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Category Archives: Peace

New Day, New Week, New Season . .

20 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Contentment, Faith, Gratitude, Joy, Peace, Uncategorized

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Contentment, Gratitude, Joy, Peace

A new day, a new week, a new season, this day represents a new start for so many reasons!  Actually, every day is a new start.  We needn’t believe only certain days are important or more meaningful. Every single day we breathe and have life is important, meaningful, and truly exciting for the potential it represents! It’s just our perspective and our attitude which enables that mindset!  Every morning, upon awakening, it is our choice to view the day ahead with dread, in our despair, with our worries, or by choice, with the eyes of gratitude!  

If we begin each new day with the sense of how very special a gift it is, for the renewal and possibility it represents, we cannot help but be more grateful, more appreciative and also more excited to see how it plays out!  Too many of us begin our present day with the remnants of utter dread or despair from something hanging over from our yesterdays or with the fearful threat of all the unknown of our tomorrows.  Looking backward or forward all the time causes us to neglect the here and now.  That habit also causes us to dwell almost continuously in guilt, shame, regret, fear, and worry rather than trusting calm and peace.  And now is really all we have, even if we want to cling to our regrets or wrap ourselves up in our fearful worries! 

Our propensity to dwell in the past, to hang onto days we can no longer change, or to constantly evoke our inner fears about what is yet to come, is often the source of a lot of our life’s pain! The past is over and done! We can go forward, but we cannot change what occurred back then. And we cannot know exactly what will happen tomorrow or years from now, so why do we give so much of our today thinking we do? We cheat today of its fullness and its promise because we aren’t present! We lock ourselves up in emotional prisons of our own making, focusing only on things we feel about our past or things we dread about our future. We must learn the faith-filled habit of trusting God for all of our days, especially for our today. His grace is enough for today, and tomorrow, His grace will be new and provide for us then.  God’s grace is the key which opens our self-made prison cells. If we turn to Him for our keeping, letting our yesterdays have less weight upon our souls and giving every tomorrow a rest until we actually encounter it, we can turn our emotions towards all that brings us peace and calm within!  

I know, some of you are doubtful! You’ve carried those weights and burdens so long, they are now your badges of honor! You should take comfort in that which you’ve overcome, and surely you should feel what you must as things occur, but you shouldn’t let your emotions from one moment in your life hold you hostage for the rest of your life! And the fears you have about what may be in the future cannot and should not take one moment of your joy and peace from today! 

Today is the new day, a new week has begun, and a new season lies ahead! But today is the day! As each day begins, remember to center yourself in the purposeful awareness of how special, important, meaningful and promising that day is! God gives us each day as a gift, even if we’ve never seen it that way!  Let us endeavor to celebrate each new day as it is, for what it is, and to show our gratitude by making today a priority over all other days past and future!  Spend some time right now wherever you are focusing on today.  And anytime you choose to focus on your gratitude, you add infinite value to your life!  Gratitude always evokes emotions within us which are more positive, uplifting, calming and joyful! Today’s the day, get at it!  

Strength in Weakness . .

16 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Contentment, Faith, God, Inspiration, Lessons, Peace, Positivity, Strength

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God, Joy, Peace, Strength in Weakness

Sometimes our prayers for healing or removing the burden which vexes us isn’t answered the way we would like because often the Lord uses what we endure and the burdens we carry to teach us more about ourselves and surely about Him than we would know without having that burden or enduring our woes. It’s not His will to make us miserable, but rather it is, in my opinion, His desire to have us draw closer to Him, to watch us overcome because of His help, and to rise higher than an affliction or a vexing situation.

