Friday, December 02, 2011
Tag - you're it!
I Resign From Adulthood by Richard Anothony Hulley:
I am hereby officially tendering my
resignation as an adult.
I have decided I would like to accept the
responsibilities of an 8 year old again.
I want to go to Mc donalds thinking its a 4
star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud
puddle and make ripples with rocks.
I want to think M&Ms are better than
money because you can eat them.
I want to return to a time where life was
simple when all you knew were colors,
multiplication tables and nursery rhymes,
but that didnt bother you, because you
didnt know what you didnt know and you
didnt care.
All you knew was to be happy
and you were blissfully unaware of all the things
that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair.
That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is
possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities
of life and be overly excited by the little
things again.
I dont want my day to consist of
computer crashes, mountains of
paperwork, depressing news,
how to survive more days in the month
than there is money in the bank,
doctor bills, gossip, illness and loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles,
hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace,
dreams, the imagination, mankind
and making angels in the snow.
So... Here's my cheque book and my
car keys, my credit cards and all my
responsibility.
I am officially resigning from adulthood.
And if you want to discuss this further,
you'll have to catch me first, cause.. ''tag! You're it''
Before - by A.J. McGowan
I cant stop thinking of you I'll always want you near
You may disregard every word that echoes in your ears
You can't discard my feelings, you'll never calm my fears
And should my world grow silent, don't look into my eyes
But peer into my weary soul, it's there the truth resides
Other's have sang this song before, life sometimes is cruel
They strip you of your treasures, they rob you of your jewels
Tell me of your heartaches, share with me your grief
That leaves you disenchanted and rob you like a thief
Share with me each fantasy that fosters loves desire
Set sail with me to ecstasy on passionate waves of fire
Before I smelled your fragrance or felt your fingertips
Before I heard the angels sing from the skies of blue
Before I sipped of your sweet nectar, or had my way with you
Before I saw you sweetly smile, before our voyage began
I could feel my emotions mounting, raging deep within
Before you lay beside me, your skin agains my flesh
I heard my heartbeat racng, pounding 'neath my chest
Before I got lost in your eyes, before I stroked your hair
I found I was a prisoner caught up in love's snare
Before I breathe my last breath, before our time is through
I'd penetrate hell's fiery gates to live and die with you~
Thursday, December 01, 2011
DONT JUDGE...
The thieves, the liars, the sinners, the alcoholics, the drug users and the trash. There stood the kid from 7th grade who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my old neighbour who never said anything nice. The man, who I always thought was rotting away in hell, was sitting pretty on cloud nine, looking incredibly well.
I nudged an angel, 'What's the deal? I would love to hear Your take. How'd all these sinners get up here? Perhaps there's a mistake? 'And why is everyone so quiet, so sombre - give me a clue.' 'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock. No one thought they'd be seeing YOU..!'
JUDGE NOT!! Every saint has a PAST... Every sinner has a FUTURE!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
You have value, never sell yourself short...
John 15:13 – “No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.”
Where does one draw the line? How much happiness do we need to give up, who do we have to forsake, how many do we have to disappoint, how many sacrifices do we have to make, how much self-inflicted grief do we have to pile on ourselves, how much precious time do we have to let waste?
Who determines the choices and decisions we take and their worthiness; for our wretched peace of mind to be appeased? How can we be sure the path decided upon holds divine appliance?
Sure we say, 'I've prayed about it', and 'God has ordained my actions' - how presumptuous of us to profess we fully understand the 'Aye' and 'Nay' of the Father without even fully understanding ourselves. How self-indulgent and misguided...
Much of the aforesaid builds a precinct in the mind for the following:
A desire to be well thought of makes people reluctant to say 'no' to anyone regarding anything. We should cultivate an ability to say 'no' to activities for which we have no time, no talent, and in which we have no interest or real concern. If we learn to say 'no' to many things, then we will be able to say 'yes' to things that matter most.
But rather we persevere with our short-sighted, blinkered aspirations of 'doing the right thing', no matter what the consequences may hold; because, in our limited understanding of ourselves and the will of God; we vindicate ourselves and wallow in the shallowness of false relief that we have thrown off the shackles of guilt and man's narrow-minded reproaches.
'From the sublime to the ridiculous', it is said, 'takes but one step'. How callously we embark upon and take this step, without fully exploring due diligence, without true guided direction, without challenging the status quo, without due consideration of the ensuing battle ahead. Relying solely on the convictions of our own limited and flawed ideals and hardened hearts; whilst unbeknown, still indeed an inherent and real result of life's struggles.
We usually take this rash path to 'make up' to those we feel we have grievously harmed or hurt, or caused unnecessary burdens to be placed upon; and carried further we do it in penance of our past self-destructive behaviour; which ironically we are now sub-consciously perpetuating...
If one really wants, or needs, to show and prove to our loving Lord and Saviour a pure and repentant heart, think about it, find a different alleviation. This self flagellation is tantamount to suicide, a mortal sin, reserved for the unsaved and hopeless; not for the Children of God.
Further:
A bit of fame or notoriety do funny things to people. They start to think that anything they want is possible and even probable. They get the peculiar notion that they are creatures of special grace, and that the whole purpose of each day's sunrise is to warm them. Sometimes, for a while, it even works out for them, and they read in this run of good fortune an entire lifetime's destiny, rather than a single extraordinary chapter - Bill Adler and David R Slavitt
This will of course anger many; but in the end only the pure in heart shall see God - the Master promised this - and to this end I will lay down my life for a friend (for the right, Godly reasons)... - SSL
Challenges - of the personal kind...
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
Right down to the wire, even through the fire
Personal challenges often get in the way of what you want to accomplish in your life and the on whole even normal challenges we must face it can sometimes feel daunting. What's worse is that it's not always something that's acknowledged as a roadblock to rebuilding our life and the stress of personal resistance can range from annoying to incapacitating.
No matter where you are on your road for change you might feel at a loss about where to start in order to overcome this personal resistance. Fortunately there are lots of tools for breaking through this resistance and creating the change you want in order to have a successful 'new' life.
Believe it or not there’s actually a formula to understand the components of change! It was created by Richard Bechard and David Gleicher to describe organizational development but is also applicable to personal/professional change as well.
Here is Bechard’s Formula: D x V x FS > R
This is how it works:
D = Dissatisfaction: The higher your dissatisfaction with the status quo gets the more likely you are to initiate change.
V = Vision: The more clear and specific your vision is the more traction you can acquire in making change.
FS = First Steps: The more clear you on your First Steps the more capable you are at following through on change.
R = Resistance to Change: Resistance can be about fear, time or monetary costs, emotional concerns or any number of issues or reasons that hold you back. Basically, resistance is anything that stops you.
Each of the variables is a core element to overcoming resistance and having the ability to move forward. Using basic algebra you can see that if any one of the variables D, V or FS is big enough you will be able to overcome resistance. In combination they can literally create massive momentum to changing the status quo.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
If you don't 'get' this - you're made of stone...
IF YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP, MARRIED OR SINGLE , READ THIS YOU'LL KNOW WHY AT THE END...
"When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.
She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.
When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.
She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.
On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.
Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.
But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.
I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.
Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.
That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I ran up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....
The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!"
God bless us all ~ SB
Monday, November 28, 2011
Has to be said...
Neglecting those you love, or profess to love, is truly one of the greatest causes of your own grief ~ SB
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