READINGS
To Love (Author Unknown)- To love is to enter a whole New World, a world of togetherness, a world of sharing.... All that is dearest and deepest within your hearts. To love is to remember and keep alive forever all those unique qualities that drew you to one another in the beginning.... Those first halting phrases... That wonderful feeling of oneness when your eyes first met. To love is to constantly search for new ways to bring each other happiness, to make the most of every moment you share together, and marvel at how your feelings for one another keep rising to new dimensions. To love is to create an oasis of tranquility for one another and a quiet place, apart from others, where you need not pretend...where you can be yourselves.... And know within your hearts, you will be accepted by one another. To love is to greet each day with anticipation...Always eager for another opportunity to share new adventures...And gather up new memories together! To love is to follow the rainbow through the rain, to be able to laugh at yourselves and be willing to say...."I was wrong, I'm sorry"...To forgive, and more importantly, to forget, and to always believe and trust in one another. To love is to watch with wonder all the miracles of creation, to find beauty in all the simple things of life, and to find, within yourselves, a deeper appreciation and a new awareness of how wonderful it is to be alive...To be happy...To be together. To love is coming together from the pathways of your past and then moving forward... Hand in hand, along the uncharted roads of your future, ready to risk, to dream, and to dare.... Always believing that all things are possible with faith and love.
-
- The Art Of A Good Marriage - Wilferd Arlan Peterson
- Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are big things…
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is never taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner,
it is being the right partner.
-
- Marriage Joins Two People In The Circle Of Its Love - Edmund O'Neill
- Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life. When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.
-
- Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life - Chris Ardis
- Marriage is love walking hand in hand together. It's laughing with each other about silly little things, and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness. In marriage, love is trusting each other when you're apart. It's getting over disappointments and hurts, knowing that these are present in all relationships. It's the realization that there is no one else in this world that you'd rather be with than the one you're married to. It's thinking of new things to do together; It's growing old together. Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.
-
- Kahil Gibran (From The Prophet)
- "True love gives nothing but itself, and takes nothing but from itself, for love is sufficient unto love. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself, to awake at dawn and give thanks for another day of loving, to rest at noon and meditate love's ecstasy, to return home at eventide with gratitude, and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart, and a song of praise upon your lips."
-
- Victor Hugo
- You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved in spite of ourselves.
-
- From "The Strength to Love" (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
- "The meaning of love is not to be confused with some sentimental outpouring. Love is something much more than emotional bosh. An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, is the love of God operating in the human heart. Love is the most durable power in the world - the most potent instrument available in mankind's quest for peace and security. The great military leaders of the past have gone, and their empires have crumbled and burned to ashes. But the empire of Jesus, built solidly and majestically on the foundation of love, is still growing."
-
- On Love - Thomas à Kempis (1379-1471)
- Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good.
Love alone lightens every burden, and makes rough places smooth.
It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable.
Nothing is sweeter than love,
Nothing stronger,
Nothing higher,
Nothing wider,
Nothing more pleasant,
Nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth; for love is born of God.
Love flies, runs and leaps for joy.
It is free and unrestrained.
Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds.
Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil,
attempts things beyond its strength.
Love sees nothing as impossible,
for it feels able to achieve all things.
It is strange and effective,
while those who lack love faint and fail.
Love is not fickle and sentimental,
nor is it intent on vanities.
Like a living flame and a burning torch,
it surges upward and surely surmounts every obstacle.
-
- True Love (Author Unknown)
- True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally,
And none can dim its special glow or change its destiny.
True love speaks in tender tones and hears with gentle ear,
True love gives with open heart and true love conquers fear.
True love makes no harsh demands It neither rules nor binds,
True love holds with gentle hands the hearts that it entwines.
-
- Unknown Author
- Remember, anything beautiful that you have, came from God. In the beginning, God gave us our free will and our identity to walk this earth. Don't ever try to change each other, because if you do, you will lose exactly what you fell in love with. So, each day try to find one more thing that is beautiful in your mate and each day know that the next day will be more beautiful than the one before. As long as you are doing this, you are seeking beauty, joy, and love in each other.
-
- To Be One With Each Other - George Eliot (1819-1880)
- "What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are to join for life—to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting."
-
- Love Reflects Love in Return - The Divine Comedy by Dante
- "The love of God, Unutterable and perfect, flows into a pure soul the way light rushes into a transparent object. The more love we receive, the more love we shine forth; so that, as we grow clear and open, the more complete the joy of loving is. And the more souls who resonate together, the greater the intensity of their love for, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other."
