May 8th, 2012 
Up4Dsn 
This time last year she was struggling to find herself.
She was happy, or at least she thought she was.
But still, she had not yet found herself.
So maybe she wasn’t happy.
She didn’t know.
All she knew was that they got what they wanted.
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Posted in CREATIVE WRITING, POETRY 
Tags: courtney, happiness, joy, love, peace, reflection 
7 Comments » May 7th, 2012 Up4Dsn 
“The first drops of rain always bring a smile on our faces. The smell of wet soil, the damp grass, and the slosh of puddles under our feet make us want to dance with wanton joy. Rains make a heart go romantic. Ever danced in the rain? The feeling is inexplicably beautiful. Hold your sweetheart’s hand and walk in the rains while the clouds play cupid.”
- G. K. Chesterton
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Posted in CONVERSATION STARTERS, JUST A THOUGHT Tags: good times, just a thought, love, peace, rain, sunny No Comments » April 26th, 2012 Up4Dsn 
With life being so hectic and busy it’s so easy to get overwhelmed in your day to day tasks. It’s so easy to lose track of days or even a week. I know I’ve looked up and an entire week has just disappeared. We get so involved in what we are doing, want to do, or plan to do that it gets hard to breathe.
I’ve come to believe that we as a people abhor quiet. We fill every moment with some kind of noise, some kind of distraction, something else that will fill the quiet. A lot of times because we are so unhappy with where we are we don’t want to think about it, deal with it, or figure out how to get back to where we need to be.
People roam lost for years looking for something externally to bring peace to them when it is inside of them. Your mother can’t give it to you, your father can’t give it to you, you can’t get it at Walmart and you can’t download it from iTunes. You’re born with it. It’s God given. It was put inside of us before we were placed on this earth.
Somehow, someway in life it gets buried but it never goes away. We just have to find our way back to it. We have to be quiet for long enough to hear the whisper that is inside us, telling us what we need to do to find our way back to our purpose.
It’s funny how we spend our life looking for things that we can’t find. We get so far away from ourselves and our purpose that we become lost.
We’ve all heard of people that have worked hard and done all the things that society deems we need to do to become successful and they leave it all because they were unhappy. This is an example of exactly what I mean. You can be successful in society’s eyes but be miserable inside your own mind.
You have to listen to the peace inside you. It will bring you peace. The peace is a part of God within us. The same part that allowed Jesus to sleep inside a boat in turbulent waters when the entire world outside is rocking everything. The way in which our life can become turbulent through our own storms, the God in each of us sleeps until we are ready to find that peace, and be still.
Posted in INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Tags: burberry jones, encouragement, faith, inspiration, love, motivation, peace, positivity 9 Comments » April 25th, 2012 Up4Dsn 
Words of Encouragement: FAITH (Part 3)
Having faith, not only brings patience but it also brings peace. When we can fully trust in the Lord and KNOW that what we are believing for will come to past, our mind is at peace about God showing up on our behalf. (Philippians 4:7) tells us, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This scripture lets us know that having the right kind of faith brings peace that will keep our mind and heart. It’s amazing how strategic God is. He not only gives us things to “hope for” but in the process of waiting, He gives us comfort to know that what we are expecting of Him is on the way.
In conclusion, I plead with you not to lose faith or hope in the Lord. Believe that what you are praying for will come to past and that God will keep you during the process. Many times the enemy will throw things your way during the process of waiting to make it “seem” as if God has forgotten about you. Remember what God has said will be fulfilled! (Isaiah 55:11) says, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
If you would like to join the Words of Encouragement e-mail group contact ThisisGS
April 16th, 2012 Up4Dsn
Words of Encouragement: FAITH (Part 2)
Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
As we discussed last week according to (Hebrews 11:1) the biblical definition of faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” What exactly does the phrase “the assurance of things hoped for” mean? It means to have faith in God that He will provide the things that you are hoping for. For example, you might be hoping for a new job, healing in your body, salvation for a family member, or better finances. Another great example of this is heaven. Many of us who are saved have faith that heaven exist and hope that we will be in heaven once we leave this earth. We have no physical evidence that heaven exist but because we have faith in His word, we believe that it does.
Faith is the “I know you will Lord” area walk with God. His willingness to move in our lives isn’t based on what we “think” He can do. If God operated on what some of us actually think He can do, many of us would have that “wavering faith”…that faith that changes as if God changed. In Romans 1:17 its states, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith”. So here we see that faith is not only an action but also a mind state and lifestyle. Faith is something that affects our lives on a daily basis. We drive on faith, we have faith that the food we purchase is not harmful, we even have faith that we will wake up in the morning. We use our faith for all of these things but there is no physical evidence that we will actually make it from one place to the next safely or even wake up in the morning. If we didn’t have faith/trust for these things it would be very difficult to operate in this life. Having faith is an action that allows the issue or problem to be put in God’s hands.
We must continue to have faith (in things hoped for) even when the things or people around us are contrary to what God’s word says about our situation. The bible says in (Titus 1:2) that “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” This scripture shows us that God’s word never lies, it holds true, and it is the final authority over our lives. There will be times when God commands us to act and we will have to use our faith in Him to accomplish what He asks of us. Lets discuss the story of Noah. God told Noah to build an arch for his family and the animals to keep them safe because God would destroy the land by water. Noah had faith in God, acted on Gods instructions, and hoped that in following God’s instructions his family would be protected from the flood even though he had no physical evidence that the flood was actually coming. His faith not only saved him but also showed God that through obedience his faith was made known.
Having faith is not only the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen; you must also ACT on your FAITH.
If you would like to join the Words of Encouragement e-mail group contact ThisisGS
