Who am I to be brilliant?

Tuesday's Quotes

One of my favs...

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson ~

True Love

As we move towards a holiday whose theme is love, my eyes fall on a story that so reminds me of God's faithful, unconditional and enduring LOVE for us....

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80′s arrived at the hospital to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.



On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. 

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. 
I inquired as to her health.   
He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said,

‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’

Isn't this story just the P E R F E C T analogy of how our Heavenly Father loves us!

He chose us before the foundation of the world.

Before we knew Him, He stood by the door, waiting.
We answered His knock and He rejoiced while making a place for us at His table.

When we turned from Him He mourned us and wooed us back to Him.

He loves us with a regenerating love.

When we forgot Him He continued to pursue us even though we didn't recognize that it was His tears in the rain or that the drop of moonlight on our brow was His gentle touch.

We didn't know Him yet He knew us and everyday He came.

Each week I have made a commitment towards a heart of gratitude. It is part of my worship to the One who gives me breath.

281-293

- Fresh new crisp sheets
- Drenching rains that have slowed
- A sweet patient who held my hand and cried because he missed his dog.

- Getting his dog in the hospital to him =)
- Sweet Betty. From playing rock band to lying in a hospital bed. I love your playful spirit. Home safe and sound now.

- A week of fasting, praying and answered prayer. You prayed Russ and He answered. 3 days of sun proceeded

- So thankful for a lovely family. A family that loves me despite all my shortcomings.

- Even though my body has been failing me this last month I'm still able to work and get to this pc to tap thoughts 

- Finding new blogs that inspire
- Hugs
- A relationship that has been broken that is in process of mending after many years of prayer

- The little hospital I call work. They are my second family

- Family night and a movie. Letters to God
- Snuggling up with my man for an episode of House Hunters International

TLC

Writing for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
Writing with other amazing women on Lisa-Jo's The Gypsy Mama



go...
Tender...


Exquisite and in quiet tender, these hearts we doth hold
Supple and easily bruised they never grown old

To protect and to guard delivered in trust
Hearts commissioned to us, delicacy is a must

Its rhythmic beat not only sustains life
But it's capacity to love is undenied

I've learned much this last year about the T in TLC
Dear Lord help me never forget that tenderness is key!
Robin





Stop

World of color

1,000 Word Thursday

Purusing through my summer vacation pics and these brought a smile to my face =)

You is kind. You is smart. You is important

Wednesday's Word

• "You are forgiven"
• "I love you"
• "I DO!"
• "It's a girl"
• "It's a boy"
• "I'm sorry you lost your baby"

The above words are just some of the most potent words that have reverberated in my lifetime.

- I did not grow in a family of generous words.

- I walked into adulthood with a bankrupt Word Bank.
- The realization of the power of words tilts my universe a little. Just one can topple a grown man.
- Of recent, a few more words were caught in my net 

'You is smart. You is kind. You is important.'

The above scene clip is one of the most powerful moments for me in the movie "THE HELP"
WHY?

The power of words.

I've not read the book 'THE HELP' (based on the novel by author Kathryn Stockett) but did watch the movie over the Christmas break. The story, as most know, is set in Jackson Mississippi during the 1960s segregation era.
The story focuses on three distinct women – two Black, one white – and their intertwining lives around the ideas of race, class, gender and power.

A simple, poor and trodden down woman, giving the best gift she has...her kind life giving words.

(That's what stuck to me like a post-it!)

Continuously propelling us through life. The life they can birth in a beautiful ripple effect AND the life they can extinguish in a single syllable.

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." 

I remember saying those words when young to try and convince myself of its truth in the face of painful words thrown my way.
Unfortunately, it is far from true. They not only wound but without due diligence and prayer, can play over and over in the battlefield of our mind, sucking the joy right out of our very existence... like He never intended.

We can't always count on our loved ones or others to speak life into our day to day. So then what?

When we are dry and thirsty where do we go?

God’s desire is this – that we may come to Him and drink as the fountain of living waters!

 Go to the source of life! Go to Him and drink. Allow Him to fill you to overflowing. When we drink of Him,  – there are rivers of water flowing in us and spilling out on those around

I can remember vividly the last kind words spoken to me...can't you?

• The words of the reckless pierce like swords,  but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

• With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.

One of my favorite characters in the story Celia Foote.

To be a little more Celia and a little less Hilly Holbrook!

Now that we are full let us spill out words of life onto others and fill their word bank!

Your high calling

Tuesday's quotes

photo via pintrest

Oregon saturated

photos courtesy of Tim Corban

The horizon hung low and heavy laden. The waters surged toward this place we call home. Gray on every horizon with leaden skies that were unforgiving... and the rain came.

Some lost their lives, others homes.  Out of tragedy ushers even greater gratitude for life, safety and wellness!

Lord be with those families who are walking through loss. Bolster them up. May your blessing be on this little state of Oregon.

Pursuing gratitude...

