Every new snowflake comes to the earth
as a picture of our Saviour’s birth,
because they are sent from up above
and remind us of God’s care and love.
Each one is so intricate and small
because Christ sees the details of us all,
and just as two are never the same
the Lord knows and calls us each by name.
Snowflakes gently cover the world in white
and hide what’s unlovely from our sight,
showing us how He covers our sin
and gives us His grace when we come to Him.
So may every snowflake bring Christ to mind
and in every bit of white may you find
a reason to celebrate anew
and a reminder of His love for you.
- Holley Gerth
A calloused heart is like a stone. A stone is hard, you can speak to it but it won’t talk back. You can spill water on a stone but it will not absorb it, water will just run through it. Another characteristic of stone is when you get knocked by it, you will definitely get hurt.
Most of us won’t recognize it when we have a calloused heart. So how will we know if we have a heart of stone or a calloused heart? It’s when we exhibit passive or aggressive behavior. Passive behavior makes us feel bad, weak, or stupid. It also leads us to paralysis or nonaction. Agressive behavior makes us angry with other people. Afterwards, it makes us feel guilty or ashamed of ourselves.
Here’s a list of things that will help us determine if we have a heart of stone (calloused heart):
1. We keep people at a distance.
2. We tend to hide or distract people from ourselves.
3. We keep a good front or have a hard time expressing ourselves.
4. We stuff our emotions, instead of allowing ourselves to face it.
5. We are sickly/stressful.
6. Loneliness and/or isolation.
7. Lack of intimacy.
8. Ambivalence.
9. Reluctance and confusion.
10. We would hurt others before they will hurt us.
How do we develop a calloused heart? As we travel this journey called life, we tend to grow layers upon layers of callouse. Callouse is defined as a protective covering. Normally, callouse is found in our feet, but did you know our hearts can also develop this protective covering? It is when we protect ourselves from pain by keeping people away. When we turn our hearts into a castle, pulling up a drawbridge. When we trigger our protective mechanism. A protective mechanism is usually a vow we make (consciously or unconsciously) when we get hurt. A vow never to do this or that again. When we tell ourselves we will never experience pain again. As the days or years go by, we tend to forget the vow we made, but our bodies does not.
So how does a calloused heart gets healed? No amount of spa treatments or special ointments can help heal a calloused heart. Only when we turn over our hearts to God and allow Him to change it into a heart of flesh can we truly get healed. The healing process will startt once we repent of our inner vows, giving ourselves the permission to be vulnerable. Choosing to let it out and let it go. When we choose to forgive the people who hurt us.
God wants us to have sensitive hearts, a heart of flesh that is open to Him so we can clearly hear what He says. And what is He trying to say to us? In Ezekiel 36:26, He tells us, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
A heart of flesh is like a sponge. Unlike a stone (calloused heart), a sponge can absorb water. We should be like a sponge, that even when people squeeeze us, only water (love) will flow.
Filed under: daily discoveries, geek speak | Tags: change, crazyhorse, matt mullenweg, wordpress new dashboard design
The new WordPress Dashboard Design is finally out. Three words: I’m loving it!
A few months back, Matt Mullenweg visited Manila to promote Crazyhorse at the WordPress event. Yes, i was there when Matt gave WordPress enthusiasts and bloggers a preview of the new dashboard and talked about the changes that will happen in the months to come.
According to dictionary.com, Change means “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc. of (something) different from what it is.” People deal with change in two ways: they flow with it instantly or they take their time and deal with it in their own terms. Either way, there’s no wrong or right way to deal with change. What’s important is the outcome or result of the change, if it’s going to be for the better or for worse. I’m sure we all want change to occur to help improve or make our lives better. Who wants to change for the worse, anyway?
I believe WordPress’ current change is for the best. Yeah, it makes WordPress user’s life better. Everything is faster, loading time is zilch! I also love the way they gave the users the power to rearrange their own dashboard, making life and navigation easier. It’s also loaded with heaps of new features, including the new screen configuration option.
Yes, i’m definitely loving this kind of change. Kudos to Matt and the WordPress team!
Filed under: daily discoveries, freebies & contests | Tags: delifrance, my secret santa
It’s that time again! When everyone is making their list and checking ‘em twice, trying their very best to be nice. So with only a couple of weeks to go, Delifrance is giving us the opportunity to be Someone’s Secret Santa.
Yes, you can now be Someone’s Secret Santa without putting on those extra pounds! Just head on to Delifrance‘ website, fill out a simple form, and send out as many treats as you can. Oh, did i forget to mention this is Free?!? So hurry, claim/send your free Christmas treats today.
[image credit: Delifrance]
