You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your

soul and with all your might. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Day 1 Our culture (the secular progressives) defines love in the absence of God. So there is no right or wrong way to love. Anybody's definition has to be tolerated so there is no absolute except that of the mob that is in power. Right now love includes homosexuality, killing the unborn and embracing our muslim brothers who are trying to kill us and our Christian beliefs. Love is diminishing Christian values as myth and embracing the atheist who might be offended by anything Christian. So a family without a father is noble even though the mother struggles to make ends meet and is a drain on society. We no longer have respect for others but rather we are entitled to everything. Everything of value including love of God, Family and Country is methodically being taken. No longer is loving God the greatest Commandment nor is loving others as we love ourselves a virtue. The Golden Rule is now do unto others before they do unto you. Day 2 Cultural love is so impure. 1. When I love someone I expect something in return. I make lists and when things don't go my way I remember all the wonderful things I have done for which nothing has been given in return. God's love is unconditional. He expects me to have faith and love Him in return unconditionally. He expects perfect trust. 2. Cultural love seems to have a sexual aspect to it. Because of that sexual element it is hard for me to become friends with other women. I feel drawn to a woman for the wrong reasons. At that point my Christian background kicks in and I feel guilty. It also affects the way we treat kids. No affection can be shown to a child for fear of being accused of being a molester. There is no trust in cultural love. The perception is that everyone has ulterior motives. 3. Cultural love doesn't allow for love of God or Country. There is no higher authority only the way one feels. And god help us if we are intolerant. Tolerance has been substituted for Christian love. Day 3 a. God is perfection so no matter how hard I try I would never even come close to meeting His perfect standard. So there is noting I have done or will try to do in the future to earn/deserve His perfect love. It is a gift. I am a sinner saved by God's grace.

b. In its perfect form God's love first breaks us because of the utter absurdity of someone being so generous. That love then compels us to worship the God that has given such a precious gift and that motivates us to pass the gift along to others. Day 4 a. The purpose of God's love is to set us free. The problem is getting past our lusts to fully benefit from that love. 1. I know God loves me and wants me to take care of myself but I still mange to overlook that and overeat. 2. I am a pleaser. I do things for others not necessarily because of a God-like love but rather because I want their approval and perhaps their affection or some other tangible return. Some of it lustful. I'm getting older. I want a younger woman's attention so I try hard to be nice to them in many ways including remembering birthdays etc. I'm often told how nice I am. It boosts my ego. I have a coworker who is very wise. He is a bit older than I am. One day after being complimented by a much younger attractive young lady I commented to Jim that we were legends. He said no we're not. We are dirty old men. 3. I seldom show my anger to my coworkers even though I feel like it periodically. I'm much more likely to show my anger to the one who loves me most, my wife Mollie. Self Confrontation Project I usually think a 1/4 cup of cashews won't hurt and then I have another and another and another. I am doing Weight Watchers so it is important to track everything one eats. After about the second go round I quit tracking. Later I feel guilty about my lack of self control. You asked a number of great questions when you graded the session 3 homework. The first was how I felt after my pass over. It was like someone very close to me had died. Someone that I trusted and couldn't live without. Someone that had been with me my whole life. And to top it all off I caused the death. Although time has lessened that hurt, it impacted and still, I believe, impacts my life. My weight was not a factor in my pass over. One of my reporting seniors damned me with faint praise. The fitness report wasn't bad but it was bad enough that I was no longer competitive with my contemporaries. By the time I realized what he had done to me it was too late to do anything. God has richly blessed me with a great family and a well paying job. The first year after I got out it was hard. I couldn't 't find a good job. Then through a member in my Church I was given a job opportunity. I have worked for him for 20 + years. Interestingly enough, I still feel guilty/ashamed about the pass over. Even though I've done well, I do not have the same sense of accomplishment that I felt when I was promoted to a new rank.

I am not sure how to answer the question about how God sees my heart and what he is trying to tell me. I've never really seen it as a great theological issue. After all we do have to eat. The interesting thing is that I am beginning to realize that the temptation to eat is always preceded by a lie. A few cashews won't hurt. Having that second helping will make me feel good. 1. Who was involved? Just me 2. What happened? I got hungry in between a meal. What did I think? A few cashews won' t hurt. It will make me feel and work better. What did I do? I ate them and always more than I should. By the way I use cashews as an example. I'll eat just about anything. 3. When and where did it happen? Many times at work. But I also do the same thing at home usually after dinner. Have you found a hypnotist. I have to do something that will change the way I think. Thanks for listening. Hope you have a blessed week. John