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Forever Friend

Forever Friend

In the course of life's journey
we rub shoulders with many people,
Some are warm and open,
others afraid and closed.
Some we connect with,
others come and soon are gone.
Some linger awhile.
But every now and then...
either through fate or by chance
or because of a Higher Power...
In an unexpected moment
we are touched by a smile
that lingers in the memory.
We meet again and the more
we do the more we know
that we have met a friend
and we'll be friends forever.
Next to God
there is no greater gift in life
than a forever-friend.
I hope that we can be such friends.

-- Dick Innes
(c) Copyright

This poem, Forever Friend [8"x10"], beautifully
produced is available
On SALE at: http://tinyurl.com/forever-friend

Opening

Why hadn’t I seen that the price of being safe — is the cost of being solitary? Why hadn’t I seen that distrust can destroy a life? ~ Ann Voskamp

Friendship is a laying bare open kind of thing unless you of course are like most of us women out here who hold the everyday kind of friend at arms length. Fears, mistrust, old thinking messages from days long gone still play, and sourness is sunk in deep.
I have wondered for many years why I liked to be so solitary within my own spirit and soul. I often thought of myself as a person who was open and willing to be vulnerable. I was a bit blind because I found out that while I may have spoke the truth of what I felt or knew within, I held my arms in a great stretch between me and another.
I was in a protective mode. Childhood and teenage dagger wounds in my heart where to fresh for me to move on. I wasn’t willing to be hurt….even though I was as touchy as porcupine. Hurting me was as easy as a heart beating. It just happened. I was a long been wounded soul looking for love with spikes on.
But being alone and being unknown was too much for me and I would guess it is also to much for you. So what do you do? YOU REACH OUT. Not to many and any but to one in particular. One you have a draw to. One God given friend. That is what happened to me. It is through this friendship that I have learned much about myself and her. It has been a friendship of depth. A friendship of asking what, when, where, and why --the hard questions. Lots of people don’t like this kind of heart digging…and I didn’t until I started to feel the pleasure of realness. The shiny polish of shallow acquaintance - arms length friendship - wore off and I yearned for deep fellowship.
Its not easy ….it requires a love of the truth and grace for another and yourself. We are a people of hiding. Like Adam and Eve in the garden with the fig leaves. We do the same thing. We hide and dodge throw up our defenses, blaming, and accusations. All of which I did and still do as I am working through the layers of my inner mind and heart.
None of this is even possible without Christ and the Holy Spirit’s guidance. His sacrifice has secured us the position and standing of righteous. So through that we can walk this truthful, real and open relationship out.  The Holy Spirit brings the understand through revelation, and for us these revelations have often come as we bare our scars and reveal our shadowy sides to each other.

Who can bear living the whole of their lives and never learn what it means to really be a friend?
~Ann Voskamp

Jesus calls us HIS FRIENDS. With Jesus I can tell Him anything and He loves me still. He knows my darkness, hurts, fears and dreams. He doesn’t use them against me, he uses them to heal me.  He encourages me as I am in His presence. He counsels me in His ways. He teaches me about myself and more importantly about how to be more like Him, and I believe that the more we are like Jesus the more we will be this kind of Friend.
STARLA
linking with:

 

Quote for Sun September 11, 2011

"Terror and tragedy have made us more aware of our vulnerabilities and mortality ... We're living through a time of testing and consequence, and pray that our wisdom and will are equal to the work before us." - Condoleeza Rice
#Bible http://j.mp/r94Zsz

1 Corinthians 1:5 (TLB) (Devotional)

He . . . has given you a full understanding of the truth. -1 Corinthians 1:5 (TLB) There is never any conflict between true science and our Christian faith. It is my own feeling that when all of the truth is known, it will be found that the Genesis story is a wonderfully accurate record of what took place when the world was created. This may be a telescoped record, giving only major points, but I believe it is scientifically accurate. To discard the Bible because we do not understand everything in it, or in the world, would be a foolish thing to do. Let me also suggest that teachers should confine themselves to those areas in which they are qualified. I have known unbelievers to attack the Christian faith through their teaching, even when they did not have the remotest idea of what true Christianity is. For instance, one does not send an art critic to write up a football game, or a sports writer to evaluate a painting. Ask God to give you the wisdom to keep things in their proper perspective, and,mdash;above all,mdash;faithfully read your Bible and pray every day. If you do, God will give you the faith and wisdom you need to meet any problem.

http://www.billygraham.org/dailydevotion.asp?articleid=7377
#Bible http://j.mp/or8dqy

The balance of Grace

Ok…

So I am listening to Lysa TerKurst and Ann Voskamp talk about their lives.

