Professional Documents
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the
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LOVE ISSUE FEBRUARY 2009
W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 2009
February Issue
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“…IF I HAVE A FAITH THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS, BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, I AM NOTHING.”
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1 CORINTHIANS 13:2
“May your
From The Editor’s Desk
unfailing love The Exemplify site and magazine is growing by leaps and bounds
In this month’s magazine you are going to find a few new columns,
LORD, even as
excellent content on our call to love and even a few juicy details on
we put our hope what we have going on online.
in you.” Pay close attention to page 8 if you want to win a book series!
We’re still in the beginning stages and need you to help us get the
word out! Keep doing what you are doing. We look forward to serving
Psalm 33:22 you.
Psalm 33:22 is my prayer for you this month. May His unfailing love rest
upon you, as you put your hope in Him.
:: Kristen Schiffman
COMING IN MARCH:
Health Column Fashion Advice Tech Column
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Contents:
February 3, 2009
The Juice 11
Spotlight On… 12
Amazing Love 13
Featured Blogger 17
Coming To Exemplify 24
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TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT OUR WRITERS
Christy writes the Home Column for Exemplify.
She writes with humor and creativity on how AND WHERE TO FIND
to make your house a home. THEM ONLINE,
PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE!
Katrina writes the Book Nook Column. She is
Exemplify’s source on all things literary!
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TH
HEE MA AX
XEEYY FA
AMMIIL
LYY
LEETTTTEER
R PR ROOJJE
ECCT
T
Written by Kristen Few memories break my heart like the ones I have of
sitting in the pediatric chemotherapy ward with my high
school boyfriend.
I was marked.
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Cancer may strip but Christ heals. What a testament it would be of what the body
of Christ is capable of if this family finds out
Be bold in your prayers for this family and ask for people across the world are thinking about them
a miracle. Ask for peace for the Maxey family; for and lifting them in prayer.
provision and strength.
As we find ourselves starting a month that
God can do what He says He can do. welcomes us to focus on the love we have for
our spouses and family members, let’s focus on
Pray His Word over this beautiful baby girl and her the love we are called to share as the Body of
family. Christ.
You can even join The Maxey Letter Project Let us rise up and answer His call.
Cause, if you are interested.
The Maxey Letter Project is being called
Rachel, an Exemplify Team Member, recently “Building Hope: Where the body of Christ meets
launched a website that exists to collect letters the Maxey Family through collected letters and
and prayers written for The Maxey Family. prayers.”
Rachel shared her mission with the project saying; Come build hope with us.
“I thought it would be a great thing for strangers
everywhere to send letters to this family. I prayed Come share the love of Christ with this family.
for [God’s] direction and later received
confirmation when I heard that Natalie [Mrs. And together, let us remember the root
Maxey] said sometimes the only thing that gets command we have been given in Him.
her through the day is knowing about people out
there - complete strangers - who pray for her “Love one another.”
family and her baby girl. Thus the Maxey Family John 15:17
Letter Project was born.”
If you would like to contribute to the letter To visit “Building Hope: The Maxey
collection Rachel has started please visit Letter Project” please go to this web
"Building Hope: The Maxey Family Letter Project" address:
and read up on this awesome project. (You can Hopeforthemaxeys.blogspot.com.
find the web address to the right.)
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We have a silly, but sweet, little game we like to I can do things that show my love for him all day. I
play in my family. can declare that I truly love God with all my heart.
It's called The Love War. But He still loves me more.
It begins with one of my children telling me they He loves me so much, He gave up His Son for me.
love me. I answer back “I love you more.” His love for me will never end. Ever. Even when I
mess up. Even when I take control of things in my
All of my children have inherited their Daddy’s
life of things I shouldn't be in control of. Even when I
competitive streak, so they always answer “I love
ignore His whisperings in my heart.
you the most!”
He still loves me more.
Of course, I don’t like to lose either, so my answer When I watch my daughters and son tell me they
is “I love you with all my heart!” love me a gazillion times more than I love them,
You’d think that’s where it stops. But, no. Hannah, their eyes sparkle, they giggle, and their faces are
my sweet, determined middle child, has filled with joy. They truly believe that they love me
discovered a way to take it even further. the most.
I imagine God's face is much like theirs when He
After I have told her I love her with all my heart,
tells me He loves me more.
she responds with "I love you never-ending never-
And you know what?
ending never-ending never-ending plus a million
He feels exactly the same way about you.
plus never-ending....”
He loves you more. In fact, He loves you never-
You get the idea. Sometimes she goes on like this ending never-ending never-ending never-ending.
for a full minute! And then I tell her she wins. I love Psalm 136, because each verse states His
(I'm lying, though. I still love her more!) love for us over and over again. To get the full
impact, you should read the entire Psalm. Here's a
A few months ago after my son Ethan "won" a
teaser for you:
love war with me, God nudged me and
whispered to my heart, "I love YOU never-ending.” “GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD.
I can't even begin to describe to you how that HIS FAITHFUL LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.”
made me feel.
