Thoughts and Quotes of a Curious Mind

Late at night I wonder why Sometimes I wonder why Sometimes I'm so tired I don't even try Seems everything around me fails But I hold on to the promise That there is a reason Late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see The history of the saints who've gone in front of me Through famine, plague and disbelief His hand was still upon them Cause there is a reason There is a reason He makes all things good He makes all things good There's a time to live and a time to die A time for wonder and to wonder why Cause there is a reason There is a reason For the lonely nights And broken hearts And the continent For the child afraid to close their eyes The prayers that seem unanswered There is a reason There is a reason I believe in a God who sent His only son To walk upon this world and give His life for us With blood and tears on a long, dark night We know that He believed That there is a reason There is a reason

ST is disappointed that WW is drunk on the pleasure of the war and chides him that duty comes before pleasure. He tells his nephew to be cool headed to make sure he secures the patients soul forever, and not just gloat in the temp satisfaction of the war. He continues by saying don’t hope for too much from the war- because while wars are entertaining what use to them unless they bring souls to the devil. He tells WW that if they are not careful they will see thousands turning in this tribulation to the enemy (Christ). This is because men are killed in wars; men go to these wars with full awareness that they may be killed and then prepare themselves to enter the Christs kingdom beforehand. ST stresses “how much better for us if, ALL humans died in costly nursing homes among doctors, nurses and friends who lie, promising life to the dying, encouraging the belief that sickness excuses every indulgence, and even withholding from the sick man a priest to show him his true condition.” H...

I got this in the mail today: Today's though is: We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth. --Virginia Satir Virginia Satir was an internationally acclaimed therapist. She knew a lot about what people need to be healthy and happy and to live in good relationships with each other. She was very smart, and most of her advice was pretty simple. Take hugs, for example. What could be more simple? One person reaching out to touch another person with safety and care. Very simple. But what do hugs give people? Comfort. Acceptance. The basics we all need no matter where we are at today.

I am reading this book "The screwtape letters" and I really need to keep and pass on the insight. Below is the summary and my take on the first four letters, I plan on doing all thirty. It may look like a lot of reading but the spiritual enlightenment is well worth it. The book is prefaced with C.S. Lewis explaining how there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils. One is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them and the other is to disbelieve in their existence. Readers are advised that the devil is a liar. The book is a classic satire that is both entertaining and enlightening. It is about a series of correspondences between a worldly-wise old devil –screwtape(ST) and his nephew wormwood(WW) - a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. 1. In the first letter screwtape(ST) is chiding wormwood on being naïve and trying to convince the patient that "materialis...

I asked God for strength that I might achieve, I was made week that I may humbly learn to obey. I asked for health that I do great things, I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy, I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life, I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I asked for vision that I might control my future, I was given awareness that I be grateful for the now. I got nothing I asked for... but everything I hoped for, Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered, I am among all people most richly blessed. ~Anom

Here I am Lord and I'm drowning, in Your sea of forgetfulness The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest I don't want to end up where You found me And it echoes in my mind Keeps me awake tonight I know you've cast my sin as far as the East is from the West And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away From You leaving me this way Chorus: Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been Rising up in me again In the arms of Your mercy I find rest Cause You know just how far the east is from the west From one scarred hand to the other I start the day, the war begins Endless reminding of my sin And time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way I know You've washed me white Turn my darkness into life I need Your peace to get me ...

In which country do women sometimes have more than one husband (not the other way around)? ~Nepal . This unique kind of polygamy happens when the prospective husbands pool their resources to afford the high cost of a dowry. Which Latin American country does not have its own currency? ~Panama , which uses the U.S. dollar, is also known as a place where money is laundered.

El-Shaddai, El Shaddai El-Elyon na Adonai I will praise You till I die El-Shaddai, El Shaddai Erkamka na Adonai We will praise and lift You high El Shaddai

Everyday Lord your mercies are new Everday lord we are trusting in you Faithful God you stay the same, you will not change Your promise is true Faithful God We lift up one voice We made a choice and we put our trust in you Faithful God Ever true You are the one that we lean upon Faithful God Lord it's you You are the one that we look upon

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Fear is not a disease of the body; fear kills the soul. When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, always. – ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therin to be content Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. College isn't the place to go for ideas. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the ...

