Sane, Simple, Sacred: Optimism

Optimism

Optimism!

It's the word that came to my mind when I went out to hang up

a few towels on our clothesline this morning (October 29th)

and saw the lavender and roses.

Not typically autumn flowers, there they were!

Optimistically sticking their "necks" out; boldly blooming against a backdrop of

fading and falling leaves.

Unfortunately, optimism is NOT a natural state of mind for me.
However...
"...since I have been justified through faith, I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom I have gained access by faith into this grace in which I now stand. And I boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but I also glory in my sufferings, because I know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not put me to shame, because God's love has been poured out into my heart through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to me." (Romans 5:1-5, personalized)

I enter this new day sticking MY neck out in faith.
Persevering and bold in hope, I remind myself
that I stand amply supported by the AMAZING grace of God.

Deep, solemn optimism, it seems to me, should spring from this firm belief in the presence of God in the individual; not a remote, unapproachable governor of the universe, but a God who is very near every one of us, who is present not only in earth, sea and sky, but also in every pure and noble impulse of our hearts. (Helen Keller)

5 comments:

elizabethOctober 29, 2013 at 11:16 AM
I have a few late blooming roses as well. But last night it frosted, so I'm sure the blooms are over until next spring.
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Janettessage.blogspot.comOctober 29, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Thank you for this word...I needed it also. I have thought of you often and prayed...I just wish I was closer to bless you physically. Hey, I would love to clean that house for you as you minister to your parents. Blessings and thanks for this wonderful word of truth.
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Lori ZehrOctober 29, 2013 at 6:35 PM
Great pictures, great flowers, great analogy! You are so right, some of us do not have a natural bent toward optimism. I tend to be that way. My growing relationship with Christ has corrected much of my natural cynical or negative self--at least as far as I've yielded myself to His Spirit! He gets the glory for that change!
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Optimism

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Writing a Song a Week #3