I can profess my love for Jesus non-stop. PSALM 136:1, NLT
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At the end of each year I spend time asking God So I prayed. Waited. Listened and heard the
to speak His vision for me for the coming year. whisper, "Love is what makes you separate
He never fails to impress some scripture on my Sheila." I was relieved because I was being
heart which sets the tone for the year ahead. At plagued with worries about how to "perfect
the end of 2008 the Word that pierced me was 2 holiness in the fear of God" and "be separate"
Corinthians 6:17-7:1 which says: without being holier than thou and running off to
Therefore "Come out from among them And live in seclusion.
be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is I'm still taking this in, but this is what I know
unclean, And I will receive you.” now: Love is what I must pursue in my quest to
"I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My walk by faith this year in obeying God's call to rid
sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” myself of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, maturing holiness in the fear of Him.
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the Jesus said clearly in John 13 that His new
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of command is not a bunch of do's and don'ts, but
God.” rather one "do", which will be the litmus test of
I knew He was speaking sanctification to me, everything I do or don't do. Love. Love as He has
that is, that this year He was turning up the loved me... that is what sets me apart.
purification-fires in my life, and calling me to let This love is, interestingly enough, translated
go of all the dross- that filthiness of the flesh and "charity" in the King James Version of the Bible,
spirit", which comes to the surface. But I was and it's fitting. Christ's love is charity. Christ-like
stumped by how to be separate, especially since love is an unearned, un-repaid giving of one's own
the context of the passage refers to not being life selflessly for the good of another.
unequally yoked with unbelievers... I AM It's this love that allows us to touch other "filthy",
UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH AN "defiled" and "unclean" people (knowing apart
UNBELIEVER! from Christ we are one ourselves)
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at the same time not embracing the sin which
defiles them and us. It's Christ-like love which sets • not rejoicing in sinful ways
us apart while we are among. • rejoicing in the truth (God's word is truth)
• bearing all circumstances
It is not the ability to speak the languages of men • believing (not having a suspecting or
and angels which sets us apart and makes us holy. suspicious or cynical attitude)
For apart from love the speaker of tongues is just • hoping (trusting confidently in the
irritating noise ( see 1 Corinthians 13:1). goodness of God)
• enduring (pressing forward for the prize in
It's not being prophetic in our conversations with all circumstances, even when I see my
others and being able to understand and explain the sinfulness and fail)
Bible and all mysteries of God which separates us • love which sets us apart will never fail, it
from others, for without love the "prophet" is will never end. But all our other "spiritual"
nothing. (see 1 Corinthians 13:2) activities on this earth will.
(from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 )
It's not miracle working faith which distinguishes
me from others and proves my maturity in
holiness. Without love the miracle worker is What will set us apart now and for eternity is the
nothing. (see 1 Corinthians 13:2) mature holiness of love, which is found first in
Christ. It's this love, which He defined and
It's not even giving generously to charity, feeding modeled for us which must compel us to do what
plenty of poor, and selling all I have which we do or we are nothing and our labor is in vain.
characterizes me as a called out one. For without
"charity" (love) the philanthropist is nothing. (see 1 You know, when it all comes down to love,
Corinthians 13:3) Christ-like love, I have no misconceptions of
myself as being “good” anymore.
And even further, it's not martyrdom (in the sense When it all comes down to loving like Christ
we think of it- giving our bodies to be burned, loved us--I'm free and I'm scared.
tortured, abused in the name of obeying Christ) I can't lean at all on my own righteousness or
which proves my perfecting of holiness in the fear spiritual-ness, I can only lean on the One who's
of God. For without love the martyr is nothing. gone before me.
(see 1 Corinthians 13:3) I'm not bound anymore by having to do this or
forbidding to do that because I'm a Christian.
In my self-righteousness I might easily think any or
all of the above would definitely set me apart from I'm bound by His great love.
the "filth" of the flesh or spirit. How God thinks so
differently than I! What I do or don't do is compelled by desiring a 1
Corinthians 13 life to be lived out in me.
The way all people will know that I am a called out
one, set apart, rid of all filthiness, mature in So in pursuit of mature holiness this year I'm
holiness, a disciple of Christ and a son and pursuing love!
daughter of God is:
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Written by Katrina
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The Juice
Exemplify wants to keep you in the know
regarding all the things we have going on in
cyberspace! The Juice is our monthly dose of
news for our readers.
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SPPO
OTTLLIIG
GHHT O N …
O NE V ERSE
Today, nearly 200 million people
representing over 2200 language
groups are still waiting to hear God's
message of hope in a language that
they can understand best.
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Amazing Love
Written by Kara
T ITUS 2 C ORNER
W ITH C HRISTINE
One reader asked…
I have a newly crowned teenager and am
wondering how to approach her access to movies?
She is too old for Disney and yet I feel too young for
what is out there! Do you have any tips on how to
monitor the movies she wants to see, if I haven't
seem them myself yet?
VISIT WWW.PLUGGEDINONLINE.COM!
There is a very informative site put out by Focus on
the Family that can help with this! Visit
www.pluggedinonline.com. It is very easy to
navigate and gives you all the information you could
possibly want about up-coming movies or those
already released on DVD.
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a-homemakers-meditations.blogspot.com
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JOHN 11:1-2
Written by Rachel
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LOVE IS EDITION FEBRUARY 2009
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Coming To Exemplify!
As our magazine grows, so does our team! Next month
Exemplify will be introducing three new columnists to the
mix with content that is sure to please.
We will also be hosting another giveaway, spotlighting
ministries, featuring bloggers and things going
on in the blog-o-sphere.
We welcome your blog submissions, articles
and prayer!
To contact Exemplify for writer’s guidelines or with a ministry that you wish to
have spotlighted please email Kristen at editor@exemplifyonline.com.