In the days leading up to Christmas, and through the weeks of winter’s darkness, I offer you an Advent prayer. May the light gently find you right where you are.
Lord, I lift my face to let you find me let me be open to this Advent to the blessings to the grace to the possibility of the light that comes You are the light that finds me Immanuel God is with us luminous
Life is a journey – may you travel lightly surrounded by love.
she travels lightly with stars in her eyes believing there is good to be found no one can deter her as she travels northbound embracing what life has to offer I follow her journey with hope in my heart believing that goodness is near and nothing can stop us as we spread our wings and fly bearing the promise of all that's held dear away far away all the way we will go until we reach the other side where wishes come true and love breaks through and hearts are fully alive
Leave a space between each line.
In writing, we are told to leave some white space on the page:
The same goes for life.
Our schedules are so busy, our days so full, especially during the holidays, and that’s not a bad thing.
But it can be draining.
It can be disconnecting.
Sometimes we miss out on the things we want the most:
We run on and on, like sentences without a period.
We spin and whirl on a merry-go-round without end, because we are too afraid to jump off.
We might get hurt if we jump off-schedule.
We might lose our pace if we hit the ground.
We’ll never get anything done if we stop, even for a moment.
But is this true?
What if, in the pause, we find the strength and grace we need to carry on?
What if we find refreshment that leads to a greater capacity to love?
What if we find a space in our heart to give of ourselves more freely and to live more deeply?
What if the white space between the moments of life can expand time somehow?
This holiday season, may the white space light up your world and give you the time of your life.
see yourself a swan a creature of beauty and grace, a dancer a diver, a dreamer a glider, a soft feathered friend a winged catcher of the wind a seeker, a swimmer an elegant shimmer see yourself a treasure more precious than jewels lovely, beloved bearer of good news a welcome companion with the warmest heart see yourself a masterpiece a stunning work of art see yourself through soft eyes, a forgiving lens that swirls and blends all the tiny imperfections into shimmering reflections see yourself in a dream come true living the life that was meant for you
How do you see yourself, my friend? I hope you know how truly loved you are.
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Live as if you are already beautiful, and so shall you be.
karen hessler
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Tuck these words into your heart today, then go out and light up your world.
May your eyes and heart be open to the hidden blessings that are ripe for receiving.
how many blessings are richly scattered across a day in the life of a single soul how many times are blessings multiplied from person to person across many days blessings ripe and bursting a cornucopia of goodness spilling into hearts and lives blessing mostly unnoticed unseen uncounted we are people unaccustomed to the face of kindness the embodiment of good walks the earth unrecognized and the gifts fall softly through the hands of time waiting for someone to look over their shoulder and gasp, astonished at the mountains of treasure sparkling in radiance just waiting to be received
It’s the month of November, and I am feeling thankful here in south Louisiana.
I am writing outdoors this morning. I move my patio chair close to the edge, where the cement touches the grass, so that I have a clear view of the sky. So that I can gaze at the feathery angel-wing clouds spreading from north to south. So that I can feel the coolness of the air against my flip-flopped feet instead of burning them in the sun.
The birds are rather quiet this morning – they don’t seem to have much to say, except an occasional whistle in the distance, a soft caw or a little shriek here and there. Brownie whimpers and whines, annoying me like a petulant child. She wants to go all the way into the sun, with no part of her little body in the cold shade.
A helicopter breaks the quiet, chopping it into pieces with his noisy, powerful blades.
Now he’s gone and the stillness slowly returns. Brownie is basking in full sun, her eyes sleepy, her sigh content. This is a good life.
And I thank God for his presence in all of these things, ordinary nature infused with the divine, transforming everything into something beautiful. I thank you, Lord, for the view of the sky, and the sweeping clouds, and the barking black dog two houses down. Thank you that I can write outdoors, my soul touching your beauty, my heart lifting with praise, my page ruffling in the breeze.
I thank you for all the lovely words and images you have given me to write, your thoughts and ideas spilling through me onto pages and pages, flowing like a river that runs through my heart, translating feelings into language, words wrapped in the fragrance of the divine and poured out like anointing oil to continually heal the brokenness of a wounded world.
You work your ways into our lives using the most ordinary earthly things. You make a normal life “the good life” – full and satisfying, meeting practical needs without fanfare, almost unnoticed. Easy to miss, unless one is really looking, attention open to the barely visible threads connecting our known to the unknown. With silver cords you lace our veins through your own heart, allowing us to flow through you, and with you, and in you, keeping us close and warm, never alone.
Such mysteries are too deep to fathom, yet we catch a glimpse on a quiet day, in the rustle of autumn leaves, with fresh air touching our skin, and the soft voices of birds in branches, brushing past us as we let our eyes rest on the blueness of the sky. Ordinary moments woven into everyday life – hot coffee, warm toast, cinnamon sprinkles, a good morning kiss – normal routines that link our minutes into hours, our hours into days.
All these things somehow transform the unremarkable into an extraordinarily fulfilled life.
And for that, I am thankful.
how long does it take to get from here to there how long does it take for promises to come true how long must we wait in that mysterious in-between where nothing seems to be happening where we often lose our faith where we fear we've lost our way where the lines are all blurry where we give up and give in can we make it to the other side or will we always struggle in the middle forever falling short of the promised land
We all have hopes and dreams, plans and goals that we are trying to bring to life. When our progress seems invisible, it’s easy to get discouraged, and so hard to keep going.
I have found that when I am stuck in the messy middle of a muddled life, the way out always is to just go through it. Go through the hard parts, and eventually you will get to the other side. Know that you are not alone.
Sometimes we have to keep doing the right thing for days, weeks, even months, before we see encouraging results. Don’t give up!
May you find strength for your journey and pockets of joy to sustain you along the way.
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