Tag Archives: Heart

877. Your heart is just a beatbox for the song of your life. ~Sandi Thom

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I have lived pain, and my life can tell:
I only deepen the wounds of the world
when I neglect to give thanks for
the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July
and the song of crickets on humid summer nights
and the rivers that run and the stars that rise
and the rain that falls and all the good things
that a good God gives.
~Ann Voskamp

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You unravel me with a melody and
surround me with a song.
I’m encircled in Your songs of deliverance
and know that I am your child, oh God.
So I thank You and praise Your Holy Name.
All I want now, dear Lord, is to be still, resting
in Your Grace, knowing that you are God.
~Random lyrics and thoughts borrowed
from songs sung in church today, Natalie

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. ~Excerpt from Psalm 40:3  ✝

**Image via Pinterest

874. As September advances, the light continues to don a succession of gowns that grow more and more golden, especially in the late afternoons. ~Natalie Scarberry

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Nature’s seasons don’t change in one fell swoop. Instead they keep us tottering a while on the edge of that which comes next. And so it is with autumn! Inch by inch and day by day she proffers more signs of her coming. Acorns are dropping from the oaks, the squirrels quickly snap up the nutty little treasures, a random smattering of leaves are changing colors, and the days are growing shorter and shorter.

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The light this time of year,
eclipses summer light by far.

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An eerie feeling is in the air,
as we feel what great artist’s share.

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They go there for the light.
They go there for the color.
They go there for the sight,
of the Sun dancing on the water.

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And we come too, to catch the sight,
of dust floating in the light.

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Slanting beams through cracks and seams,
lazy days in and out of dreams.

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A time for calm and reflection.
A time to study light’s deflection.
~Excerpted lines from a poem
by Ronald W. Hull

Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. ~Proverbs 15:30  ✝

**Images via Pinterest

873. What you are is Gods’ gift to you, what you become is your gift to God. ~Hans Urs von Balthasar

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Screen shot 2015-09-16 at 3.21.39 PM He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth
is generally considered a fortunate person,
but his good fortune is small compared to that
of the happy mortal who enters the world
with a passion for flowers in his soul.
~Celia Thaxter

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Don’t ask yourself what the world needs,
ask yourself what it is that makes you come alive.
And then go do it. Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive.
~Harold Whitman

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They come, I see, they conquer! Beauties like the ones in these photos have left me spellbound for as long as I can remember. So it is that I have been blessed with a fire-fanning renewal of the passion of which Thaxter speaks month after month, season after season, year after year for 7 decades now. And as the yearly succession of earth’s flowers has advanced over the years, something in my soul has in fact felt more alive. As a result in the pregnant pauses of my days, over and over again I’ve heard a voice imploring me to make something good out of that passion. M. C. Entyre said that “singers and musicians know the power of the pause, the rest, the soundless beat,” and I’ve come to realize that the spaces between our thoughts or words are dwelling places where things register and then move inward. When we linger in spaces of quietude, we open ourselves to the possibility of an epiphany–the sudden knowing, the flashes of clarity where Christ enters with revelation. In such moments the veil lifts and we are, as Wordsworth put it, “surprised by joy,” the inexpressible joy of coming alive.

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I love to think of nature as an
unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks
to us every hour,
if we will only tune in.
~George Washington Carver

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The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ~Psalm 19:8  ✝

**Images via Pinterest, collages created by Natalie

868. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

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Let my soul smile through my heart
and my heart smile through my eyes,
that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.
~Paramahansa Yogananda

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Too often we underestimate the power of
a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
~Leo Buscaglia

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A smile is the light in your window
that tells others that there is a
caring, sharing person inside.
~Denis Waitley

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After every storm the sun will smile;
for every problem there is a solution,
and the soul’s indefeasible duty
is to be of good cheer.
~William R. Alger

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Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life,
The evening beam that smiles the clouds away,
and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.
~Lord Byron

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A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile
can work wonders and accomplish miracles.
~William Hazlitt

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The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions –
the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile,
a kind look or heartfelt compliment.
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway,
the good they do is inconceivable.
~Joseph Addison

