life is like a photograph.
the "captured moment" may appear self-explanatory but is it?
is there more going on that we don't know about, that we have left to uncover?
what are the people's emotions, what are they thinking about, how do they view life?
instead of looking at a photograph from the angle that i have been seeing it all along,
God has taken his hand and turned the picture around.
now, it is not my perspective that i view but His.
Showing posts with label prayers/reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayers/reflections. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Beauty: Is it Only Skin Deep or Is There Something More?
Some people can gain everything and have nothing.
Appearances don't always accurately describe a person's true feelings.
Materialistic items; popularity, wealth, the latest car, a huge diamond ring, $30,000 shoes, a mansion.
These items may look physically appealing but the truth is, they don't last.
What if the simple things were attractive?
Instead of the Mercedes capturing commercials, what if laughter did?
Happiness doesn't come in a bottle of pills.
People initiate hugs, emotions, compassion, love.
What if you picked up the newspaper to see a field or a row of trees on the front page?
Why is it that these things which bring us happiness are so often overlooked?
Could it be that our priorities are a little skewed? A little slanted?
Appearance is superificial.
A friend once told me this about marriage:
Imagine what your spouse or significant other will look like 20 years from now. Will he or she still be beautiful? Will their beauty always come from the inside or will they be constantly searching for beauty in the latest wrinkle cream?
Lord, help me to be satisfied with the simple. The chirping birds, the dog that barks, the baby who cries. Let me see with your eyes that these items reflect your nature. That they are meant to produce love and affection and wholeness and peace. Whenever I doubt your grace, let me know that I'm covered.
Appearances don't always accurately describe a person's true feelings.
Materialistic items; popularity, wealth, the latest car, a huge diamond ring, $30,000 shoes, a mansion.
These items may look physically appealing but the truth is, they don't last.
What if the simple things were attractive?
Instead of the Mercedes capturing commercials, what if laughter did?
Happiness doesn't come in a bottle of pills.
People initiate hugs, emotions, compassion, love.
What if you picked up the newspaper to see a field or a row of trees on the front page?
Why is it that these things which bring us happiness are so often overlooked?
Could it be that our priorities are a little skewed? A little slanted?
Appearance is superificial.
A friend once told me this about marriage:
Imagine what your spouse or significant other will look like 20 years from now. Will he or she still be beautiful? Will their beauty always come from the inside or will they be constantly searching for beauty in the latest wrinkle cream?
Lord, help me to be satisfied with the simple. The chirping birds, the dog that barks, the baby who cries. Let me see with your eyes that these items reflect your nature. That they are meant to produce love and affection and wholeness and peace. Whenever I doubt your grace, let me know that I'm covered.
Friday, January 29, 2010
He turned my world upside down
"Sell everything and give it to the poor."
That's a scary thought.
Shane Claiborne says that "God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable." Jesus calls us not to preach from pulpits but to live a simple life that's not very simple at all. To love when our body tells us to yell. To stay when we just want to walk away. To hug when our mind tells us to judge. To let God do the giving rather than have us bandage a wound with our meaningless material items.
Just yesterday, I saw my cousin who was very sad. The stresses of a daily week and a new semester at school were just piling up on her leaving little room to take a clean breath of fresh air. My words did nothing. I felt powerless standing in the middle of the bookstore only able to give a hug. But through that hug, I saw Jesus and I knew that regardless of what those other twenty or so people in the bookstore thought of a girl in a bright pink coat hugging a crying woman, I knew within my heart that this is Christianity.
That's a scary thought.
Shane Claiborne says that "God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable." Jesus calls us not to preach from pulpits but to live a simple life that's not very simple at all. To love when our body tells us to yell. To stay when we just want to walk away. To hug when our mind tells us to judge. To let God do the giving rather than have us bandage a wound with our meaningless material items.
Just yesterday, I saw my cousin who was very sad. The stresses of a daily week and a new semester at school were just piling up on her leaving little room to take a clean breath of fresh air. My words did nothing. I felt powerless standing in the middle of the bookstore only able to give a hug. But through that hug, I saw Jesus and I knew that regardless of what those other twenty or so people in the bookstore thought of a girl in a bright pink coat hugging a crying woman, I knew within my heart that this is Christianity.
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