Loving Our Kids

As a parent it is important to love our kids. This seems obvious but many times it is forgotten in the day to day stuff of life. Some reflection on this may help us to remember why this is so important.

Donald Miller in his book Searching for God Knows What writes about the affects of a child not having love in his life.

"If a kid doesn't feel he is loved, he is going to go looking for it in all kinds of ways. He is going to want to feel powerful and important or tough, and she is going to want to feel beautiful and wanted and needed. Give a kid the feeling of being loved early, and they will be better at negotiating that other stuff when they get older. They won't fall for anything stupid, and they won't feel a kind of desperation all the time in their souls."

As a counselor and life coach I have found that many times the root cause of unhealthy behavior comes from a deep void that was left from the person's childhood. Many times the parents missing the mark on loving the child and letting them know that they matter.

May we do all we can as parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. to love children and build them up for healthy living.

PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo courtesy of Photos8.com."

Love and Relationships

PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy of Photos8.com."

Finding a healthy mate is not easy, much less cultivating and maintaining a healthy relationship. Here are some articles that may help in the quest to finding and maintaining healthy relationships.

If you are looking for ongoing relationship advice then this is the page to bookmark. We will list all the posts (new and old) we have on the topic right here. Feel free to browse these posts below.

Building a Marriage That Works

How to Find Love (Healthy Relationships)

The Three Flames of Love

5 Tips for Cultivating a Healthy Relationship

Healthy Relationships vs. Unhealthy Relationships

Forgiveness

Wonder of Wonders

PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org."

Wonder of Wonders

There's wonder when a grain of sand

becomes a perfect pearl;

when, in the east, the sun will rise
to heat and light the world.

----
How does a mighty oak tree

from a tiny acorn grow;

and purple martins return in spring

to homes they already know?

----
Why have humans throughout time

looked up and been convinced?
The beauty of creation

is awesome evidence.

----

Perhaps somewhere deep inside our souls

a sense of God comes through,

and with the spark that lights a fire,

we come to know what's true.

----

Insight is granted to each of us

to accept or reject as we will.

And even if we ignore it,

His Spirit remains with us still.

----

He comes to us in sunshine,

and He comes again in rain.

He's there with us in happy times

and shares with us our pain.

----
It's when we learn to seek Him

that all wonder is revealed.

We'll say to Him, My Savior,

and find that we are healed.

----

By Linda Gleason

Copyright © August, 2009

All Rights Reserved.

Printed with Permission.

christianpoetryandresources.blogspot.com

To check out more poems click here.

Feature Photo

PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy Flickr." Photo by floridapfe. A leaping Lemur.

Welcome to Harmony of the Heart! The blog where you can get your dose of inspiration for the week. Feel free to check out the inspirational stories, videos, poems, photos, great links and more! We encourage you also to view our new sidebar on the right for many new inspirational resources (videos, newsreels, etc.).

Every once in a while we post the Feature Photo, a cool or beautiful photo for everyone to view. To view all of the other feature photos we have posted at Harmony of the Heart simply click here.

Also, if you are new to the site and want to learn more about us click here. You can also now subscribe to Harmony of the Heart at the top right corner of the sidebar on the right.

What Inspires You?

Your Talent May Touch Others

It’s no accident that we love the things we love or that we are good at the the things we like to do most. God inspires our passions for a reason – because He wants us to turn around and use our gifts to benefit others. He doesn’t want us to hoard our talents and keep them to ourselves. He wants us to use them and then either use the monetary blessings they generate or our actual talents to do the things that will benefit the lives of others.

I recently read a story about a guitar player who agreed to volunteer his services to a hospice agency. Even though he never fulfilled his dreams to play in a famous band, he decided to share his love of music with others anyway. He made himself available to play his guitar to comfort patients. So many had enjoyed his music that he was requested to play for a woman who wanted to be lulled into the afterlife by his music. He used his God-given talent to play relaxing and calming music that created a peaceful and positive atmosphere. As he began to play, the woman was told to go whenever she was ready. As she took her last breath, she left with a peaceful smile on her face despite all of the pain she had been enduring as a result of her terminal illness.

Never in a million years did this guitar player think he would play to an audience of one – and never could he have imagined the significance of his contribution. We may not all be called to do this type of work, but we must always be open to sharing our talents rather than keeping them all to ourselves.

So if you like to sing, God wants you to use that talent to bless others. You bless others when you sing by stirring up positive emotions that encourage others and bring happiness. You bless others when you use the money you could possibly generate from your talent to raise funds for a charity or for someone who truly needs it.

If you like to paint, God wants you to use that talent for His good will and the same applies to you. If you like to write, God wants you to write for His purposes and use it to bring about a positve change in the world. Are you getting the picture? Whatever gifts you have, don’t take them for granted. Don’t ever think that just because you haven’t become famous like you’d always hoped, that your talents and gifts are of no value. Use your gifts and allow God to multiply them for the upbuilding of His kingdom. You never know who they may bless.

Guest post by Keisha Easley from Highly Favored

Developing Our Talents

PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy Photos8.com." Man with Intention.

Here are some quotes about developing our talents and using them to serve life. We each have something unique and special to offer the world. Something that can make the world a better place. My hope is that you will discover the magic of your talent(s) and use that magic to touch the lives of others. Enjoy the quotes!

"The greatest crime is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping others." - Roger Williams

"I do not want to die until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me, until the last small twig has grown." - Kathe Kollwitz

"I can't believe God put us on this earth to be ordinary." - Lou Holtz

"Set me a task in which I can put something of my very self, and it is a task no longer; it is a joy; it is art." - Bliss Carmen

"The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is giving your gift away." - David Viscott

"The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work that you need most to do and that the world most needs to have done. The place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." - Fredrick Buechner

To read more inspiring quotations click here.