Be Still...

Be still, MY MUSCLES, and know God's RELAXATION.
Be still, MY NERVES, and know God's REST.
Be still, MY HEART, and know God's QUIETNESS.
Be still, MY BODY, and know God's RENEWAL.
Be still, MY MIND, and know God's PEACE.

Wisdom

Knowledge is proud that she knows so much;
Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.
- Cowper

triumph!

“In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered me by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.” Psalm 118:5-7 (NIV)

just to pump you up a bit....

From The Message selected from Matt. 6

When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, Who conceived you in love --- working behind the scenes helps you out. ... Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with what ever hard things come up when the time comes.

promises...

"God has not promised that life will always be easy or pleasant. He has not promised to give us everything we want...What we can be sure of is that God is good and He loves us. Our circumstances are a part of God's working out His purposes for our eternal good. He has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us in the midst of all His work."
--Jennifer A. Marshall in now and not yet

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see,
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me.

oh yeah....I forgot....

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)

"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

"The God of peace will be with you." Phil.4:9 NKJV

"...When a tragedy occurs ---our fear, worry and trust in God fluctuateas we wait, we pray, we grieve and wonder what the Lord will do. It is natural for us to be fearful in a storm (literal or figurative). The disciples had Jesus right in there boat with them, yet they were afraid(Matt.8:23-27). He used the calming of the storm as a lesson to show them who He was --- a powerful God who cared for them. We wish that Jesus would always calm the storms of our life as He calmed the storm forthe disciples. But we can find a moment of peace when we are anchored to the truth that He's in the boat with us and He cares." ---Anne Cetas

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin to Pooh

one day at a time, sweet Jesus.....

one of the best versions I've heard...

James 4:10 NIV

"Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up."

here and now...

The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event.
"Let not your heart be troubled . . ." ( John 14:1, 27 ). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced?
I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.--Oswald Chambers

Characterization

"All people have three characters, that which they exhibit, that which they are, and that which they think they are." - Alphonse Karr

A word from Teddy...

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28 (NAS)

When in doubt, create your own Chicken Soup

Chicken Meatball Soup
Three large Sweet Onions
1lb Carrots
Olive Oil
2 Large Cans of Chicken Broth
1 pound Ground Chicken
1/2 tsp soup and 1/4 tsp in meatballs Parsley
1/2 tsp in both soup and meatballs Sage
1/2 tsp in soup Rosemary
1/4 tsp in meatballs 1/2 tsp in soup Thyme
1/4 tsp in both the soup and the meatballs Chipolte Pepper
1 tsp Chicken Base
Mini Bow Tie Pasta

Dice three large sweet onions and caramelize them in a soup pan with olive oil. Peel and slice thinly one pound of carrots. Add to the pot with the caramelized onions. When the onions have reached their maximum doneness without going too far, fill the pot with two large cans of chicken broth.

Make chicken meatballs with ground chicken and parsley, sage, thyme, and chipolte pepper. Mix the seasonings well and then form into tiny meatballs. Add to the soup once the broth has begun to boil.

Also, add Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Chipolte pepper, and chicken base to the soup mix.

Cook on simmer until the carrots are cooked through.

Return the soup to boil and add mini bow tie pasta. Boil according to pasta directions then return the soup to simmer and serve.

Philippians 4: 4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

True Love

"But anyone who does not love does not know God -- for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (1 John 4:8-10 NLT)

waiting....

"So many times I've begged God to finally reach down from heaven and move, speak, act, shine a light on my path. But so often when I go to him with my questions and restlessness, he doesn't reveal anything instantly. Yes, he brings hope, he renews my faith, and he gives me strength to keep going.

But in that gentle, quiet voice, he also speaks the words I've heard over and over again … my daughter, wait.

And so I do. And as the years pass by, I'm finally beginning to realize it's in these seasons of waiting and being still before God, pouring out my heart before him, that he does some of his greatest work. It's in the desert, the wilderness, the quietness that God can restore hope and vision and deepen my character. It's in waiting that I get to know God's heart more intimately and finally begin to realize he is my life."
--Sherry Funk in Christianity Today: the Single Connection

hope...

