Working with students, faculty and staff on a daily basis, trying to provide spiritual leadership to a congregation and serving to meet the needs of others, means that I have a lot of opportunties to look into a lot of different sets of eyes. I get to look into eyes of all ages, races and backgrounds.
I have seen all kinds of “looks” looking back at me. Sometimes there is a look of love and appreciation for something I’ve done or said. At other times there is a look of pain, despair, frustration that comes from the individual not knowing what in this world they are going to do? There are almost as many different looks, as there are eyes to look at and be looked at by.
I love the eyes. I think they are one of God’s most amazing creations. I mean just the science of how it all works is more than my limited mind can grasp, but also the magnificence of the beauty and communication that flows from a set of eyes can literally take your breath away.
One of the reasons that I do not like texting conversations is because I cannot see the other person’s face. When I have a face in front of me, I can see the curve of their lips, the personality of their brow ad hear the silent communication of reality that flows from their eyes… Someone called the eyes – “Windows to the soul”, which I agree with and I think they are so much more.
Eyes are facinating, they speak a thousand languages, tell the deepest stories and reveal the most meanigul truth without speaking a word out loud. Charlotte Bronte put it this way in her classic “Jane Eyre” – “The would fortunately has an interpreter – often unconscious, but still a truthful interpreter in the eye.”
Pay attention to other’s eyes. Look and listen to what they are saying or maybe not saying??? Every now and then take a look into the mirror and allow yourself time to appreciate the very special gift of your own set of eyes and see if you can understand what they are communicating to you about you, your thoughts, ideas and feelings.
Thank you God for eyes to see and to communicate with and I pray that I might use mine to share your love and grace, as I take time to appreciate the opportunity to look into the eyes of others and know them in deeper and more meaningful ways. Wow – what a wonderful world…
Social Media is a place for me to share my life with family and friends. I enjoy letting folks know about my everyday human challenges and what they are teaching me.
I am grateful for my blessings, especially getting to cook, feed and share fellowship with those that I love. I love our great big crazy family that is all over the place, but always right at home whenever we are together.
I do my best to stay out of politics, although I can assure you that I most definitely have an opinion, but I learned a long time ago that it’s not worth arguing over.
I don’t air my dirty laundry, frustrations or disappointments in others, because let’s face it – there is already enough negativity in the world and if I’ve got a problem with you, that’s worth my time, then it’s worth a face to face conversation and it really isn’t anyone else’s business.
I love taking pictures and letting others get a glimpse of some of the things that intrigue, excite and challenge me. My new wrinkles, an adventure with one of our dogs, another nature discovery, what I am getting ready to eat or just something that caught my eye are all fair game to be captured in a photograph.
I’m not anything special, just a middle aged guy, who is learning that I still have so much to learn and my best learning, seems to have occurred through my shared experiences with others. I decided a number of years ago that if I can’t keep it positive on social media, then it would be time to get off, which is why through the years, there has been a break here or there, but I usually find my way back and have managed for the most part to keep it fun, encouraging and hopefully challenging.
Thank you to each of you that are a part of my social media tribe. I love seeing your life and learning from your posts. I hope that 2020 will be an amazing year of blessing and growth for all of us and that social media will do her part to help us along the way…
The new year is here and started, so how is it going so far? I always have the best of plans, the neatest ideas and the grandest of goals, but some where along the way to getting started, something happens and before I know it, I’m distracted and what looked so amazing and cool on paper, well, there is just not enough time to figure out how to manifest it all.
Most people now a days don’t even fool with making resolutions, setting goals or making a plan, because after so many years of disappointment, self frustration and mindless conversations in the mirror – we eventually say: “Enough is enough!” “It is what it is!” and any other good catch phrase we can use to justify inaction and a continuation of the same ole same ole.
It may be that you have already hit that spot or it may be, you just decided to avoid it all together, but before you throw the baby out with the bath water, take just a moment, while we are still in the dawn of this new year to think for just a moment about taking a few simple steps that will make a big difference in getting your life heading in a direction of blessing fulfillment and success.
They used to say: A New Year – It’s Out WIth The Old And In With The New! I think that is a pretty good idea and even though, it is winter time and not spring maybe a little spring cleaning is not such a bad idea??? We all have some things we need to get rid of and I am pretty sure that most of us can find a few things that we need to grab hold of as well, so jump into the three steps below and make a mini plan to get your new year headed in a positive direction of blessing…
1. OUT WITH THE OLD! I want you to think about three things you need to get rid of? It may be an attitude, some junk in your garage, or clothes you’ve outgrown in your closet. Seriously take a few moments to create a “PURGE” List. You can make this list as long as you want and I would encourage you to think and add to the list until it becomes a challenge.
Now with this PURGE LIST in hand, look through the list and identify the three things that you need to get rid of the most. The three things that would free up some room in your space, mind and life… Now make a plan to get rid of these three things. If it’s physical stuff – sell it, donate it, bless someone with it or trash it! If it’s mental stuff – do what you have to do – cry it out, write a letter, have a conversation, get honest with yourself and kick the negativity out of your life. If it’s spiritual stuff, then get real, get right and get free…
Now that you have freed up a little space in your life, go ahead and make a plan to do this same process again next month. That’s right – put it on your schedule and make it a priority. It’s amazing what these little steps will add up to in a year, if you will simply follow through.
2. IN WITH THE NEW! Now I want you to think about three things you need in your life and living? You may need a certain kind of positive attitude, a productive habit, meaningful connection or spiritual discipline. Take a few moments to make a list of “BLESSINGS” that you would like to see come into your life. Again, you can make this list as long as you would like and I would simply encourage you to keep listing until it becomes a real challenge to come up with meaningful items to add.
Now Divide this list into three areas: 1.) Physical, 2.) Mental/Emotional and 3.) Spiritual. Pretty much everything you’ve listed should fall into one of those areas. Now pick one new blessing from each of those areas to invite into your life during this first month of the year. I want you to think about these three positive blessings everyday. In the morning ask yourself: “What can I do today to make these blessings a reality in my life? And in the evening when you lay your head down to go to sleep, I want to challenge you to think about all the opportunities – those seized and those missed, you had to make these blessings a reality.
I believe if you do this as I have challenged, that by the end of this first month of the year, you will see some amazing progress and experience some incredible blessings. Go ahead and schedule time at the beginning of next month to add to this list and stay true to the process of adding and you will be amazed to see the Spirit at work in supernatural ways.
3. THIS LIFE IS GOD’S GIFT TO YOU AND WHAT YOU DO WITH THIS LIFE IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD! With all of my heart, I really do believe it’s true. We are spiritual beings getting to expereince a human life and this is such an amazing and incredible gift. I challenge you to join me in enjoying and growing in every moment of it. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your journey and thank you for being a part of mine. God Bless & Grow On!
Michael Joe Harvell 