Sometimes we just need a little encouragement and inspiration, and flowers are full of both.
Have a wonderful day, and buy yourself some flowers.
Xo m.g.
Beautiful Bouquets Of Flowers With Quotes To Inspire You
Tag: love
A Word Of Encouragement Goes A Long Way
Encouragement is defined as, “the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.”
Encouraging another human being doesn’t cost a thing but it gives them more than anything. It can be life changing for some!
A small act of encouragement pushes people, gives them strength, reassures them, gives them something to hold onto and maybe even fight for…..especially during challenging and sorrowful times.
Even a smile is an act of encouragement.
Don’t fall into the common trap of belittling yourself and your capabilities. You are power.
You can save lives and you DO save lives. You may not know exactly how, but does that really matter? You influence others more than you know. That’s something to think about.
Who knows what doors you have opened for others.
Know in your heart you make a difference. Pass on the love, pass on the encouragement, pass on the hope. The world needs it.
The world needs you.
– m.g.
Don’t Spend Too Much Time Trying To Understand, It Will Only Rob You Of Your Peace
So many things happen in this given life. Good and bad.
It’s the hard, unimaginable things that really kick you in your stomach leaving you unable to catch your breath.
Difficult situations/incidents happen around you, to people you know, people you don’t know, and maybe to you. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be categorized as unimaginable.
Things happen where we just ask why? Why?! We have difficulty understanding.
But one thing I know for certain is that we are never alone. When life happens to you, it has also happened to someone else. Probably even a close friend of yours.
Things happen all the time, all around the world, that leave us confused, curious, wondering…..but if we spend too much time thinking about those things, dwelling in our thoughts, THEY WILL, they will imprison you and rob you of your peace. And could possibly steer you onto a very difficult path.
I know this to be true. And if you swim out too far, it can become impossible to swim back.
Time spent questioning will steal precious moments from you. It’s very challenging to focus on work, your children, your spouse, a project, etc, when your mind is elsewhere trying to wrap your brain around something that you can’t change and that you will more then likely never fully understand. At least not in this life.
When something leaves you questioning let this be an opportunity to reflect, to recognize what your true priorities are, and to be grateful no matter the circumstances. Light is always present.
Easier said than done, I do know. But we all have to diligently seek and give it time.
And also know, it’s okay to be upset, it’s okay to be angry, it’s okay to feel however you’re feeling……..feel the emotions. Don’t push them away. Moments do need to be taken to acknowledge how you’re feeling and healthy ways to express them.
But then, you have to allow and challenge yourself to move forward in order to gain your peace back. And moving on does not mean forgetting what happen. It’s those hard moments in life that leave the darkest stains on our hearts.
It’s those hard moments in life that also produce the brightest flowers.
Choosing to accept and move forward is to surrender to what has been done and remain steadfast. Humans seek control, and when life reminds us that we have very little control it terrifies us.
Never loose hope. Pray all the time and never loose hope that one day we will receive all the answers that we seek.
When a child is young there is much they do not understand, especially with their parents. But when they are older a light comes on and everything makes sense.
In this life we are those children who don’t understand and I myself do pray that one day all of us will have our answers and peace and be completely reassured this whole time we truly were loved, even through those hard, difficult times.
m.g.
Soften The Heart: Devotional #13
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
For the commandments, “you shall not commit adultery,” “you shall not murder,” “you shall not steal,” “you shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Romans 13:8-10
We tend to make things far more complicated than they truly need to be. Sometimes the answers that we receive aren’t good enough for us. This scripture is simple, to love one another. Simple right?
But another person may read this and reply with, “but why, why must we love one another.” And then there we go again making something more complicated than it needs to be.
Would you agree?
Now here’s another example, my husband says I always add too much seasonings in food. He says, “salt and pepper, that’s good enough. Everyone wants to get all fancy with food, but if you have salt and pepper then that’s truly enough.”
Of course I really enjoy more spices, and seasonings than that. But he’s got a point, when it comes down to it, salt and pepper are good enough. Even just salt brings enough flavor!
Life doesn’t need to be complicated, and we shouldn’t be wondering what we need to be doing in this life. The answer again, is simple. The answer is love. With every thing that we do, we must pour love all over it. Soak it, drench it, submerge it in love.
God has woven love like a ribbon into each and every one of us. We want to love, we crave love, we need love. The best way to receive it, is to give it.
