life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Reality”

We don’t deny the negative, we just put it in the proper context as being miracles for our own growth. – Mastin Kipp

Everything you take for granted is a blessing. Everything you fear is a friend in disguise. Everything you want is a part of you. Everything you hate you hate about yourself. Everything you own does not define you. Everything you feel is the only Truth there is to know.

Everything you wish for is already on its way to you. Everything you think creates your life. Everything you seek for you will find. Everything you resist will stick around. Everything you let go of stays if it’s supposed to. Everything you need is right where you are.

Every time you bless another your bless yourself. Every time you blame another you lose your power. Every time you think you can, you can. Every time you fall you must get up and try again. Every time you cry you’re one tear closer to joy. Every time you ask for forgiveness, all you have to do is forgive yourself.

Everyone you see is your reflection. Everyone you know mirrors you. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to live in joy. Everyone seeks a higher purpose. Everyone breathes the same breath. Everyone needs love to survive. Everyone has a purpose to fulfill.

Everyone’s the same as everyone else. We just get caught up in labels, names, skin color and religion. Everyone’s the same as everyone else. No one wants to feel the pain. Everyone’s the same as everyone else. Everyone is dying for love to remain.
– Jackson Kiddard

Via The Daily Love
www.thedailylove.com

overwhelmed with love

To be peaceful is to be free from expectations and to want nothing from anyone. Take the initiative and be generous. Lead the way and do something. This is the secret to being content in all circumstances.                                                                    – unknown

I am walking through a difficult part of the path right now, and yet it is a really peaceful time as well. The past 22 years have brought me to this moment, and all is well with my soul.

My faith has been tested in the fire and is not a theory! It is real, intimate, living, breathing life in me. The shadow of Jesus, who for so long I could not identify with, has become the true lover of my soul, my best friend, my peace, my joy, my everything. No one can take away what I have experienced in these years, it has been an incredible revelation of God.

I feel I am, once again, at a beginning. It is exciting. It is overwhelming. As I keep letting go, this wave of love is washing over me, and it is truly pure joy. I am overwhelmed with love.

I am on a walk of faith, like others before, and with me in this present moment. I do not see the path ahead as of yet, yet I have great peace because I know the way is there waiting for me as I walk forward into life, purpose, mission, music, community.

I wish I had more to bring, but all I can do is bring a love song which is my desire to obey, even when it’s hard, even when I don’t see the way, or completely understand the why. It really is just my reasonable service for all that God has done for me.

To God alone be the glory!

http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/finding-joy-v/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_-FR-_-08.03.12-_-FJOYmovie-USCAXX-&utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_campaign=FJOYmovie

Don’t get bogged down with all the details of how it’s going to come together. Just do the dishes. And watch the momentum build. – Brian J

Here are ten things to do even if others judge you for it:

1.Take care of yourself. – Your relationship with yourself is the closest and most important relationship you will ever have.  If you don’t take good care of yourself, then you can’t take good care of others either; which is why taking care of yourself is the best selfish thing you can do.  Read The Mastery of Love.

2.Do what you know is right, for YOU. – Don’t be scared to walk alone, and don’t be scared to like it.  Don’t let anyone’s ignorance, drama, or negativity stop you from being the best you can be.  Keep doing what you know in your heart is right, for you.  Because when you are totally at peace within yourself, nothing can shake you.

3.Follow your own unique path. – Every new day is a chance to change your life.  Work on making life all that you want it to be.  Work hard for what you believe, and keep your dreams big and your worries small.  You never need to carry more than you can hold; just take it one day at a time.  And while you’re out there making decisions instead of excuses, learning new things, and getting closer and closer to your goals, know that there are others out there, like me, who admire your efforts and are striving for greatness too.

4.Lock yourself away from the world and work on your goals. – Dream big dreams, but realize that short term, realistic goals are the key to success.  Success is directly connected with daily action.  The way we spend our time defines who we are.  Successful people keep moving, by doing small things every day that bring them a couple steps closer to their dream.  They make mistakes along the way, but they don’t quit – they learn and press on.  Read Getting Things Done.

5.Adjust your goals and dreams as life changes. – A great deal of pain in life comes from having a specific dream that you’ve fallen in love with, and when it doesn’t work out exactly as planned, you become angry that you now have to pursue a different path.  If you want to tame your inner demons and make the most of life, you must not become rigidly attached to just one specific dream, and remain open to there being an even better, equally as happy path ahead.  Life is unpredictable, but it provides plenty of opportunities to make dreams come true.  Just don’t forget that sometimes taking a positive step forward requires you to slightly adjust your dreams, or plan new ones – it’s OK to change your mind or have more than one dream.

6.Forgive those who have wronged you. – Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.  Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong and wise.  Forgiveness allows you to focus on the future without combating the past.  To understand the potential of everything going forward is to forgive everything already behind you.  Without forgiveness, wounds can never be healed, and moving on can never be accomplished.  What happened in the past is just one chapter.  Don’t close the book, just turn the page.

7.Show everyone your love and kindness. – If you are reserving your love only for those who you have decided are worthy of it – all strangers excluded – it may come as a surprise to learn that this is not love at all, it is called judgment.  Judgment is selective, love is all embracing.  Just as the sunlight and the wind do not discriminate, true love does not make any such distinctions either.  Love and kindness is a way of living.  Where there is love, there is no judgment.  Where there is judgment, there is no love.  Read The 5 Love Languages.

