LOVE is a strong word.

Love –noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.


It's insane how often I misuse the word LOVE. When I like someone's outfit, a song on the radio, I so quickly say "I LOVE that!". I toss the word around with little thought to what it truly means to me. Growing up my dad always said "you know LOVE is strong word". That has always stuck with me. When I was in relationships and said I love you for the first time, I knew that in that context, it was definitely a strong word. And when I sang songs like "I LOVE you Lord", I knew that was a strong word as well, but its in the day to day moments, that the word LOVE has become such a normal part of my vocabulary, as if it no longer is a word I fear to say if I don't really mean it, because of the strength the word really has.

I think if I stopped to realize what I was really feeling when I said I LOVED something, I don't know if LOVE would be the descriptive word I was going for. When I think about the way I feel about the new shoes I bought, that just yesterday I said I loved, and the way I LOVE Jesus, I think they are two very different things. It breaks my heart that I have so easily lessened the word I use to describe my feelings towards the Lord, by using the very same word to describe my new shoes. What if I praised my shoes with words like worthy, holy, almighty, etc. I wouldn't even think about it, because those are the words I use to describe my Lord and Savior! So why would I discount LOVE as a word with the same strength as those?

What does love really mean to you? Is it just another word in your vocabulary or is love a strong word to you?

"I pray that your LOVE with overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return."

Phillipians 1:9-10

When I first decided to blog I wasnt really sure if I should even post it, but I wrote one anyways, and sent it to my mom, who blogs regularly, to get some insight on whether or not I should do it. If you dont have the privilege of knowing my wonderful mom, Jann, let me give you a quick run down. Jann Cobb is very straight forward, and sometimes quite blunt. She is someone myself and many people go to for advice, at times it's the kind you dont always want to hear, but you know in the end, its what you needed to hear! Which is why I sent her my blog before anyone else. I knew I would hear the honest truth from her, but her reaction was a lot different than I expected.

To be honest, I was expecting the hard truth, that my blog was sub-par and that I should re-write it a try again. Instead, this is the response I got "Absolutely loved it! I wept as I read it! Praise God for giving you this gift! Please use it!". The encouragment from my mom was unexpected, but much needed for me to muster up the courage to post my very first blog. I got great feedback from other people and was able to reach out to people I didn't even know needed to hear the words I had written.

Now here I am 6 months later, and have only written 3 or 4 blogs. I came across the email my mom wrote me as I was purging my inbox today, and was reminded that God has given me the ability to write and I am not using it. Needless to say, I will be writing much more in the coming weeks, and am excited to use this lovely gift again!

mango.

I have recently become completely obsessed with mango. Not actual mango fruit -that's filthy-but mango flavor. Mango Gel from Fresh and Easy, Fuse mango juice and mango boba, to be specific. Everything I see at the grocery store that is mango, I have to buy, because I love the flavor so much. I don't understand how I could possibly enjoy the flavor so much, but hate the fruit in which the flavor comes from!

I hate everything about mangoes. The smell, the texture, the taste and even the color is a little much for me. I'm not sure that I will ever come to enjoy mango fruit, which is kind of disappointing. I desperately want to like mangoes. Even if it was the last fruit on earth, I don't think I could choke one down. YES, it's definitely that serious. I've tried on a number of occasions to give the fruit a second and third chance, but they just aren't living up to the flavor I have come to enjoy oh so dearly.

4 things.

I went on a staff retreat today up to a camp we recently took over in Big Bear. We talked about balancing ministry and our personal lives... which is never easy! Here is some stuff I learned today. 4 things that are essential to leadership and ministry. It's not easy to carve out time for each individual thing, but it is oh so necessary! If we are not ok emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually first and foremost, then we are laying a rough foundation for ourselves. It takes discipline to make sure you are doing these regularly, but in the long run, it is well worth it.

Emotional:

You need a plan to manage your time! Do you have time built into your schedule that is "free-time"? A time where you don't take phone calls, check your email, or tweet. I like to call this "Lissa time", where I have a chance to unwind, and make sure I am emotionally ok. Doing ministry can be exhausting if you don't give yourself a chance to breathe every once in a while. YES, people want your time and attention, but at some point you have to CLOCK OUT and spend some time with yourself. Figure out where your heart is at, if it's not ok, you need to make sure you give your self time to find out why, and to fix it. Do you carve out "your name here TIME" on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?

Physical:

Yes, everyone has heard since P.E. in 7Th grade that exercise is important, but as a society, we have forgotten that. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says, "your body is a temple... you are not your own" Are you taking care of the body that God has given you? Maybe you are not an athlete, or a hardcore workout fiend, so take a walk, ride your bike, do what you have to do to make sure you are active! Physical activity is a necessity. You will have more energy, and in the longer live a healthier life so that you can do God's work!

Mental:

Are you growing your knowledge of the Word, leadership, ministry, the world? Reading is essential to leadership. You might tend to lean towards authors that have the same perspective as you, but have you ever thought about those that don't? Or maybe leaders who aren't necessarily Christian, but still have insightful words about leadership or life in general (which of course you read with discernment) What are you reading to keep your perspectives fresh?

Spiritual:

If you are in a position of leadership or are working full time in ministry it is a must that you are carving out quiet time with God daily. If I dont start my day and make sure that have done business with God before I go into work, or even go to church on Sunday, I know that my day is going to be awful. Not to say that God will not have my best interest at heart if I dont do my quiet time, but as leaders we need to be setting the example for those we oversee and are responsible for. If we are not right with God and try to disciple people or serve people, its going to be tough. The pastor I work for says that if I come into work and haven't had my quiet time, I better pick up my bible and find a bench, a tree, whatever and don't come back until I have done business with God. He would rather me spend time on the clock getting right with God before I start my day, then to try and get by without first spending time with Him. Sounds a bit extreme, but he knows that we are human and can't do daily life without Him. Do you spend time with God daily?