Pray Hard. Live Easy.

Craving the city, and an unbiased break from familiarity, That limits the seeking and comforts the falling. Yet here I am. Just stalling .

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." love came down at Christmas, love all lovely, love divine; love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign

To remember that we are nothing is to recognize that He is everything. This morning, I woke to learn that the lovely, joyous Elizabeth Toon, was killed in Hollywood this weekend as she crossed the street after leaving a Birthday party. I adored Elizabeth, and I can't pray enough that the pain of loss will create a precious place for grace and peace to flood in, in her honor. A bit of coverage of the incident can be found here and also here ; *Dallas Morning News later printed a lovely tribute as well. Pray for the families. Pray for the boyfriend, who is expected to fully recover. And pray that you never miss an opportunity to love and be loved. The reminders pierce as they penetrate, and suddenly we find ourselves letting go of that which is precious, but not ours. May we also be faithful unto death, to one day wear a crown of life. 'I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite

Trusting in God. thinking on the run. How soothing a stay at home can be... The Piney Woods have a way of lulling our worst tendencies away, and providing a comforting backdrop for some good ol' fashioned contemplation. -Daron Just because we do not know the way, does not mean that we are lost. For we know our Maker, and that He will fight for us at all cost. "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 The end of all human endeavor is to be happy at home. Samuel Johnson I'm not homesick at the moment; but I'm definitely not yet home.

not to judge, but to love... If formulas replace relationships, if we are trusting in steps, we are not trusting in God. One system words for people, the other against them...If we are preaching morality without Christ, and using war rhetoric to communicate a battle mentally, we are fighting on Satan's side...This battle we are in is a battle against the principalities of darkness, not against people who are different from us...In a war you shoot the enemy, not the hostage. (excerpts from Blue Like Jazz , by Don Miller ) For every time I have failed to stand on the rock for you, I am so very sorry . What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other? George Eliot

We must accept that the only chains holding us are the ones we have applied or accepted. The hardest part in shaking them off is the surrender, but it is the key that frees us, allowing us to be shaken by the maker. Choose to lay aside royalty and wear the sinners crown. Inherit the kingdom. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. " Galatians 5:1 Oh to be a princess! This sweet stranger's words inspire: Monday, January 17, २००५ "Poem i wrote" Conceived in the womb to be born First breathe, life is at that moment begun. Purpose, time, dreams, vision and hope All of these to be found out as it is shown upon. Yet knowing that by the waking of the light of the daytime sun To the nighttime moon of a calming glow, That much greatness with emerge inside the soul From the material instincts that will help make it grow. This soul remaining secure in knowing That it is the fruit of God’s invention. Still wit

i love the questions that 'are' la, the thrill of visiting a city built primarily upon big dreams, extravagant storytelling, healthy ideals, and unleashed imagination. ... so what are you all about? ... what's your story? ... your passion? ... your plan? "Elegance doesn't mean being noticed, it means being remembered" Giorgio Armani

When I grow up, my dream is to become a philanthropreneur . In the beginning God created; Part of the creator always lives in the creation, and I feel the stir within. There is no legacy for who we are to be. No one else is better equipped to play the role of me. We're designed for the chances we'll see among all shades of reality and we're granted access to the ultimate source of strength and wisdom in our very own Creator. Until my days are done, may I remember my responsibilities were given to only one. "When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." ( Emerson ) After all, it's the least we can do.

i miss the city, particularily the sense of escape found where high ambition collides in intersections of interests. And the strangers. As a tree of the forest is nourished by the crowd surrounding it, the city will always be lush with dreamers, engulfing microcircles .

in this culture driven life we get so distracted/fooled that we think of God as some being long ago, forgetting how active He is in every passing moment of our daily lives. We're in a simulation , and what we give is all we've got. Unchained, we expose sin in the light and feel God's purification. Teach me to manage what you have given me, making me productive in the work and the life you have chosen for me now. let my excitement about you promises fill me with energy and enthusiasm and let your spirit spread to the world through me. (diligent hands bring wealth - prov 10.4)

"Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind. " F. Scott Fitzgerald Why I love Darcy Day... (another excerpt from her blogosphere, illustrated by friendship) This idea--that the future is yours for the taking--is a source of simultaneous solace and great discomfort for me. I love and embrace the belief that life is only yours to define, but am I the only one who fears, underneath it all (after my puffed up chest deflates and my big talk trails off), that I won't have what it takes to ever realize that kind of freedom? I mean, I do enough: pick up and move to New York...turn down a raise/"promotion" because it's not the right direction for me...walk away from men who are perfect on paper, but lack the essential spark...but I don't do stuff that makes me proud of myself often--which would be in any regular fashion. Daily, even weekly, strides would be more satisfying. If I get beyond a month, I start to feel a little (and then a lot) LOST

Man's power is in his prayer. And where prayer goes, God follows. -Yogi Bhajan You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart. Anchor me, so that I may Tap the Reservoir - If you live each day as if it were your last, some day you'll be right.

I often think of what I'd do, 'if I could do anything,' and the confirmed answer: dance . perform. create. instruct. spread the good word. "it's about collaboration; you have to leave room for their voice, because they are special. If an artist of dancer leaves the room (and is) the same person who walked in, it was a waste of time. It's all about growth." MIA MICHAELS. "if i repeat a step, or continue in the same direction, or don't feel that I'm exploring, I can be really hard on myself." Step up to the inner monologue. This is/was my dream; I just had no idea it would arrive so soon. Growing up in this studio i learned so much more than dance and cheerleading. And those are the things i can hardly wait to get in there and teach again. This is our privilege, not God's necessity. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

I am taking time. I have let go of the reins I am finding my life. I wish for you the same. -Sabrina Ward Harrison To have the right priorities a man’s focus must not be on the head, but on the heart; not on himself, but on God; not on time, but on eternity. Roy Lessin What if there's a hope you never dreamed of, worth hoping for? (Nicole Nordeman) Why Knot?

Such a great read. "Love the Lord your God, and love one another. Love one another as he loves. Love with strength and purpose and passion and no matter what comes against you. Don't weaken. Stand against the darkness, and love. That's the way back into Eden. That's the way back to life." On Wings of Love, Redeeming Love...

Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained. Helen Keller The world is not short of resource . The only reason we have shortage, is because we have hoarding and waste. Therefore we hold the solution. Rather than Connect the dots, we’d like to create our own, or sit upon someone else's. War is not the answer and neither is complacency, so instead of blowing up our efforts, our manpower and our money, when will we finally be able to use training facilities to train people on the streets and put them to work, and devote portions of our intelligence agencies to working with developing nations governments. I never forget that I live in a house owned by all of the American people and that I have been given their trust . More importantly however than material gains will be the moral and spiritual value. We must be the great arsenal of democracy. FDR More than 1 billion people aro

'He jests at scars that never felt a wound,' (Romeo) Persecution and trial - the testing agents of where we stand. God never gives us more than we can handle, just enough to see who we really are. His truth is ours for keeps. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27. King of glory, here be found. 'you got to keep on keepin' on,' observes joe dirt

There's something in this world that light's everyone's fire. In romance, as in spirituality, motives are selfless, driven from an authentic love for the other person. Seems we're designed to burn with passion, thus it would be most tragic for a person to know everything about God, but not know God... to know all the rules of spiritual marriage, and never walk the aisle. There are some things which happen, that we never get over; once we've tasted we know; He is enough. I've been told that, if life in Christ is boring, look to find yourself again in Christ and never quit expecting enormous, miraculous, awesome things from God. Live it, and be blown away. Soul-stilling in John 12.20, something sparks the soul, a passion and an urgency to see Jesus... His touch of salt will season. Jesus rubbed against the people, He did not preach at them. The people observed the confidence and understood... Peter and John had been with Jesus. Life speaks into life. When God work

The world is a book an those who do not travel only see one page. Aristotle i write for the same reasons i travel... to reveal, to unwind, to connect... Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Mark Twain

He will return when every nation has heard. 6,900 people groups remain, and then we shall exchange Heaven for a place, and eternity for time.

