by BlondieWrites on May 9, 2009
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, and soon there was nothing left. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. “God, how could you do this to me?” he cried.
Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers.
“We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.
Remember this the next time your “hut” seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.
Popularity: 70% [?]
by BlondieWrites on May 9, 2009
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard him call;
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way;
I found that place at the close of day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared a laugh, a kiss;
Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savored much;
Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.
Perhaps my time seems all to brief;
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.
Popularity: 46% [?]
by BlondieWrites on May 9, 2009
The Lord saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be,
So He put his arms around you
And whispered, “Come with me”.
With tearful eyes, we watched you suffer
And saw you fade away,
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
A beautiful smile at rest,
God broke our hearts to prove
He only takes the best.
It’s lonesome here without you
We miss you so each day,
Our lives aren’t the same
Since you went away.
When days are sad and lonely,
And everything goes wrong,
We seem to hear you whisper,
“Cheer up and carry on”.
Each time we see your picture,
You seem to smile and say,
“Don’t cry, I’m in God’s keeping,
We’ll meet again someday”.
Popularity: 64% [?]
by BlondieWrites on May 9, 2009
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage? His dad takes him into the forest..blindfolded…and leaves him….alone.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night…and not take off the blindfold until the ray of sun shines through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night..he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each lad must come into his own manhood.
The boy was terrified…could hear all kinds of noise…Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth… And it shook his stump. But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man.
Finally, after a horrific night..the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father..sitting on the stump next to him…at watch… the entire night.
We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, our Father is protecting us…He is sitting on the stump beside us.
All we have to do is reach out to Him.
Popularity: 44% [?]
by BlondieWrites on May 9, 2009
There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest … perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize?
The King chose the second picture.
Do you know why?
“Because,” explained the King, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”
Popularity: 52% [?]
by BlondieWrites on May 1, 2009
Forgiving ourselves isn’t always an easy thing to do. We have regrets, feelings of guilt, wishing or thinking we should have done this or that differently. Sometimes we think that if we had acted differently or made another choice, that somehow situations might have turned out better. Sometimes that’s true, but nothing can change the past. We have to learn to forgive ourselves for things we can’t change or undo, whether it’s for intentional actions or otherwise.
One of the hardest things to forgive ourselves for is the feelings of guilt over what might have been or could have been. Often we think that if we had done so and so differently, that perhaps the outcome would be different. And while often it’s possible there could have been another outcome, more often than not the outcome would have been the same. But even if it wouldn’t have been the same, we can’t change the past. So why do we beat ourselves up over things that can’t be undone? Why do we allow ourselves to experience such guilt over things? And most of all, how do we forgive ourselves for what our minds perceive as unforgivable?
The first step to forgiving ourselves is to realize that whatever we did or didn’t do can’t be changed. It doesn’t matter if the thing we are having guilty feelings over is something we actually did or something we think we could have done differently. Hanging onto feelings of guilt won’t change the past. Holding onto guilt over something will not undo the past or things that happened. It’s time to let it go, to move on, and to live again.
Some people find it difficult to leave the past in the past. They need something physical to get rid of or throw away, and memories simply are not physical. One idea is to make the thoughts and memories physical, giving something tangible to throw away, and in a way this shows that ’something’ was gotten rid of. But how do we make thoughts and memories tangible?
Get a small box, such as a shoe box. Make sure it has a top or can be closed and sealed. For every bad thought, for every feeling of guilt or feeling or what you feel you cannot be forgiven for, write it down on a piece of paper. Put the paper in the box. Once you are finished, close and seal the box. All the guilty feelings you carried in your heart are now in the box, out of your heart, no longer able to burden you down with feelings of being unforgivable.
What you now do with the box is up to you. You can choose to hold onto those feelings, leaving the option to reopen the box and letting the guilt out and back into your heart. Or you can choose to throw out the box, throwing away all of the guilt that you carried. Some people actually bury the box, laying to rest the past and all the hurts. Some throw it out with the trash, tossing out all of the bad. And some keep the box, reopening it and allowing all the guilt to come back inside of them to live again.
We don’t have to live with guilt. We can control our own thoughts and actions. We choose to do this or that. But we cannot control the choices that others make or the things they do. We can choose to live with guilt, never forgiving ourselves, or we can choose to move on, admitting that we are just human and that sometimes humans do fail and do mess up.
Forgiving yourself, letting go of the guilt, it won’t change the past. But it can change your future.
Popularity: 70% [?]
