"childhood comfort, stories of Jesus"...christmas memories...

Christmas Memories #14--(or not-so-Christmas) 

(this was what was on my mind as I heard the news of the Connecticut shooting, I was reminded of how I coped, as a small child, with the loss of the sisters I barely even knew but the effects of their loss followed me throughout my childhood...)

My favorite song as a little girl...as I dealt with life's dramas (and there were plenty), I would sing this song and picture myself standing by His knee and listening to Him and in my mind, "fancy His blessing resting on me" was picturing His arm wrapped around my shoulders...

"Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear;
Things I would ask Him to tell me if He were here;
Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

First let me hear how the children stood round His knee,
And I shall fancy His blessing resting on me;
Words full of kindness, deeds full of grace,
All in the love light of Jesus’ face."

getting out of my funk...

Dreams that come true

If you had no limitations, what would you choose to achieve? If you could get up from where you are right now and go to do literally anything, what exactly would it be?

You instinctively know there are things that matter to you more than anything else. It’s important to remind yourself specifically of what they are.

You may not be able to fully achieve your ideal life right now. Yet you absolutely can take very clear, definite and effective actions today to move your life in the direction of that ideal.

With every choice, with each decision, you are progressing in one way or another. Know clearly where you want to go, and even the little moments will bring you closer.

Your life is a continuing manifestation of your most firmly held intentions. So focus on the intentions that you most sincerely and passionately desire.

The dreams that come true are the dreams with which you are most intimately and consistently familiar. Know precisely what you want, and the living of your life will make it real.

— Ralph Marston

i'm in a bit of a funk today and this just hit home perfectly. i need to keep positive and focus on my purpose and goals.

so what would i do if i could do "anything"? i do love teaching, but i am not sure if i would continue it in the capacity of a public school classroom if i didn't need the income. but as long as i need the income, at least i have long summer breaks so that i can be free to help multiple ministries. i would like to be free to travel wherever needed whenever needed, and to help others locally and abroad. my husband would like to a new ministry locally, i would love to see that turn into something that reaches a multitude of people in ways that nothing else does in our area. i want to be involved in ministries in haiti, philippines, liberia, and more.

right now, unfortunately, finances are blocking my ability to do a lot. or maybe i am letting the lack of them block my ability to get the drive to do more. i want to be at peace, positive and prosperous more than anything, but it seems so hard to attain at times... the question is, who is making it so difficult? i'm guessing that it's me, getting over myself and the fear of failure. time to buck up and work on focusing on the important things and quit letting doubt, worry and fear rule.

2 Timothy 1:1-7--I thank God,...without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,...being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother...and your mother..., and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

strength...

i went out for my first workout in forever (you can read about it here) this morning and i was going to make a whole post on goals. i thought about it while i was running/walking. i have been working on getting my goals in writing and being concise with them. i have a tendency to be too wordy (no kidding, right?) and want to keep them simple. one of my personal goals is to lose weight and get back in fit shape. the biggest thought that was dancing in the forefront of my head was that it's one thing to write down your goals so that you can see them, but it's clearly a whole other thing to actually finally take that step to act on them. i have been planning to get fit and healthy for a long time, but that's all i've been doing...planning. i've been doing that in a lot of other areas too, and realized it's time to get off my butt and get busy with all of the things i need to do.

when i got back home, i opened my email and the following article from dailyword was in my email inbox, how timely! (this seems to be happening a lot lately!) check it out...

Friday, August 05, 2011

STRENGTH

I have inner strength.

As I embark on any new endeavor, the excitement of a fresh start can be exhilarating. Sticking with it, however, requires that I develop the spiritual faculty of strength and use it daily.
Whether I am adopting a new healthy habit or leaving an unhealthy one behind, raising a child or starting a new job, I remain steadfast. Obstacles may arise and I may experience my motivation waning, but my inner strength carries me through regardless of any obstacles. I meditate and invite in new awareness. I listen for guidance from within, while affirming my strength and resilience.

The spirit of God within me is my source of spiritual strength. In God consciousness, I overcome any challenge and experience the joy of success.

