Psalm 139: Dee Dee's Adaptation

Jehovah, Sovereign God, always existing, one true God.

You have searched me - when I rise up in the morning, where I sit during the day, wherever I am, always.

You perceive, understand and know my thoughts. You recognize my ways and are familiar with them - my daily paths of life, my manners, my habits, my moral character.

You know what I will say, before I do. This is way too much for me to understand, to comprehend. Yet, this is from your word, so I believe it's true.

How do you hem me in? How is your hand upon me? Please let me recognize this today.

Your presence is everywhere, in the heavens, in the depths of the valleys and oceans. At the dawn of each new day, you are there. You are here, and if I travel to the farthest sea, you're there. You're light is in darkness; you illuminate even darkness.

You made me, created and formed me, reverently, honorably, respectfully, wonderfully. I was not hidden from you. You saw my unformed body. All my days were written in the past, before I was born.

Oh Sovereign Creator, thoughts of you are precious, yet I can't comprehend all of you.

You knew me before I was, you know me today, tomorrow.

Search me. My mind. My heart. Examine, scrutinize, test and prove me.

In all of my anxieties and thoughts that disquiet me, show me where I think wrong.

Look, consider, distinguish my ways and show me my wickedness, unrighteousness, my sorrow and my idols.

Lead me in the way everlasting for I am confident that you, Father, who began the good work of your salvation in me and sealed me with your Holy Spirit will complete what you started.

Lead me in your way everlasting. Amen.

Twinkle

I began reading the book Twinkle yesterday by Elisa Morgan. It's one that's been on my bookshelf waiting patiently for me. I realized that in all of the frenzy of studying for my big test this week, I have been spiritually starving myself and I decided that no matter how well or hard I study, if I don't remember to pray first and to spend my time with God each day, I won't be as prepared as I should be by Saturday because God is my biggest motivator and supporter. So first I will share a passage from the book that I absolutely loved, and then my prayer from this morning. And no matter how busy you might be or how much might be pending on your to-do list today, I just want to remind everyone that this is the time to prepare your hearts for Jesus coming. That no matter how important everything else might seem, above all else now is when we must get alone with God and ask him to fill our hearts with his knowledge, love and grace so we might truly enjoy the joy of the Christmas season.

There was once a dark cave, deep down in the ground underneath the earth and hidden away from view. Because it was so deep in the earth, the light had never been there. The cave had never seen light. The word "light" meant nothing to the cave, who couldn't imagine what "light" might be.

The one day, the sun sent an invitation to the cave, inviting it to come up and visit.

When the cave came up to visit the sun it was amazed and delighted because the cave had never seen light before, and it was dazzled by the wonder of the experience.

Feeling so grateful to the sun for inviting it to visit, the cave wanted to return the kindness and so it invited the sun to come down to visit it sometime, because the sun had never seen darkness.

So the day came, and the sun came down and was courteously shown into the cave.

As the sun entered the cave, it looked around with great interest, wondering what "darkness" would be like. Then it became puzzled, and asked the cave, "Where is the darkness?"

Twinkle is about figuring out what kind of light you are, be it a flashlight or a pen light or a spotlight or whichever kind of light you choose, and encouraging us to be lights wherever we are. It reminded me of the song from my childhood, "This little light of mine," and I realized I haven't been letting my little light shine. Have you? Today is the day :)

Here was my prayer from this morning.

Dear Lord,

I wonder what you think of our frenzy and our long lists and our weariness. Help me to hear and accept your invitation to come away and rest awhile with you. Lord I know you are the only way I will have confidence and not be weary this week. Remind me you’re at my side, you’re on my side and that you will help me to do my best. I ask that I will be reminded these next four weeks that it is advent, that I am preparing my heart for the arrival of your Son, Jesus. And not to forget that although all of the other things going on are important, nothing is as important as preparing my heart and kneeling before you. I ask that I might twinkle, as a flashlight or a pen light. I ask that I might have my eyes opened to exactly what kind of light I am. Lord I thank you for your amazing grace, your kingdom of grace. After church yesterday I realized that the LSAT and law school are kind of like the kingdom of google that the pastor was speaking about … so many performance based criteria to be allowed entrance. And I’m just grateful Lord for you, that I don’t have to pass a test or fill out an application to be granted entry into your kingdom of grace. Remind that that is the ultimate acceptance letter I could be given (and have already received!) in these next few weeks. Please forgive me for not counting on you more, for not spending enough time with you each day Lord. Help me to make time for you, for those I love and to study. Help me prioritize with you first.

