Family Heart

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The family heart is a collective of many hearts...

This graphic is called "Heart with Thorns" by Panic Alex...

I feel this image perfectly depicts what it's like to be connected to a family heart. There is a lot of beauty and sentimentality there, interlaced with the thorns of pain and guilt, and anger as well.

We often go through our lives analyzing how useful these emotions are. Sentimentality, for example, can be a perverted emotion; especially if it's only real function in our lives is to keep us enslaved. It's from the family heart that we learn how to give our hearts to others. These are the themes that make family "family".

I especially like the Asian undertones in this image. It reminds me of how some families and individuals are so woven and locked into themselves through obligation and tradition.

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God, help our hearts...
Guide us into directions of finding our
living spirituality,
not through dogma or religious rites,
but through the lessons of our hearts.
Help us to go "through" the corruption we encounter
and not get stuck in it,
or become martyrs or victims for it.
Help us to recognize our free will
as being in-tune with You, Lord,
and set us on the right track
to being whole,
with or without our family, if necessary.


For You have promised us these options and choices,
through Your redemption.
You promise us new life
if we forsake these things
in order to be closer to Your Light.
Help us not to dwell too long
in the darkness of the past.
Help us to come into the Light,
dear Jesus.

Jesus Lives!

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Lady's Heart

The Lady's Heart loves to get all-up in your business. (That's what the birds are for.) That's why she's a little hardened, and maybe, if she's learned some lessons she will also know when to knock-it off, back-off and relax.

We ladies love to embellish ourselves with all sorts of decorations to make ourselves look softer, more approachable and touchable... But deep inside, there's a lot of pain there! Many of us take it right to our graves.

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Dear Lord, help the women of the world to let go
of the things that steal our energy,
are a waste of time, and feel like dead-ends.
Help us women in the world feel more confident
about stepping out of traditional roles
like being mothers, grandmothers...
Nurses, secretaries and baby-sitters.
Sure, these roles are important,
but so are we, individually.


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We have a lot more to give,
starting with giving to ourselves.
Help us to drop our expectations of others
so we can see them for who they truly are.
Help us to follow our true interests,
educations and passions,
so we can be more effective on the planet,
and in the lives of other beings.

Help us to clearly know we have choices, God.


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Help us to understand
we don't have to be reacting,
help us to find our timing
so we are better
at responding.
Help us to keep our egos
from getting all-up-into-it, God!
Help us to keep ourselves
from jerking people around.
Our hearts need more resilience, Jesus,
by being good stewards of our energy,
our value-judgments
and attitudes towards others.
We like to say we are patient, even good to others,
but our egos and our money
are all-up-into-it, God.

Help this heart, our real hearts;
it's about what's going on
inside,
not outside, of who
we are that matters.


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Dear Jesus, protect us from those who would blame
and accuse us, undermine and not communicate with us or defend us.
Help us to forgive Those
Who Screw Us Over,
that we don't end up walking around poisoned.
Teach us, Jesus,
Show them to us, let us know who they are so
we can turn the other way.
Help us to stop enabling, and excusing the ignorance in this home,
on this planet;
keep us from feeling personally responsible, God,
for those who misuse and abuse;
they have choices, too.
Let me simply be a light in their lives.
Lord God,
that's all I ask.



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Thorns and Roses

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Some hearts have roses...

Most of the time I only see roses in the hearts of young children, or very old women... Very rarely occasionally I will see a rose in a 20-something-year-old's heart; but that person is usually breaking down. I can see petals falling, one by one, and fresh thorns forming, stealing their light, their youth and their beauty.

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And then there are the people who line their hearts with paper roses... So even though you think there is something warm there, that you can get close to, there is no substance, no light. In fact, they are downers to be around.

Once in awhile? I meet a man with a red rose in his heart, but he is usually looking at something else!

And when I look closer I'll see a big thorn inside.

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I know some people who are healers, who manage to carry one giant rose in their heart... Surrounded by thorns, protected by their ribs. They are better at touching you, then letting you touch them. In fact they are very extremely private personalities, and you can't help but love them.

That's how Jesus Is!

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He Is, He Is, He Is...

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Roses bloom in another dimension, one which can only be labeled as "spirit" because there is little, if no control there, to grow a rose in your heart.

All you have to do is let a lot of light and fresh water in.

And then it just happens, with daily doses of things like innocence, faith, and trust.

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People love people with roses in their hearts; it's so sad. Sad, I think, because if someone could take this flower from you, they would do it (and they can, and they do).

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Don't you ever get tired of hurting?

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Check this out: have you ever noticed how some thorns look like hearts? It's very deceiving.

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As people get older, everyone gets a thorn in their heart. I think this can begin to happen as early as the age of nine? But I don't know; I need to talk with more children about it...

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Jesus, tell us about the thorns
in and around our hearts.
You wore them as a crown on Your head;
the energy swooping to and fro with Your blood.
Ancient sisters and the priests
took Your crown and placed them
in
Your heart,
our legacy to remember.

Now I think, Dear God,
the heart is more important than the head.

Isn't it?


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We can live without our minds,
but we always need our hearts
to keep the life-force pumping.

Sometimes I think the thorns are like
spiritual acupuncture,
lessons we need to keep blood flowing,
to keep our hearts alive.

But we don't have to let our hearts hang on to them!

Thank God!


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