life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “determination”

20 Dec 2015

following 

 

 On this day of your life I believe God wants you to know… 

…that there is a solution. There is. But you must keep

going to find it. You cannot stop, you cannot give up. 
This is about more than just patience. This is about 

more than just persistence. This is about absolute 

knowing that God is on your side. 

  

When you know this, you never give up…and the 

sense of struggle goes away. You simply keep moving 

forward knowing that, in the end, all will work out. 

And that along the way there will be great insights 

and wonderful remembering. 

🎇

   – Neale Donald Walsh

   
God Path with Robin OK 12/17/15

🌌

 I won’t wish this pain away 

I’ll just trust You and obey

won’t search for treasure on this ground 

Cause in You my wealth is found 

I know this is right where I should be 

I will wait for Your light to shine in me 

I will praise You every day 

I am Yours 

Beloved for eternity 
Whatever will bring You glory 

Whatever will magnify Your name 

Whatever will bring You glory 

Whatever, my life is not the same 
Whatever will show you’re holy 

Whatever I do is for Your praise 

Whatever to tell my story 

Whatever, my heart will sing Your grace

🌅

AL

🌋

Written on 11/22/13 at French Park in Cincinnati (first pic) Day before following God’s call to go to Louisville. $40 and no place to stay. I lived in my car for several weeks. ❤️ Miracles and adventures abounded….

Posted in action, Adventure, Alone, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Choice, commitment, courage, determination, Faith, find art at pinterest, healing, home, Letting Go, Life, Love, soul and spirit, strength, Trust, truth, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
13 Dec 2015

Wo)Men with courage do not always slay dragons, sometimes they ride them…

 

 Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we would had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.
   – Joseph Campbell
 

 Security is a funny thing. We long for it, but it is all too often an illusion, one that covers over our authentic path, one we pay the ultimate price for. Security is a sick-cure for what ails us on the deepest levels. What we really long for is a life that is infused with purpose and connection. I know many people who promised themselves that they would live their ‘real-life’ after retiring from the quest for security. When they arrived ‘there’, they were either entirely exhausted from decades of falsity, or they had forgotten the ‘real-life’ that called them. This is what happens when we bury our precious life below mountains of obligation and distraction. We can’t get out from under them. We are only here for the blink of an eye. Better to substitute the illusion of sick-cure-ity for something authentic and alive. Better to find safety in the heart of a life deeply lived. Better to live true. 
      – Jeff Brown

 

 On this day of your life I believe God wants you to know… 

…that safety is not the thing you should look for in the

future. Joy is what you should look for.
Security and joy may not come in the same package.

They can…but they also cannot.

There is no guarantee.

 

If your primary concern is a guarantee of security,

you may never experience the truest joys of life.

This is not a suggestion that you become reckless,

but it is an invitation to at least become daring.

 

  – Neale Donald Walsh

  
TRUST THE PROMISE
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

 And out you stepped onto new ground,

 Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

 A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear

 You can trust the promise of this opening;

 Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

 That is at one with your life’s desire. 
Awaken your spirit to adventure;

 Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

 Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

 For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

   – John O’Donohue 

  

Posted in action, Adventure, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Choice, commitment, courage, determination, find art at pinterest, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Passion, soul and spirit, strength, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
12 Dec 2015

slowly 

 

 walking by faith
expecting miracles 

we rely on things to come

we hope in what is not seen

we stand on invisible ground

fly without evidence of our wings

we fight battle with foes from another dimension

we teach without seeing the whole vision

we trust what we cannot see with our eyes

we walk on 

knowing, 

for sure, 

we are going the right way

directed by the silence

in bright, beautiful pathways of grace

and dark, eerie forests of fog

somedays we are surrounded 

others we seem to walk alone

no matter

we walk on

slowly, surely

enjoying the view

or we sit and wait

relying on radical trust

we learn the virtues by living 

because we have learned

what we could never learn

by our own understanding 

faith is the victory

everything is grace

🌳 

AL

   
    
 
photos by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT

🌳

Hope is with you when you believe 

The earth is not a dream but living flesh, 

That sight, touch, and hearing do not lie, 

That all things you have ever seen here 

Are like a garden looked at from a gate. 
You cannot enter. But you’re sure it’s there. 