Thank you, Lord for your encouragement.

Amen.

Michael and Farrah

Just wanted to remember them and say yesterday was a very sad day.

"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with."

Michael Jackson

"God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met."

Farrah Fawcett

Finding a Way

So I've been MIA - actually just swamped with graduation, work and MIP stuff. I forgot how much freedom you think you're going to have in the summer at first until you realize you work doubles every day and all the in between time is spent at the pool, running or resting. I've been sick as well so that hasn't helped. Either way, life is good.

The devotional my dad sent me a couple of days ago arrived in my inbox on the perfect day (as usual). As I was returning to my innocence case that I took a brief respite from for about 2 weeks, the following quote reminded me how important the work is that I'm doing.

"Those who have eyes that see what God sees find ways to help the helpless."

- Julie Ackerman Link

I know I can't be all-consumed by the case, but it's hard not to think about him being in prison as I celebrate my graduation from college and spend a few days at the pool.

Other updates - I'm seeing someone new. Still trying to wrap my mind around that because it's been so long. But I am happy. Very, very happy.

GiST 8:365

1. Meeting my team for the summer program with the Innocence Project and learning we now have our own attorney for our case specifically! Such good news.

2. I bought my bridesmaid dress for Stacey's wedding :) And I'm excited to get planning!

3. A conversation I had yesterday with a nurse. I don't know how she knew exactly what to say to me to calm me down, but it was much appreciated. An understanding stranger is often the best kind of comfort.

4. Meeting the team I will be working with in the Infant Room at The Crossing this summer. I'm anxious to have some baby time!

5. Having someone to hold me while I cried and actually being able to cry for once. I hardly ever do and when I do, it's rarely in front of anyone. But it was nice to let go, and I feel much more capable of moving forward now.

6. Getting to go to a Card's game... finally! Even though they lost I had so much fun.

Hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day Weekend - the pools are all open :)

Now if Columbia would just clear itself of the clouds!

A Piece of My Running Quote File

"The years teach much which the days never know."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."

-Gloria Steinem

“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

-Andy Warhol

"We might not understand something while it's happening to us. But if we take one stitch out of the blanket, the whole quilt would fall apart. I wouldn't change anything, even the stuff that was painful or things I didn't understand, because it might have been the one stitch that held everything together."

-Rachel Ray

"None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free."

-Pearl S. Buck

"Success: To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

-Bessie Stanley

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In ll the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."

-John Wesley

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.”

-Audrey Hepburn

"The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love."

-Tom Robbins (Still Life With Woodpecker)

"The meaning of good and bad, of better and worse, is simply helping or hurting."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"To be aware of a single shortcoming in oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else." -Dalai Lama

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." 4-year-old Billy.

"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." -Jane Addams

"Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise." -Alice Walker

"You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy." -Eric Hoffer.

"The best thermometer of your spiritual temperature is the intensity of your prayer." —Spurgeon

"One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life." -Chinese Proverb.

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Skill is knowing how to do it. Virtue is doing it." -David Starr Jordan.

"Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance." -Tagore.

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." - Charlotte Whitton.

"You cannot not communicate."

-Paul Watzlawick

"The best part about playing the piano is that you don’t have to lug around a saxophone."

-Gerry Mulligan

"To live each day as if it were your last, you would be trying to remedy all the mistakes you had made, all the regrets, all the things unsaid. If you live each day as if it were your first, you are freed from all obligations, all guilt, all regret."

-unknown

The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.

-unkown

God can turn any difficulty into an opportunity.

-unknown

But most important, it (humility) requires knowing who God is—holding Him in highest esteem and trusting Him for His best in His time. — Albert Lee

Happiness keeps you sweet,

Trials keep you strong,

Sorrows keep you human,

Failures keep you humble,

Success keeps you glowing,

But Only God Keeps You Going

One small step of obedience is a giant step to blessing.

The name Christian means an “adherent to Christ”—literally, one who “sticks” to Christ. Today many people call themselves Christians. But should they?

God’s unseen presence comforts me,

I know He’s always near;

And when life’s storms besiege my soul,

He says, “My child, I’m here.” —D. De Haan

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations.

-Oswald Chambers

I wonder what I did for God today:

How many times did I once pause and pray?

