I Take Off The Mask! -Devotionals, Quotes, Prayers, Poems, Grief and Healing

Are You a Generous Receiver?

Post author By Jocelyn Soriano
Post date November 30, 2008
2 Comments on Are You a Generous Receiver?

Have you ever bought a special gift, worked hard just to get it, and then only to be refused by the person you were giving it to? Felt bad didn’t it?

Receiving gifts. Sometimes, it is not our ability to give something in return, but our ability to receive the gifts given us that counts.

Our relationships are greatly enhanced when we become not only generous givers, but generous receivers as well, people who accept gifts gladly, thankfully, wholeheartedly, with the kind of smile you’ll never forget.

Receiving opens up a great channel, it allows love to flow. It recognizes the love of the giver, and it also shows how you think of yourself.

Are you the kind of person who always thinks he or she doesn’t deserve the gift given him/her? What is it that you deserve? Are you thinking of remuneration or payment? Then that is not a gift anymore but a fee or a salary.

Gifts are freely given, whose only reason and purpose is love. It has served its end when it is also received in love. Don’t you think you deserve love? Only those who value and love themselves can fully realize a fruitful relationship with other people. It is only they who are also capable of giving of themselves for the sake of love alone.

Are you a generous receiver?

Tags generosity, generous giver, gift, improving relationships, Online shopping, receiving

friendship Poems Prayers Words of Wisdom

A Prayer for My Dear Friend

Post author By Jocelyn Soriano
Post date November 28, 2008
6 Comments on A Prayer for My Dear Friend

Dear Lord, bless my friend who came from Thee

Save her from every harm

Rescue her from every evil and pain.

Guide always her path

And provide her with your Light,

That she may not stray,

And always find her way back home.

Protect her thoughts oh, Lord,

That she may not be anxious

But have the assurance that comes from Your Grace.

Surround her heart with your strength

That she may live in love

And thereby live a meaningful life

Wherever she may be.

May she never forget our friendship

And find in it a treasure that does not fade.

May she remember that there is a person she can lean on to

In times of need,

In times when she may cry.

And even in those times when I can’t be there

To hold her hand,

May she always know she’s not alone

For You are there, O Lord,

The One who has given us this blessing of friendship,

The One who will protect its joy forever more.

Tags friend, friend prayer, friendship, friendship prayers, prayer for a friend

coffee Words of Wisdom

Is Poison Good for You?

I’ve read from Stevepavlina that coffee is in reality a kind of poison that wrecks our nervous system. According to his blog article, what we experience as the welcoming effects of coffee, the “highs” and the “stimulation” we feel when we drink our favorite cup of java, is only our body’s reaction to get rid of the poison that entered our system. Not a good news for coffee addicts, isn’t it? poor me 🙁

More than the fear however, (aha!) what fascinated me was how something that seemed so negative could trigger something positive in return. (now that’s more like it)

Our problems in life for instance. Its these problems that shape our character, making us stronger, more resilient, forgiving and more capable of love.

Without any challenges in life, problems to fix and puzzles to solve, would people need much brain then? Maybe we’d be more like a fish whose only problem is to swim and find its food.

What we rarely realize is that people need problems as much as the solutions, challenges as much as the sweet victories emanating from them.

Why do you think there is a proliferation of reality tv shows nowadays? Aside from commercialism and the satisfaction of our natural curiosities, people crave for challenges they no longer face in their boring day to day lives.

For instance, who would ever eat a catterpillar within the sanitized walls of the office? Who would dare climb a ten-story high building? Who would set himself on fire or try to survive on fishing for weeks? We don’t do these things anymore. We’re now far more sophisticated than that.

But did our sophistication made us any stronger? Did it make us sharper, or faster so we could easily avoid predators like lions or bears?

It didn’t. It wasn’t necessary anymore.

The lack of enemies made us softer, complacent, couch potatoes whose only challenge is to win the next on-line role playing game.

I’m not saying we go back to the dark ages, or to throw away our office attires and head out towards the jungle.

What I’m saying is that we can still appreciate the problems before us, the poisons that could help us become better persons. Whatever fails to kill you will indeed make you stronger, better.

So maybe, coffee addicts will just have another excuse for not letting go of their java, won’t they? Have a good day everyone.