Practice Makes Perfect, Passion Makes Dreams Come True
Doing a thing over and over and over and over again and again….
Eventually it becomes second nature…like breathing; you don’t even think about it, you just do it…
Piano lessons, Ugh! Did you ever sit at the piano or keyboard and practice over and over again…but each key was struck “off key?” Thinking to yourself, “I could be outside with my friends right now. Or I could be reading a mystery and discover, “Who done it?”
That all behind you now, and you’re all grown up, and you get to choose who, what, where and when, you want to do something or not.
So, you attend a concert and you hear someone like the following link…you think back to that time when you had to practice piano and hated it and so eventually you gave it up…it just wasn’t worth all that agonizing PRACTICE…no matter how much your mom insisted.
God loves order, he loves music and dance and song…he loves us…
When you have a passion for something it’s not agonizing to do it over and over and over again and again…it comes from your deepest being…when you rise up in the morning that’s what you think about and when you lie down at night you are thinking about it. You’re constantly thinking on how to improve your craft, gift, talent. It is your passion.
Your instrument doesn’t have to be strings or trumpet or drums…maybe your passion is painting or poetry or carpentry or driving a race-car or climbing a mountain…maybe it is caring for people or teaching or ministry, or writing…maybe it’s flying or going into places that are yet to be discovered…
Whatever your passion, practice comes without even thinking about it…it is something born within you and you must do it or cease to exist…
Maybe you don’t have a passion and wonder how in the world someone with passion has it…
You know when you have it…because you pursue it with all your heart, strength, resources…
I have a passion to write for God to tell of his love and goodness…he put that passion inside of me and when I pursue Him it is with all my heart…
It may not be perfect grammatically or make sense to anyone other than God and me. But I must write…it is who I am. Now of course I want what I write to be meaningful and bring praise and glory to God. We have to start someplace but it’s the continuing to keep going even when you are discouraged, even if no one in the world listens or responds…because we are not doing it for ourselves but for God. And “practice makes perfect.”
Although there are many people who don’t know God, yet they have passion for many things, it is still God who put that passion within them even if they don’t believe it.
When you know, Him, it is all the sweeter…
So, moms, dads, look for what hidden talents in children, who knows you may just have a Picasso or Yanni or Dave Earnhardt or Rudyard Kipling, maybe a Jennifer Lopez.
[Famous mountain climber, Sir Edmund Hillary joined the Everest reconnaissance expeditions on 1951 and 1952. Finally, he decided to go all the way in 1953. The expedition reached the South Peak in May 1953, after which all but Hillary and his counterpart, Tenzing Norgay, went ahead and reached the summit at 11:30 am on May 29. Standing at 29,028 feet above sea level, Hillary not only made his nation, but the world proud.]
Just maybe you’ll be an Esperanza Liverio, or Karen Clarkson Friday, or Michael E. Wells, or Charisse Sheppard, or Paul Phillips or Mary Harwell Sayler…David Pollen…Elias Liverio…Bryan Brazell… whoever you are whatever your passion…you have within you to be the best at whatever you set your heart and mind to do…So, do it, with all your heart!!
After all, Practice, makes perfect!! Passion makes dreams come true!!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill-June 7, 2017
Psalm 33:2-5 The Message (MSG)
Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising. Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs! Play his praise on a grand piano! Invent your own new song to him; give him a trumpet fanfare.
For God’s Word is solid to the core; everything he makes is sound inside and out. He loves it when everything fits, when his world is in plumb-line true. Earth is drenched in God’s affectionate satisfaction.
Generation’s X, Y, Z….Millennials
From generation to generation we watch as events change and the world takes on a sort of kaleidoscope of change. Taking the scope in our hands we zoom in and out of history, each generation taking on the colors and swirls of their own unique designs and customs.
From speech to the clothes they wear, to hair fads, tats and art and food everything evolves into something different from generation to generation.
I’ve been hearing the name ‘millennial’ used a lot more lately, more than before. So I did a little research and this is what I found.
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They are born between 1977 and 2000.
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They make up 25% of the U.S. population.
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21% of consumer discretionary purchases which is estimated to be over a trillion dollars in direct buying power and a huge influence on older generations.
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53% of Millennial households already have children
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About 1 in 4 are parents today
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Believe parenthood is a partnership 64% dads and 50% moms believe that they have equal responsibility of child care
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46% report they have 200+ Facebook friends
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Compared to 19% Non-Millennials (@Millennial Marketing)
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If interested in learning more, follow the link below.