The Lord is my strength.--Psalm 28:7

how do you want things to be???

i read regularly read the Bible, devotionals, etc. and i also regularly read things that are uplifting and positive, even though they may or may not have a "religious" connotation to them. sometimes i find that the non-religious reading is more uplifting, encouraging, and inspiring than the religious stuff. for example, this morning at church, the closing song was supposed to be uplifting in that it was talking about overcoming worry, spiritual warfare, etc. but i found it to be stress-inducing because of their choice of images playing on the screen during the song. everything was sharp, jagged, spinning out of control...and they didn't have the chorus showing anything opposite to counter it. it just didn't seem very "feng shui"...they had the yen but not the yang (or vice versa)...the negative images, but not the positives. i left there feeling stressed rather than feeling elated and "victorious."

fast forward to my afternoon... we decided to eat at home rather than eating out. we stopped by the store, picked out some fresh salmon and some great produce, and a few other necessary items for the coming week, and went to pay. the search through the depths of my purse ensued, but to no avail...i couldn't find the card i needed to pay for our groceries. they said they could push the buggy into the freezer for me and it would be ready to go when i got back from running home to get my card. we got home, found the card, got a treat from the ice cream man, and i returned to the store... only to find that they decided i wasn't coming back and that most of my cart had been emptied of my items. sure, they offered to get them for me again, but who wants a teenager picking out their peaches and plums??? so off i went, re-shopping for the items that were supposed to be our delicious home-cooked sunday dinner. (they didn't even wait an hour for me to return...20 minutes home, 20 minutes back, and 10 minutes i stood in the deli picking up something quick for lunch so we could have the salmon dinner this evening...only gave me 10 minutes to be at my house to get the card and turn around, and yet not even that.)

so fast forward further... lunch is over, i sat down to the computer and decided to check out the daily motivator, and this is what i read:

How you want it to be

Whatever you genuinely expect is what you will express with your words, your actions and your life. Whatever you expect without question, you’re already working to create, even when you don’t realize you’re doing it.

Worry is a powerful form of negative expectation. Repeated worrying creates the reality of what you’re so worried about, and that’s certainly not what you want.

Yet it is just as possible, and just as powerful, to truly expect the best. If you can envision reasons for worry, you can also envision reasons to be confident about more positive expectations.

Put the power of your expectations to work in a positive and enriching way. Tell your life how you want it to be by expecting the best of it in every moment and in every situation.

Truly expect to get it done, and those very expectations will lead you to find a way. Instead of fighting against your worries, be pushed forward by the very real and powerful expectations of the positive life you intend to live.

The future has not happened yet, so make sure that when it does happen it will be to your liking. Know that you can expect the best, and then get busy making it so.

— Ralph Marston

funny, i didn't expect to come back to the store to an empty cart, and yes i did get stressed, but worrying about it and fussing about it wasn't going to do me any good. i had to just grab my old receipt they had printed out, grab the cart, and go...get my food for my family, and head home.

life is a lot like that. things come our way that can stress us out, make us worry, and just really put us in a pissy mood...but we have control over how we handle ourselves, and how we react to what is happening around us. i could've been a really cranky customer and caused a big scene, but i don't think that would've resolved anything besides making me look like an idiot, and making everyone around me stressed out.

when life throws things at you like job loss, an unexpected move, the loss of a loved one, sudden responsibility that you didn't bargain for, etc. you get to choose how you will react, and you get to choose how you will live your life...which way seems more productive? worry and fretting circumstances and the future? or being positive and making plans? it's a no-brainer to me!

"I AM"???

i have been following randy gage on his blog, twitter and even youtube lately. he doesn't usually bring religion into his posts, but if you listen to him long enough you will see that he does have religious beliefs that drive what he does and how he lives. as someone who grew up in "fundamentalism" it's been a long journey to where i am from where i began. i still believe the core beliefs of my faith, but i have come to realize that there is a lot more to it than what i was raised to believe. the power of thought is very evident in the bible, and randy's most recent post "the i am" really made a lot of sense when considering how your thoughts affect things.

the following quote is what really struck me:

God, Infinite Intelligence, I am, or whatever label you may use to name It, is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. ‘I am’ cannot be sick, depressed, weak, poor, or negative in any way.

So if we follow this train of thought that God’s name is “I am,” every time we say, “I am sick,” “I am depressed,” or “I am weak,” we are speaking God’s name in vain.

so, what faulty thoughts are you thinking about yourself and manifesting in your life? time to rethink things and remember that "as a man thinketh, so is he." i am!