life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Habits”

timing is all about patience

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Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13

Can you wait for the mud to settle?
Challenging words from Lao Tzu
Can you wait?
Having done all you can,
can you simply stand?
Waiting for the timing that is not your own.
Waiting for THE way,
not just A way,
not just my way.
Patience is a virtue.
Virtues are HARD!
All I can do is
keep letting go
over and over
with shaky hands and heart
into the bigger mystery
into the arms of love and intimacy
into the uncertainty of faith
into the rest of sure promise
Having done all I can by grace alone
now I stand,
and ask for the grace
to wait for You.
Not my will,
Thine be done.

AL 3/26/13

day 4

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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

important reminder list

1The most destructive habit……………………….Worry
The greatest Joy……………………………….Giving
The greatest loss………………….Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work…………………Helping others
The ugliest personality trait……………….Selfishness
The greatest “shot in the arm”…………….Encouragement
The deadliest weapon………………………..The tongue
The two most power-filled words…………………”I Can”
The greatest asset………………………………Faith
The most worthless emotion……………………Self-pity
The most beautiful attire……………………….SMILE!
The most prized possession…………………..Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication……….Prayer
The most contagious spirit………………….Enthusiasm
The most important thing in life…………………..GOD
The greatest problem to overcome………………….Fear
The most effective sleeping pill………….Peace of Mind
The most crippling failure disease……………..Excuses
The most powerful force in life…………………..Love
The most dangerous pariah…………………..A gossiper
The world’s most incredible computer………….The brain
The worst thing to be without…………………….Hope
– Unknown

http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/

let hope rise and darkness tremble – hillsong

A crisis is a gift, an opportunity, and perhaps a manifestation that life loves us,
by beckoning us to go beyond the dance we presently perform.
– Leslie Lebeau
7

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on te wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say,
“Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
– Psalm 139:7-12

Yes! When the light of hope comes, darkness has no place!!!!
11 healing

wishing you a lovely day

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Heart and Mind

It is important to make decisions from a place of balance in your life by taking a breath and checking in with heart and mind.

Each of the myriad decisions we make every day has the potential to have a deep impact on our lives. Some choices touch us to our very cores, awakening poignant feelings within us. Others seem at first to be simple but prove to be confusingly complex. We make the best decisions when we approach the decision-making process from a balanced emotional and intellectual foundation. When we have achieved equilibrium in our hearts and in our minds, we can clearly see both sides of an issue or alternative. Likewise, we can accept compromise as a natural fact of life. Instead of relying solely on our feelings or our rationality, we utilize both in equal measure, empowering ourselves to come to a life-affirming and balanced conclusion.
Balance within and balance without go hand in hand. When you are called upon to choose between two or more options, whether they are attractive or distasteful, you should understand all you can about the choice ahead of you before moving forward. If you do not come to the decision from a place of balance, you risk making choices that are irrational and overly emotional or are wholly logical and don’t take your feelings into account. In bringing your thoughts and emotions together during the decision-making process, you ensure that you are taking everything possible into account before moving forward. Nothing is left up to chance, and you have ample opportunity to determine which options are in accordance with your values.
Though some major decisions may oblige you to act and react quickly, most will allow you an abundance of time in which to mull over your choices. If you doubt your ability to approach your options in a balanced fashion, take an extended time-out before responding to the decision. This will give you the interlude you need to make certain that your thoughts and feelings are in equilibrium. As you practice achieving balance, you will ultimately reach a state of mind in which you can easily make decisions that honor every aspect of the self.

www.dailyom.com

Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t. ~ Jerry Rice

For the past 5 years I have published a newsletter called Songs from the Valley. I really had no idea how to do it, or what the result would be, I just enjoyed creating the first issue so much I committed to creating it for one year.

The first year was a time of figuring out what this publication would become. In March, of 2008, I featured my first artist, in April, I decided to publish two issues a month. By May, it began to take shape around a subject, rather than putting in random hodge-podge inspiration and in December, I decided that I would continue to create and publish it – that it truly was one of the best things I had ever done in my life. In 2010 I started a website and on March 18, 2011, I started this daily, poetry and quotes blog, to go along with the 2 issues a month.

I have been asked many times how I do it, how I find time. As I look back over the past five years, I see the actions that are reflected in the quote above. I made it happen by living my life in a way that others haven’t. It’s not about me being right or wrong, it’s just about what you want. I want to be all I can be and not aim low. When I started the newsletter, I wanted to create something good that my children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, could find one day, and know who I am, what I loved, how I live my life, what I stood for and what I learned about life. As I look back over the body of work, I am so blessed by how I have spent my time, the hours were well worth the effort! I am extremely grateful for what I have accomplished.

As this year of 2012 comes quickly to a close, I feel the time for something new is happening. It is time for things to shift and I am not sure the newsletter will continue to be the same. There are new things being born, and I feel the end of this particular publication may be ending, to make way for something new and exciting. I am not sure exactly what it will be, as of yet, but I feel things stirring around in my heart, in my imagination. Inspiration is bubbling and brewing and my music is coming to the forefront of this next phase of life upcoming. It is exciting and feels important. I ask for your prayers as I figure these things out and begin to incorporate new areas of discipline into my going, and begin to accomplish my highest calling from a heart of love.

www.songsfromthevalley.com for current issue on Place featuring artist  Beverly Erschell http://www.beverlyerschell.com/

it’s all about today!

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I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison

never stop learning!

faking a rainbow
Have you tried listening with your elbow
When you don’t like the song?
Tried spinning in circles
When you can’t get along?
When you have a bad day
Try stomping and say
“Everything’s crap!”
Then go take a nap
With your head nestled in
Your favorite friend’s lap.
Have you tried singing in thirds
When you don’t know the words?
Tried dancing in dirt
When your feelings get hurt?
Tried hanging from trees
When you can’t feel your heart?
And tried something dumb
When you’ve tried everything smart?
When the clouds have rolled in
And keep you from seeing
Try faking a rainbow
Till it bursts into being.

http://dharmacomics.com/post/34112370772

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