Tag Archives: Faith

What Used To Be Best

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

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What Used To Be The Best

Sometimes in life, what was once the best thing becomes the most painful. What once gave you joy now brings you sorrow, what was once your shining time is now your memory, what once brought you so much contentment & peace now makes you fearful & filled with doubt. It is inevitable that we will experience events which are capable of altering our perspective, but it always up to us as to how we react in the long term. If we realize that something good became something bad, then surely we can see how something bad can then again become something better! Look at the aspects of how you can learn from every scenario, making the most of the moments of reflection in the change, then seize upon the wealth of that lesson & move forward knowing that all will once again be changing. Life events are like the changing currents of wind in the sails of a sailboat . . we need to be flexible, we need to appraise our position upon the prevailing conditions & we need to be able to adapt as best as we can to what we encounter! Then we need to proceed into life with expectation & faith!

What's Ahead?!

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Dreams

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What’s Ahead?!

There are always turning points in our lives, the places we come to along the journey when we have to veer, make an amended plan or alter our course because we’ve run out of usable road! It’s inevitable! We simply must correct as we go. The difficulty arises when we stalwartly cling to our familiar places, our constant patterns, the things to which we are most familiar. It’s not easy to adapt when we are hanging on for dear life to what we don’t want to release!  What is it about those turning points that makes us so afraid? Is it the fact that we are in fact changing something, even though we might not be happy with the status quo, that makes us face a different or altered direction? It’s just that, we are usually uncomfortable with too much change, as change means doing or being something different.

In change, we see the unknown, the uncertain, and the possibility for all sorts of problems. At least that’s how we see it when we look at change through eyes of fear or doubt. When we view change as an inevitable and necessary means of growth, personal development and advancing our spiritual maturity, it can become the vehicle for our success!  Turning points are like the curves in the mountain roadway, the only way to the summit is by making the criss-crossing switchback turns which will allow you to manipulate your way to the top! So, without regular turns, your life would soon grow stagnant and ineffectual for your necessary growth! You need those switchbacks to push you out of your comfortable places, forcing you to learn the fine art of adaptation, the ways to patiently deal with variation, and the feeling of accomplishment which comes from slowly winding your way up all the great mountains of your life, one turn after another!

Master the art of change, the skill of flexible adaptation, and you will successfully ascend to all the summits of your success!   The master of turning points will recognize the beauty in the changes which make their life different. Seize the day, take the moment in hand and believe that you have what it takes to make the change work on your behalf! Your ability to alter each step of your journey, whilst negotiating all the hazards of the unknown, will leave you feeling strong and capable, instead of fearful and impotent. You can even capitalize on your faith the most within change! It is when you are most beset with the fear of something new, that you are able to muster your strongest response, overcoming, excelling pushing past to the next obstacle in your path. It’s inevitable, when we are the most under pressure, the most fearful and the worries want to stranglehold our dreams, that we are able to rise up like warriors, certain of our faith and able to wage war against anything which threatens our peace!    Accept change as the benevolent teacher of great life lessons! That is truly what it is . . and as much as you might not like the sensations you experience with each change, mastering them with confidence can and will make you wear the medal of honor, having faced fear and won! 

So Many Choices

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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So Many Choices

The best part of life is having choices whereby we can make the most of our dreams.    The worst part of life is having so many choices whereby we can become lost in all the confusing options we encounter   trying to make our dreams come to fruition!  I don’t know how we get into stages of life with virtually no sense   direction, but we do sometimes.  We can honestly be so overwhelmed with our own freedom, so frightened by the sense of absolute emptiness   in our life, that the very knowledge of rebuilding from the ground up is just too much to take!  I’m at that place . . I’ve been in situations which have now come to a closing point, and at this moment, I would seem to have the entire world as my oyster!  That would be an idyllic state for most people, but it can be completely disturbing too. I’m in over my head, I haven’t direction at all times, and I seek maps and landmarks to help me make my way! It’s not always easy to see the directional indicators of life, those that seem to lead us, to guide us, to point us through the times of uncertainty.  Where are the signs?  What should I look for?  Where do I turn?  Well, in my overwhelmed state, the only place, yet the best one,  I know to turn is God.

