Category Archives: Wisdom and Truth

I’m still me

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I sit here…in this unfamiliar place…anger.
I have absolutely no control over the outcome…the process…the rantings and misunderstandings of others not close to me and now even further away. I want to separate myself from the source and do so whenever possible, but sometimes I cannot and in those times I rage inwardly. What is this? Why am I here? What do I do with this?

I write.

I’m still me, only smarter
I’m still me, only stronger

I’m still me, only wiser
No longer the fighter
So much more than survivor

Yes, I’m still me
Once shattered
Fear of life has released me

Broken chains falling down
and laying at my feet
Ashes from the fire showing
death has seen defeat

Face to the ground
Hands open to take in
Gods blessings galore
Splash like rain on my skin

Once shackled to my past
Nothing else is gonna bind me
No more listening to the lies
Truth is all I choose to find me

Each day is a new day
This is where grace begins
It’s all too much
I can barely take it in

But I know the precious blood of Christ
Has redeemed me from my sin.
No longer thinking what could have been
Had my Savior’s grace, not entered in.

Yesterday is past
Tomorrow a mystery
Today is a gift that will one day be history

What if you’re right
And He was just another man
A prophet, disciple
Writing messages in the sand

But…what if you’re wrong
And He really is the King
And the blood that He shed
now covers everything

Affairs, cheating, abortion and blame
All of it erased in Jesus’ name

I want to know the truth
Don’t we all, in the end?
But faith is about believing
and trying not to sin.

I drink of the cup
and eat of the bread
The Son it represents
now living though thought dead

It’s good news for everyone
Even a girl like me
Who was once bound to shame,
was blind, but now I see.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

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Growth is something I’m going through now, only I don’t have a picture of my insides to show you. (Thankfully, right?!) I do have a few examples that involve tangible objects.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside,
somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God.
Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be
and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.
As long as this exists, and it certainly always will,
I know that there will always be comfort for every sorrow,
whatever the circumstances may be.
And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
~ Anne Frank ~

Want to see more incredible interpretations of this week’s challenge, click here

1-Minute Meditation: Choice

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IT’S QUIET.
It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep.
The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive.
It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.
The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day.
The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race.
The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions
to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands.
It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.
I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than
an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven.
I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so.
Rather than complain that the wait is too long,
I will thank God for a moment to pray.
Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments,
I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.
And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will be overlooked before I will boast.
I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust.
My associates will not question my word.
My wife [husband] will not question my love.
And my children will never fear that
their father [mother] will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control.
I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek his grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1994) Max Lucado

 For the pdf version click here

More Meditations:
1-Minute Meditation: Jesus
1-Minute Meditation: Affirmation
1-Minute Meditation: Fear
1-Minute Meditation: Awareness
1-Minute Meditation: Merton Prayer
1-Minute Meditation: Focus
1-Minute Meditation: Peace

This Day

Quote

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“I will live this day as if it is my last.
…I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes,
Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches of the heart,
for why should I throw good after bad?”
I will live this day as if it is my last.
This day is all I have and these hours are now my eternity.
I greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death.
I lift mine arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day.
So too, I will beat upon my heart with gratitude
as I consider all who greeted yesterday’s sunrise
who are no longer with the living today.
I am indeed a fortunate man and today’s hours are but a bonus, undeserved.
Why have I been allowed to live this extra day when others,
far better than I, have departed?
Is it that they have accomplished their purpose
while mine is yet to be achieved?
Is this another opportunity for me to become the man I know I can be?”
— Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman In The World)

What I learned from the bumblebee

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“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly,but the bumble bee doesn’t know it
so it goes on flying anyway.”

Do you know what you are?

Quote

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“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe,
a moment that will never be again.
And what do we teach our children?
We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France.

When will we also teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique.

In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.

You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.

And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?
You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.”

~Pablo Picasso

1-Minute Meditation: Jesus

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I sing the words of this song to my boys every night at bedtime. It’s simple, having only four lines, but the words are powerful and have the ability to guide the course of my day, week, month, year and life.

May I encourage you as you read this to center on every word,
marinating in the beauty of this truth. Hide it away in your heart and
take it out during the course of your week when you are in need of direction.
I promise you this, it will leave you better than when you came.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace.”

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2

A PDF version of the song in it’s entirety: Turn your eyes upon Jesus