life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “touch”

18 Nov 2012

Forgiveness is a perfectly selfish act. It sets you free from the past. – Brian Tracy

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
– Ephesians 4:32

Forgiveness. It’s not an easy word for many of us. Ok, I don’t really know about others, but I know my own stubborn self and how hard it is for me to forgive, and then, rest in my forgiveness. I work through painful, difficult issues, I let go, and I think I have won the battle, but all the sudden I round a corner and, it seems, outta no-where, BAM – there it is again, and I realize I haven’t quite reached as far into that forgiveness force field as I had intended to go, and so I start again. I am so glad that I realize that life, and this forgiveness thing, is a process, and that I have made progress, and so that encourages me to work through it again…and again…and…!

One day I think I fine, and then the next, unexpectedly, I can plunge down hard – just by driving past a house, having a conversation, getting a glimpse of a something, hearing a song, or melling a familiar smell. I filled with pain, loss, anger, sadness, grief, regret and longing. I get overloaded with these feelings today, additionally I have can also experince anxiety, exhaustion, overwhelm and the battle with the demons inside my head which say things like, ‘I can’t sing, am ugly, fat and undesirable, and I’m just too stupid, vain and like attention too much to know it. That everything that has ever gone wrong in my life is because of me, and that I will never find anyone who can stand being with me because I am weird and unloveable.’

All of this is mixed up and complicated in my head and I have to sort it all out and begin to let go of one layer at a time, as I work to identify the lies and change the story. Then I work at forgiveness, first for myself, others, and the ‘house’ in question. It’s not easy, and I many times, and hours, I just pray, with Anne Lamont, “help me, help me, help me” until the pain eases and I can move forward in a measure of peace.

Like a baby learning to walk, each time I get up from being ‘stuck’, I gain ground, I get a little farther, a little stronger on my feet, and I pray that some day I will have arrived at the goal and will run freely in the yard of freedom! I want to live in the Land of the Free and Forgiven, and in order to do so I know I must let go of any resentment and anger I am still holding to and just breathe love. Just breathe. Just love. I know I am loved and forgiven and so I am called to forgive. I try very hard to be easy on myself, because I realize I will probably be in heaven when that finally occurs completely, and that’s ok! I will run through the golden streets with children and puppies at my heels yelling, ‘wooo hooo! Thank you!!!! I have learned the way of forgiveness!’ Until then I continue to hold myself accountable and keep doing the work!

New issue of the newsletter on this subject of Forgiveness at www.songsfromthevalley.com

Posted in awareness, compassion, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, forgiveness, Freedom, giving, Gratitude, Happiness, Letting Go, Life, Love, Peace, People, perceptions, Reflection, Relationships, Songs from the Valley, soul and spirit, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, touch, Uncategorized, Vulnerability, worry | Leave a comment
25 Aug 2012
1 Comment

an amazing day

This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs:

To questions, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run,

dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell,

listen, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin,

repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh,

cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide and seek.
– Terry Tempest Williams

Thank you to
A Small Group Community

Peter Block, Ward Mailliard & every participant!

A Small Group Intensive Learning Opportunity

http://asmallgroup.ning.com/

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  It is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, Choice, commitment, community, compassion, courage, Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, perceptions, Quotes, thankfulness, Thoughts, touch, Vulnerability
18 Jul 2012

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/

Posted in attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Circus, courage, create, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Hope, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, Patience, People, Poetry, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, soul and spirit, strength, success, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth, Vulnerability, Winning, words | Leave a comment
11 Jul 2012

just one of my adventures with God

In 2008 God took me to live up near Boston – some people may think it was for other reasons, but I know the truth. It was one of the most amazing times in my life and it set me up for these years that have followed. Sooo many adventures to talk about, but today I need to talk about Brian Stack.

The first place I ended up is a little town called Woburn, MA (pronounced by natives: woo-burn) it has one of the coolest libraries ever built http://www.woburnpubliclibrary.org/ a gas station that looks like the Taj Mahal (the original builder was planning to franchise these, but unfortunately, they didn’t take off! Darn it! He only built 2), it was the city in which the movie, A Civil Action, was taken from (I worked very close to that dump site for about 6 months) and Horn Pond, where our adventure story for today, takes place!

Anyway, there is so much to tell you about and so many fun things to add in to this story, but my time is short today and so I must stick to my main agenda. To introduce you to Brian Stack.

Everywhere I go I look for ‘spots’ beautiful places in nature, with a bench or rock near by for sitting and talking with God. I have ‘spots’ all over Connecticut, MA, several towns in Florida, in Kentucky, and in Ohio. They are holy and special to me. God meets me there. We sit a spell and talk about things.

It was maybe a day or so after I got to MA that I inquired about a nature spot and someone told me about Horn Pond and I headed over there as soon as I could to find it. It was amazing and beautiful! Everything I was looking for in a ‘spot’ and I was within walking distance!!! I had no car, so that was a huge blessing.

