life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “compassion”

3 Prayers

Holy One, Beloved,

by your grace in me,

I shuck off the little desires I wear,

to clothe myself in your deep desires for me.

I release the self I have tried to create

so that you may create me in your image.

May I shed all falsehood

and speak truth to my neighbors.

May all my words be building blocks, not weapons,

gifts of grace for those who long to hear.

May even my anger be loving truth, not bitterness.

May my delight be not in getting, but in sharing.

With you living in me may I be kind,

tenderhearted and forgiving,

as you have forgiven me.

Life-Giver, Heavenly Lover, Flame of my Heart,

I am your beloved child.

May I be your perfect imitation.

May I live in love, as fully as you love me.

I offer myself, as Christ,

a fragrant gift to you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSj31u3urvs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Don’t get bogged down with all the details of how it’s going to come together. Just do the dishes. And watch the momentum build. – Brian J

Here are ten things to do even if others judge you for it:

1.Take care of yourself. – Your relationship with yourself is the closest and most important relationship you will ever have.  If you don’t take good care of yourself, then you can’t take good care of others either; which is why taking care of yourself is the best selfish thing you can do.  Read The Mastery of Love.

2.Do what you know is right, for YOU. – Don’t be scared to walk alone, and don’t be scared to like it.  Don’t let anyone’s ignorance, drama, or negativity stop you from being the best you can be.  Keep doing what you know in your heart is right, for you.  Because when you are totally at peace within yourself, nothing can shake you.

3.Follow your own unique path. – Every new day is a chance to change your life.  Work on making life all that you want it to be.  Work hard for what you believe, and keep your dreams big and your worries small.  You never need to carry more than you can hold; just take it one day at a time.  And while you’re out there making decisions instead of excuses, learning new things, and getting closer and closer to your goals, know that there are others out there, like me, who admire your efforts and are striving for greatness too.

4.Lock yourself away from the world and work on your goals. – Dream big dreams, but realize that short term, realistic goals are the key to success.  Success is directly connected with daily action.  The way we spend our time defines who we are.  Successful people keep moving, by doing small things every day that bring them a couple steps closer to their dream.  They make mistakes along the way, but they don’t quit – they learn and press on.  Read Getting Things Done.

5.Adjust your goals and dreams as life changes. – A great deal of pain in life comes from having a specific dream that you’ve fallen in love with, and when it doesn’t work out exactly as planned, you become angry that you now have to pursue a different path.  If you want to tame your inner demons and make the most of life, you must not become rigidly attached to just one specific dream, and remain open to there being an even better, equally as happy path ahead.  Life is unpredictable, but it provides plenty of opportunities to make dreams come true.  Just don’t forget that sometimes taking a positive step forward requires you to slightly adjust your dreams, or plan new ones – it’s OK to change your mind or have more than one dream.

6.Forgive those who have wronged you. – Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.  Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong and wise.  Forgiveness allows you to focus on the future without combating the past.  To understand the potential of everything going forward is to forgive everything already behind you.  Without forgiveness, wounds can never be healed, and moving on can never be accomplished.  What happened in the past is just one chapter.  Don’t close the book, just turn the page.

7.Show everyone your love and kindness. – If you are reserving your love only for those who you have decided are worthy of it – all strangers excluded – it may come as a surprise to learn that this is not love at all, it is called judgment.  Judgment is selective, love is all embracing.  Just as the sunlight and the wind do not discriminate, true love does not make any such distinctions either.  Love and kindness is a way of living.  Where there is love, there is no judgment.  Where there is judgment, there is no love.  Read The 5 Love Languages.

8.Stand up for others, even if it’s the unpopular thing to do. – Sometimes you will say something really small and simple, but it will fit right into an empty space in someone’s heart.  Dare to reach into the darkness, to pull someone else into the light.  Remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others too, and lend a hand when they’re able.

9.Fight through your failures. – When you are feeling down or dealing with failure, don’t be ashamed.  There’s nothing to be ashamed of.  You are going through a difficult time, and you are still pushing forward.  That’s something to be proud of – that you are fighting through it and slowly rising above it.  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

10.Keep your head held high and keep on smiling. – Every day of your life is a page of your history.  The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them.  Don’t cry over the past, cry to get over the past.  Don’t smile to hide the pain, smile to heal the pain.  Don’t think of all the sadness in the world, think of all the beauty that still remains around you.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/08/01/10-things-to-do-even-if-they-judge-you/#more-493

Fear is the thief of dreams – unknown

When nothing is sure, anything is possible.   – Margaret Drabble

think on this…

Who is my neighbor?

“Love your neighbour as yourself” the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38). But who is my neighbor? We often respond to that question by saying: “My neighbours are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the dying, and all who are in need.” But this is not what Jesus says. When Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:29-37) to answer the question “Who is my neighbour?” he ends the by asking: “Which, … do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?” The neighbour, Jesus makes clear, is not the poor man laying on the side of the street, stripped, beaten, and half dead, but the Samaritan who crossed the road, “bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, … lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.” My neighbour is the one who crosses the road for me!

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

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Last week Ann Voskamp, and her son Caleb, were in Haiti for Compassion http://www.compassion.ca/child_list.asp read her blog posts about this experience http://www.aholyexperience.com/ – if you are not moved to action, you must be dead!

Check out the newest issue of my newsletter at www.songsfromthevalley.com – it is a very personal one. At the preent moment, I am in the middle of a big faith walk, so please pray for me today as God calls me to your mind.

I read Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail yesterday and one sentence especially jumped out at me – ‘Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively.’

What are we going to do with our time here? It is always our choice!

speaking with love

Growing into the Truth We Speak

Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying?  If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to permanent silence!  Sometimes we are called to proclaim God’s love even when we are not yet fully able to live it.  Does that mean we are hypocrites?  Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion.  Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions.  But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak.  As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.

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

words are very powerful and important

Words Colour Our Behaviour.

Words! They are all around me! I see them. I use them. Harsh words, soothing words, biting words; words that give pain and sorrow; words that give joy and pleasure. They are vital to communication. When words are spoken there are reactions, negative or positive. Either thoughts are triggered or emotions fired or actions performed. Words colour our behaviour. And how lovely it is to hear words that are calm and free from rancour and aggression. To hear words that lift the soul and leave it with renewed vigour. Such words come from always seeing the best in people and situations.

– Unknown

living from the heart of christ

How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us?  Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God.  This idea can make us very self-conscious.  We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God’s presence in their lives.  But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions.

The way God’s Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits:  “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22).  These fruits speak for themselves.  It is therefore always better to raise the question “How can I grow in the Spirit?”  than the question  “How can I make others believe in the Spirit?”

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

 

life is about change…let it flow

Each new step in life is also a leaving, a surrendering of an old reality to move into a new one.

Be grateful for the love that surrounds you, and for the opportunities you have to love. Be mindful of your place in this world, and your connection to people you care about. Never doubt that you are loved, though those who love you may be far away. Spend your love recklessly; it will never be wasted. It is the spending, not the result, that enriches us.

Pay attention to the moment that you’re in. It will pass. It is a transition, not a final destination. Love in this moment. Receive what this moment offers you. Be lovingly attentive to what is, in the present moment. What comes next is full of promise, not the least of which is this: that there will always be more love. Trust this, and let God’s delight fill you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net

So true…

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Latest issue of Songs from the Valley @  www.songsfromthevalley.com

 

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