Not even asking

She's not even asking you to

go above and beyond. She just 

wants you to at least match her 

effort.

~Horacio Jones

Hit the floor

 From A Brave Soul

...something very beautiful happens to

 people when their world has fallen apart:

a humility, a nobility, a higher

intelligence emerges at just the point

when our knees hit the floor.

~Marianna Williamson

Hers alone

She is the strongest 

person you could ever

meet. She has never 

been a quitter and she

is not about to start

now. Life has tried to

get the best of her,

but the best of her 

is hers and hers alone.

~j. 

iron word

Couldn't resist

 From The Heart Speaks

I wasn't looking to dance

but your soul sang a song I couldn't resist

Can't be ugly

 I know I've posted this before, but came across it again...

From Ravenous Butterflies

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

~Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit, 1922

Likely event

 From Poetry light

In the likely event that I don't get the

privilege of growing old with you,

if we don't get that chance.

If the universe conspires against us

and oceans stand in our way.

If the fates betray us and our story fades.

I will settle for

one minute,

a few moments,

a fleeting second,

just to know

you have lived.

~mia hollow

(Side note: the term/phrase "likely event" is haunting)

So close

 Sonnet XVII

by Pablo Neruda

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, or you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Them

 From The Heart Speaks

Study them,

understand them,

know why and

not just how they

like their coffee,

find what makes

them smile and

make it a point to give

it to them often,

compliment them in 

the way they like to

be complimented,

know their favorite

Chinese order and

order it, kiss them

like they desire to

be kissed, and above

all else, never make

them have to ask.

~a.r. asher

Love again

 Even if your heart has been broken. I hope you find the courage within you to continue to share it. To continue to fight for it. To stand up for what you believe in. And I hope you find it within you to love again. No matter how badly you have been hurt.

~r.m. drake

Better days

 by Topher Kearby

it takes a lot of strength

to pull yourself up when your

bones feel like concrete and 

your blood is slow like syrup.

the world is just heavy sometimes,

and the days show up swinging.

there's nothing much more to do

in those moments than survive.

knowing that you have so many

days still to thrive in life.

so, if you're going through a 

rough patch, the long night has

turned into a difficult week or 

more, know that you're not alone.

give yourself time to heal, and

believe in your heart that there

are so many better days to come.

Full

The mind cannot at the same time

be full of God and full of fear.

~Max Lucado

Begin to remember

 As August is closing in...

We begin to remember not 

just that you died, but

that you lived --

--And that your life 

gave us memories

too beautiful to forget.

Deals graciously

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

A good man deals graciously and lends;

He will guide his affairs with discretion.

~Psalm 112:5

The One

"How do you know

she's the one?"

"I've always

been a better man

with her,

than I was

without her."

~Mark Anthony

Waiting

I'll be waiting for

you in our 

next lifetime.

Perhaps.

Then.

We will get this

whole thing right.

~K. Azizian

(Side note: I don't believe in other lifetimes, but just sounded romantic)

Irreplaceable

No lie...some women are irreplaceable. Like the things she did for you and the feelings she had and showed you...you may never experience it again.

Miss her

 From The Heart Speaks

You're going to look at her, and that from a distance...and suddenly, you're going to see how f***ing bright she lights up the entire midnight sky. You're going to wish you had breathed her in, that the scales that blinded you had fallen off of your eyes a little bit sooner; that you had held her tighter than all the troubles that had the power to grow the two of you stronger. You're going to see her in all of her glory; you're going to see her strength of heart and the way she carries tenderness to the skies, and you're going to miss her. You're just going to have to f***ing miss her.

(Side comment-sorry for swear words and the semi-colon usage is annoying)

All of you

 By Beau Christopher Taplin, True Divinity

Nothing quite so beautiful as someone who's learned intimately their own shadow. Nothing less attractive than someone who consciously conceals it.

This is me. Here. Hands open. Heart out.

I want all of you and then some.

I want your 3am lows and all of your brokenness.

I want to know what frightens you most

so I can tear it to pieces. I want to spend all

the rest of my days exploring

the hidden worlds of your spirit, to show you how

the flaws and imperfections that separate us

from the gods are the very things I'll always fall

for the hardest.

(Side note: Don't like reference to the "gods" since there is only one God)

Broken thing

From Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen

Poem that "Rachel" wrote:

The mind is a broken thing.

It runs, races, and paces, taking me places that

consume me, distract me, and tempt me to believe

I'm not good enough, no...never will be.

You've got to strive to survive,

to thrive, to stay alive in this world

of ever-changing, evolving ideals,

images, idols, and icons.

You have to work for your worth,

clean yourself up,

do more, be better,

don't show weakness, be tough,

try to be enough,

collect piles of treasures, trinkets, and stuff.

Maybe then...you'll be loved.

Yes, the mind is a broken thing.

if unguarded and let loose,

it can attack you and snatch you and trap you,

leaving you stuck, self-obsessed, asleep, and enslaved.

But "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away, behold, the new has come."

Your mind doesn't have to be out of control.

Those thoughts and loops and cycles can stop.

You're not left unarmed; you have a tool to interrupt

the racing, pacing, list-making,

restless, unending, repeating, defeating,

distracting, disorienting, consuming, controlling thoughts.

Yes! You can interrupt and fight against the lies,

the arrows from the enemy that fly in the darkness of the night.

They are coming for you, but they don't want to be realized.

You have the Word, you have light, you have life.

Wake up from your twisted perspective that keeps you despairingly

focused on yourself.

Instead, fix your eyes to see and know and understand what really 

matters.

You're not a victim of your own mind,

because if you're in Christ, you have victory.

A God who loves you, knows you, sees you, has shown you

a love so radical, intimate, personal, and wild

that He would painfully choose to lose a child

to reconcile all mankind. "While we were still sinners, Christ died."

