slate.INSPIRATION

John 15:1-17 ~ The Vine & the Branches

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

Verses from Psalm 119

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
       who walk according to the law of the LORD.

Blessed are they who keep his statutes
       and seek him with all their heart. ~ Ps. 119:1-2

How can a young man keep his way pure?
       By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
       do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
       that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, O LORD;
       teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount
       all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes
       as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts
       and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;
       I will not neglect your word. ~ Ps. 119:9-16

I am laid low in the dust;
       preserve my life according to your word. ~ Ps. 119:25

My soul is weary with sorrow;
       strengthen me according to your word. ~ Ps. 119:28

Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees;
       then I will keep them to the end.

Give me understanding, and I will keep your law
       and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of your commands,
       for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward your statutes
       and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
       preserve my life according to your word.

Fulfill your promise to your servant,
       so that you may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread,
       for your laws are good.

How I long for your precepts!
       Preserve my life in your righteousness. ~ Ps. 119:33-40

I have sought your face with all my heart;
       be gracious to me according to your promise.

I have considered my ways
       and have turned my steps to your statutes. ~ Ps. 119:58-59

May your unfailing love be my comfort,
       according to your promise to your servant.

Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
       for your law is my delight. ~ Ps. 119:76-77

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. ~ Ps. 119:105

Quotation: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) ~ Letter to his wife, Sophia

"... Will you sail away with me to discover some summer island? Do you not think that God has reserved oen for us, ever since the beginning of the world? Foolish that I am to raise a question of it, since we have such an Eden -- such an island sacred to us two -- whenever we have been together!"

Adoption

Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different color of hair than the other family members. One child suggested that he was adopted and said, "I know all about adoptions because I was adopted."

"What does it mean to be adopted?" the teacher asked.

"It means," said the little girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy."
                        ~ www.myteacher.net

My neighbor, a primary school teacher, asked one of her pupils, an adopted child, how he felt about his mother's pregnancy. "Wonderful," the student replied. "And this is her first baby from scratch!"
                              ~ www.becquet.com

Quotations about Love

"Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age." ~ Jeanne Moreau

"Here's to you who halves my sorrows and doubles my joys." ~ Toast

"In winter with you near -- no need for coals -- our passion blazed." ~ Wallada (c. 1000-1035) from "To Ibn Zaidun"

"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses." ~ Ann Landers from Gems

"Love makes mutes of those who habitually speak most fluently." ~ Madeline de Scudery (1670-1701) from De l'Amour

"A man in love mistakes a pimple for a dimple." ~ Japanese proverb

"A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he finds himself electrified and enkindled, but for the one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy." ~ George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) from The Ultimately Desirable Woman

"The man who has never made a fool of himself will never be wise in love." ~ Theodore Reik (1888-1970) from Of Love and Lust

"Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd want to have dinner with."

"Old love rusts not." ~ German proverb

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~ Leo Buscaglia

"Two things only a man cannot hide: that he is drunk, and that he is in love." ~ Antiphanes (389-311 B.C.) from Fragment

Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
       all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
       and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
       and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
       and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
       and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
       his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
       slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
       nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
       or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
       so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
       so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
       so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
       he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
       he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
       and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
       the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
       and his righteousness with their children's children-

18 with those who keep his covenant
       and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
       and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
       you mighty ones who do his bidding,
       who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
       you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
       everywhere in his dominion.
       Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Psalm 142

1 I cry aloud to the LORD;
       I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.

2 I pour out my complaint before him;
       before him I tell my trouble.

3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
       it is you who know my way.
       In the path where I walk
       men have hidden a snare for me.

4 Look to my right and see;
       no one is concerned for me.
       I have no refuge;
       no one cares for my life.

5 I cry to you, O LORD;
       I say, "You are my refuge,
       my portion in the land of the living."

6 Listen to my cry,
       for I am in desperate need;
       rescue me from those who pursue me,
       for they are too strong for me.

7 Set me free from my prison,
       that I may praise your name.
       Then the righteous will gather about me
       because of your goodness to me.

Scripture: Song of Solomon

My lover is mine and I am his... Song of Solomon 2-16a

All beautiful you are, my darling;
       there is no flaw in you. ~ Song of Solomon 4:7

I am my lover's and my lover is mine.. ~ Song of Solomon 6:3a

I belong to my lover,
       and his desire is for me. ~ Song of Solomon 7:10

Place me like a seal over your heart,
       like a seal on your arm;
       for love is as strong as death,
       its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
       It burns like blazing fire,
       like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love;
       rivers cannot wash it away. ~ Song of Solomon 8:6-7a

Scripture: Philemon 1:4-7

4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Scripture: Mark

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" ~ Mark 8:34b-36

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." ~ Mark 12:30-31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ~ Mark 13:31