Quotes & Verses Archives - Selah Reflections

Our Phobias vs. God’s Unfailing Love…and His Sense of Humor

I used to wish, when I was a teen, that I could be a flight attendant (heh, heh—we called them airline stewardesses back then in the olden days). I had never flown, but the hustle and bustle of the airport enticed me, and flying in an airplane sounded exotic.

My life took a surprising turn a few years later, and I eventually found myself 1,000 miles away from the state I’d grown up in. I had landed a job I couldn’t wait to start: teaching English, public speaking, and drama at a small, private Christian college.

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Lori Huber

For Those Who Listened and Loved

into your hands
i placed
pieces of my soul
for you to read
and learn
and maybe even love

and you

you accepted them with grace
and peace

and only i knew the weight
of the give you had given me

the gift of seeing
and accepting

of watching
and remembering

of listening
and understanding

From Daelynn’s book,
Labyrinth Soul,
available on Amazon.

Daelynn Huber

Daelynn is a twenty year old poet and writer from Houston, Texas. Most of the time, she’s lost in her head, reading books, drinking coffee, or working with her plants. She is a Christ follower, seeking to glorify God with all her heart, and to love others to the best of her ability. You can find more of her poetry on JustDilly.com and in her book, “Labyrinth Soul”.

http://justdilly.com

Taking A Brain Break. How to know it’s time and how to take one.

We all need a brain break from time to time. There are days where you feel like things are moving way too fast for you to keep up and your scattered thoughts and to-do lists can’t be wrangled into something manageable. At times like this, we need to make the intentional decision to slow down and engage our hearts and minds in something outside of our normal routines.

For me that break usually includes going outside, my dog, and my camera. In fact, spending time outside, in nature, is one of my non-negotiables.

Recently I made the decision to give myself a break and chose one of the most beautiful locations along the Oregon Coast, Sunset Bay. And with a name like that, you can safely bet that I went at sunset.

It’s a beautiful place to sit, be still, forget the to-do list, and just be.

Sidenote: Sunset Viewing Tips

When you go out to watch a sunset, make sure you get there at least a half hour (if not earlier) before. And just like the end of a Marvel movie, make sure you don’t leave too soon. Even after the sun has dipped below the horizon, the light show doesn’t end. Every few minutes (even seconds sometimes) the colors change, and clouds move and reflect the light at different angles.

As the beach started to empty of people, Bailey and I went down closer to the water’s edge where he could participate in his favorite activity, running through the waves. 🙂

There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
― Jo Walton

Here are a few signals it’s time for a brain break

1) You feel frazzled beyond belief
2) Your brain feels like it cannot make one more decision
3) You feel jumpy or jittery for no apparent reason
4) You are forcing yourself to concentrate, and it’s still not working
5) You just sighed a looooong sigh

Your signals may be different from this list. Sometimes the hardest part is recognizing the fact we need a break instead of pushing our way through.

How to take a brain break

When you realize it’s time don’t go crazy with ambitious and complicated ideas, keep it simple and doable. Here are a few ideas:

Hot bath with essential oils and candles
Curling up in a comfortable chair with a cozy blanket and a great book
Sitting on the porch with a cup of tea
Visit a walking trail at a local park
Sit by a lake, a river, or the ocean
Go for a drive down back roads or country roads, find something new to see
Take your dog for a walk in your neighborhood
Sit and enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee!)
Eat lunch outside

There is one key idea to an effective break – change your location. One of my favorite quotes comes from Bob Goff, “Where you do what you do matters.”

The following two elements can help you get even more benefits from a break:

Move and get your blood pumping by walking, stretching, or deep breathing exercises
Turn off electronics. Especially your phone.

When you are so busy and feel like you can’t take a break, is probably the time you need one the most.

As usual, summer is flying by. So make regular, intentional decisions to stop, slow down, and give yourself the gift of a brain break.

Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is your favorite way to take a break?

Taking a brain break on the beach at Sunset Bay Oregon | SelahReflections.com — Even dogs like brain breaks on the beach 🙂

Marta Goertzen

Marta Goertzen is an entrepreneur, writer and nature photographer. She daily explores the trails and beaches of the South Central Oregon Coast with her buddy Bailey. You can follow along on their adventures on Instagram. She is also the author of several books including her newest, “Choosing Gratitude: A Daily Quiet Time Journal”.

https://selahreflections.com

Be Encouraged and Give Encouragement On the Hard Days (Video + Download)

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where words seem to fail, creativity seems to fly out the window, and ideas may flow but fall flat?

Well I have and this week has been one of them. I even had a different blog post just about written but didn’t finish it.

But, one word kept popping up, encouragement. So here are just a few thoughts to encourage you and resources for you to share and encourage someone else.

Be Encouraged and Remember, You Are Not Alone.

On the hard days, the great days, the stressed out and overwhelming days, the fun-filled days, the sick days, the stay-in-your-pjs-all-day days, you are not alone.

First you have a Heavenly Father who has promised to never leave you nor forsake you.

Second, we all have family, friend and framily (friends who have become family) who love, care, and want to support you.

Third the Selah Reflections community. Many of you I know personally, some I have come to know through email and over on Instagram, some of you I don’t know, yet. What I do know though is the huge, tender, generous heart of this community and know that help, support, and encouragement is only an ask away.

My gift to you today, is a short video for you to enjoy, be encouraged, and share .

Resources to Share Encouragement

There are times when you see someone you care about struggling and you can’t always find the words to say. Share the video – it’s really okay! And below is a image and verse from my picture book “Be Still & Know That I Am God”. I’m including a downloadable file at the link below that you can print out and enclose in a card, send in a text, or email.

If you don’t know what to say, just let them know you are thinking of them and available if needed.

Honestly, sometimes that is enough.

