life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Quotes”

10 Aug 2012

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

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09 Aug 2012

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible.

And He can do what no other can do.

–          Unknown
Looking at them, Jesus said,

“With people it is impossible, but not with God;

for all things are possible with God.”

Mark 10:27

Maritta Terrell
Thoughts are also posted at:
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/

 

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30 Jul 2012
1 Comment

do not worry…

 

 

 

Matthew 6:25-34

New International Version (NIV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry   about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.   Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor   was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom   and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Change the changeable,

accept the unchangeable,

and remove yourself from the unacceptable.

Denis Waitley

 

Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Then you will be able to know the will of God-

-what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

Romans 12:2

Maritta Terrell
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/

 

Posted in Adventure, Alone, attitude, beauty, Beliefs, beloved, Choice, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Losing, Love, Miracles, nature, People, Quotes, Reflection, Relationships, soul and spirit, strength, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, Trust, worry
26 Jul 2012

…feel it deeply…but don’t get stuck…

Dealing with Disappointment
A Bridge to Acceptance
by Madisyn Taylor

The gift of disappointment is to bring us into reality so we don’t get stuck in the realm of how things might have been.

Whenever we do something in life with an expectation of how we’d like it to turn out, we risk experiencing disappointment. When things don’t go the way we had envisioned, we may feel a range of emotions from slightly let down to depressed or even angry. We might direct our feelings inward toward ourselves, or outward toward other people or the universe in general. Whether we feel disappointed by ourselves, a friend, or life in general, disappointment is always a tough feeling to experience. Still, it is a natural part of life, and there are many ways of dealing with it when we find ourselves in its presence.

As with any feeling, disappointment has come to us for a reason, and we don’t need to fear acknowledging it or feeling it. The more we are able to accept how we are feeling and process it, the sooner we will move into new emotional territory. As we sit down to allow ourselves to feel our disappointment, we might want to write about the experience of being disappointed—the situation that preceded it, what we were hoping would happen, and what did happen. The gift of disappointment is its ability to bring us into alignment with reality so that we don’t get stuck for too long in the realm of how things might have been.

As we consider other disappointments in our life and how we have moved past them, we may even see that in some cases what happened was actually better in the long run than what we had wanted to happen. Disappointment often leaves us feeling deflated with its message that things don’t always turn out the way we want. The beauty of disappointment, though, is that it provides us a bridge to its other side where the acceptance of reality, wisdom, and the energy to begin again can be found.

www.dailyom.com

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22 Jul 2012

guard my heart

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Matt 5:8

Posted in attitude, awareness, Beliefs, beloved, Choice, commitment, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gospel, Gratitude, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, People, Prayer, Quotes, Reflection, Relationships, soul and spirit, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
19 Jul 2012

Wildflowers

Dark and early in your story someone fearful
of your inborn glory took it
and buried it behind your house,
and you, innocently, and wise to save yourself
from their greater wrath,
believed its absence.

It’s not a pompous glory,
insistent on regard, but sure and quiet
as a wildflower’s, asking nothing.

And so you’ve lived—so have we all—
without it, your heart shoveled over
with self-doubt and apology, as if
you have no place or voice here
among angels.

We see you in the cripples who flocked
to Jesus, the mute, the paralyzed,
bent over, shut out, gone mad.

And all he meant to say was this:
you shine. You bring a gift
as no one else, and you belong.
Your Word deserves a hearing,
and this world needs your beauty
and your grace. There is no rank
you fall below, no worth you fail to match.
Your shuttering was evil, and God
wants it undone, and wants you whole.

And so she takes you by the hand
and raises you to stand, to walk, to speak.
She listens to your song with joy.
She rains upon the earth
until you are unafraid of your radiance
and all our houses are surrounded by wildflowers.

