life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Gratitude”
Open My Eyes, Mind & Heart to See The Beauty
God, may the eyes of my heart be enlightened.
May I see today not with the eyes of my fears and desires,
but with the eyes of heaven.
May I see with the eyes of your hope, and your tender love.
May I see your loving presence in all things,
supreme and yet hidden.
May I see the power of resurrection
radiant in every moment.
May I truly see,
with the eyes of my heart
full of your light.
Amen.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Going Over
You have burned your bridges.
You have passed through the gate
marked “no return”
And for you there is no going back
No going back to the security of
the known, familiar house,
To the well-worn dispensations
and the threadbare coverings.
Now you are out there in uncharted
territory
heavy with threat and shadows not
yet entered.
The risks are high, and yet you
strike out boldly,
Guided only by unwavering conviction
And the longing for the true centre
of the land.
This is what it means to do a new
thing.
So, you travel lightly.
You are abandoned, given up in all
things
To the task that lies ahead.
Therefore, you may be exactly who
you are.
You have inhabited yourself,
You are at home,
And home is where you are,
Even if it is the desert.
No one can dispossess you of your own in-dwelling.
This is what it means to be free.
We stand, one foot upon the bridge,
Wondering if we too have the courage to go over
And strike the match behind us.
Kathy Galloway. The Dream of Learning our True Name.
Used with permission
Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. – unknown
I started out on a broken road many years ago…my heart was shattered in millions of pieces and I had no idea if it would ever heal, if my life would ever be even a little bit ok. The only thing I had going for me was faith and determination.
As I plunged into years of extreme loss, poverty, hardship, homelessness, abuse, unequal relationships and pain, I knew God could mend my brokenness and use me for His glory – no matter what kind of a mess I was – I knew God was bigger! I would keep going and die in the battle if need be, but I would not stop believing, trying or ever give up the fight for good! I had seen the effect of bitterness, anger and victimhood could do in people’s lives and I rejected that in my life. I am very determined to keep those things out of my life – I had no idea how much a full-time and difficult job this would be, but I know it is the right way, because it always leads me to peace and joy. Keeping my heart open and being vulnerable is still a huge, and one of the most important challenges I/we face today. I believe it is a battle that must continue to be fought if we are to make any changes in our world.
In order for me to accomplish what I set out to do I found myself pursuing goodness…actively and passionately..every day – all day. I would look for good, look for kindness, look for miracles to get me through to the next moment. I would put my broken heart and dreams – my very life-blood that I was helpless to rescue, into God’s plan and hands (sometimes over and over for days) and I would seek God – I filled my senses with nature, with music, with art, with the words, and quotes, of people who had also walked a broken path to achieve healing themselves, and I would struggle to give true thanks in every circumstance for the wisdom, life-lessons and the hands of my great creator, God, who was so obviously present with me. The glimpses of His glory have allowed me to see how little I truly know and have made my faith ever more passionate and real.
With my eyes open – I see the miracles so clearly and I have wondered many times why it took me so long to begin living this way??? As the years have added up, my faith has become true and I have found the most joyous intimacy with my friend, Jesus, by living his words (Matthew 5-7) in ways I could never have known any other way.
I truly believe that seeking for the good, every minute of every day, and being thankful – right in the middle of every circumstance – from the most grueling – to the most fun – is the only way to realize who we are in this world. Not saying it’s easy – just saying it is worth it!!!! We are each a beloved masterpiece of God – given all good things to enjoy – every day there are so many good things – don’t let anything distract you from seeing them and giving thanks!
;
What really matters in life is not what we buy, but what we
build; not what we have, but what we share with the world; not our capability but our character; and not our success but our true significance. Live a life that makes you proud – one that matters and makes a difference. Live a life filled with passion and love.
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Read full post: 20 Bad Habits Holding Good People Back
http://www.marcandangel.com/
Finding a Box of Family Letters
by Dana Gioia
The dead say little in their letters
they haven’t said before.
