life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Stars and Moonlight”
Be Sure to Take A Beautiful Path
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
More options for inspiration at http://pinterest.com/al513/the-path-we-take-makes-all-the-difference/
love sets free
Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. – C.S. LewisI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage|
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
Prayer changes….everything…
The past couple of months I have been doing a lot of thinking, reading, learning and coming to new understanding
about prayer. For the next few days I will be posting some of the things I am learning.
For many years I tried to ‘pray’ in fancy ways and words. ‘Dear Lord, Thank you for your bountiful blessing…etc, etc…blah..blah…blah. I never felt like God had answered the phone. I was just leaving a voicemail. It was a little frustrating. Then my life exploded into millions of tiny fragments. For many years as I sought grace and healing my prayers were guttural. There were no words for me. There was no music for me. It was a path of such pain that the suffering was silent. There was no way to express it. Over and over my soul would cry to God, ‘help me…help me…help me…give me your strength for this moment…help me…help me…to love you and give you thanks right here in the middle of my circumstances.’ I would read Psalm chapter 37 and Matthew chapter 5-7 and cling to them.
And God has done what He promised. He gave me strength for each moment, grace for the journey, hope for my future, miracles in extravagant abundance and peace and healing as I accepted and absorbed this amazing gift of life I have been given, joy overflowing and I have been blessed me in so many ways I know I will never run out of ideas to share about the grace that has come my way.
That doesn’t mean I, or everything in my life is perfect, or will ever be, while I am on this earth. That’s not even the point. A few months ago I went for a walk. My spirit was troubled and I needed to talk to God. Nature is my best place to communicate with my creator. I never fail to connect with God in the beauty of this world that has been so lavishly decorated! As I sat on a bench and started to talk to God something interesting happened…I really wanted to complain about what was happening to me – ha, yet as I began, the amazing glory of God, the maker of heaven and earth began to come into my focus, and I realized that I had nothing but thanks and praise to give and my heart and the words changed. I realized that God already knew my problem and is taking care of it..already…and I gave thanks in a whole new understanding. I sat on the bench and wrote the following song lyrics:
I’ve come to talk to you again
Oh won’t you hear another story
My whole world is at its end
When suddenly I see your glory
Cause I don’t need to ever fear
I’ve seen your miracles and wonders
So I will rest. You’ll dry my tears
Then I’ll fall asleep while my heart ponders
Your love, Your love
Is more than I could ever hope
Your love, Your love
I want the world to know
Cause everybody ought to know
I’ve come to listen once again
Oh let me hear you in this silence
Your grace will fill me to the brim
Shine your light right in the violence
Your light, Your light
Pours though my soul into the night
Your light, Your light
Help me and guard my heart
Cause everybody needs Your light
All I can do is give you thanks
All I can do is praise your name
All I can do is sing you a love song
Every day and all night long
God breathes stars – WOW!!!!
He breathed the word, and all the stars were born Ps.33:6 NLT
When I stand before the ocean, drive through the mountains, or see pictures taken in space of the great galaxies, the vast beauty above and beyond what we could imagine possible. It always puts my problems, and my place in this world, into perspective.
God is so much bigger than we can ever comprehend. I am humbled and amazed as I stretch my mind open and allow myself to broken open by God’s greatness. As I embrace the mysteries I will never understand in this lifetime. It fills me with wonder to recognize that in all of this vast beautiful universe, I am so small, yet I am here, at this very time and place on purpose – there are no accidental people. I am loved unconditionally – right now. This majestic energy who breathes stars and creates worlds cares so much that I will never be alone.
I think today of the ‘Wise Men’ following that mysterious star so long ago – they followed until they found Jesus. They didn’t have near as much information as we do today, yet they
were so in tune and open to what was happening.
There is a quote we see during this time of year, Wise Men Still Seek Him. We have been promised in Matthew 7:7, Seek and you shall find!
Following the star is just as relevant and just as exciting as it was over 2000 years ago.
I have found it true! I love that!
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Miracles
by Walt Whitman
Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but
miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over
the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach
just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or
talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night
with any one I
love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers
opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a
summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the
wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or
of stars shining so quiet
and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin
curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me
miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic
inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is
spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim–the
rocks–the motion of the waves–the
ships with men in them,
What
stranger miracles are there?
The snow is falling upward
The snow is falling upward,
The sun is falling down;
The moon is out in morning,
And the stars are spinning round.
The birds are singing at midnight,
And the owls hoot at noon;
The snow is falling upward,
And in morning hangs the moon.
The lovers never go to sleep,
And the dreamers never wake;
The willows have all forgot to weep,
And the earth, it always shakes.
The snow is falling upward,
All the stars are falling down;
I meet my love in the moonlight,
And I never touch the ground.
Song from Adaora
Daughters of Bali Trilogy
Krista S. Rose
used with permission
life: acoustic & amplified 