OPEN YOUR HEART!

If we know the truth of the following words and that they apply to each of us created in His image, AS WE ARE, why must the hate continue to defeat love? Where is peace?

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. -Psalm 139:14

 

Quote of the Day – Wonder

Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.   – Richard Paul Evans –

How blessed are we to be Christians who know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and to realize awe and wonder – His awe and wonder = belong to us every moment from this life into the next!!!

Photo by Martha L Shaw – Copyright 12-1-2012

Thank You Veterans!

 

Thank you, proud Navy Veteran Ronald E Shaw, deceased, my Dad.  Thanks as well to all Veterans, past and present for honoring us with your service!

 

Wasted Talent

We have all been created with uniqueness and talent and gifts from God.  Some say “I have no talent” but perhaps they seek to be a famous painter when God wished them to sing?  To be a great paino player when God blessed them with talent to tend a garden and bring beauty and good food into being?  Think about it.

It takes no more effort to be positive and express joy then it does to be negative and complain . . . it is no different from looking to the left or to the right and yet . . . it makes ALL the difference!

I Love Rumi – A Quote For Tuesday

Oh, this one just makes my jaw drop, lifts weight from my shoulders, and makes my soul dance ALL AT ONCE.  What must the neighbors be thinking?  lol  I hope it catches your soul as well!

“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”  – Rumi

9/11 A Day To Change The World

Most of us are thinking many things today as we remember what happened not so very long ago on this day.  I am at this moment preparing to teach a one-hour creative writing class for 4-7 year olds.  I’m sure they’ve been hearing things which are scary to them.  Those things we’re hearing scared us,  and we are a lot more able to understand such things than the wee ones . . . yet in this case it is hard to comprehend.  It is harder still to be unafraid, to be without anger . . . but in my heart I can’t help but think that if the tragedy that happened doesn’t make us try harder to care about all around us, then surely those many many folks will have died in vain.  So, what I plan to teach my wee ones today to how to change the world.  They will be asked to tell a story of doing kindness one for another.  If each one of us focuses on doing something extra and positive to impact the life of just one other living soul in this world, do you realize how huge an impact it will make?  Do it.  Change the world.  We can – just one heart at a time!

July 4th – Just Another Long Weekend?

What do you think?  If you have someone you care about who is hard at work to protect your freedom, or who has gone to their reward, but deserves a mention, here’s a place to post their name so my many, many readers can appreciate them and be inspired to do likewise!  We can change the world one “thank you” at a time. 

Click here, and add your tribute in the comment section!

 

My New Newsletter Has Been Published Here!

I have just created a new newsletter and added a new page to my blog for your ease in locating the current issue.  This first one is just one page in length and thus even with a slow computer you should be able to download this PDF file if you would like to read and share it.  This month, I featured one of my blog posts which has been among the most popular and also the newest.  It speaks to an economy which has many of us facing challenges which we’ve never experienced in the past.  It is a time of awakening and of change.  How ironic that we use every possible resource at our disposal  . . . all but one.  Our relationship with our risen Lord, Jesus Christ!   He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide and guard us and He waits for us to turn our troubles over to Him, and yet we focus on our own limited ability and not on His AMAZING love for us!   It’s only when all else has failed that we, so often, finally turn to Him.  I am preaching to myself here, but I know I’m not alone in this.  As humans we are weak, but He has the strength to carry us through IF we let Him!  Click on my Newsletter page and download a copy of this first issue for May if you’d like one for yourself or some0ne you love.

Where Do You Seek Pleasure?

Pleasure – I love that word. Just saying it brings a smile to my face. It can’t be helped. Seriously, stand in front of a mirror. Relax your facial muscles completely, then speak the word pleasure or the other form of the word, which is please. Did you notice? Your entire expression changes. A smile forms quite naturally. The smile, however, is just the external manifestation of the feeling within. Where do you seek pleasure? Where do you find it? Are the two answers the same or are they in contrast? Psalm 147 suggests where it is not likely found, telling us “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior . . . “ and that’s all well and good, but where do I find it? The dictionary defines pleasure as that in which I take my delight. When I get up in the morning, I can’t wait for a cup of coffee. I have friends who look forward to a glass of wine at the end of the day. There’s nothing wrong with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. The Bible is full of mention of wine and our Lord performed the well known miracle at the wedding changing water into wine, so surely a glass is not wrong. However pleasant these things may be though, they do not provide the lasting pleasure I seek. My delight is not truly found there. Nor are they that in which I can place my trust or seek refuge. Where then?

I looked for the answer to this question in Scripture and the answer started to come to me in the book of Daniel 4:2 “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” His words got my attention causing me to thirst for further wisdom on the source for these miraculous signs and wonders. I found my answer in Ephesians 1:8-10 when I read “He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” The answer I was searching for! I know that, for me, the only one in whom I can seek refuge, place my trust, and find true pleasure is in Christ. In giving my heart fully to Him, I found life! He is my Savior, the lover of my soul, and the source of such amazing, underserved and unconditional love and it is only in Him that I can ever find true and lasting pleasure! Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

We Are One Body In Christ

We, indeed, are one body in Christ.  Alone we can do nothing but together we can inspire each other, support each other, and share our talents which collectively and with His grace can bring His light to those in dark places.  If you would like to be a part of a group of supportive loving Christians sharing the love of Jesus with your brothers and sisters in Christ and sharing the ups and downs of  your life with other believers, I encourage you to come to my new Yahoo Group just set up today.  All Christians welcome regardless of denomination.  Together we can pool our talents and be His beacon!  Check it out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christians_inspiring_sharing_together