strength from God

I’ve witnessed this in my own mother’s life for years. She has had to endure crippling arthritis in her hands especially, but also in most of her joints and throughout her body. But when I say crippling, I mean that in our estimation. Even though her hands, wrists and other joints are visibly altered, she hasn’t let it cripple her, nor has she let the bumps, inflamed joints, or alignment imperfections change a thing about her life! She worked as a nurse until she was 79, which was last year. She has been active, even until the present time. She has never let the pain I’m sure she has endured, given the mangled state of her fingers especially, stop her, nor has she languished in it with self-pity. I’m not saying this to declare her a saint, but rather to share her example in confirming this message. She has learned to not only live with her impairments and her ailment, but she has learned to live with it all with a good attitude and a peaceful acceptance! God didn’t heal her perhaps because He was able to show others through her that often what we mere humans believe about our limits is just false! And by not healing her, He was able to convince my mom that her life was still valuable and worthy of her peace of mind, her joy of spirit, her faith in Him and her contentment through it all. There are many people with much worse arthritis, who are much more crippled physically by it and other diseases, and those who have other really bad disorders or ailments through which to contend. This is by no means meant to disregard or disparage their pain, their situations, or the very real difficulties and challenges presented by their afflictions. I relate this as a means of suggesting that a lot of what we deem insurmountable is truly a source of strength, courage and an overcomer’s tenacity if we turn our perspective. 

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Paul, formerly Saul, who wrote several books of the New Testament, was also given such a measure – for which he too accepted the absence of healing as a means of showing God’s great glory and strength! From 2 Corinthians 12: 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  Take it from Paul, perhaps what you’ve been all-too-accepting as a weakness is really a source of great strength if you just choose to make it such!

Roll With the Changes . .

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Change, Choices, Conquering Fear, Discipline, Freedom, Peace, Strength

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Change, Faith, Trust

Every day rolls in on new breaths, with new promises, and a lot of unknowns. Why do we allow ourselves to get stuck, feeling we are cemented where we are? Why do we believe we are stagnant, unmovable, and unchangeable when all around us everything is moving and changing? When we realize that we are too, we should see everything in us and outside of ourselves as a part of the flow of life.  0dc4d41d2712d6dd6f288b19d9dc4c2d

 

We and all of life are always morphing into a new state of circumstances and a different state of being. Just when you start to get that taste of stagnation, and that need to step out of a rut, propel yourself with the flow around you. There is nothing which cements you to a place, a way, an idea, a part or to any aspect of life permanently. We fluctuate, we come and go, we ebb and wane through the lives of others and in our own situations. We aren’t holding any space anywhere forever! So if it’s one you relish, make sure you relish it well and appreciate what you have while you have it and where you are while you’re still there!5a649965df19ee878e65f54954fc938f

 

Celebrate it, savor it, and be thankful for it! If it is one in which you have many regrets or feel uncomfortable, then use it as a catalyst to propel you to a new place and a different space! Don’t allow yourself to dwell in the discomfort and the angst of all the change in life, take the positive from everything and build within you a strong, sturdy yet flexible support. Make yourself able and willing, and life will seem more endurable and gentle to you! Today is a new day with new promises and new challenges awaiting you. Be a part, it is only in facing our role as perpetual students in life that we see our ability to grow and to change because of all the challenges and changes, as well as through every single thing!

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An Easy Escape . .

18 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Escape, Gratitude, Happiness, Joy, Peace

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Contentment, Joy, Peace of Mind, Rest

When we feel the pressures, stresses and fears of life pushing inward upon our souls as well as our spirits, we have only to seek out nature and a quiet calm surrender within it. When we don’t feed our spirits or our souls with the nutrients of life – the beauty and tranquility into which we can easily escape even for a moment – we deny ourselves an idyllic meditative and prayerful place. Yes, you may encounter imperfections in nature . . you may find yourself in a sneezing fit from flowers that are blooming, or you may find a critter scampering near you that startles you a bit, or you might feel vulnerable just from the sheer quiet. But in truth, I find nature no more or less threatening than the city streets clamoring with traffic and noise.  1_flickr_mathhew_paulson_embed

I escape to the quiet surrender of mountains, streams, deserts, ocean vistas, and meadows. I find such great delight in the quiet of a forest, the gentle lapping of a stream against rocks, the wind caressing the petals of wildflowers in a faraway meadow, the desert filled with cacti unique and surreal. These are the places we have near. For myself, I also have made an effort to surround the house in which I live with those same things . . variations in height for interest, trees to provide shade and shelter for wildlife, the greenery of all variations and types for a never-ending blending of leaves, colors and textures, cacti of all sorts, as well as plentiful flowers to bring scent and beauty with each new bloom. I also have added features with the sounds of water moving and a bird bath to attract nature’s visitors during all times of the year. My goal is to make my yard not only a sanctuary for many of nature’s creatures, but for anyone who is here! I still enjoy greatly my trips to surrounding mountains, streams, lakes, meadows, and wilderness, but at least I have some place to easily escape here too.   20140608-115131-42691870

