a thankful heart is a happy heart
In addition to being mindful of the present, if we are to ENJOY the season of life we’re in—to know Paul’s secret to being joyful and content in all circumstances—we must learn to live each day expressing thanks to God for each and every good gift and surrendering every bit of our will and desires and plans to him—for that day, and for all others— in the process. Put very simply, we need to have a constant mindset of gratitude if we are to enjoy the life we have been given to live. Ann Voskamp writes, in One Thousand Gifts: Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, We only enter...
Read Moretransformative trust
(This post is dedicated with my deepest sympathy and hope to Nicolle Bompart of Eyes Wide Open International) If you know me well, or if you’ve spent any time at all on my couch, you’ve heard me mention, at least once, Hannah Hurnard’s spiritual allegory, Hind’s Feet on High Places. On my Top Five Books of All Time list, its impact on my life, and on many others who have read it, has been profound. (You can read more about my own experience with “Much Afraid” here.) Hind’s Feet on High Places tells the story of little Much Afraid, a crippled and disfigured young...
Read Moreword of the day: trust
trust n. To have or place reliance; depend; Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing. To be confident; hope. To have or place confidence in; depend on Reliance on something in the future; hope. To expect with assurance; assume: I trust that you will be on time. To believe: I trust what you say. To place in the care of another; entrust. The condition and resulting obligation of having confidence placed in one To grant discretion to confidently: Can I trust them with the boat? To extend credit to. trust n. Synonyms: trust, faith, confidence,...
Read Morebeginning the good work
Here, friends, is where the rubber first meets the road. If we are to desire to become BETTER—to become more like Jesus—we must first get out from under our warm and fuzzy blanket of comfortable complacency and we must BEGIN the pursuit. Robert Collier writes, “Take the first step, and your mind will mobilize all its forces to your aid. But the first essential is that you begin. Once the battle is started, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance.” All the planning and praying in the world does not accomplish even the tiniest bit if we do not ever take that...
Read Morewhere is the resolve behind your resolution?
Truth be told, I’m not a New Year’s Resolution kind of gal. But that doesn’t stop me, of course, from making them every year. Every year I regard “Day One” of the calendar as a crisp, clean blank slate upon which I can re-write my life—a glorious, meaning-filled life that includes a consistent quiet time, consistent exercise, consistent eating right, consistent mindfulness, consistent engagement, consistent effort toward my goals and growth. Every year, I consistently fail. At that, if nothing else, I am consistent. As I was loading up my new Kindle Fire with reading material, I...
Read Moreeach sunrise sees a new year born
New Year’s Morning Helen Hunt Jackson (1892) Only a night from old to new! Only a night, and so much wrought! The Old Year’s heart all weary grew, But said: “The New Year rest has brought.” The Old Year’s hopes its heart laid down, As in a grave; but trusting, said: “The blossoms of the New Year’s crown Bloom from the ashes of the dead.” The Old Year’s heart was full of greed; With selfishness it longed and ached, And cried: “I have not half I need. My thirst is bitter and unslaked. But to the New Year’s generous hand All gifts in plenty shall return; True love it...
Read Moreinterruptions
He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. God tapped humanity on its collective shoulder, “Pardon me,” he said, and eternity interrupted time, divinity interrupted carnality, and heaven interrupted the earth in the form of a baby. Christianity was born in one big heavenly interruption. Max Lucado
Read Morea christmas blessing
A Christmas Blessing May the Christmas light glow in your window as you come home on a dark and stormy night. May the music of carols warm your discouraged souls and make you want to sing again. May the crib scene catch your eye and hold you in its fascination. May you realize that every gift is as special as you want to make it. May the Christmas tree draw you to its dazzling lights. May your love be even more dazzling and welcome everyone home. May Jesus and Mary and Joseph bless you and all yours and keep you patient and happy and joyous all the season long. May you remember as best...
Read Moretake time to be aware
Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present. An old abbot was fond of saying, “The devil is always the most active on high feast days.” The supreme trick of Old Scratch is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practicing music and cleaning in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we...
Read Morefirst sunday of advent: come
Into the midst of our chaotic world — In the tidings of an angel, In the womb of a virgin, In the dreams of her betrothed, In the prophecies of the ages, In the dark of a stable, In the brilliance of a star, In the cry of a newborn — he comes. How he is received, makes all the difference. Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and...
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