All posts tagged: love

in.decision.

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Everything in life is a choice. Even when we choose to do nothing, we are doing something. Sometimes it seems right, to do nothing; sometimes we are content to wait our turn. Sometimes, the holding pattern becomes so familiar that we find ourselves happy in a cycle that never changes. Unless you can honestly tell me that you’ve accomplished, or worked tirelessly to accomplish your wildest of dreams, it sounds more like complacency if you ask me. Have you reached your career peak? Do you make time for your favorite hobby, regularly? Is the girl|or|guy you’re dating mutually invested? Is your spouse[wife|or|husband] working with you? Do you feel valued every day? Do you put into the world even a portion of what’s been bestowed upon you? First things first, you are responsible for yourself. You have to seek God in knowing your purpose, and in following it. Stop looking around to have opportunities fall into your lap; maybe it happens on occasion, but that’s not the way things work. Faith without works, my friends. Now, …

On Love – & loss.

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So often, so prevalently, the word “love” is thought to reflect intimate, romantic relationship. In reality, love is a much wider umbrella under which we are all supposed to live. God commands that we do all things in love. The truth is, I haven’t always done things in love. Frankly, I haven’t even always tried to. There were times that I was content to be selfish, to lack the capacity to care any less about how my actions could affect others. It’s not that I wanted to intentionally hurt them, but doing so as collateral didn’t cause me to think twice. I remember, for instance, when dating for fun was the point… So then when I was “tired” of dating someone, I could just leave them standing alone in the rain. Where, then was the love umbrella? No, I don’t mean I had to love or be in love, but I could have been more tactful. Having fun is great, necessary even, but not at the expense of others. The same goes for friendships, even …

1.18.15

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Oh Lord, I come before you now thanking you for life. It is the most beautiful blessing to wake each day, to live, to learn, and to grow. As people are in abundance around us, laughing, speaking, crying, engaging, isolating, and [verb]ing, l believe we tend to take the gift of life for granted. We are grateful for it, but I for one sometimes overlook the simple blessings in life. I ask that you’d slow us down, Lord, that we might see the beauty in living, that we might actually experience the natural world and its inhabitants. Allow families to bond, to know and love one another unconditionally, allow friends to recognize not only that, but also why they have chosen one another… For those expecting children, please help them to rejoice in every step, allow them to love their children and to care for them sufficiently. We are not innately good, so please help us to be better people that we might extend our hands to help one another, and not attack. Help us …

Mis|tak|en

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There’s a quote that reads, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.” I love that quote; it’s encouraging, not condemning. The more I read it though, the more I realize I don’t exactly agree with it. For me, it isn’t the mistakes that prove effort, it’s the acknowledgement, the conceptualization of whatever act as “mistake, and what’s more, it’s the conviction one feels after the f(act). To acknowledge something as a mistake is to admit wrongdoing, to hold oneself responsible for having committed the wrong, and to make conscious efforts to act differently in the future. Whether our mistakes are intentional or unintentional, and we will all make both, reconciling takes on the same process. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the need to reconcile with myself, I always thought  it had to be two or more involved for some sort of resolution. Well, I’ve found that in some ways, there are, even when I reconcile with myself… there’s the guilt-crazed one who made the mistake, the judgmental one who condemns me for having …

1.11.15

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Heavenly father, I come humbly to you today to ask for nothing more for myself than your forgiveness. I am a sinner, Oh God, and though it is written as fact that I will never be perfect, I want, everyday, to please you. Though I cannot do all things right, though I was born and wake each day a sinner saved only by your grace, spared only by your mercy, and promised only your love, I want to do better. I have no desire to make casual mistakes, even those unintentional; for that only tells me that I am not intentional enough about my steps. I know that you will love me all of my days, oh God, and I am so grateful for a God like you, one so selfless even with the power to do all things. Lord, I thank you for allowing me new days to see, to live, to learn, to breathe… I pray that I learn to maximize these days with love that I may lift your name and magnify you, …