It’s amazing to me, how even just a block from a major street, life can seem completely tranquil amidst the beauty of nature all around me! I would suggest to everyone who struggles with the stresses of life to create for themselves, even in a small space, a tranquil retreat, a quiet spot to just be . . for nature is an abundant resource for our pleasure! And escape to nature often too . . it awaits you somewhere not too far away! There you will find a great place to calm your nerves, soothe your spirit and to connect with the Creator.    Signature02

Good Friday Reminders . .

25 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Blessings, Choices, Christianity, Faithfulness, God, Gratitude, Hope, Inspiration, Peace

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Eternity, Faith, Hope, Love

This morning, I had made a plan to drive to another part of town with my mom to have breakfast and do some shopping. It seemed a great plan for our Good Friday in preparation for Resurrection/Easter Sunday this weekend. We started out fairly early and ran into a delay on the highway. It wasn’t long before we saw the reason why all the lanes of the freeway were back up. Five or six vehicles had apparently collided in some sort of debacle, which had sent them turning, spinning and careening in all directions. One had penetrated the wire fence separating the freeway lanes and granite-covered sloped shoulder from the traffic lanes up to the access road running alongside, another had smashed into the median and turned toward oncoming traffic. The granite from the shoulder had been flung all over the lanes, and the emergency vehicles were still not on site. Obviously, we had just missed the mayhem occurring, and the ensuing chaos of ambulances, tow trucks, police cars and cleanup crews. We proceeded through the mess with caution, along with the other three lanes of traffic, winnowing into two to bypass the strewn-about cars and the people who drove them. It was frightening to witness the scene, surely something shocking and potentially fatal had occurred. It shook us up as we passed cautiously, and it seemed such an auspicious start to the day. I could only say prayers for the people who were awaiting help there on the freeway this Good Friday morning.   12809794_786221654844305_6885769805558789252_n

And as we made our way to breakfast, we felt contemplative and still a bit unnerved for having witnessed such a mess for all those people involved in that traffic accident. We wondered how all the occupants of those vehicles were and if they had made it through the catastrophic start to their day. On such a beautiful and celebratory morning as this, it surely seemed a tragic start for those drivers and passengers in the five or six vehicles involved. And it reminded us of how fortunate we were today, having just made our way to our destination safely and soundly.  It reminded us to be grateful again for our lives and for the moments we have.  All blessings for sure! I had already seen sad news before leaving the house in regards to those still missing in Brussels, Belgium after the terrorist bombing there two days ago. I had learned that the two missing siblings, who were on their way home to New York, had been killed. I couldn’t help but feel sad hearing about the loss of two such young victims with all their lives ahead, and for the fact that so many around the world had hoped and prayed for them to be found alive. I know they probably died instantly, as I heard they were right near the bomb as it detonated.   10569033_1032352880152144_4730757488208241423_n

And I realize today has epitomized Good Friday, even with the trauma, danger, loss and sadness for some. Just like that day, even though Jesus was crucified in horrible and excruciating fashion, we know He conquered death and the grave!  Even in spite of the chaos and mayhem of this world, the goodness, love, mercy and faithful promises of God are with us always! We needn’t fear death, or whatever comes to our flesh, for His promises have stood the test of time. Prophesied and fulfilled that fateful day over two thousand years ago, Jesus willingly going to his death upon that cross is our constant source of peace, an assurance of God’s abiding love and a way to live with joy in spite of the world we’re now in! All the battles, heartaches, pains and torments we face are fleeting and can never take us from God! For as Jesus overcame this world, the wages of sin and death itself, so will we! All these things which can impact us while we live in the flesh are passing, our eternity is what matters! The ultimate blessing in this life is knowing that God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth will not perish but have eternal life! John 3:16       Signature02

Who Controls the Rain?

