I was having coffee with a friend the other night and she reminded me of a list I had made several years ago. She told me how after receiving it she had tucked it away in her underwear drawer!. One day while walking through the valley of Alzheimers disease with her late father the list had surfaced and it gave her courage to love him well until the end. Now she keeps it on the front of her computer.

I thought if it had so much meaning for one person it might be worthwhile posting it for others. The list came to me one Saturday morning as I was sitting in bed thinking about the movie The Holiday. I was thinking of how the "dominant" woman Amanda and the "desolate" woman Iris were each living in unloving situations, so I wrote down what this place of "unlove" looked like. Then on a whim the women trade places for the holiday and suddenly find themselves in a whole new atmosphere.....love. They are transformed by love and so are Miles, Graham, and Arthur.

God is love (1John4:16), He creates the atmosphere in which all the things listed below about love are true.

Love:
    Restores that which is lost and much more than you can imagine.
    Makes Real
    Sets free, releases from bondage
    Makes beautiful
    Honors
    Bestows favor
    Lifts up and invites in
    Fills the emptiness, the void
    Rewards
    Sees things clearly
    Applauds
    Brings Joy
    Understands and is kind
    Restores dignity
    Is open and generous
    "Anything is possible"
    Wants to know you
    Pursues the beloved

Unlove:
    Masquerades as love
    Accuses
    Deceives
    Cheats, unfaithful
    Uses
    Is selfish
    Wants its own way
    Wounds with words and deeds
    Does not repent
    Gets angry
    Casts down, depresses
    Makes inferior
    Immobilizes with fear
    Lifeless