As I grow older and by God's grace, more mature, I come to realize that it is our choices that make or break us. That we carve our own destiny and we man our own ships. And with fervent prayer and faith in God, we can let go and let God.

These are excerpts from Max Lucado's book called Grace for the Moment. I feel truly blessed when I read them and feel inclined so to share them. Enjoy and be blessed!

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It's quiet. It's 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 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 day's demands. It is now I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.

I CHOOSE LOVE ...
No action 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 overloaded
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 associations
will not question my word. My wife 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.
If 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 not, 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.


---
Grace for the Moment
Max Lucado

There are celebrations that amazingly could not be defined by words. You are one of them, my Love. And together, we too, are one of them. I am constantly rendered speechless. Nothing too grand, an ebb and flow of candidness. A life of ordinary, a tale of two lovers, the entwined sighs of halves, broken yet, harmoniously laced together.

You are like my happy pill and I am constantly addicted to you.

I have noticed long ago that I tend to write better when I am sad or lonely. That when happy, I lose my sense in words. And before, I have mourned for my happiness because I hated to be robbed off of words but now, I don't care at all.

You must be the one great love of my life because for you, I'll gladly stop writing and be swallowed in the cocoon of our blissful little world.

I wasn't lying when I said I've never loved someone as much as I love you. I am a romantic person and a silly one at that, most of the times. When I loved in the past, I did love greatly. But be not overwhelmed by the shadows they cast for they are just that. They are now shadows because of you. Where once they engulfed me in the dark belly of their pain, you shone and came through, obliterating their judgment and fear.

And I love you.

I see you everyday in the corner of my eyes. I inhale the scent of you in the randomness of places and people. And when I do, I choke and I remember how lonely I am without you. I miss you.

When will I see you again?

I am surrounded by unbelievers and I have long ago given up trying to explain because the mind will go mad trying to understand what the heart refuses to see.

Because the world will hardly ever understand.

I have wrapped you in utmost care with silken threads of my dreams and have hidden you close by, where only the mystical glimmer of sunsets light your every soul. There, you age with miracles and you bath along the twilight of the dawn. You are constantly washed in fervent desire and fidelity so old and faithful, the wind serenades the trees with its song. Your every step lands a prismatic glow of showers to the throbbing hopes of my iridescent dreams. your breath binds me to you in a glorified bondage, surreal and ethereal.

Because you came along and lit up my monotonous life of dull gray and bleak white, painting sunshine anywhere your sweet caresses would land. Golden hues and blazing bronze, everything in a splash of sheer magnificence.

And because, my Love, the world will never understand, let us and let us love.

I constantly struggle with life and I fight with all of my heart not to conform with the norm. I claw and refuse to embrace the idea of destiny. I do believe in God and that His will be done but I desist the idea that I am nothing more but an aimless leaf that have no stake of my own but rather to wander around wherever time and "destiny" wills me to.

There is a reason why God gave me free will.

I am fighting. I am chasing. I am tired. I am in a battle against my own self and it doesn't matter who wins or loses, I am still going to end up hurting someone. Somehow, things are wrong and I am much confused. I need answers and I need the courage to make a decision and the strength to push through with it and to stick by it.

I feel like something in me has died. This dreamer is tired. The songs I constantly sing out has left me hoarse and yet, I have not received any answers. Have I been singing empty songs? I feel like one of the most important person in my life has decided to turn his back on me and withdraw from me. I don't understand his reasons but I hope he will find the time to grace my life again with his regard.

I am broken and soiled, discouraged and hurt but I still feel God's love and His promise of deliverance still holds true (HE is risen!!!). I live in paradise and I have friends made kindred hearts.