With this blog comes the hopes and dreams that it will serve multiple purposes.
The first and most significant purpose is to serve as an avenue toward healing the pain that many children of families of violence still carry with them in their adult lives.
Secondly, it will provide educational material. As you make your journey, hopefully you will find the support here of others who have made or who are in the process of making this same journey. The tools and the support that you will need can be found here.

Be aware the content of this blog is in no way "Dressed Up". This blog, like family violence itself, is not a walk in the park. Here the reality is faced both past and present!

Content will be added to this blog as it is made available.

PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE !!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Choices



Its quiet.
Its early.
My coffee is hot.
The sky is still black.
The world is still asleep.

The day is coming.


In a few moments the day will arrive.
It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.
The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged
for the noise of the day.
The calm of solitude will be replaced
by the pounding pace of the human race.
The refuge of the early morning will be invaded
by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.


For the next twelve hours
I will be exposed to the days demands.
It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose.
And so I choose.


I choose Love....

No occasion justifies hatred;
No injustice warrants bitterness.
~I choose love~
Today I will love God
and what God loves.


I choose Joy...

I will invite my God
to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical ...
the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people
as anything less than human beings,
created by God.
I will refuse to see any problem
As anything less than
an opportunity to see God.


I choose Peace...

I will live forgiven.
I will forgive so that I may live.


I choose Patience...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place,
I'll invite him to do so.
Rather than complain that the wait is too long,
I will thank God for a moment to pray.
Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments,
I will face them with joy and courage.


I choose Kindness...

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich for they are afraid.
And kind to the unkind,
for such is how God has treated me.


I choose Goodness...

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will be overlooked before I will boast.
I will confess before I will accuse.
~I choose goodness~


I choose Faithfulness...

Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust.
My associates will not question my word.
My wife or partner will not question my love.
And my children will never fear that
their father will not come home.

I choose Gentleness...
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.I
f I make a demand, may it be only of myself.



I choose Self-control...

I am a spiritual being.
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal.
~I choose self-control~
I will be drunk only by joy.
I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
~I choose self-control~


~Love~
~Joy~
~Peace~
~Patience~
~Kindness~
~Goodness~
~Faithfulness~
~Gentleness~
and
~Self-control~


To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

~*~*~*~

'WHEN GOD WHISPERS YOUR NAME'


The Think Tank

One of the greatest gifts given to us is

THE GIFT OF CHOICE


~LOVE~

We can choose to believe that we are unlovable
because of a past that is clouded by anothers
unloving words and actions.


~JOY~

We can choose to suffer the depression
which has followed us into adult life.
We can continue to believe
that every bad thing that has
ever happened to us is our own fault,
merely because we were taught at an early
age that this was true.


~PEACE~

We can choose to constantly struggle
with the memories of abuse.


~PATIENCE~

We can choose to give up all hope
for a brighter tomorrow because
the journey there takes too long.


~KINDNESS~

We can choose to lash out at others
because of the unkindness we have known.


~GOODNESS~

We can choose to believe that there
is no goodness in the world
and live our lives accordingly.


~FAITHFULNESS~

We can choose to be unfaithful
to those who have put trust in us.
We can choose to justify this by,
believing that trust is always broken.


~GENTLENESS~

We can choose to be forceful,
demanding, and violent because
that is how we were raised.


~SELF-CONTROL~

We can choose to loose control
and strike out at anyone that
gets in the way of all our other choices,
be they right or wrong.


~OR~

We can choose to look at the sunrise
of each new day as a promise.
The promise of new beginnings.
A new beginning that will not
allow the pain and problems of the
past to rule the present.


This Is Your Day

Your Choice

7 comments:

Reva said...

I love your poems and I especially agree with the word "choose" because that's what each person needs to do every day. I remember that as a young girl I decided to 'choose' to be happy every day and not be sad or mad. I already realized that each of our days is a choice and now I am realizing that each of us is a gift if we but share it with others. Thank you.
Also, the zoo was great, although I didn't mention that the heat really did wear me down and we made frequent rest stops along the way in the shade. It was worth it though and the kids all really enjoyed it.

nippercatshome said...

What beautiful poems, and how to..we do choose our path, and sometimes we need to sit back and think if it is the right path or not. Things from the past haunt us, and is hard to make it go away, thanks for the great poems...Mary

Mary said...

Jo,

This is an awesome post and I'm so glad I followed your link from my comment section. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this. You have a real talent with words.

Blessings,
Mary

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Dear Jo,
I have a new topic on my sidebar called "Blogs of Insight & Understanding". I have listed your blog site there, I hope that's alright with you. This is an incredible blog Jo and there are so many people that can benefit by it! My sweet Wes came up with the name for the sidebar and I think it's very appropriate. Thank you for the great posts you do here!
Big Hugs, Sherry

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for sharing.
Through your blog, a lot of people including me of course have a chance to read and learn

from.
I have read some of your post and I really enjoyed reading it.
Thanks again and looking forward for more of your posting soon!

Christine said...

HI Reva gave me a link to your website. I think she thought I should see you website because I had a less then steller childhood and I am learning to cope with it right now on my own blog. I like the poem at the bottom.
they are right, you do feel alone all the time, like no one else understands. I will link to this site if thats okay.
chris

Mary said...

Jo, I enjoyed visiting with you and reading your poems. So nice of you to stop in to the Writing Nook.

Blessings,
Mary