I think it was my first trip around the loop, I met Brian Stack. (If I am on a bench, and there is a plaque, I always read it and say a prayer for the family of whoever has loved so much they want their love to live on by dedicating a tree, or a bench, a building, for someone else to enjoy. It is a beautiful expression of love and caring. I love it and I acknowledge it with gratitude and prayer.)

As I sat down in a really beautiful spot I read the plaque, and fell in love. I fell in love with Brian, and I fell in love with his family. I had no idea who he was, but this was a special and blessed place and I knew this was my ‘spot’, along with Brian’s. I could feel the spirit of Brian and of God very close. This was holy.

I went to this spot as often as I could. I took other people there, I had picnics there, I had one lone swan who would come and sit by me very often when I would go there – we hung out a lot. I told a few of my close friends about Brian Stack. I had no idea of who he was, but I knew he was special. The more I hung out there the more I knew it.

In May of 2008, I went to a Women of Faith conference in the TD Banknorth Center, where the Celtics play (the name could be different now), at that conference, which was so amazing – the girl next to me (complete stranger) turned to me about half way through the day and said, ‘God told me to tell you that you are made whole from the inside out.’ I had been feeling this, but to have it confirmed in this way was wonderful, and my spirit soared.

The next day was Sunday, May 11 – the day 12 years earlier when my life exploded. I felt called to Brain’s bench. After church walked over to this amazing spot. I felt sure I was expecting something, or someone, I wasn’t sure what or who.

As I say there people kept walking by and I kept turning my head to my left to look for someone. I was only seeing backs. I noticed it was always the back of the person, and I heard the voice of God say in my spirit, ‘the past is behind you.’ I knew that was my gift, my message from God. I sat and wept and praised God, that He had healed me and brought me to this place in my journey.

This past Sunday, I just ‘happened’ to be in Woburn, MA and I felt the same calling to go to visit Brian Stack. It was very important that I go. I felt a real urgency to go to this spot. As I walked up I couldn’t believe it. There was a picture taped to the bench with duct tape, and, for the first time, I met Brian Stack!!! I sat and talked to him and God for a few minutes and said ‘thank you’ for this amazing gift.

I left straight from there to drive for the next 20 hours to Ohio! I didn’t think I would ever get here!!! I took a shower and went straight to work, and when I had a moment I looked up Brian Stack from Woburn, MA. Here is the headline from 1987: A funeral Mass was said yesterday morning in St. Barbar’s Church, Woburn for Brian C. Stack, 17, of Woburn, who died Wednesday at Children’s Hospital in Boston after a heart operation.

But, the story didn’t end there, because love is eternal and, we are His Beloved! God had a plan for Brian Stack that nobody could have guessed. They hang out together at a gorgeous spot at Horn Pond and they talk to people, and encourage them – the ones who are listening. I am so very blessed.

Posted in beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, beloved, Blessing, Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, healing, inspiration, Joy, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, nature, Peace, People, Relationships, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, touch, Trust, truth | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2012

you gotta find your truth!

Ok, this cracked me up – and made me a think! So true for most of us! Yes, I have ‘the need to please others’ so ingrained into my thinking, it seems I battle it every day!

I watched an unconventional wedding video a few minutes ago of my eldest daughter, Krista, who turned 25 yesterday. She is a beautiful, smart, incredibly talented and giving woman – who is very blessed to have a relationship which has given her something she has always been searching for – unconditional love and friendship.  This has been my prayer for her for so many years – that she would be truly loved by someone for who she is. That is all. Unconditional love is the key to living.

Her lifestyle is not what I would have chosen for her – she is in a world which can be dangerous and I worry about her and where her choices can lead. I want only good for her. However, it is her life and her choice to live how she has chosen. I wish her, and my new son-in-law and grandchild, only happiness and I was moved to tears by the words they spoke to each other, the healing which this love has brought to her. I know the depth of her emotion. I know how much she cares and loves. I know how badly she has been hurt by life, by my own actions as her mother – when I made choices no mother should have to make and she got caught in my choices, in my pain and her own – as a child she had no way to understand, nothing but pain and hurt from age 10 on. She was in a world which she did not understand and which did not understand her.

I am so grateful and happy for this place in her journey and how much this love is restoring to her. I am hopeful that I can be a part of her living, of her joy and her future – the love, heartaches and blessings and hard times.

Yesterday, as I thought about the day she came into the world – the most beautiful baby ever born up to that minute (ok, I’m a little biased on that one – haha), I was so overwhelmed by those feelings I had as I looked in her face for the first time and prayed that I might keep her safe and be a good mother to her. It has been an incredibly tough journey and I have failed her in so many ways, yet, I have loved her, and her brother and sister with a love which is bigger than I can ever put into words. My mothers’ heart has placed these children in God’s hands and I am so blessed, more than she may ever know, that she is my daughter.

There are no accidents and I trust God has plans I cannot see. I do not have all the answers – I believe unconditional love is always right and the way to healing. All I know is – I am so blessed and so thankful in this moment. I know for sure that life is good – we are good. God has declared it and it is so!

 

 

Posted in attitude, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Happiness, healing, inspiration, Joy, kindness, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, People, Reality, Relationships, success, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
06 May 2012

To the dreamers!

