This week’s Weekly Thought is:
“I am calm in this moment. There is peace here.”
When I am feeling anxious, emotional, or stressed, thoughts like this one help me stay calm. Take a deep breath, focus on what is calm in this moment, and soon your thoughts will take root and you will be more calm.
We’ve updated our home page a little bit to include our “Weekly” Series that we’ve done the past two years, with “Weekly Prayer”, “Weekly Song”, “Weekly Hymn”, and “Weekly Compliment”. Today we’d thought we start doing series on a “Weekly Thought”.
This will be a thought for you to reflect on each day, on how you can be a better person.
So, to start, this week’s thought is:
How can I make this situation positive?
If you are experiencing a moment of frustration, anger, disappointment, try to refocus with a positive perspective. What is positive about this moment? What am I happy with right now?
Today, I was feeling run down. Being a parent is hardwork, and with lack of sleep, I felt cranky and lazy. So, to make me think positive about my day, despite my fatigue and frustrations as a mother, I told myself, “It’s great to see my son smile”, and “I am giving him love and care as he grows into a beautiful human being.” As I smile for my son, I felt a little more joy in the moment.
Alessia Cara’s song, Scars To Your Beautiful, is an inspiring hope for each of us to embrace our own beauty. We are stars, we are beautiful!
She just wants to be beautiful
She goes unnoticed, she knows no limits,
She craves attention, she praises an image,
She prays to be sculpted by the sculptor
Oh she don’t see the light that’s shining
Deeper than the eyes can find it
Maybe we have made her blind
So she tries to cover up her pain, and cut her woes away
‘Cause covergirls don’t cry after their face is madeChorus:
But there’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark
You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are
And you don’t have to change a thing
The world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful, we’re stars and we’re beautiful
Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
And you don’t have to change a thing
The world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful, we’re stars and we’re beautifulShe has dreams to be an envy, so she’s starving
You know, “Covergirls eat nothing.”
She says, “Beauty is pain and there’s beauty in everything.”
“What’s a little bit of hunger?”
“I could go a little while longer,” she fades away
She don’t see her perfect, she don’t understand she’s worth it
Or that beauty goes deeper than the surface
Ah oh, ah ah oh,
So to all the girls that’s hurting
Let me be your mirror, help you see a little bit clearer
The light that shines withinChorus
No better you than the you that you are
No better life than the life we’re living
No better time for your shine, you’re a star
Oh, you’re beautiful, oh, you’re beautifulChorus
BIBLE JOURNALING –This new way of dwelling on the word is beautiful and inspiring! I love this post here that explains Bible journaling and the different techniques and artwork you can do! And here, a Christian artist talks about her love of Bible journaling. It’s a great way to connect and dwell on the word.
Have you drawn/painted/colored in your Bible? What do you like to do? What are some of your favorite verses that you’d focus on for a bible art entry?
Here’s a previous post of ours on Bible Journaling methods.
I love some of these verses and artwork for inspiration:
God is good! There is beauty all around us. And we can be creative and make beautiful art at the same time getting in touch with God! Have you Bible journaled before? I don’t know if I’ll have time anytime soon to do this, with my baby and quilting projects, but I love the idea and browsing online for Bible journaling artwork!
Our blog is all about spreading positivity, and sharing interests with one another is a way to spread positivity! When we share common hobbies with others, we are sharing ourselves in a positive way. Whether it’s coming together for events or crafts or sharing our ideas together, that in itself is something positive.
As sisters we share alot of interests, but we also have different hobbies. Krista learned quilting from a friend in the air force family, and I (Lisa) took on crochet, which I learned from my grandma. Well recently Krista is sharing with me all her knowledge and expertise to teach me quilting! It’s exciting to come together for something new and crafty, and to be able to share a common hobby, even despite the long distance!
How can share an interest with someone near you? What can you do to share something with other community members?
A beautiful inspiring song, We All Bleed The Same is about being yourself and accepting one another. Everyone’s life is precious, and we should accept our differences and come together in unity and love!
“Nobody can be like you”
“Don’t compare yourself to no one because they can’t do what you’ve done”
“Let thine own self be true”
“Just be yourself, everybody else is taken”
“Don’t be afraid; all you need to do is come as you are”
“You just keep on loving you”
I saw a video today about a dog who was adopted by a loving couple and took care of him while he was terminally ill with kidney failure. He spent his last days loving and being loved.
