chris makes some really good points so it is worth listening to if you have some extra time on your hands!

So are we loving others with the supernatural love that the Holy Spirit fills us with?
Caitlin

WIN REVIVE!

Enter to win a free natural shea butter body cream!

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Renew. Restore. Revive.

Caitlin

New Bath Goodies!!

Get 'em HERE!

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day yesterday!

Caitlin

A Realization About DIY Laundry Detergent

Pinterest is a wonderful place full of DIY ideas and outfits you wish you could afford.  The other day I was on Pinterest, and I came across the usual DIY laundry detergent pin.  I've seen this pin before, just never clicked it before.  However, being a broke college student, I decided to take a look.  

Did you know that DIY Laundry Detergent contains shredded bar soap, including Ivory and other commercial soaps?  Of course there are other ingredients like Borax, but lets focus on the fact that you can use commercially made bar soap in your laundry detergent.  DETERGENT PEOPLE!  Do you see where I'm going with this?

That's when the light bulb went off in my head.  People in general wash themselves with Ivory, Dove, and other commercially produced soaps which is ultimately a bunch of synthetic detergents smashed together to make a bar of soap.  These same detergents can be ground up and used as your LAUNDRY DETERGENT.  How do you feel about using laundry detergent on your skin??  Ouch!

If you stumbled upon my blog and have yet to use a bar of natural soap, I encourage you to go grab a bar at www.reviveyourbath.com because we make our soaps with all plant-based oils and scent everything with natural essential oils.  We do not make our soap out of synthetic detergents, harsh chemicals, or fragrance oils that can actually cause skin irritation.  We only produce 100% natural soap bars that make your skin happy and healthy.  Revive that skin today!!  (And think twice about using a bar of Ivory again...just put it in your laundry detergent!)

I would also like to say thank you this Memorial Day to all the service men and women who have or are currently serving our country.  Because of you, I can say I'm proud to live in a country where I am FREE and I am BRAVE.  Thank you for your service!!

Caitlin

P.S. A lovely blogger will be hosting a giveaway for a bottle of our lotion in the next couple of days, so make sure to keep an eye out for a link to the giveaway on our blog and our Facebook!

HiveATL

"We exist to activate local leaders by crafting experiences that cultivate community. We believe the best place to make an impact is exactly where we are, in a community full of leaders who desperately need to connect with those who understand their daily struggles, passions, and how to reach their goals." www.hiveatl.com

HiveATL is a non-profit organization started by a group of guys in Kennesaw, GA.  There goal is to walk alongside people, providing an outlet for No Lonely Leaders.  Every fall and spring, they host a networking party called The Gathering.  Last week, I attended Hive's second ever gathering.  

I didn't know what to expect at The Gathering.  In fact, I don't know if I even expected much of anything.  I was quite nervous not really knowing anyone else going....But I went.  And I'm sure glad I did.

And that brings me to my next point: passion vomit.  Josh Webb from Root Radius shared what passion vomit is and how to stop passion vomit.

Passion vomit is what happens when you have a great idea or passion about something, and you get so excited you just want to tell everyone everything about anything and nothing you say is organized or really makes any sense.  Sitting down and getting your thoughts and action plan together is a good place to start your idea.  If you passion vomit all over someone, how do you expect that person to go tell someone else about your grand plan?  They probably won't be able to.  If you share with people an organized idea, they will be able to spread the word about your idea to other people in the community, and you never know if a potential investor or someone with unlimited resources may be listening in.

John Saddington was the last speaker, and I think he was literally speaking straight to me.  John spoke about  how as entrepreneurs, time is our greatest asset, so why do we keep wasting it on things like our favorite TV show on Netflix?  In order to get the things we need to get done, we must have good time management skills, which most of us are bad at.  Since the Lord has been teaching me about self-control, I didn't think it coincidence that John spoke on this topic.  The root of having good time management skills is having self-control to get the things done that need to be done when they need to be done! (That's a mouthful!) 

"If God gave you an incredible vision on what to do with your life, why are you wasting time?"

That was John's last line when he spoke, and I could feel the room shift.  People left The Gathering feeling empowered and thinking about why are they really wasting time?  The Lord gives us passions for a reason...they aren't just things we like.  Each person is unique, and I think that if all of us strived after things we were passionate about, the world would be a much different place.

Think about that.  What is your passion?  Are you doing something about that?d

Caitlin