Quote of the Day 2/19/14

An excerpt taken from "The Adventure of Waiting" by Endya Joy

"His words will always be filled with grace and encouragement because he will continuously wash you with the water of the Word. The favor of God will be evident on his life because his pursuit will be to go deeper into the heart of God. He will be a mighty warrior of God balanced with compassion, grace, and love. God’s glory will be displayed in his life. The Holy Spirit will fill him and rest upon him.

You will know him because he will walk in victory and integrity- a defender of Truth. He will have a servant’s heart who can humbly admit when he is wrong. There is not a prideful or arrogant bone in his body. He will put other’s needs before his own. He will have a pure heart and desire to walk in constant consecration before the Lord. He will guard and protect your purity and heart. His purpose and vision will beautifully connect with yours. He will be an amazing leader and provider. He will be responsible and mature. He will be a gentleman. Oh, and he will be handsome too.

No, he will not be perfect but he will be in the process of being perfected by Christ."

A post worth reading for ladies (and men) in waiting. Read the rest here: 

http://www.wholemagazine.org/2014/02/the-adventure-of-waiting.html

happiness is your choice

A few months ago I got a text that read: "I've learned that you have a great take on pretty much everything." Just a few simple words but they carried a lot of meaning. When I first read it, my initial mental response was "well doesn't everyone?" I guess in the context of whatever we were talking about, I didn't think I was saying anything great or deserving of such a statement. I was merely stating my thoughts on the matter. I guess I was just thinking that doesn't everyone try to find the silver lining or the good in the bad or outweigh positives with negatives? 

Whatever you want to call it, isn't it a whole lot easier to live when you focus on good things instead of the bad? If life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it, then doesn't that mean that we are somewhat in control in the way each day plays out?

In the past few weeks alone, I have heard a lot of conversations about pain, stress, confusion, complaints and the not so happy parts of life. At the same time, I have heard about joys, growth, love and general optimism about life. At the end of the day, the battles we are fighting and the problems we are facing are all the same. Problems are not unique. The details of a specific scenario might be, but there is nothing that has happened to someone that has never happened to anyone else. Hate to break it to you and me, but your problems and my problems and my neighbors problems are fundamentally the same. Pain always manifests itself through the same venues: because we are all human and we all make mistakes. And because we make mistakes, those mistakes hurt other people as an unfortunate by product. That is just the reality of the world we live in. 

Or maybe your problem isn't, per say, pain. Maybe you're just confused about life. Maybe you overloaded yourself and are really stressed out. Maybe you failed a test. Maybe you forgot to pack a lunch and now you're just angry out of sheer hunger. Maybe traffic is pissing you off or that car that just stole the parking space you've been waiting for. Maybe you're pissed off because your roommate never does the dishes or your boyfriend says all the wrong things. Maybe going to a class that has no relevance to life or working a job you aren't particular excited leaves you feeling moody and not particularly excited about life. To be honest, I don't blame you. Life can provide you with a million things to be not excited about and downright feeling really over it...

Or life can give you a million things to be excited about. It's kinda, actually, really up to you.

Quote of the Day 2/17/14

"That’s what I want my life to be, like a well-loved gift. I think life, just life, just breathing in and out, is a great gift. God gives us something amazing when he gives us life, and I want to live with gratitude. I want to live in a way that shows how much I appreciate the gift. If life were a sweater, I would wear it every day. I wouldn’t save it or keep it for a special occasion. I would find every opportunity to wear that sweater, and I’d wear it proudly, shamelessly, for days on end.”

There’s normal life, kind of day-to-day, make-breakfast, do-the-dishes kind of life, but just underneath that, like a throb of bass you feel in your chest, I feel a whole other thing going on. In the midst of taxes and email, there is something sacred, something special dipping and weaving within that same old thing, like a firefly, like a great song, and it reminds you that the dishes and the taxes are real, but so much more is real, too. The sacred mixes in with the daily when you have a conversation with someone you love, or when you read a great book, or when you do something courageous. It’s still just a normal day, but there’s something bigger, something more compelling going on, too."    [Shauna Niequist]

Quote(s) of the Day 2/14/14

Happy Valentines Day! 

Whatever your current status is and however you may feel about Valentine's Day, I think its an extra opportunity to be reminded of how many blessings and how much love we all have in our lives. Today we should be reminded and encouraged to simply give a little extra love, a little extra attention and a little extra care to everyone; to those we know and to those we don't know. Everyone can always use a little more love in their lives!

And some quotes for today:

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."  [Mother Teresa]

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." [Charles Dickens]

If you wished to be loved, love. [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]

Hope for love, pray for love, wish for love, dream for love…but don’t put your life on hold waiting for love. [Mandy Hale]

There is no remedy for love but to love more. [Thoreau]

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” 
[Lao Tzu]

"Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could."  [Barbara de Angelis]

Quote of the Day 2/13/14

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."   [Blaise Pascal]

Quote of the Day 2/12/14

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." [Mother Teresa]

Quote of the Day 2/10/14

Today's quote of the day is actually a song. This song speaks to my heart every time I hear it and I hope it seeks to yours too.

"Architecture" 

by Jonathan Thulin

"You build me up like a city of gold

The battles rage but I'm standing tall

You formed my heart like an empire

The wind and rain can't stop this fire

If only I could see it from Your perspective

The beauty and the grace of Your architecture"

It's been my pleasure falling in love with you.

I'm in love. 

And I'm ready to get it out in into the open.

Quote of the Day 2/9/14

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”   [Donald Miller]

Quote of the Day 2/6/14

we are a funny bunch. 

"You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."  
[Desmond Tutu]

Quote of the Day 2/4/14

"Be present in the hard moments. The lonely moments, the phone calls, the hospital visits, the vigilant prayers for friends in need, the bad dreams, the funerals, the breakups, the airport goodbyes, the job losses, the regretting, the painfully awkward moments, the failures. The sad tears. 

Be present in the wonderful moments. The sunrises, the engagements and weddings, the babies, the concerts, the stargazing, the laughing, the long hugs, the airport hellos, the kisses, the art, the breakfasts with friends, the midnight snacks, the notes from pen-pals, the best friend sleepovers, the road trips. The God moments. The joy. The happy tears. 

Be present in all of that, and the in-between too. The taxes and emails and grocery shopping and checkbook-balancing. 

Be present in all of it."  [Author Unknown]

Quote of the Day 2/3/14

 “True friendship is a sacred, important thing, and it happens when we drop down into that deeper level of who we are, when we cross over into the broken, fragile parts of ourselves. We have to give something up in order to get friendship like that. We have to give up our need to be perceived as perfect. We have to give up our ability to control what people think of us. We have to overcome the fear that when they see the depths of who we are, they’ll leave. But what we give up is nothing in comparison to what this kind of friendship gives us. Friendship is about risk. Love is about risk. If we can control it and manage it and manufacture it, then it’s something else, but if it’s really love, really friendship, it’s a little scary around the edges.”  [Shauna Niequist]