I love lists and letters! Excess baggage sits heavily upon its owner, weighs us all down, and is paid for by all. I don’t want to have unfinished business, yet I sure do linger sooner than I thank people. Indebted, I can’t repay them, but rather must in turn pay someone else instead. As Gerardo says, pay it forward. To, and write One day she left all the words scattered around the floor In disheveled stacks around the coffee mugs So that she might step out to get some air. It was night. The streets were charged. You had to look both ways. She walked, she looked, Walked some more, So far that she Lost her way. By the time she did make her way home to the words, She had lost track of their meanings: she knew What each meant in isolation, alone, but Not what she could make them say When she would line them up In arrangements no one had Ever before considered. This was her gift, But forgotten. She looked around the room for a long time, like Amnesia. She recognized her many things, the Cou

Finally, I was able to sneak over to BookPeople and purchase the entire collection of Sabrina Ward Harrison masterpieces. Having these to peruse was longer awaited than I ever knew; like one who watched our childhood and recalls our history better than we can, you tapped me into a deep, familiar yet forgotten space in my soul. Thanks SAB. The universal power of art, the sounds and images that bring us to life. I am afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you might not like it--and that's all I got. SAB What we don't let out traps us. We think, No one else feels this way, I must be crazy. So we don't say anything. And we become enveloped by a deep loneliness, not knowing where our feelings come from or what to do with them. Why do I feel this way? SAB I think God leaves me alone to let me find my own strength because no one else can give it to me. Sometimes it is very lonely. But I know the lonely times teach me the most. I must let go i

the people i find myself growing closest to are the very ones i hope to spend eternity with. What a blessing to be so nurtured, truly surrounded by angels. At this time I’m most alive, experiencing things I cannot describe... When two hearts race, both win. I arrived here to rediscover and explore the things I love, now realizing my heart has been awakened and revealed much, pursued by a man who ran away with my heart. I pray he keeps running. My parachute. My shooting star. The greatest gift, I now too have learned, is to truly love and be loved in return. Sharing so much, and often when neither mouth is speaking. I treasure how much bigger our relationship is than one another, as if we’re each reaching high above our heads to elevate its existence; we’re living in a whole other dimension.

There is no art where there is no style , and there is no style where there is no harmony, and harmony comes from the individual . - Oscar Wilde

what's the greatest feeling you ever had? surprises love admiration and talents deployed would take the cover of my book, so filled with chatting, crying, dreaming and laughing alongside family friends strangers and sweet solitude. so many blantant reminders and messages from God highlighting every blessed path.

suppose you're going to be famous for one thing; what do u want it to be? with recent news as the poverty iceberg truly begins to drip, is it too lofty for us to aim to melt every drop to help us help the helpless? i refuse to waste my life with/in a silly sandcastle that will inevitably return to sand. there's sandcastles all over the world, some with millions invested in them, others with weeping evacuees hiding behind them, every last one of them yearns more by the day, hungry and thirsty for more than any aid program, any possession could provide. the thought of all those who will never see or realize there is nothing here to satisfy us, only to hold, inspire, and remind us, because we were made for a whole other world we do not know! i want that to always turbo charge every thing i do. i want to reach out from that world, because i feel its evidence surrounding me, and i want to share it, because it burns so warmly and powerfully within me. "If you have built cast

I love the grace in this, but do not know the originator...it is not my own work, just my aim. "People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be Kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis. it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway. "

stumbled along a lovely perspective today .... With every second that we breath, in each minute that our short lives tick, and in each hour that we ponder, know that love so deep and pure lies buried below our surface like the sea that stirs our heart and the wind that swirls through our souls. We are - all of us - only bound by the limits of our own imagination - so dream on. I have lived in Africa for 12 years, and also just returned from 4 years in Afghanistan and India. Seen a lot, learned something too, the most important being a reverence for all people on our planet who share the air that we breath, the land that we walk upon; and love, a common language to break down barriers and open closed doors! In overcoming hatred, fear, racism, chains and injustice we are expected to give back more than we take out, that way every drop of good is a drop in the 'good ocean'. In a world of dust and bullets, every day love shines through, strong and hard, because deep inside we are b

Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see. All this is too wonderful for me... delicate flower, making love, dancing with passion's breath, it is my dream to be you, to be the lover of God...

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”- Ellen Parr Realizing that the mind is given to us , we are no longer given to the mind . And oh to clear the heart of the mind..!

"...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..." -Kerouac

love this image. treasure this trip.

