You’re not here to be perfect or to set a good example or to please anyone. You were born to love and enjoy your ordinary, peculiar, inconsistent, good-enough self.
PERFECTIONISM: You have to do everything right to be loved. LOVE: You don’t have to do anything right to be loved.
Allyson Dinneen is an American marriage and family therapist as well as a writer. As the above words attest to, much of her work reaches out to dispel the connection between perfectionism and being loved.
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Bright afternoon blues began to darken
Winter’s cold blanket prepares to descend
Snowflakes twirling and dancing, at first glance
Ol’ Man Winter, with a message to send
Grandfather clock proclaims each passing hour
Intricate flakes, magnified in their size
Winter’s harsh intensity growls and howls
Like a hungry wolf, seeking his one prize
Outside, barren landscape feels overwhelmed
Pristine white now nature’s color tonight
Modest cabin remains toasty and warm
Ancient kitchen stove consumes wood all night
Staying indoors, cozy and safe
Snowy frenzy roars, no ending in sight
Minutes turn to hours, forwarding to days
Snowbound but home, never a hopeless plight
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Originally published February, 2020.
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We all hang on to certain moments, still frozen in time.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
(Updated January 30)
Love is what makes two people sit in the middle of a bench when there is plenty of room at both ends.
Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.
Barbara Johnson (1927-2007) was an American author. Much of her writing reflected a strong Christian faith.
From Micah 6:1-2: “Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against His people, and He will contend with Israel.”
Speaking to His wayward flock
God issues new covenant
Echoing across valleys
Scaling each lofty mountain
Hearing God’s divine message
Called, accepting His challenge
Following with trust, grace speaks
Stepping from darkness to light
Watching from heaven above
God’s righteousness brings justice
Sowing seeds of repentance
Turning man away from sin
Praying for God’s forgiveness
His Rock, man shall climb in faith
Seeing empty tomb’s mercy
Walking every day with Christ
From Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”
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In an instant, our Lord offers the world an alternative direction to follow.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
(Updated January 29)
When we view life from God’s perspective, every hardship becomes an opportunity to trust His good purpose, fully depend on Him, and respond in a manner that glorifies and exalts Christ.
From Philippians 1:27-28: “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing.”
Hidden in forest’s midst
Ancient homestead’s landscape
Under winter blanket
Wakening, day takes shape
One more snowy morning
Old barn wrapped up in white
Barely able to stand
Making for quite a sight
Corral broken, rails split
Livestock forever gone
Snow-painted grass smiles back
Waiting for spring’s new fawn
But wait, life still stirring
Chimney’s smoke drifting high
Rustic cabin’s fireplace
Warming urge to drop by
All welcome, step inside
Plenty of room to share
Coffee’s hot, feel at home
Sitting on kitchen’s chairs
Hilltop looking back down
So many years ago
Memories slowly fade
Covering up in snow
Photo by Kerry on Pexels.com
One of life’s most love-filled expectations is wrapped up in our relationships.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
(Updated January 28)
This informative post will be posted on Saturday along with my usual writing. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Rearranging the letters MEANYRG would give you the name of:
(A) an animal
(B) a state
(C) a city
(D) an ocean
(E) a country
(answer found at the end of this post)
On April 9, 1959, Americans met NASA’s original seven astronauts. Selected from a group of 32, all seven had served as military test pilots. They would take America’s fortunes forward with Project Mercury, the nation’s first attempts at manned space flight.
Here is a brief biographical sketch of each astronaut:
Of the seven original astronauts, only Shepherd, Schirra, Grissom, and Cooper would carry out missions in the two-man Gemini flights or three-man Apollo flights.
Grissom would lose his life aboard Apollo 1 in 1967 during a training exercise accident in Florida. Glenn would later be tapped to fly on the Space Shuttle in 1998 aboard Discovery.
(E) a country
MEANYRG can spell GERMANY.
Big Sky Buckeye 