February 2004

Welcome to all our new subscribers! I hope you all enjoy the second issue of RubyZine! Be sure to check out the web site as well; there's lots of good stuff this month.

It's February, cold and snowy where I am. But today is Groundhog Day, and that means we are all looking forward to spring. And for those of us in the USA, February also means Valentine's Day is just around the corner. So I thought I would take a moment and talk a little about love.

What is Love?

I had several boyfriends during the years between Jr. High and when I met my husband. And almost all of them used the "L" word with me. Some of them on the first day we started "going together." But I doubt that any of them really meant it. Maybe they didn't even know what love is.

What is love?

In our society, love is believed to be a feeling. Romantic love is confused with lust. Infatuation is often confused with being "in love." But there is a lot more to love than that.

True, love can be a very strong emotion. I feel love for my husband, my children, my close friends and relatives. But love is also an action-it's something that you choose to do.

But how can you choose to love someone? It's not so hard, once you accept that it's not all about feelings.

Jesus said in John 13: 34, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (NIV)

We are supposed to love each other as Jesus loved us. Not if we "feel" like it. Not only people we are close to, or enjoy spending time with. I challenge you to make a conscious decision to love the people you are around day by day. Don't know how? Well, how did Jesus do it?

I'll leave you with a passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (NIV)

With love,

Rebecca

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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Devotional: A Generation Who Seeks Him! by Jolene Duggan

2. Just for Laughs

3. Real Life Q&A with Camy Tang

4. FEATURE ARTICLE: Vanity Unfair: A Christian View on Body Image by Bonnie Mauldin

5. GOD'S GIRLS: Rebekah Hamrick, Editor of Teen Light Magazine

6. POETRY: What Love is and What it Ain't

7. TEEN TO TEEN: A poem titled, "I Am"

8. FEATURE ARTICLE: Less is More: Dress and Make-up Tips to Spark Interest by Camy Tang

9. FEATURE ARTICLE: Help! Facial 911: Emergency skin-care help, part TWO by Camy Tang

10. JUST FOR FUN: Ten ways to show someone you care without using the "L" word

11. FICTION WITH A POINT: "Prom Date" by inspirational romance author Kristin Billerbeck