love

love is a word that is used too often and not often enough in this world. sometimes people use it to describe how they feel about everything and i am not sure that those who use the word all the time truly understand what it means, which could be true for those who do not use it enough.

what is love?

who wants love?

how do i love?

what does love mean?

i believe that people desired to be loved no matter who they are or what they are going through. love is something that should be given freely and should expect nothing in return. sometimes it is hard to not expect anything in return, but i think it is attainable. as people, we often fall short of loving freely. often we expect too much from others and tack on conditions to our love. this was not the intention of love. love is self-sacrificing and pure. i use to think that love was something that overcame you and that was a feeling at its purest. i still believe in that kind of...now, i realize that love is also a choice. it is a decision that an individual makes, a commitment to those in your life that mean everything to you.

love is most pure between a parent and a child. you can see it in their smile, in their eyes and in their embrace. love for a parent or a child is unconditional. though there are times in those relationships when frustrations are running high, but in the end, love wins out every time. even if you don't see it at first or have not seen it yet, love will prevail. you have to have hope that it will, otherwise what is the point?

the love of the father is self sacrificing. he gave everything to prove his love for me. he went to the deepest darkest places of the earth to find me and carry me out of the firery pits. there is no limit to his love. can you feel it?

love Song for a savior
someday we'll trust him and learn how to see him
someday he'll call us and we will come running
and fall in his arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

"i want to fall in love with you"

as i sit and think of words i can mention
to show my devotion

"i want to fall in love with you"
"my heart beats for you"
~jars of clay

strength

where does strength come from? i have been told throughout different points in my life that i am a strong person. webster's defines strength as "capacity for exertion or endurance; the power to resist force; the power of resisting attack." i think that those are fine definitions, but that definition is not personal enough for me. i think that strength is something that is bestowed upon you, it is something that overwhelms your character at time. strength is found within and not something that is solely defined by brute force. strength comes from this inner place where peace is found. i feel that peace is the precursor to strength. if your soul is not settled, then strength will not emerge. i think you have to come to this place of acceptance and peace in your life to have strength. i know the times that i feel the strongest are those times when i am quiet and still. you need strength to face the day, but we have to be careful that our strength is founded on something and in something that will not be shaken.

often we feel tired, like we have to carry our burdens and we have to be strong on our own accord. we feel like strength emerges from us because of us. this is what the world teaches everyone. you have to be strong, you have to pull yourself out of this, you have to lift yourself up. strength has become all about us, all about the individual. i believe this is false. i believe that when you think you can do it all on your own and when you state you have done it all on your own and that you need no one or nothing else, you are living in a lie. far too often we get caught up in this lie and it will bring you to your knees.

strength does come from an inner place, but that strength is instilled in us by another...strength is taking the plunge even when you are not sure there is anything to catch you if you fall...but you have the hope and peace that something is there you...so the strength comes and you take the plunge...

do you not know?
have you not heard?
the lord is the everlasting god,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
he will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
he gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the lord
will renew their strength,
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not grow faint.
~ isaiah 40:28-31

hope

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune--without the words,
and never stops at all,

and sweetest in the gale is heard;
and sore must be the storm
that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm.

i've heard it in the chillest land,
and on the strangest sea;
yet, never, in extremity,
it ask a crumb of me.

~ emily dickinson

i have to believe in hope, for the well being on of my own soul, i have to believe in hope. hope is something that is instilled in us at a young age. though when we are little, it comes is different forms and means different things, such as, "i hope santa comes this year" or "i hope i get ______ for my birthday." as we get older hope begins to take on a new meaning for most of us. it may come in the form of expectations, it may come in the form of fantasy, but it captures our heart regardless of how it shows itself. for me, i have a hope in humanity. i believe that ultimately people are good and that they want to be good. i think we are born into a world full of evil and the world can bring us down, but if you have hope, you will prevail and hope will overcome evil. hope should be our driving force, one that allows you to see the good in people and to see the good in situations, even when it seems like there is nothing good to be found. hope can be seen in the eyes of small children or in the touch of a loved one. hope is what makes you smile in the morning and it is what allows you to sleep well at night. never underestimate the power of hope.