Food For Thought.

1 John 4:7-12. In many different ways.

NASB -7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

NKJV - 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

NIV - 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

NLT - 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Life Lessons

There are many things I have learned through out my short 21 years of living. But, I feel as if I must lay out a few of those lessons here and now.

1. Coffee is essential to daily life. So, embrace the caffeine addiction and make sure you never miss a cup of jo in the morning.
2. When you own a dog, it is part of the family. It isn't a pet. It is a brother or sister. A cousin. A grandchild.
3. The beach is a little sliver of heaven on Earth. And, no matter how many times you have to leave, all you are ever going to want is to go back. And, when you are there, you love every second of it.
4. Don't underestimate the power of loyalty. Be loyal in everything, from your career, to your favorite Philly sports team. 
5. The phrase "Happy wife, happy life" is no joke. And this means sacrificing even the best part of a crab--the claws--and giving them to your wife (note the bag of claws in the picture below). Pure proof that love for your wife should be, and is, concrete.

All of this I learned from my Pop-Pop. I miss you and love you. 

Rest in peace.

September 11, 1938 - March 10, 2013

Dear Family, I Love You.

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.  ~Author Unknown

Believe it or not, one of the most important things I have learned while being at college is an appreciation for my family. The saying holds true: you don't know what you have until it is gone. As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't appreciated my family as much as I should have growing up.

I have never not loved them. And I have never not known how awesome they were. And I have never been ashamed of my family.

I just simply didn't appreciate them.

Over spring break, I decided it would be fun to mess around with my camera a tad and force my unsuspecting siblings into being my models. They hesitantly agreed, and although I'm sure they'd refuse to admit it, they had fun too.

It's so intriguing to me to watch their personalities shine through the pictures. And, now, I can look through the pictures that I took whenever I am home sick and feel much closer to them--physically--because the pictures remind me so much of them in real life.

While I am at school, I miss being able to bicker with Max. I miss interrupting Connor while he is playing video games. I miss talking to Jared about OM. I miss Olivia sitting on my lap and playing with my hair while trying to watch TV. I miss talking to my mom about, well, everything. I miss my dad's cooking. And I miss my stepdad's extremely corny jokes.

So, here's the readers digest version of this post.  Dear family, I miss and appreciate you.