Could we but look more clearly and wisely 

We might discover somewhere in the garden 

A strange new flower and an unnamed star. 
Some people say we should not trust our eyes, 

That there is nothing, just a seeming, 

These are the ones who have no hope. 

They think that the moment we turn away, 

The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist, 

As if snatched up by the hands of thieves. 

🌳

Hope by Czeslaw Milosz

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, beloved, commitment, determination, Faith, home, Letting Go, Life | Leave a comment
03 Dec 2015

timing be everything…just wait and see  

 

 walking while waiting…not holding onto the breath…finding the shallow end of the pool, gliding full body under the water…raising expectations while others wonder , slightly wandering , forgetting to remember is not an option while the day is so bright…finding fashion foolishly delightful, while taking ones shoes off …holy hours become …earth and flesh blown open , .birthing beyond time and space, then settling into the sunroom for hot peach tea and a tiny croissant…such a simple remedy while walking and waiting…
Beauty,

Donna Knutson

   
    
    
  

  
 

Posted in attitude, awareness, beloved, Blessing, Change, Choice, commitment, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, nature, Patience, soul and spirit, strength, touch, Trust, truth, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
01 Dec 2015

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.           ― Babe Ruth 

 

  

 

   

Never. Never. Never Quit. 

    – Winston Churchill 

  
 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Choice, commitment, compassion, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, Habits, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Patience | Leave a comment
30 Nov 2015

decisions determine destiny 

 

Today I want to feel my way 

into a familiar name 

for the One who holds us all:

a name of endearment,

like the names lovers use in the tangled sheets

a name that ripples through sunlight and tears.

I will listen for that name today, 

Knowing it is the name the Beloved uses to call me.

😍

~Oriah House (c) 2015   My child, don’t be afraid. I am here. I know how hard it is to feel, sometimes. This moment, I know, is difficult to let yourself feel. Don’t hold back. Don’t protect yourself from feeling, your emotions this way and that. This is a gift from Me, the way your heart swings from high to low. I am the constant one. I keep you still. 

 

There are things you will have to face now. I know you want to bury your head, and I let you do that, your head buried on my chest. But know when you lift your head, I will be there to help you to rise. And you will rise, and your feet will find firm footing, and you will square your shoulders and take one step forward, and then another, and you will find you know your way.

 

There is much ahead, and the path does not always seem clear. But I help you to rise. I go ahead, and I help you to rise. And when you stumble, I will help you to stand again. And when you are scared, I will firm your trembling lip and I will navigate you through the storm of emotions and I will quiet your quivering heart.

 

You are fierce and gentle. You are beautiful and strong. You are chosen and delighted in. You are all I’ve made you to be. I took everything from you that has kept you from rising. I have taken everything that makes you feel small and unsure and hesitant. 

 

You can go forward, to the places I lead you. And you will know who you are. My child, the one who knows your Father, the one who knows your own name.

😍

loop

http://www.gatherministries.com/loop/?utm_source=Loop+Devotional&utm_campaign=8f1130a969-Loop_69_Time_For_You_To_Rise10_5_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a7b9cec9e0-8f1130a969-100590649

  
    
    
   
You are loved. Always and forever. 

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Change, Choice, connection, courage, dark, determination, find art at pinterest, forgiveness, Gospel, grace, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Passion, Prayer, Relationships | Leave a comment
26 Nov 2015

choices…every day give thanks 

 

          
God of Love,

in a world great with darkness

I drink your light. 
In a world of violence

I soften my heart.
In a world of fear

I deepen my breath.
In a word of grief

I enlarge my embrace.
In a world of shouting

I open my roots.
In a world of fragments

I let myself belong.
In a world of walls

I go out into the streets:
I bear you to those

who are mad with hunger for you. 
In a world of fissures

I return to you,

always to you.
__________________ 

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

   
Wanna build a new life? 