-
- Unknown Author
- When God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden he saw that it was not good for man to live alone, so God made a companion for man. In this act of creation, God didn't take the woman from man's head, lest she should rule over him; nor from his feet, lest he should trample upon her- but from his side, that she should be equal with him, and close to his heart, that he should love, cherish, and honor her. God presented woman to man for their mutual joy and that they may give to each other companionship, help, and comfort. Marriage is God's gift to deliver us from our isolation and loneliness. It is our opportunity to give each other the gifts of God and to receive the gifts of God from each other.
-
- Marriage Advice - Jane Wells (1886)
- Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break. Believe the best rather than the worst. People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them. Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends. Please hand this down to your children and your children's children.
-
- When a Man and a Woman Are in Love - Stephen T.Fader
- His life lies within hers and her life lies within his. Each lives as an individual, yet they also live for one another. Each strives for independent goals, but they also work together to achieve their dreams. They will give to one another what they need to survive and help fulfill each other's wants. They will turn one another's disappointment into satisfaction. They will turn one another's frustration into contentment. They will work as a mirror, reflecting to each other their strengths and weaknesses. They will work together to alleviate the emotional walls that may separate them. They will work together to build a better understanding of one another. They will learn to lean on each other, but not so much as to be a burden on the other. They will learn to reach out to one another, but not so much as to suffocate the other. They will learn when it is time to speak and when it is time to listen. They will be there to comfort each other in times of sorrow. They will be there to celebrate together in times of happiness. They will be one another's friend, guiding each other to the happiness that life holds. They will be one another's companion, facing together the challenges that life may present. When a man and a woman are in love, his life lies within hers and her life lies within his. Together they will love one another for the rest of their lives and forever.
-
- From A Natural History Of Love - Diane Ackerman
- Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fueled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love's spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days. The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving, and being loved.
-
- Sooner or Later
- Sooner or later we begin to understand that love is more than verses on valentines, and romance in the movies. We begin to know that love is here and now, real and true, the most important thing in our lives. For love is the creator of our favorite memories, and the foundation of our fondest dreams. Love is a promise that is always kept, a fortune that can never be spent, a seed that can flourish in even the most unlikely of places. And this radiance that never fades, this mysterious and magical joy, is the greatest treasure of all -- one known only by those who love.
-
- Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle - A Selection
- But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble… Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.
-
- The Key to Love
- The key to love is understanding ... The ability to comprehend not only the spoken word. but those unspoken gestures, the little things that say so much by themselves.
- The key to love is forgiveness... To accept each others faults and pardon mistakes, without forgetting, but with remembering what you learn from them.
- The key to love is sharing... Facing your good fortunes as well as the bad, together; both conquering problems, forever searching for ways to intensify your happiness.
- The key to love is giving... Without thought of return, but with hope of just a simple smile, and by giving in but never giving up.
- The key to love is respect... Realizing that you are two separate people, with different ideas; that you don't belong to each other, that you belong with each other, and share a mutual bond.
- The key to love is inside us all... It takes time and patience to unlock all the ingredients that will take you to its threshold; it is the continual learning process that demands a lot of work... but the rewards are more than worth the effort... and that is the key to love.
-
- Marriage is love - Gloria Matthew
- If two are caring as they are sharing life's hopes and fears.
- If the music of laughter outweighs sadness and tears. Marriage is togetherness.
If both derive pleasure from the mere presence of each other, yet when parted no jealousies restrict, worry or smother. Marriage is freedom.
If achievements mean more when they benefit two and consideration is shown with each point of view. Marriage is respect.
And if togetherness, freedom and respect are combined with a joy that words can never fully define, then marriage is love.
-
- Unknown Author
You share today the joy of a deep commitment and a sacred trust, and you have given each other the most precious gift of love, treasure it, nurture it and encourage it with all the honesty you used in creating it you are sharing something rare and beautiful. Always speak the truth and listen attentively so that you may understand each others thoughts and intentions, inspire each other by sharing your accomplishments. Say I love you often to retain the warmth between you. Laugh a lot too, even when you are angry. Remember you are each other's best friend. Stand together and for each other always. May each day be a blessing and the fulfillment of your dreams.
-
- The Promise - Heather Berry
- Within this blessed union of souls, where two hearts intertwine to become one, there lies a promise. Perfectly born, divinely created, and intimately shared, it is a place where the hope and majesty of beginnings reside. Where all things are made possible by the astounding love shared by two spirits. As you hold each other's hands in this promise, and eagerly look into the future in each other's eyes, may your unconditional love and devotion take you to placed were you've both only dreamed. Where you'll dwell for a lifetime of happiness, sheltered in the warmth of each other's arms.
-
- Love Is Friendship Caught Fire - Laura Hendricks
- Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, 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. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.
-
********************
-
|
No comments:
Post a Comment