As a devotional exercise for the month, reflect on each of the fifteen ideas listed for two days. Record your insights and share them with a friend!

What Builds Love?

A growing understanding of I Corinthians 13 and Ephesians 4

• An increasing understanding of the character of God

• A growing realization of what Jesus is like as revealed in the Gospels (Always be reading a bit in the Gospels.)

• A climate of verbal expression (Voice your appreciation for one another!)

• A home where attitudes are examined before actions are judged

• A place where one’s ideas are respected and considered

• A home that practices the “little kindnesses” (a phone call, a note, breakfast brought in on a tray, a spontaneous time of prayer, a hug)

• A home where we feel “listened to”

• A place where difficult things are battled unitedly—the family rallies around

• A home where plans are made together

• A home where there is a balance of togetherness and the freedom to be alone

• A family that asks both “What do you think? and How do you fee!?”

• A home that accepts the Word of God as the final authority in all situations

• A place where practical duties are done faithfully as a way of expressing love—“Love says and love does.”

• A home where individual family members never forget how much Christ has forgiven them!

by Jeanine Mc Cutchan