by Sharon O | Jun 13, 2015 | Uncategorized
The word for the day is world.
At first I couldn’t think of what I would write about, then I had two thoughts come forward.
The song, “He’s got the whole world, in his hands…”
Then I thought of the blog world.
When I first started to write I was pretty clueless how it all worked together me writing and others reading or me reading others writing.
One day I started a search and ended up visiting a few ‘blog sights’.
Then I read more and then I added a few comments and soon the blog authors and I were friends.
Even though we had never met, we were knitted together by a blog world of people.
Yes safe, wonderful caring people.
I know it sounds strange to be a friend to someone you have never met in person.
Again it pulls itself back to the authentic real me.
I had to ask the question, could I really be a friend to someone I might not ever meet?
Some are living in spaces I will most likely never travel to.
But God can make us friends and we are drawn together by other friends who know each other in mutual friendships.
It is a circle of wonderful people who fit together with a common goal, he’s got the whole world in his hands because he is almighty.
We can have authentic real relationships, because we are on common ground with each other.
Some may ask, ‘is it risky or dangerous’ to be friends with someone you never met?
I say, no, because I trust in the process and do believe if we ever met we would be best of friends.
He has the whole world in his hands, that means everyone.
In my little den which is a very small world, I open the screen to miles of friendships.
Two are in England, One is in New Zealand, many are all around the United States.
The word for the day is world.
I opened my life and took a risk to open up to the world.
In doing that, I found abundance of wise and wonderful people.
by Sharon O | Jun 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
To go along with our ‘authentic grace’ topic.
I just read this wonderful blog by someone whom I respect, admire and hope to meet some day.
It ministered to my heart, soul and spirit and left me with a few tears.
If we all could be real and honest and authentic.
We can go so much further and so deeper in relationships.
It starts with taking a risk.
http://jenniferdukeslee.com/tellhisstory-the-first-step-to-authentic-friendship/
I pray you take a risk today. click onto the link above.
by Sharon O | Jun 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
Our church is starting a new idea for women.
It is challenging us to think about as women, how do we present ourselves to others.
The thought around this ‘concept is this’, when we visit with others do we hide our ‘real selves’ and present to them our ‘best selves’, or are we able to be real with them right from the start.
We hide for many reasons.
We feel shame because of what was done to us in our early years?
We feel inadequate or not worthy?
We feel less than authentic and loved because of what was told to us as we were growing up.
The challenge sounds wonderful and hard, for to be real is actually to be very transparent
and for some of us that means our ‘hurt and pain’ must be shared.
It is easy for us to give grace to some but very difficult to give to ourselves.
To be authentic is very important when it comes to relationships.
Dictionary.com says authentic means nothing false or copied, as in original, genuine or real, it says it is trustworthy and reliable.
Then I looked up grace to see what the dictionary would say about that, it said it is elegance, pleasing or attractive, beauty or favor, mercy or pardon.
It said it is also an allowance of time between when something is due, as in a thirty day grace period.
That time is not counted until it is late, I understand this concept because of bill paying experience.
Authentic grace.
Most of those who know me would tell you I am authentic.
My feelings are real and to the point, as much as possible without hurting someone.
If you are a friend of mine and you have done me no wrong, I will be faithful to you to the end of our friendship or lives which ever comes first for us.
There are some people who have been in my life since we were in junior high, we are close friends because we care for each other in a mutual way, we pray for and hope for the best for each other.
There is no agenda of ‘me or I’ it is about us, as friends in a very special friendship.
I value that greatly.
We all need at least one or two people who we can call our genuine authentic friend.
There is a risk to being real. There is also strength in being honest.
Sometimes being real and honest can also be hurtful.
That is where discernment comes into the story.
Relationships that are filled with authentic grace are the most ‘healthy’ kind.
In my home growing up the lessons we learned were not relational.
In fact it was not even safe to share what was really going on inside your heart.
The best thing to do was be quiet and follow the rules.
For me now, as I am sixty and finally at a mature ‘space’.
Authentic grace means I can be real with you and you with me
and if we don’t agree, we can learn to give grace to each other and agree to disagree.
It is kind of like that allowance of time we call a grace period.
Where nothing is required of you, other than to be yourself.
Relationships are like that in many ways.
They must be authentic and real and trustworthy and reliable.
Very much like the love we receive from our Lord when he tells us,
“I have loved you with an ever lasting love.”
Authentic and real, full of life giving hope.
Authentic grace… I pray it is something you have found.
by Sharon O | Jun 5, 2015 | Uncategorized
The rule is to write for five minutes and don’t over think or over do your writing.
Have fun, think fast, and then publish.
The word for the day is ‘Gift’.
We often think of gift as something we open as in a present during a special event.
But what I want to write about is another type of gift.
The gift of our time.
The gift of friendship and of people who we have learned to care for.
I have a friend who is very special to me.
She recently moved away and the only time we can spend now is on the phone without a four hour drive to visit in person.
When she calls me I know it’s going to be a long ‘two hour’ chat.
We talk about life and lessons we have learned, and our hopes and dreams for our grand children or our grown children.
We share prayer requests and we share matters of the heart with each other.
That is a gift.
We open our lives to each other and she knows me and I know her and we are happy in the friendship.
Gift giving doesn’t have to be hard, it just has to be genuine.
Authentic and real, without a catch and without a agenda.
When we give something to someone we give with a hope that it would make them happy.
God gave us a gift wrapped up in his Son.
For God so loved the world that he gave a gift for a life time.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
The bible shares the word gift 158 times.
It might be good for us to some day look them all up and then realize what a gift he has given to us.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
by Sharon O | Jun 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
Living in the Pacific Northwest we have a wide variety of weather changes, one day it will be 80 degrees and sunny, then the next day it will go down to 53 and be rainy.
I have learned to love the overcast cloudy days, they are comfortable.
They do not challenge us in the ways the hot days do.
I even love a misty ‘rainy’ day.
Forecast for the weekend might be up to 92 or higher,
I cannot deal with that kind of heat.
I am a sweat pant and warm sweater kind of person and if I have to, I will wear shorts and a tank top, but my favorite is a cloudy cool refreshing day.
Thought I would show a few of our ‘roses’ … before they are beat down by the rain.
They show the beautiful raindrops, and tender leaves and the amazing buds.
My husband took these photos and they are really beautiful.
by Sharon O | May 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:15
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:147
Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains.
like the spring rains that water the earth.
Hosea 6:3
The word prompt for the day is Rise.
I will rise to start the morning.
I will rise up when they bring the flag out… we rise when the judge walks into the room.
All rise. It is a sign of honor.
When we sing in church a lot of times we stand and rise to let others know, we love him and long to sing praises to his name.
I love these verses and many more that include the word, rise.
It even makes me think of dough when it has been pounded and kneaded… it begins to rise again.
Ever thought of that in a spiritual way? Pounding and kneading until all the air is out of us.
Then we rise… we rise slowly and deliberately and it is good.
VERY good when it is finished.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:1
