When Familiar Words Hit Different

You know how you hear a line of Scripture so often that you start to miss its meaning?

That’s how 1 Corinthians 13 has felt to me for years.

We hear it at weddings. We smile. We nod when Paul’s words begin:
“Love is patient, love is kind…”

It feels soft. Sweet. Almost cinematic. A Hallmark version of what love should look like.

But real love is not cinematic.

Real love is hard. It requires sacrifice. It requires the willingness to be hurt. It asks for a daily recommitment to faithfulness in relationship with another imperfect person. Love takes work.

That’s why Kelly’s newest Knowledge Notes set stopped me in my tracks.

Instead of letting 1 Corinthians 13 float by as a familiar sentiment, she breaks it down into the fifteen truths Paul actually names. One by one. Without shame. Without harshness. Without accusation. Just steady invitation.

She takes each phrase and asks: what does this look like in everyday life?

Not on a wedding day.
On a Tuesday afternoon when I’m stuck in traffic, running on no sleep, and everyone needs something from me.

As I read through the cards, I found myself slowing down. Really examining how I love the people closest to me. The ones who see my impatience. My defensiveness. My exhaustion.

And then the Spirit nudged deeper.

Jesus calls us to love not just our friends, but our neighbors. Even our enemies. So how am I doing loving people who act differently than I do? Who think differently? Who speak differently?

That question lingered.

And then something even more grounding surfaced.

Even when we get love right, our version doesn’t come close to the way God loves us.

God is love.

That’s what Paul was writing about. Not just a romantic ideal. Not just relational advice. He was describing the character of God.

A love that is patient without limit.
Kind without calculation.
Faithful without fail.

God will never withdraw that love. We can lean into it, depend on it, learn from it. Forever.

And because we are loved so completely, we are shown how to love better.

That’s what I took from this set.

Not condemnation.
Conviction wrapped in grace.

I can look in the mirror and tell myself: there is room to grow. There is room to show more patience. More kindness. More restraint. More dignity. And that’s okay.

Friends, if we practiced God’s kind of love with everyone we encounter, we would change more than our relationships. We would change the world.

That is so much bigger than a Valentine. So much deeper than happily ever after.

That is Kingdom love in action.

So I’m encouraging you now, don’t let this one pass by. Dive into Kelly’s Knowledge Notes; Love In Action. Take the time to sit with God’s perfect love again. Do the heart work necessary to move your love closer to His. You won’t regret it.

What’s Inside the Love In Action Knowledge Notes

Kelly’s Love In Action set includes reflection cards built around each of the fifteen attributes of love found in 1 Corinthians 13.

Each card:

• Breaks down one phrase from the passage

• Explains what it looks like in real, everyday relationships

• Identifies common relational pitfalls like pride, defensiveness, comparison, resentment

• Invites thoughtful self-examination

• Includes space to write a prayer or personal reflection

The tone is gentle but honest. It doesn’t gloss over how hard love can be. It simply asks us to grow.

Ways You Can Use This Set

This kit works beautifully in so many settings:

• Journal one attribute per week in your Bible margins
• Use it as a 15-day devotional leading up to Easter or Valentine’s Day
• Work through it with your spouse or close friends
• Use it in a small group focused on relationships
• Reflect on it personally during a season of relational tension

From the Makers: Love, Lived Out on the Page

One of my favorite things about every Knowledge Notes release is seeing how the makers interpret it. And this set? It hit everyone.

Sherri (@sherriluvsles) leaned fully into the layered heart motif and created a bold, dimensional focal point that practically pulses off the page. She expanded on the gorgeous heart she first created in her WIDSIOPOSA book during Kelly’s live broadcast and carried those reflections deeper into 1 Corinthians 13. I love the way she turned each part into a personal declaration. Her humility and vulnerability are evident in every line. And I’m forever a fan of her decorative stitched details and bright floral clusters.

Sydney (@aredeemedrose) paired her Knowledge notes with the prettiest reflection page in her disc journal. Those pink backgrounds and ticket strips were inspired. I loved how she turned straight to Scripture, reminding us that the ultimate measure of Love in Action is already laid out for us in God-breathed pages.

If we lived this kind of love out loud, marriages would soften. Friendships would deepen. Churches would change. Communities would heal.

That’s not sentimental. That’s Scriptural.

Grab your copy of Love In Action in the Print & Pray Shop and start practicing the kind of love that transforms.