But sometimes we do put up walls and boulders to prevent that flow of love. Love doesn’t want to be restricted, it so badly wants to be released. But some truly don’t know how to release the love that is buried deep like oil in the ground. It needs someone to help discover it. To show that person, love has been with them this whole time. They just didn’t know.
We must be patient with those, and do as we are instructed. To love those as ourselves. How God has been incredibly patient with us, can’t we do the same for others.
If someone doesn’t know how to love, you must show them. Let your compassion, empathy, and kindness be exposed for all to see. Be that guiding light, and pass the flame, that they too may have light in their lives.
Allowing yourself to love or to love others can be difficult for some. Wounds that were once covered in sand and repressed are now exposed and have to be dealt with. But you don’t have to remove those boulders that block your flow of love by yourself. Help is always near. God wants us to work together to become closer to Him.
We often think love is a feeling, but love is more than that, it’s a choice. And we must choose love at all times.
I pray, that the love that flows in each and every one of you may be released. That you may follow love, and submit to it. God is love, we know this. Like a river, love may take you to unimaginable places. But you must surrender, and trust the almighty. Who knows what waits down the river of love. I pray that you seek the unknown and discover new beautiful things that would not have been discovered had you not trusted your Heavenly Father. I pray that you may have courage and not be afraid. For God is always with us. May each of you always feel His presence, even during those rough trenches. May you let love in, and be free.
Amen.
Soften The Heart: Devotional #10
“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”
Philippians 4:11
If we define the word worry, it reads; “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.” Think about that for just a moment. When we can’t control something, it causes us stress and anxiety. It leads us down the path of worrying where we end up in a field filled with fear.
How often do you worry? Many times I’m sure. About all sorts of things, right? We worry about the future, we worry about our children, we worry about bills being paid, we worry about our health, we worry about our family, we worry about many, many things.
We all worry. What you should know though is worrying is natural human survival instinct. Ultimately we worry to protect us from harm. Maybe you’re thinking, “how is worrying about my family protecting me? I’m worry about them.” Yes, that is true, however you worry to protect yourself from feeling pain. If something happens to someone in your family, you know you would suffer too. And who wants to suffer? Again, we worry to protect us. *Humans are pretty selfish, we think about ourselves a lot.*
Now worrying and living in fear is giving in to a very powerful force. Too many times we allow these emotions to completely control us and prevent us from truly living and feeling joy in our hearts. This also prevents our relationship with God from growing. Why? Because we aren’t trusting God. We aren’t trusting the creator of the entire universe. You’re not alone my friend, and you’re not on your own.
We have to lean in, we have to surrender, and we have to trust our Heavenly Father. He knows way more than we do. But, like a three year old, we are stubborn children. We want to do things on our own. Like children, we don’t want help. We don’t want to believe our Heavenly Father knows more than we do. Maybe we aren’t children, we kinda sound more like teenagers.
The spirit within us is like a muscle. As we strengthen our spirit muscle, it becomes stronger. The seed of love that God planted in all of us becomes stronger. God is love my friends. But we gotta water that seed! And we have to water others! As we continue to work on your relationship with God we become stronger than the flesh, we become stronger than those feelings and emotions that act like a wall preventing us from living in peace and harmony.
When we continue to seek God, the walls of fear and worry begin to crumble and dissolve like a soaked cookie in milk. We begin to feel peace within ourselves.
No matter what state we are in we aren’t worried or in fear because we know God loves us. We know no matter what, it’s going to be okay. We begin to understand God is in us, he surrounds us, he is reaching out and rescuing us.
But to be in that state, we have to reach our hand out. Gods hand is already present, we are the ones holding back. And once we grab ahold of the hand of God no matter what happens you’ll know in your heart God has got this. No matter what you know in the end Gods going to make everything right. God loves you. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you.
God bless
Soften The Heart: Devotional #9
“I go to prepare a place for you.”
John: 14:2
How often do we scramble chaotically to present a clean and tidy home before someone arrives? Pretty often I would say, especially when we are hosting something like a birthday party. It’s a race against time. Can any of you relate?
Now, we don’t begin scrubbing or wiping everything down for ourselves, no, our mess or way of living doesn’t bother us that much. We clean with passion for our guests or friends or family! We do this because we care! We do this because we want to create a space of comfort, safety, well-being, and ultimately good vibes. We want our place to be a place where they enjoy coming to. We want to create a place where they don’t want to leave and anticipate coming back to again!
