Tonight

My mind is a swirling mass of thoughts, spinning out of control. The wondering what will tomorrow hold, the thoughts amiss, but yet they are strong and I continue to carry on. I hold onto the hopes of what my future holds, but not knowing can drive anyone to wonder will I always be alone. Will I miss the very thing my heart yearns for, or will I be able to share my love and joy once more. The struggles of waiting and hoping is hard, but what is harder is the unknowing of it all.

I have talked to so many people in struggling marriages, lost in the thought they want to be loved, but unable to give all to the one they say they love. They have lost so much and don't know how to get it back. I wonder, is it as simple as it may seem, if we love the other unconditionally. We have made marriage and life so complicated, we live in rules, laws and forget the truth. Is today the day we start to see, that life as complicated as it is may not have to be. Our thoughts are a messed up, our priorities too, what is most important to me, may not be most important to you. But when we say we love someone, our priorities change, to be what they need no matter how insane. We love them when they are blue, we love them when they are green, we love them even when in makes no sense to me, but that is what love is, it is giving more and no complaining about how much we give even when they are out the door. We struggle to see what is plain to me, that we need to love unconditionally.

So today I leave you with these thoughts, is love as complicated as you thought? To love a little or to love a lot, we have to give and continue to give, just like with our kids. We don't say that is enough, I have tried my hardest, we continue to give no matter what. That is unconditional love, are you giving your all, have you lost focus on what love is and who you are in love with? Today take a moment and think with me, what is your biggest priority? Is it you, or is it the one you are with? Change your focus and see that when you focus on the one you are with, you start to see what love truly is. Don't look for returns, but continue to give. One day the gifts you give, will come pouring back to you and when they do, you will truly see.

Picture for this morning

In every sunset I see your face In every sunrise I see your grace You are true as true can be You are my God touching me

We have forgotten how to be...

Our lives are filled with work, with family, friends, the hustle, bustle of moving, but without purpose. I started my first job in the late 1990's and one of my bosses would ask me what are my goals. I would tell him the usual work goals and he would say no Geoff, what are your life goals. It didn't make a lot of sense to me until I found that life is not where I work, that it isn't what I do, but life is who I am.

How many people express themselves as what they do? Is it because we have lost, maybe even forgotten how to be a person, not a worker, but someone that can think outside of their job.

Men this is for you, don't run away. Are you married or in a relationship? What is more important the money you bring home, or your significant other? We tend to think that work is more import, yeah it pays the bills, but other then that what does it do for you? We are all numbers, but at home we are special. Maybe you don't feel that way, but think when was the last time you did something for your other half? No valentines day or her birthday do not count. When did you cook her a special meal? When did you ask about her day first before spouting off about yours? When was the last time you didn't bring work home? When was the last time you didn't talk about work? It is time to be men, start dating your significant other again, send her text messages throughout the day letting her know you are thinking of her. Don't expect anything in return, you have a lot of ground to make up,  but it is worth it. Let's put the m back in marriages. You have put football, sports, beer, tv, friends, work and other things before your wife long enough. Is this hard to hear? Well men change begins with you, with me and until you start changing, how do you expect your wife to know just how special you find them.

It is time we men start being me, it is time we start putting our wives before ourselves. It is a daily choice, not a one time thing. Take a stand and be a man. Stop looking at other women, your wife/girlfriend is who you chose, stop looking for feelings other places. Be a man.

Ok, our jobs do not define us. We have to make choices and first choice is what is more important to you? Start making changes and show the one you are with just how much they mean to you. Stop running away and admit that you have failed up until this point and now is time for change. Change begins with you.

What are you afraid of?

It is so easy to become so ingrained into thinking that the way it is, is the way it will always be. The hope starts to fade and the emptiness starts to take hold, wondering, fear and discouragement sets in. It doesn't have to be that way, but for some reasons it is a struggle to see our way clear. Our hearts want to feel something and sometimes it may seem that it is pain, but it is a feeling too. We struggle and in the struggling we fight to see through the clouds, through the darkness, we seek to find truth, but even when we seek others they don't know the truth, because they speak only on what they would do, just how much better things would be if. I have found that when the "if" word is introduced into anything then it isn't the truth. Maybe it is only me, but maybe it isn't.

Life is a struggle, does it have to be, I don't have an answer for that, but what I do know is that when we introduce doubt and confusion it will only breed more. It is only when we acknowledge the fact of where we are can we actually move out of that place. To many people remain stuck, because they are afraid to see life for today, they play the if game, they live in yesterday, they seek the truth from others and others lead us down paths we feel lost and alone. Not their fault, but when we acknowledge our fears, our struggles and the truth as we see it, only then do we start to break the bond that has held us for so long.

We are afraid to talk to the one person we say we trust with our lives (we loe). We are afraid to admit our failures, we are afraid to talk about life, because life is so confusing. We struggle to see the truth that is right before us and yet we say we are lost. Is the answer to admit that we are lost? I think the point of this is, that the more we admit to our defeat, the stronger we get. In order to stand up, we first need to fall down. And admitting that we fell is difficult to do, admitting we that we are hurting and lost is even more difficult. We can share with complete strangers, but not the ones we love. Our minds have fooled us into thinking that the ones who love us will reject us, but that is all a lie. We need to start admitting our hurts, failures, pains, fears in order to be free from them.

Today what are you afraid of? Today is the first day and today you can start making changes, but change begins with you. How can we expect the ones we love to open up, when we are afraid to do the same thing. What will happen, take a deep breath and know that you can do this, that the first step may be you, but the final step may be the one you are with. Today, don't give up and today is the first day of the rest of your life. What are you afraid of?
 

Who could paint a more beautiful picture?

