You are beautiful! ...

I just finished reading a book about the secret life of the soul together with our new community of friends in San Diego. One of the things I learned from the book study is that we all hear things about ourselves that are not true. Sometimes from other people, but often times from ourselves. To know the truth requires much soul searching and listening to God to figure out what's true. It's a quest that I'm daring to venture on.

And today the girls and I started a new venture together, we are taking a sign language class. Our instructor is great and we are all looking forward to learning a new language that can cross all cultural lines.

As a class, we watched this beautiful video that is in sign language. It just really hit me that no matter what others tell us, or even what we tell ourselves. God's truth is that we are beautiful to Him. God loves you completely, without reservation, just as you are. You are enough and just what the world needs. Hope you enjoy the video!



** If you are reading this via facebook you'll need to watch this on my blog; www.sophiacarolina.blogspot.com **

Say amen! ...

The girls and I watched the taking of the presidential oath and swearing in of Barack Obama this morning. What a historic event! Our 44th president, Obama gave an amazing reality based speech that was sobering but also inspiring.

But my personal favorite was the closing benediction by Reverend Joseph E. Lowery, an 87 yr old Civil Rights activist who really speaks from his heart.




*** if you are coming thru facebook, you'll need to watch the video on my blog at www.sophiacarolina.blogspot.com ***

Who are you "validating" today? ...

I looked up the word "validation" on Wikipedia, and there it says;

"Validation is the reciprocated communication of respect which communicates that the other's opinions are acknowledged, respected, heard, and that they are being treated with genuine respect as a legitimate expression of their feelings, rather than marginalized or dismissed."

I think that our words to others and our ability to listen generously (that's another topic, from a great podcast I recently heard) can have a huge impact on those around us.

We all have value, God is very clear on this. So I wanted to share with you this great video clip by Viktor Emil Frankl M.D., Ph.D. He was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor and you'll get a good reminder of how we can make such an significant impact on the lives of others by how we treat them.

It also goes hand in hand with this great quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.

Another movie I need to watch this year ...

This looks like a great movie that has some star power behind it; Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd & Ray Liotta. Coming out in August 2009.

"Crossing Over" is about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film addresses the issue from the point of view of the immigrants, as well as the immigration authorities tasked with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. I'm hoping that it lives up to the trailer.


Crossing Over - Theatrical Trailer

***If you are reading this on facebook; you'll need to watch the video on my blog by clicking here

Changes ...

I haven't posted a thing for a few weeks, but you probably weren't online much either, right?

During this past holiday break I've had a chance to slow down and think about the present and future. The move to Golden Hill has been good, I seem to be doing good with urban living. The pace here is definitely different, faster in some areas and slower in most. This slower rhythm & pace has been good. Since moving here in October '08, I've taken more walks and read more books then I did in the entire past 2 years. I seem to be adapting to the move to SD in a positive way. Jon said to me the other day "you're in your element." I suppose he's glad that I transplanted well.

So for me the New Year brings reflection and a little bit of dreaming. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. But I do believe in change. I came across this great quote and I'm going to memorize it and maybe even post it on my wall. Maybe you'll like it too.

We are all too much inclined to walk through life with our eyes shut. There are things all around us, and right at our very feet, that we have never seen; because we have never really looked. ~ Alexander Graham Bell

I think that my eyes are starting to see a little more clearly than years gone by. So as we enter this new year of change for us as a family, you as my fellow bloggers, us as a country, all of us as God's kingdom ... my wish for you is to look and see, and become what you were created for.

Also, today I was listening to this song by Finger Eleven entitled "Falling On" from a couple years back and thought it timely to share with you. One of the lines in the song is;

You've got to try to find what's right before your eyes

Now that's something to ponder. Hope you enjoy the video!




ps. They are the group that did the catchy song "One Thing" that got a lot of air time back in '03 - it's also a great song.