Sweet Love

On this day of your life, we believe God wants you to know...

that you will find peace. When your mind is caught in a storm, be as still as a lake. Cool the currents of your emotions with compassion and faith. The storm will pass...

 your mind will settle.

take time to hear the full message.

God wants you to know ... that it's important not to invalidate your feelings.   Your feelings are telling you something important. Do not rush to act on the first whim, take time to hear the full message.

Living your life

On this day of your life, , we believe God wants you to know ... that living your life as good as you are able to, is good enough.
	You don't need to be superhuman, and you don't need to be perfect. Simply live the best you can, and God will take care of the rest.

Notice the smiles of children, the songs of the birds,


 the caress of the sun's warmth. This sweetness is for 


you. Allow it to soothe your soul and bring a smile to 


your face. 

only full acceptance can bring you true peace.

On this day of your life, , we believe God wants you to know ... that only full acceptance can bring you true peace.

Acceptance does not mean resignation. Accept to befriend and transform, instead of trying to fight and destroy.

When God Made You

Who Can I Turn To When Nobody Needs Me

Memories...  I sang this song as a solo in a High School Talent Show during a Choir Concert.  Brings back memories...  I remember the vocal range you needed to sing it.  LOVED it.

Chris Tomlin - I Will Rise

My Cross

My most beloved Jesus,

I embrace all the sufferings

You have destined for me.

I beg You by all You suffered

in carrying Your cross,

to help me carry mine

with your perfect peace

and resignation.

I love You, Jesus my love

I repent of ever having

offended You.

Never let me separate myself

from You again.

Grant that I may love You always

and then do with me as You will.

Katherine Jenkins and Andrea Bocelli - I Believe

The Angelus

The Angelus

Go Rest High On That Mountain- Vince Gill

A Mother's Love - Jim Brickman

Katharine McPhee Black Horse and a Cherry Tree (Finale)

Closer to You

Closer to me I'm tired and I'm weak
And every breath within me is longing just to be
Closer to You
So I face the road ahead
Cause I know there's no comparing
To what's waiting at the end

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm smiling
After all I've been through
It's cause I'm just a day closer to You

Closer to me I hear You whisper on the wind
You say although my life is ending
A new one will begin
Closer to You
And I know I'm not alone
Cause I can hear You in the distance
Saying, you are nearly home

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm dancing
Though my days may be few
It's cause I'm just a day closer to You

Closer to me You're in the laughter and the tears
Of the ones I leave behind me
Who have prayed me through the years
Closer to You
And I know it won't be long
Till You're running down the pathway
Just to take me in Your arms

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm singing
Though my life's almost through
It's cause I'm just a day closer
I'm just a day closer
I'm just a day closer to You 

Your Mother

Your mother is always with you...

 

She's the whisper of the leaves

 

as you walk down the street.

 

She's the smell of bleach in

 

your freshly laundered socks.

 

She's the cool hand on your

 

brow when you're not well.

 

Your mother lives inside

 

your laughter. She's crystallized

 

in every tear drop...

 

She's the place you came from,

 

your first home.. She's the map you

 

follow with every step that you take.

 

She's your first love

 

and your first heart break...

 

and nothing on earth can separate you.

 

Not time, Not space...

 

Not even death....

 

will ever separate you

 

from your mother....

 

You carry her inside of you....

 

My Wish

This is my wish for you:

Comfort on difficult days,

 smiles when sadness intrudes,

 rainbows to follow the clouds,

 laughter to kiss your lips,

sunsets to warm your heart,

hugs when spirits sag,

beauty for your eyes to see,

 friendships to brighten your being,

 faith so that you can believe

, confidence for when you doubt,

courage to know yourself,

patience to accept the truth,

Love to complete your life

Blessed

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. 

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.

  I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for, but everything  I hoped for.

  Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

  I am, among all men, most richly blessed...

Prayer

Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top?  


It's important because it is the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved.


  To pray is to listen to the One who calls you "my beloved daughter, " "my beloved son," "my beloved child."


  To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being.

You are my Beloved

The spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says something else, that says, "You are the beloved and on you my favor rests." ... I want you to hear that voice.  It is not a very loud voice because it is an intimate voice.  It comes from a very deep place.  It is soft and gentle.  I want you to gradually hear that voice.  We both have to hear that voice and to claim for ourselves that that voice speaks the truth, our truth.  It tells us who we are.  That is where the spiritual life starts - by claiming the voice that calls us the beloved.

Beloved

The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity and held safe in an everlasting embrace... We must dare to opt consciously for our chosenness and not allow our emotions, feelings, or passions to seduce us into self-rejection. 

