I’m thinking I need to give myself a little flexibility in my blogging schedule in order to take care of personal business. Today, I just feel like sharing this video and song.
And here’s the same song with the lyrics:
Category Archives: Peace
One-Liner Wednesday: Peace on Earth
“It is as if nature pauses to take a moment of silence, softly wishing for peace on earth.”
This quote comes from a Hallmark Christmas card I got yesterday. It’s one of the most beautiful cards I’ve ever seen. (Thanks, Linda and Jeff.) I looked up the quote, and all I found was “unknown” and Hallmark Christmas cards. Well, somebody did a good job on it.
Tomorrow, I’ll be driving to 6 hours to pick up my grand daughter and heading back with her Friday for her first overnight visit at grandma’s house! Prayers for our safe travels will be much appreciated. I probably won’t post for a few days, but look forward to checking in at WP when I can.
Please enjoy these Christmas photos I’ve taken over the years. The first two are storefront windows.
My husband made this balloon ornament.
See the deer on the hill? Maybe they’re reindeer!
Palm trees decked out at Brookgreen Gardens
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
And Happy Holidays,too!
For more information on One-Liner Wednesday, visit Linda Hill at:
https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/20/one-liner-wednesday-so-how-was-your-evening/
Peace Like A River
I couldn’t pass up Helen’s theme of peace for today’s “Song Lyric Sunday.”
I’ve always felt “Peace Like a River” was an old song. Some sites list it as African American Spiritual. But I’ve also seen John O. Schroeder identified as the author. It feels like a spiritual to me. One nice thing about this song is that it’s easy to learn. Some versions are faster, but I picked a relaxing one for this Sunday afternoon. I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
2. I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.
3. I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.
I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.
Lyrics found here.
For more on “Song Lyric Sunday,” and more peace songs, visit:
https://helenswordsoflife.com/2017/10/21/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-102217/
Peace Songs
September 21st is the International Day of Peace.
If peace is possible in one heart, for one day, it is possible in many hearts, for many days. We can begin with a breath, a prayer, or a song.
I’ve picked out 4 peace songs I hope you will enjoy.
The words written by Saint Francis of Assisi were put to music in “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. ” This video was filmed in the home town of Saint Francis.
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Taize is a meditative form of musical worship that originated in France after World War II. Many Taize chants are sung in Latin, Spanish or German as well as English. Da Pacem Cordium can be translated as Give Peace to Every Heart.
Give Peace to Every Heart
Give Peace
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Here’s a classic peace song with beautiful pictures and quotes. (When I sing it, I sing, “With God our Creator, together all are we. Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.”)
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This one will get you moving!
I hope you have a beautiful day with many peaceful moments!
What songs bring you peace?
When People are Hard to Love
“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Some people are hard to love. Maybe it’s a teenager who you love deeply, but it’s hard to like her when she’s spewing drama. I remember telling my daughter, “I love you, but I hate the way you’re acting right now,” and “Please lower your volume. I can’t hear you when you’re yelling.”
It’s even harder to love the haters, the racists, the ones who intentionally do harm. But Matthew 5:44 says to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you. Now, I know I’m not persecuted. Not really. But it’s still hard to love the haters. I can pray for them, but love them? How do I do that?
Can I say, I love you as part of humanity, because you are created by God. Can I ask, Could we try to listen to each other with respect?
I have no way of knowing if that would work. And to be honest, I’m not too keen on putting myself in situations where hate is strong. I’d much rather avoid conflict altogether, though sometimes I’ve pushed past the fear.
My heart goes out to the family of Heather Heyer who was killed when she stood against hate in Charlottesville, Virginia. They had no way of knowing her life would be cut short by an act of violence. It’s hard to know when and how to make a stand – when to push past the fear and when to love people from a distance.
In Trust the Timing, I considered it a victory when I finally learned I could just walk away from toxic relationships that would have killed me slowly if I had stayed in them.
But I don’t want to walk away from my country. I love my country in spite of it’s flaws and with all our different kinds of people. But I have to admit, I find myself fearing the actions and beliefs of some of those people.
The Southern Poverty Law Center recommends in this article that if hate groups plan to demonstrate on a campus (or in a city) to ignore them and ask administrators to denounce them. We need to realize that facing hate head on might give haters the distraction they crave to keep from looking at some turmoil stewing inside themselves. I believe that deep down, haters are using anger to cover up hurt and fear. That’s no excuse. That doesn’t mean we accept the behavior. But perhaps this could bring us closer to the love the Bible talks about in Matthew.
“Grief unprocessed becomes bitterness, resentment, and unharnessed fury. Grief processed becomes an unstoppable force of compassion, empathy, and love. __Allison Fallon
I have no plans to go into places where hate is strong.
But sometimes hate crops up unexpectedly.
I want to be ready with love if hate crosses my path.
I want to avoid posting negative comments on social media.
I want to hold up positive stories of people doing good work.
I want to say less about what I’m against,
and more about what I stand for.
and more about what I stand for.
I want to remember that peace begins with me.
I want to recognize any seeds of hate that might hide away in the deep corners of my mind – the lingering resentments from old hurts.
I want to forgive myself and others, to bring the hurts to the light, open them up and see if I can love the hate away and heal the fear and sadness underneath. I can’t do this by myself. But with God’s help, maybe I can let love grow so big that it takes up all the space and seeps into the dark places.
What if that could happen in our country? In our world?
We can start by finding the gardens of love within ourselves and letting that love grow. Water the love. Nurture it. Give it light.
I wish you peace and strong growing love.
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The above is from my August Newsletter. Here’s one more article of interest:
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On a side note, please hop over to Linda’s blog and vote for this year’s SOC Badge. My entry is the “Sparkly Stream.”
Click here: https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/17/vote-here-for-the-4th-annual-socs-badge-contest-winner/
Peace, Love, and Songs from the 70s
Guess who’s having a party!
Me! It’s a 70’s Book Signing Party! I wish you could all come, but here’s a taste of nostalgia.
I’m planning to sing karaoke to this. My friend Terry and I used to listen to Carole King’s Tapestry album all the time in the 70s.
The party is this evening and it’s to celebrate my book, Trust the Timing, A Memoir of Finding Love Again. But in a way, it’s like the birthday party I just didn’t feel like having when I turned 60 a year and a half ago. I guess I just wasn’t in a party mood then. I don’t know why. But now, it’s time!
I’ll be pretty busy today getting everything ready, so I won’t have much time to follow up on the Stream of Consciousness until tomorrow. After the party, I’m hoping to go to the beach and look for meteors. Shooting stars sounds more romantic though. If it’s not too cloudy. But when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me…..
But I will get back to the stream eventually. Before I take off, I have to share a song by The Guess Who, since today’s prompt is the word, “guess.” For some reason I got in my head that the Guess Who became The Who, but that’s wrong. They were two different bands. I wasn’t a huge fan of either one, just a moderate fan. But I love this song.
Now, I’m off to find some peace, love, and understanding. And I wish the same for you.
We can all use some more of that right about now.
For more Streams of Consciousness, visit Linda G. Hill’s blog:
https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-1217/
Here are the SOCS rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
8. Have fun!
One-Liner on Peace
“Peace is always an option.”
(From Kim, my yoga teacher)
It starts with a breath
Flowing into dark corners
Reviving embers
One-liner Wednesday is brought to you by Linda G. Hill. Discover inspiring and/or funny one-liners at: https://lindaghill.com/2017/06/14/one-liner-wednesday-back-to-the-future/
