"Staying isn't bad. Waiting can be fruitful. But sometimes we stay where we are because of fear, don't we?" (5).
"I discovered that doubts are doorways. When we lean into our doubts, seeking truth where we feel restless and unsure, God leads us to greater faith, and sometimes to unexpected new paths" (9).
"Farmers take a leap of faith each growing season, trusting that what they plant will actually grow. They plant seeds in faith and then believe in what they can't see" (106).
1 Corinthians 3:7: "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
"We want to know every detail of the plan--and to be assured that the outcome will be positive and in our comfort zones--before we begin something, but here's a question for you: Are you planning an intentional life, or are you planting one?" (109).
Monday, July 23, 2018
Friday, July 6, 2018
A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman
"He does not manage us, to-do list us, or bullet-point us. He loves us. And believing him feels impossible, until we do, like a miracle, like lukewarm water turning merlot red right there in the cup. And hope sprouts new, because God doesn't give us a list. He invites us into the story" (17).
"We may be displeased with the ways he wants to reveal his glory through us because they don't look like the ways he reveals his glory through others. We're uncomfortable with the implications and become confused about our own desire" (27).
"We don't have to be so afraid of desire. It's time instead to wake up to it....Your childhood dream delights God. I don't way that because every secret dream will come true. But having a dream is evidence of a person who is fully alive. Having a dream is a reflection of the image of God" (67).
"The truth is, I'm apologizing for the things that aren't sin to avoid acknowledging the things that are" (93).
"The critic points out my weaknesses, but he also forces me to draw a circle around what I believe" (98).
"Can we change out mind about our real goal? Getting in touch with the wart that is alive within you isn't about you making something new. Instead, you have the uniquely human opportunity to re-imagine what already is....The world needs you awake and alive. Does the world need another book? Song? Painted living room? Not necessarily. But the world does need you to come alive right where you are and not where you wish you were" (103).
"Listening to the pain of loss and heartbreak can wake us up to who we are, where we come from, and what matters most. But only if we open ourselves up to them" (112).
Quoting Brene Brown: "There is no such thing as selective emotional numbing. There is a full spectrum of human emotions and when we numb the dark, we numb the light. While i was 'taking the edge off' of the pain and vulnerability, I was also unintentionally dulling my experiences of good feelings, like joy."
"I don't believe we have to have pain to make beautiful art--but when the pain comes, the artist knows she must face it. Grief does deep, sacred work. We have to pay attention to what grieves us and be willing to be fully human, both in what makes come alive and in what has the capacity to shut us down" (117).
"Reject the temptation to believe you need to wait for a new set of life circumstances, a different job, or a new setting. Being who you already are no matter the circumstances of your life is what it means to release the art you were made to live. Respond to God where you are as you are" (126).
"'...why do you still get so nervous?'
Because I'm not cut out for this. And even as I say it, I heard what I can only describe as the Lord whisper, No, you are not cut out. You have been placed in. I really sensed those words, as sure as the way I stumbled an un'd my way through that interview. He reminded me I have been placed into him. Not cut out at all" (137).
"We listened quiet for answers. He offered love instead" (149).
Quoting Michelangelo: "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."
..."Seeing the not-yet in the midst of the now is the perspective the artist has to carry. And so we ought to pray not only for skill but for sight" (151).
"The words of Henry Nauwen resonate deeply within me. He writes,
"'Sometimes we are called to proclaim God's love even when we are not yet fully able to live it. Does that mean we are hypocrites? Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion. Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions. But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth that we speak. As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.'"
"Just because I don't like something about myself doesn't mean it's sin. Sometimes I worry more over those parts than the parts that are sin. Isn't there enough of the sin to worry about without micromanaging the unique aspects of your personality? If who you are is random, then yeah, go on a self-improvement program. But if you think God is in control of the whole thing of you, and he made you on purpose for a reason, and you try to be someone else, who will be you? Some stuff about us, our faults or sin, are change worthy. But I think sometimes I think the things we try to make different, are actually the things that make us different."
"We may be displeased with the ways he wants to reveal his glory through us because they don't look like the ways he reveals his glory through others. We're uncomfortable with the implications and become confused about our own desire" (27).
"We don't have to be so afraid of desire. It's time instead to wake up to it....Your childhood dream delights God. I don't way that because every secret dream will come true. But having a dream is evidence of a person who is fully alive. Having a dream is a reflection of the image of God" (67).
"The truth is, I'm apologizing for the things that aren't sin to avoid acknowledging the things that are" (93).
"The critic points out my weaknesses, but he also forces me to draw a circle around what I believe" (98).
"Can we change out mind about our real goal? Getting in touch with the wart that is alive within you isn't about you making something new. Instead, you have the uniquely human opportunity to re-imagine what already is....The world needs you awake and alive. Does the world need another book? Song? Painted living room? Not necessarily. But the world does need you to come alive right where you are and not where you wish you were" (103).