(http://www.businessinsider.com/baby-boomers-caused-millennials-destructive-spending-habits-2017-6)
~From Victorian babies, to Baby Boomers, to Echo Boomers to Millennials, there are labels for each generation…
I guess I never really gave it much thought before but somehow Millennials caught my attention…
I don’t like labels…but I have found it most interesting to read how, from one generation to another our world seems to be going from bad to worse…
Just some thoughts to ponder…when looking through the generational kaleidoscope, keep in mind…what the previous generations have donated to, future generations…
I wonder…
If say, someone from the First Century were to suddenly come back to life…what would they say about this generation…?
I’m living in this time period and I can’t even explain it…
Kaleidoscope, please tell me the world survives?
I’m afraid not! It all comes to an end…
There will be a new heaven and new earth…~Kaleidoscope
~Marla Shaw O’Neill-June 6, 2017
Isaiah 65:17-25 New International Version (NIV)
New Heavens and a New Earth
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
This is Only A Test
(Please understand, I was relating the story according to what Bob had shared with me. I never, ever, want to offend or hurt anyone. I love you all dearly! Tiny little adjustments and forgiveness goes a long, long way! <3 )
So, here we go…You know we are all faced with tests and trials but when we come through them we are finer than fine gold…I was probably more like rusty tin yesterday…as some of you know, Bobby had to go to Houston yesterday. He left at 4:30a.m., stopover in Atlanta and onto Houston. It was a business trip. He was there for a few hours and then would be coming home.
So he was taken to the airport but the flight was going to be delayed and that would cause him to miss his flight in Atlanta and possibly have to stay overnight…well that did not sit well with me. You may not know this about me but I have a few issues with trust and abandonment…with insecurities…God has Done an amazing job on restoring me but there’s still some little edges (OK a lot) that need repair…being alone is not my strong suit.
I asked you all to pray…in the meantime here is my prayer…
Me: “God if he stays overnight in Atlanta it is not going to go well. You know how I am God, please help me. I do not like this God. Are you hearing me? I’m sorry but this just can’t happen.”
God: Silence.
So I occupy myself with Facebook. (9:00 p.m.)
Bob calls, he’s made it to Atlanta and has 20 minutes to get off the plane and make it to his next flight.
This morning I told him I got a C- on my test. He said he didn’t get an “A” either.
He said he was on the plane and everything seemed as though it was happening in slow motion. He knew how I’d react if he had to stay overnight so he was praying.
Bob: “God you have to do something. Please don’t let me miss my flight.” (He’s so sweet, poor thing, I really am sorry for putting him through this.)
God: Silence.
Even though God was silent, he was working in us to trust him.
So, Bob, on the plane….Plane lands and is taxing forward then stops…
Bob: “What, no, why are we stopping?” He looks out the window and two planes were coming in so they had to wait for them.
The plane moves on and stops. He’s in the back of the plane. He flings his seatbelt off and races past the people in front of him like a flash and then, (no disrespect) but there was a family of six in front of him, taking their time like they have all the time in the world. Bob is frantic…looks at his watch…tapping his finger on his bag…ancy…failing is test miserably…he gets past them and there are lines everywhere…he manages to get his bag…stop go, stop go…the whole time he’s thinking, “God, are you laughing at me?”
He’s in line and realizes he’s lost his boarding pass…panic hits the pit of his stomach, “no, no, no”….But then he remembers…he has another one in his bag he had made a copy, (he hears his mother’s voice inside his head, “See it helps to have extra.”) He zips open his bag, SCORE! He’s able to get on the plane and is finally on his way home.
We all have tests and trials…none of us have arrived… (lol) It’s how we behave in those tests that God watches. It’s a heart matter. He’s always with us, working all things for our good…and you know what? We will be tested again and again until we get it right and then we’ll be tested some more.
You are in a test right now, and it’s OK, just be aware of it and try to get an “A.”
I know I will be tested again…and again… and again…only next time I hope to pass with “flying” colors…
~Marla Shaw O’Neill June 6, 2017
1 Peter 1:7 New Living Translation (NLT)
These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
A Hug for God
I hugged God today
I knew he’d come
He promised he would
I saw his face in the tiny child
Called Jesus, Savior of the human race…
I felt him snuggle up close to me
In my embrace…
God, the great I AM
Held within my arms…
The one who created me
Is alive and I am free…
Now I can lay me down in rest…
Go to sleep in peacefulness…
God was hugged by me I confess
Messiah, Redeemer, Good Shepherd
Gentleness…
Sovereign Lord, as you have promised
I held you today…
Simeon, my precious son…
Life is sweet
When everyone…
Opens their eyes and fully beholds
The redemption in the face of God.
