Are You Jealous?

Ah...the pangs of jealousy. At some point in our lives we've shot those darts of jealousy or received them in the back a few times but...consider the following:

Why do you want green eyes?
What makes them so unique?
Why do they turn heads
When they come prancing down the street?
Green eyes are very pretty
Till they meet some others greener
Then those green eyes that you meet
Can suddenly get meaner!
Those green eyes start to envy
What you have and what they don't
You pray that they get nicer
But without it they just won't
Those green eyes become a monster
Piercing right into the heart
Taking out the greener ones
Just ripping them apart.
Why do you want green eyes?
What makes them so impressive?
Those green eyes sure are pretty
Until they get possessive!
~Odetta Li

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!   Matthew 6:22-23

Here's a link to a cool Christian woman's blog posting about jealousy---the green eyed monster.

http://femmetotale.wordpress.com/?s=jealousy

Do You Have A Dream?

What happened to the dream I dreamed?
Was it adjourned to a later date?
Found comatose in a vegetative state?
Was it hidden in a basement somewhere?
Discovered molded and in despair?

What happened to that dream I dreamed?
Did it sneak off on a quick hiatus,
Hoping for a more prominent status?

Waiting for just the right time to make its debut
That dream I dreamed...
~Odetta Li

Have you ever dreamed of doing something BIG? You stay awake at night excited with the promise of fulfillment and success. In your excitement, you share your dream with someone who doesn't quite catch the same vision and then discouragement comes. The dream begins to fade like watercolors in the sun...
Well don't let the naysayers bury your dream with your permission. Snatch them from the grave and hold them up to the sun! They are still alive and ready to grow. Start with baby steps and celebrate even the small successes. You can do it:)

Write the vision, and make it plain on tables, that he may run that reads it.
Habakkuk 2:2

Slow Your Roll!

One day I hired a local teenager to cut the "mile high" grass on the front lawn of the house I’d moved into. When I pulled into the driveway I was very happy and satisfied to see how well the grass had been neatly cut and trimmed. Feeling very "outdoorsy" at the time I decided I would go out and further inspect the lawn work before going to the local grocery store to buy some cheerful flowers for my dining room table. As I walked around the far side of the house to my surprise there were four rose bushes that had borne beautiful pink roses, but to my dismay the blooms had already started to wither. I couldn't believe it! Here I was buying flowers at the store when I had even more lovely ones right under my nose. Sadly, I hadn't paid attention or taken the time out of my busyness to even notice that I had rose bushes!

Sometimes life can be so full of duties and distractions that we fail to notice God's beauty all around us. We have literally forgotten to "stop and smell the roses". God "gives us richly all things to enjoy" according to 1Timothy 6:17, but it's pretty difficult to do this if we are living our lives at lightning speed!

I challenge you to slow down, take time  and begin to take notice of all the wonderful things God has placed in your life. Take a journal, jot down why you are thankful for them and reflect on them when you begin feeling distracted or overwhelmed. Remember the moral of the Tortoise and the Hare story? Slow and steady wins the race!

Think about this...

Why do we spend so much time

Looking for time?

When the moment comes

We miss it

Looking the other way.

-Odetta Li

New Living Translation (NLT)

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is. Psalm 39:4

Take time to ENJOY the weekend and the video:)