relentless
January 2011
110 posts
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
—C.S. Lewis (via nonelikejesus)
“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” —Audrey Hepburn (via quote-book)
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” —Audrey Hepburn (via quote-book)
*IMPRESSED*
American Idol Season 10: Some 15 year old girl just did a “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” mini duet with Steven Tyler!!!
By the way, I think that this season is SO much better with J. Lo and Steven Tyler! ;)
(Photo credits: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/421724/nashville-episode-has-american-idol-already-found-the-one/;_ylt=AtFrjrOhLtxLdqszD_tNJAXNwSUv)
Look Again and Consecrate
“If God so clothe the grass of the field… shall He not much more clothe you?” Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. “Consider”, says Jesus, “how much more your Father who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him.” Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have impertinently known better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the “much more of our Heavenly Father.
“Behold the fowls of the air” - their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your “feathers”.
“Consider the lilies of the field” - they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the “much more”, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself to one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. Am I continually separating myself to consider God every day of my life?
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
“Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.”
—E.B. White (via libraryland)
The Power of Social Intelligence
Last year, I read a book called: Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. A Harvard educated PhD, Goleman wrote the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, about how leaders can build their EQ even if they cant grow their IQ. This book takes the subject a step further, and talks about how effective leaders understand connections with people can make or break any given situation.
In the book, he relays an amazing story. During the Iraq invasion, a group of U.S. soldiers set out for a mosque to contact the town’s chief cleric. Their goal was to ask for his help in organizing relief supplies for those in need. But a mob gathered, fearing the soldiers were coming to arrest their spiritual leader or to destroy the mosque. Hundreds surrounded the soldiers waving their arms, grabbing rocks and shouting angrily. Lt. Colonel Chris Hughes thought fast. Picking up a loudspeaker, he told his men to take a knee. Next, he ordered them to point their rifles toward the ground. Then his order was: “Smile.” At that, the crowd’s mood morphed. They put their rocks down, smiled and even patted the soldiers on the head. This quick-witted move was the culmination of a split-second reaction and high social intelligence. Hughes sensed what they needed to calm them and responded perfectly.
Relationships are about much more than mere feelings. Goleman reveals that our interactions with others actually have the power to shape our brains. People are hardwired to connect socially; we are programmed for kindness, to feel what others feel and to respond to each other. Our relationships literally mold us. Goleman believes we can use our social intelligence to make the world better place. It’s interesting. This is what the scriptures told us, written millenniums ago.
As you enter your world today — how is your social intelligence? Are you aware of what others are silently saying to you with their facial expressions? With their body language? With their silence? How are you leading them?
Just Love
Love is true. Love is painful. Love is not easy. Love can be messy. Love is powerful. Love can change you. Love is difficult. Love is commitment. Love is what hate is not. Love learns. Love always listens. Love doesn’t hold onto the wrongs. Love overlooks the sin. Love looks into the heart. Love can be gained. Love can be lost. Love is possible. Love forgives, every time. Love doesn’t lie. Love is always worth a try. Love makes you laugh. Love makes you cry. Love hurts so bad. Love can’t be explained, but love can be felt. Love knows. Love is unconditional. Love accepts you just the way you are. Love protects, defends and fights to the end. Love prefers. Love will sacrifice all for the sake of another. Love is not afraid. Love is full of courage. Love begins with God, then it starts with you. Love takes time. Love doesn’t make sense sometimes. Love is beautiful. Love can be ugly. Love shows kindness. Love is not blind, love sees. Love is compassion. Love can be desperate. Love is discovered when you are broken. Love is in the little things. Love is caught in the most unseen moments. Love is deep, never shallow. Love lends a hand. Love feeds the hungry. Love doesn’t think of itself first, but always others. Love doesn’t demand it’s rights. Love trusts. Love lets go. Love doesn’t blame others. Love takes responsibility. Love doesn’t hold grudges. Love doesn’t compare. Love always believes. Love is risky. Love is worth taking the risk even if it means being hurt. Love