But I must find and serve Him in these ways,

For life is made of ordinary days. —Macbeth

Whatever task you find to do,

Regardless if it’s big or small,

Perform it well, with all your might,

Because there’s One who sees it all. —Sper

One measure of our likeness to Christ is our sensitivity to the suffering of others.

If God has given you some special work to do that frightens you, it’s your responsibility to jump at it. It’s up to the Lord to see you through. As you faithfully do your part, He will do His part. — Richard De Haan

Old Blogs: Annoyed by an Obituary

May 12, 2008

"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."

Ok, so as aspiring journalists one of the suggestions we are given at the j-school is to "blog". They say it gets us to write about anything and everything, and helps us become better writers. I've been meaning to do so all semester, and tonight I decided that I really should just do it. I love to write so why not? And who really reads these things anyway? Probably just me. Anyway, I figured one way to go about this would be to explain the quotes that I am drawn to daily and how they happen to define my life as it is usually. I am a quote freak - I'm aware. But I love when someone else perfectly captures my feelings. Plus, I find other people love reading them and often thank me for throwing them out there.

So today I woke up suprisingly calm, turned in my term paper and a take-home final and studied my little butt off for about 3 hours. Then started to stress - this is typically how my days go. I got to the Missourian (the newspaper/magazine I write for) at 3 and of all days they decided to actually give me something to do - an obituary for someone with the last name Smith. Now there are two reasons why I was stressed by this:

1. I have two finals tomorrow I was trying to study for and I needed to get out of there early to go to the review sessions

2. When you write an obituary, you're supposed to contact family members and try to make it a "life story" rather than a short little blurb. Well let's just say looking up Smith in the phonebook and trying to contact an 83 year old persons relatives is not exactly going to happen.

It's not that I mind writing obituaries - I actually enjoy it because I think they can be incredibly meaningful to families and sometimes you can write about an amazing person. But today was just not the day. It ended up turning out fine, I made a few calls - no luck but the editor said don't worry about making it a life story. I wrote the boring one and got on with my studying.

So what am I getting at? Anger/frustration gets you nowhere. It seems obvious but the way I felt for 15 minutes - the stress that mounted all over an obituary that ended up taking 20 minutes out of my day - well it wasn't really worth it! I thought about it and all I could think was that I ended up making it to my review sessions, I feel prepared for my finals, and I took 20 minutes out of my day to acknowledge the life of someone who's no longer here.

I don't know - I've been pretty consumed lately by some things that make me angry. Mainly with people who have abandoned me in the one and only time I can think of that I actually really needed people to lean on. I've realized quickly that as my life has become so filled with people, I've let some slip away. I guess I just never thought friendship should be work. It should be understood and mutual. And then again - I just think some people never genuinely cared about me. Forgiveness has never been a struggle for me - I don't know if it's just the way I was brought up or what but I don't hold grudges, I don't let little things build to the point to ruin a relationship, and I don't ever give up on people. But I find myself hurt often by people who don't realize how much they mean to me and who give up on me the instant my life changes or progresses. I can't say I'm suprised, but for some reason I am still affected by something so completely out of my control. So I continue to pray, and to forgive. What more is a girl to do? I just hope that I never turn into a person who forgets how to forgive. I never want to be the reason someone feels the loneliness I've been fighting in the past few months.

I can't say I won't be frazzled by another story thrown at me in the newsroom. I can say, however that I'm learning to love every minute of my life. And I am suprised and amazed at every turn. Despite the loss that I'm feeling, I can't describe how very happy I am right now. And I think that I am growing - and that when I look back, I will have gained much more than I have lost.

"for everything you have missed, you have gained something else"

-ralph waldo emerson

Old Blogs: The Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (***)

If I had to summarize what the main lesson of this novel is, it would go something like this: Sometimes, you aren't strong because you want to be or because your are naturally endowed to be a tough skinned, dry-eyed individual who can handle anything. Sometimes, you're strong because you aren't given a choice. This book teaches strength in a number of relationships (mother/daughter, woman/woman, husband/wife, elder/younger), and reminded me of my mom's lesson to me while my dad was in Iraq. She always used to tell me - "I wasn't given a choice here. Dad made this choice. I get by and make it through the days because I have to. Not because I'm strong or because I don't have feelings, but because I have to. For him, for myself, and mostly for you kids." I'll never forget her saying that. When people asked her how she did it, she said "Well what else am I supposed to do? I don't have a lot of options here." And that's exactly the lesson the main character - Georgia Walker - teaches in this book. The lessons learned from her - and the directions for knitting that are two-fold...making one want to learn to knit ASAP and that equally apply to life - are applicable in a countless number of situations.

