Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
(Deleted GIF because it was corrupted and changing other blogs.)
I saw this little gif today, and it made me think how easily our perspective can change.
NOPE can change to HOPE
With one little shift in a letter.
Something broken can be healed with one little dot of super glue.
A rainy day can become sunny with one little wind surge.
The altered state can seem simple, small, and even insignificant,
But to the NOPE, it becomes HOPE.
To the broken, it becomes mended.
To the drenched, it becomes dry.
To the hopeless, it becomes a tomorrow.
Let your walk be realigned.
Let your vision be refocused.
Let your speech be rearranged.
Let your mind be rallied.
Let your heart be restored.
Love can overwhelm you.
Hope can consume you.
And you’ll never be the same.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
To be honest, I think I must just like music. Haha.
When I get the question, “What’s your favorite genre of music?” I want to return the question with, “What’s my mood today? What’s the season, or what’s something new?”
I might be better of to answer what music do I NOT like because that might narrow the field a little more.
To listen consistently, I can’t really handle the screamo-metal genre. And even that, my son has introduced a song or two that I really like. However for the most part, that genre is probably the one with which I can’t really hang for long.
And maybe Techno isn’t one of my favorites. Still, there’s some techno tunes of the 80s that still get me moving and singing along at the top of my lungs when they come on.
And I guess, I’d have to say if there’s a genre that often turns me off, not for the music but more for the vulgar language used, is today’s culture of Rap. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve listened to plenty, as our oldest aspired to be a rap artist when he was younger. So, I’ve listened ti my fat share, and if you’re not cussing or talking dirty, I’ll give it a good listen. Unfortunately, too many of today’s rap artists have taken the cheap route of filling their lyrics with more F-bombs and bedroom brawls than they have good lyrics and story telling.
But give me Easy Listening, Southern Rock, Hard Rock, Classical, Acoustic, Indie, Southern Gospel, Blues, Bluegrass, Alternative, Christian, Christian Rock, Classic Rock, Jazz, Big Band, Folk, Celtic, Pop, Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Soul, Punk, Reggae, Disco, Ambient, Latin, Progressive, New Wave, Dubstep, Vocal, Choir, Rock & Roll… (did I miss any?) Y
ou name it. I’ll give it a listen.
I just love music. It’s melody that soothes the soul. I love the quote our Choir leader tells us, “Music is what feelings sound like.”
And something I love even more than man made music is the music of nature. The chimes of the breeze through the branches; the thunder of the clouds upon the mountains; the roar of the oceans upon the sand, or the chirp of the newborn baby birds calling for their mother. These are the beauty that will unfold in God’s creation, if we will but take a moment to listen.
A good song can uplift the broken heart. A good lyric can soothe a weary soul. A good tune can wipe away tears and being a smile.
And a well placed melody can write a book to express the deepest emotions that words just can’t describe.
So, turn up the volume just a little and tune into what someone is trying to tell you.
Let your words be few and your notes be many.
And let the harmony take you to places you’ve never been.
For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Isaiah 55:12-13
His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.
What do you think of when you hear the words freedom, liberty, and independence?
What images come to mind when you hear, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”
For our modern culture, these words do not seem to invoke the same images and thoughts that appeared to be more commonplace among Americans in years prior. As a matter of fact, the other day I googled the words “liberty and justice,” and one of the first entries said, “pledging this means accepting the reality that today there is injustice and fairness in the society,” followed by numerous political views stated pertaining to diversity and inclusion.
These ideals have their place, and I’m not going to get tangled in a political war of words and opinions; however, it’s important to remember that our Constitution’s message and the words of freedom contained within it were not created solely inresponse to the issues our society faces today. We, as a people, had constructed these words and this declaration so many decades past in order to set the foundation for which our nation stands for freedom. We decided to make these words the very cornerstones for how we should live and respond as a nation.
It’s not a reaction. It is a declaration, a belief system, upon which to build a great nation that will sustain the test of time.
And it is a fragile one. It is one that, if not protected, fought for and defended, can be stolen within a blink of an eye. It is to be cherished, valued and upheld, or it will be taken away by those who work harder to defend their own tyrannical desires.
I love the quote by Ronald Reagan in reference to this concern:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
PresidentRonald Reagan, 40th President of USA
As we celebrate this Independence Day in the great country of America, let us ask ourselves what we are doing to protect our freedoms in this country. Let us ask ourselves if we are fighting to value and cherish those freedoms, or are we conforming to the loudest voices amount us who may hate, demean and devalue this great nation.
Let us forever remember that she may have her issues, her difficulties and her need for improvement, but anyone who hates her, I ask you to go to a third world nation and compare. I ask you to travel to the war torn countries around the world and see if you’d prefer their fate.
I ask you to visit the nations who love her and wish they could be like her. Ask them how you should cherish her…
Happy Independence Day!
And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
Sometimes, you just have to saddle up and ride the horse scared.
Sometimes, you’ve just got to take a deep breath and dive in deep.
Sometimes, you’ve got to put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing.
If you don’t, you may never see the landscape from the mountain too.