"Listening to the pain of loss and heartbreak can wake us up to who we are, where we come from, and what matters most. But only if we open ourselves up to them" (112).
Quoting Brene Brown: "There is no such thing as selective emotional numbing. There is a full spectrum of human emotions and when we numb the dark, we numb the light. While i was 'taking the edge off' of the pain and vulnerability, I was also unintentionally dulling my experiences of good feelings, like joy."
"I don't believe we have to have pain to make beautiful art--but when the pain comes, the artist knows she must face it. Grief does deep, sacred work. We have to pay attention to what grieves us and be willing to be fully human, both in what makes come alive and in what has the capacity to shut us down" (117).
"Reject the temptation to believe you need to wait for a new set of life circumstances, a different job, or a new setting. Being who you already are no matter the circumstances of your life is what it means to release the art you were made to live. Respond to God where you are as you are" (126).
"'...why do you still get so nervous?'
Because I'm not cut out for this. And even as I say it, I heard what I can only describe as the Lord whisper, No, you are not cut out. You have been placed in. I really sensed those words, as sure as the way I stumbled an un'd my way through that interview. He reminded me I have been placed into him. Not cut out at all" (137).
"We listened quiet for answers. He offered love instead" (149).
Quoting Michelangelo: "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."
..."Seeing the not-yet in the midst of the now is the perspective the artist has to carry. And so we ought to pray not only for skill but for sight" (151).
"The words of Henry Nauwen resonate deeply within me. He writes,
"'Sometimes we are called to proclaim God's love even when we are not yet fully able to live it. Does that mean we are hypocrites? Only when our own words no longer call us to conversion. Nobody completely lives up to his or her own ideals and visions. But by proclaiming our ideals and visions with great conviction and great humility, we may gradually grow into the truth that we speak. As long as we know that our lives always will speak louder than our words, we can trust that our words will remain humble.'"
"Just because I don't like something about myself doesn't mean it's sin. Sometimes I worry more over those parts than the parts that are sin. Isn't there enough of the sin to worry about without micromanaging the unique aspects of your personality? If who you are is random, then yeah, go on a self-improvement program. But if you think God is in control of the whole thing of you, and he made you on purpose for a reason, and you try to be someone else, who will be you? Some stuff about us, our faults or sin, are change worthy. But I think sometimes I think the things we try to make different, are actually the things that make us different."
Monday, July 2, 2018
The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron
"In short, you do not have to take the job that will create excessive stress and over-arousal. Someone else will take it, and flourish in it. You do not have to work long hours. Indeed, it may be your duty to work shorter ones. It may be best not to advertise it, but keeping yourself healthy and in your right range of arousal is the first condition for helping others."
"Stay in good contact with many kinds of other people, at work and elsewhere, accepting that no one person can relate to all of you. Indeed, accepting the loneliness that goes with giftedness may be the most freeing, empowering step of all. But also accept its opposite, that there's no need to feel isolated, for everyone is gifted in some way. And then there's the opposite truth. Non one, including yourself is special in the sense of being exempted from the universals of ageing and death."
"No matter how introverted, you are a social being. You cannot escape your need and spontaneous desire to connect with others, even if your conflicting urge to protect yourself is very strong."
"Over-arousal is easily displaced onto worries, regrets, anything that is handy."
"Overall, sensitivity can greatly enhance intimate communication. You pick on so much more of the subtle cues, the nuances, the paradoxes and ambivalences, the unconscious processes. You understand that this sort of communication requires patience, you are loyal, conscientious, and appreciative enough of the value of the relationship to be willing to give it the time. The main problem is, as always, over-arousal. In that state we can be extremely insensitive to everything around us, including those we love. We can blame our trait. 'I was just too tired, too overwhelmed.' But it still our duty to do whatever we can to communicate in a helpful way, or let the other know ahead of time, if possible, when we are unable to hold up our end."
"In several studies of married and dating couples, we found that the pairs felt more satisfied with their relationships if they did things together that they defined as exciting, not just pleasant. This seems logical. If you cannot expand any more by incorporating new things about the other into yourself, you can still create an association between the relationship and self-expansion by doing new things together. To an HSP especially, it may seem that life is to stimulating especially, and when you come home you want quiet. But be careful not to make your relationship so soothing that you do not do anything new together. Perhaps to do that, your hours apart have to be less stressful. Or you have to search for what expands you without over-arousing you."
"The doctor shares the culture's bias in mistaking your trait for shyness and introversion, and in viewing these, in turn, as less mentally healthy. Furthermore, for some doctors especially, sensitivity is a dreaded weakness they had to repress in order to survive medical school. So they project that part of themselves, and the weakness they associate with it, onto patients with any sign of it at all" (Chapter 15).
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