We find no secrets, and yet
how different every sentence sounds
heard across the years.
My father breaks my heart
simply by being so young and handsome.
He’s half my age, with jet-black hair.
Look at him in his navy uniform
grinning beside his dive-bomber.
Come back, Dad! I want to shout.
He says he misses all of us
(though I haven’t yet been born).
He writes from places I never knew he saw,
and everyone he mentions now is dead.
There is a large, long photograph
curled like a diploma—a banquet sixty years ago.
My parents sit uncomfortably
among tables of dark-suited strangers.
The mildewed paper reeks of regret.
I wonder what song the band was playing,
just out of frame, as the photographer
arranged your smiles. A waltz? A foxtrot?
Get out there on the floor and dance!
You don’t have forever.
What does it cost to send a postcard
to the underworld? I’ll buy
a penny stamp from World War II
and mail it downtown at the old post office
just as the courthouse clock strikes twelve.
Surely the ghost of some postal worker
still makes his nightly rounds, his routine
too tedious for him to notice when it ended.
He works so slowly he moves back in time
carrying our dead letters to their lost addresses.
It’s silly to get sentimental.
The dead have moved on. So should we.
But isn’t it equally simpleminded to miss
the special expertise of the departed
in clarifying our long-term plans?
They never let us forget that the line
between them and us is only temporary.
Get out there and dance! the letters shout
adding, Love always. Can’t wait to get home!
And soon we will be. See you there.
from Pity the Beautiful. © Graywolf Press, 2012.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
Why walking in faith is our calling
I believe God wants you to know…
…that everything is falling together perfectly, even
though it looks as if some things are falling apart.
Trust in the process you are now experiencing. Life
is on your side. It is showing that to you now, though
you may not be able to see it clearly at this time.
You have made your wishes and dreams known to
God. Now comes the time for faith. Faith that all
is right, right now. Tomorrow will reveal itself exactly
as it should.
– Neale Donald Walsh
http://www.nealedonaldwalsch.com/index.php?p=Home
I Surrender All
When we pray for God our shepherd to lead us, we usually have green pastures in mind. But when Peter and James healed a paralytic, preached to the crowd, and testified to the authorities who arrested them, they didn’t do this out of their own personal desire; they did it because God led them to. God didn’t exactly lead them beside still waters.
Our lives are richest in blessing, peace and vibrancy when we live not according to our own impulses, but in harmony with God’s grace. Whether it is toward peaceful rest or challenging action, God leads us from within, guiding, nudging, sometimes compelling us, and leads us from without, alluring, beckoning, pleading, needing us. We much prefer going our own way, of course―so we do what we can to ignore God’s shepherding. One way is to believe that God is on our side, so that we don’t feel the need to listen to God. We already know. Another way is to limit our faith to ideas, so that we can “believe” without actually acting. Another escape is to be busy, so that we believe we can’t afford to slow down as much as is needed to listen to God. Many believers are so sure and busy that if God really is a shepherd, they’re atheists.
You will not likely know God’s will for your life by pushing hard. You’re more likely to find out by listening for the voice of your shepherd and following. Whether you feel the need to stand up and act or lie down and rest, let God shepherd you. Let the Spirit within you and in others speak to you. Let God’s “rod and staff” gently lead you. Rather than deciding where you ought to be, discern where your shepherd is, and be there. Renounce all your ideas of where God ought to lead you. Let the shepherd decide. In stillness, listen. In openness, wait to hear. In humble trust, resolve to follow the shepherd before you know where he’s going.
Don’t resist when the shepherd leads you either to pastures greener than you think you deserve or valleys darker than you think you can handle. If you are with your shepherd, you are in the right place. You are in “the house of the Lord.” Listen, trust and follow. And don’t worry about saving the world. That’s God’s job. Neither shrink back in despair nor run ahead on your own; just stay with the shepherd. Just show up and take your place in the flock, where God needs you. Surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.
_____________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Used with permission
life: acoustic & amplified 