Calloused and bruised/ dazed and confused My Spirit is left wanting something more Than my selfish hopes/ and my selfish dreams I’m lying with my face down to the floor I’m crying out for more Give me Words to speak Don’t let my Spirit sleep Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying But I know that I owe You my life So give me Words to speak Don’t let my Spirit sleep Every night, every day/ I find that I have nothing left to say So I stand here in silence awaiting Your guidance I’m wanting only Your voice to be heard Let them be Your Words I just don’t understand this life that I’ve been living I just don’t understand these lies I’ve been believing I just don’t understand

ABRAHAM LINCOLN DIDN'T QUIT 1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them. 1818 His mother died. 1831 Failed in business. 1832 Ran for state legislature - lost. 1832 Also lost his job - wanted to go to law school, but couldn't get in. 1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt. 1834 Ran for state legislature again - won. 1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died, and his heart was broken. 1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for 6 months. 1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature - defeated. 1840 Sought to become elector - defeated. 1843 Ran for Congress - lost. 1846 Ran for Congress again - this time he won - went to Washington and did a good job. 1848 Ran for re-election to Congress - lost. 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state - rejected. 1854 Ran for Senate of the United St...

"Zeroes are important. A million seconds ago was last week. A billion seconds ago, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. A trillion seconds ago was 30,000 BC, and early humans were using stone tools. America's national debt is now $7.5 trillion, and it's skyrocketing, even as America's population ages. There will never be a better time to start paying off this crippling debt than today." -- Denis Hayes , "Do not kiss your children so they will kiss you back but so they will kiss their children, and their children’s children." -- Noah benShea , "Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises." -- Rita Golden Gelman , Patience is a virtue, life is a waiting game. Peace must be nurtured, and all the money in the world can buy you nothing. Let me tell you that. ...

Some of the greatest moments in life are the unexpected ones. The ones you don't plan for, strive for and reach for. They are the ones that truly take your breath away. When you feel blessed.

The pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin. Pursue goodness and the rest will come.

Hiding in the midnight I've watched life pass me by Haunted by each heartbreak And mistake, I've let weigh Me down all this time Now it feels like This is my new dawn My yesterdays have come and gone Walked in the dark too long This is my new, this in my new dawn Like a child suddenly everything's new The colors collide and I see a beautiful view I feel alive

“Power said to the world, ‘You are mine.’ The world kept it prisoner on her throne. Love said to the world, ‘I am thine.’ The world gave it the freedom of her house.” — Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds Sometimes this whole world is just one big prison yard. Some of us are prisoners, the rest of us are guards. — Bob Dylan, George Jackson "When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have been committed in the name of rebellion." — C. P. Snow, "Either-Or" “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” — British Statesman, Edmund Burke "[W]e must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil." — Martin Luther King, Jr. "Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who sh...

We cannot fight evil on the outside if we continue to fight each other on the inside. You always bear the world’s burdens on your shoulders it is an admirable quality when you are a protector of others. You are strong, passionate and loyal to a fault. These are the merits of a great leader, but only when tempered with compassion and humility. Each one has their strengths and weaknesses. You must learn to be strong where they are week, if you don’t learn to recognize this then all hope is lost.

There's a place where I can go Where the angels hear me pray I want to change, yes I need Your touch I'm waiting here for You Here I come to Your threshing floor Where the angels fear to tread I'm waiting here for the King of love And to hold the hands that bled And I fall, at Your feet I'll give it all, until the day we meet Here I am Ready to give up my life for the One Here I am Ready to pour out my heart for the Son Here I am...

The distance from wrist to elbow is length of your foot. If you spread your arms, middle finger to middle finger is equivalent of your height. Every state in union has state a town named Springfield . Difference between a fruit and vegetable is after it’s picked a fruit ripens and vegetable rots.

Courage is not the absence of fear... but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever... but the cautious do not live at all. From now on, you'll be traveling the road... between who you think you are... and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.

1. Don't miss the boat. 2. Remember that we are all in the same boat. 3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. 4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. 5. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. 6. Build your future on high ground. 7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. 9. When you're stressed, float a while. 10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. 11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Sometimes I feel like I'm just existing I'm not really living I'm only watching the time slip away I've forgotten who I am in you I'm not who I'm meant to be I'm drifting farther away from my destiny Awaken my heart, awaken my soul Awaken you power and take control Awaken the passion to live for you, Awaken me My soul is longing, my heart is searching I'm desperate for you to move Give me a hunger, pull me closer I'm crying out to you Open my eyes so I can see your presence Wake me up, 'cause I can't live another minute If I'm not shining your light awaken me to live my destiny Lord, awaken me and shine your light through me

Injustice and Hope -still true today - Nov. 14, 2006 at 12:04 AM There is discrimination in this world and racism and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility towards the suffering of our fellows. But we can perhaps remember -- even if only for a time -- that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek -- as we do -- nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can beg...