Daily Inspiration: God's Timing

Be careful about rushing God's timing because you never know WHO or WHAT He is protecting you or saving you from. As a result of our challenges and experiences, we try to put limits and timelines on God's plan for our lives. We grow impatient and take matters into our own hands, and often find ourselves trying to rush God's process. In some cases, we don't even consult God first before making a move. But we have to realize that every situation is working together for our good and we must learn to rely on FAITH in God and not through our beliefs and experiences. Walk by FAITH, not by SIGHT.


"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."


In order to move forward, we have to learn how to let go of our past beliefs and trust God to train us through His Word. We should not lean to our own understanding, because when we do we ultimately rush the process and His timing.


Have a wonderful day!
Khurly Girl

How Deep Is Your Love?

Some people are quick to say they love another person or they are "in love" but a lot of those same people don't know what it really and truly means to love another. There are levels to this thing called love -- do you know how deep your love is? Let's explore......

1) Eros - Known as "erotic love." It is based on strong feelings toward another person. It usually occurs in the first stages of a "romantic" relationship.

This love is based more on physical traits. This is the type of love when a person says he/she has "fallen in love" for a woman/man, because "he/she looked like an angel. " Or a man/woman "falls in love" for a guy/girl because he/she is intelligent, has good 'genetics,' etc.

The weakness with this type of love is obvious. It is based more on "self-benefit." This is the, "I love you because it feels good, and makes ME happy loving you." The keyword is the word "ME." It's a selfish love.

When that person doesn't "feel happy" anymore in loving the other person, he/she is led to believe that he/she has "fallen out of love." When in actuality, there was never any "true love" in the first place. The fact is that the love has yet to establish itself; the people don't know each other well at this point.

Eros love is when two people feel this strong emotional attraction towards one another but they barely really know about each other's personalities. A person usually puts his/her best foot forward, showing only his/her good side -- I call this "meeting their representative." In order to be sure if "true love" exists, two people must know and accept each others' good and bad traits. You have to know and accept the good and the bad, to establish a true love bond.

Furthermore, they must experience a lot with each other, going through BOTH joys and sorrows, pains and pleasures, and still end up together. A lot of sacrifice towards each other is therefore essential to move past eros love.

Eros love is love that is untested by hardships, and therefore may or may not last in the long-term. It may or may not develop into a higher form of love - philos love. Eros love can only succeed in the long-term if it progresses into a higher form of love. Otherwise, it will not last.

The romantic feeling common in "eros love" is natural, and an important part of a relationship between a man and a woman. Romance also plays a role in strengthening the bonds, especially at the start of a relationship. What we need to be careful of is assuming a relationship must be "real love" just because it is romantic, because all we feel is happiness. As with most anything in life, we must learn to use both our heart and mind to judge if something is real.

Be careful also of being in love with the "concept of love" itself, rather than the love for the other person. Television, movies, and media have a way of "romanticizing" love so much, it is often hard to see reality from fiction.You must love a person for his/her uniqueness, not because you simply want to feel the joy of "being in love." Such a love is concerned more with the "self" rather than the partner. And relying purely on emotion without the balance of logic is a recipe for failure.

2) Philos - A love based on friendship between two people.

It is true that two lovers that start out by being friends first before becoming partners usually are the relationships that last more, long-term. Friendship is the foundation of a successful relationship. This is true whether it is  marriage, or a BF/GF, relationship betweeen family members, relationship with co-workers, employers, etc.

In the case of a romantic relationship, the advantage is that you get to know each other first, before committing to a more serious relationship beyond friendship.You start out as friends, then admire each other, then possibly develop strong emotions for the other until you both realize you miss each other more when you're apart. This type of love takes time and is patient.

This is in contrast to a romantic relationship that starts out by "eros love," meaning you get attracted by physical/mental traits alone. With eros love, strong emotions start almost immediately, some would even say "love at first sight," though you do not even know each other that well.

With eros love, you see only each other's strengths/their good side, everything is rosy, mushy, feelings of happiness, etc. But, you cannot judge "real love" between two people based on strong emotions alone.

Philos love is a love based on "give-and-take," where it's mutually beneficial for both people. One partner is still concerned with what he/she can take from the relationship, but at the same time they are also concerned with his/her partner's benefit and therefore gives back in return.

Therefore, philos is a higher type of love than eros. Philos love is a mutual, "give-and take" relationship, while eros love is a self-based, form of love that is more concerned with the "self" or self-benefit. Although like eros love, philos love must develop into a higher form of love, the highest love of all - "agape" or unconditional love.

3) Agape - This is unconditional love. This is the third and highest type of love.

Agape love is above both philos love and eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit him/her in any way. Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love even without any self-benefit.

Say, you help out a person, even though that person hates you. Or you take insults from your partner without firing back, all the while forgiving and praying for your partner to amend his/her ways. Or the "unconditional love" that a mother has for her child. Or the love we show for our parents, taking care of them and helping them in their old age. Just like they took care of us when we were young, it is done with or without benefit in return.

