When Night and Day Meet...

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!

I knew the morning during our honeymoon when my hubby asked me why I didn't always put the top back on the toothpaste that we were a little different. Solution: Two separate toothpastes.

If you want to know at least TEN more funny ways we are different, go to Keepingitpersonal.com where I am a monthly blog contributor...and today is my day! You won't want to miss reading this list!

That was almost twenty years ago. We have discovered and concluded that we are as different as night and day. 

Sunion, Greece at sunset

I spoke at our church's marriage retreat last year on personalities. Yes, I am an expert. :)  At the end of the retreat, I had a friend tell me that she and her husband were as different as night and day as well. She told me that really bothered her until God gave her a picture. The vision was not how different night and day were, but instead what happens when night and day meet. When night meets day, a beautiful, breathtaking sunrise occurs. And what happens when day meets night? A mesmerizing, magnificent sunset takes place. 

I love that picture! And I can honestly say that despite our differences in personality, I love my man more today than I did the day I met him. (By the way, he is my #1 fan. He always reads my blog posts, even though he doesn't ever comment. I am not sure he would know how.)

God has a plan...and a sense of humor. I am convinced that God gives us people in our lives (especially our spouses) to soften our edges, to make us less self-centered, to learn to love.  God can actually use others to deliver us from ourselves and our selfishness! 

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.” 1 Corinthians 13: 3 – 7 (MSG)"

Do you have someone in your life that is so very different from you? Perhaps God wants to use that relationship to create something beautiful in your life. I would love to hear your thoughts today. If you are reading by email, comment here.

This is a continuation of my love list today. Don't forget to acknowledge people that you love today as well!

Living for ONE,

Kelli

Linked with Jenn at 

and with Courtney at 

The Power of Perspective: Empowering Mondays

First things first, we have Four Winners from my big 4-0 giveaway! (I used a random number generator.)

The Winner of One Thousand Gifts is Abby.

The Winner of When Women Say Yes To God is Julie V.

The Winner of Sun Stand Still is Leslie C.

The Winner of a Starbucks Giftcard is Karin H.

Please email me at kelli{at}ccclive{dot}org with your addresses so I can send your prize to you!  Thanks!

Now, back to my regular blog post...

thanks, Iain Farrell, Flickr

Many of you are familiar with the magazine, Real Simple. I enjoy looking at all the pictures and reading the informative articles, but one of my favorite sections is New Uses for Old Things. Whoever comes up with these new uses for familiar things is a genius! Actually, they are just people with a keen and unique perspective.

Who would have thought that we could use a toilet paper roll to store our hair elastics and bobby pins neatly?

What about putting marbles in your double boiler to alert you to add more water?

What would happen if we gained a new perspective with the people in our life? 

Instead of seeing our husband as the person we have to make happy, see him as the gift God gave us to make us more like Jesus, like sandpaper sanding away our rough edges.

Instead of seeing our children as little people that we have to wait on, provide for, and clean up after, see them as gifts that remind us to laugh at life, to enjoy life with hands in the air, and to eat cake for breakfast.

Instead of seeing the people in our lives that really challenge us as problems, view them as gifts that keep us humble, keep us pliable and teachable, and keep us ever so reliant on God.

What about having a new perspective of our life situations? 

Instead of seeing our health struggle as a curse, see it as an opportunity to totally rely on God, to grow our prayer life, and to increase our trust in Him.

Instead of seeing our relationship issue as a reason to not trust anyone ever again, view it as a way to minister to others, and to seek God before we plunge in again.

Instead of seeing our overwhelming workload as a good reason to quit, use it as a catalyst to get organized, to make some life changes, and to prioritize.

Having a new perspective can be empowering.  When we begin to view those familiar people or situations for what they can be instead of what they have been or what they are even today, we have the power, ignited by hope,that we can carry on.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  

2 Corinthians 4: 18

So, let’s have some perspective.  It may not be Real Simple, but it can be Real Powerful.

So, what is something in your life on which you need to gain a new perspective? Please share in the comments so that I can pray for you.  P.S. I want to thank you all for making my 40^th Birthday unforgettable. 

Unwrapping the gift of perspective,

Kelli