Justice and Love?

While I wish I could write more at the current moment, I can't seem to get my thought processes in order at the present moment ... however, in this moment, I'd just like to share a quote:

"... Justice is what love looks like in public ..."

The Gift of Life

Dear Friends ... so sorry I haven't posted in some time ... life has been hectic, beautiful, tragic, and wonderful, all at the same time! Will write more soon ... but I wanted to share a few photos of my new, gorgeous, chubby new nephew, Max John! My twin sister had him on October 2nd at 9:43AM ... he was almost 10 pounds ... if you can believe it! He is beautiful and wonderful!!! And ... it's amazing how you can love someone so much you only just met! Thank Jesus for babies! God Bless! More writing to come! ~Emily

Freedom in the Unknown

Life is too short to become entangled in the things you have no control over … I’ve often thought that in those moments, when you realize you have no control over a situation, there is some ‘freedom’ … freedom in knowing that no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to change the moment … the ‘thing’ that you couldn’t control … that could be reassuring to some … that could be failure to others … I'm not entirely sure ... but, somehow … I find freedom in knowing that no matter what, firstly, God won’t give me anything I can’t handle, and secondly, what doesn’t kill me, will only make me that much stronger … because after all, life is too short to worry about the unknown …

Dare to be Great ...

It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
DARING GREATLY
so that his place shall never be
with those timid souls
who know neither victory or defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

The Power of Love ...

It’s amazing how love can change you …

When I was a kid, I remember moments when my parents were happy … truly happy …
And … I remember moments when happiness was far away … far, far away …

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the ‘genetics’ or the ‘DNA’ that I’ve been given, and I’ve learned those good ‘genes’ and the not so good ‘genes’ …

I believe my parents did the best they could … they loved us and they tried to love each other …

I don’t blame ANY of my behaviors, choices, or actions on my youth, or my parents … however, I do recognize, from my youth, those things that I saw, those moments where life was all but a happy ‘American Dream’ … I saw in my parents relationship, what I didn’t want to become in those moments… I realized what I wanted to avoid when I met the person I would spend the rest of my life with …

When I met my husband … I thought the love he had for me and the love I had for him could help make me become the person that I always knew I could be … however, it wasn’t that easy when we said ‘I Do’ … I had to confront the very things I never wanted to admit were a part of me …

But … the amazing thing is … although life hasn’t been peaches and cream, and there have been many ups and downs, HIS love has changed me … it has made me a better person … it has helped me become that person that I wanted to be so long ago … sure, I’m still a work in progress, but aren’t we all?

Through the LOVE of my husband … I have learned and continue to learn how much God loves me … He gave me a man who not only loves me in the good times, but also in the not so good times …

So, in the midst of a world ‘falling out of love’ … realize that love … can forever change you, if you truly let it …

The Motions

Heard a song today ... was blown away by the lyrics ... thought I'd share them here, with you ...

It's a song called 'The Motions' by Matthew West ... listen to it here ...

This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way (I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go)
take me all the way (through the motions)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions...

A Lonely World ...

Being alone is somewhat of a nuance … it’s this ‘shade of grey’ that you can’t really tell where it ends … where it begins …

I don’t know if you’ve ever been ‘alone’ … or felt as if you were ‘alone’ … but I have to think that we’ve all been there at one point or another in our lives … perhaps it’s just a ‘feeling’ that goes away, or it’s a feeling that is always lingering …

I’m not entirely sure why we feel alone when we’re really not … but perhaps, it’s a feeling we must feel to truly understand it … and in return, understand why the world feels it …

All We Really Need

I've often thought when I was growing up … that friendships would really be ‘forever’ … that my imagination could always stay ‘wild’ with limitless ideas … that life would be this adventure, that was mine to ‘run’ with …

Yet as I’ve gotten older … and time has passed with ‘force’, I’ve realized that things just aren’t what they seem when you’re younger … perhaps we get a little jaded as we begin to realize what the ‘world’ and all its cruelty has to offer …

Sure, there will always be disappointments, but couldn’t we just ‘play’ like children to make time stand still? I miss youth because time really didn’t exist … it wasn’t racing like it is now … as a child, we learned to embrace the simple things … we cherished people and friends because in those moments when we were with those people, life was good and everything else seemed miles away …

It’s a beautiful thought to think that things will always be easy and that life won’t be this constant disappointment, but I suppose, those ups and downs, those valleys of highs and lows, are what make us the people we are … they make us rely on the one thing that IS and ALWAYS will be a constant, He never disappoints, is always there, no matter how many times we fall … thank God for Him … thank God for sending His Son to pick us up when we've been beaten down ... and thank God for moments like these, when we realize that all we really need is Him ...

A Cloud Filled Moment

I wrote another poem the other day ... I suppose you could say I've 'picked' up the 'poetry pen' again ... it's just a few lines of my inner thoughts ... sometimes, I just have to get them OUT of my head ... enjoy and thank you for reading!

Picking apart their consistency, I wonder what they’re made of …

As they travel through the sky, with no destination thought out …

Large, small, medium, irregular, solid, translucent … no two are the same …

They’re perhaps like you and I …

Made of the same consistency, but no two are alike … Beautiful, unshaped, awkward; always 'works in progress' …

A 'Puff of Air' ...

“I wonder why you care, God – why do you bother with us at all? All we are is a puff of air; we’re like shadows in a campfire”… Psalm 144 (The Message)

I read this passage from The Message a few months ago … for those of you NOT familiar with The Message, it's sort of an 'alternative' Bible ... written in layman's terms, to better understand the essence of what the Bible is trying to convey ... it's written in story format, and I would encourage any of you who just don't like to read the Bible, to try this out ...

Nonetheless, I’m not entirely sure why the excerpt spoke to me so deeply, but I just thought I’d post it here for pondering …

I guess you could say it’s a ‘realization’ of sorts … that I am nothing really … and the fact that God cares about me at all, is simply a miracle … I’m really a ‘puff of air’ that could be gone tomorrow … yet God still wants me here … He wants me here for a purpose … He still needs me, perhaps? He still needs you?

Not sure what you think about this passage, but it stirred up a little something in me … I hope it does the same for you … because no matter how big, or how small you feel, God still has you here for a reason … so embrace it … take leaps of faith and don’t be fearful of what you COULD become …

Los Angeles!

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve written …
It’s a whirlwind, but … you take one day at a time …
We traveled to Los Angeles for my sister-in-law’s wedding, which was wonderful!
If you’ve never been, you should check it out someday …
Here are a few photos from the trip …
Will write more soon …
God Bless all!

~Emily

Seeking ...

It’s not very often that I write poetry anymore …

Perhaps it’s the lack of inspiration …

Or, it just might be that I don’t have the ‘gift’ anymore …

But, I’d like to think those things we’re ‘good at’, we never lose …

It’s not like God gives it to you, and then takes it away …

I think it’s always there … even in dry spells … even in dark days …

Here is a poem I just wrote today … God bless each of you!

Jumping into a sea of confidence…
That is what I seek…
Flying above the vast clouds that fill a beautiful blue sky…
That is what I ask for…
Climbing atop a mountainous terrain…
That is my greatest fear…
Wishing on a star …
That is what gives me hope …
Understanding humanity …
My greatest uncertainty …
Seeking You …
My only comfort …