If you don’t, you may never experience the exhilaration of exploring the utopia of the abyss.
If you don’t, you may never realize that he courage you had hidden deep within.
So, take the plunge.
Take the ride or die.
Chase the dream and see what is to come.
You never know the freedom of success until you do.
And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
1 Chronicles 28:20
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Not having fear sounds like a great statement, but when it’s your dream, your sickness, or your child, it’s not always that simple.
Control seems easier and less unpredictable.
Having more faith and less fear seems like a great slogan to follow until it’s you who has to walk out on the water, weather the storm in the (seemingly) rickety boat, or step out on the tightrope of success and hope it holds.
Control seems more comfortable and less unreliable.
Yet, I have found in life experiences that no matter how intuitive I think I am, He always sees better.
I have found in all my days of leading, advising, sharing, no matter how capable I feel, He is always stronger and more able.
Control seems right through our carnal eyes,
But His ways are higher than my ways.
His thoughts are beyond my imagination.
And His love is beyond my recognition.
And so, I will trust Him, and I will follow.
I have found in my life that my heart is safer within His mighty hands than it ever was within my human ones.
And I will walk forward with faith.
I will move toward the goal with my focus on Him.
And even if I’m trembling within, I will trust He’s got this because He loves me beyond reason.
For as the heavens arehigher than the earth, So are My wayshigher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Tonight, I wrote five sympathy cards to friends who have lost a loved one recently.
Three of these were within the same family, and they had personally lost 3 family members among them.
And this is just after losing a son/nephew last year and a few more members the year before.
Another couple has lost their brother, cousin, nephew, great grandmother and a distant relative, all within just months of each other.
Yes. Those are each one, a different person, and relationship with said friends.
A third family lost their son, just over thirty years of age. He lived in the Midwest, and they had to take a plane to get to him.
My husband and I received an added message tonight from an old friend who sorely misses his wife who died several years ago. He just wants to see her again.
My family is also in this list of losses, as my own grandmother passed just weeks ago.
If I only looked at all these losses, my heart would be overwhelmed.
If I only looked at the tears, the weight inside would be unbearable.
Grief is hard.
Grief is exhausting.
Grief can be all consuming.
It’s what we do with it that makes the difference.
For me and for you.
A father, close to my age, lost two sons in a boating accident a short 11 years ago, and he shares his grief publicly to encourage others.
A wife shares her story of losing her law enforcement husband to his life in duty, and she gives others support, telling them they can and will survive.
A grandmother describes the last few years of her disabled mother’s life in desire to bring joy to others hearing how her mom always said, “I love you” with a smile to most anyone she met.
Grief is all around us.
If you don’t see it, it’s simply because your eyes are blinded.
If you don’t feel it, you may be oblivious or just plain self consumed.
I’m begging you to open your eyes.
I’m pleading with you to say a prayer.
I’m imploring you to look around and reach beyond self indulgences.
And grasp the hand of those bereaved, lost, or confused.
You never know whose life you might save,
Simply by giving a ray of hope in their dreary world.
Be the joy.
Be the peace.
Be the hope they desperately need.
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
When you come through it, those who saw your wound will be amazed at the lessened scar.
When you survive, those who didn’t begin with you will nod in agreement to your strength.
When you are thriving, you will be rejoicing how far you’ve come and how far you’re ready yet to run.
Let the silence scream.
And heal on.
He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is consideredperceptive.
And bonus: when you’ve walked through the fire, and you’ve slain your dragon, there are those following.
And they need your victory.
So, be like Joan. Be not afraid.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
There are so many hurting and lost souls in this world.
Why would you ever want to become the one who wounds?
There are so many broken shattered lives all around.
Why would you ever want to become the abuser?
There are so many confused and controlled within our stories.
Why would you ever want to become an he one who brings the pain?
When you want to lash out, reach out in love.
When you want to return the cuts, give grace instead.
When you want to bring vengeance for the tears, give forgiveness and walk away.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean reconciliation is yielded.
Healing doesn’t always warrant reentry of the poison.
Be wise, but still forgive.
Be prudent, but still release the accused.
Holding them prisoner only brings the same guilt back to you.
Open that lock and barricade and let freedom reign.
Walk away to become someone else’s hero.
Move forward to create someone else’s ability to live.
Run toward purpose to become someone else’s hero and help slay someone else’s giant.
Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
My journey didn’t stop with mere time travel or writing; it led me to become one of the most sought-after empaths, a soulful psychic who reads the hidden depths of the human spirit. I’ve been blessed—or perhaps burdened—with an ability that allows me to feel the emotions of people from every corner of time.
I am a licensed psychologist based in Greece. My love for housekeeping has inspired me to create this blog about home management and family relationships. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!
Dedicated to movie nerdom, nostalgia, and escape. In the late 90s, I worked at Blockbuster Video where they let me take home two free movies a day. I caught up on the classics and reviewed theatrical releases for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. Today, while raising two young, beautiful daughters with my amazing wife, I look forward to anything rated R and not Bluey. Comments and dialogue encouraged!
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