#500!

Wow! This is the 500th post on WoW... Indeed, in many ways, God has been faithful.

I've been looking forward to this post for a while as you can imagine - and wondered what I'd write on. So I decided to give myself an uphill task of choosing my favourite 5 posts.

It's difficult because each of the posts mean something special to me. Let's take the "Courage" series for instance...they were not only a series within a series (Secrets of Success), they were a personal test on how courageous I was to blog. It was tough to keep writing, but just imagine giving up when writing on "Courage" - what a paradox that would have been.

Courage: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2009/11/secret-3-courage-1.html

Courage to Live: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2009/11/secret-3-courage-2-courage-to-live.html

Courage to Give: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2009/11/courage-to-give.html

Courage to Love: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2009/11/secret-3-courage-3-courage-to-love.html

Courage to Lead: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2009/12/secret-3-courage-4-courage-to-lead.html

Courage to Learn: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2009/12/secret-3-courage-5-courage-to-learn.html

Courage to Lean: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2009/12/secret-3-courage-6-courage-to-lean.html

Courage to Leave: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.com/2009/11/secret-3-courage-7-courage-to-leave.html

Now that's 8 posts already...I wanted to pick only 5 out of the 499 posts published to date.

Indeed God has helped me gain and maintain courage so I intend to continue trusting God for the courage to go beyond the next 500 posts. This is also a great time to thank all of you - who not only read our posts but also reach out and share how much you look forward to the pieces and are blessed by them. I covet your prayers as I continue to pursue my purpose with passion. I also want to encourage you to pursue your passion - watch out on what you think is holding you up: http://sapphire-and-beryl.blogspot.ca/2010/07/whats-holding-you-up.html

I'll stop here and leave you to decide (& maybe share) which posts are your favourite...

You can do it...

...we can help.

When I saw this slogan it sounded rather scriptural to me...the difference being that our Lord doesn't take any money from us in exchange for His help. Now, I'm not saying that what Home Depot is doing is wrong. In fact it is the right thing - after all they are a profit-making enterprise not a not-for-profit or charitable organization.

Ok so where am I going with this?

Put your muscle...

..where your mouth is.

Be a light...

I was thinking about this Father's Day - the second one without my birth-father and the 12th watching my husband develop as a father - and couldn't help but wonder about other people's impressions of fathers. I know what mine are and agree with these quotes:

It is much easier to become a father than to be one.

~ Kent Nerburn, Letters to My Son: Reflections on Becoming a Man, 1994

Creating a child takes no love or skill; being a parent requires lots of both.

~ Michael Josephson

This "father-lighthouse" quote is so true. I do remember that my father always encouraged me to aim high and go for it. My husband does the same for our children.

While not the sail, good fathers pray for the fair wind to take their children to their God-given destiny. I know so - from watching my husband who knows how important the "wind of the Holy Spirit" is for successful sailing...

The quality of fathers as a guiding light is dependent on their power source. Stay connected to God - David said this about God:

"You have the fountain of life. 

We are filled with light because you give us light." (Ps 36:9 - NIRV)

Please join me as I celebrate all the great fathers out there who know that being a father is much more than having children...Happy Father's Day! May you never regret being a father.

Amen

1, 2, 3...fly

Life is always in flux. Sometimes I wish I could make time stop & I know I can't. So I turn my attention to how I can keep pace with all that's happening around me. Stopping or stepping away from the process of progression is not a solution. As someone once said: "Change is the new norm." (author unknown)

There is so much we can learn from the butterfly.

The 1st thing is to realize that until you are ready to change - especially in your mind (& actions), nothing around you may change. We must always realize that we have the choice. It's been said that (note this is my paraphrase):

"You may not be able to change things that happen but you can change your attitude and response to them."

The 2nd thing is: the end of something is not the END. Even when it involves death, though really painful, it is always also the beginning of a new phase of life.

Life is a progressive cycle. When something comes to an "end" be positive, embrace the beginning of a new experience rather expend valuable energy, emotions and time moaning about the end.

Be like the butterfly, who goes: 1, 2, 3...fly.