Tag Archives: love

How “TWEET” it is to be loved by you

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Who knew that 85 yeas later Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher would be contending for the title: “World’s Longest Married Couple”? But that is exactly the case. Yesterday this couple (102 and 104 respectively) decided to give aged advice via a modern method. These two love birds tweeted (yes I do mean twitter) 14 bits of relationship advice to some 2,100 followers on Twitter. They received hundreds of questions from the followers and answered the top 14 here they are:

Question 1: What made you realize that you could spend the rest of your lives together? Were you scared at all?

Answer: With each day that passed, our relationship was more solid and secure.Divorce was NEVER an option – or even a thought.

Question 2: How did you know your spouse was the right one for you?

Answer: We grew up together & were best friends before we married. A friend is for life – our marriage has lasted a lifetime.

Question 3: Is there anything you would do differently after more than 80 years of marriage?

Answer: We wouldn’t change a ting. There’s no secret to our marriage, we just did what was needed for each other & our family.

Question 4: What is your advice to someone who is trying to keep the faith that Mr. Right is really out there?

Answer: Zlemyra: Mine was just around the corner! He is never too far away, so keep the faith – when you meet him, you’ll know.

Question 5: What was the best piece of marriage advice you ever received?

Answer: Respect, support & communicate with each other. Be faithful, honest & true. Love each other with ALL of your heart.

Question 6: What are the most important attributes of a good spouse?

Answer: A hard worker & a good provider. The 1920s were hard, but Herbert wanted & provided the best for us. I married a good man!

Question 7: What is your best Valentine’s Day memory?

Answer: Z I cook dinner EVERY day. Herbert left work early & surprised me – he cooked dinner for me! He is a VERY good cook! H: I said that I was going to cook dinner for her & she could relax – the look on her face & clean plate made my day!

Question 8: You got married very young – how did u both manage to grow as individuals yet not grow apart as a couple?

Answer: Everyone who plants a seed & harvests the crop celebrates together” We are individuals, but accomplish more together.

Question 9: What is your fondest memory of your 85 years of marriage?

Answer: Our legacy: 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.

Question 10: Does communicating get easier with time? How do you keep your patience?

Answer: The children are grown, so we talk more now. We can enjoy our time on the porch or our rocking chairs – together.

Question 11: How did you cope when you had to be physically separated for long periods of time?

Answer: We were apart for 2 months when Z was hospitalized with our 5th child. It was the most difficult time of my life Zelmyra’s mother helped me with the house and the other children, otherwise I would have lost my mind.

Question 12: At the end of bad relationship day, what is the most important thing to remind yourselves?

Answer: Remember marriage is not a contest – never keep a score. God has put the two of you together on the same team to win

Question 13: Is fighting important?

Answer: NEVER physically! Agree that it’s okay to disagree, & fight for what really matters. Learn to bend – not break.

Question 14: What’s the one thing you have in common that transcends everything else?

Answer: We are both Christians & believe in God.Marriage is a commitment to the Lord.We pray with & for each other every day

Here’s to love!

Double Up

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I recently came across some research done by the search engine Yahoo a few years ago. They complied a list of the most searched words on the internet. Know what the top two were? Truth and Love. In their findings Yahoo stated: “many of us are still trying to find meaning for some of life’s littlest big words.”

I want to focus in on the word love for a moment. Love is a word that can be used in a variety of ways. I tell my wife that I love her and yet I also say that I love ice cream. Hopefully there is a difference between the two types of love I just mentioned. for this difference is important. Jesus called his followers to love their neighbors. And he didn’t just leave it at that,  He told them how they were to love them.

He said love them as you love yourself.

Not as you love your spouse,

or you love your country,

or you love your favorite sports team.

So how exactly do we love our neighbors as ourselves? Let me give you one suggestion. Double Up! The next time you decide to do something for yourself like buy a cup of coffee, or get a hair cut, or go to the movies turn around and do the exact same thing for another person around you. Buy two cups of coffee. Pay for a strangers haircut. Mow your neighbors lawn. Shovel and extra driveway full of snow. If you are willing to do it for you….be willing to do it for them.

You just might find that your loving your neighbor as yourself.

Have you ever seen someone love their neighbor this way? What was the response?

“I ♥ Me” Part 2: Me, Myself and I

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Always look out for #1 is a lesson all of us learn early on in life. It is an ironclad universal truth that rings as true on elementary playgrounds as it does in the corporate board room. Or does it?

If you find yourself disagreeing with me consider this; if it was the mantra of Jesus Christ there would be no Easter to celebrate. No living Savior. Jesus would not even be a name you and I would recognize with any certainty. Why? Because every action Jesus did, from coming down to this earth to dying on the cross, went against the idea of looking out for #1.

1 John 2:16 states: “…the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world.” We can actually love ourselves too much. Innate in all of us is the desire to care for our own bodies. To preserve our own lives. But when this self-care turns into self-love and even self-pride, it can become very ugly. Why do people steal? Why do people kill? They do so because they love themselves more than anyone or anything else. Consider this; if you were the pinnacle of all importance, what would you be willing to do to get the things you want? We can all remember the stories of kids being murdered for a pair of AirJordans or a Starter jacket. We can all recall the stories of deception and murder in the banking world. These things are all too common.

We may have all been taught that looking out for #1 is important, but let’s just remember the teacher who taught us that concept; the world. The world shows little concern for you or I. The World is more than willing to walk right over us should we happen to fall. This doesn’t sound like a teacher from which I want to learn how to love.

Many of the things we know we must unlearn. We must actively seek God and His ideals. We must relearn, or in truth learn for the first time, what love really is all about. We must choose to transpose the love we have for ourselves to those around us who are in need. I believe we will find that this is the best way to love ourselves. This is the way Jesus loved. It’s the way He called His followers to love. And you will soon find out it really is the only true way to love at all.

Do you know someone who exhibits the right kind of love? Share with us who they are and their story.

“I ♥ Me” Part 1: The Good Samaritan

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Jesus stated, “love your neighbor as yourself”. He went on to illustrate what this meant by telling the story of an unfortunate man who was mugged one day in broad daylight on his way home from the city. This man was passed over by two different individuals who decided not to help him. For this man the third time was the charm. At last a man stopped, picked him up, cleaned him up and dropped him off at a local hotel so that he could regain his strength. This “Good Samaritan”, as he has become known as, also paid the tab of the injured fellow and promised to return and pay any further debt that the man might incur at a future date.

Love your neighbor as yourself. How do we love ourselves anyway?

Ok, time for a reality check. Here are a few of the ways I love myself: if there are only two cookies left, I take the biggest. I buy myself things that I want but don’t necessarily need. If I hurt myself I make sure I see a doctor.  I buy nice clothes for myself….my list could go on for a long time…how about yours?

Love your neighbor as yourself. Who is my neighbor anyway?

Jesus told this story to point out that anyone who isn’t me is my neighbor. Those who live next door are my neighbors. The guy riding my tail to work this morning is my neighbor. My co-worker is my neighbor. The lady who checked me out at the drug store is my neighbor. Even my enemy is my neighbor. You and I have a lot of neighbors.

I am certain I love me, but I am not so sure that I always pass the “Good Samaritan” test with my neighbors. What are some ways that we can begin to see a little of ourselves in ordinary people we meet every day of our lives?

Who have you encountered today?