And Lysa says I get asked this question allot “How do you do your life? with many children, writing, speaking engagements and everything else too, how do you do it? How do you balance it?”

and the interviewer lady said :  Balance isn't real! right?

I listened a little further and I stopped the video and just sat with that thought …..(repeating it to myself  - BALANCE ISN’T REAL …

and at first I am thinking WHAT!!?? wait a minute!!

I need balance….if I don’t balance I will be off over here to long and miss this and that and what about….and all this stuff going off in my head.

and then I hear the Lord say “that is what my grace is for.”

My heart kind of sank …and I started to write this, because I feel that I understand myself and what I am learning better when I write it out.

If God’s grace is for our balance then all my striving to balance home, church, friends, family, laundry and dinner is for nothing!!

But If I am relying on my own strength then NO WONDER I am constantly straining myself to do better, organize, get it right, get it on the calendar. Perfect my inconsistencies and fix my “look” of laziness and craziness.

(Now there is nothing wrong with improving…what I am talking about a need for “balance” called PERFECTIONISM that causes you to think down if your stuff isn't done or will cause you to miss a God Appointment because you need to do that stuff. )

I know I am not the only one here!

The Key is Grace -like the gyroscope…I found this little diagram:

 

(source)

What is the ultimate GRACE --Christ who gave His life for us!

Romans 11:36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

If we keep our eyes on CHRIST in the center of it all….

( in the midst of all our mess, and issues, and timetables, and running errands  )

IF we keep our eyes on HIM…WE ARE BALANCED! (can you believe??)

When we Pray to the Father ( Output axis) and love others ( input axis) all while our eyes are fixed on Christ ( Spin Axis)

we walk in HIS WILL!!

How much more balanced could we be than in HIS WILL!!!

If Christ …If Grace is your Axis, MY AXIS - then I can allow myself to be IMPERFECT in His PERFECTNESS…I can allow myself to let go of the need to BALANCE LIFE….and instead LIVE IN GRACE!

I can do His will, as He asks and allow myself grace for the dishes not done because I am walking His way…and not mine.

BTW--  …Lysa said “ I DON’T!!” Balance is a slippery term :0) and Ann said “ Christ is our Axis, he is our balance point! :0)

Amen Girlfriends!

I get it! How do you feel about balance and are you trying to find it?

 

Friendship of Love,

Starla

Monday Motto: Live Praise

VERTICAL PRAISE
I read that in a book we are reading for devotion on our worship team.
I makes me think of a beam of light coming straight out of my head with words  above my head like:
  WORSHIP, PRAISE, THANKFUL, GRACE, PEACE
God is so amazing …
He made us FULLY BUILT INSTRUMENTS for Praise….
But we have to PLAY our instruments!!
If you SING ……sing praise
If you’re a SPEAKER….speak praise
If you are a DRUMMER….drum praise
If you are a MOTHER…..teach praise
If you are a CHRISTIAN …..LIVE PRAISE!!
Be a walking upright praise machine!!
Learn to tune your instrument ….don’t worry about how it sounds…
GOD HEARS SWEET SOUNDS IN HIS EARS! 
STARLA
linking up:

Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good .

Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good . . . -3 John 11 We must get this fact firmly fixed in our minds: we live in an upside-down world. People hate when they should love, quarrel when they should be friendly, fight when they should be peaceful, wound when they should heal, steal when they should share, do wrong when they should do right. I once saw a toy clown with a weight in its head. No matter what position you put it in, it invariably assumed an upside-down position. Put it on its feet or on its side, and when you let go it flipped back on its head. Unregenerate people are just like that! Do what you may with them and they always revert to an upside-down position. That is why the disciples to the world were misfits. To an upside-down person, a right-side up person seems upside down. To a sinner, a righteous person is an oddity and an abnormality. A Christian's goodness is a rebuke to the wicked; his being right-side up is a reflection upon the worldling's inverted position.