Click here to download hi-res version for printingHere are a couple of other things to check out and share.

I recently listened to a keynote presentation by speaker Keni Thomas, an Army Vet, who served in Somalia and lived through Black Hawk Down. God grabbed a hold of his life and he now is a singer, artist, and motivational speaker sharing his story. He teaches about leadership and reminds his listeners that they are special and unique, with God given talents to share. I was rather mesmerized. Visit his website at KeniThomas.com and scroll down to the video section and listen to the video labeled “Business”. It’s rather amazing.

Shauna Niequest has written an amazing book that I just love called Present Over Perfect. Cannot recommend it enough.

So today, be encouraged and take the time to encourage someone else. You never know just how much it might mean to them.

Marta Goertzen

https://selahreflections.com

4 Reasons to Write Out A Daily Gratitude List: The Benefits of Cultivating An Attitude of Gratitude

Every day, if we take the time to look around, we can find something to be grateful for. There are days, however, when we do need to look a little harder than others.

Think about it; we have roofs over our heads, food in the cupboards, family, friends, jobs, hobbies, freedom, faith, and so much more.

We are so blessed, and yet too often take what we have for granted. It’s so easy to slip into complaining about what we don’t have, what we want more of, or that we wish for something different.

In this particular season of my life, I’m “homeless”. But then I realize, that while I may be searching for a permanent address, I’m not homeless. I’ve been welcomed by family, I’ve been able to do some house sitting, and I have family helping me in my home search. I have a roof over my head, a bed to sleep on, food in the cupboards, my job, and most importantly my Bailey Boy travels with me.

I call myself homeless until I see the person walking down the street with everything they own in a grocery cart. It’s in moments like these I realize how blessed I am, and I am grateful.

It’s also in moments like these that I realize I need to get back to writing out a daily gratitude list.

Over the years I have found that this simple act of daily writing out a short list of things I am grateful for, becomes a tool to help to not only cultivate an attitude of gratitude, but it also helps me look for and find things to be grateful for throughout the day.

4 Reasons to Write Out A Daily Gratitude List

1) We need reminders: We need these daily reminders of the gifts right in front of us. We get busy, skip over the good and zoom in on what’s not going right, or, we get so used to the good we take it for granted.

My Bailey Boy is a gift; I have food to eat, a roof over my head, family and friends who love and care about me, and a Father in heaven who thankfully, is EXCEEDINGLY patient with me.

When we get too busy, overwhelmed, and frustrated, these are the times we need to be reminded to stop, slow down, take a deep breath, and remember what we have to be grateful for.

There are days it will be hard to come up with three things, other days we will be able to come up with 10. Even on the hard days, even if your list is only, I’m glad I have a bed to sleep in today and that I have a roof over my head, fine. Write it out, cultivate this habit.

2) It changes our perspective: Having a list written out that we can refer too, is also a gift. It can help shift our perspectives when we are having a bad day, and it feels like nothing is going right. We can go back to this list and remember all the good things that have happened in our life.

This list can become a powerful tool to help move us from overwhelm as we see God’s faithfulness, and His gifts. You might even find yourself smiling as you remember the events that prompted you to write it out that day.

Even on the bad days, make sure you take the time to write out a couple of things that you are grateful for.

3) It’s a sign of obedience: I Thessalonians 5:18a, “Give thanks in all circumstances”. We are told to rejoice in the midst of trials and to be thankful in every thing.

There are days I would prefer to ignore this verse. There are days I have to ask God, what in the world do I have to be thankful for? These are the days I have to ask for help to obey and give thanks. These are the days I have to look hard to find a couple of things to add to my list.

The amazing thing is that when I do make that list, the tightness in my chest lessons, I breathe a little easier, and the tension starts to ease. It may not last long but in that moment of obedience, I know I’m doing something right, and planting a seed that will grow if nurtured.

4) It opens your eyes: Once we make the decision to write out a daily list, our eyes are opened little by little as we train ourselves to look for small things and big things we can be grateful for. With practice, your eyes, heart, and mind are open to what is around you and all the amazing things you have to be grateful for.

Cultivating Gratitude Means Changing Thought Patterns

What we focus on becomes our reality. When we are overwhelmed, everything is a problem. When we are experiencing depression, everything is so hard. When we are exhausted everything is too loud, too fast, and too much.

It’s much easier to stay in that negative frame of mind than choosing to be grateful. Expressing thanks is a choice. Having a choice does not make it easy. Having this choice does not mean we have a magic pill that solves everything. Having a choice doesn’t mean we can always do it on our own.

To help change our thoughts, sometimes we need a book like Ann Voskamp’s, One Thousand Gifts Devotional. Sometimes we need a friend to remind us what we have to be grateful for. Sometimes it is praying throughout the day, asking God to show us what we have to be grateful for because we cannot see it at that moment.

You can understand why having a list to refer to can be important.

Some days it will be easier, and we can fill an entire page of things we are grateful for. Joy filled days of little treasures we see and appreciate, take advantage of these days and fill a page to read and remember later.

To help you (and me!) cultivate an attitude of gratitude I’ve created a downloadable for you to write out your own daily list of 5 things you are grateful for. Just click here to download.

What’s on your gratitude list today?

The Choosing Gratitude: A Daily Quiet Time Journal, is a 31-day journey filled with simple activities to develop your faith, cultivate gratitude, and nurture your creativity, including:

Reading and writing out the verse of the day
Keeping a daily gratitude list
Tracking prayer requests
Journaling thoughts and prayers
Creating with simple designs for coloring and space for lettering, doodles, and more

Choose one activity, or choose them all, but keep it simple…and develop a meaningful routine that you look forward to each day.

Marta Goertzen

https://selahreflections.com

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4 Reasons to Write Out A Daily Gratitude List

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