December 2011
95 posts
“One piece of wisdom that rests in the ear, takes root in the heart, and produces...”
“Stewardship isn’t about controlling everything…it’s about...”
– My brother Dan
Holding the fence by the edge of his toe,
Balding by the energy of too slow,
Cold to the bone,
cold to the bone,
choosing the turkey over the crow.
Looking to right, to left, to to and to fro,
Cold to the bone,
Cold to the bone,
Choosing to wonder over to know.
I think that Elisabeth Elliot is becoming a third grandmother to me. Her wisdom is profoundly affecting my life. If I could recommend any author to anyone— man or woman — it would be her.
“You are more concerned on shaping your nose than in fashioning your character.”
– ~Marmie to little Amy in Little Women. I desire to have this wisdom and to exhibit the caliber of character and love Marmie has in this classic.
A letter, a moment
I stood, knife in hand, sun like an older brother staring down at the oranges I had chosen. I sliced them, thinking about the way they generously supplied their fragrance to the air, and to that brother sun who’s eyes would never shift. I let the sounds of hustle and of bustle linger around me, but never let them fully into my ears. I’m beginning to believe that every part of me...
A simple thought
The moon is full,
My heart is too,
Let’s make a dream of it,
Just me and you.
From my Reading
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Matt. 19:26
Some inspiration I found today:
“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”
- Anonymous
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.”
-Mark Twain
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
- C.S. Twain
“Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway.”
- Dr. Robert Anthony
“(Christopher Robin to Pooh Bear:) Promise me you’ll always remember:...”
– A. A. Milne
WatchWhat is it they are asked? Thought-provoking, and sad.
I just listened to a poem by Mary Oliver, called Crow, and it was beautiful. I would post it here, but can’t find it now. Enjoy it at your leisure someday.
What I wrote that Paul liked:
I believe we were the dream of a beautiful Writer, and our stories are meant to be inspired, and to inspire. I want my life to be true to His fire, to be washed in His desire, to be walked upon His wire, not stuck in fear nor mire. To be spent lifting His glory higher, if I don’t, then I am a liar.
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom.
-Anais Nin
I am happy.
“We choose to go to the moon…and the other things, not because they are...”
– President John F. Kennedy
“The wind shook the kiss from your mouth,
before I could learn,
who’s...”
– Gem Club, Twins
Watch
“A mighty pain to love it is,
And ‘tis a pain that pain to miss;
But of all...”
– – Abraham Crowley
For a Girl's Heart That is Weak
Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails…. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. ~Ps. 143:7a-10
“I am a peeled blood orange today.”
Turn me into wallpaper,
make me a barkless tree,
make me an atom bomb,
or a rock tied with string,
thrown to strangle forever
in the deep Baltic Sea.
Melt me down to iron,
or into a mute bird
with flightless wings.
Turn me into anything
without a heart that needs
to love
mutually.
“I am a winter flower
Iced and longing,
waiting for the
breath of hot morning...”
From Today's Reading
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of...
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as...”
– Matt. 10:16, 19b-22
From my Reading
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;...
“If you find a church that is taking the Word of God outside the church into the...”
– Greg Laurie
For me to remember
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ~1 Pet. 3:8
An interesting quote that I am still sorting through.
“The guidance of the Spirit is generally by gentle suggestions or drawings, and not in violent pushes; and it requires great child-likeness of heart to be faithful to it. The secret of being made willing lies in a definite giving up of our will.”
—H.W.S
Watch
“if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”...
“there is no pit so deep, that His love is not deeper still…”
– corrie ten boom
From my C.H. Spurgeon Devotion Today
“They go from strength to strength.” - Ps. 84:7
Christian pilgrim having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant, nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more...