07 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Christianity, Contentment, Faith, God, Maturity, Peace, Wisdom

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Faith, Peace, Rest, Spiritual Maturity

Wouldn’t it be lovely if for every drop of rain that fell, the world around us was cleansed of some of its evil? Maybe that was God’s intent for the rain, not only that it restore, replenish and provide; but that it also cleanse the inner man as well as the outer world! We just cannot say for sure what only He knows! Yet we have been trying consistently to render silent the very Creator of all of us and all of this. We cannot give up on God and push Him any further away and out than we as a society have already, especially when all of Creation is His! Can you stop the rain when you decide it’s enough? Can you start the rain? Can you bring the sun up this morning to warm your sky? To imagine such a thing is in your realm of possibility is truly beyond the scope of sanity.  To believe in some randomness and purposelessness in all of this . . just because the Divinity of it all cannot be verified, tested, controlled or proven to some human’s standard of proof . . is to limit the possibility and value of all creation and life itself! 
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So why then do we dare to even imagine He isn’t the very Maker of all that which stands out so comparatively in testimony to our abject lack and seeming insignificance? His plans, purposes and desires for the world are not ours to understand or to even fathom. We are here solely for His purposes and for His will. God help us for trying to usurp His role, for doubting and testing His sovereignty and His might; forgive us Father for negating Your will by ignoring Your role as the Almighty Creator of the universe! I know I cannot do what He can do, so I have learned to give Him control over my life! I am just a speck of dust in the universe, but I am a beloved child of the Almighty! When it rains like this, day after day . . I don’t doubt Him, or fear that I cannot control it, or imagine some outcome because of it. I trust in my Lord and Savior to be doing what ONLY He is able to do, for His purposes. And so, I have peace in my life. 
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The reason the expression “let go, let God” is so popular, so oft-heard and so prophetic is in its truthfulness, constant and assuring! Only God knows all. Only God can provide. Only He can direct the clouds to bring the rain. Only God. Trust, lean on, rely and depend totally on Him for every aspect of your life through prayer and in rest. Here is Scripture from Matthew 6, which truly directs us in our daily manner of resting, letting go and letting God, verses 25 – 34:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.   
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With Confidence, I . .

25 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Character, Confidence, Contentment, God, Humility, Peace

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God, Love, Self-Acceptance, Self-Confidence

With confidence I, with confidence, confidence . . what does it mean to be confident? It means that we’re content, at peace and accepting of ourselves. Why are we so inclined? Well we aren’t always so inclined. It takes an effort to be confident in today’s world. We often care too much what others think, or weigh too heavily their opinions, their decisions and their ways against our own. We often think too hard on the popularity or popular consensus as to the value we then give ourselves. If we’re not a certain size, age, body type, hair type, gender, height, weight, we might feel insecure; or maybe we’re influenced by status symbols such as the type of car we own, the size of the house we have, the job we hold or the friends with whom we party. All of that is icing on our cake in life; but our value is in none of it!
 
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We find our acceptance, which brings us our sense of self-confidence, from within. It is rooted in something intrinsically more valuable than the fleeting things of this world. No other person, place, thing or outside device can render or should render to us our sense of value, confidence or self-acceptance. Confident people walk into any room thinking enough of themselves to measure equitably their worth against any other person in that room. But confident people do not deem themselves or any other person as having more or less value! Confidence is a reflection of an inner, intrinsic and known value so unimaginably unassuming, that it is often a quality or trait by which the person possessing it is unaware! It just is. And we just are . . confident. Confidence is not like makeup slapped on anew each day or hair gel applied each new morning; it is the steadfast value and sense of worth someone holds deep within themselves, which I believe comes from our Creator and His seed of self-love inwardly planted which continually feeds the soul. It nurtures the person from within, allowing them to externally reflect to others that inherent value. There is no arrogance, no neediness, no shame, no condemnation, no insecurity, no self-debasing, no bullying and no bashing of others coming from within; as there is no need to do any of that! There is just a steady flow of self-acceptance, which feeds their heart and mind with self-respect and self-discipline; in turn, that self-loving and self-confident acceptance allows for that same measure to be given to others in turn!
 
