life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “time”
be vulnerable – say no to risk management
Intimacy is the act of telling another human being the truth about yourself and risking rejection. Without the risk, there is no real acceptance. ~ Dick Doherty
Everyday becomes incredible when you let God do the impossible in you at least twice! – Ann Voskamp
Haha – I LOVE that!!! Try it with me today? Look for the miracles!!!!!
Ideas for when your internet is blacked out :)
Or take today to unplug and talk to God in the silence!
Seek Love, Freedom, Justice, Courage and Respect
Under even the greatest oppression, a select few people have what they need. But this is not true justice. True justice is a whole society that is just; therefore there is no justice until there is justice for all. For this reason the struggle for justice is never-ending; there will always be setbacks, but never a reason to give up.
Even under the worst tyrant, there may be a powerful few who are free to act as they choose. But this is not true freedom. True freedom is a society in which everyone is free; therefore there is no freedom until all are free. For this reason the struggle for freedom must always set people free; freedom can never be achieved by coercion.
Injustice is always hidden, disguised as the way things ought to be, protected by social habits and assumptions that we never question or confront. Seeking justice always requires that we dismantle existing social structures. Those who seek justice will always meet resistance, but it is a struggle of truth against fear, and truth is stronger.
The freedom and justice God intends for us (part of what Jesus called the Kingdom of God) is not a far-off fantasy; it is a gift implanted within us at our very creation. It arises as a gift when we treat one another with reverence. It can’t be enforced or manipulated or brought about by fear, violence or threat. It can only be set free in us. It can only be achieved by nonviolence.
Reverence overpowers coercion. It may take great time and sacrifice, but it will not fail. Even in offering its opponents the freedom to reject it, nonviolence has succeeded in setting all parties free. Even God does not threaten, coerce or manipulate us, but offers us grace and reverence. The cross is God’s nonviolence.
Our reverence toward others, including our enemies, regardless of the cost to us, even the cost of our lives, unleashes the infinite, world-changing, life-giving power of God’s grace in us. Just as an exploding bomb releases itself into the area around it with destructive force, a loving person releases herself into the world with creative power. This is the mystery of resurrection.
Martin Luther King, Jr. lived the resurrection life. Give thanks today for all those who have given of themselves for the sake of freedom and justice. And pray that you may have the courage, faith and compassion to stand among them, to join in the sacred struggle for “justice and liberty for all.”
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
do Fun Stuff it’s good for you!
Last night we went snow tubing at Perfect North Slopes. It was just really fun! I love snow! To me it is one of my top favorite wonders in the world.
It was the coldest night of our winter, so far. 20 degrees and, we haven’t had a lot of snow so the machinces were working the whole time. There were lights all around on the slopes for us, for skiers, for snowboarders. It was beautiful and just letting go and flying down the hill with the wind and snow was really great for me. It was nice to not think about anything. Just have fun in that glorious, freezing moment!
My 46 year old neck and back are twinging a little this morning…ha…but well worth it! Very good medicine.
Life is full of important and serious moments – but never take our too seriously, and have as much fun as you can along the way. Life is an amazing gift to be lived to the fullest! Yes, God gives us richly all things to enjoy. Thank you!
A Scottish challenge for us this day – from one of my favorite writers!
Behind the Wires
Look around you, can’t you see what you’re missing,
Look around you, open your eyes;
There’s a whole world of loving and meeting
In a place where hostility dies.
Oh, I know that you don’t mean to hurt me,
You only want to protect what you’ve got,
But don’t you know the best way to lose it
Is to think that your freedom can be bought.
If you shut out your spirit of adventure,
If you close up your heart from within,
You build walls to keep out the danger
and find that you’ve locked yourself in.
I believe that peace is what we’re after,
But we’ve drawn up the lines for a war;
Surrender in trust to one another,
It’s the only thing worth fighting for.
So come out from behind your fences,
You’re in a war that no one can win,
Take a chance, lay down your defenses,
If I pull down the wire from the outside
Please won’t you pull it down from within.
Kathy Galloway (written for the women of the Greenham Common Peace Camp)
Love Burning Deep
used with permission
life: acoustic & amplified 