I am not the number

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Joy

on a scale
on a roster
of blog hits per hour
in my bank account
on my SAT
on a measuring tape
in a cell phone
at the dmv
of followers on twitter
of likes on facebook

i am breath
i am warmth
i am loved
i am chosen
i am forgiven
i am beautiful
i am passionate
i am sacred
i am treasured
i am made in the image of the God of life

i will begin living today as if i truly believe that i have a purpose
i will not focus on yesterday
i will not put my trust in tomorrow
i will live here
in this moment
in this gift
of time and energy and possibilities
here
where God is

i will not be your reason or your consequence
i will not look to you for my happiness or fulfillment
i choose to see the world through the filter of Jesus
accepting people as they are not as i think they should be
using whatever gifts i have to serve the one right in front of me
accepting my humanness as temporary and fleeting
embracing all that is holy
reflecting all that is good
absorbing all that is God

and when i fail
i will begin again
with the acute understanding that
this world is not my home
i am no longer a slave to sin
the chains that once bound me are broken
i do not work towards earthly rewards
my eyes will be fixed on eternity
on Christ
on all that is or ever will be
until at last faith becomes my sight

Be and be better, for they existed

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Joy

“…And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always irregularly.
Spaces fill with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored,
never to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be.
Be and be better.
For they existed.”
~ Maya Angelou ~

Weekly Photo Challenge: BiG

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Joy

The challenge is SO fun this week! Think BIG.

“Few women have ever been able to resist the temptation to try on a hat
and discover in the mirror a person they never suspected was there.
A hat alters the image we have of ourselves,
and the image others see as well.
For the hours we wear it,
it brings out different dimensions in our personality,
much as a costume aids an actress in her role.”
~Unknown
One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.
One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Shaved ice covered in pink sugary syrup.
mmmm…mmmm
Where to begin?
“When I grow up, I’m gonna be an astronaut so I can eat ice cream in outer space!”
~ The logic of a 4 yr. old
“When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer,
a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me!
Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts.
Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent.
You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home.
But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother.
Home is neither here nor there.
Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.”
~ Hermann Hesse
Want to see more interpretations of big? Click here

Furry, Four~Legged, Friends

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Joy

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though.
That’s the problem.”
~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“Women and cats will do as they please,
and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein

My Prayer for You

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Joy

Downloadable Version My Prayer for You

1-Minute Meditation: Today

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Joy

I read this earlier on Anita Esch Montgomery‘s facebook page. It is quite fitting for many of us and the conversations we have been having lately. I hope that you too will find that it meets you right where you are…today.

Today Is Your Best Day

In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Psalm 44:8

Here are four reasons why today is your best day.
– Today is your best day because you are here. God has placed you in this moment of time for a purpose, and the things that happen to you today will be an unfolding of that purpose.
– What happened to you yesterday, however easy or difficult, was used by God to help prepare you for what He has for you today.
– God will use what happens today to prepare you for what He has for you in future days.
– God has used your past and worked it all together for the good, and He will use this day to add to the good that He has already worked in your behalf.

~ Roy Lessin, Today is Your Best Day.

Sunday Post: People

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Joy

Children are people too… just smaller

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.”
~Mother Teresa~

I think children have a much greater concept of this beautiful reading from Mother Teresa. I learn so much from the many children who I am blessed to have in my life.

Are you thinking about a great illustration for Jake’s challenge this week?
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