Could never put this place into words, but the picture and this quote are a great start... "Why live in a $200,000 house when you can live under a $20,000,000 bridge" -buddy at 2222 and mopac

Almost Somewhat Positive there's always so much i'd rather be doing, than sleeping.

one person reaching out one voice screams whispers out to another soul help me to live in the reality, in response to your goodness, revealed. our lives laid down, yours magnified.

I spy Heaven in her eyes. She was born a day early, never one to worry. She hits the ground runnin' and her chats leave you wondering. There's something so true bout this dairy queen. She loves, she gives, thank God she lives. 

::unity without diversity becomes redundancy::

Simplify me. Less=More Confetti

Fascinating JAXA Project

The power of interaction is astounding. love is all "l'amour c'est tout," and everything that inspire us comes from love. When we gather the things we love, we see a picture of love. love is that place where my heart touches your heart and adds to who you are as a person. lance secretan Living on borrowed time, thankfully it's not up to us to figure out the meaning and purpose of our lives. Through His Word, God has provided written instructions to recognize why and where our skill intersects passion. Let us love one another, for love comes from God. 1 John 4:7 NIV I knew that love would surprise me, but I'm surprised how much.

Biodiesel Blog Texas is a great place to inaugurate any type of program (biodiesel potentially being the biggest, overwhelming amount of potential with). Being in England, the speed at which things are implemented due to its smaller size stops me in my tracks; so many systems are able to evolve quickly (be it speed cameras on the roadways, or credit card 'chip and pin'), all simply because the area is so concise. There's no reason Texas shouldn't be a leading force in launching great (and much needed) modifications, especially with the mindset and pride of still being our 'own country.'

They all laughed at Albert Einstein. They all laughed at Columbus. Unfortunately, they also all laughed at Bozo the Clown. Winston Churchill But I have been loved by people who know Jesus, and I don't know that there is any greater love, than from those who have been touched by the Messiah. I keep a list of things I've learned from angels along the way; it makes my soul smile. Keep a green bough in your heart, and the singing bird will come ~ Chinese Proverb The mills of God grind slowly but they grind finely. ~ Irish proverb

Simple to Simple vs Complex to Simple Posted by: Natalie May 10th, 2006 This post is a summary, mostly to serve as a reminder, of some of my thinking at this time about complex and simple… The Short: An Analogy Today we live in a world that would prefer to eat a table spoon of white sugar over digesting an apple for instance, and in the digestion ending up with sugar…as well as other nutrients: all benefit of having participated in the digestion process… Worse still, many of us are now substituting the spoon of sugar for a spoon of ’sugar’ (nutrasweet etc) - artificial means of receiving our sugar needs, which doesn’t even off the energy rich potential of simple sugar - chemical filled, it is aso potentially dangerous… We seem to keep reaching for the spoon of sugar, or ’sugar’ [sugar tm], which leaves us ‘full’ momentarily, yet what does such simple energy do? It quickly leaves us sluggish, de-energised and mal-nourished… From Analogy to Reality …We live in an increasingly complex wor

Sometimes on the way to our dreams we get lost. And find a better one... life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, God will open a door for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us. A.J. Cronin And so, for every dream , there is a Job , to be made, to be held. "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. 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 were all meant to shine as children do. Its not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permiss

I love this statement, that every day is a Revision , a flux of emotions and evolution of ideas.

A Diamond is Forever... Love is Eternal. I presume, regardless of whether you've dreamed of this your whole life, it must be stunning to marvel over a stone resting on the flesh of your finger - forever - serving as a reminder, to you and everyone you meet, of the person specifically designed for you. Personally, the irony of a sacrificed salary sitting on my finger to symbolize the most priceless gift in my life makes me uncomfortable, but yet we can all marvel over precious stones. Uncovered rocks whose former old, dirty form developed an incredibly strong bond and became solid under immense pressure, whose beauty was revealed only after being found, carved, and fully exposed. No matter what you do to it from there, it's a diamond, forever. How fascinating that someone long ago chose the diamond for marriage, which, like the relationship itself, is most beautiful when light is able to shine through it, the never-fading reminder, reflection, and celebration of union. Pe

"If we turn our heads and look away and hope that it will all disappear then they will - all of them, an entire generation of people . And we will have only history left to judge us." -George Clooney, April 30, 2006, in Washington, DC