It happens one day…one choice… at a time.  You CAN do hard things. You can make the right choices for yourself. 

Take responsibility. Gain your whole world. Self respect comes only this way. It’s so worth it!!! xo

  

Posted in awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Change, Choice, commitment, determination, do, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, Reality, Reflection, Relationships | Leave a comment
24 Nov 2015

it was bouncing around in my brain this morning   – Linda Clark

  
Getting it Right—Write!

I have a notion

I must confess

A notion you see

That has me quite obsessed
It sits in my head 

both day and night

it haunts my dreams

and gives me great fright
It rules my thoughts

this little notion

stirring up doubts

and causing a commotion
It wiggles and niggles

in my brain

with a feverish pitch

it drives me insane
This obsession you ask

what could it be?

My obsession is a task

I seek endlessly!
To get it right

To do my best

To show I’m bright

I can pass the test
This feeling to get it right

Is ever so strong

I work day and night

To not get it wrong
I was given great insight

About this “getting it right”

I just learned recently

A truth that has finally set me free
It’s not it at all

about getting it right.

It’s about happiness and light

and letting your soul shine bright
No have to’s

No pressure

No should’s

Did me a world of good!
So no longer will I labor

to get it right 

I will do my best

to give it a rest! 
So In my chair I sit and write

No longer will I yearn

or worry with concern

it’s quite easy once when you learn
I will change my mantra

and simply ignore

those three little words

I was obsessed with before
What’s my new mantra

you might ask

I’ve changed my word

just a small task
I am no longer worried

about that word right

I will feed my soul

and simply WRITE!! 

🌀

Linda Clark

   

  

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
 Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,

 Transforming our broken fragments

 Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
Somewhere in us a dignity presides

 That is more gracious than the smallness

 That fuels us with fear and force,

 A dignity that trusts the form a day takes. 
So at the end of this day, we give thanks

 For being betrothed to the unknown

 And for the secret work

 Through which the mind of the day

 And wisdom of the soul become one. 

🔹

John O’Donohue
 

 
http://www.creativesoulsart.com

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Change, Choice, compassion, confidence, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Gratitude, healing, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Passion, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Proof, soul and spirit, Trust, truth, voice, Vulnerability, words, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
22 Nov 2015

a graceful feeling

   
    
    

 
  Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself.

― C. JoyBell
  
I spent my weekend with my amazing friends, Kitt, Mike, Rebecca and Christian Haberman, in Louisville. 

I sum this powerful time of connection and sharing with this: 

I learned things. Lots of beautiful things. Things I will have with me always. (Happy Sigh) I am so grateful for all of the great people I have in my life. 

I stayed in the room below (Lesley Haberman being all grown up and off in college) and got ready with these messages before me, reminding me, filling my heart. Messages written by a beautiful, teenage girl to remind herself….remember…remember..

💞

Thank you, Lesley, thank you Haberman Family. Love is so very good to us! 

   
  What a beautiful world… 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Choice, commitment, community, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, Freedom, friendship, grace, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, inspiration, Life, Love | Leave a comment
20 Nov 2015

largely speaking 

  
Sweet Darkness
When your eyes are tired

the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone

no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark

where the night has eyes

to recognize its own.
There you can be sure

you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb 

tonight.
The night will give you a horizon

further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds

except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet

confinement of your aloneness

to learn
anything or anyone

that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.

🔥

 – David Whyte

  

  
I sense infinity 

I open myself to the unlimited 

and with that opening 

I glimpse unending love 

I breathe the cold morning air

Absorb the sunlight dancing on the water 

take in the sight of millions of diamonds 

on blue velvet 

and I struggle, 

reaching, to open fully 

to take in this message 

to understand this beauty 

I sit in silence 

I listen in wonder 

I stay in that moment 

for eternity 

it is for eternity 

as I walk home 

I ask my soul’s questions: 

How will I allow God to love me?

How will I allow love to touch me?

☀️

AL     

 

photo by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT 

Posted in action, Adventure, Alone, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Choice, color, dark, determination, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, healing, home, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Relationships | Leave a comment

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