Category Archives: Lessons

Your Life's Real Purpose . .

30 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Attitude, Character, Choices, God, Gratitude, Lessons, Life, Love, Wisdom

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purpose-1-6-25People are forever wondering their purpose in life . . but don’t you know by now?!! It’s not some big mystery. Yes, you might accomplish something marvelous and new; or change history, but your purpose is to give away as much of what lives within you as you possibly can . . in the way of love . . hope, compassion, concern besides. Give your heart away, you can never give so much of it that you’ll be left without any for yourself.
For those who assume this is about money, or some service. It might be as an indirect result. But without love attached, and without love as the just cause and motivation – nothing you do, are or give means much anyway! Love is the blessing, love is the reward, love is what you give, what you take, what you ponder and what you make! Your intention in living should be to create a heart so unselfish for its outpourings, that it is known throughout the world as such. That is your purpose.
Go ahead and create what you will, make what you might, form anything by hand or lead us to greatness. But first, consider love. And by love and for love’s sake, everything you do shall be known and all you experience shall be cast. It’s impossible to drench yourself in the waters of love and not quench your thirst, bring relief to your soul and fill your spirit with its Source. Look at the world thirsting, dry and anguished . . even with all it’s inventions, all it’s wealth and all it’s busy people doing great things. Our concern for a legacy should be about what we leave for the world, from our hearts making!
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John 13:34-35 . .
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

1 Peter 4:8 . .
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Romans 13:8-10 . .
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

1 John 4:7 . .
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 Corinthians 13 . . The Way of Love
If I speak in images0RQ74MV1the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Living Life As An Overcomer

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Lessons, Life

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be_an_overcomerLiving life requires that you overcome . . a human being must always be at heart an overcomer for his or her life to measurably amount to anything at all. Our first breaths are overcoming breathlessness, and from those first days, we journey through progressively varying stages of difficulty in overcoming something or some state of being which is challenging, testing and often immensely painful. It might be our state of being, our own health, our family, poverty, a condition of our ability as compared to those of others. We all have something, some challenges or many states to overcome in life. When you choose to deign yourself a victim of a circumstance, a fearful soul, trapped in your present condition, unable to grow or incapable of much at all, you no longer can be an overcomer. You become rather an un-doer, a stagnant soul or a person whose own life disappoints them, fills them with regret or sorrow. An overcomer might be victimized or be temporarily in some state, even with a
Helen_Keller - 50permanent condition in which they cannot change, but they are inherently resolute to not defining their lives in that way. An overcomer take on the challenges of life, living it to the fullest in spite of the reasons to remain status quo. A most shining example of being an overcomer is Helen Keller. She had no ease in life being sightless, deaf and mute, unable to communicate easily with the audible language we all take for granted to first teach us. But yet, she was able to learn with much effort and patient teaching; and developed beyond those imprisoned states to become so much more! Fear, self-doubt and reasoning worry keep us locked in states of being, in conditions we don’t favor, in emotions which are negative . . but an overcomer takes on the hard work with courage, curiosity and a tireless resolve because they realize their greatness in life and the greatness of their life depends on being first an overcomer! Don’t let fear take your wings in life, don’t easily label yourself a victim who is unable, unwilling or just incapable. Be an overcomer and earn the rewards of taking on challenges even in the face of fear. Let your wings of courage and curiosity build a life worthy of your dreams and desires on the other side of your struggles, challenges and fears!

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Deep-Water Living . .

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Character, Choices, Commitment, Confidence, Courage, Growing, Inspiration, Lessons, Life

