Things

Now

(While it is still called today)

"Life is only all our moments slipped on in a row, one after the other — and if you turn slow in the light, the moments might shine translucent.
And the surprise of it catches you and releases you and it is what you always hoped and always knew.
There is glory in every now.
Strange —-
how you can turn, turn direction a bit like the wind —
and all this grit becomes such startling grace…"



This made me think of knitting row after row of yarn and ending up with a beautiful tapestry of colors.  Life is to be lived in the "now."  I try every day to be "present" everywhere I am.  It's a work.  Like a work of art.  It's the art of living.  That's what I want to remember and be remembered for.  That I took the time to make those around me feel special.  Everyone wants to be noticed and heard.  Breathe.  That's how we need to live.  Just breathe.  There's glory in every NOW. 

Thoughts

This life is a difficult riddle,

For how many people we see

With faces as long as a fiddle

That ought to be shining with glee

I am sure in this world there are plenty

Of good things enough for us all

And yet there’s not one out of twenty

But thinks that his share is too small.



Then what is the use of repining,

For where there’s a will there’s a way.

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today.



Do you think that by sitting and sighing

You’ll ever obtain all you want?

It’s cowards alone that are crying

And foolishly saying, ‘I can’t!’

It is only by plodding and striving

And laboring up the steep hill

Of life, that you’ll ever be thriving

Which you’ll do if you’ve only the will.

 Have life's experiences got you down? Are you going through something that has troubled you, and tempted you to quit? Some quit on God, quit on their marriage and family, and quit on themselves. Sometimes the pressures of life seem to be too much to handle.

Even the strong can fall in difficult times. Some fall into sin, some fall into discouragement. The world tends to label people who have fallen as failures. I often say that the fact the word encourages us not to quit is an indication that there will be times when doing so seems like a viable option.You may be down right now, but I encourage you to get back up. Or you may not be down, but you feel yourself falling. In your weakness, you can find the strength.

I love the song by the Afters, which says:

"You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go
You lift me up when I can’t see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I’m letting go"

Like many of you, I talk with numerous people each week - friends, neighbors, co-workers, clerks at the store, etc. - and it recently dawned on me that I have yet to come anyone who, when they stop to think about it, is not wrestling with a difficult issue or situation in their life, something that stirs in the depth of their soul, something that occupies much of their time and attention. For some it's a situation at home or at work, typically a relationship. For others, it's an internal struggle, a fear perhaps, that has control over their decision-making. Whatever it is, it's impacting other areas of their life and it's making life really hard.

As I listen to people share their concerns and struggles I'll frequently ask the question, Who else have you shared this with? And to my surprise, most people respond with "no one." Seriously? No one? Yeah, no one.

It turns out that most people, including myself, are solo wrestlers. We often go into our wrestling matches alone without anyone in our corner to listen to us and support us, without someone who's not trying to fix us but is simply there, a friend of sorts. It's a choice we make every day, sometimes every hour, to go it alone.

We isolate ourselves for a variety of reasons, one of them being, at least for me, that I don't think anyone will care. And sadly, I rarely take the risk to see if that's actually true.

So I got to thinking: what if there was a space where we could reveal our personal wrestling matches and rather than receive a Mr. Fix It response we received a heavy dose of care and companionship in the form of prayer and encouraging words? And what if, in this space, we were only allowed to ask questions as a way of listening more intently to one another? No being told what we should do. No short cuts or quick fix proposals allowed. Wouldn't such a space be a breath of fresh air, like oxygen to your soul? 

Just me  

 Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Don't feed the bad wolf

A friend showed this to me.....I needed it

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life…

He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.

The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”
They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

The Elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Dont feed the bad wolf....