It's hard to fully grasp the vastness of His steadfastness,

His mercy, and His grace that move past any mistakes that

you or I have made

to pull us from the pit that we were once in.

And if you truly knew Him, you would love Him.

You would believe Him.

And you would kill any seed of a thought that would twist

and thwart and take your mind from

whatever is true,

honorable,

just,

pure,

lovely,

commendable.

Yes, the mind is a broken thing.

But God's Spirit dwells deeper, His Word rings truer,

For in Christ Jesus we are free.

A little adventure

you want a little adventure

come get restless with me

one of these nights

you can't be afraid

to get dirty

shy or embarrassed

we have to go

ears upturned

mouths open

eyes yearning

into the night

and be open

to everything

we might catch fire

we may not catch a thing

but we will certainly live.

~p.t. berkey

Wants more

she always wants

more. not in things

but in experiences.

she was made to

learn and grow and

that is where many

men miss her 

completely. once

she is in their 

life, they want her

to stay the same.

and for her, that 

just isn't possible.

~JmStorm

Down into

she doesn't fall 

in love often,

but when she does

it is down into

the bones.

~JmStorm

Paradise to protect

 And sometimes

you find yourself

back where you started,

but stronger and softer

all at once.

Swim inside the ocean

of tenderness,

yet build boundaries

on the sand.

An open heart is

a paradise to protect.

~Victoria Erickson

Author, Rhythms & Roads

Made her beautiful

and perhaps

what made her beautiful

was not her appearance

or what she achieved,

but in her love

and in her courage,

and her audacity

to believe:

no matter

the darkness

around her,

Light ran wild

within her.

and that was the way

she came alive,

and it showed up

in everything.

The mountain

One day, the mountain

that is in front of you will

be so far behind you, it will

barely be visible in the

distance. But the person you

become in learning to get 

over it? That will stay with 

you forever. And that is the 

point of the mountain.

~Brianna Wiest

Your competition

 From Guidely

Your competition isn't other people.

It's your procrastination.

It's the unhealthy food you eat.

It's the knowledge you neglect.

It's the negative energy you tolerate.

Compete against that.

Ultimate goal

From Flying Free

As long as an emotional abuse target argues with the church that the ultimate goal is to salvage the abusive marriage, they will help her toward that goal. But only that goal because the marriage is what matters to them - not her or her children. I see this over and over.   ~Natalie Hoffman

Don't wish me

Don't wish me happiness. 

I don't expect to be happy all the time...

It's gotten beyond that somehow.

Wish me courage and strength 

and a sense of humor.

I will need them all.

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Doesn't bring

If it doesn't bring

peace, profits, or purpose,

then don't give it

your time, energy, or attention.

Perfect

 From Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Psalm 18:30

As for God, 

His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Bloom

When you're in a dark place,

you sometimes

tend to think

you've been

buried.

Perhaps you've 

been planted.

Bloom.

Home

 "Your arms felt more like home than any house ever did."

~Kate, TheloveBits

Good works

The purpose of good works isn't to change us or save us;

rather, it's the demonstration of the change within us.

~A.W. Tozer

Hides his blessing

God often hides his blessing in trouble or trial,

which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.

~A.W. Tozer

Healthy

 From Flying Free

Signs someone is good for your mental health

• There's no competition between the two of you
• They listen to you with empathy
• They always respect your boundaries
• You feel like the best version of yourself around them
• They ask you questions and want to know more about you
• They are open and honest with you and don't judge

Dazzling

 From An Unexpected Family Outing

I liked this since the 4th of July was you favorite holiday...

When the 

fireworks 

fade you may

still see a sparkle

in the sky.

That is my child,

shining bright

with my love,

more dazzling than 

any firework.

One of the prayers

You are currently living

at least one of the prayers

you used to pray.

Reflect on that today.

Survival mode

You are not lazy, unmotivated or stuck.

After years of living your life in survival mode,

you are exhausted.

There is a difference.

These pages

 I hope 

that someday

when I am gone,

someone,

somewhere,

picks my soul up

off of these pages

and thinks,

"I would have loved her."

~Nicole Lyons

My life

One day you will ask me

which is more important?

My life or yours?

I will say mine

and you will walk away

not knowing

that you are my life.

~Khalil Gibran

A phoenix

 Like a Phoenix, From the Ashes

They may

defeat you,

burn you,

insult you,

injure you,

and abandon you,

But they

will not, 

shall not,

and cannot

destroy you,

for you,

like Rome,

were built on ashes,

and you,

like a phoenix

know how to resurrect.

(I would change the last word to "rise" because I feel the term "resurrect"is only something God/Christ can do)

Acceptance

 

Acceptance

There are things I miss

that I shouldn't,

and things I don't

that I should.

Sometimes we want 

what we couldn't,

sometimes we love

who we could.

~Lang Leav

Those nights

 From TheMindsJournal

There were always those nights

where her mind

went to war with her heart

the fight between

what she knew,

what she felt

and what she had to do

Sometimes the hardest decisions

are made under the moon

~r.h. Sin

Her old life

 From Within me

She looked at her old life

One more time

Took a deep breath

And whispered

I will never see you again.

Whole world

 "He's gone" they said

And in that moment my 

heart shattered into a

million pieces

and my whole world

turned black

~JCH

Untrue

 From SCC, A Little More Time to Love

God will dry every tear

and everything sad

will be made untrue

So confident

 From 3 am Thoughts

Be so confident in God's plan

that you don't even get

upset anymore when things 

don't go your way.

Hold on

 Same author as other mole and horse quotes

"This storm is making me tired," said the boy.

"Storms get tired too," said the horse, "so hold on."