God has invited us to join him in a huge celebration and He is “preparing the party”. Are we going to accept the invitation? Of course we are! Jesus doesn’t need to prepare anything for anyone, but He prepares a place because He loves us. It’s all for us. He is ready to welcome each and every one of us. He knows this earthly life is troubling which is why this is so important that the place He prepares is ready for us.
We will walk through those doors and the weight of the world that we lived in will be lifted. We will instantly feel that comfort and safety in which we try ourselves to provide for our guests. Imagine that, how loved we are. It will most definitely be a place we never want to leave, and we will be reminded of all the love that was always there, just waiting for us to arrive.
God Bless.
Soften The Heart: Devotional #8
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
It is undeniable that humanity does evil things. We are most definitely witnesses to that. Evil lurks around like a fragrance that has yet to fade away.
Jesus though gave us some serious truth bombs. We know this from reading the scriptures. And the effects of these “truth bombs” are still lingering today. Rather than a bomb being filled with gas or smoke, Jesus planted bombs filled with love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
The fragments from these bombs are still piercing souls as we speak. The dust has not yet settled from what Jesus has done for us or taught us. Which is why we don’t understand everything fully yet. We’re all still in this giant cloud of smoke from this gift that God gave us because he loves us. Most people wouldn’t think of a bomb as a gift, however this bomb of love and truth from God is the greatest thing that could ever happen to us.
Here’s the thing though, Jesus came so that through him we may have peace. The key word is *may*. It is completely our choice to take this peace that God has offered to us.
Rather than being in the cloud of smoke afraid because we can’t see anything, and groaning because our ears are ringing from the noise, or hiding because we’re scared. We can be anxiously excited to see that all our fears have been conquered because of the truth bombs that were planted for us. If we keep our eyes open while the dust is settling we can actually witness the changes. We get to see evil transformed to love. How amazing!
Jesus says, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. What a comforting thing to know. Soon enough we all will get to rejoice in this beautiful new world. Praise God, Praise the Lord.
Love to you all
Soften The Heart: Devotional #5
“Do everything in love. And do everything with love. Let all that you do be done in love. Let all your things be done with charity.”
1 Corinthians 16:14
A mantra I tell myself often is, “I choose love, I am love.” Whenever I feel anxiety or anger creeping in my heart that mantra is my go to for a bit of relief.
Love is more than a feeling, to love is also a choice. And to choose love is to love however it is. Not eager to change a person for example. We choose to love them as they are. We accept them as they are. We are all so much more alike than we lead to believe. And I truly feel in some way all things are conscious in their own way. If we radiate love, the things and people that surround us will mirror that love.
But to love all things takes focus and effort, something which we can control. To open your heart to loving it all, we open a door to peace.
Soften The Heart: Devotional #4
“So he answered and said, “ ‘ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself .’ “
Luke 10:27
If you study and pay attention you will begin to recognize how we are all interwoven creating life itself. We lean on one another without realizing, we depend on more than we believe or even know, all of us representing a small piece that make up a grand infinite masterpiece.
We are one. When you love someone, some thing, you are loving not just that something but yourself. Made up of the same universe. All in this life and unknown together. God is all around you, in every thing that you see, touch, smell, hear, taste, God is in you, God is in us.
Everything is deserving of love and every thing needs love. We must accept and appreciate the cycles and have faith in all that is. Have faith that no matter what, love will always grow through the mud the same way a lotus does. Love will grow through the suffering and the obstacles.
Choose love today, and every day.
Soften The Heart: Devotional #3
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy or sell, and make a profit”;
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
James 4:13-14
Life is precious like a gem and fragile like porcelain. It is so easy to get caught up in the web of this fast paced world and forget that we are not promised tomorrow. That our futures are not guaranteed. What we have is the present. What we have is a gift. And this is something we need to constantly remind ourselves. But many of us have difficulty living in the present moment. We become anchored to our past or become too caught up on a future that we know nothing of. I believe we may remain hopeful of our futures and I believe our past continues to teach us; the same way re- reading a favorite book in different stages of your life changes your perspective. However we must also accept that many things in life are out of our control. Coming to terms with this reality, that our lives are faster than a blink of an eye when you’re looking at the bigger picture feels incredibly surreal. But maybe going through this earthly life is the only way to know God. That this life is a grace of its own to know Gods love and sovereignty.
Let every day of your life be filled with passion, purpose, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love. Be grateful for each day. Hug and hold your loved ones close and thank God for this opportunity and chance to experience love.
The Wild Gems 