Guilt

"If there is any purpose to guilt, it is to highlight the power and exhilaration of freedom from it." --Alan Cohen, Enough Already

Love

"When our desire for God dominates our hearts, our minds will stay focused on ways to serve Him, and our actions will further His Kingdom on earth and in heaven." --Our Daily Bread

There's No Comparison

The title above is from a chapter in T. D. Jakes' book, Woman, Thou Art Loosed--The Book and Devotional for Women. . . .

Second-Hand

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems,

You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,)

You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,

You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,

You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self. 

-- from "Song of Myself," by Walt Whitman

Giving vs. Sharing

This morning I was reading in Shakti Gawain's book Awakening.  She said concerning our inability to let people give to us, "To be able to receive, you have to be in touch with your vulnerability and be comfortable with the part of you that needs. You have to be comfortable allowing another person to feel strong and powerful in your presence."  It made me stop to wonder if, sometimes, my motive in giving is SO THAT I can feel powerful?  We are told it is "better to give than receive"--that we will be happier in the long run.  But now I suspect  sometimes it's because it gives us a sense of power over the "needy" person.  I am sure this is not what God intends when He calls us to help others.  

So, how can we be sure we're giving out of a place of love and not from a place out of our own need to feel empowered?

Destiny

"Sow a thought, reap an act;

Sow an act, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a destiny." 

-- Charles Reade/Ralph Waldo Emerson

Plans

♫In God's Hands♫

"Plans are useless, but planning is invaluable." --Winston Churchill

This is where we throw the sticks I pick up in the yard.  It makes great kindling for our camp fires.  There are several piles of sticks set aside waiting until they are needed. ...