Pouring Hope

When you're blindsided and deceived
And chained to the floor
When it's difficult to see
The writing on the wall

Keep on believing God is
Soaring above a world that's
Running out of love
Pouring hope out over us

When it's hard for you to breathe
Keep a clear mind
When it's hard for you to be
Just to be yourself sometimes

Keep on believing God is
Soaring above a world that's
Running out of love
Pouring hope out over us

~Mindy Smith

This is an awful ad.

Psalm 56...my prayer and consolation

Be merciful to me, O God,
because I am under attack;
my enemies persecute me all the time.
All day long my opponents attack me.
There are so many who fight against me.

When I am afraid, O LORD Almighty,
I put my trust in You.
I trust in God and am not afraid;
I praise Him for what He has promised.
What can a mere human being do to me?

You know how troubled I am;
You have kept record of my tears.
Aren't they listed in Your book?
The day I call to You,
my enemies will be turned back.

I know this:
God is on my side--
the LORD, whose promises I praise.
In Him I trust, and I will not be afraid.
What can a mere human being do to me?

O God, I will offer You what I have promised;
I will give you my offering of thanksgiving,
because You have rescued me from death
and kept me from defeat.

And so I walk in the presence of God,
in the light that shines on the living.

WTF?

I hate porn.
I hate how accessible it is.
I hate how "normal" it is.
I hate how men are basically encouraged to look at it...
like there is something wrong with them if they don't.

I mean, What the fuck?

Where did/do these totally "non-intrinsic to us" ideas come from?

And how can women support it?
How the hell do some women promote porn as liberating and feministic?
How in the world have the Playboy bunnies become ROLE MODELS for young girls?

I mean, What the fuck?

I'm so effing confused.

What have we become?

.
.
.

As We Are Held

For far too long,
I’ve been far less brave than I’d like to be.
And I’ve stood here for two years with you,
Afraid every morning that the sun is through;
Always worrying it has better things to do.
Yet, on me, it continues to rise.

And so it is with the Son;
He chases me all day long.
And for too many years I’ve continued to run;
But today I stopped…and turned around.

He said there’s nothing wrong with me,
That I don’t need to be anything but Anne-Marie.
That from my fear, He’s dying to set me free…
And dying, He’s already done.

So I threw off my fear and
Exhaled it out of my lungs.
In return, He offered me the wine of love.
He kissed my forehead saying,
‘Child, you don’t need to run…
Anywhere but into My arms.’

So that is where I reside this eve.
And even better, so do you...

*We hold each other as we are held*

I know

"God,
Grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference."

~Let go, and let God.
~I can't; God can. So I'll let Him.
~Turn around and face the dragon.

~I cannot control the outcome;
give the outcome to God.

...

Jesus loves me...

THIS I KNOW.

Thank you, Brennan Manning

"I am loveable because He loves me. Period."

"God never says to us, 'I want you to be something else' without also saying, 'I love you as you are.'"

"Harsh though it may sound, it is obvious that Christ is denied today by Christians most of all, because His lordship over their organized religion and their dogmatic convictions has become illusory, theoretical, and imaginary."

"The great turning point in your life comes not when you realize that you love God but when you realize and fully accept the fact that God loves you unconditionally."

~from A Glimpse of Jesus, by Brennan Manning

Lonely Sometimes

"I woke up from a strange rain
And it was dreaming outside
I rolled over for the telephone

I thought I'd call someone
Tell them I dreamed I had died
But I know that I was all alone

I just get lonely sometimes
I want someone to take away my grief
I just get lonely sometimes
I want to wake up in the morning with someone
Lying next to me who I can turn to for relief
I just get lonely sometimes
But I know I just need You

I probably slept in a bed of bitterness
That's why I woke up this way
That's probably why I'm in this lonesome hole

I probably got to needing everything
And needing it today
That's probably why I play this lonely role

But I know I know I know I just need You."

~Waterdeep

I am really sad...

Muchas Gracias

Why does it still amaze me
That God gives me what I need?
And not only my needs,
But sometimes, also what I want...
Like tonight.
A solo dance party while mopping.
Some "Walk it Out" to get my feet moving.
And then an abundance of reassurance
That my heart will heal.
That I am desirable.
That although my heart is broken,
I am not broken.

Gracias, Padre.

Grief

"Grief is a most peculiar thing; we're so helpless in the face of it.
It's like a window that will simply open of its own accord.
The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver.
But it opens a little less each time, and a little less;
and one day we wonder what has become of it."

~from Memoirs of a Geisha