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The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower,
share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s,
smile at someone and receive a smile in return,
are to me continual spiritual exercises.
~Leo Buscaglia

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Because of your smile,
you make life more beautiful.
~Thich Nhat Hanh

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Smile, for everyone lacks self-confidence
and more than any other one thing
a smile reassures them.
~Andre Maurois

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A smile is the
universal welcome.
~Max Eastman

When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them. ~Job 29:24  ✝

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**Images via Pinterest; collages by Natalie

865. Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation. ~Rumi

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May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all else, may silence make you strong.
~Chief Dan George

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When Christ said that man does not live by bread alone, he spoke of hunger. This hunger was not the hunger of the body. It was not the hunger for bread. He spoke of the hunger that begins deep down in the very depths of our being in silence. He spoke of a need as vital as breath. He spoke of our hunger for love. Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world…But with love, we are creative. With it, we march tirelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrifice for others. ~Chief Dan George

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But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. ~Psalm 13:5   ✝

**Images via Pinterest and the Internet

864. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~Apache Blessing

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The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.

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The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea speaks to me.

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The strength of the fire,
the taste of the salmon,
the trail of the sun,

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and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me
And my heart soars.
~Chief Dan George

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It is as though the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore. ~Psalm 133:3  ✝

**Images via Pinterest

859. Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us. ~Boris Pasternak

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I’m a great believer in the
beauty and power of surprise.
~Mark Gatiss

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Even the dullest bird or face or object becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across the cheek, the light hits an eyebrow, and so on. There are many more angles and positions than you can ever imagine. My heart always makes a little jump when I see things in birds or faces or bits of nature that surprise me. ~Edited quote by Siegfried Woldhek

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ~Psalm 29:8  ✝

**Image via Pinterest

858. Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn. ~William Arthur Ward

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Faith is that tiny beautiful songbird in
one’s heart that sings wonderful melodies
even during the darkest moments
because it feels and sees the divine light
that is yet to arrive with the dawn.

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Faith enables us to believe in something,
something that may be beyond 
any
rationale, reasoning or logic.
And faith is also our inner strength that
empowers us to bring our dreams and vision
to fruition, with the Grace of God.
So take a leap in the unknown with
full faith in God and yourself.
~Author Unknown

The earth is filled with your love, Lord: teach me your decrees. ~Psalm 119:64  ✝

**Image via Pinterest

847. There is a joy that comes from admiring the beauty of flowers. ~Luther Burbank

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 To nurture a garden is to feed
not just the body but also the soul.
~Alfred Austin

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When in these fresh mornings
I go into my garden before anyone is awake,
I go for the time being into perfect happiness.
In this hour divinely fresh and still,
the fair face of every flower
salutes me with a silent joy. . .
All the cares, perplexities,
and griefs of existence,
all the burdens of life
slip from my shoulders
and leave me with the heart
of a little child that asks nothing
beyond the present moment
of innocent bliss.
~Celia Thaxter, American writer

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As I stood there yesterday morning looking at what you see in the photographs, I was trying to figure out how I could describe to others the impact of the vision before my eyes. Scenes like this are exactly the reason I created and continue to maintain a garden. The exquisite beauty of a single morning glory perched atop a sea of blooming autumn clematis touched my soul in a way that is beyond all reason and verbal expression. It was indeed a source of holy food that nurtured my body and soul. How could I ask for anything more!

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. ~Psalm 92:4  ✝

840. And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon. ~Edward Lear

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Watch the rising of the sun.
Listen to the morning’s chorus outside.
Feel the day’s vibrancy, the clanging of life in the sun’s rising.
Such is the dance of life, my friends.

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Smell the aromas of life.
Taste life’s goodness all around you.
Take time to touch others in a meaningful way.
Such is the dance of life, my friends.

Look at the stars.
Watch the jitterbug of the fireflies.
Hear the music of the night.
Such is the dance of life, my friends.

Life is the dance and you are the dancer!
“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time
like the dew on the tip of a leaf.”
~Rabindranath Tagore

Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to him with the timbrel and harp. ~Psalm 149:3  ✝