love – Page 2 – 300 words a day

Changing for the sake of love.

Forget, for a moment, the season of Lent. Forget the debates about obligation and grace and structures. Set aside the comments about what tradition you did or did not grow up in. Instead, today ask yourself two questions. Start with this: What do you want to change about how you interact with God and other […]

by Paul Merrill

More about loving your enemies

Jesus said, “love your enemies.” Jon has been giving us some really helpful ideas on how to do this. If you missed those posts, go back and read them: parts one and two. I keep forgetting the command Jesus gave. It wasn’t just a request – it was a command. If you look at the […]

by Paul Merrill

Why variety

We love variety. Maybe it’s a first-world thing – I know that my friends in rural Kenya do not suffer from quite the addiction to variety that I seem to have. However, I know that God loves variety as well. Think about it – He created seasons. The perfect spring day is so vastly different […]

by Paul Merrill

Be extravagant

Some dear friends recently blessed us in an extraordinary way. They lived out the story of Mary putting expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. John 12:3: “Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was […]

by Paul Merrill

Who can I bless today?

Our words to others can be a weapon or a soothing comfort. “A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Every day, we come into contact with people. We can use words to bless them. Asking the grocery store checkout person a simple question like, “How is work […]