Friday, August 31, 2012

Wings to Fly and Blessings in Disguise

It’s been a long hard journey.  It took every bit of strength you had to climb to the top. Now you stand on the mountain peak. It’s beautiful here and the view is amazing.

You think back over the trouble and pain it took to reach this point and are grateful to have finally arrived here. But now what? You suddenly have an epiphany that this place is not  your truest heart's desire. This mountain top, as beautiful and rewarding as it is, it is not the goal. It is but a stepping off place to where you truly long to be.
 
Many steps to come this far and it has not been easy. But this next step is the most difficult of all - to step forward  off the mountain top, knowing there is nothing to step upon, except for trust.

This climbing upward, this reaching for higher ground was more than a struggle; it was a blessing in disguise. As you climbed, the air grew thinner, the pathway steeper, the hand and footholds less sure. And so it was necessary for you to shed all extra weight. Every burden that was on your back, your worries, your bitterness, your past, your fears; one by one you left them behind. As each familiar but unwelcome burden was shed, you gained more of the unfamiliar but welcome fortitude and focus to climb.

And now at last you stop, you breathe deeply, you see things from a grand new perspective; and you realize that your back upon which your heavy loads have been; your back is free! Free for Him to place your wings.

Here on this mountain top He will give you your wings to fly.

This next step, this trust-step, you will not fall into nothingness. You will not fall! You will fly!

His Love compels Him to rid us of our heavy weights.
His Heart is to teach us how to trust.
His Wisdom is to grant us whatever it takes for us to realize the best of this life.
His Compassion is to be there each step of the difficult journey.
His joy is to give us wings to fly!
 
Are you in the valley? Look up!
Are you climbing a mountain? Don't give up!
Are you at the top? Learn from what you see!
Are your wings in place? Trust ,and leap!
 
~ Connie
 
 
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Is It Really That Simple?

Today I am thankful for the ways of a  child, and for the amazing thoughts, ideas, and motives that can come from us who are beyond childhood, if we but return to the innocent faith, hope and dreams of a child.

Learn much from children, for they are wise in their innocence
Learn much from children for they are truthful in their ways
Learn much from children for they have no prejudice until they learn it
Learn much from children for they love from the heart, and not with motive
Learn much from children, for their faith is reality

When we turn our thinking around, send it backward a ways in time, to that of our beginnings, our childhood, we may remember what it is to be truly wise in our reasoning and truthful in our ways; and to rid ourselves of prejudice, and to love again from the heart and without selfish motive; and we might just once again find our hearts filled with a hope that believes nothing is impossible, and a faith that can actually move mountains.

I am determined to continue returning for this wisdom, this truthfulness, this love, this hope, this faith; to truly understand what Jesus meant when He said, "Unless you are converted and becom as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." ~ Matthew 18:1-5

Have the faith of a child and watch the miracle of heaven on earth happen -- is it really that simple?
Perhaps it is. And how will we know for sure? There is only one way to know for sure.

It must be possible for us to reach back and re-grab ahold of these childlike traits, or He would not have pointed out to us the importance of them.  When I think of how to go about doing so, I can’t help but recall grandparents and children’s books:

·         I find it fascinating that as a person enters into their later years of 80 and 90+, and as the short term memory begins to falter, long forgotten memories of childhood begin to reemerge. It is as if proper preparation for heaven requires a bit of childhood in order to enter.

I wonder, is it possible to remember and capture the faith and wonder of childhood without also becoming senile to the present? Yes, I am sure that it is, for I have had moments of childlike faith and wonder while still remaining in the present... I want more of that!

I love the following short story – read it again and again; it tells more than you may first realize:

“A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"”
         ~ Author Unknown

 
·          Some adults have the wonderful ability to bring childhood back to us; and to speak words of wisdom to us, as if from the mouth of a child. A.A. Milne (Author of Winnie the Pooh), and Dr. Seuss are two such wonderful adults. There is magic and wisdom in their words:

 5 Lessons of Childlike Wisdom from Dr. Seuss:
1. "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
 
2. "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"
 
3. "You have brains in  your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction  you choose."
 
4. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
 
5. "Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered."
 

 
 5 Lessons of Childlike Wisdom from Pooh and His Friends:
1."The things that make me different are the things that make me.”
 
2. "Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them."
 
3. "Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
 
4. "When you do the things that you can do, you will find a way.”

 4. "Promise me you'll always remember:
You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think"

 

Talk to you again soon. In the meantime: Think Child Wisdom!
~ Connie

 

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“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” ~ Jesus; Mark 10:14

Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Truth Will Set You Free!

Today I am thankful for the Truth that sets me free from whatever it is that holds me back, ties me down, diverts my best course, dissuades my dreams, entangles my dancing feet.


TRUTH

It may not look the way you think it should
It may not sound the way you are expecting

In order to find it, you may need to approach something you want to avoid
In order to recognize it, you may need to change your way of observing

It begins with Wisdom which is found in solace
It is often waiting outside of your comfort zone

Push your agenda aside and you may just find it directly in front of you
Reach out and grab ahold of it – hold on for life!

Truth – It will set you Free
                                                                                ~ Connie Ruth Christiansen

  

“We occasionally stumble over the truth but sadly most of us pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
~ Winston Churchill


“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth. One is to not go all the way. The other is to not start.”
~ Ancient Chinese Proverb


“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi


“There is a world of differences between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.”
~ Maya Angelou


“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
~ Mark Twain


“If any of you lacks wisdom (truth), ask God. He will give it to you in abundance.”
~ James 1:5 paraphrased


“You will search for Me, and find Me, when you pursue Me with all of your heart”
~ Jeremiah 29:13


“Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.”
~ John 8:32


Let us be always searching for the Truth in every situation, so that we may be living free in every moment.
~ Connie

"Ask and it will be given, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be open."
~ Jesus

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