Loving the Miles, For Your Sake | Mary Oliver

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It's Good Friday; I wanted to share this.
Such a beautiful poem, capturing the experience of coming to God in the first days.
Too often we can easily get caught up in the daily drudgeries of life we forget that moment, that experience of coming to God in our first days. Mary Oliver beautifully captures her experience, I am sure, experienced uniquely by many lovers of God.
For His sake, may we continually love the miles.

By Mary Oliver

Coming to God: First days

Lord, what shall I do that I
can’t quiet myself?
Here is the bread, and
here is the cup, and
I can’t quiet myself.

To enter the language of transformation!
To learn the importance of stillness,
    with one’s hands folded!

When will my eyes of rejoicing turn peaceful?
When will my joyful feet grow still?
When will my heart stop its prancing
    as over the summer grass?

Lord, I would run for you, loving the miles for your sake.
I would climb the highest tree
to be that much closer.

Lord, I will learn also to kneel down
into the world of the invisible,
    the inscrutable and the everlasting.
Then I will move no more than the leaves of a tree
    on a day of no wind,
bathed in light,
like the wanderer who has come home at last
and kneels in peace, done with all unnecessary things;
every motion; even words.

love & light...♥



We ebb and we flow, so

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Wandering through the unknown.
We ebb and we flow, so.
Day by day.
Excited. Expectant.

Change is inevitable. 

Autumn reminds me of that.

Through the push and pull of this life, I feel like I have experienced a lot of this recently.
Whether it be close friends moving away, change in family life/new relationships to my walk with the Lord; simply seeing a shift in my heart and mind.
Still there is beauty in this season, such beauty in change whilst God makes room for something new, all within His perfect will (Romans 8v27-28; Ecclesiastes 3v11).

Yet, fear creeps up inside of us as we approach what is not known. We worry, we panic.
We become anxious.

In Matthew 6v34 it says:
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Further on Philippians 4v6 says:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We do not know what tomorrow holds so rather than being anxious, the word commands us to let our requests be made known to God, casting our cares to our Lord (Psalm 55v22), bringing everything under the authority of Jesus Christ.
 
I will never cease to be amazed by how God holds us in these situations, as we stand before the bridges we are to cross not knowing what lies before us and on the other side.

Trust.
Honestly, something I am constantly learning to do. Daily choosing to trust Him over my circumstances as He is greater than them! A God s worthy of trust and who is NOT a God of confusion.
Learning to trust and learning to let go of what was once known, moving into the unknown without fear or anxiety. Therefore realising the essence of change; understanding the newness in life it cultivates.
Such freedom!


Be encouraged:
Change will always come. Remember that God is holding you, He neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121) Always proceed with a humble heart, trusting and being expectant.
The moments I have finally trusted God with all my heart and wait expectantly for Him, sharing my hopes with Him he moves in amazing ways. We really do serve an amazing God!

love & light...♥

"I'm drifting, closer toward the skyline, looking down on my life, trying to get just one thing right,

The second I stop second guessing, let go like a confession, seeing what I was born to find,

Flying for the first time." 

Life is Fleeting

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So much in life is fleeting. You've got to pick early on before people tell you, you should. You've got to start deciding what you're going hold on to; whether its that friendship or relationship you're in, or that dream you have. - Zac Hanson

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | A Woman Of True Beauty

"A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest, trusting in God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. 

She exudes a sense of calm, a sense of rest, and invites those around her to rest as well.

She speaks comfort; she knows that we live in a world at war, that we have a vicious enemy, and our journey is through a broken world.

But she also knows that because of God all is well, that all will be well.

A woman of true beauty offers others the grace to be and the room to become.

In her presence we release the tension and pressure that so often grip our hearts. 

We can also breathe in the truth that God loves us and He is good."

- John & Stasi Eldredge

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | The Freedom to Just Be

"I sometimes wonder if we give ourselves and others the freedom to be shy on Monday and outgoing on Tuesday." - Darling Magazine

Sometimes we need to allow others the grace to be weak and the freedom to just be.

