Encouragement
Steadfast …
Life is about choices and also how we deal with those choices. Are you able to forgive yourself for choices you made that weren’t necessarily good ones? Are you able to forgive others for choices they have made that may have hurt you? Do you understand the choices people make are a direct result of where they are on their spiritual journey and often nothing to do with you at all? We cannot own other people’s choices or behaviors. If we do, then we will end up feeling unworthy or hurt because they aren’t treating us the same way we treat them. It’s not that they aren’t capable of treating us with the same respect, Love and kindness it’s just they don’t yet fully know how to do that. What’s the best way for them to learn? By seeing a visual, a true living example of that respect, Love and kindness. Your Heart then shines as a bright Light in a dark land. A Light they will be drawn to when life hits them hard and when they are lost. How you live speaks volumes and penetrates depths that the human voice could never reach. When you are able to stand strong in who God has made you to be including the Love, Kindness, and Respect no matter what or who you face, you have become steadfast. How often do you take the form or shape shift into the hearts around you instead of remaining in the Heart He has made you to be? Once the world can no longer get you to change colors like a chameleon (i.e. taking the color of each heart that crosses your path), you then have become complete in Him. Remain in Him and He will remain in you, don’t change colors to match the world around you instead paint the world around you with the color He has made you to be.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Susie …
Someone had forwarded me this story some time back and it came on my Heart to share it with you today :) It touches my Heart every time I read it and reminds me just how important it is that we are here for each other.
Come with me to a third grade classroom….. There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives. The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, ‘Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.’ He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ‘Thank you, God! Thank you, God!’ Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. “You’ve done enough, you klutz!” Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispers back, “I wet my pants once too.”
- Author Unknown
Life happens. We are not alone. We all just need our Susie. We face the trials we do so we learn compassion and empathy. It gives us the strength to step in and help because we’ve been there. We can then become the Susie in someone’s Life. God works thru each of our Hearts so we can help each other. There is nothing stronger than a Heart who has walked the shoes before you … those are the Hearts that God sends in to defend. Thank you to all of you who have ever been the Susie in someone’s Life. Who is the Susie in your Life?
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie L. Peters
A Few Good Men …
A Few Good Men. We are in the strongest battle of good against evil this world has ever seen. Many leaders are out there arming up their soldiers for battle with the focus being on the big picture, the war that needs to be won. They study their enemy. They strategize tactics necessary to claim Victory. They go thru rigorous and strenuous physical conditioning to ensure each and every soldier has the physical endurance and strength before facing combat. They don’t yet understand that the key to Victory starts within the soldier’s Heart.
I really enjoyed the movie Captain America because they chose a man based on his Heart and not his physical attributes. This is the key the world is too easily looking past. A man with the right Heart, can face anything, can endure anything, and will always overcome his enemy. It’s a secret weapon needed to put the evil down once and for all in this world. For when a man can overcome good against evil within his very own Heart, then he has persevered, endured the impossible, fought the biggest Beast and won! That is when all honor and glory is bestowed upon him because then he has proven worthy of the call. He walks this earth in Honor, Integrity, Valor and Dignity. These are the men we need protecting, defending and overcoming this world. Many are called, few are chosen. We need a few Good Men, are you one?
The strength needed to overcome is held within the Heart, not the muscles.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Shake the dirt off!
Have you ever walked into a room and someone is so full of energy, life, kindness and joy that you are instantly drawn to them? Somehow it just makes you feel better being in the same room as them. Be that person!
I know the world tries to get you down but continue to fight thru it. Refuse to stay in the dark pit especially when the world tries to make you feel you’re not worth the effort. Shake the dirt off and rise above it! You ARE worth it and the world needs you in it!
This story was pressing on my Heart to share in the message today:
The Farmer’s Donkey: A Fable for Our Time
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. (Shifting)
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone’s amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.
What happens to you isn’t nearly as important as how you react to it.
Author Unknown
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Integrity …
Integrity. “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness” (defined on google). I want to encourage you to live a life of Integrity no matter what situation you face whether it is at home, at work or with friends. No longer go along with the crowd or conform to something just because everyone else is doing it. Don’t compromise who you are for your spouse (husband or wife), your friend, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your boss or your coworker. No job, marriage, friendship or relationship is worth comprising your Integrity. Be honest and hold onto strong moral principles ALWAYS. When you live a life of Integrity, your ways will be blessed because you are not conforming to the world or compromising your character to please someone else but instead you are standing upright in who you were born to be.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Brighten the world with the Color of who you are …
In these times where there seems to be more and more deaths and funeral after funeral, I want to encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your dash. The dash that represents your Life from the day you were born to the day you are called to pass from this world (you know, the dash you see on the headstones at the cemetery). So what is it your dash represents? What is it that you have accomplished? What would be written about you? What would be spoken at your funeral?
If you are caught up in the rat race, bow out of the race right now. It isn’t about how much money you have in your bank account. It isn’t about the title you have at work or the car that you drive. It isn’t about that endless To Do List you pursue every day. It’s about who you are as a person. It’s about the Hearts you have touched, the lives you have impacted by who you are. Above all things people will remember how you treated them. The people who are remembered and held dear to the Hearts around them are the people who have touched their Heart.