is a lesson. Love is all we have. Love feels. Love is distant. Love is close. Love is in every heart. Love dreams. Love encourages. Love is crazy. Love makes you do crazy ridiculous things. Love sucks. Love is a drug. Love is everything. Love bleeds. Love was hung on a cross for all our sins. Love doesn’t see fault. Love gives you what you don’t deserve. Love hates. Love loves. Love is madness. Love is lonely sometimes. Love speaks. Love is silent. Love is loud. Love is discipline. Love is uncomfortable. Love is humble. Love enjoys. Love has fun. Love eats. Love sleeps. Love is an adventure. Love brings peace. Love doesn’t judge. Love embraces. Love gives big hugs. Love smiles. Love dances. Love is always down to help. Love is there for you when you need it the most. Love cares. Love is alive. Love is full of tears. Love makes the heart heavy, like right now. Love will heal with time. Love doesn’t need an answer every time. Love prays. Love hopes. Love never ever gives up. Love is repentant. Love is sorry. Love gets back up again. Love tries. Love pushes you to your limits. Love is scary. Love doesn’t work out always. Love can teach you a good lesson. Love is better than lust. Love gives everything it has. Love doesn’t hold back. Love is not cheap, but costly. Love is a choice. Love is not forced. Love doesn’t take advantage. Love respects. Love always seeks for the best interest of others. Love is giving up what you want, for the wants of another. Love is a promise unbroken. Love is your word. Love doesn’t play games. Love is serious. Love isn’t learned in a day, but learned in a lifetime. Love will make you get on your knees. Love waits. Love moves on. Love is hard. Love is generous. Love kills. Love brings life. Love doesn’t point the finger. Love looks within. Love always wins. Love grows. Love is example. Love is faithful. Love is understanding. Love is full of grace. Love is truth. Love gives roses. Love is finer than wine. Love is found in Paris. Love is lost in life. Love is creative & love creates. Love is a struggle. Love comes and love goes. Love gets mad. Love sometimes yells. Love is brutal. Love is affection. Love transforms. Love is sex done God’s way. Love is pure like a newborn baby. Love is childish. Love is mature. Love is being yourself. Love is loving yourself. Love can. Love is freedom. Love is radical. Love is rad. Love can lead to war. Love will defend the poor. Love is just. Love always does what is right. Love is coming clean. Love is new every morning. Love is there every night, you just have to look for it. Love is in the darkness. Love shines like the dawn. Love is warm. Love is cold too. Love repents. Love is willing to change. Love does what is necessary. Love doesn’t just talk, it walks. Love can feel like a jail cell. Love comes in different forms is expressed in different ways. Love is a language. Love serves. Love is quality time. Love is a gift. Love is heard. Love is physical, don’t be afraid to touch. Love plans. Love is also spontaneous. Love is a surprise. Love is wise. Love can be learned in every life experience good or bad. Love makes the heart happy. Love can’t be taken away, unless you let it. Love is something else. Love doesn’t focus on self. Love is God. Yes, God is love. Love yourself, then you can love others. Love is a golden rule for life. Love is life. Love is family. Love is true friends who love you not for what you can do, but for who you are. Love is what we were created for. Love is big. Love is not noticed. Love is stealth. Love is all around. Love is a song. Love is a presence. Love is worship. Love gives glory. Love always has a story to tell. Love looks like Jesus. Love doesn’t always feel good, but it is good. Love is fearless & faith-full. Love is drama haha. Love takes two. Love is infinite. Love forgets. Love is not full of itself. Love is not addicted, love is self controlled. Love hates evil. Love will not boast or brag. Love is the kindest person you will ever meet. Love is real. Love keeps it real. Love is truthful, it doesn’t beat around the bush. Love is in the eyes. Love can be painful to look at. Love makes priority. Love is not the shape of a heart, love is in the form of a cross. Love isn’t a job. Love isn’t a project. Love just is. Love is who we are, love is what we do, love is perfect even though we are not perfect. Love knows no excuses. Love doesn’t live a lie. Love is a raging fire that can’t be contained, neither explained. Love is worth it all, love gives it all, love is all I want, love is all I need. Love is everything to me. Love I’m still learning. Love I’m still failing. Love you force me to keep going, even when I mess up. Love messed me up. Love is simple & complicated all at the same time. Love is tiring. Love also energizes. Love is up. Love is down. Love makes your heart pound. Love is magical. Love is passionate. Love hurts like hell. Love can feel like heaven. Love makes mistakes. Love is failing, but learning to try again. Love is willing to suffer. Love is willing to lose it all to gain it all. Love is death. Love is resurrection. Love is to die for. Love I could keep going, but I will stop here. Just love.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.