I held God in my arms today…
God smiled in his special way…
I was held by my child today.
–Marla Shaw O’Neill June 5, 2017
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:23-35 New International Version (NIV)
Deeper, Higher, Fuller, Wider…
Oh, take me deeper into your realm…
Let my soul soar as you take me higher and higher
To the place where you dwell…
In the quietness of your heart, your consciousness,
To see, as you see.
To act, as you act.
Until your likeness changes me…
Closer than a heartbeat…
Saturated totally and completely metamorphosed into who You are!!
Loved by you, until I love like you…
I surrender my heart, my mind, my spirit…
Jesus…
I AM, Yours!!! And You are Mine!
You are the blueprint…of my soul…
Your DNA, your blood, running through my veins…
How can I be anything, other than what you have called me to be…?
Detailed in every way…
Transformed from clay
To Spirit-walker, Spirit-talker,
Revealer of secrets…come what may…
Loved by you, to love like you!
Refined by fire, gleaned from the world
Breath of God, breathe in me…
Healer, deliverer, friend…
Amen!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill, June 3, 2017
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 The Message (MSG)
Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:
“I’ll live in them, move into them;
I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good,” says God.
“Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I’ll be a Father to you;
you’ll be sons and daughters to me.”
The Word of the Master, God.
The Heart of Jesus
Love
Compassion
Servant
Friend…
Faithful
Joy
Peace
Begin…
Water-walker
Demon-slayer
Universe-builder
No end…
Relationship-mender
Heart-restorer
Children-maker
He will always win…
Tear-keeper
Burden-carrier
Chain-breaker
Living in…
His heart, your heart
Free-will giver
Your choice
No sin…
Born again!
(HS) ~Marla Shaw O’Neill – June 3, 2017
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 King James Version (KJV)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 New King James Version (NKJV)
I See You
I see you…
I, see, you.
There.
Thrown in the dirt, and grime of life, torn and twisted…
Lies and deceit you wear, as robes, of disgust and shame…
Men want to stone you, snuff out your life.
But, I, see, you.
Bending to the dust I right the wrong, the pain, the strife…
No one else can see, but me.
Love has come to you today to wash the dirt and filth away…
Only your heart can taste and know, the forgiveness, I now bestow
Upon your wilted, grieving soul…
Life now appears…
Men of lust and doubt and fear
Listen now, and hear, as My Spirit speaks into your heart…
You, who covet and envy and snare, innocent ones living in despair
Of your laws, your dogma’s. Religious, pious, flaunting spineless, hypocrites, laying snares for the helpless ones…hear with your heart what I do write upon the dirt this day…
You, who are without sin…let him cast his stone first.
Can you? Do you not have unseen sin? Hidden in darkness you bring…
Staring at your faces I proclaim…Go ahead cast your sinless stones…
One by one…they drop their rocks, heads hanging low they walk…away…
Woman, I see you.
Where are the ones who accuse you?
They are gone my Lord…
I do not condemn you, but listen to your heart…the pounding you feel within your chest…
Is telling you right now, Go and sin, no more!
Rising from the dirt and dust the woman’s heart about to burst
With joy she’s never known…
Reborn, restored, transformed, she walks forever with the Lord!
–Marla Shaw O’Neill June 2, 2017
John 8:5-12 The Message (MSG)
The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”
No one, Master.”
“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”
Ask for More…
Here’s a thought…
Can you have too much JOY…
Can you have too much LOVE…
Can you have too much PEACE…
Can you have too much FAITH…
Or goodness, or kindness, or gentleness, or longsuffering, or self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)
Think about this for a moment…the Psalmist said, “My cup runs over…” (Psalm 23:5)
God is a God who says, “I am more than enough…” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Jesus fed five thousand, with five barley loaves and two fish, all were full, there was more, left over… John 6:13
Jesus said, “I came that you would have life and have life more abundant…” (John 10:10)
Paul said, “You are more than a conqueror in Christ…” (Romans 8:37)
God said, “I will pour you out a blessing that there is not room to store it…” (Malachi 3:10)
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full …” (John 15:11)
He said, “I leave you My peace, not like the world’s peace…” (John 14:27)
He gives More, not Less….Because when he gives us More it overflows onto others…
It is a continuous flow…He told the woman at the well, “if you drink of the water that I give you, you will never thirst again…” Why? Because it never runs dry…
My/Your cup overflows…just like the little sheep that is fed by the Good Shepherd…
It’s OK to have More of Him….It is not selfish or greedy or envious to want more of Him…
“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good,” (Psalm 34:8)
“He satisfies your mouth with good things…”(Psalm 103:5)
Can you have TOO MUCH LOVE? Can you have TOO MUCH JESUS…?