When color is added to a black and white photo it brings life. A dear friend of mine and one of my very gifted photographers, Joe, had forward this link to me a month ago and it really gives a visual of how color brings life http://www.greatdanepro.com/Just%20Colors/index.htm.
Who you are and how you treat others paints color on the canvas of each and every Heart that crosses your path. No one but you can choose the color to use. Every day a paintbrush is placed within your hand, what color are you choosing?
Bring color and brighten the world by changing a Life. Live all you were called to be. It is never too late to add meaning to that dash (both your dash and the dashes that surround you).
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie L. Peters
Learning to Walk …
Forgive. We go thru lessons in life to learn and to grow so we can find our way back to who we were made to be from the beginning. When a baby is learning to walk, he stumbles and some times falls but his parents are there to help him stand back up, to hold his hands and to cheer him on until he can walk on his own. The baby doesn’t look at how many times he has fallen or stumbled. He doesn’t give up and sit there all discouraged and depressed. He just wants to walk and to get to the loving arms of his parents who are cheering him on, that is where his focus is. God does the same for us so if you have stumbled or even tripped and fell, look straight ahead to see the arms open wide and hear the Voice cheering you on. Pick yourself up, make things right that you did wrong and take the right steps going forward.
Forgive yourself and forgive others. Understand that although you may already be walking some are just learning to walk. In our spiritual journey, it has nothing to do with age and everything to do with Heart so don’t judge someone because you feel they should know better. They may just be finding their way to Life and learning what is important. Open your arms wide, cheer them on and Love them. They will walk some day it just takes Love and patience. It’s not the mistakes but what we do with them that counts.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Shine Bright …
A friend and I were talking over tea and she asked me, “Have you ever driven by and seen a corner that used to have a building but the building was knocked down and now you can’t remember what was there?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “I feel like that building.” I said, “Oh my goodness, how can you feel like that building? All the Hearts you have touched just by being you with a kind word, a smile, an act of kindness that you have done. God doesn’t need a degree, a fancy title or some huge status in the world that isn’t what He or anyone else is going to remember. People remember those who have touched their Hearts and you have done that A LOT. Who are the people in your life that you would remember?” She smiled as I saw the Truth sink in. I said, “You have done a lot with that dash already.” She said, “The dash?” I said, “Yes, the dash. The line that designates on a tombstone the life we’ve lived from the moment we were born to the moment we die. You HAVE done a lot with that dash, more than most people I know don’t let the world rob you of that reality.”
I can’t stress this enough, there are NO EXTRA PARTS in this world. If you are alive and have breath then you are here for a very specific purpose. Your role DOES matter. What if you are the person who offers a kind word to a man in line at the gas station and because of you he didn’t go home to beat his wife that night. Do you think it made a difference not only in that man’s life but how about to his wife? You cannot even comprehend how many lives you personally have impacted just by being you (maybe one smile, one kind word, or one helping hand).
Don’t look at all the things you feel you haven’t done instead look at what good you HAVE done and multiply it! You do not have to be some big star to shine bright you just have to be a star … Shine Bright!
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
My journey has taught me …
On this journey I continue to learn and grow more each day.
My journey has taught me …
The only way to teach a baby Love is to Love them. They don’t understand any other language.
No matter how strong our Faith, we go through life lessons to draw us closer to God, not away from God.
The Hearts that are True are the ones people are drawn to when the world crumbles under their feet.
The most important relationship we will ever have is with God but it is often the one people spend the least time investing in.
Believing in God is not a religion but a way of Life.
When we Bless others then we are Blessed.
Change can happen but it has to start with us first.
The mind is a powerful thing but is useless unless the Heart is beating.
Words cannot be taken back.
Surrender is one word that has the power to change your Life forever.
Truly all things are possible, ALL THINGS, when we Believe.
Without Love, we have nothing and we are nothing.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie
Words of Life …
Words cannot be taken back, so make yours count! Words are powerful, they can build up a city or tear one down. Each and every Heart in this world is a city. Be mindful of what you speak because your tongue is a sword, whether that sword is used to destroy life or to cut away things that are binding a life is completely up to you. Yes, there is always forgiveness if words are spoken that you didn’t mean but imagine those words like nails … although you may take the nails out (saying you’re sorry), they leave a scar. Instead of inflicting another wound that needs healed, wouldn’t it be better if your Words were the salve to help heal the wounds that others have brought? Or maybe you are the one being sent in their life to remove the nails that have hung them on a cross preventing them from using their hands or feet to walk fully in their purpose on earth.
Be mindful of your Words, not only what you are speaking but the spirit in which they are spoken. If what you are going to say (joking or not) will take away from someone (i.e. degrade them, hurt them, criticize them) then don’t speak it, instead ask God to change your Heart so only Words of Life rise in your Heart and are shared with others.
Many Blessings to you, with MUCH Love!!! :)
Ammie