However, the highest type of agape love is not human at all, but divine - God's unconditional love for us, His children. God's love was shown to us the most when God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to his suffering and death on the cross for our salvation. There is no greater love than this. Jesus had no obligation to die for us, but He chose to. It is His gift, His ultimate gift. He chose to die for us because He knew what would happen to us, to all of mankind if He left us on our own. Without Jesus' death on the cross, mankind is doomed to eternal damnation.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 provides a perfect description for agape love: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." This is one of my favorite scriptures and a true testament to the love we should all show to each other.

In essence, eros love is "physical", philos love is "mental", and agape love is "spiritual." Thus, love is made up of the three fundamental elements of man: physical, mental and spiritual. And each of these three elements are all necessary in our lives to grow, develop, and to love one another as human beings. Keep love alive, people!! :-)

KHurly Girl

My Day Was "Adjusted"



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So, the other day I was scheduled to attend a mandatory training session at work.  My office is located in another building that is driving distance away from where the training was being held, so I needed to make sure I left on time to be there before it started.  My morning was pretty busy that day but I was able to stop what I was doing to make it out of the office with ample time to get to the training session.  Before I left my building for the training, I decided to stop past the restroom so I wouldn’t have to go once I got there (I'm a serious water drinker...Enough said...LOL).  But with that said, I still had plenty of time to spare so it was all good.  So, I left my building, jumped in my car, and drove to the training location.  I pulled my keys out of the ignition and realized that I left my notebook sitting on the shelf in the restroom in my office building.  I checked my watch and felt like I had enough time to race back to the building, grab my notebook, and get back over to the training session.  I get to my office building, run inside to the restroom, and my notebook is sitting right where I left it.  I grabbed it, checked my watch again, and pondered for a quick second if I could make it back over to the session in time or if I should reschedule.  I determined that I would head back over to the training session, I had enough time, so why reschedule at this point after all of this running around.  I get back to the building where the training is being held, checked my watch yet another time before I hopped out of the car, and headed towards the building.  I’m about 5 minutes late according to my watch, which is very accurate I might add, so I decided that I’d rather be a little late instead of not going at all and I proceed into the building.  I step inside the building, walk towards the interior door that leads to the training room, and I’m stopped by a woman.  She tells me that the class has already begun and that the trainer is already about 10 minutes into the session and that I’ll have to reschedule.  Her timing was completely off and I was pissed but I simply said, “Ok” and walked back out of the building.

I mean, AFTER ALL OF THAT I STILL MISSED THE TRAINING ANYHOW!!  “What a blower” is all I could think…LOL.  And for a second, I was quite annoyed that I made all of that effort to attend the training and still ended up having to reschedule.  But then I started thinking about how things like this happen in life all the time.  And I realized that it’s alright, life goes on, and maybe I wasn’t supposed to be at that training session anyhow for whatever reason.  After all, I do feel that certain things in life happen for a reason.  J

So, I got to thinking…At times, even your greatest efforts do not yield the results you want.  Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be as you planned, and that’s okay.  Sometimes certain things that you feel are exactly what you want and need in your life are exactly what you DON’T need in your life.  Sometimes things that you feel are not in line with your life plan happen and you don’t agree with them, you fight against them, you choose not to embrace them, but it’s exactly what He (read: God) wants for your life.  Sometimes He will take you down roads that you’d rather not travel but it’s for your own good and should be received as a learning experience.  It’s beneficial to your overall growth and understanding, for your character building, for your soul, and ultimately for your life.  So, when things don’t go your way at times – get over the initial frustration, let the negative thoughts fade away, and embrace the positive aspects of the situation.  I know it's been a saving grace for me at times, to embrace this attitude, and I can guarantee you that about 87.925% of the time you’ll be glad you did as well! 

Until next time…

KHurly Girl

Keep It Moving...

I recently moved and let me tell you -- moving is one of my LEAST favorite things to do in this world!  But of course moving has it's positives also because it's a new beginning in uncharted waters.  It's a fresh start!  It's a chance to organize and/or re-organize so that you can get your home in some type of order. And in my case, I am exceedingly blessed to have had my mom by my side along the way to help me out...Ok, who am I kidding...LOL. My mom did not just "help" me out; she is the ONLY reason that I was able to pull this move off without a hitch and I am so thankful for all of her help! 

So, enough about my move...Let's get down to business!  Basically, the physical act of moving made me think about its relationship to life.  In life, there are times when you need to pack up the past in preparation for changes in your present so that you can move into the future. In order to prepare for your move, you need to dust off those pieces of "furniture" and other household items to see what exactly you want to take with you into the future and what you want to leave throw away and/or donate -- Read: PEOPLE. Next, you need to sort through the "papers and other things" to figure out what's important -- Read: ISSUES and SITUATIONS.  Then, you have to coordinate with "movers" to figure out the cost of the move and if the time you have in mind is a viable option -- Read: GOD and PRAYER.  You also need to pack up everything and prepare it to go with you on this journey into the future, making sure that you've got all of the fragile and important items sorted through and you have enough boxes to hold your things -- Read: A CLEAR MIND, FOCUS, and THE STRENGTH TO MOVE FORWARD. Each of these steps are part of your "move" and are components necessary to assess your present situation in regard to your future and it's success.  All in all, these moments are precious and extrememly important so that you can truly determine what aspects of your life need some fine tuning and what items need to be removed from your life. Think about it and take the time to prepare for that "move"...Trust me, you'll thank yourself later! ;-)