http://www.billygraham.org/dailydevotion.asp?articleid=7320
#Bible http://j.mp/nHWIzl

Quote for Thu July 14, 2011

"If faith is the gaze of the heart at God, and if this gaze is but the raising of the inward eyes to meet the all-seeing eyes of God, then it follows that it is one of the easiest things possible to do." - A. W. Tozer
#Bible http://j.mp/oyVyxS

Isaiah 61:1 (Devotional)

The Lord hath anointed me . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. -Isaiah 61:1 Viktor Frankl in his book, Chr(34)Man's Search for Meaning,Chr(34) describes the reactions of two brothers with the same heredity, the same environment, in the same concentration camp under the Nazis. One became a saint and the other a swine. Frankl tells us the reason why. He said, "Each man has within him the power to choose how he will react to any given situation." God has given us the power of choice. Some people today do not wish to accept the responsibility for their actions. They blame society. They blame the environment. They blame the schools. They blame the circumstances. But Adam sinned in a perfect environment under perfect circumstances. We can't blame it all on somebody else. We must accept the blame ourselves for our part. Society is made up of individuals. If we have social injustice, we're the ones who are wrong; we're part of it. Let's accept our responsibility to do something about it.

http://www.billygraham.org/dailydevotion.asp?articleid=7319
#Bible http://j.mp/nhURx2

Monday Motto: To the best of your ability

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

There are things that only you can do. God created you able to do those things that you are gifted in. Many things we do are routine, every day life things….like laundry, dishes, and grocery shopping.

But some things you do simple give you joy. They are creative and inspiring. Those things are your ABILITY.

In all these things IF we commit them to the LORD, He says that He will establish the plans. And if GOD is behind us then we ought to do it with ALL OUR MIGHT!!

AMEN!

F and L’er

Starla

My Quote of the Day

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.", Mother Teresa

If we understood

WHAT A GREAT QUOTE ....

 

If we understood the power of our thoughts,
we would guard them more closely.
If we understood the awesome power of our words,
we would prefer silence to almost anything negative.
In our thoughts and words we create
our own weaknesses and our own strengths.
Our limitations and joys begin in our hearts.
We can always replace negative with positive.

~ Bettie Eadie

Freedom

http://www.mountainwings.com/past/11185.htm

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee Beans Movie

http://www.flickspire.com/m/LifeSecrets/CarrotsEggsCoffee#.Tg85sEpQRFo.gmail

Reality

 

 

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 is not just in some of us; it is 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

give

 

 

 

-BIBLE POST - http://www.thebiblepost.com/which-path-are-you-on

 

Good stuff found!!!

 

LORD let us be givers even as Your SON has given to us.

 

F and L'er

Starla

 

Dance!!!!!

Your life within God's arms,
Your dance within God's arms,
Is already Perfect!
- Hafiz

Life is like dancing.
If we have a big floor, many people will dance.
Some will get angry when the rhythm changes.
But life is changing all the time.
- don Miguel Ruiz

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance.
- Lee Ann Womack

Today is your day to dance lightly with life,
sing wild songs of adventure,
invite rainbows and butterflies out to play,
soar your spirit, and unfurl your joy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Change

Change

 

The nature of life is constant change. The world is not the same today as it was yesterday, and it will be different still tomorrow. We can be victims of that change, or we can proactively drive change.

 

Without change, there would be no butterflies.

- Anonymous

 

If we don't change, we don't grow.

If we don't grow, we aren't really living.

- Gail Sheehy

 

We must be the change we wish to see.

- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

 

Welcome change. Without change, we would always remain caterpillars.

 

Embrace change. Spread your wings. Fly high and free.

 

Drive Change, don't wait for change to drive you.

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

 

 

There is one that never changes.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 

Where we need change we can count on Him to help us. 

The Pencil Maker and The Pencil

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL

5 IMPORTANT LESSONS JUST BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE BOX :

1. EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK .

2. YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.

3. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.

4. IN LIFE , YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENING'S, WHICH WILL ONLY MAKE YOU BETTER.

5. TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.

 

- quote found on FB page friend – Renita – Thank you!!

 

Life is like that isn't it!

Be Blessed and Hang on

 

F of L'er

Starla