Just as darkness retreats before light,
so all anger and bitterness disappear for the fragrance of humility.
-John Climacus
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32
Maritta Terrell
Thoughts are also posted at:
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com/
Give our leader your justice, O God, 
and your righteousness to those in power.
May they judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May they defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
—Psalm 72.1-4
God of eternal justice and mighty grace,
may your gentle healing and fierce compassion
overthrow those in power, and fill them with your love.
May your care for your littlest ones
invade our desires, sweep up our leaders,
overtake all greed, and transform the power in our hands.
May justice be our passion and love our courage.
May our leaders guide us in generosity
with gentleness, humility and truth.
By the self-giving of your grace,
may we overthrow all greed and oppression,
that none, in using power, may cause another’s suffering.
We give ourselves to the healing of the earth,
that we may be tender with even the mountains and hills.
God of mercy, may justice prevail:
not that we decide one another’s deserving,
but that we defend one another’s needs,
that all may have life, and have it abundantly,
in the spirit of your almighty tenderness and grace.
Amen.
_________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there
are no guarantees. Get out of your comfort zone even if it
means being uncomfortable. The road less traveled is sometimes
fraught with barricades bumps and uncharted terrain. But it is
on that road where your character is truly tested. And have the
courage to accept that you’re not perfect, nothing is and no
one is — and that’s OK.
– Katie Couric
The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone,
but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.
– Kalu Kalu
Ann Voskamp’s writes on her blog yesterday over at A Holy Experience was her thoughts on Bucket Lists –
I’ve never had a bucket list, and I’m thinking that I don’t want a bucket list as much as I want a poured bucket list. I’m thinking:
The best lives don’t have Bucket Lists as much as they have Empty Bucket lists.
Because the thing is when I kick the bucket, I don’t want there to be anything left in my bucket. When I kick the bucket, I want the bucket right empty.
I don’t want my life to be how I took experiences — but that I gave exceedingly.
That I gave every last drop, that I poured it all out, that I held nothing back. Because the way to really live is not to try to fill your life up — but to spill your life out.
“Where do you want to go?” the editor urges.
“What do you want to see — and, most important, with whom? Then just do it! Figure out a way to make it happen, and 20 years from now, you will not be disappointed. As we have the opportunity to check items off the list, not only are we given fantastic stories to share, but we also gain memories that will last a lifetime.”
This is what has changed me: writing thanks down on the list — and who can hoard their life when they see the abundance of His grace?
I hold the magazine in both hands and it’s unexpected — how wild I feel to rewrite this whole thing:
The question is really is not what you want to see — but who do you want to serve — and yes, most importantly, for Whom. Then do that!
read the full post at http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/08/best-bucket-list/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HolyExperience+%28Holy+Experience%29
I concur!
The secret to life is to begin living with thankfulness for a glimpse of grace – and then finding that EVERYTHING is grace!
How then can we not pour out our lives for this gift, this love beyond our human comprehension, we have been so richly and freely given?
This is actually a surprise to me. I have been so busy surviving over the past 47 years, I haven’t really faced the truth of how long I want to live. In fact, I don’t think I meant to, but in the back of somewhere, I don’t think I believed I was going to live a long and happy life.
I have just tried to live thankfully in each moment, but I haven’t looked ahead.
Last night, reading Love, Medicine & Miracles, by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel, I faced that surprising fact, and made the decision! Yes! I want to live to be 100!
I want the next 53 good and happy years to connect with community and live all the lessons I have learned through these hard years. I want to love my children and (coming sometime) grandchildren! I want life!!! haha It makes me giddy just to write it and read it back to myself! Lalala! I want to
So, once again, I think about how I need to do that! I know I need to eat healthier, drink more water and EXERCISE!!!! I must take care of my body and treat it with respect and honor if it is going to be my home for the next 53 years! It is interesting how differently I am already thinking this morning, having realized this choice! So exciting!
http://him.uk.msn.com/health-and-fitness/surprising-tips-for-living-to-100
Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you
can do to bring it back. You can’t ‘should’ve’ done something.
You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that
attachment. Today is a new day!
– Steve Maraboli
We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down. – Eleanor Roosevelt
life: acoustic & amplified 