Emogical I

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The Internal Have you ever had a friend vent to you about the SAME situation over and over again, until the point you listen without having anything to say. In the back of your mind, you’re screaming “you could do so much better if…”… But, knowing your words are for naught, you listen without hearing a word. Is that an emotional or logical response? One could argue either or both ways. Imagine if you did the same thing to yourself. Chances are: many of us have been there in some way or another. I can think of tons of examples, honestly. As a people pleaser, I’ve had far beyond my fair share of taking on the weight of the world… or the weight of my acquaintances in the world. The biggest ones for me, perhaps, surface in relationships, both romantic and non. With friends and some family, I have had the tendency to drop everything when someone asks me, never mind what I may be doing. The best part is when I actually had the …

01.04.15

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Dear Lord, Thank you for bringing us through and into another year! As we continue to journey on, help us to live slowly enough to experience life. Give us longevity in this year, oh Lord. As we resolve to be better people, to learn more and to grow, give us the strength to endure challenges, confidence to work through them, and courage throughout the process. Help us to have wisdom and spirits of discernment that we may follow only the path that you have designed for us. Even as we pray, let us to be thankful. We don’t want only to ask for things, but to work toward them as well, so long as the work is pleasing unto you. It is so easy to become overwhelmed with goals and changes we desire to accomplish; give us peace; allow us to be mindful of our strides that we set attainable goals. Show us our supporters, too, Lord, that we may not always journey alone. Allow us to support those around us, to uplift and encourage, …

Merry Christmas!

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Hi guys!!! Okay. So, I want to apologize, not for the things I have been doing, but for those I have not. I committed myself to writing here regularly, but for the past week and some change, I have not… But I will say that the time “off” has been nourishing. First and foremost, I was able to think, reflect, and write… A LOT! So I have tons to share. Possibly more valuably, however, I was truly able to live ‘In The Moment(s)’… I spent time with my church, hung out with several friends, celebrated some birthdays, babysat, danced, and celebrated Christmas with family… Including special experiential gifts with my two first loves! 👪 Living in the moment, for me, is not just about saying I’ve done something, but truly experiencing it. I have realized that I actually have to slow down to engage with the world around me. “What memory can I have of something if I never spend time with it?” I ask myself. I took my mother to Chicago on 12.26.14. The …

Fall.

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Fall: 1. to drop or descend under force of gravity, as to a LOWER place through LACK of support. 2.to become less or lower in degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc. to decline. 3.to succumb to attack 4.to succumb to temptation or sin, especially becoming unchaste to one’s innocence.   These are just four of numerous definitions that basically say the same thing, only one of which reads that a fall may be voluntary…. But let me be the first to say I ain’t tryna fall in love, no more. I did it before, have you? Tell me what’s good about falling? I mean, the fall itself typically hurts, half the time your knees hurt when you stand back up, everyone around laughs and you’re embarrassed after the fact… but most importantly is the lesson: you are extremely careful when faced with similar circumstances. I can’t tell you all that’s right in love, but i CAN tell you a lot about what it isn’t, and my experience with such. Have you ever been infatuated with something or someone …

12.7.14

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Dear Lord, thank you for your strength, your sacrifice, and your selflessness. You reign over all of us, you are creator, you are mighty and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. We cannot win a single victory alone, Oh Lord. We NEED YOU. There is not one single challenge we can overcome without you. Guide us, Lord, help us to be dependent on you alone. You deserve all that we have, for we are NOTHING without you. As this country faces so many challenges, I want to pray now that you help us al to act in love. Lord, even as race shows itself an issue in this century, help us to see past it. Help us to live as you do, and to recognize that we ALL matter. Help us to build strong relationships so that you may raise a nation of true believers. No one can do it but you. As we are sometimes fearful of our next days, help us to have faith in you. You are more than able to …