Wisdom for Today

"A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy and wrath are as rottenness of the bones." 

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

— Psalm 145:3-4 (NIV)

The 4 Agreements are:

1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
     - don Miguel Ruiz

Sunshine after the Rain

What can I say? Spring has sprung, the daffodils have come up and bloomed, the trees are blossoming and the air just smells like spring. I have many things to be thankful, and find myself in a very thankful place. The trip to Uganda just keeps getting closer and seems to be more real. I know that God is preparing me each day with new obstacles and lessons to learn. He has been getting me prepared through daily trials and saying to me through scripture and from others that he needs me to be ready to minister and share with story with others, that I must GO and share how the Lord has been working in my life, and that I need to be open/patient/kind/ and bear all of the fruits that he talks about. I feel that GOing is so important in my life right now. It has brought me in touch with people I would never have imagined getting to know. The Lord has been working on my heart to also remember where I came from. Through different stories of people both in my life and in the Bible, I have found that God makes us for a specific rhyme and reason. We belong to our families to be a part of a special group of people. It is so important to have a sense of who you are in your family, within your friends, and always within God’s hands. I have been fortunate enough to be open to all of these. Each part has been a special experience and I see that who we are is a good mixture of where we came from, who we are in the moment, and how we live our lives in God’s eyes.
    I was so blessed to be able to spend some time out in nature today just alone with God. It was so relaxing to be able to have quiet time in the Word. He has me reading the book of Job right now. I feel like I am suppossed to be learning how to live my earthly life in a more positive and open light. I see the contradiction that Job and the others are dealing with in this book. They are trying to be positive and live each moment  in just that, in each moment. I have really had to step back and reflect on my own life. I want to make sure that I am being impeccable with my word, and living each moment to the fullest. I want to make sure that I am living my life in such a positive way. I have also been reading The Four Agreements, which is helping to show me how we get so accustomed to our own earthly “stuff”. I know we all strive to be the best people we can be. I know my journey has had it’s ups and downs. I know that sometimes that is how we grow. I am going through another one of my growing times the past few weeks. While it is a good journey, I feel like God has been laying prayer and quiet time on my heart. It is a busy time of year with school, end of year activities, and everything wrapping up and starting again. I still have two more immunizations to get, and need to really get on top of things because July will be here before I turn around. I am so thankful for the Lord and all of you that have been keeping up with my blog and me. I feel so blessed to be able to be in this journey right now. It is funny how a little sunshine and thunderstorms makes you start to see that life is very much like weather. You never know how the day is going to be but you have to just go along with what is being brought your way, and enjoy the ride!