I've come to realise when we don't leave room for this we, in turn, expect too much from others and often times too little. Things we could never expect or achieve on our own part, thus unknowingly imparting the responsibility on others when actually, it is God who fulfills all criteria.

Not everyone has gone through similar situations or circumstances you have been in or are currently going through, yet we become disappointed when we  feel as if we don't get enough or the right support from the people we expect it from the most; our friends and family. In this life, people will fail you. Not because they set out to but simply consider the option that they are unaware of how to help you through the situation. It is so important that we don't measure a man according to his mistakes or inability to provide for you. God is our ultimate provider. We depend upon Him, completely, absolutely. He will never disappoint you.

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Friendship

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“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.”

- William Arthur Ward

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Dare To Move

"The tension is here, the tension is here,
Between who you are and who you could be.
Between how it is and how it should be.
I dare you to move, dare you to move..."
- Switchfoot, Dare You To Move

There is NO back up plan with God.

In this life, so many of us settle for much less than what we are capable of being able to do. Riding on those temporary highs or not believing to move into the impossible.
Daring to move beyond what we think we can do and into what God knows we can do takes great faith. Stretching ourselves beyond our comfort zone; so small, into a life full of the possibilities and the promises God has upon our lives does not come easy but it can be done.

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Fear of Failure

Free People recently posted this picture on their facebook. I read it, then I laughed. Not because I found it humorous but because for a moment I found myself in the 'laugh or cry' situation.

It got me wondering how often we tend not to do things simply because of the option of failure or in many cases, the fear of failure. Letting failure be a hindrance, a barrier to stop you from achieving what it is you want to achieve. I've seen this happen too often in many people including myself. Yes I have fallen victim to this many times. I find myself looking back, if I had just taken a step, or if I had said something, how different would things be to how life is now?

After what I had read REALLY sunk in, thoughts began to run through my mind over the many things I would like to achieve but fear and doubt in myself began to push them away, but what if for a moment you let them stay at the forefront of your mind, let it manifest in your mind, in your heart & let that seed grow. Scary, isn't it?

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Fearless

"If you dreams don't scare you, they're probably not big enough."
- via Kirk Franklin, Anon.

NEVER doubt a woman's strength.

Today I finished my placement in the Maternity Unit at St. Thomas' Hospital. I saw miracles happen through the birth of a baby and the strength of a woman; the strength of a woman is undoubtedly beyond anything I could imagine. It seemed unreal, indescribable; but it is real. Though I was there to learn (and I did), I began to wonder if I myself could go through that but you've got to have faith that you can and your strength will come from that, you've got to be fearless.

All the other women I saw in labour and even during and after the birth have been so inspiring, it really and truly moved me, I wish them nothing but the best in this journey they've began. I pray to God he gives me that same strength when the time comes (NO I'm not pregnant) and I know he will.

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Gossips To The Left <--

"Those who gossip at you will gossip about you."

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Rhythm

At youth group, this video was played. I thought it was pretty breathtaking:

"When I think of God, I hear a song. Its a song that moves me. It has a groove; a certain rhythm. People have heard this song for thousands and thousands of years. People have heard the song and they've found it captivating. The song is playing all around us all the time... everywhere. It is written on our hearts and everybody is playing the song. See, the question isn't whether or not you are playing a song, the question is:

Are you in tune?"

- Rob Bell

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom |The Virtuous Woman

Initially Posted: 14/10/2011, 11:13am
This post has seemed to get a lot of views solely based on the scriptural pictures so I thought I would share my insights on Proverbs 31, what God has spoken to me about this Proverb & what I have learnt from others ministering on this Proverb; that it might touch you as it has touched me.

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | Just Breathe

- Bobbi Brown

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | HIStory

"Every day create your history

Every path you take you're leaving your legacy

Every soldier dies in his glory

Every legend tells of conquest and liberty

Every day create your history

Every page you turn you're writing your legacy

Every hero dreams of chivalry

Every child should sing together in harmony."

– Michael Jackson

love & light...♥

Friday's Wisdom | The Beauty of a Woman

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”

– Audrey Hepburn

love & light...♥