GALLERY
Here are some excerpts - highlights of some things that were on my mind:
* Leadership can definitely seem like a cold mountain with no visible shelter, but it can also give you the gift of knowing who your true friends are. God has allowed this blessing thru suffering. -16 May, 2007
* I know God is teaching me things I can only learn through loss - then I can see the colors created by the art of pain. -23 May, 2007
* It is a part of the human condition to experience the desperate need for love, to belong, to be home. It gives us breath - without it we die. - 25 May, 2007
* So, that’s my desire: that my wounds cause me to resemble Jesus. And that through forgiveness, they become something beautiful - a beautiful brokenness that reflects a beautiful savior. -7 June, 2007
* I pray for peace and comfort to all of those seeking and hurting. I pray for the light of truth to speak to hearts and erase the hate. I pray for the strength to chase after the things of God, and God is love - and love wins! -19 June, 2007
* Writing, for me, is an act of freedom and passion. Words are like jewels to me, and a beautiful thought is like the whispers of God reminding me that I am never alone. -23 June, 2007
* I believe Jesus laughed often. I need to believe it tonight. I’m going to find a way to laugh out loud tonight, and all I need to do is look around to find something to smile about. It’s all about perspective. -6 July, 2007
* …I’m choosing to focus on the beautiful aspects of the love and mercy of a God, my God of Rest - because He hears, He knows - all of our difficulties, dreams, fears - He knows and He sees. So, I can rest… and sleep in peace. -7 July, 2007
* “Oh no, You never let go - through the calm and through the storm…” They could sing that song passionately because C3 is a church who has come through the fire and the storm… we have survived to be a testimony… -9 July, 2007
* So, whether it’s twilight or a new day dawning, I will praise the Artist - “…the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away - Blessed be the name of the Lord!” -2 August, 2007
* …That His Gospel is bigger than the plans of men and stronger than the Evil One. He makes our scars trophies to His grace and our feet beautiful in His sight. And we are blessed to carry out His will. -4 August, 2007
* …there’s freedom in the sacrifice, and there’s peace in embracing the fact that the presence of pain, struggle, and even grief doesn’t mean that He’s abandoned me like others do… -5 August, 2007
*Be empowered by the fact that friendship is a choice, and sometimes it’s best to “choose to lose” - If a friend is not loyal and true during the good times, he/she will more than likely abandon you in the times when you need them the most. -7 August, 2007
* Christmas is like that for me - it’s like hope. To imagine that things are better than reality - to see things how they could be, rather than how they really are. -13 August, 2007
* Maybe after remembering, sleep will finally come. Maybe after being reminded, peace will return… -20 August, 2007
* You are only as strong as your willingness to lay aside anything that hinders you in the race. Freedom comes after the sacrifice, when there’s nothing left to lose. -22 August, 2007
* Bondage to trying to mend fences with people who stir dissension is just that: BONDAGE! We can either chase after the opinions of men, or Christ. We can’t fully do both. 27 August, 2007
* I pray that I will use my influence as a blessing…and that God will be merciful to me in those times when I have not. -30 August, 2007
* He says, “I know you’ve been casting your nets all night and you come up feeling empty, but lower your nets one more time” - one more time…and leave the results to Me. -3 September, 2007
* I’ve become more determined in my dreams and mission, and less reliant upon the approval of others to feel safe as I follow them. I’ve decided to love more, fight more, forgive more, challenge more, understand more, demand more…and choose to be at peace more - no matter what blizzards are raging around me. 4 September, 2007
* I remember. I will never forget. It’s burned into my memory, and my heart and soul. It’s there forever… -10 September, 2007
* It’s the way of life. The winds of change blow away what is not grounded and healthy, so that new life can emerge…like the leaves of a maple in late October. -14 September, 2007
* As Christ-followers we must train our ears to hear the voice of Jesus through all of the slander and hypocrisy. We must know the Word. …Methods change…it’s just people who are slow to. -20 September, 2007
* Thinking about eternity really makes you think twice about the trivial things you waste time doing when so many people still don’t know the love of God. -23 September, 2007
* So, how do we fight brutality and evil - with love. And love demands action. The action of love is powerful, but it should be because it is of God. God is love, and if we are about the things of God, then we are about love. -24 September, 2007
* So, here’s to learning, changing, growing…and remembering to breathe. More peace and contentment can come with every breath. Just breathe. -25 September, 2007
It is in these times of struggle that I remember - “Fix your eyes. Look ahead. Let go. Be still. Forgive…surrender…know peace.” Then comes the rescue. - 5 October, 2007
*…relay the message of hope to all of the other war-weary soldiers out there, on their own journey home. Because we all must keep moving in the direction of hope. -6 October, 2007
* Doors close as others open. Now we just have to be courageous enough to walk through the open ones…and not linger too long in missing the ones that have closed. - 7 October, 2007
* …when you’re broken, your dreams can make it hard to face reality. I pray that it will become my ultimate dream to minister peace to the broken heart - so that they will not just want to sleep in dreams, but awake to become all that God created them to be. 11 October, 2007
* i’m still waiting for my songbirds to return…maybe the cranes are my new songbirds. i’m okay with that. they are beautiful in their own way…everything has it’s own kind of beauty and song. everything. -15 October, 2007
* …peacefulness is more beautiful than beauty that’s not at peace. -24 October, 2007
* I’m not shocked and disillusioned by betrayal and loss the way I used to be. I guess some would say I should be sad about this new realism…that I’ve become jaded. But, now I look at it more as a gift. Clarity. Strength. Endurance.
These things can be forged in times of trial. -25 October, 2007
* God is reminding me that my Enemy is the same as His Enemy. Knowing that He is with me - asking Him to always remain - is the best way to overcome any fear that may arise. -5 November, 2007
