life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Blessing”
To live an extraordinary life, you must resist an ordinary approach. – Frank McKinney
What’s your approach?
open my eyes
I walked a mile to school today
In the snow
Uphill both ways
Not my favorite type of snow,
But still beautiful and exciting.
Wind gusts blew me around
Making me fight to keep my ground
Snow spitting in my face
Felt like salt or sand
I pulled my hat down and squinted
As I walked I sang the old hymn
The prayer of my heart
Open my eyes
That I may see
Glimpses of truth you have for me
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready my God
Thy will to see
Open my eyes
Illumine me
Savior divine
When I reached my school,
Branford River,
I grew silent and allowed my soul
To open to the beauty
the wonder
it continued as I walked my return path
returning
I felt again the birds flying above me yesterday
Free falling
Catching the wind
So graceful
and sure
and I realized my fear
the fear I had learned
Fear of falling
All my life
Taught I was clumsy
that I would crash if I tried
That I couldn’t fly
Couldn’t dance
my problem identified as
Not very graceful
What if that was not true?
What if?
I picture myself jumping from an airplane
Soaring like those birds
I float and fly
smoothly and gracefully in my head
then I dance
Gliding across the floor
with the man I love
and am surprised
I enjoy this feeling
of my grace
my freedom
School has been amazing today
You just never know
What you will learn in
God’s life class
3/7/13
blessings of friendship
a blessing for u this night: Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee; God never changeth! Patient endurance attaineth to all things; who God possesseth in nothing is wanting; alone God sufficeth.” I love u and God loves u most. ox.
I am so very, very blessed to have amazing God-given friends! They give me strength. So grateful ❤
friends with benches
The Celtic understanding of friendship finds its inspiration in the sublime notion of the anam cara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul; cara is the word for friend. This friendship is an act of recognition and belonging. When you have an anam cara, your friendship cuts across all convention and category. You are joined in an ancient and eternal way with the friend of your soul.
– John O’Donohue
day 4
the home of hospitality
is not always what we expect.
the heart of the host
not always easy.
the path of the pilgrim
not always smooth and straight.
a lot of angels
seem to be very scruffy.
the best pastures for the beloved sheep
quite often hard to get to.
the best of life
usually comes the hard way.
the heart of giving
has a dark side as well.
choosing the spiritual life
is not the easy way to go.
in this country of fast food
loud, business, greed
and instant everything.
silence, prayer, self discipline
and serving others
are still the way
to love, joy, peace
and true rich happiness.
AL 2/15/13
being gentle
Dressed in Gentleness
Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.
Gentle is the one who does “not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick” (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let’s dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.
– Henri Nouwen
Therefore, those who know themselves can be themselves. – Boyd Bailey
BE YOURSELF
“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.” 1 Samuel 17:38-39
Those who are comfortable in their own skin are content in how the Lord has made them. However, those who strive to be someone they’re not end up frustrated, failing to enjoy authentic living. Saul desired to honor David by giving him his armor that worked well in past battles, but what Saul found effective was not the best plan for David. Yes, wise followers of Christ focus on what aligns with the unique. Therefore, those who know themselves can be themselves.
Are you at peace in how the Lord has prepared you for the challenges you face? Do your words and mannerisms represent the true you, or are you a masquerade of another man or woman? It is ok to learn from others with a track record of integrity, but ask the Spirit to filter their ideas and actions through the grid of how God has made you. The Lord has placed you in this time and place, so be proud of who you are and where you’re from. Be who God made you.
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:26-27
Be yourself at home and your family will feel free to be themselves. Parents and children who laugh and cry together grow closer together. Be yourself at work and pretense will feel uncomfortable in your workplace. Office politics are precluded where people are at peace in their roles and responsibilities. It is in an environment of authenticity that we feel free to be how God has made us. So you can be content in a career that is the best fit for you.
Most of all be yourself in the company of Christ. He will not love you any more than He already does, regardless of what you accomplish or don’t accomplish. You don’t have to prove yourself to God who has already thoroughly accepted you in His son Jesus. Be yourself with your Creator and He will give you insight to be creative for His causes. Clothe yourself in the unique apparel of grace that Almighty God has just for you. He is conforming you into the image of His Son.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Romans 8:29
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the faith and courage to be who You want me to be.
Related Readings: Genesis 1:27; Psalm 106:20; 1 Corinthians 15:29; 1 John 3:2
© 2012 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved.
Wisdom Hunters Resources / A registered 501 c3 ministry
info@mail.wisdomhuntersdevotional.com / http://www.wisdomhunters.com
be yourself – that is enough
Ask a flower in the field: ‘Do you feel useful? After all, you do nothing but produce the same flowers over and over?’
And the flower will answer: ‘I am beautiful, and beauty is my reason for living.’
Ask the river: ‘Do you feel useful given that all you do is to keep flowing in the same direction?’
And the river will answer: ‘I’m not trying to be useful, I’m trying to be a river.’’
Don’t try to be useful. Try to be yourself: that is enough, and that makes all the difference.
Walk neither faster nor slower than your own soul. Because it is your soul that will teach you the usefulness of each step you take.
Sometimes taking part in a great battle
But sometimes you can do that simply by smiling, for no reason, at someone you happen to pass in the street.
Without intending to, you might have saved the life of a complete stranger, who also thought he was useless and might have been ready to kill himself, until a smile gave him new hope and confidence.
Paulo Coelho
Manuscript found in Accra publication dates > http://bit.ly/XZDHqh
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