Hands, by Jewel

Hands, written and sung by Jewel

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear
My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after
We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
I am never broken
In the end only kindness matters
In the end only kindness matters
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken We are never broken
We are God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's mind
We are God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's heart
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's hands

First star that I wish tonight

If we had a friend detector, or some kind of calculator... that could tell us very quickly whether someone in our lives is a real friend, how would we program it? What qualities would we get it too look for, where if an individual possessed these qualities, we would know that we could trust him or her with our hearts?
One indicator of the type of friend someone is, would be how they react when good things happen to us. I've noticed now, that not everyone who claims that they love me or shows signs that they wish to be my friend reacts appropriately to the various types of events in my life. When I interact with a person who gets mad when good things happen to me, and almost seems to enjoy watching me struggle on a tough day, I can't help but question the sincerity of a person like this.
I had a friend in grade school for instance, whose parents were in the middle of an ugly divorce. My parents, were happily married, and both my friend and her mother latched onto our family intensely at that time. However, both Susan and her mother were saying hurtful things to us, and instead of distancing ourselves, in the name of friendship we tried to make it work.
What do we do when people like this come into our lives? What do we do with people who sincerely want to be our friends, but their emotional instability is preventing them from being a friend we can value?
The issue of neediness plays a part in this, the type of person I've described here badly needs a good friend. We also, may need a friend. Always good to have friends. So, rather than outright rejecting this "so-called" friend, we can opt for trying to bring out the best on him or her. We can attempt to tread softly on the areas of this person's weak spots. Remain aware that this person has been less fortunate in certain ways. Be kind, but do not give your everything to the friendship. Cautiously overlook any unpleasant comments and intentions that this person displays. Redefine the type of friendship it is. Love exists in every friendship. But complete trust should remain between you and God only.

The excitement of making new friends

Well hello gang! Took me a while to get back to you with something, but if you have gotten to know the rhythm of my blogging, you know that once I settle down to write a blog, I give it my utmost, and therefore my blogs just cannot be produced at any old time of the day or night. But I am having a relaxing afternoon, and I do have some thoughts I've been wanting to share.
Isn't friendship the most exciting thing of all? I am noticing some people in my life who am realizing I like. See, that's the key word in friendship; a friend is someone who likes you. A friendship is birthed when we like someone. Usually, we like people because we notice that we share in common with them something that we place a certain amount of importance on. It could be a favorite hobby, a favorite nationality of food, or, what's often the most important to me in my friends is that they have a proactive, enthusiastic attitude.
And so, we have before us those people who we would like to get to know better. Imagine that you are a painter, and that before you is a canvas. You are going to put your friends on the canvas.
You have to observe what each friends looks like. This is the input which your friends have into the outcome of the painting. Then the exciting part comes. As the co-creator of our friendships, we have the privilege of choosing what favorite features about each friend we want to convey on our canvas. Lastly, when our friends view the finished work, they have a deepened understanding of the qualities we value in them.
What I am trying to say here, using an artist and his or her subject as a symbol, is that one of the very most exciting things about making and keeping friends is that it's interactive. Friendship is one of the few things left in this world that cannot happen alone. It is dependent on it's participants, and how those participants conduct themselves.