No…
That’s like saying can you have too much air to breathe…
His love, joy, peace, doesn’t get stale or stagnant, it doesn’t get used up, it doesn’t get old or moldy, it is fresh and good, it satisfies, it is continuously overflowing…and He so longs to give you more…just ask, your cup will overflow…
Imagine too much JOY….Your soul is so happy that there is no room to be sad, or discouraged, or depressed or lonely or afraid….You are so full of Joy that you break out into singing and dancing and living and giving and helping…because this JOY, is the Lord’s JOY, and His Joy, is your strength… (Psalm 28:7)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7 New International Version (NIV)
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 New International Version (NIV)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5 New International Version (NIV)
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 New International Version (NIV)
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10: 10 New King James Version (NKJV)
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 New King James Version (NKJV)
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:10-11 New International Version (NIV)
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11 New King James Version (NKJ)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 New International Version (NIV)
Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:4-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
Live in Moments Not Days
There will come a day…
When I will have to say…
“Good-bye.”
Until that day, I will live trusting, and loving, and giving, and sharing, the love of my God to all who will listen.
My children grown, grand-babies still home…
Will know I lived in faith, strong, in the God of my Salvation.
From newborn, to a girl of six
I learned to walk and talk and run and swim
No cares of any, for I was loved by them…
From six to eighteen…
I learned who Jesus is, and asked him to come and live in me.
I learned reading, writing and arithmetic.
I learned to ride a bike, climb trees, make friends, drive a car and marry.
From eighteen to thirty-one, life barely begun…
Four thriving, wonderful sons, now my life was full of fun…
There were adventures I’d dreamed that would never come, but some did…
Not knowing what life held, just up ahead…
From thirty-one to fifty-eight
I learned life could be difficult and weary…and full of ache…
Heartbroken, and shattered, my dreams were all scattered…I clung to the God I knew
Knowing He would not forsake me, He knew just what to do…
Rebellion and disobedience leave wounds inside of you, and the pain you feel; only God can heal, as you surrender to His will…
From fifty-eight to sixty-three
I learned that God still walked with me. I surrendered to the call, he had given me. I learned that life could be happier and fuller, by letting Him live in me…
You have a life to live…
But remember this…
When you are young, you’re strong and have the whole world before you…
You make choices, some will be foolish and lead you down a path that is full of heartache and despair…but you won’t know it until you are there…Understand, you can always turn around and begin again…
For when you are old, looking back at your life’s journey, you will see, the mistakes you made…the triumphs, the victories and the defeats…there will be wins and there will be losses…so as you go…don’t be so quick to ignore elderly voices, who have been there… Be wise and listen…there’s a reason for Wisdom…She’s been there and walked the road ahead of you….She knows the pitfalls and the detours and the slippery slopes of deceit and woe…she’s seen battles won and death come and go…she’s been beaten and abused and dealt with evil and used, but she kept her eyes on the only one who could bring her safely home…
Don’t be afraid to ask for her…that shows strength of character…and when you come to a crossroad not knowing which way to choose…ask her and she will tell you…
Life is bitter and life is sweet.
And maybe just maybe you can learn from Her mistakes…
Saving you years of heartache…
Failures you will make…get back up… it is never too late…
You’ve a long journey to make…
Life is your best teacher….Don’t take a single minute to hesitate…let Wisdom be your guide…
When all is done and you are weak and youth has come and gone…
If you are wise you’ll know your song of blessings were in disguise…
When life was hard and you closed your eyes, to pray
Wisdom gave you words that were wise…
And you realize, your life is over, and you have to say, “Good-bye.”
Listen, live your life in wisdom’s care…
When you find you’re slipping and in despair…
Reach for the hand, that’s been there…
Love completely, laugh sweetly, dream your beautiful dreams…Live your life in moments not days…give your life to others with praise…at the end of your struggling you’ll find His ways…were all worth living for!
“Not good-bye, just, see ya later!”