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Deep-Water Living

Deep-Water Living

So many people choose to live their lives in the shallow waters, never venturing out deeper where  faith, hope,love, commitment, courage, growth, challenge & everything that pushes a human to live as more are found. Going further & deeper helps us to grow up.  But it’s as if some feel more comfortable without the weight of too much emotion, the increasing burdens often fraught in real human entanglements & the messiness of growing up. They want to have fun, to enjoy life, to focus all their energy on whatever it is that brings them money, fame, power, joy or some other outer-body measure sans the hassle of going deeper & further. So they choose to make a life without any challenge to their spirit or soul. They learn to live so singularly for themselves that they don’t even see those choices, that reticent need to stay comfortably where they are & to not grow up, as narcissistic, selfish & self-involved. If we don’t allow ourselves to claim responsibility for our own messes, to feel for others compassionately, to entangle ourselves in the messes of life & to grow up through the challenges we have opportunity to take on, we never become much of anything in the world but an aging shell of a human being. As the noted poet Maya Angelou has said: “Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging.” Human beings are called upon to develop, not just physically, but also to mature emotionally & spiritually. What a shame to be so one-dimensional that we might focus all our energy on just staying happily in the shallow waters, never venturing out to where the real challenges of life might take us nor appreciating that great strength when we do find it in ourselves or when we see it in others! Taking the easy way isn’t necessarily taking the best way. And often times, staying where we’re comfortable means we miss more of what we could never even imagine in the way of true joy, inner peace & burgeoning self-esteem!

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Do Overs and Second Chances. . .

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Change, Choices, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Faith, Lessons, Life, Second chances

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ChangeFlowersThere are always do overs and second chances & new opportunities. Who says you can’t have, be or do anything again or anew in life??  There is no end until we reach the end. We are only stuck if we accept that something is all or the end is truly the end before it really is. I can assure you, just because you thought something was meant to be, doesn’t mean it was. And just because you are certain, sometimes you are then proven wrong. There are always do overs and second chances.
When that happens, you move forward & find a new way . . and often the new way makes you realize the old way was just that, a way which took you only so far for so long. The new route is better & hasn’t as many ruts because you learned from what is now past.
When you have done your best where you are, with no regrets, your life deserves your best efforts now – focused on leading you down the new pathway! As I will attest, what lies down the new pathway, although at first uncertain & so different than expected, will soon become the sure-footed way you were surely meant to go all along! God often just closes those doors when He knows something you don’t. There is a reason & a season for different aspects of our lives, when the doors shut, look for the open one which brings you to new people, new places & new experiences!
That is your future, the rest is best left in the past where it belongs. You can look back & see the lessons which taught you what you needed to learn, but then leave the door closed & go eagerly through the open one . . for that is where your future lies! I have learned that through the open door all the things I left behind were never what they really seemed anyway. Often what we find when we close a door is that we should have closed it a lot sooner!! Go forward in life & be open to what you’ll find . . it isn’t fair to you to give so much energy to things & people & places which aren’t returning the time invested. The sooner you learn to see what doesn’t bring you adequate return for your time & energy given, respecting & honoring your value, the sooner you will want to move ahead, close the doors &  walk through the open doors ahead!
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Thankful for My Normal . . .

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Character, Choices, Commitment, Family, God, Gratitude, Integrity, Lessons, Life, Love, Strength

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When I see the normal to which others ascribe, I want to drop to my knees and am thankful to God for my sense of normal! My life has been far from perfect, idyllic or even one of privilege, but my life has been perfectly idyllic in what blessings I have had! I have been richly blessed for instance with parents who did their best, never turned from or shirked their responsibilities regarding home & family, especially their children. In fact, they worked hard & diligently to provide what we needed whenever we needed it. They were not from wealthy families, in fact, my father was the first member of his immigrant blue-collar family to go to college! He deliberately took the time to consider all of life’s options, choosing quite wisely for his family when moving us as his job demanded . . which we did many times as kids.
He took great care when picking houses he could afford in the best areas he could find, he checked out the school & the districts, even when accepting his new positions he weighed the impact of all its benefits upon us, his family. When laid off, he never quit looking for work even though it would sometimes be a lengthy process of hundreds of interviews & rejections, with him flying around the country to look for what might work. He never considered his failing to provide as even being an option. He just did what he had to do & always held his confident demeanor with us.  My parents both never bought more than they could afford, qualified for every home & lived on a wing & prayer when they had to move us during one of my father’s relocations or promotions, hoping the current one would sell so that they could buy one in the new location.
My mom actually lived without a car, with three kids all of school age, for over six months back east, in snowy weather, as my father had to take the only one we had to drive out west for his new job. She relied upon my grandparents to come down to her house from a state nearby each weekend to take us all out for groceries & to do errands. That was just what had to be done, & we were all a willing part, no one gave up, left or got bitter or resentful about it. We never considered it anyone else’s problem, just a part of our family’s life of sometimes struggling but definitely loving!
Life isn’t always easy & without struggle, sometimes it requires cooperation among family members, it might require getting by with less for a while or compromising on having all the toys because we have kids. We have to learn to do what we need to do for each other, instead of expecting others to do for us or just taking what isn’t rightfully ours. This retrospective look keeps me earnestly aware of how impatient we’ve all become, expecting things right away, not knowing how to wait upon or work as hard for things which we might have. I see the normal of some people & although my normal was not always perfect, I will take it & be thankful for it, as it taught me that love doesn’t quit on hard times, it doesn’t walk away from duty & responsibilities, it doesn’t stop feeding, clothing & housing or expect things when it’s just not the right time.
Love is patient . . love endures . . love is what remains when everything else material & thus inconsequential passes. I might not have always had the dream life, my family might not have lived in a castle, but we surely had enough of anything that mattered . . & still do! This is what family means, love without cost & worth any price!
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Leading Others With Your Light . .