From the Instructions:

"The Gathering: Choosing your wool is dizzying with potential: The waves of colors and textures tempt with visions of a sweater or cap (and all the accompanying compliments you hope to receive) but don't reveal the hard work required to get there. Patience and attention to detail make all the difference. Also willingness. Challenge keeps it interesting, but don't select a pattern that is too far beyond you. Always select the best yarn you can afford. And use the type of needles that feels best in your hand..."

"Casting On: The only way to get going is to just grasp that yarn between your fingers and twist. Just start. It's the same with life. Of course, every beginning won't be the same: There are dozens of ways to cast on and they vary based on skill or design or even just relying on the tried and true. My point: Sometimes what works for one piece isn't the right way next time. You have to experiment and see what works. But there's a similartiy no matter the method: you either try or you don't."

"Doing the Gauge: Take measure of yourself against the expectation (Otherwise what you make just won't fit!)"

"Knit and Purl: Knit is what you show the world; purl is the soft, bubbly underside you keep close to the skin."

"Ripping It Out: All you have to do is forgive."

"Starting Again: No, there's a secret hope that makes you hold on, to dream that you'll get it right someday, that you'll go back and take it up again and it will finally come out right. That this time all the pieces will fit. The mistake is waiting until you feel renewed enough to give it another try. You simply have to pick up the needles and keep at it anyway."

"Binding Off: You can't keep your garment on needles forever; eventually it's going to have to exist on its own, supporting itself."

"Sewing It All Together: It's always easier to knit a sweater in sections: the front, the back, the sleeves. The benefit is that if one section is frustrating you, it can be put aside and you can move on to something else until you're ready to finish. that's not the same as giving up: that's being smart...Sometimes you just want to gaze on things awhile, to keep them fresh and perfect as long as you can."

"Wearing What You've Made: But just put it on anyway; celebrate your hard work and your talent. And your love. Why else would we create? Especially in a world that doesn't need homemade anything. That's when we need homemade everything. It never matters if things don't end up just the way you planned. Every moment is a work in progress; every stitch is one stitch closer. There may be worse, but there is always better. When you wear something you've made with your own hands, you surround yourself with love, and all the love that came before you . The real achievement, you see, is being proud of what you've made. I know that I am."

Other Quotes that spoke directly to me:

"Honey, being a woman is all about being sore. Get used to it."

"Love, Lucie had learned over the years, can smother you."

" It is a beautiful gift, thought Anita, to have your mother be your very dearest and best friend. It is quite another to try to be hers. Then you'd have to actaully get to know her. As a real person."

"Sometimes God answers a prayer you didn't know you had."

"We all find ourselves in places we don't expect, Cat. Situations that seem out of our control," she said. "The challenge is making our way out of them."

"Be your own saftey and security! Every woman should have credit in her own name."

"And failure, if you want to know, Dakota, is just another opportunity to try again."

"Stress is not about the situation my dear, it's about the person. There's some who can handle it and there's some who can't."

"Though the old woman was pleased, having learned through the years that a true friendship never really ended. It could always come round again."

"We don't always get what we deserve. Sometimes we get more; sometimes we get less. At least we get something."

"The things is," Anita began quietly, "that when you're young, you always think you'll meet all sorts of wonderful people, that drifting apart and losing friends is natural. You don't worry, at first, about the friends you leave behind. But as you get older, it gets harder to build friendships. Too many defenses, too little opportunity. You get busy. And by the time you realize that you've lost the dearest best friend you've ever had, years have gone by and you're mature enough to be embarrased by your attitude and, frankly, by your arrogance."

Old Blogs: Love Walked In

♥ Love Walked In ♥ by Marisa De Los Santos

This story isn't your fairytale romance, your picture perfect love. But it's love in every sense of the word: familial, friendship, romantic, and parental. This is a perfect depiction of what it means, from the eyes of a child and a woman, to search and hold on to love. The story addresses abandonment, loneliness, fear and ultimate joy. I closed this book feeling as though I just woke up and saw how important it is to hold on tight to the people I love, to tell them how much I loved them, and how I wanted immediately to start living with the grace and gratitude reflected by the two main characters, Clare and Cornelia. I think the message of this book is powerful due to Santos ability to pull at the heart-strings of anyone who's ever felt utterly alone, known love, or been terrified to know love because they know what it feels like to feel utterly alone. And it's the nature of the child, Clare, her strength, will and faith that bring readers of any age to yearn for the heart of a child when facing the struggles in life and love. If everyone could love, give, forgive and care the way that Clare and Cornelia do, the world would be a much more beautiful place.

