If you want to understand God
walk up to a blooming lilac
and hide your face in the light purple.
Gather all the memories of that scent
from your childhood.
(Don’t confuse the roses at your grave.)
Imagine giving that aroma to someone.
Imagine them receiving it.
Now, you still don’t understand God.
But what you do
is enough.
_______________________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
I started out on a broken road many years ago…my heart was shattered in millions of pieces and I had no idea if it would ever heal, if my life would ever be even a little bit ok. The only thing I had going for me was faith and determination.
As I plunged into years of extreme loss, poverty, hardship, homelessness, abuse, unequal relationships and pain, I knew God could mend my brokenness and use me for His glory – no matter what kind of a mess I was – I knew God was bigger! I would keep going and die in the battle if need be, but I would not stop believing, trying or ever give up the fight for good! I had seen the effect of bitterness, anger and victimhood could do in people’s lives and I rejected that in my life. I am very determined to keep those things out of my life – I had no idea how much a full-time and difficult job this would be, but I know it is the right way, because it always leads me to peace and joy. Keeping my heart open and being vulnerable is still a huge, and one of the most important challenges I/we face today. I believe it is a battle that must continue to be fought if we are to make any changes in our world.
In order for me to accomplish what I set out to do I found myself pursuing goodness…actively and passionately..every day – all day. I would look for good, look for kindness, look for miracles to get me through to the next moment. I would put my broken heart and dreams – my very life-blood that I was helpless to rescue, into God’s plan and hands (sometimes over and over for days) and I would seek God – I filled my senses with nature, with music, with art, with the words, and quotes, of people who had also walked a broken path to achieve healing themselves, and I would struggle to give true thanks in every circumstance for the wisdom, life-lessons and the hands of my great creator, God, who was so obviously present with me. The glimpses of His glory have allowed me to see how little I truly know and have made my faith ever more passionate and real.
With my eyes open – I see the miracles so clearly and I have wondered many times why it took me so long to begin living this way??? As the years have added up, my faith has become true and I have found the most joyous intimacy with my friend, Jesus, by living his words (Matthew 5-7) in ways I could never have known any other way.
I truly believe that seeking for the good, every minute of every day, and being thankful – right in the middle of every circumstance – from the most grueling – to the most fun – is the only way to realize who we are in this world. Not saying it’s easy – just saying it is worth it!!!! We are each a beloved masterpiece of God – given all good things to enjoy – every day there are so many good things – don’t let anything distract you from seeing them and giving thanks!
;
What really matters in life is not what we buy, but what we
build; not what we have, but what we share with the world; not our capability but our character; and not our success but our true significance. Live a life that makes you proud – one that matters and makes a difference. Live a life filled with passion and love.
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Read full post: 20 Bad Habits Holding Good People Back
http://www.marcandangel.com/
Finding a Box of Family Letters
by Dana Gioia
The dead say little in their letters
they haven’t said before.
We find no secrets, and yet
how different every sentence sounds
heard across the years.
My father breaks my heart
simply by being so young and handsome.
He’s half my age, with jet-black hair.
Look at him in his navy uniform
grinning beside his dive-bomber.
Come back, Dad! I want to shout.
He says he misses all of us
(though I haven’t yet been born).
He writes from places I never knew he saw,
and everyone he mentions now is dead.
There is a large, long photograph
curled like a diploma—a banquet sixty years ago.
My parents sit uncomfortably
among tables of dark-suited strangers.
The mildewed paper reeks of regret.
I wonder what song the band was playing,
just out of frame, as the photographer
arranged your smiles. A waltz? A foxtrot?
Get out there on the floor and dance!
You don’t have forever.
What does it cost to send a postcard
to the underworld? I’ll buy
a penny stamp from World War II
and mail it downtown at the old post office
just as the courthouse clock strikes twelve.
Surely the ghost of some postal worker
still makes his nightly rounds, his routine
too tedious for him to notice when it ended.
He works so slowly he moves back in time
carrying our dead letters to their lost addresses.
It’s silly to get sentimental.
The dead have moved on. So should we.
But isn’t it equally simpleminded to miss
the special expertise of the departed
in clarifying our long-term plans?
They never let us forget that the line
between them and us is only temporary.
Get out there and dance! the letters shout
adding, Love always. Can’t wait to get home!
And soon we will be. See you there.
from Pity the Beautiful. © Graywolf Press, 2012.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
I believe God wants you to know…
…that everything is falling together perfectly, even
though it looks as if some things are falling apart.
Trust in the process you are now experiencing. Life
is on your side. It is showing that to you now, though
you may not be able to see it clearly at this time.
You have made your wishes and dreams known to
God. Now comes the time for faith. Faith that all
is right, right now. Tomorrow will reveal itself exactly
as it should.
– Neale Donald Walsh
http://www.nealedonaldwalsch.com/index.php?p=Home
Entering into Partnership
In partnership and relationship we harness the power of union.
The purpose of partnership is to create something greater than we can create alone. Not because of any deficiency or incompleteness in us, but because each of us is unique, with our own talents and abilities, and in partnership we increase the efforts and talents available for creating something meaningful together. All 
partnerships, whether romantic, creative, or professionally-based, can be powerful relationships for personal growth. In partnership we harness the power of union.
It is important to choose our partnerships consciously. Sometimes forged quickly during times of need, we may find ourselves rushing into unions with perhaps not the clearest intentions. Partnerships created from those starting point might serve our immediate needs, but the repercussions of a union so quickly fostered without much thought can be difficult to recover from. Granted, there is something to learn from every relationship, but looking to another to fix or complete us can turn a partnership into a dependent bond. If we can stay clear about what we want and what we need in a partnership, while staying grounded and remembering that we are our own source of happiness and fulfillment, we can create partnerships that support and enhance the best of who we are.
Everyone in our lives is a mirror reflecting back the parts we love and dislike about ourselves. If we have the courage to recognize our reflections in each other, we can grow through our partnerships. A partnership that offers both acceptance of who we are and an opportunity for personal transformation can be fertile ground for growing a healthy, lasting union. When we find this kind of partnership, we are more likely to want to 
keep it, invest in it, and nurture it. Life is a collaborative effort. Much of what we do can be enhanced through partnership. Together we are stronger because our personal power is multiplied by two. Through partnership we experience the joys of working, living, and loving together.
www.dailyom.com
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