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Confidence in ourselves makes us more accepting, loving, caring, tolerant and respectful of others. We don’t see or view others in any sort of competitive or threatening manner because we’re content in our own lives and skin by way of our confidence; born in our knowledge and awareness of Whom we were made! Through God, our confidence is found and maintained! Because of God’s love within us and His promises to us, we are faithfully able to confidently face whatever we must anew each day!
 
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Human/Nature . .

12 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Contentment, Gentleness, God, Humility, Life, Peace, Wisdom

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In reading a post on a group page on a social media site about birds this morning, it was brought up for question why one type of bird might purposefully force the babies of another species out of their nest at a certain stage of their development. The idea of such a thing with no discernible reason seems perplexing to those who support the type of birds which were the babies in this scenario. This type of bird, Bird A, is routinely up to this “bullying” behavior it seems, and is known as doing exactly this to these babies, if the comments of routine observers are factual. I can only surmise that Bird A is given the task of instigating movement in the babies of the other species, Bird B, purposefully and habitually. So perhaps Bird A rile up the complacent babies of species B on purpose to encourage their movement sooner than they would deem themselves ready! Maybe this is part of a greater plan of inter-species interaction, for which we mere humans have no measure of understanding or awareness.  579151_721419587884084_1276570731_n

Just maybe this is part of God’s greater plan for the whole of the world. Perhaps what we humans observe is truly limited by our ability to comprehend His design and His purpose for all of life. In that case, we will never grasp the intricacies of nature, of species interacting, of what seems heartless and cold or disturbing and uncalled for. Perhaps our nature is to put upon all other species, and even upon members of our own, our limited perspective, bias and understanding; giving to each situation a self-inflated acceptance and awareness of life which might just be proven flawed or faulty! Imagine instead if we were to just breathe in and observe, free from our judgments and thus, our desire to intervene?! Perhaps a lot of what humans intrude into is already working as planned? Why are we always so eager to know everything, to be right and to solve every issue, to the point that we create problems where none existed? Perhaps it is just human nature.   images egotism 2

In this case, the simple question lies in that we just don’t know why! Why does one bird intrude into the happy nest of another to push the babies out? It might be a design flaw; but since I am sure God has not made mistakes in His designs, I will go with purposeful. It might be that Bird A has been given the role of assisting in this one stage of another bird’s development. Were we just to accept that we don’t know everything, letting life go on as God planned; just maybe it would run more smoothly than when we butt in with our fixes, our answers, our alterations and our transforming changes! God does have plans, purposes and reasons for His world to run as it does; if only human beings would stop trying to solve what isn’t wrong with God’s world and cease endeavoring to change what works just fine as is. Some things are necessary interventions, when people are starving or natural disasters occur. Humans meddling in the natural order of things, however, has probably created more chaos than situations it has ever calmed or resolved. But then again, human meddling seems directly proportional to the astronomical level of human ego running amok, which has endeavored with its “I know best” to render God silent and irrelevant at almost every turn! I wonder how many of His miracles we shut down in our endeavor to fix, transform, change or to interpret what was His will, thinking it to be some error?? Signature02

Some Will Never Grasp . .

02 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Contentment, God, Hope, Joy, Peace, Positivity, Uncategorized

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Faith, God, Hope, Love

Some will never grasp how much beauty and joy there is in life. They’ve made up their minds that because they don’t live in a bigger house or have all they want or make more money or realize all their dreams or . . well, they just find endless ways or one reason to write all their life off as failed, terrible, rejected, horrible, miserable or worthless. No matter the beauty around them, the love of others, the gift of one more day or the bounty of life’s miracles played out each second, they’ve decided to view all of life as negative. Perhaps they’ve endured tremendous things which took their joy. But in letting their joy lapse every day since, they’ve given their power over to others or to situations or to circumstances which negate their contentment, joy and peace of mind for the rest of their life! If I tried to convince them that there were blessings all around them, joy in precious moments, gifts of time and breath, or a bounty of life they’ve chosen to waste, they simply would not believe me easily or readily. They’ve made up their mind, this life sucks!    96022541

