Everyone fights a hard battle

Remember that everyone in the world fights a hard battle. It is important to help one another, rather than oppose and fight with each other. We are all human, and none of us are the picture of perfection. Love one another and have faith in your relationships; whether it be family, friends, or romantic. Be there...stay there...and do not fear what you cannot control.

Cherish your friends, and keep them close...through both the good and the bad times. A cherished friendship is a nurtured and mended relationship; a bond that cannot be broken by even the sharpest sword.

To give unconditional love is one thing, to receive it is another. To have both is a blessing; and that type of blessing leaves room for growth.

Much love to my readers, those subscribed, and those unsubscribed. Thank you for reading.

Ashley

"we all have fears and fear is constructive in that it helps us learn about ourselves"

In a believer's shoes...: Thankful for the Blessings

In a believer's shoes...: Thankful for the Blessings: I'm extremely glad that I had this entire 5 day weekend to relax and to pray. I did good amounts of studying here and there, but not too muc...

These high paced times we live in...

In a Believer's Shoes - Blog

I am thankful

God sings me lullabies of grace
My soul is nourished...
My cup overflows with joy and peace
Oh, how can I ever be more thankful

"Abba"
Daddy...
I am one of your own
Oh, dearest father
Never let me go...


My heart is filled with prayers...oh so many precious prayers. The most important of which is that I always remain believing. I have never felt more blessed than I do on this very day. This blessed feeling continues to grow as I continue to grow in faith.
I am always like a child; always wanting to learn...how can I be more like you, and less like the whole wide world?

"My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak"
Oh Father, guide me...for I am so very weak. I fall and I stumble all so frequently.

Dear Father, please carry me
for I have grown so weary...
Do not let me leave your sight
But rather hold me in your arms so tight.

Do not let me go from here
In you I find security
In you I find such hope and peace...
You alone put my heart at ease

In you I let my spirit run free
Your light shines brightly into me

I cast even my smallest prayers on you
And ask, if it be your will...
Oh dearest Lord, please... could you...

I have so much I ask for
Yet I have so much more to be thankful for

I am thankful
I am thankful
From the bottom of my fragile heart...
Thankful

Thankful...

You decide.

Today, a brief word with a friend made me look at life in a different light.

The things that we do--the way in which we live--whatever lifestyle it is that we have chosen...it does not and will not ever just affect us.

It affects the children that we could one day have...
The children for which we would wish good health, a good life, and a life of all the joys that could be made possible.

If we have chosen to be destructive to ourselves, no matter if it is emotionally or physically, our children will suffer the consequences...and I do not think that it is fair for a child to suffer illness because the mother was a smoker, a drinker, or a junkie. Even if she was battling the diseases of the self -- depression, anxiety, anorexia, or bulimia.... the child will still suffer in some way.

I know that I cannot change the world...but I also know that if I can do anything, let that be to treat my body and my spirit with the love and care it needs. Let it be a movement of the self...to treat it with loving kindness and to be grateful that it was given to me as a gift...so that I could live.

We are, after all, meant to live and then die once we have lived a long and fulfilling life...

We should not die as victims of disease

And children especially should never die from the things which can be prevented by the simple act of me, you, and us, doing the right thing -- living in health and wellness, promoting vitality, and by walking away from our unhealthy thoughts and behaviors.

We can all walk into health together... but the question I leave for you today is.... will you?

An evening of calm

It's been a long time...

Time is one of the most precious things we have. We learn so much with time, and it stands beside us until we leave this world.

My life has been nothing short of a story of struggle, growth, tragedy, and loss...it is a book filled with highs and lows, happy and sad...but most importantly, my life is an example of change...and good change it is.

Only a couple of years ago, I was still just a child; unaware of many of life's obstacles and dangers -- only living, because I knew I had to...but now, 2 years later, I find my life as being filled with purpose; so many opportunities, so many plans, and sometimes nothing but pure and honest faith to get me to where I am going. Sometimes; or most of the time, I have no idea how I am going to do those things or get to those places...but I know in my heart that I will; and that I have to be patient.

...I am going home -- soon... but on the way I have many things I must do. I have lessons to learn, people to meet, lives to change, and tasks to complete. I'm not just living to live...I am living for you, and I am living for everything that I know. I am living for a purpose other than my own. I am given the freedom to do as I please, but the choices I make are not for me.

On this quiet and tranquil evening, I find myself here as I am, and I understand that I am different -- I am not the same; I have become much more different of a person than I ever imagined myself to be. It's the feeling of starting all over again-- receiving a new and untainted gift to live. Freely believing and taking each breath as it comes to me. I surrender to the beating of my heart; the equilibrium of life...the essence of time. I just become me, and me is who I am...no different than you, yet, none the same it seems.
----

Lately, I have felt the inspiration to write come back to me; it seems to come and go...but when it comes back, I know that it is because I've been able to get back in touch with the peace and the still in my soul...of which is something that I never again want to let go...

...and 'letting go'....is a subject for yet another day...I suppose.

Goodnight and Sweet Dreams

-Keeper of the Ash Tree

Beauty without Fruit

A beautiful face without a beautiful heart is incomplete in its beauty; but a beautiful heart without a beautiful face has a beauty that is no less than complete.

We often times judge a book by its cover, and do not consider the heart beneath a face. One can be beautiful in appearance; but does their heart truly reflect beauty? One cannot determine whether another is beautiful until first opening the heart and by listening to it speak.

Beauty is warming-- and in true beauty, there is love. It speaks of grace and life... love and hope.
False beauty is merely of the flesh; when our eyes decieve our own hearts, and we pay no mind to the truth

Beauty that is true will radiate out into the world and into the lives of people. It will shine like the stars of a clear night sky. It will move mountains. It will make peace between enemies, and show strength in our spirits.

What is beauty without love....without hope...without faith?

Beauty, like love, must be felt -- because if you can only see it, and not feel it, it is untrue....but if you can feel it - regardless of whether or not you see it - then you will know in your own heart that beauty is real.


*Daily Insight

<3 Ashley