 

 

Suffering

We fail to see the place of suffering in the broader scheme of things. We fail to see that suffering is an inevitable dimension of life. Because we have lost perspective, we fail to see that unless one is willing to accept suffering properly, he or she is really refusing to continue in the quest for maturity. To refuse suffering is to refuse personal growth.

from pain to hope

When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope

Friend

“A friend is more than a therapist or confessor, even though a friend can sometimes heal us and offer us God's forgiveness. A friend is that other person with whom we can share our solitude, our silence, and our prayer. A friend is that other person with whom we can look at a tree and say, "Isn't that beautiful," or sit on the beach and silently watch the sun disappear under the horizon. With a friend we don't have to say or do something special. With a friend we can be still and know that God is there with both of us.” 
― Henri J.M. Nouwen

I DIDN'T KNOW MY OWN STRENGTH

It's really sad that whitney houston 
did not realize this as truth...

These are the lyrics to her song.

I Didn't Know My Own Strength

Lost touch with my soul
I had no where to turn
I had no where to go
Lost sight of my dream,
Thought it would be the end of me
I thought I’d never make it through
I had no hope to hold on to,
I thought I would break

I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up
Hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength

Found hope in my heart,
I found the light to life
My way out of the dark
Found all that I need
Here inside of me
I thought I’d never find my way
I thought I’d never lift that weight
I thought I would break


I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up
Hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength

There were so many times I
Wondered how I’d get through the night I
Thought took all I could take

I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up
Hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength

I Look to You

I Look To You

I love this song.  I've probably heard it 1,000 times over the last week.  I fell in love with it on Glee. Then when Whitney Houston died last week, they have played it over and over.  R. Kelly wrote this song for her.  Yesterday he sang it at her funeral.

Truly beautiful.

When I started this blog, it was just an experiment.  I used to write a lot.  I've even published a few articles in regards to the Ministry I feel the Lord is leading me.  I guess I have had a "writer's block".  

So, I turn to music to help me out...  I used to write the music too.  I have not even played the piano or guitar in several years.  It's not that I don't have the thoughts, but I'm having trouble with the words.  God knows what is in my heart...

The last few years have been challenging to say the least.  My health problems, being on a feeding tube for over 4 years now.  Port-a-cath's. CT Scans, Blood clots and a mass in my left lung, now with acute renal failure.  Blood thinner shots daily in my abdomen... too much one week, not enough the next.  So, it's scary.  I don't get over one thing before I get something else.  

So, right now I lay it at Jesus' feet.  I can do that... but most of the time I take it back.  I guess a game of  "tug of war."

Let the words to this song speak to you...

As I lay me down

Heaven hear me now

I'm lost without a cause

After giving it my all

Winter storms have come

And darkened my sun

After all that I've been through

Who on earth can I turn to?

I look to you

I look to you

After all my strength is gone

In you I can be strong

I look to you

I look to you

And when melodies are gone


In you I hear a song


I look to you




About to lose my breath


There's no more fighting left


Sinking to rise no more


Searching for that open door




And every road that I've taken


Led to my regret


And I don't know if I'm gonna make it


Nothing to do but lift my head






I look to you


I look to you


After all my strength is gone


In you I can be strong


I look to you


I look to you


And when melodies are gone


In you I hear a song


I look to you




My levees are broken


My walls are coming down on me


My rain is falling


Defeat is calling


I need you to set me free


Take me far away from the battle


I need you to


Shine on me!


I look to you


I look to you


After all my strength is gone


In you I can be strong


I look to you


I look to you


And when melodies are gone


In you I hear a song


I look to you


I look to you

Real Work of Prayer

For me personally, prayer becomes more and more a way to listen to the blessing.  When I go to a quiet place to pray, I realize that, although I have a tendency to say many things to God, the real ‘work’ of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.… The faithful discipline of prayer reveals to you that you are the blessed one and gives you the power to bless others.

How beautiful - Twila Paris

How Beautiful

Twila Paris

How beautiful the hands that served

The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth

How beautiful the feet that walked

The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross

How beautiful, how beautiful

How beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the heart that bled

That took all my sin and bore it instead

How beautiful the tender eyes

That chose to forgive and never despise

How beautiful, how beautiful

How beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He laid down His life

We offer this sacrifice

That we will live just as he died

Willing to pay the price

Willing to pay the price

How beautiful the radiant bride

Who waits for her groom with His light in her eyes

How beautiful when humble hearts give

The fruit of pure lives so that others may live

How beautiful, how beautiful

How beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring

The sound of good news and the love of the King

How beautiful the hands that serve

The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth

How beautiful, how beautiful

How beautiful is the body of Christ

Casting Crowns - If we've ever needed you

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry,

show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.

Faith is the bird that sings 

when the dawn is still dark.

Faith

Without faith a man can do nothing;

with it all things are possible.

Optimism

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

                                                    - Helen Keller 

On Faith

Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
     It's  simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.
                                                                   - Joni Erickson Tada

Act of Faith

If I did not believe, if I did not make what is called an act 
of faith (and each act of faith increases our faith, and our capacity for faith), 
if I did not have faith that the works of mercy 
do lighten the sum total of suffering in the world, 
so that those who are suffering on both sides 
of this ghastly struggle somehow mysteriously find their pain lifted and some balm of consolation poured on their wounds, if I did not believe these things, the problem of evil would indeed be overwhelming. 

suffering

“God’s Word empowers us not to evade suffering, but to face suffering face-to-face with God.”