bluebirduncaged Something to think about, Things I'm learning

We have so much potential because we have Jesus! We have a greater story to tell, we have absolute truth to proclaim, we’ve found freedom. Not because we’re creating something but because we know the Creator. Because by sharing our story, we’re sharing a bigger story. A story of brokenness and shame overcome by redemption, beauty, and grace. A story of love and sacrifice for the undeserving. A story of majesty in the mess. And through our art we can invite people into this story, because they can relate to it. Because it starts and ends with Jesus. 

 

bluebirduncaged Something to think about

The Church must be committed to raising up disciple-makers, not conversation facilitators. It seems to me the church should be leading its disciples further into abandonment of their own pursuits to live abundantly with Jesus. Are the disciples of your church empowered and equipped to make disciples in the course of their daily lives? If, instead, the disciples of your church are great at leading small groups but are not actually making disciples, is anything more than furthering your ministry’s programs happening?…When I attempt to step out of that role – to speed up God’s work, to push the ministry forward in steady growth, or to satisfy my own version of “ministry success” – I step out of God’s peace and calling. He gives an inheritance. He multiplies. ~Tyler Staton

Read Tyler's whole article on Q Ideas here 

 

bluebirduncaged Something to think about

Tenacity

Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we are looking for will transpire. Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered. The greatest fear a man has is not that he will be damned, but that Jesus Christ will be worsted, that the things He stood for–love and justice and forgiveness and kindness among men–will not win out in the end…Then comes the call to spiritual tenacity, not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately on the certainty that God is not going to be worsted. If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that wll not be fulfilled. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God…Remain spiritually tenacious 

~Oswald Chambers

bluebirduncaged Something to think about

What the world longs for from the Christian faith is the witness of men and women daring to be different, humble enough to make mistakes, wild enough to be burnt in the fire of love, real enough to make others see how unreal they are. 
                                                                                                            ~Brennan Manning

bluebirduncaged Something to think about

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve teh Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; i is He who made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations
{Psalm 100}

 

bluebirduncaged Beautiful, Something to think about

Beautiful: Caitlin’s thoughts

I used to think that beautiful meant looking like a Barbie doll. Having perfect teeth, hair, and skin tone. That is what Hollywood taught me. It's what I saw on billboards, music videos, and magazine covers.  But I don't believe that to be true any longer. 

Beauty is deeper than the layers of epidermis and the way your bones are structured. No one can live up to photoshop. God didn't create us to look that way. Or perhaps He did and the Fall of Man ruined our chances. I'm not going to wax theological because I don't know the answer and there are some things that should remain a mystery. 

The adage that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is true. 

Everyone has a different standard of beauty. There are universal elements to be sure but we know that everyone finds their sweetheart to be the most lovely person on the earth. The first child is the most adorable. Our heart often influences the way we view the world and those in it. 

I've seen women fall in love with men whose looks I would never put faith in. Men fall in love with women who don't look anything like a model. Yet, they glow. When they marry, they are radiant. Love changes them. Gives them a confidence, a sense of security, that allows their inner beauty to shine radiant. 

Beauty can be fragile. It can be fierce. It can be a great many things. But in the end, it is no stronger than the heart that views it.
Caitlin blogs at caitlinmuir.com
ladies, check out this post for more of Caitlin's thoughts on beauty

This is a response to a previous post. What does beautiful mean to you? Feel free to join our conversation either in the comments, by email, or on your own blog. We'd love to hear what you think.

bluebirduncaged Beautiful, Something to think about

Beautiful: Hannah’s thoughts

Beautiful is God's pardon to the world. He could have made everything terrible, but He chose not to. He gave us a little reminder of Himself, and that life isn't so bad – even the hardest parts. Beauty is pure and unprecedented. When we say something is beautiful, we mean it. Whether it be about music, a person, or food (or anything for that matter), the word "beautiful" is not used in a light sense if we know the true feeling and meaning of it. Even people who do not believe there is a God know that "beautiful" means something different. Beautiful can be an attitude, an action, or a feeling. It's the light at the end of the tunnel, and the illuminated trees in the forest. Beautiful is creation. Beautiful is creativity making it's path through a deprived world. Beauty is also a choice. It is the opposite of bitterness. When you choose rightly, you choose beauty. Life is beautiful because we have hope and second chances. People are beautiful because God made them in His image. God is beautiful for reasons we will never understand on this earth. But our job is not to try and figure it out, it's to be thankful that God loved us enough to not let us be completely affected by our surroundings when we are in Him, and that we might see His beauty at work in our lives. Beautiful is God's gift to the world.

Hannah blogs at The Color of Thought

 

This is a response to a previous post. What does beautiful mean to you? Feel free to join our conversation either in the comments, by email, or on your own blog. We'd love to hear what you think.

bluebirduncaged Beautiful, Something to think about

Beautiful

Beauty is a sense of worth.

It’s an assigned value.

When we realize the value/worth of something, an attitude of honor and respect follows.

 

He gives us value and worth.

He restores our brokenness.

He makes us beautiful.

 

In beauty there is dignity, in dignity confidence and in confidence there is freedom.

 

You are beautiful.

Embrace it. Live in that truth

Be free in the confidence you have in Him

 

This is my response to a previous post. What does beautiful mean to you? Feel free to join our conversation either in the comments, by email, or on your own blog. We'd love to hear what you think.

bluebirduncaged Beautiful, Something to think about

Beautiful: Any thoughts?

beau·ti·ful [byoo-tuh-fuhl]

–adjective

1. having beauty;  having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind.
2. excellent of its kind
3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

 

What is beautiful? Is this really the definition? Is it subjective? Is there a universal standard? Is it only a surface thing or does it go deeper? Is it a feeling? Is it abstract or concrete? What is the result of beauty?

 

This is something I’ve been pondering as I’ve worked on a piece of choreography. What do you think?

Feel free to join our conversation either in the comments, by email, or on your own blog. We'd love to hear what you think.