what matters....

“You  know, some things don’t matter that much, Lily. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person’s heart-now, that matters. The whole problem with people is-

            “They don’t know what matters and what doesn’t, “ I said, filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.

            “I was gonna say, the problem is they know what matters, but they don’t choose it. You know how hard that is, Lily? I love May, but it was still so hard to choose Caribbean Pink.  The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters.”

lifting a person's heart-now that matters....

*** 

choosing what matters... 

Since reading these two quotes in "The Secret Life of Bees," I have paid attention to them. For me, when my heart is lifted I know the good it does for my soul. 

And I recognize that I can't make anyone's heart lift, they need to be in a place to receive it. But when I think about it, choosing what matters can lead to an opening for a heart to be lifted: giving someone my undivided attention, listening, asking questions, speaking truth, even sharing my "duh" moments (and at my age I have many that I can share :-0!).

My prayer for myself and anyone that reads this post is the aim will be, to choose what matters...especially when it is hard.

How has someone lifted your heart recently? What would it look like to lift another's heart by choosing what matters?

 

His Presence....

"Come to me with a thankful heart so you can enjoy My presence."

Yesterday when I read these words in a devotional, I began to journal about them and something new came to me. I certainly know that the Lord is with me all the time, but I had not thought about the space or connection that happens when I am acknowledging my thankfulness. I had not thought about it being a place/space where I am enjoying His presence. Becoming aware of that makes a difference in me. Now, when I thank Him, I will have a different view of that space and time.

When someone thanks you for something, how do you respond? How does it make you feel?  As you think about that, what's your view of God's response to us when we are thanking Him?

Change and Trust

Words...

....words are very important to me.  When I think about putting words to 2014, change and trust would be two key words that would describe the year.  The more I reflect on those two words, I know for me to live a life that is full of change, moving to a place of trust, comes along with it. There were many changes in 2014 and trust did not come automatically....so saying those words and surrendering or accepting change are two different things. 

Throughout last year there began a shift in me--that being, when change was taking place all around me, instead of pushing it down, conforming or escaping in my mind to whatever would keep me from experiencing the reality of what was going on--pain or hurt or disappointment, I began to live in a place of freedom, expressing to God what was really going on inside...what angered me, what hurt me,what disappointed me--being authentic and expressive with God. This was a new place for me. A previous strong hold, was an assumption from teachings and experience, that if I really shared with Him how I was feeling, it would mean He would withdraw His love.

Much to my surprise, as I was authentic with Him, I did not feel a loss of love--as a matter of fact, one of the things that helped, was thinking about the people in scripture who were authentic with God--Jonah, Job, David, and Jacob and what their relationship was like with Him. Change was going on in their lives, they expressed themselves and there became places of trust.

The thing is, what I have known for all these years of being a follower of Christ is that I know that God already knows my heart and my thoughts, so what I expressed was no surprise to Him. It felt like being authentic and not holding back, made our relationship have a stronger bond.  At one point I even wondered, was that one of the reasons David was a man after God's own heart-he expressed himself to God without restraint of what was going on in his heart and mind? These things helped me to move to a new place of freedom in my relationship with God.

I am thankful for the change in me and that I feel the freedom to be authentic with God, I know that I know I will not loose His love. I trust that. And because I am being authentic with Him, that among other changes are flowing into the relationships I have with other people. 

When you think about changes in your life, how do you express yourself to God? What is your connection with God like during a time of change?  What would it take to shift you to a place of trust?

Pelican poses~yawn...neck stretch...look at me...???

Fun today getting pics in La Jolla!

Imperial Beach...Point Loma....Sunset Cliffs

Coronado, CA