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

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. – Marianne Williamson

Posted in A Course in Miracles, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, healing, inspiration, Joy, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, soul and spirit, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Trust, truth, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
18 Jul 2012

We are what we continually do – Aristotle

Habits Die Hard

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then…do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.

by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy / simpletruths.com

Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Rest in peace.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

 Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how  they align with life’s principles) are the primary determining factor  for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

 Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and  life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various  roles and relationships in life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

 Prioritize, plan, and execute your week’s tasks based on importance  rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your  desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles  and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

 Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in  your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win”  for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one  person in the situation had gotten his way.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

 Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which  compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and  positive problem solving.

Habit 6: Synergize

 Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to  achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best  performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful  contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a  sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on  exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good  reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.

7 Habits – repost from http://thedailylove.com/

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07 Jul 2012

don’t loose the simple definition: God is love

20120707-091801.jpg

Yes, the people around us, and these lives we lead, are becoming more and more complex. There is no denying that the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place, as we have faster and faster means to get anywhere we want to go. Nothing seems to be very simple, yet at the root of everything in our lives, hearts, world is this one simple need: to feel loved and to give love – to be accepted and acknowledged for who we truly are.

Into that need comes our creator and He wants us to realize this truth: He IS love! We are His beloved! Pure and simple. He makes sure we all know – if we don’t have love, and live love – we have nothing. There is nothing else that is this important. Nothing else that is life changing and world shaking.

Today, sift through all your laters of complexity in your over-stimulated, over-scheduled, uber busy life and ‘turn up the quiet, cause love wants to dance’!

 

Posted in attitude, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Choice, Dancing, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, Growth, Habits, Happiness, inspiration, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, music, People, Quotes, Relationships, soul and spirit, thankfulness, time, Today, truth, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
05 Jul 2012

life is made of days and moments

There are good days and bad days. We all have them. Why do some days flow better than others? We have our routines we follow most of the time, yet some days, things just don’t work. Some days are good hair days and some days we feel like we want to crawl out of our own skin.

It is our challenge to look for the good in our toughest moments. The days of car accidents, heels breaking, broken hearts or broken bodies. There is ALWAYS something good to find – IF we look for it. Our attitude is one of the few things in life we can control, it is the most important tool we have. When we decide we want a happy life – no matter what circumstance we find ourself in – we begin to make the choices that make that possible. A bad day, or moment, is not a bad life – do not let it derail you.

We are here for a limited time. What we do with that time matters. We have no guarantee of another day, or another moment. Ben Franklin said, ‘Do not waste time, for time is the stuff that life is made of.”

What if this moment is your last? How do you want to live it? Ok, do that! Still here? Yay!!! Take a deep breath, say a prayer of thanks and realize you are blessed to get the chance to do it again!

;

Holly Gerth was a guest writer for Ann Voskamp yesterday – http://www.aholyexperience.com/

We’re made of where we’ve been, of who we’ve loved.

I’m standing in an hourglass. We all are.

I grasp each grain of sand for a second, feel it between my toes, tuck some of it into my heart.

Then I let it go with a smile and sigh.

Because that’s what it takes to be ready for the next bit of joy.

Open hands.

Open eyes.

Open hearts.

We all watch the sunset.

————————————

Holley Gerth is the best-selling author of You’re Already Amazing. Check out www.holleygerth.com.

Posted in attitude, Change, Choice, do, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Happy Holiday!, Hope, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, moment, Patience, People, Prayer, Quotes, Relationships, soul and spirit, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, worry | Leave a comment
30 Jun 2012
1 Comment

Spiritual Courage

Courage is connected with taking risks.  Jumping the Grand Canyon on a motorbike, coming over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or crossing the ocean in a rowboat are called courageous acts because people risk their lives by doing these things.  But none of these daredevil acts comes from the centre of our being.  They all come from the desire to test our physical limits and to become famous and popular.

Spiritual courage is something completely different.  It is following the deepest desires of our hearts at the risk of losing fame and popularity.  It asks of us the willingness to lose our temporal lives in order to gain eternal life.

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

 

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, Choice, courage, create, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Peace, People, Prayer, Quotes, Relationships, Respect, soul and spirit, strength, success, thankfulness, Today, Trust, truth

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