 I heard it said that in anxious moments though, we can lose our ability to hear His voice of leadership.  I pray that this is not the case, as there is so much pressing upon my soul and spirit right now, I wish I could hear Him guiding me in everything!    My heart longs to know what lies ahead. I’m surely feeling adrift. My faith is the only thing I have in these moments right now . . faith don’t fail me now!  As I ponder what lies ahead, I consider for the first time in a long time, what is it that will make me happy?  I haven’t thought as much about my own happiness in a long time.  I’ve been putting others first and that is not advisable, as we lose our own focus and direction when we give ourselves last billing in our lives!  Make yourself important enough to be the absolute center of your life … others who want to be there will either agree or move on, but you have to remain true to yourself nonetheless!    Without knowing what you want, doing those things which bring your soul joy and soothe your spirit, you will live a lesser life. That would be a shame, and you would sadden God to do something so selfless. It’s in your own ability to find what makes your spirit soar that you allow His will to be done in your life! He has given you gifts in line with your spirit’s desires, if you do what you passionately are implored to do, you will find your heart’s contentment!

 I’m there right now . . I’m in the place of learning what will make my heart joyous!    When I discover that, I will surely let you all know.  Possibly you will have already seen it or noticed me doing something which brings me great joy, thus you can be assured I am onto something!    I’m just making my way through all the choice open to me, exploring my options and deciding what it will be that will bring me joy in this life!    Seek yours and you will never leave with regrets on the last day, wondering why you didn’t do what you were meant to do!

Rainy Days…

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Rainy Days…

Some days our cares rain down on us like a torrent … they pool at first, we hardly notice.  Suddenly, we realize we’ve been getting our feet wet, we’re not comfortable anymore.  The puddles amass as our cares compound; we can no longer find a way to shelter ourselves from the storms.  They come too frequently, they’re too intense, we are soaking in troubles, uncomfortable and wishing for a day when we are carefree again, but it seems so far off now!  Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of drowning in our worries, troubles and concerns, we could instead be flooded with faith?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to stop the tears than rain down, the troubles that fall like torrents, the worries that seep through our souls like sloppy puddles drenching through our shoes??  

Having faith strong enough to weather the storms is the key to all of our happiness!  Without faith, we are like ships which are cast about on the seas of turmoil, far from safety, pummeled by wave after wave of ceaseless anguish as trouble takes it toll!  Without faith, we haven’t an anchor to keep us tied to anything strong, anything capable of keeping us afloat when the biggest waves of trouble strike.  Without faith, we are lost.    Faith is the belief that God is in charge, simple!  But in the human world, where we face situations every day requiring answers, solutions, our immediate action, we forget how to truly place our lives, in total, in His hands.  We are experts at living in the world of humanity, where we are sure our participation negates waiting upon His timing, His answers, His gentle prodding, and His guidance.  We feel apart from God, because we have all come to a stressful, high-paced, immediate-response place in life . . we’re all deluged with multi-tasking, problematic lives, which make it quite hard to wait upon God with a sense of patience and with faith.  It requires more and more discipline to live a life committed to faith in God.  

It is almost implausible sometimes that we would stop, pray, wait upon God to give us guidance!  After all, we need to act, to do, to be, to complete . . it’s what we’re taught in our very busy world!  Those who wait are surely going to miss their deadlines, lose their edge, delay their gratification, and/or fail!  But what does it mean to wait upon God?  It means to seek His guidance, through prayer, for everything!  With faith, believe, expect, and wait when uncertain.  Learn to listen to the subtle instinctual voice of God which once was so easy to pick up, but now that life is busier, is muted by the sounds of chaos all around us.  Still not sure you can or will hear God, much less take the time to wait upon His guidance?  You will, when you quiet yourself in situations which require His help and guidance, prayerfully request His help, and wait patiently upon His answers, expectantly!  Always expectantly!

Absence Makes My Soul Stronger – Cheryl Ries

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Absence Makes My Soul Stronger

I’ve not written for a while, not for lack of thought, but rather for an accidental “drought” of spirit!  I was besieged by a situation which was taking my total energy to concentrate upon the best way to maneuver through, around, or over it.    We all have times like that in our lives, when something more than a speed bump, but rather a major mountain of a problem comes along, one which takes our energy, our joy, our very peace if we let it.  I have spent the last month considering how to keep and/or regain mine … it’s not so easy these days.  

