All Your Need

Carl Walks Closer to the "Falling Down" House by Old Shoe Woman

It seems as though the last several years have been challenging ones for me. But, through every challenge, I have never had to go without.'

By Thy Words

 

Words (c) ninasauresrex via Flickr.com

"For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 

~Matthew 12:37

A small passage of scripture, but so packed with meaning! What was Jesus saying here? First, we need to look at this in context. Jesus had just performed an exorcism, casting a devil out of a man who was blind and dumb. The man was healed, and instantly, we see the two types of people spring into action:  the believers begin praising God and calling Jesus the son of David; the Pharisees begin talking among themselves saying he cast out the devil because he is, in fact, the devil.

God of Abundance

"Overflowing Hospitality" PhotosByDavid under Creative Commons License

I am a God of abundance. I will never run out of resources; My capacity to bless you is unlimited. You have access to as much of Me as you have faith to receive. Rejoice in My abundance--living by faith, not by sight.

~Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

It is so easy to lose our perspective when we take our eyes off of God and look at our circumstances instead. We get caught up in what we see and, while those are facts, those things exist, they are not Truth. 

And, the real problem is that what we concentrate on, what we look at, what we think about, tends to grow. So, if you are worried about a lack of finances and concentrating on that, you are, in effect, watering that plant of lack so that it will grow.

Choice

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 13: Today I'm Thankful for Choice

Have you ever caught yourself saying "I had no choice..."? That is a phrase that we should all abolish from our vocabulary. I know that there are times when we may not like the choices we have, and it may seem that one choice isn't any better than the other (I frequently feel that way come election time!). But, to say we have no choice is a lie.

From the very beginning, we were created with the power of choice.

Songs of Praise

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 8: I'm Thankful for Songs of Praise

I love music. I guess I always have. And I love to sing. Ever since I can remember, I sang in church. Even as a little girl, I sang in groups, or in duets, or by myself.

I used to like just about all kinds of music, but as I've grown older, I've pretty much narrowed my musical preference down to one genre:  praise and worship.

I still sing in the choir, if I'm not running projector. Either way, I love to participate in that very special -- and important -- part of the worship service.

Light

Day 2: Today I am thankful for Light.  

Of course, this can have a whole variety of meanings... Thankful for the light of day. As I often do, especially on mornings when I don't have to get up at a particular time to go somewhere (work, church, etc.), I hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off at 5:00 am, and allow the light to wake me up (usually around 7:00 am). It's a wonderful, peaceful way to start the day. At some point, I would love to have my life and work reach the point where this can just be my normal routine.

Alive-est

"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. If we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 27 Assignment: Alive-est by Sam Davidson

When did you feel most alive recently? Where were you? What did you smell? What sights and sounds did you experience? Capture that moment on paper and recall that feeling. Then, when it's time to create something, read your own words to reclaim a sense of being to motivate you to complete a task at hand.

When did I feel most alive recently...

Personal Recipe

"I do not wish to expiate, but to live. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady. I wish it to be sound and sweet, and not to need diet and bleeding." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Personal Recipe by Harley Schreiber

Think about the type of person you'd NEVER want to be 5 years from now. Write out your own personal recipe to prevent this from happening and commit to following it. "Thought is the seed to action."

Speak Less

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 20 Assignment: Speak Less by Laura Kimball

I once received a fortune cookie that read: “Speak less of your plans, you’ll get more done.” What’s one project that you’ve been sitting on and thinking about but haven’t made progress on? What’s stopping you? What would happen if you actually went for it and did it?

This prompt seems like a bit of a contradiction. If I'm to speak less of my plans, then why would I write about them and publish them for the world to see?

I have always been a firm believer in keeping your dreams sacred. I think there is a certain amount of power that is dissipated when we speak about our dreams -- at least with just anyone. As Emerson so aptly penned, "you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it." 

Dreams

"Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 18 Assignment: Dreams by Michael Rad

Write down your top three dreams. Now write down what’s holding you back from them.

Dream #1 - A simple, peaceful life
Dream #2 - A beautiful, peaceful home
Dream #3 - A business of my own

Alternative Paths

"When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 14 Assignment: Alternative Paths by Jonathan Fields

The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.

Sure, just when I'm thinking I've got this "FOCUS" thing down, that I really understand it, Jonathan Fields throws, me a curve ball.  Vision, goals and focus are bad things???

Surprise!

"I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, if we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 13 Assignment: Surprise by Ashley Ambirge

Think of a time when you didn’t think you were capable of doing something, but then surprised yourself.  How will you surprise yourself this week?

Fear

"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 12 Assignment: Fear by Lachlan Cotter

I'm really struggling with yet another prompt on fear.

Frankly, I just don't see myself as being that fearful.  I already dealt with the psychological, subtle fears having to do with self-esteem.

Now Lachlan Cotter asks: Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed?

Afraid to Do

“The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 9 Assignment by Mary Jaksch

Emerson says: “Always do what you are afraid to do.” What is ‘too scary’ to write about? Try doing it now.

Dare to Be Bold

"Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born."

 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 7 Assignment by Matt Cheuvront:

The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.

Come Alive

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Day 6 Assignment by Jonathan Mead

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

For These Light Afflictions...

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
-- 2nd Corinthians 4:17 & 18

And we think we have problems...

Distraction -- Faith's Biggest Enemy

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been three months since I've blogged.  Time flies when you're... distracted. It's interesting. Distraction seems like such a small thing. But, it can destroy your faith without you even realizing it's happening.


Remember the parable of the sower? This was one of  the most powerful lessons Jesus taught. It is repeated in three of the four gospels, and Jesus told his disciples that if they didn't understand this parable, they wouldn't understand the others.