As a child of God, we crawl before no one

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Joy

“We must be entirely honest if we expect to live long or happily in this world.

We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for a lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them…

Love and tolerance of others is our code.

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone… For by this time sanity will have returned. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we have been placed in a position of neutrality – safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.”

~ Taken from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, page 84-85 ~
AA is a group of individuals from all walks of life, who share the same ism. It is a program to which I owe my life.

Getting my bearings

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Joy

My eyes open and I draw my first conscious breath of the day
I must get my bearings after a night of seemingly constant dreaming
It’s morning
Everyone else is sleeping
The Master beckons me into his presence
As I sit in the stillness of time before dawn
I am surrounded by silence
Yet, it is peaceful
reassuring me that
the one who knows me best
holds my future
and
it is very bright.

Morphing into Grace

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Joy

“The grace of God is equal to…
the most unfavorable circumstances.
It’s glory is to transform a curse into a blessing
and show to men and angels of ages
yet to come that where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound.”
~ A.B. Simpson ~

In spite of everything…Peace

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Joy

“Whenever we feel lost, or insane, or afraid, all we have to do is ask for His help.
The help might not come in the form we expected, or even thought we desired,
but it will come, and we will recognize it by how we feel.
In spite of everything, we will feel at peace.”
~ Marianne Williamson ~

I am walking into a time of uncertainty.
It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
It’s both beautiful and wretched.
And the thought of it makes me feel free.
Possibilities are once again within reach.
Those things that I thought had withered and gone
are springing to life
and waking the potential that the future holds.
Fear can be paralyzing
or
fear can be liberating.
If it’s going to come regardless of circumstances,
why not use it for certain change?
Why not seize the change that awaits?
Why not relish the opportunities that are waiting just beyond
this one act of faith?
Uncertainty is capable of breeding dissension
or
providing the way to enlightenment.
I choose the latter.

Pardon me while I compare my insides to your outsides

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Joy

While shooting pictures yesterday for something unrelated to birds on a wire, I turned around and saw this site that had to be captured. It goes right along with how I have been thinking and feeling. It was as if it was placed there just for me and all I had to do was look up.

I laughed while thinking, “I wonder if this bird ever looks around and thinks, ‘Why don’t I look like they do?'” You have to admit, he kind of stands out. Do you think he sees his uniqueness as a blessing?

My temperament is one that craves relationships and interaction with many different people. I invest heavily in the lives of those I love and enjoy doing so. However, when I am experiencing inward turmoil I want to retreat and be quite. Lately, while going through certain stress I have been unable to withdraw which forces me to interact with others when I am out of sorts. This can be disconcerting.

In the past couple of weeks I have found myself looking around and thinking, “How does she do that?!”

“How does she work full-time, grocery shop during the week, run her children back and forth from soccer practice, gymnastics and piano, keep her house clean, volunteer at her church, serve on the PTA and have dinner waiting when her significant other returns from work? And what about doctors appointments in between and the unexpected illness?”

So tell me ladies, are you one of these women? If so, are you really doing everything that it appears you’re doing? Do you have hidden super powers? Are you saying affirmations in the mirror multiple times throughout the day to keep up the pace?

Most days, I feel more like this chick…
I can relate to the white bird on the wire. Sometimes I feel that my uniqueness is a gift and adds to my awesomeness. Other times I see it as a hindrance and something to be overcome. Here is what I know about feelings, they are constantly changing. Feelings in and of themselves are not to be trusted. So I must rely on truth, grace and the love that I know to be unchanging.

What are your thoughts? Am I way off base or do you know exactly where I am coming from on this?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Joy

Takin’ it to the streets…of my favorite little town…tucked away…unscathed…a haven of sorts, where life doesn’t move so frantically and people still have purpose.

For more interpretations of “Urban” click here

Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (eof737.wordpress.com)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (3rdculturechildren.com)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (dailypost.wordpress.com)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (theretiringsort.com)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban (streetification.wordpress.com)

Five Minute Friday: Join

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Joy

Stop, drop & write. It’s time for #FiveMinuteFriday!

This is a great topic for this week as we are connecting people into small groups at our church all weekend. Thousands of people will choose to do life with other human beings instead of walking it alone. How cool is that?! I think very!

As I looked through pictures last night, I found this series that I just love of some of my best girlfriends daughters. After reading Lisa-Jo’s topic this morning, I think it very fitting. We all want to join in. Bad or good, we want to be a part of something other than ourselves. We want to know that other people want us around and to be a part of their circle. Even 2 year old’s want to join.

Often times, when there is something we don’t know exactly how to navigate, all we really need to do is look at our children. They can be far better teachers than adults.

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,
and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever
explaining things to them”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ~

STOP

Wanna join in? Click here