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What started out as a site to update on our daughter's cancer has thankfully grown into a site to update on our beautiful family of four. Enjoy our journey...

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

inspiration from the heart...

I have been given so many inspirational words and motivational talks that I wanted to share some of them with you today. The first set of words are from an old friend. She created an amazing book of quotes to fit our family. Thank you Kelly!! Other words are from a book my very good friend Linda gave me. She has given me so much inspiration and motivation in my life. And finally, the last story is from a book I inherited when my Grandma Borg passed away. I am sorry it go so long…there were just so many things I wanted to share!


When you put faith, hope, and love together you can raise positive children in a negative world. – Zig Zaglar

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feelings that you cherished them.
– Richard Evans

You gain strength and courage from confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Pray and let God Worry. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers. – Dorothy Bernard

We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world.
-Helen Keller

Words can be a powerful healing tool if used with loving intention to lift, encourage, and inspire. – John McLeod

Experience is not what happens to us, it is what you do with what happens to you.
-Aldous Huxley

Try as much as possibly to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh – laugh like hell and when you get angry, get good and angry. – William Saroyan

Tomorrow isn’t a promise, it is a chance. – Rachel Joy Scott



IF I ONLY KNEW:
That even when everything in my life seems to go wrong and come crumbling down around me, even when my heart is broken, God has promised to always be with me.

That grief and heartache could be so deep and devastating; I would have been there more often for others.

That anyone can bring words of comfort, encouragement, and healing, who knows how many lives I might have touched?

That even a child’s days are sometimes cut short, I would have wished for more long nights of rocking you to sleep.

That God created me for a purpose; I would have passionately sought him to discover what he desired.

That when God closes a door, he opens another, I would have been less afraid of change and more welcoming of opportunities and adventures.

That it is not enough to empty my life of wrong, but to fill it with things that truly matter.



Bad things may happen to us, but they do not change who we are.

Courage is doing what you must when doing what you must is the hardest thing of all.

The apple tree itself, if it ever found a voice, could tell us something about life: Bow to storms – they will pass. You can bend in the wind without breaking. You don’t know how strong you are until your strength is tested.

Fear and worry are normal natural reactions to threats, but so are courage and hope…and they are the stronger, the more enduring.

Just knowing that we’re cared about can brighten even the dark of the bleakest winter day.

REMBER WHAT MATTERS…this is a story taken out of a book I was given after my Grandma Borg passed away nearly three years ago. I thought it was fitting.

Candlelit bubble bathes, sunset bike rides, and Victoria magazine with a cup of hot tea in fine china are terrific simple joys, aren’t they? But how do you slow down long enough from a life hurtling past at the speed of sound to make from for them if your life?
The best way I know is, remember what matters. As we tear through our days, so much of what we thing is absolutely urgent isn’t really all that important, ultimately. Let’s suppose you have just found out that unexpected guests are about to arrive at your house. Suddenly you’re wild with anxiety, trying to straighten up the house and swab the dust kitties out of the corners and wipe out the counters and get the toothpaste splatters off the bathroom mirror. This must all be done in between pulling together a lovely little spread you can lay out for them on the dinning room table, of course (after you whisk away the piles of mail and the kids’ homework papers).
This is a tough one for me because I like to have my things in order. I don’t want anything in my home to reflect poorly upon my as a creative homemaker. But you and I both know that getting everything looking just right isn’t half has important as being emotionally available to those people when they come in the door. It’s a big step for me to be able to say “It’s all right if the place isn’t perfect, because what really matters are relationships, no appearances”. So let the kitties rest, order a pizza, and enjoy your guests…and your intact sanity.
That’s a housework example, but the principle fits just about everything: so much of what flusters us just doesn’t matter. It absolutely doesn’t matter. Ask yourself, What is the bottom line here? Set your sights and shape your perspectives around whatever you and God come up with in answer to your questions. Hold on to it tightly, and ease your grip on all the rest. You just might find yourself unwrapping a few everyday gifts you didn’t know you had.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Preister's

Your "blog" is beautiful! Very inspiring! It was nice to hear from you also. I think we will be at Omaha May 29 or 30. Have yet to hear from the doctor. For some reason we have to start our chemo on Monday's, they won't let us start treatment over the weekends. We will continue our prayers for your family. Charli is adorable!

The Kuta's

Anonymous said...

Uplifting as always Brenda. Although your story makes my problems seem small in comparison, you always seem to find a way of putting them into perspective for me. I pray that God continues to work magic through you.

Anonymous said...

Brenda, I enjoyed your blog with the quotations. I might borrow a few for my own life and to share in my Stephen's Ministry. AJ

Anonymous said...

Great quotes and inspiration. You're such a great person Brenda. You probably have no idea how many people's lives you touch each day. God Bless!
Courtney