And that’s what I think life should be about. To love and be loved. If there was more love and being loved, there would be more peace and joy in the world.
How can you love more? What can you do to bring love into someone’s life, no matter how small the love you give?
Today make love your life purpose!
“Moses said to the people: “If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul. For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”” –DT 30:10-14“There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”” –LK 10:25-37
God commands the impossible. He calls us to follow Him and to love everyone with all our being, and He believes that we can achieve that completely! We are imperfect people, but God has faith in us.
And we should have faith in God, that we can follow His laws fully. We must not just love sometimes and follow God when we want to. We must love and follow God with all of our strength, turn to God always, and do our best no matter what.
God believes that we are capable of so much love in the world. He set these commands with a unwavering doubt that His people are capable of loving fully.
It may seem impossible, but God gives us strength. With God, all things are possible. Trust in God with perfect faith, and you can do (and love) anything!
LORD, thank you for your powerful teachings. Be there with us as we reach out to others and carry out your commands. Help us to love others with all our body, mind, and soul. Help us to do the impossible. May LOVE be our focus, and may You be our guide always. Amen.
This morning we found out that a family member of a loved one passed away unexpectedly. Here is a prayer for the grieving, that the family may find strength and comfort in God.
Prayer for Comfort for the Grieving
Father, I pray for (name one or more) and others in my circle of family and friends who are grieving…
They’re hurting for many reasons, and I ask You to help them through this season of loss. I reach out to You, the Father of compassion and the Source of every comfort, asking You to touch them with Your unfailing love and kindness. Be their God who comforts them as they’re going through their struggles, and bring them through the tough things ahead. Come alongside them in their pain, and strengthen them so they’ll one day be able to help others who face the same struggles. (2 Corinthians 1:3–4; Psalm 33:22; 1 Samuel 20:14a)
You’re close to people whose hearts are breaking, those who are discouraged and have given up hope. May You who see their troubles and grief respond when they cry out. (Psalm 34:18; 10:14a, 17)
When they’re hurting, help them find their joy in You, for it’s Your joy that will be their strength. Help them to trust You as their God of hope. Fill them with Your joy, peace, and hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Help them experience the love, joy, and peace that are the results of His life in them, no matter what they’re going through. (Nehemiah 8:10b; Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22)
May they sense Your presence in this hour of need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
There is so much to learn and experience by being a parent. Being a parent is not something I learned in school nor beforehand when I was preparing for birth. Only now with caring for him have I truly experienced what it means to be a parent.
Being a parent requires patience. Lots of patience and understanding. Because they only know basic instincts as an infant, and I need to accept that and be gentle and calm.
Here’s a prayer for patience when you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and frustrated with your child.
When my child tests me, teach me, God, how to respond with wisdom.
When I grow irritable, send me patience.
When my fury rages, teach me the power of restraint.
When I become fixed in my ways, teach me to be flexible.
When I take myself too seriously, bless me with a sense of humor.
When I am exhausted, fill me with strength.
When I am frightened, fill me with courage.
When I am stubborn, teach me how to bend.
When I act hypocritically, help me to align my deeds with my values.
When mundane pressures threaten to overwhelm me, help me to remember how truly blessed I am.
When I lose my way, God, please guide me on the road back to joy, back to love, back to peace, back to you. Amen
In the wake of the Orlando shootings, I thought to share a poem about life. Be grateful for each day you have, and be grateful for the special people you know that bring life and joy into your day. You are blessed! Celebrate life!
Life is a gift we’re given each and every day.
Dream about tomorrow, but live for today.
To live a little, you’ve got to love a whole lot.Love turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Life’s a journey always worth taking.
Take time to smell the roses… and tulips…
and daffodils… and lilacs… and sunflowers…Count blessings like children count stars.
The secret of a happy life isn’t buried in a
treasure chest… it lies within your heart.
It’s the little moments that make life big.Don’t wait. Make memories today.
Celebrate your life!
Yesterday I read 1 John and it’s a wonderful book about love. God is love and to follow God means to live in love.
We should not only believe in love but act in love: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18).
We should love one another just as God loves each of us: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:11-12).
I found this image that explained it well:
We wanted to let you know, as you’ve probably noticed the last couple of months, but we will be posting less. Lisa’s son is due any day now and with both of us caring for young ones we are a bit more busy with family life. But we hope to post a few times each month. This blog has been a great outlet for us to reflect on our faith and focus on positivity.
Thanks for joining us! – Lisa and Krista
