What We Need

So much of what we need is around us already, lying in wait for us to realize. We search, make lists of things to buy, when we have them already. Sometimes it just takes a little poking around to find, tucked away, behind something else, just what we are looking for. It may not be newly bought, fresh-store smelling, but alas, it is there.


A journal, some book, something, to lie these thoughts in my head to rest, is what I needed this morning. Immediately, I thought a trip to the store was needed. I pictured the new journal I would purchase or at least contemplated what I would be looking for. Then I stopped. I prayed, asked God to provide me with something to write in. I looked - sought - and found. I found two previously used notebooks, with available pages, -- bare -- lying in wait to be used.

I thanked God, took my new found items --previously forgotten, lain to waste, and gleefully anticipated how I bring them to life; how I would use them again.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/124773805@N06/26425415524">Schleif-10 window</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>

Jesus and Sunshine

It dawned on me that I was jealous of Jesus' ability to love others in the full and whole way that He loves. The thought of Jesus loving others, having to dedicate time to others bugged me.

After pondering this for some time, I realized that God loves each of us equally, passionately, and with great care.  His love for one does not trump or impede upon His love for another. He does not have favorites.

To further help with this new discovery, an image from nature came to mind. I pictured the sun shinning down on a field of flowers.  The sun would shine down and all the flowers would get shined upon--equally. Each flower in that field would receive the healing light of the sun in the same dosage. The sun wouldn't chose which flower to shine on; it would beam down its love equally. All flowers would get love. This was comforting and reassuring to me.



Photo: http://www.freepicturesweb.com/pictures/2011-12/9806.html

Loneliness hugged her, where the hook of a lover's arm should. 

#sentencesinmyhead

A blanket of sleep covered the town.

#sentencesinmyhead

Photo: Gillian Rougier

Boys and Books: the Connections

I'm reading this book right now and I'm not really enjoying it. I am dreading the task and pretty much stalling/procrastinating. Why can't I just say, "I'm not enjoying this book" and put it down and stop reading it??

Then it hit me: I am doing the same thing with dating. I'm biding time with someone who I am not fully enjoying dating. Why can't I just say, "I am not enjoying dating you. Here are the things that aren't working for me?"

I don't want to hurt the book's feelings and I don't want to hurt my date's feelings. But being truthful is necessary. There is something to sticking-to-things and finishing what you started, but there's the other side too.  Joy is important and necessary in life too.

Doing things that you don't really enjoy for some guilt reason, robs you of time doing the things that you really want to be doing. Spending time with this book that I genuinely don't want to read, is keeping me away from other books that I could be reading and fully enjoying. Spending time with this person that isn't meeting my standards, is robbing me of time meeting other potential dates.


In Short:
Don't waste time with books you don't really like and
Don't waste time with boys you don't really like!

Life's too short for that!

Make's me  think of Austin Kleon's declaration that he will not finish books that he doesn't like.
Check it out here:
http://austinkleon.com/2014/10/17/33-thoughts-on-reading/

Celebrating Brokenness

We are all broken. We stretch, preen, reach; trying anything but to be broken, flawed, cracked.

There is beauty in our brokenness. It is what we have in common.

We want to find some kind of glue that will mend all of the hurts and wrongs. Yet these are the very things that make us beautiful, that gives us character, that makes us stronger, more humble and more compassionate.

So today I celebrate brokenness. I celebrate the cracks in my exterior, in my soul, in my heart.

Photo: Joseph Francis

http://tinyurl.com/lzfxjx5

Thankful For All Of It

We fail. We make mistakes. We disappoint others and we ourselves are disappointed. All the while, our lives unfold. We shower, we get dressed, we eat and we pay bills. In the task of managing our lives, we lose sight of the gift of being here.

Our lives are rich with experiences, from the ordinary to the breathtaking. The little parts of our stories add up to beautiful mosaics, living pieces of  art. It is easy to feel that only the big momentous occasions matter and count towards a life of value, but that simply isn't true. Every second of our lives is richly unique and we should be thankful for it all.

I am thankful for all parts of my journey: the funny, the scary, the joyous, the challenging, the monotonous... all of it, because it means I am alive and in the process of unwrapping a very special gift that takes a whole lifetime to uncover: the gift of life.

photo credit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/baileywho/3481523826/