We are at war with so many things which threaten to steal our peace.  The world is restless, unsteady, chaotic. Sometimes, our peace hasn’t visited us for so long, that when a problem of major proportions comes along, we are already engaged in battle, and incapable of fighting off the demons.  Those demons cast our hearts full of doubt, worry, and fear.  They cast us upon a sea of despair, for the trepidations of not knowing our way through the situation we are in.  What are we to do?  What I do is simple.  I find my strength in my faith.  I always have.  I try to keep faithful during all times, but I surely pursue it in the tough times!

 When things are going on in my world which besiege me and threaten my spirit with such gravity of despair for the overwhelming nature of what those situations represent, I go to the mattresses as it were.  I have fought a long battle to be faithful in my life, so when something threatens to fill my heart with all things in opposition to faith, the very least I can do is fight hard to maintain what I know to be the truth.  That is how I arm myself to do battle, I read . . I study . . I pray . . .I listen . . I consult.  I do all things which make my primary focus the re-strengthening and resurgence of my faith and my hope!   The only way to grow through the things which happen to us is to use them as steps to help us grow!  When life is threatening to take your peace, your faith is floundering and your hope is more like hopelessness, do you just give in or do you stand strong where you are and prepare yourself for the fight ahead?

 I suppose it is our “have-to-have-it-now-world” which deems things as necessary five minutes ago, but some battles and some struggles have lasted and endured for a long time in history before resolution happened!  If that scares you, you better learn now, it’s not the type of test for which you are truly measured, but how you behaved during the tests!  If you are in the middle of a battle, a problem is persisting and you are just tired of it . . I suggest you learn how to find your faith, be strong, persist and persevere with happiness through it!  That is how the most successful champions have overcome anything!   We may not get what we want when we want it, but if we persist in faith with an good attitude while in the middle of our situations, not giving into our emotions, we can achieve greatness in life, all the while maintaining our happiness and sense of peace!  

God blesses those who faithfully persist with a positive spirit through all that life brings!  It takes discipline, but it is imperative to have a positive spirit through everything which happens to you in life.  I am persevering in happiness!  I am also practicing:  The only way to grow through the things which happen to us is to use them as steps to help us grow! 

IT'S IN THE SIMPLE MOMENTS

13 Wednesday Oct 2010

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IT’S IN THE SIMPLE MOMENTS

 

It is in the simplest moments when our lives are truly definable.  We can either find our peace, by finding our joy, our spirit’s contentment, our live’s fulfillment . . .or we can deny ourselves all of this by living as slaves to time, to modern society’s expectations upon our lives, and by forgetting to stop along our daily pathways to just be.

Just by being in our lives, we can heal many holes which can rip us apart.  We are not victims unless we allow ourselves to be defined that way.  We should refute that label and instead gladly wear the title of human being.  It sounds like we are already wearing that title, but most of us, particularly in the USA, have forgotten how to have simple daily moments of nothingness.  Nothingness is good.  It is more than alright to let a day pass with time spent doing nothing but being.  It is called nothingness, but in truth, it is the most productive posture our spirits can assume in life.  Nothingness means that we are able to stop and smell the roses, taking time to look up into the clouds for their most noticeable formations, and to wile away hours not doing a single thing other than just being.

What are the best simple moments you have had?  Mine are always in nature . . . with a few exceptions included.  But for the most part, I enjoy the simple moments when I am looking or being a part of nature’s great array of beauty and variation.  I truly like stopping to smell the roses!  All flowers, animals, clouds, plants, scenes of nature, and anything which inspires my creative soul is like a meditative time when I partake of its view.  If I see a plant in bloom, like a rose bush for instance, I am drawn to it like metal to a magnet.  It is my nature to scan my surroundings no matter where I go to look for nature’s finest source of joyous beauty!  It is my interest which claims my attention!  The only other moments which rival nature’s hold upon my attentions is when I am with my loved ones and friends.  In those times, life can seem to stand still.  It often happens that the hours spent doing what I love with someone I love precludes my ability to notice time at all.  I am lost . . . like time becomes a sea and my life floats by unendingly!                                                      

No matter what motivates you and your spirit when seeking the simplicity of life, I hope you will deem it a worthy endeavor.  Never lose your ability to stop and partake of life . . . living each day surely, but also just being!  Life is a beautiful banquet of experience, stop and enjoy it!  Don’t let life pass you by, it is a priceless gift to stop in your endeavors and notice life happening all around you!  Some of the richest moments we can have will come from the world quietly happening around us.  Have faith, live life simply and with appreciation for all the joy you are finding in the small, quiet moments of life!