What Faith Can Do

by Kutless

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to

Amazing Grace Oil 9 x 12

Rise from the ashes and make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache

You think it’s more than you can take

But you are stronger, stronger than you know

Don’t you give up now

The sun will soon be shining

You gotta face the clouds

To find the silver lining

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard

Impossible is not a word

It’s just a reason for someone not to try

Everybody’s scared to death

When they decide to take that step

Out on the water

It’ll be alright

Life is so much more

Than what your eyes are seeing

You will find your way

If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains

Hope that doesn’t ever end

Even when the sky is falling

And I’ve seen miracles just happen

Silent prayers get answered

Broken hearts become brand new

That’s what faith can do.
That's what faith can do!

Even if you fall sometimes

You will have the strength to rise

Ah-Sigh-EE

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.-- Lily Tomlin

Today was a good day; I met with friends, including one I haven't seen in a long time; two friends each gave me a book, and another gave me some cash and I came home to find a UPS package on the porch from another friend-- a herbal blend for joints with acai (pronounced "Ah-Sigh-EE) berries. This is a continuation of yesterday's post about friends. I am blessed.

CWCW: I went to Walmart to get some food and I managed to walk through the store on my own. I don't like using the handicapped buggies; I feel I become a non-person riding one. Other shoppers don't see me or they see me and ignore me. Normally, I have some interaction other people-- a smile or a word, but in those buggies, it's like I am not really there.  I found some items on the clearance rack and treated myself to a new nail color. When I got home I put away the groceries and cleaned the kitchen. Now I am going to work on the portfolio.

True Friends

Cousins

"The miracle of friendship can be spoken without words...hearing unspoken needs, recognizing secret dreams, understanding the silent things that only true friends know."

I have to take some time to talk about friends. Right now, I have more friends than I have ever had before in my life, and most of them are ones I have made in the last 10 years. I was painfully shy and did not make friends easily as a child and a teen, and as a young wife and mother I was contented to stay at home and not venture out too much; what few friends I had were outgoing neighbors or co-workers who pulled me into their circles of friendships. I enjoyed their company, but not enough to break out of my shell; and when we moved on, I didn't make a effort to stay in touch, so I have no friends from the past. I developed a pattern of isolating, associating only with family, which wasn't too smart because the family held my most toxic relationships. The more painful my life became, the more I pulled into my shell and the fewer friends I had.

I am grateful today that I am not so much an introvert; I embrace my friends and welcome new ones. Friends bless me in more ways than I can count. Today I was treated to a massage by a friend. Recently a friend cleaned my living room and kitchen; another went to the doctor with me; others showered love on me for my birthday. Phone calls, visits, cards, emails, lunches, excursions, gifts, help, girl talk, secrets shared, laughter, hugs and kisses... I hope I can be as half a good a friend to others as they are to me.

I am grateful to say that now, the more painful my life is the more I reach out to my friends. And those friends of mine who are reading this-- Thank you and I love you.

Trust God, Clean House and Help Others.

Sunflowers in a Blue Vase Oil 11 x 14

I heard the title to this post in a meeting tonight and it has power in its simplicity, if I could just do it; it puts everything that is troubling me into perspective.

Trust God. I heard it said, "don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is;" being focused on my pain, fear and doubt is not focusing on the Higher Power, limiting my expectations of Him. I put Him in a box. How do I trust God? Expect your every need to be met, expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level, expect to grow spiritually. Eileen Caddy

Clean House. This tells me to clear out the rubble in my life that is blocking my path to peace and enlightenment, and preventing me from trusting God and helping others. If I am busy cleaning house then I don't have time and energy to let my thoughts scramble like squirrels in a cage. I actually feel better when I clear out a pesky thought or attitude.

Help others. This is self explanatory. When I am helping others I am not focused on my own problems. There are those who are in greater need than I, and there are those who are still lost in their own pain and addictions. There are those who need a hug or a smile or a shoulder or a word of encouragement. It does not require a lot to help others.

CWCW: Today I kept the clutter picked up and tidied the kitchen. The pictures of my art came back and I am now ready to put together portfolio. Most important, I spent time seeking God, doing a little internal house cleaning and listening to some people who needed to talk.

Refocus

Cape Disappointment Oil 11 x 14

"If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price."

I reread my first blog entry, to remind myself of its purpose: to rebuild my life. In reading where I was on that day just over a month ago, I am surprised to note improvement already. However today my goals have shifted a bit, since I have a hip replacement staring at me in the face.

While taking care of my responsibilities and creating are still worthy goals, I need to prepare myself for this new opportunity-- mentally and spiritually; if I can shift direction in those areas, then everything else will fall into place. So some refocusing is in order. I will start with the following passage from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron:

"Remembering that God is my source, we are in the spiritual position of having an unlimited bank account. Most of us never consider how powerful the creator really is. Instead we draw very limited amounts of the power available to us. We decide how powerful God is for us. We unconsciously set a limit on how much God can give us or help us. We are stingy with ourselves. And if we receive a gift beyond our imagining, we often send it back." 'Nuff said.

A Merry Heart

Summer Evening Oil 12 x 16

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Proverbs

Peace comes with acceptance and I am certainly in a better mood tonight. I hung with friends tonight with a good deal of laughter. Beats the hell out of crying, that's for sure. And I need all that kind of medicine I can get.

No whining allowed

Today I have a better outlook. My problem was that I had trouble accepting the doctor's diagnosis and was kicking against the restraints. I don't apologize for it because it is part of the process of moving from point A to point B. So I decided that if surgery might vastly improve my life than I need to explore that option thoroughly before rejecting it out right. I do not want to live this way--not when there may be a way out. I am awaiting on a call from the doctor to schedule an appointment to discuss this. So meanwhile, I am going to relax, work on the portfolio and make plans for the evening.