It's the little things...like SPRINKLES!!!

So loving all things quirky, I get the email from a 20-something blogger who I'd love to be best friends with :) She's called "girl meets life" and also has something to say/show that brings a smile to my face -- but seriously read this last one!!!

"Because I do. And it’s the use of a word commonly used by girls to describe something they like very, very much. You know what word I’m talking about…

OBSESSED.

I am dark, but I am lovely...

Read this note from a sister -

Song of Solomon is one of those books in the bible that beckons me to read more. No… it’s not the over-the-top analogies that draw my interest (read: “Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing.” That’s in there. I promise) but I find myself intrigued by the love story being poured out over the pages. Fresh-shorn-sheep-talk and all.

As of late, this particular portion of the book has been pulling at my heart:

I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not look upon me, because I am dark…
-Song of Solomon 1:5-6

Here we see a bride acknowledging her condition…her darkness (which is obviously something she is not proud of ) and then, in the very same sentence, she acknowledges her loveliness.

Could this be the beautiful paradox that is God’s grace?

Read the rest by going to (in)courage

God's plan is found at the intersection of the world greatest need and our burning passions

progress not perfection

I will make you my promised bride forever. I will be good and fair; I will show you my live and mercy. 

  - Hosea 2:19 

 

For all its peculiarities and unevenness, the Bible has a simple story: 

God made man.  

Man rejected God. 

God won't give up until he wins him back.

God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; he'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and him, he will take all but one. But he will leave the FINAL one for us. The choice is ours.

- Please understand  -

He goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you his. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need.

A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado

Breath. Rest. Peace.

    So I daily get a blog called (in)courage which sends member blog postings. Somedays there seems to be a theme; but most days it’s just words from women of God’s hearts. Today’s were the latter but I found a patchword of peace speaking to me through each one.

Recently I moved, I started an internship, Igot a job offer, and then I got sick. So today I have about hundred things to do and less than that amount of time to get them done. But today, I recieved the ever present message of peace from sisters.

They said:

      Just…breathe.
I don’t mean that flippantly, and it’s not passive, either.  Breathing–slowing down–requires resolve and intention…I say this again with much love and respect and as gently as I know how–every incourage post isn’t for everyone ~
        Breathe.
                 Slow down.
                         Give it time.
                                 Persevere.
In that space, it’s okay to be angry; it’s fine to want out.  But instead of acting on those negative emotions and feelings….
        Pray.
              Bathe in the word.
                      Pursue Godly council.
                             Seek to understand before you seek to be understood. 

<http://www.incourage.me/2011/08/til-death-us-do-part.html>

They said:

Women sometimes joke about feeling as if we need to be like Wonder Woman in our daily lives…Many of us also harbor a secret—one we share with only a few people. Despite our Herculean efforts, our endless giving, and our selfless devotion…they never feel like enough.

In the kingdom of God, we’re all Wonder Women.

   Life is hard sometimes—

       crazy, mixed-up, messed up.

             And there you are in the middle of it all,

just doing your thing… 

being strong and brave

and beautiful

like it’s no big deal.

 But let me tell you, girl, it is.

...Not everyone can do what you can do.

...Not everyone can handle things the way you can.

...And while you wonder sometimes if you’re doing okay…

the rest of us are just

watching in wonder.

  <http://www.incourage.me/2011/08/in-gods-heart-i-am-strong.html>

They say:

I am discovering a bit of *freedom* in the living when I stop focusing so much.

When I stop taking everything so seriously, take a deep breath and relax a little bit…

I receive Peace. I find rest.

A lot of what we experience shouldn’t affect us like it does.

     Really, it’s not his fault or her fault or their fault for our intense living.

We are responsible for our own thoughts, actions and feelings.

This is what Solomon meant when he said, “Above all else, guard your heart…” [Proverbs 4:23]

When we take it all so seriously, our hearts implode into our living.

This is the place–the thin place–where we He Lives.

Trusting that God knows better than we do is Grace to breathe.

He wants us to live in peace.
He wants us to trust Him.
He wants us to lessen the vice grip we have on life.

Because really, our days needn’t be as hard as we make them out to be.

It. [Really.] Doesn’t. Matter.

How do you get your life back after you’ve squeezed the joy out of it so hard that it suffocated?
How do you revive your living relationships that have been burned by your laser focus?

It is only in resting in His arms, in trusting that He has purpose in all (even their messes), and in choosing to lay down your worries and receive His peace.

Let go of what you’ve been clinging to a little too tightly.

Let go of the shoulds and the musts and the certainty that you know best.

Just let go.

Let yourself rest {in Grace}.

Bask in it. Bathe in it. Dive in it. Dance in it. Jump in it and splash about in it.

You might find yourself suddenly a bit exhausted and needing a nap. Take it. And when you awaken, remind yourself not to take it all so seriously.

His Grace is big enough to make purpose out of Every. Thing.

Won’t you take a step today and Trust Him…

for what He wants to do in their living,
 

and even in your living?

 

It just might save your life.

<http://www.incourage.me/2011/08/are-you-killing-your-life.html>

I guess that’s my message from God today —

    Breath…

              Rest…

                      Peace…

Peace - It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart (unkown)

The Cave - Mumford and Sons

It's empty in the valley of your heart

The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope

And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands

And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

  Cause I need freedom now

And I need to know how

To live my life as it's meant to be

And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Mumford and Sons  "The Cave"

pictures from South Africa and Milawi

Somewhere between

With new excited opportunities face me, sometimes I just want to run home to Iowa and be a little girl again. Why is that? 

                                              

                               ...Am I afraid of making the wrong descision?

                                               YES

                                     ......Am I afraid I'll fail?

                                                        YES

                                                ......Am I afraid of succeeding in an area that's not in my plan?

                                                                 YES

                             

 !?!?!?!?!!?!?!? WHY ?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

because maybe in the deepest part of me, I just don't trust....

But the Lord commands 

"Do not be afraid" 

because

" He did not give you a spirit of fear but of POWER and LOVE and SELF-DISCIPLINE"

for

"I can do all things through Him who gives me strength"

 

(as usual someone else expresses this better than I do - Lyrics from Somewhere in the Middle by Casting Cowns)"

 -----------------------------

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

---------------------------

So my challenge today... 

- BE STILL -

... to quiet the fears of MY soul so I can hear the whisperings of HIS heart

( ...........because BE is still an action verb!)

To listen to the whole of the song