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Archive for the category “art”

21 Mar 2012

Do you treat YOURSELF as a beloved child of God?

Claiming the Sacredness of Our Being

Are we friends with ourselves? Do we love who we are? These are important questions because we cannot develop good friendships with others unless we have befriended ourselves.

How then do we befriend ourselves? We have to start by acknowledging the truth of ourselves. We are beautiful but also limited, rich but also poor, generous but also worried about our security. Yet beyond all that we are people with souls, sparks of the divine. To acknowledge the truth of ourselves is to claim the sacredness of our being, without fully understanding it. Our deepest being escapes our own mental or emotional grasp. But when we trust that our souls are embraced by a loving God, we can befriend ourselves and reach out to others in loving relationships.

Henri Nouwen
http://www.henrinouwen.org/

Posted in art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, confidence, find art at pinterest, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Life, Love, People, Purpose, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, truth | Leave a comment

20 Mar 2012

Might need this bat for mine…

Batting!

Toward the end of winter I came upon
the Lord on a diamond, batting.

I said, “ Lord, what are you doing?”
“These are your sins,” he said,

as a shadowy figure on the mound
with a vicious arm pitched.

He had no instinct: swung at everything,
even dirtballs. And hit ’em every time.

He had a beautiful swing,
fluid, sure, and joyful.

He hit pitch after pitch, endlessly.
I lost myself, watching.

“Out of the park” he said, his eye
on a nasty looking knuckleball,

and swung like a dancer,
gracefully unwinding. Chock!

It rose up over the fence, over the trees,
released from all earthly bonds,

floating free until it disappeared,
infinitely gone, still rising.

He watched it go, as if
he’d never seen such a beautiful thing.

“I love this game,” he grinned,
and set for another pitch.

I think he was honestly
pleased with himself.

______________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Used With Permission
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

happy spring training baseball people!

Posted in art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, confidence, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Habits, Happiness, Hope, Imagine, inspiration, Joy, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Reflection, Spring, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, truth | Leave a comment

19 Mar 2012

Inspiration is everywhere…keep your eyes open!

Posted in Adventure, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Choice, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, fun, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, music, People, strength, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, truth | Leave a comment

11 Mar 2012

1 Comment

Nature: the beautiful artwork of God

Posted in art, beauty, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, Life, light, Miracles, nature, Prayer, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability

06 Mar 2012

Beauty and Inspiration from Ann Voskamp’s amazing pen!

Do not let anything keep you –

not anything —

from flinging out of that sagging comfort zone,

and right into the streets, eyes and mouth full of His wonder,

to pant it in the marketplace

the back alleys, the front fields,

across the crackling wires

that you have seen Him, yes — you have seen the light —

and with these very eyes,

and you hear it even now,

how the rocks cry out

and you cry too, this stammering it

into every willing ear

that you opened your eyes one day and ran right into all His glory

and He saves and He kisses wounds and He serenades

and Beauty has branded you,

marked you with awe

and awe is why you grab the pen, and Beauty is why you scratch it down,

and all His lighting glory is why you muzzle the voices that say

you can’t or shouldn’t or mustn’t,

because He is your blaze and He is your burn and and you cannot be muzzled because

what can keep you from telling once the eyes have seen?

Could there be anything greater than this,

the bearing witness

to the glory sighting?

Stand and give testimony.

Because this is the holy, blazing thing:

you cannot

not.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Posted in Adventure, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, confidence, courage, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, People, Poetry, thankfulness, time, Today | Leave a comment

03 Mar 2012

I spent about an hour on a blog post this morning titled, Examine What You Tolerate. When I went to publish – it disappeared. The WHOLE thing!!! I was pretty frustrated so I just left it and went to watch a movie! Ha

Now, two hours later, after watching the movie Contagion, which will definietely make you think!!! I have put my loss into perspective. The thoughts I wrote this morning will be coming to you at a moment when I have time to write them again! Meantime, here is the link to the newest newletter – People. www.songsfromthevalley.com

If you don’t have lots of time to read the newsletter today. If you are faced by a frustration, a loss, an obstacle. Remember, it’s your choice how you handle! Process, back up, let it go and give thanks, knowing all things happen as they are supposed to – life is an adventure!!!

Posted in Adventure, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Change, Choice, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Losing, Miracles, Newsletter, Patience, People, Quotes, strength, success, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, Trust | Leave a comment

28 Feb 2012

Truth – via Neale Donald Walsh

Every action is either strong or weak, and when every action is strong we are successful.

Wallace D. Wattles said that, and he was right. You know when the action you take is strong, and you know when it is weak. You can tell in your stomach. Endeavor to take no weak action whatsoever. Run away from it. Reject it. Go for the strong action, the strong choice, every time.

You know, by the way, what is meant by all of this. You have been weak in some of your choices and decisions, and you have been strong. You have been both in your life. But no more, right? Only strong from now on, yes?

And you know exactly why you received this message today.

– Neale Donald Walsh
http://www.nealedonaldwalsch.com/index.php?p=Home

Posted in Adventure, Alone, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Blessing, Blog, Career, Change, Choice, confidence, courage, create, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Hope, Imagine, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, music, Passion, People, Purpose, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability | Leave a comment

27 Feb 2012

1 Comment

Prayer: Pausing to say thanks for what we have in this moment!

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
– Frederick Koenig

Posted in art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Choice, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Life, light, Love, Miracles, Passion, Prayer, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability

26 Feb 2012

1 Comment

I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion – Phil 1:6

Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

So many of us believe who we have been created to be just isn’t good enough. I know the feeling, I understand it fully. I have had it most of my life – I still struggle with it in some areas of my living, which is why I am always aware! I want to be the BEST I can be. I want to reach my highest potential for happiness. I want to be who God created me to be and do what I was created to accomplish!

Someone recently told me that they ‘liked my confidence’. That it gave them ‘hope.’ Somehow it kinda hit me weird, I immediately heard the old voices telling me I was ‘talking too much’, ‘I just wanted attention’, that I was ‘vain’ – I felt like maybe I was being ‘too much’ and I felt myself pull back and not speak as much as I wanted to.

So, of course, I have thought it over for the past few weeks and processed the comment, why I felt that way and, I gotta tell you, the more I ’roll around’ in her comment – the more I am really liking it! Ha! I want people to have hope, I want to be the instrument of hope and peace! My confidence comes from the faithfulness, healing and miracles, which I have experienced over a difficult and broken life! It is not about self confidence – it is Christ-confidence!

I know this is much, much bigger than me! I have confidence because I have discovered the truth of the unconditional love of God! I am beloved, you are beloved! Every soul on earth has this vast value and this beloved status!!!!! Wooo hoooo! Now that’s something important to share!!!!!!!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Maryann Williamson – Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural Speech