#268-280

• Safety
• Ability to get to school and work
• Witnessing acts of humanity and generosity
• The power of prayer to mend and heal
• Prayer vigil for a family's loss in the dark waters
• Continuing to open doors for Rebecca in areas of ministry and leading worship
• A marriage that though bumpy, is bound by a cord that can't be broken
• A hope for things unseen....(including the sun=)
• A sons heart to serve and love
• Random texts from from friends
• My other family, our little hospital
• Ability to hold hands with families as they make difficult life altering decisions regarding loved ones.
• A week of prayer and fasting and journals kept.

Vigorous freshness

On Friday's I like to jump in from time to time and join the fun at Lisa-Jo's place with some fast, furious and flirty writing. My favorite thing is that we only get 5 minutes and I like run with my first impressions.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Most important: comment and encourage the person who linked up before you.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Vivid…

{go}

According to Merriam-Webster definition:

1: of a color: very strong : very high in chroma

2: having the appearance of vigorous life or freshness : LIVELY

3: producing a strong or clear impression on the sense:

sharp, intense; specifically: producing distinct mental images

4: acting clearly and vigorously


My favorite is VIGOROUS LIFE OR FRESHNESS! That deserves a YIPEE!

If you’re quiet you’re not living. You’ve got to be noisy and colorful and lively.

—Mel Brooks—

Not necessarily found in the book of Acts but I L O V E this quote and it brings me back to our word 'VIVID'.
As Christian women we have so much HOPE, FAITH, TRUST, COMFORT and LOVE to draw from our Heavenly Father that we more than any others, have the capacity to color a vivid life, even coloring outside of the lines.
To me living noisy and colorful and lively is a life filled with laughter, joy, fullness, gratitude and yes even tears, all to His Glory!

One of the fruits of the spirit is joy. He tells us that whoever believes in Him will have rivers of living water that flow from within, and that His joy is our strength. It's all there for the taking.

Today's word finds me wanting to live a life...ablaze, aglow beaming, blazing, brilliant, burning, colorful, dazzling, gleaming, glistening, glittering, glossy, illuminated, intense, luminous, lustrous, radiant,  shiny, silvery, sparkling, sunlit, sunny, twinkling and 

VIGOROUSLY FRESHLY VIVID!

picture via Pintrest

{stop}

A girl and her grandma

1,000 Word Thursday




                                                                                             Necklace from grandma

Welcome to Holland @aaronshust

Wednesday's Word

– raising a child with a disability –

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.
You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."




"Holland?!" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?" I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.


So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language.

And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.






It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.



But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

The pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Written by Emily Perl Kingsley

Kiss from Heaven

A tweet from a friend:
PRAYING!! RT @aaronshust: Michael Aaron, Our Special Angel. tinyurl.com/MichaelAaronSh… ...and the story we find ourselves in.

Led me to Aaron Shust tweet:

aaronshustAaron Shust

Michael Aaron, Our Special Angel. http://tinyurl.com/MichaelAaronShust...and the story we find ourselves in.

 

Which led me to his blog and his story. I cried...then I prayed.

I've never had a special needs child, but from the heart of a mother my soul is pricked.

I saw the above poem 'Welcome to Holland' as a response to his story.

I requested he allow me to share his story, his words for all were "If it gives God the glory, please do"

All I can say is

He GIVES BEAUTY FOR ASHES AND STRENGTH FOR FEAR





 Pop over to Shustlog and read his story.

Courage in the broken places

Tuesday's quotes

"Perhaps strength doesn’t reside in having never been broken but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places".

Lucy, Carol and Bob

Some days, you have a decision to make... either plow through or go back to bed...

and SOME days that decision gets tested.

I keep waiting for life to lighten. It's been a rough 365+ days. Ready to start out the New Year with a bang!
Proved that theory true with 3 (yes I said 3) separate episodes of stomach flu since the 1st. And what gets me....WHAT REALLY TESTS ME...
is I've only lost 1#. I could stand to lose a third grader off these hips and all I get is 1 lousy pound. With all the knee time I devoted I should have lost 2 third graders!!!!
Seriously???
I find myself asking...
What would three of my favorite people in the world tell me right now...

"Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on."

~Bob Newhart~

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore ones faith."

~Lucille Ball~

"Comedy is tragedy plus time."

~Carol Burnett~

I drove up to Starbucks not too long ago, put my arm out to the window and begged them to just start a drip right there.

Ahh well it could always be worse right! Having energy is over rated.

With that said, I continue my pursuit with this community of women who have devoted themselves to OPERATION PURPOSEFUL GRATTITUDE!

A list of a Thousand things, beginning with #1. Daily jotting down items on my Thousand Gifts list, working, one-by-one, up to a thousand gifts.

Grab the button and start jotting along with!

#258

Laughter is medicine for the soul

#259

Thankful for a career that stands the test in these uncertain times

#260

That the stomach flu will go away...it's not a cancer diagnosis

#261

Fresh paint on my bedroom walls, so serene.

#262

Listening to the stories of my daughters last perfomance at the Hult Center

#263

Secrets told by a friend

#264

A fresh fall of snow

#265

An adoring son who takes such good care of me

#266

A great man who works hard and loves me equally

#267

My great big Father who watches by day and night!