Passages I Noted Throughout the Book:

♥ Maybe love comes in at the eyes, but not nearly as much as it comes in at the ears.

♥ For another thing, he wasn't a list of attributes, but a flesh-and-blood man, as physically present a prescence as anyone I'd met in my life. When he told me he loved me, he said it in his particular voice with catches in his particular throat, and the bones and muscles of his face moved in familiar ways and also in ways I'd never seen. Can you understand what I'm saying? I'm not just talking again about the power of physical beauty. Less-than-fantastic sex notwithstanding, we were intimates; I'd breathed his breath, my skin knew his skin, my nerve endings had sparked under his touch. That kind of knowledge was deep and had never been something I could walk away from with ease. And he had taste and humor and effortless elegance.He was down right debonair, and how many men could you say that about? And, OK, he was. He was so beautiful.

♥ I don't think love is blind, but wanting to be in love, that's probably blind.

♥ True love is probably the most clear-eyed state of being there is.

♥ What she came to was that even if someone wasn't perfect or even especially good, you couldn't dismiss the love they felt. Love was always love; it had a rightness all its own, even if the person feeling the love was full of wrongness

♥ There's a kind of holiness to love, requited or not, and those people who don't receive it with gratitude are arrogant beyond saving.

♥ She thought about the word "capture," how it put a writer on par with a fur trapper or big-game hunter, and how it implied that stories were whole and roaming around loose in the world, and a writer's job was to catch them. Except of course that a writer didn't kill what she caught, didn't stuff it and hang it on a wall; the point was to keep stories alive. She felt skeptical about this way of thinking about writing, she decided, but was glad to have considered it.

♥ When disaster strikes, I want my mother. I want her, I want her, I want her.

♥ There are facts and then there is knowledge that has nothing to do with fact.

♥ Our family is as happy as Martin was debonair: unassailably, impenetrably, consummately. We are a pretty picture hung on the gleaming nail of my mother, who is the most consummate one of all, and carved into our pretty frame are the words: DON'T ROCK THE BOAT.

♥ What do you do when you're in love with the last man in the world you can have? You plan a life, a real life, without him.

♥ And somehow to Clare, this seemed no less magical than flowers that stayed alive for years, that one woman could so love another woman that she kept doing nice things for her even after she was gone. Like love was a habit you couldn't break. (About Mrs. Goldberg)

♥ Love was mixed up in all of it, like gold in a pan of sand. Sift. Sort. Pay attention.

♥ If you're the kind of person I used to be, you might think that real life means going after what you want and getting it. I thought that, as I skirted those edges (and don't get me wrong, I liked that skirting; there was joy in it - most of the time, that skirting was the lightest kind of dancing), gazing into other people's real lives like lit-up houses, places in which real people did the work of real life. I believed they'd all achieved their hearts' desires or were in the process of achieving them. There. That's what I mean: I believed the process of achieving them was life...

I'd figured out that a real life didnt' mean attaining my heart's desire, but knowing it, meant not the satisfaction, but the longing. Knowing what you love and why, I found out, is as real as it gets.

♥ Yes, it's true, what I said earlier: A real life doesn't mean getting what you want; the acievement, the privilege, too, is knowing what you love. But getting what you love? Having what you love love you back? Oh, my friend, it's a miracle: your one tiny life's head-on collision with divinity.

♥ Because that's what love does: You give up a house that's been your heart's home most of your life and come away feeling like you've been handed the sun and the moon.

♥Suddenly it seemed vitally important that everyone I loved know exactly how and how much. I felt feverish with them to know.

♥ My heart is large; it can contain everything at once, and the road I'm on with Teo, can you see it? It runs forward and backward and no matter which we travel on it, the direction is the same. You know the direction I mean: Homeward.

Excitement.

If you’re waiting for answered prayer or the fulfillment of one of His promises, don’t give up. If you think He has forgotten you, think again. When the fullness of time is right for you, He’ll show up—and you’ll be amazed by His brilliant timing!

