Saturday, May 7, 2011

Empowered

Is it ok to feel strong? Is it alright to feel empowered? Its so foreign after listening to other people for so long. I feel like I'm breaking out of a shell, ready to take on the world, ready to say 'what the hell' and just dive into life feet first. I feel wired, is this newfound strength like a drug? It's addictive, taking over my being. I'm worth something. I'm beautiful. I'm confident. I can take on the world.
(Journal entry 2/23/11)

More--Matthew West

Take a look at the mountain, Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean, Far as your eye can see
And think of me

Take a look at the desert, Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever, Where you go is where I am
And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you, I'm spelling it out one by one

I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too
I love you Yesterday And today And tomorrow
I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city, Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million, And you belong to me
And I want you to know, I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

Shine for me, Shine for me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for me

And I see you, And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Rely on God


Reliance. It's a word I grapple with so much... should I rely on myself? Rely on others? Well, how about neither? How about instead, rely on God? Relying only on yourself shuts you off from the love the rest of the world has to offer, and leaves you overwhelmed and alone. Relying on others is setting yourself up to be let down, for people will all, at some point, fail. Relying on God though, that's foolproof. He is always with us, so we are never alone. And he never fails, so we can fully lean on Him without having to worry that He will crumble. He wants us to lay all our burdens on Him... others will get tired of hearing your problems, but God never will. He will never let us down, even when we let Him down. So yes, we do need to let go and rely on others. But that "other" is God.
- Journal entry 4/9/11, Encounter retreat

Monday, February 28, 2011

Moving on


I'm moving on, letting go of the past and creating a new future.
I'm taking the mistakes from the past, learning and growing,
And then I'm throwing them away.
No longer will I be weighed down by doubts or regrets.
I'm tossing these away and feeling the relief of losing the burden.
I'm able to embrace the beauty of the world,
Embrace the beauty of the human community,
Embrace my own beauty.
It takes internal strength to choose to be happy,
To force down the feelings of helplessness and doubt
And replace them with hope and confidence.
But I'm moving on, looking forward, optimistic for the future.
- Journal entry 2/28/11

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Quotes that inspire me...

- The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and let it come in. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to the community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right? And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right? But here’s the secret: in between, we need others as well. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- Be compassionate and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons the world would be so much better a place. Love each other or die. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- It’s not just other people we need to forgive. We also need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done. You can’t get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- You closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too-even when you are in the dark. Even when you're falling. - Tuesdays with Morrie


- And that's how change happens. one gesture. One person. One moment at a time.


- I am strong because I am weak. I am beautiful because I know my flaws. I am a lover because I am a fighter. I am fearless because I have been foolish. And I can laugh because I've known sadness.


- You've gotta wake up every morning with a smile on your face, and show the world all the love in your heart. Then you're gonna find, yes you will, that you're as beautiful as you feel.


- There is only one page left to write on. I will fill it with words of only one syllable. I love. I have loved. I will love. - The time traveler's wife


- Everyone says love hurts, but that is not true. Lonileness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts. Everyone gets these things confused with love. But in reality love is the only thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel wonderful again.


- I deserve hell. The things I’ve done, God would be justified. God is not mocked. What you sow, you reap… You can’t work your way into heaven. Anytime you try and justify yourself with works, you disqualify yourself with works. What I do here, every day, for the rest of my life, is only my way of saying, ‘Lord, regardless of what eternity holds for me, let me give something back to you. I know I don’t even no scorecard. But let me make something of my life before I go... and then, Lord, I’m at your mercy.’ - Have a little faith (Mitch Albom)


- In the beginning, there was a question. In the end, the question gets answered. God sings, we hum along, and there are many melodies, but its all one song—one same, wonderful, human song. I am in love with hope. - Have a little faith


- Ask yourself, why did God create but one man? Why, if he meant for there to be faiths bickering with each other, didn’t he create that from the start? He created trees, right? Not one tree, countless trees. Why not the same with man? Because we are all from that one man—and all from that one God. That’s the message. - Have a little faith


- It's the heart afraid of dying, that never learns to dance; It's the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance; It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give; And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Reliance


it's so easy to come to rely on another person. so nice to be able to share what's going on, laugh together, have someone always there. But when you rely on another person, you put yourself on the line, knowing full well that there is a much greater chance of getting hurt than of the happiness lasting. You have to decide if its worth the risk of temporary happiness, or if it would be better never to try, and never get hurt. Relying just on yourself is so much safer. you will never be hurt, or feel loss, or feel disappointment. But you will also miss the joy of sharing life with another person. Whether its for a day, a week, a year, or the rest of your life. people come into your life for a reason, and they touch your life in a way that shapes who you are and who you will become. and enjoying, in that moment, the relationship you have, is often enough. and letting go, when the time comes, is just another chapter in your life. it changes you, and shapes you to be the person that will embrace whoever else comes into your life, if you take the chance to rely on others. Because we are meant to share our experiences with others, to change the lives of others and be changed by them in return.
- Journal entry 2/9/11

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Thoughts inspired by Time Traveler's Wife...


Maybe it's not just events that shape you. Maybe, even more, its the aftermath, the coping that really makes you who you are. Maybe its the struggle to keep pushing on that makes you stronger. It's the fact that you move on that is the very catalyst that brings about that new chapter in your life. It's in the struggle that we obtain the joy.
- Journal entry 7/2/10