Unfortunately, they would miss seeing the examples of others whom I have witnessed. Perhaps they have not taken notice of those souls, pressed with possible peril or up against unbelievable odds themselves, who are determined to be joyful in spite! Possibly they refuse to notice for themselves the very nature of life’s daily persistence; how it pulls us into each new moment we’re given whether we like it or not! How I pray daily that every soul could experience such a sense and awareness of life’s preciousness and meaning; as well as the very worth of each person, every creature, each bounty of abundance or the infinite blessings in every single day. Unfortunately, some people have made up their minds that this life wasn’t bountiful enough. Sadly, they’ve chosen to believe nothing is a real blessing, not even their own beating heart. Tragically, they don’t respect or value their own infinite worth, much less believing that about others. All of their life is lumped into the negative overall mindset they have created for themselves or experienced. Maybe it takes God’s hands and His will upon our lives to realize our own failings in that regard; for that would be my explanation as to why I see everything as I do. It would be my response as to why I refuse to give into life’s overwhelming negativity and the daily chaos which threatens my peace of mind and my positive spirit.  I am not sure even then that some souls will ever understand the true value, meaning and purpose for their lives, if they refuse to let God be a part of theirs. I only know that without an understanding as to what love truly is, from Whom it comes, people feel dejected, adrift and lost more often than not. Life becomes increasingly meaningless when there is nothing of meaning to enrich it. God is my tether in calms seas and storms! He gives my life its meaning! 306528_10150979705179939_409182314_n

Without sensing a purpose greater than themselves for being, life itself must seem tragic, cruel, hopeless, fatiguing or brutal at times. God gives my life such infinite sense of worth, purpose, hope and love; like a big safety net around my soul, He gives me beauty for my chaos, a will to not cave in and a hopeful desire in His promises to faithfully expect what awaits me beyond this breaking world. Some may think me foolish for believing as I do; but if they believe THIS is all there is to life, only the chaos and madness of this world, I would believe them the fools! Comparing and contrasting the mayhem, failings and futility of humanity to the promises of God is always going to leave humanity lacking. And so we have a glaring perspective on what is happening in the world right now. Humanity is failing more and more the further it extricates itself from God! Souls are perishing in the futile void created by human will without hope, faith and an understanding of their value in life or God’s will for their lives. A life with God is not going to be trouble-free or seem idyllic. In fact, there will be challenges as a believer which often can make things seem harder! But His love, promises and the hope which He instills offsets the challenges, difficulties, trials and failures; washing over the faithful, restoring and renewing their souls and spirits. How sad for those who miss the chance to have contentment, joy and peace of mind in this life as well; in knowing God and His love!  Signature02

Savor This Day . .

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Joy, Peace

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Contentment, Gratitude, Peace of Mind

 

 

 

 

I’m savoring the cool mornings we have right now . . windows open, birds chirping and the first rays of that sun rising to greet the day. It’s a bit of perfection, this time of year, this season. I know to be appreciative because it will soon enough change to something different. And although different doesn’t necessarily mean worse or in some way lesser quality, I want to be present in this moment because it cannot remain this way; this day will never come again, nothing is promised besides now.  th8LMLQURJ

I looked at all the peaches forming on my peach tree; each blossom once dotting the branches now becoming a small, forming fruit out of the beautiful, soft pink eruption of Spring’s first days. Although the blossoms had time to shine, now it is time for the fruit to prevail. In every thing there is purpose no matter longevity or brevity; in every day there is possibility and the opportunity to form something from the nothing of its dawning. There is growth and change from what once was to what now is. And so it is again with this day, my chance to seize upon this near-perfect start by making what is to come something as blessed as this moment right now!  thZ6KM4MMC

I believe it will be up to me as to how this day is played out and remembered. If I want this idyllic start to continue throughout the unknown day ahead, I better keep within me the attitude and appreciation which first enabled me to recognize the moment as it happened and then to be grateful for it! My attitude about this day shall direct my overall assertions about this day when all is said and done. I’m learning to take time in my day to realize how special the day and how blessed the moments, each unique, each precious and each serving a purpose in my journey.

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Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

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