"---hope is not about proving anything. It's about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us."--Anne Lamott

Tequila and Salt

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day.
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2.At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

And always remember.... when life hands you Lemons, ask for Tequila and Salt and call me... over!

God Remembers:

God remembered Noah, ..and all the animals that were with him.Gen 8:1.
God remembered Hannah when she prayed for a son. 1Sam. 1:19
God remembers wherever we are. Our pain is His pain.
Commit your challenges and difficulties to Him. He is the all seeing God who waits to meet our needs.

He has already taken care of tomorrow...

Just remember he's not worried about tomorrow because he has already worked that out. He's inviting you to live with him in the joy of the moment, respond to what he puts right before you. The freedom to simply follow him that way will transform so many areas of your life. He loves you...and he wants you to live in the security of that, without having to figure everything out.

So You Don't Want Go to Church Anymore p78 Jacobsen and Coleman

because He lives...

"instead of focusing on what you don't have...focus on what you DO have: a coming blessing out of a recent loss...."
-Joel Hunter, Northland's Easter Service

in this darkness, love will show the way....

SHOW THE WAY by David Wilcox

You say you see no hope, you say you see no reason
We should dream that the world would ever change
You're saying love is foolish to believe
'Cause there'll always be some crazy with an Army or a Knife
To wake you from your day dream, put the fear back in your life...

Look, if someone wrote a play just to glorify
What's stronger than hate, would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late he's almost in defeat
It's looking like the Evil side will win, so on the Edge
Of every seat, from the moment that the whole thing begins
It is...

Chorus:
Love who makes the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Although it looks like we're alone
In this scene set in shadows
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play...
For in this darkness love can show the way

So now the stage is set. Feel you own heart beating
In your chest. This life's not over yet.
so we get up on our feet and do our best. We play against the
Fear. We play against the reasons not to try
We're playing for the tears burning in the happy angel's eyes
For it's...

The price of guilt...

We can't love what we fear. You can't foster a relationship with someone who is always checking your performance to make sure it's adequate enough to merit his friendship. The more you focus on your own needs and failures, the more distant Father will seem to you. Guilt does that. It shoves us away from God in our time of need, instead of allowing us to run to him, presenting our greatest failures and questions so that we might receive his mercy and grace.

Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman

amen and amen....

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances. ~Robert Flatt

Today's Truth

"You are precious and honored in my sight..." (Isaiah 43:4a, NIV).

Great philosophy!

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car backed out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning withregrets, so... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!Have a blessed, garbage-free day.

Soul Alignment

"If you meet someone whose soul is not aligned with yours, send them love and move along."
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

thankfully....

"...the way I see things, God loves you the same whether you're being elegant or not. It feels better when you are, but even when you can't fake it, God still listens to your prayers. "--Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

Praise God!

I will cause you to walk in the straight way...
I will open to you the gates of righteousness..
For whoever finds Me, finds life
- Psalm 118:19; Proverbs. 8: 35-6

Grace....

Grace is the force that infuses our lives and keeps letting us off the hook. It is unearned love--the love that goes before, that greets us on the way. It's the help you recieve when you have no bright ideas left, when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you. Grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.
-Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

You are Beautiful!

People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves. - Salma Hayek

embrace delicious ambiguity

"I always wanted a happy ending... Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity." --Gilda Radner

What do you see?

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe, from "Faust"

Voice of love quote...

"You are so loved and adored. If you only knew how loved you were, you would never fear again."

Yes, Lord...yes, Lord...yes, yes, Lord!

I'll go where You want me to go, dearLord,
O'er mountain or plain or sea;
I'll say what You want me to say, dearLord,
I'll be what You want me to be. ---Brown

whew!

The truth is visible through the cracks in broken people.

It's the cracked ones who let all the light into the world.

--unknown

Zephaniah 3:17, NIV

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing"