Saturday, November 19, 2011
today::
grateful for the moments when my nephews say something or do something unexpected and i know that they love me...and we bond...sweet boys!
Friday, November 18, 2011
wait for::hope for::expect
Psalm 27
13[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! (another version says, 'i had fainted unless i believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.')
14Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
one day::many little happies
grateful for a sermon series my mom found for me on overcoming fear...i have been under INTENSE fear attacks lately...i have never experienced anything like it before...these messages were very practical and encouraging...and hugely helpful...
grateful for my dad going to nashville with me today...i know i'm all ms. independant, but i get very tired of doing things by myself...it was nice to have the company...and to show dad some of the city that might be my new home...
grateful to meet up with a gal that i only met maybe a month ago...it's nice to know that if i end up in nashville, i will know at least one gal...
grateful that the admissions person at the school i am considering was super excited at the prospect of me coming there...and was genuinely interested in me as a person...really helpful and kind...
grateful for my dad going to nashville with me today...i know i'm all ms. independant, but i get very tired of doing things by myself...it was nice to have the company...and to show dad some of the city that might be my new home...
grateful to meet up with a gal that i only met maybe a month ago...it's nice to know that if i end up in nashville, i will know at least one gal...
grateful that the admissions person at the school i am considering was super excited at the prospect of me coming there...and was genuinely interested in me as a person...really helpful and kind...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
little happy::second and third and fourth and...
grateful for second and third and fourth and...you get the idea...chances...that God is a restorer...that God makes promises to turn things around in our lives...even the things we've screwed up...he doesn't say, "well, you got yourself into this mess, go ahead and get yourself out."...but his mercies are new every morning...it says he remembers our sins no more...as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us...that he has not dealt with us according to our sins or rewarded us according to our iniquities, but he pities us like a father pities his children...that he remembers we are just dust...
i have messed up so many things in my life...even willfully chosen wrong...i can list my reasons, but none of them are good enough to excuse the things i've done or thought or said or believed...
but God...in his mercy looks at me as perfected...he forgives...he cleanses and he lets me start over...
tears pour down my cheeks as i type this...because i need so many do-overs in my life...so many things i've messed up...things that seem irreparable...but nothing is impossible with God...
some verses::
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]— my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
i have messed up so many things in my life...even willfully chosen wrong...i can list my reasons, but none of them are good enough to excuse the things i've done or thought or said or believed...
but God...in his mercy looks at me as perfected...he forgives...he cleanses and he lets me start over...
tears pour down my cheeks as i type this...because i need so many do-overs in my life...so many things i've messed up...things that seem irreparable...but nothing is impossible with God...
some verses::
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]— my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
grateful 2
grateful for God allowing me to get to a place where i am utterly helpless...where i am backed up to a sea of challange...because now i get to watch him show up big time to make a way...he is about to show his mighty power to save...and i am excited to see the BIG work he does!!!
grateful today...
since it is midday and i am expecting even better things in the second half of my day...there may be two little happy posts today (i am working on optimism, faith and hope)
but...
grateful for beautiful words..language...writing...a well-written phrase can absolutely make my day...i've been known to cry over something just because it was so well-written...words have power and those who have the gift for directing that power into a well-turned phrase have my utmost admiration and gratitude...
in ancient times, when a village or tribe's dancers moved in ways that were transcendant, the people would shout some of the earliest forms of "bravo"...and their original meanings were, "i see God in you"...
so i say "bravo" to beautiful writing and language...i see God in you...
but...
grateful for beautiful words..language...writing...a well-written phrase can absolutely make my day...i've been known to cry over something just because it was so well-written...words have power and those who have the gift for directing that power into a well-turned phrase have my utmost admiration and gratitude...
in ancient times, when a village or tribe's dancers moved in ways that were transcendant, the people would shout some of the earliest forms of "bravo"...and their original meanings were, "i see God in you"...
so i say "bravo" to beautiful writing and language...i see God in you...
practice resurrection...
i have always thought there was so much wisdom to be gleened from this piece...dig deep...it's there...
Manifesto:The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won't compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannotunderstand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn't go.
Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.
"Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
Manifesto:The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won't compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannotunderstand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn't go.
Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.
"Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
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