- Joe Stowell

I'm so anxious to finish these projects but I wanted to write on here first. It's been tremendously helpful for me to vent here lately so I figure I should continue.

I'm really missing my family, especially my dad right now. He's super unhappy in his job and I seriously worry every single day that his heart is going to act up. He's always had heart trouble and every time I talk to my mom she tells me how miserable he is. I love my dad so much and I just constantly worry about him.

At the same time I'm in love with the beautiful weather, the freedom I feel coming on post-graduation, and the friendships I've begun to build with both people here and family. Sometimes I don't feel like I can keep up with everyone, which is funny because I keep saying how lonely I am. Anyway I'm grateful for the love surrounding me. I'm trying to be strong and remember the promises I've made to myself for the next year.

One more thing- I was thinking of all of the great women in my life. Mom, Aunt Susan, Gma, SusieQ, Stacey Marie, Rachel, Sumo, Mimi, JMalle, JLew, Frischy, Smartie, AH, JR, Robin, Renee, Chrissy, Morgan& Mal, Jasmine, Mel, Casey and Jim & Jas (basically as great as the girls :)) I'm so lucky. And maybe I am a little bit feminst because I know such amazing women!

I'm almost a college grad :) time to work so I can celebrate!

btw - not talking to all of the boys from my past has been delightfully liberating so far

Oh, and I'm buying a black maxi dress from Ely's tomorrow that I can't afford.

Inspiring Poems & Such from Tessa

When I Say I Am A Christian

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."

I'm whispering "I was lost,

Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak

And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed

And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible

But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches

So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner

Who received God's good grace, somehow!

-Maya Angelou

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."
— Max Lucado

God's Accuracy

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. For example;

-the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.
-The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days.
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven).

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.

-Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even numbe r and the next row an odd number.

-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.

All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linneus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!

Dear God

The lady reading this is beautiful, classy and strong and I love her.
Help her live her life to the fullest. Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations. Help her shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love. Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs you the most and let her know when she walks with you she will always be safe.

Amen.

Moving Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day,

I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.

I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God.

You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me.

Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm.

Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.

Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

And give me the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others.

Keep me strong that I may help the weak...

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.

I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way.

I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood.

I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank You that I believe that God changes people and God changes things.

I pray for all my sisters and brothers.

For each and every family member in their households.

I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes; that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance,

or situation greater than God.

Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees it in Jesus' name. Amen!

Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin

Found this October's Real Simple and really liked it =) She encourages you to start your own "Happiness Project."

1. Don't start with profundities. Get to sleep at a decent hour and don't let yourself get too hungry.

2. Do let the sun go down on anger. Venting isn't always good.

3. Fake it till you feel it. Act happy even if you're not.

4. Realize that anything worth doing is worth doing badly.

5. Don't treat the blues with a "treat." The multiple glasses of wine or a cigarette won't really make it better.

6. Buy some happiness. Spend money to stay in closer contact with family and friends.

7. Don't insist on the best. Sometimes good enough is good enough.

8. Exercise to boost energy. It's the most dependable mood booster.

9. Stop nagging.

10. Take action. 40% of your happines level is within your control.

5 Risks Every Gutsy Girl Must Take

5 RISKS EVERY GUTSY GIRL MUST TAKE
1. Fall in love; really seize it. The guy probably WON'T BE THE ONE, but that's how you learn who you are.
2. Be yourself--especially in a relationship. We still live in a sexist world where women often twist themselves into what they think a man wants in order to have him. Put yourself BEFORE PLEASING A GUY and you're more likely to find the guy who is right.
3. Make a firm plan to move out of your comfort zone. Say that you will work this entry-level job for two years and then, NO MATTER WHAT, say that you will move on.
4. Try everything you find interesting, even if it's quirky or odd.
5. Dare to ask, what is my purpose here? You might not to able to answer it, but you'll learn a lot in the process.

Sumo found this in Cosmo and I liked it =)

Quarter Life Crisis

My friend Jen found this and I thought I would spread the comfort of it's message! I know my best girlfriends and myself are all experiencing what it describes on some level.

They call it the “quarter-life crisis.” It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn’t know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don’t recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty, mean, or insincere, but that they are just as confused as you. You look at your job… and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because you suddenly realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past for dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future, and making a life for yourself… and while winning the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender. What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. And really, this is an acknowledment that YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS…..