life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Habits”
timing is everything
Midnight poem
The clock has crossed the finish line
of yesterday
and begun a new day.
This very minute.
I begin this day in the darkness,
adjusting to the new date.
September is passing quickly
and I am ready for coming changes.
Filling time which has too many empty spaces,
I wait for new reinforcements
and for calls that are coming,
but haven’t yet.
Patience and practice makes perfect
timing is all about patience
I’m getting better at my virtues –
I’ve had a lot of practice.
AL 9/17/13
every choice matters…one small step at a time
Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.
Every little bit helps.
“Little by little, the bird builds its nest.”
joy dare
She whispers it, “God does loves us, doesn’t He, Mama?”
And I nod and this is always the question and maybe this is all our faith really is — Faith is this unwavering trust in the heart of God in the hurt of here. Unwavering trust all the time though I don’t understand all the time.
God is always good and we are always loved.
Loved enough to be shaped into goodness of Christ Himself.
– Ann Voskamp
A Holy Experience
http://www.aholyexperience.com
Follow this link to find out more about Ann Voskamp and take the Joy Dare! Free monthly printables available. http://www.aholyexperience.com/joy-dares/
what about now?
I didn’t write a poem yesterday
The third day I have missed writing at least one poem,
for the past 8 months.
There were many moments I could have captured –
But I didn’t.
moments of grace,
moments of failed attempts at grace,
moments of beauty,
moments of ordinary life,
in an ordinary day,
disgusting moments of clean up,
moments of peace watching the breeze sway the trees,
moments of aggravation trying to feed an old dog pills,
unexpected treasures of a cool wind at noon in July,
and unexpected hardships walking from the grocery store overloaded with bags.
There were lovely moments of frosting cupcakes with fresh buttercream,
moments of friendship, shared laughter and food,
hard moments of garbled, angry speech,
blissful moments of holding new baby, Eli –
that was definitely a poetic moment!
There were painful moments of looking at a very ill face,
winning moments as the Mets beat the Braves.
all these moments,
and so many more
each a gift I received,
each a story to be shared with humanity.
Such are the moments of our lives,
our stories to scribe on our hearts and on paper.
So many miracles to notice,
to acknowledge,
to record.
So many ways to write a poem –
and I chose none of them
AL 7/26/13
habits of gratitude
Breathe. It’s how life works. It’s the way beauty is always born —
Breathe in: Lord, I receive what you give.
Breathe out: Lord, I give thanks for what you give.
You don’t get to demand your life, like a given. You get to receive your life, like a gift.
You don’t get to make up your story; you get to make peace with it.
This is how you labor through a life, how you make it grace
– Ann Voskamp
A Holy Experience
http://www.aholyexperience.com
It seems,
as we age,
we become more of what we practice living.
when dementia or Alzheimer’s begin,
we lose our ability to remember.
important pieces fall out of our knowing,
and we become our habits
I have been told, the skills that last the longest
are those habits we have learned so well
we don’t think about doing them,
they are a part of us instinctively:
folding laundry,
washing dishes,
walking.
these are the last things that we forget.
our attitudes reflect who we have been.
I have been caregiving someone with advanced dementia.
it is difficult to watch. 
it is painful to experience.
I seek to understand my own living better by witnessing this.
I am learning much.
Recently I have been reminded of something extremely important:
We become what we practice.
gratitude is a practice.
a practice I want to develop,
so that if I ever forget other things,
gratitude will be incorporated,
so fully into my living,
that it is part of my dna.
that it is my most ingrained habit.
I want to wrap my living so deeply in gratitude right now,
that if I lose everything else,
if I forget my own name,
I will still not forget my riches.
I will still be aware of my great blessings,
I will still remember to say,
‘thank you’.
if I forget words,
I will still breathe
gratitude.
if I forget how to walk,
my eyes will still
carry the light
of grace.
Nothing is worth more than this day, because
it is the day I have been given to practice,
to acknowledge all the blessings,
this is the gift I have been given,
this one precious life.
AL 7/26/13
the world needs kindness
After yesterday’s Boston Marathon bombings, people around the world are praying for this city, and the people affected by the violence. But don’t stop there: pray for the whole world. After all, it’s really the world’s marathon. I’ve been there near the finish line, surrounded by people of every nation. As the winner runs by, a crowd breaks out in the national anthem—of Kenya. I’m sure you noticed all the international flags in the news videos. It’s the whole world’s race. And today we’re a part of the whole world’s pain. We share the trauma and grief that much of the world lives in every day. This is not Boston’s unique pain. It is everyone’s. Pray for the the healing of the world.
People say, “Be strong.” We will, yes, we will. But the world does not need strength. What the world needs is kindness. The world needs people who have the courage to be gentle, even when those around them are full of rage and despair and violence, who refuse to join the world’s bitterness. The world needs people who choose love over fear. That’s the only thing that will actually change the world.
It’s not easy. Love is not quick, and does not produce immediate results. It’s a marathon. It takes dedication and training and a lot of commitment. It’s not for the faint-hearted. As Gandhi said, if you are too cowardly to be nonviolent, by all means take up arms to fight for justice. Love takes guts. It takes faith, confidence that a greater love is at work even when we cannot see it. And it takes patience, like a marathon — the willingness to go the distance, to keep at it when your body cries, “Quit!,” when your mind thinks of better things to do, when pain and weariness make you want to give up —it takes guts to keep going anyway. The Via Dolorsa is the toughest race. To share in the world’s pain and sadness, and still keep up hope and love — that is the world’s oldest marathon. The good news that we do not run alone. Nor do we run on our own energy: we are moved by the desire of God for the healing of the world.
Pray for those who are in pain today. Pray for the world, and for each of us, for the spirit of peace, for the courage to love in the face of fear and be gentle in the face of violence, for the guts to be part of the mending of the world. Pray for those who are hurting, for those who are afraid, for those who are in sorrow. Pray for all of us, that we may make gentle this wounded world. Even now the Lamb of God is moving among us, never giving up, keeping on with unflagging love and tenderness. Take heart, breathe deeply, and keep going.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net
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