Posted in attitude, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Career, Change, Choice, create, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Imagine, inspiration, Life, Love, Passion, Patience, People, Stars and Moonlight, strength, success, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Winning | Leave a comment
24 Apr 2012

Help me…

20120424-090025.jpg

Awesome blog and graphics at http://www.allyouhavetogive.com/

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Burnign Bridges, Change, Choice, commitment, confidence, courage, determination, do, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Imagine, Impossible, inspiration, Joy, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, nature, People, Prayer, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, Uncategorized, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2012
1 Comment

Love Conquers All

Sonnet 116:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.

Public domain
Get great poetry daily from The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

 

Defining Love
Posted Friday, April 23, 2012 by Women of Faith

Love is difficult to define. It is one of those intangibles—something we cannot touch, taste, see, hear, or smell. Still, we do try. The dictionary defines love as an intense emotional attachment. For many of us, love is just that—a feeling we have—and feelings can be very hard to put into words. It doesn’t simplify matters to define love by saying that God is love, because we can’t really define Him either. But think about it for a minute. God says, “I am God. I am love. These are My people and I love them. How have I behaved towards those I love? See, this is what love expects, how love reacts, what love is willing to do. This is love.” It may not help us to slap a nice, tidy definition on love, but it does help us to understand what love is supposed to look like.

This week, stretch your mind and heart a bit as you try to comprehend the bigness of God’s love for you. Do you have a view of the ocean where you live? God’s love is much more vast and deep! Do you have mountains to admire? God’s love is higher than they are! Do you live in wide open places—”big sky country”? God’s love stretches beyond those horizons! Are you blessed with a view of the night sky, with all its stars? The love of God for you is higher even than these! Take comfort and confidence in the unchanging faithfulness of God’s love. Give thanks for the gentleness of God’s love. Pray that you will be able to receive God’s love, for that is just the thing your heart needs today.

Excerpted from Receiving God’s Love. Copyright  2005 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published by Thomas Nelson.
http://www.womenoffaith.com/

Posted in beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, inspiration, Life, Love, Passion, People, Poetry, Reality, Relationships, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth
20 Apr 2012
1 Comment

During your times of ‘active waiting’ keep your eyes and heart open for God!!!

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person
can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
– Oprah Winfrey

The many contradictions in our lives – such as being home while feeling homeless, being busy while feeling bored, being popular while feeling lonely, being believers while feeling many doubts –  can frustrate, irritate, and even discourage us.  They make us feel that we are never fully present.  Every door that opens for us makes us see how many more doors are closed.

But there is another response.  These same contradictions can bring us into touch with a deeper longing, for the fulfillment of a desire that lives beneath all desires and that only God can satisfy.  Contradictions, thus understood, create the friction that can help us move toward God.

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

Look for the miracles and the openings!!!

Posted in Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, commitment, confidence, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Growth, Habits, Hope, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Patience, Peace, People, Prayer, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth, Vulnerability
19 Apr 2012
1 Comment

It is what it is

20120419-104358.jpg

I believe this statement above is true, and when you really get the importance and the impact of that statement it truly changes your mindset about the growth and evolving nature of people and how we change our lives – or not.

I remember when I began to realize this truth – in 1995, I had been struggling with my weight since 1987-88, I had 2 babies in 2 years and was in a very unhappy, abusive relationship. Food was my friend, and the joy of my day. Yet also a source of imprisonment and shame. I would diet/fail and then feel worse about myself than ever. That all changed for me one day. I decided I had enough and I was going to lose that 90 pounds.

This was five years into my life-changing experience with God. I had been reading every self-help idea that I could find, and following the words of Jesus from Matthew 5-7, and, as I look back, this was my first big test of faith and endurance. Could I discipline myself, could I change myself, change the way I thought about food?  Could I really change my life so openly and begin to become who I wanted to be?

Six months later I had lost 90 pounds, but that wasn’t all that had changed. I had a new confidence in myself. I had many new ideas about my own strength, my value, my ability to accomplish what I wanted in the face of adversity, and a new concept of change. My faith was stronger and my resolve was more firmly established! I remembered trying before and failing – what made this time different? I was ready. This truth has followed me since, and I have begun to understand myself and others better because of this truth. This is why ‘motivation’ and ‘resolutions’ don’t last. It has to be an embracing of a new way. A readiness to let go of the old in order to go higher and arrive at a new and better place. This usually makes life uncomfortable – sometimes for a long time, and so we have to be ready and willing to make that move.

Some people never do.

It is each persons responsibility to decide how they want to live their lives, and that means their choices and their changes are up to them. When we stand at the end of life and look back, what do we want to have left behind us? What do we want our lives to look like? Who have we crafted ourselves into? Have we settled, or have we prepared ourselves and then embraced the changes to become our highest selves?

That’s my goal! I keep getting preparing myself to be ready to grow in grace, knowledge and love! We must be willing to change – we must be prepared to make choices which reflect our desires!

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, commitment, courage, determination, do, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Patience, Peace, People, power, Prayer, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Smile, Solitude, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth, Uncategorized, Vulnerability

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →