“If you could stand in someone else’s shoes,
Hear what they hear,
See what they see,
Feel what they feel,
Would you treat them differently?”
“IF WE COULD SEE INSIDE OTHERS’ HEARTS”: LIFE
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
Psalm 34:18
Books
✎ 
Dance With Jesus: From Grief to Grace (Morgan James Faith)
“When we are lost in the storms of grief, only God can pierce the darkness. How can a broken, bewildered woman who lost . . . Her sister, a brilliant PhD nurse, to suicide Her youngest son to respiratory distress caused by an accidental drug-alcohol interaction, on the night of her brother-in-law’s memorial service Her sister-in-law to cancer, four years to the day after her son’s death . . . want to get out of bed and live―out loud and in color? Simple. God revealed Himself to her and breathed life back into every nook and cranny of her very being. In Dance with Jesus: From Grief to Grace, author Susan B. Mead shares her personal story of how God came to her in the midst of grief with a display of love, insight and comfort far beyond her expectations. Have you ever: Held the Hand of God? Felt God caress your broken heart? Heard Him speak out loud? Seen Jesus dancing with your lost loved one? Seen your loved one in the holy presence of God―on His Mercy Seat? Do you want to? In her vibrant, inspiring, and up-close-and-personal style, Susan freely shares how her encounters with God in the midst of overwhelming grief led her to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him that truly restored her soul. Are you ready to laugh through the tears and dance―with Jesus?” (Amazon Review)
✎ Fulfilled: Learning to Live the Life God Promised
“50% of the net proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to The Dream Center LA; helping people overcome addiction, abuse, poverty and homelessness.
Freedom, Restoration, Hope, Courage… Can we achieve a fulfilled life?
God’s definition of a full life is so much more substantial than our limited perspectives would allow us to see. With God’s help, we can reach unknown realms of possibility in life. Thankfully, we don’t have to try and figure it all out on our own. God faithfully teaches us to live the fulfilled life He promised. Author, Danise Jurado has served as a pastoral counselor since 2001 and is passionate about encouraging and equipping people to reach their most fulfilled life in Christ. Danise gives practical steps to forgiveness, freedom, hope and lasting change. In addition, she shares personal stories about restoration in her marriage, overcoming food addiction and dealing with loss and betrayal. God can turn our most painful moments into restoration, healing and joy.
Journey through the pages of Fulfilled and:
– Embrace the power of forgiveness
– Apply God’s truth to find freedom
– Break patterns of failure to make lasting changes
– Release fear to live with courage
– Awaken to your complete God-given potential” (Amazon Review)
Hope Harbor
❀ Poetry Joy: Looking at Love, Loss, Life, and Faith – “My life has been lived long in shadow-lands of sickness and struggle with emotional pain since childhood. And throughout it all I have been blessed by the power of words to heal, comfort and restore.” Joy’s “aim is to share aspects of life and faith in Christ and offer hope and encouragement along the way.” (Joy Lenton)
❀ Words of Joy – Another hope-filled site of Joy Lenton. In her words – “I write about my journey of life and faith with the goal of helping others toward greater freedom in knowing who they are in Christ. And to reveal, as I share words of joy and encouragement, how beauty can spring forth from brokenness and hope shines bright even in dark circumstances.”
❀ Susie’s Joy Journey – Susie’s poems are a soothing balm to wounded and weary hearts. Her poems delve into struggles and end up going Home as she clings to the Father heart of God where she is loved and called His daughter.
Nature Retreat
Some photos of God’s amazing creatures:
(This frog photo was taken by my brother, John Van Veldhuizen.
If you look closely, you can see the landscape background in his eye.)
➺ The Butterfly Movie/Flutter Serenade – “The life cycles of butterflies and moths are nothing less than spectacular, especially when seen in intimate, time-lapse photography.”
➺ 2015 Audubon Photography Awards Top 100 – Scroll through 100 spectacular photos of birds
➺ Wildlife and Nature Photos by Andrew Jackson – Oodles of spectacular photos of wildlife, birds, mammals, insects, scenery, landscapes, etc.
Quotes
❤︎ “There will always be someone willing to hurt you, put you down, gossip about you, belittle your accomplishments and judge your soul. It is a fact that we all must face. However, if you realize that God is a best friend that stands beside you when others cast stones you will never be afraid, never feel worthless and never feel alone.” ~ Shannon L. Alder
❤︎ “A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity.” ~ James E. Faust
❤︎ “The goldsmith loves his gold when it is in the furnace, and so does God love His children when He places them in the crucible of affliction. It is only to separate the dross, not to consume the gold. ‘Whom He loves, He loves to the end.'” ~ Thomas Watson
Linking up with:
Holley – Coffee For Your Heart
Jennifer – Tell His Story
Kelly – Cheerleaders of Faith
Freed to Fly 
What a lovely cup of goodness you’ve poured at here, Trudy. There is so much of God’s glory on display. Thank you for sharing. A beautiful way to start my morning reading. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you, Abby. I’m glad your heart was warmed. You’re describing it as “God’s glory on display” strengthens my heart as I long that everything I write or share here may be to His glory alone. Thank you for having posts in October of “31 Days to Life Unstuck” dealing with fear, hurt, insecurity and comparison. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope my mentioning it here will direct more “stuck” ones to your site for this. Praying God will richly bless you and give you strength and peace in Jesus! Hugs!
LikeLike
Dear Trudy,
Thank you so very much for your always beautiful inspiring touching loving website! I always read your articles, etc but don’t have much energy or strength, esp. lately to reply. But I want you to know I really appreciate what you do for all of us who read you. The resources you have are tremendous!!
I am in a very dark place right now and struggling. I cried many tears watching the video about if we could see each others hearts. WOW!! And all the other helpful and caring help you offer. Thank you so very much for sharing your love for our God with all of us in all you do and say. You have a wonderful God filled ministry.
Blessings,
Patty
LikeLike
Thank you deeply for your loving encouragement, Patty. It brings tears to my eyes. Words cannot say enough about how you have blessed me today with your words.
Patty, I am so, so sorry you are in a very dark place right now and struggling with a lack of energy. My heart aches for you. I know by experience how a lack of energy can really pull us downward and we can feel too weary to even look up. Know that Jesus surely sees you, hears you, and feels for you and will never leave you alone. You are precious in His sight. Also know that I pray that God will reach out and touch anyone who reads this blog whether or not they comment. Praying Jesus will hold you close and drive out the darkness with the light of His love! Hugs!
LikeLike
Enjoyed those awesome photos!
LikeLike
Thank you, Sales Lady. 🙂 I love nature photography. God’s creation can be so inspiring, can’t it? Praying God will bless you and keep you in His tender loving care! Hugs!
LikeLike
Trudy, This is wonderful and such an inspiration! The books you highlighted are wonderful…and it’s such a gift to view your photos. Thanks for sharing with us today at #RaRaLinkup!
LikeLike
I’m so glad you were inspired, Angela. You have encouraged me today by your kind words and counting my photos as “gifts.” Thank you for your comforting reminder in your post that “Having completed His work for us, Jesus sits at the Majesty’s Right Hand in heaven, sustaining the world with His powerful word.” Praying God will bless you with the riches of His abundant love and grace! Hugs!
LikeLike
Trudy,
I may not be able to read your blog anymore if you insist on including terrifying images of frogs!! LOL I just happen to HATE frogs — well I’m deathly afraid of them — they’ve paralyzed me with terror when one got in my kitchen and I discovered him at 2 am, another jumped down my shirt when I watered a hanging plant, yet another rode in the backseat of my car terrifying me, until I realized he was already dead — oh wait — this comment is supposed to be about your post, not my phobia of frogs! (I hope I made you laugh anyway! :)) But really, this post is a treasure-trove of good stuff — books and poems and photos — what more could we ask for to encourage us? Well . . . how about leaving out the frog’s eyes?!! {I won’t be able to sleep tonight . . .. } xoxox
LikeLike
Oh dear. I’m sorry I terrified you with the frog photo, Valerie. It sounds like you did have some frightening encounters. But yes, I couldn’t help but smile at your lively, amusing account of your adventures with them. I hope you will have a peaceful sleep tonight!
I’m glad you were at least encouraged by the other stuff! Thank you for your kind words. Praying God will give you peace and freedom from fear! Hugs!
LikeLike
That video is so touching, Trudy. I always say that to my daughter, you just never know what someone else is going through. It’s so easy to look at someone’s life and think they have it all together, but that can be the farthest thing from the truth.
I’m planning to read Dance With Grief in the next few weeks. She has such a touching story. I would love to read Fulfilled sometime too. Your pictures and the quotes you shared are beautiful. So much greatness here :)!
LikeLike
Thank you, Candace. I’m glad you were touched. And it’s awesome that you teach your daughter to be sensitive to the hurts people have inside that they don’t show on the outside. We never know what hidden crosses people have to bear, do we? Praying Jesus will hold you close and keep reminding you of how precious you are to Him just as you are! Hugs!
LikeLike
Trudy, you have a great knack for selecting things to make us glad and encourage our hearts. This is a rich treasure trove spilling over with goodness! I love the video and its message to really ‘see’ other people as we view them with understanding, empathy and compassion. The books look awesome and have been added to my (ever-growing) Wish List. And the photos are wonderful too. I’ve just begun to follow Susie’s beautiful blog, and I appreciate the surprising mention of mine here too – thank you for the honour, my friend! You’re a huge encouragement to me and I am so thankful for your friendship. Blessings and hugs. Xox ❤
LikeLike
Thank you, Joy. I am thankful for your friendship, too, and am so glad God led me to your site. I think it’s high time I shared it and its encouraging message here with others. I’m glad you’re following Susie’s blog. Her poems have often been balm to my soul as have yours. So you have an ever-growing wish list of books to read, too, huh? 🙂 Praying the power of the Holy Spirit fills you with strength and peace for each day! Hugs!
LikeLike
Hi Trudy! I’m so glad you liked Danise’s book! I really enjoyed it myself. She has been through some really hard times, but she rebounds with grace and faith. That’s so inspiring to me.
Sounds like you were inspired yourself by blogs surrounded by joy. That’s my word of the year, so I can relate to you. Joy Lenton is a wonderful writer/poet, I can understand why you get so much from her.
On to October! I wonder what blessings await?
Ceil
LikeLike
Hi Ceil. I used to post only books I have read, but I can’t keep up with all the good books out there. So sometimes I list books that were recommended at someone’s blog. This sounds like such a hope-filled book. I have added it to my long wish list. 🙂 It’s great to know you were inspired by it. Yes, Joy is a wonderful writer/poet and offers so much encouragement. And you are a wonderful writer, too. 🙂 I smile when I read your “On to October! I wonder what blessings await?” You have such a beautiful positive attitude. 🙂 Praying God will fill your heart and life with His blessings of joy, peace, and love! Hugs!
LikeLike