- KHurly Girl

Life is For the Birds

Have you ever thought about the phrase, "life is for the birds?" Yeah, well me either...LOL.  That is until the other day when this scenario came to mind.  The phrase itself actually has a negative connotation.  It means that life is meaningless, objectionable or worthless but this of course is certainly not the case.  But I used this title anyway because the idea of birds as they relate to life is the whole point of this article, as confusing as that may sound. LOL. So anyhow, I was outdoors getting in some exercise and I looked up to watch a bird flying above me.  While watching the bird I thought about how it takes flight, all the effort that is put into flapping it's wings to propel itself forward, and then it stops flapping and stabilizes itself...At this point, the bird gives it's control over to the wind and to it's momentum -- soaring for a bit.  It's almost like they take a break to catch their breath and then continue in flight once again to put in more effort.  This cycle continues repeatedly until they reach their destination.  AND THIS MY FRIENDS IS HOW YOU SHOULD LIVE YOUR LIFE!

Life is always changing and reinventing itself as your experiences mold you.  And in life there are plenty of goals that you set for yourself along the way as you move through these experiences and life changes.  But to reach those goals you need to push hard and put all of your effort into reaching certain points along the way.  Then, after you've pushed and pushed there comes a time when you just need to take a break and let God take over.  At this point you can assess where your effort has taken you and even redirect your route, if necessary.  But you also need to allow yourself to glide a bit so that you can recognize all that you've accomplished and see the fruits of your labor.  Then once again, push forward to reach that next goal.  You continue this cycle until it's all over, and in over I mean death, because you will never run out of goals to set and achieve.  Life has plenty to offer when it comes to achievements, small and large, you just need to set your sight on the one's that you want to accomplish.

So, think about it...Are you putting in the necessary effort to reach your goals?  If not, try living your life like the birds!

Tootles,
KHurly Girl

Food for the Soul

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness...For when I am weak, then I am strong."

God is always with us. He hears our prayers and wants us to lean on Him. He expects us to have faith that He will deliver us from all our trials and tribulations. He wants us to hand over our struggles to Him -- "Let Go and Let God!"  He is our sense of peace, confidence, and understanding when things don't seem clear in our lives.

No one wants to be weak, so we find ways to appear strong. So in turn, we sometimes create illusions of strength, which are actually signs of weakness.  When we are truly strong, we have the courage to admit our limitations and to acknowledge our dependence on God.  As a result, true strength often looks a lot like weakness. God’s greatest power can be displayed in our biggest weakness. We at times long to “shred” memories of bad things that others have done to us or difficult circumstances we’re going through. Difficulties burden us as we mull them over in our minds, affecting our relationships and our outlook on life. We as believers in Christ have a place to take these burdens. When the apostle Paul prayed that an affliction would be taken from him, God answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).  Paul responded with: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (v.10). God didn’t take away the problem. Instead, He gave Paul the grace to live with it.

Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, some of His disciples were striving for positions of prominence. Jesus used their argument as an opportunity to teach them that in His kingdom things are different: greatness comes when we willingly assume positions of weakness (Matt. 20:26).  This is a hard truth. God gives enough grace for whatever we face.

Prayer: Lord, as we wrestle with the struggles and issues in our lives, please give us peace and clarity as we try to understand Your will in our lives. We understand that no problem is too large for you Almighty God. Make us aware of Your presence, Your power, and Your abundant mercy. Amen.

What's the Meaning of Life?

What can I say about life? Well, I am deeply enchanted with life! Why? Why not?! It’s a beautiful thing and I love mine. My life has not been all roses and lovely things. There have been thorns, bumpy roads, setbacks, hurt and disappointment but in the end there is nothing but JOY because I am living! I am making my way and there are so many people in this world that will never have the experiences I’ve had or say they’ve done the things I’ve done. This is MY life!

No matter what is happening in YOUR life at any given moment, the next day is a new day to start fresh! Your life is unique because no matter how many experiences you have, no other person will have those same exact experiences. This makes your life valuable to others because you can offer insight, opinions and experience that others have no firsthand experience about. You are the keeper of unique knowledge and understanding, which comprises YOUR LIFE!

In my day-to-day life, I try to always stay positive…to reflect…to embrace the good and the bad…to learn…to experience new things…to enjoy each day, hour, minute and second! Am I always chipper and spreading peace and love? That’s a resounding -- NO!! LOL, but when those down times hit I try not to stay there for too long because there is always someone somewhere wishing they could live the life that I’m living and that puts things in perspective for me.

So, in terms of what I want to discuss on my blog in regard to life – I want to talk about my experiences, my highs and my lows, what brings me joy and what brings me sadness, my inspirations and my want to inspire others, God in my life, my goals, my aspirations, my purpose and how all the things that I’ve learned can somehow help YOU! Why? Because part of my purpose in life is to help others!

Quote of the day: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” – Booker T. Washington

Stay tuned, my friends… :-)