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Choices, Commitment, Faith, Inspiration, Lessons, Life

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ThisLittleLight-50Leading others with your light is of the utmost importance. It’s not as important that the messages of faith be heard as it is to see the great joy in the heart of the messengers, those of us who believe! Our profound love, our faithful twinkle, all our souls & spirits alive with the light of God! We believers can do ourselves great disservice when we insist in adhering to the letter of the “law” as we know it rather than being lighthouses of guidance through our own example! It’s not nearly as important to be “right” as it is righteous. If we flounder, that is not such a big deal for we know our Lord forgives us, so we need to forgive ourselves, forgive others & let acceptance again replace our disdain. If we stumble in our walk, we need to just keep asking for guidance in our journey, as we know not what He that created us SeeGodInYou-25does, we are inherently walking in darkness & uncertainty. We need to let Him lead us like the sun leads the world, then we need to be bastions of that light for others who are lost or uncertain. That means walking in profound faith, with expectation & joyful contentment in His promises! Actions speak louder than words! We are the His examples while we walk this earth, for He has truly risen!
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Life is surely an effort…

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Character, Confidence, Faith, God, Lessons, Life, Trials

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NewlittlegirlLife is surely an effort. We are infused with all we need when we come into this world, much is instilled within us to help us along our way. But the world is a siphon, it often endeavors to drain from us that which we carry within . . it happens each time we are faced with adversarial situations, or something is wearing us down & so we feel depleted of what we need to “fight” the brave battles of life.

 

Often times we become eroded in our spirits through daily interactions without even knowing that is what has happened. We make some choices or bear a few burdens, suffer a few slaps to our egos, without even paying attention to the slow erosion taking place in us baby_future_soldier-12bfrom within. We lose our way a bit, as we are just weakened, sapped of our super powers from the efforts. The fiber of our beings – our self-esteem, our confidence, our ability to patiently wait things out – it all pays the cost in a life where we’re tested. But tested we shall be, & taxed we shall remain, so we must learn to build up our shields, to restore our superpowers to full strength, & to garner our
energy to endure it all!

 

Poindexter-25bLife is surely an effort, but those who learn the lessons of how to bolster themselves, how to keep a strong belief system going & those who endure confidently because they have sustaining faith are those who suffer less erosion or who fix what is already eroded faster! It is imperative that you remember the inner core of what fuels you . . it is the generator which ignites the fire, which burns through you & which enables you to keep going. That inner core must be fed with an equal mix of self-love, self-esteem & confidence! Any hint of insecurity, diminished belief in your own ability or a wearing down without a rebuilding & restrengthening, will slowly but surely shut down the inner fire of your being!

 

I believe that I am naturally infused with self-confidence & self-esteem when I focus again on all the things the Creator gave me . . He comrelate-25binstilled in me a sense of my own worth so that I never have to doubt my value in life. He vested in me the fruits of the spirit, including patience, so that I am never without what I need to make it through anything! You must start with you yourself . . all things come from you . . your reactions, your responses & your ongoing ability to thrive in this lifetime are all because you are sure you can & will! Do the daily work in you & maintain the fire that keeps the engine of your life going . . you matter in it all! Without you, you have nothing to offer anyone at any time!_Sign01