We are all precious. Sometimes it is so easy to forget to look at the beauty in all things. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, even in a sunset.

Actions verse Words

Everyone has heard about the Yin and Yang. If you don't know where it has originated from I will tell you. It was from 2 conjoined twins. They believed the children where inseperatable and that is where the names came from and the sign. You see how it has changed to mean so many different things over the years.

It is like the trinity knot. The trinity knot has been changed to be a pagan symbol, but do you know where it originated from? Well, if you know the bible, the word Trinity is exactly the correct meaning behind it, 3 in 1.

I find it fancinating how these symbols have been taken to mean negative things, when at first just seeing them meant something totally different. How many things in life are just like that? It is time we start putting meaning back in the things we say, the words we use, the symbols we use and how we are.

Actions speak louder then words. What we do defines us, our words are lost in the thoughts of what they mean. Today what are your actions saying about who you are? How do you want others to see you, as a word or as an action?

Just some thoughts to ponder today. What can our actions do to change the meaning of the words we use daily?

Snowflakes to Snowballs

I am back at this point again today. My brain was swimming with things to write, but I want to revisit the point of what we put in we get out.

I was talking to someone today and they were telling me just how stressed out they are. Have you ever noticed the more we stress, the more we find things to stress about. This person was stressed about things that he couldn't change, the more he stressed the more he found to stress over. The traffic, the slow drivers, just everything instead of realizing the more he put into all the worry, the more worry it created. We tend to focus on the things that stress us out, instead of changing our focus.

A snowflake can grow into a snowball in an instant. When the worry starts, we have choices to make, we can focus on it, or we can focus on getting rid of it. What do you want to do with the worry in your life? Do you want it to grow, or do you want to get rid of it?

Worry breeds doubt, doubt breeds fear, fear breeds panic and soon we are drowning in it all. We can't get out of the darkness, we can't see through it. Have you ever been their? If you could retrace your steps, what was the one thing that caused this whole avalanche? It is sad when we find the root of the issue and it is always tough to confess what the beginning issue was over.

Let me take this one further. Are you following me so far?

We tend to do this in our relationships, we focus on a negative, something our partner does. We stress about it, soon that stress grows from just being annoyed, to doubting if we want to be with them for the rest of our lives. We talk to people about this and unfortunately they go along with your thinking, soon that little stresses have grown into a doubt of wondering why we are with this person, are they really the right one for me. Soon that grows to seeing all the faults and all the things are partner does wrong and the fear sets in. We can't seem to see clear of it and now we are drowning thinking we didn't love our partner to begin with. We made a mistake and we want to run to hide, to escape, but before you do that. It is time to take a step back, stop listening to the people that agree with you and look at what snowflake started it all. Change your perspective and you change the outcome today. Don't lose sight of the truth.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Yesterday is gone, but today holds promise for a new way. It is your choice to focus on the snowflakes, or to see the beauty in them.

Foundations

When building a house, they start with the foundation. They build it brick by brick. In between each brick they put mortar. They take great care in putting this together, because it is what the house will be built on. They want it to hold, not just for a year, but for many years to come. As they build the house, the weight that is placed on that foundation is great. They want to make sure that when earth quakes come, or storms come, that the foundation will hold that house in place.

That foundation is what we need to build in our relationships. When we first start the dating process it is just as they are doing before they build the house. They test the soil, the water content and make sure it is suitable for a foundation and the house. Just as we should be doing in a relationship.

As our relationships grow, we need to continue to build the foundations of trust, truth, love, patience and so many other things.  The foundation is so important, but we seem to forget about it, because it is under the house. We don't think that without it, the house will fall down. With every secret we hide from our partners, we knock a little of the foundation away. You can't see what is happening from the outside, because the house still looks strong. It hides the very thing that will cause it to fall.

When a house is built on a foundation of lies, hurts, pains, cheating and emptiness that house will fall unless the foundation is repaired. The repair takes work, but in the work you can build a very strong foundation and the house will follow. It is possible, because there is nothing impossible. Some may say it is to hard, but even in the pains and struggles it will stand stronger still.

It is time we take a look at our foundations. Build the foundation, even after the house is completed the foundation needs to be maintained. Today it is about continuing to build that foundation. No longer just guess it is alright, build it and it will endure storms and do it together, for each hardship you can add support.

Start building, securing, supporting and so that house will stand even with the greatest of storms, because together anything is possible. Today focus not just on the beauty of the house, but on the strong foundation.

Thought for tonight

The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other. - Ashleigh Brilliant

Is it worth the wait?

Do quick an easy things last? They are here today gone tomorrow. We seem to want the quick and easy, but look at what happens a house built fast will crumble and fall. We go for fast food, is it good for us? No not really, but we seem to like things that are easy.

It is high time to realize:

The most incredible things in life take time. Look at child birth 9 months of waiting for the most amazing thing to happen. Great things take time, take struggles, take growing and change. If we look at life like pregnancy we get a better idea of how we need to continue to grow and change. We need to stop looking how we were and see how we are.

Today is a new day, isn't it time to realize great things take time. Easy will not last. It is worth the weight, because something great is growing, something incredible is coming. Don't give up, because it is hard. Press on, for today is a new day. Don't give in, you are not alone.

PS.  I don't know how hard child birth is but I do know the struggles in life.

As I was driving, I had one other thought. When in a relationship, I would not suggest taking advice from someone not in one or some one that tells you there will not be hard times. We seek people for help, becareful with who you seek, the very person you seek could be the one to cause more confusion and doubt. Attachments are formed easily in this state, all based on the confusion. If you seek help, go to a professional, it will be worth it. Friends should support and encourage.

Be careful of the leech's, they offer help, but they will feed on your pain and and may cause you more.