8.Stand up for others, even if it’s the unpopular thing to do. – Sometimes you will say something really small and simple, but it will fit right into an empty space in someone’s heart.  Dare to reach into the darkness, to pull someone else into the light.  Remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others too, and lend a hand when they’re able.

9.Fight through your failures. – When you are feeling down or dealing with failure, don’t be ashamed.  There’s nothing to be ashamed of.  You are going through a difficult time, and you are still pushing forward.  That’s something to be proud of – that you are fighting through it and slowly rising above it.  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

10.Keep your head held high and keep on smiling. – Every day of your life is a page of your history.  The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them.  Don’t cry over the past, cry to get over the past.  Don’t smile to hide the pain, smile to heal the pain.  Don’t think of all the sadness in the world, think of all the beauty that still remains around you.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/08/01/10-things-to-do-even-if-they-judge-you/#more-493

as much as we want

I don’t want you to get all A’s in life. I want you to get life. I want you to get God. A.W. Tozer said that you can have as much of God as you want.

It’s wild to think about that: How much of God do you really want? How happy do you really want to be? Why would you avoid Him and all your joy — when you could hunger for Him and have as much happiness as you want?

Ann Voskamp/July 10, 12
http://www.aholyexperience.com

——————————————————————————————

The sun rose this morning
with more light than you know what to do with.
More beautiful green living things
reach out to you
than you’ll ever have time to consider.
More birds sing to you than you’ll ever listen to.

Immeasurable grace
is poured out upon you,
splashing,
most of it rivering down your legs
and into the floorboards.

More of what you need to carry on
is secreted into your heart than you believe.
There is hope enough folded into this world.

Of forgiveness and tender delight
you are given more
than you can ever use or comprehend.

Of the darkest mystery,
dense with love
like the billioning stars,
you are given so much more,
even in your bleakest droughts,
your dustiest griefs and desolations,
than you can know.

And of you yourself,
given with confidence to this effulgent universe,
there is so much more than you can see,
so much more.

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

Who is my neighbor?

“Love your neighbour as yourself” the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38). But who is my neighbor? We often respond to that question by saying: “My neighbours are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the dying, and all who are in need.” But this is not what Jesus says. When Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:29-37) to answer the question “Who is my neighbour?” he ends the by asking: “Which, … do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?” The neighbour, Jesus makes clear, is not the poor man laying on the side of the street, stripped, beaten, and half dead, but the Samaritan who crossed the road, “bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, … lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.” My neighbour is the one who crosses the road for me!

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

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Last week Ann Voskamp, and her son Caleb, were in Haiti for Compassion http://www.compassion.ca/child_list.asp read her blog posts about this experience http://www.aholyexperience.com/ – if you are not moved to action, you must be dead!

Check out the newest issue of my newsletter at www.songsfromthevalley.com – it is a very personal one. At the preent moment, I am in the middle of a big faith walk, so please pray for me today as God calls me to your mind.

I read Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail yesterday and one sentence especially jumped out at me – ‘Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively.’

What are we going to do with our time here? It is always our choice!

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

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/

the truth about living in love

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Love ALWAYS wants us to be our highest and best self. Love does not seek to control any part of us, but watches with delight when we find our truth.

When we fly, love soars in response, laughs in delight and gives us encouragement to go higher still.
Love does not ask us to be less than all God created us to be, or not express ourselves, or to bear abuse. That is not love at all – do not believe it if someone offers you ‘love’ that ‘costs’ you in these painful ways.

True love is not about need, but about joy – as it flows from you and to you it fills the air, and your soul, with light! True love allows us to give the same love in return and so it grows and we grow.

Real love is about letting go of expectation and delighting in the unexpected and the imperfection of ourselves. This kind of love is about being free, to create, to be excellent…just to be who you are. God’s beloved!

1 Corinthians 13 is the definition of love. This starts with ourselves, every relationship flows from our heart and comes from how we view ourselves. As we read the characteristics of love we realize we have shortchanged ourselves for a long time. Don’t settle for less than this love for yourself. Let all of your living be based in this love, and then our world will begin to change.

the right words

I had an important job interview a couple of weeks ago (I am still waiting to hear), and at the very end of it I made a statement that I wished, immediately, I hadn’t made. It wasn’t something horrid – it was just something I wished I hadn’t revealed about myself at this point in the process, know what I mean?

For a couple of days I kept thinking about it and wondering why I even said it. Then I felt directed to open my Bible to Luke 21: 14-15 and the words of Jesus filled my heart. ‘Do not think about what you will say beforehand. Go in my Spirit and I will give you the words to say.’

I have done much preparation to follow God’s leading and I know that I a vessel willing to speak what God would have me speak, and so I relaxed…evidently that was what I was supposed to say. Whatever happens will be God’s plan unfolding – not mine. I trust that I have done what I am supposed to do, and if the job doesn’t happen, it is because it is not the right job for me.

As I wait to hear if I got this job, I am working on other parts of my faith – patince, letting go, hope, joy, peace, obedience. You know – the virtues which are the hardest ones ot master…pray for me.

speaking with love

Growing into the Truth We Speak

Can we only speak when we are fully living what we are saying?  If all our words had to cover all our actions, we would be doomed to permanent silence!  Sometimes we are called to proclaim God’s love even when we are not yet fully able to live it.  Does that mean we are hypocrites?  Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion.  Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions.  But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth we speak.  As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.

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

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