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.

Let's all hang in there together

♬ Yolanda Adams: Never Give Up


Visions that can change the world trapped inside an ordinary girl
She looks just like me too afraid to dream aloud
And though it's simple your idea, it won't make sense to everybody
You need courage now
If you're gonna persevere
To fulfill divine plan, you gotta answer when you're called
So don't be afraid to face the world against all odds

[Chorus]
Keep the dream alive don't let it die
If something deep inside keeps inspiring you to try, don't stop
And never give up, don't ever give up on you
Don't give up

Every victory comes in time, work today to change tomorrow
It gets easier, who's to say that you can't fly
Every step you take you get, closer to your destination
You can feel it now, don't you know you're almost there
To fulfill divine plan you gotta answer when you're called
So don't be afraid to face the world against all odds

[Chorus]
Keep the dream alive don't let it die
If something deep inside keeps inspiring you to try, don't stop
And never give up, don't ever give up on you

[Bridge:] Who holds the pieces to complete the puzzle?
The answer that can solve a mystery
The key that can unlock your understanding
It's all inside of you, you have everything you need

Sooooo, keep the dream alive don't let it die
If something deep inside, keeps inspiring you to try don't stop
And never give up, don't ever give up on you
Sometimes life can place a stumbling block in your way
But you're gotta keep the faith, bring what's deep inside your Heart to the light
And never give up on you
Don't ever give up on you
Nooo don't give up,
No, no, no, no don't give up
Oh, no, no, no, no don't...give...up

Other places we can meet

Hi friends! If you like what I'm discussing as your friend here on Blogger, you might feel like checking me out In the Position of Friend on Facebook. I have a variety of links and stuff there. I'm also @Promoted2Friend on Twitter, if you're interested. Have a good day!

ANGER MANAGEMENT comes to friendship

What does a person who takes the position of Friend seriously do, when she is totally frustrated and pissed off? Yes this kind of question is, as my mother used to say, separates the men from the boys (or the girls from the women). I am here feeling like I have had it!!!!!

A girl who has NO BRAIN manipulated situations to try to alienate my boyfriend Andre from me and I from him. We had done nothing to bring this about, and she had nothing to gain from doing it. But this was just at the tail end of issues about the place where I'm staying, which has brought me to the end of my rope, and I'm irritated! And so, how do I handle it?

Well, to tear away any illusion I may have created that I am the patron saint of friendship, I'll be honest: I gave the bitch a piece of my mind! So that's one benefit of creating good friendships. You feel secure enough in your friends, that you feel confident about your ability to communicate and defend yourself when the time comes.

Now, soon after some of this had occured, my Dad came came to visit, as we had been planning. Here's a temptation that's very very common: to freak out on those who we know love us and need us. And just as my Dad arrived and walked around a little trying to figure out what was going on, it came to me. "Raya, please don't hurt your father and your boyfriend for things that are in the past, that they had little or nothing to do with, and very very importantly COULDN'T HELP". Therefore, though the beginning of my visit with my Dad was somewhat awkward, I reassured him that I was at peace with the way I was managing things, and we ended up having a nice time.

And so, how do I sum all this up? I would like to give you some suggestions as to how to react when people are driving you up the wall. What I can say is, your battle is really with yourself. Are you going to express your anger creatively or destructively? The first thing I did was tell the perpetrator exactly what I thought of her attitude. I displayed my rage

a. Directly with the person who was the source of it

and

b. Immediately after the incident that caused it

Very very important people! Infinitely important.

Consequently, the rest of the events of my day just flowed. I continued to insure that certain injustices will stop occurring by speaking to a supervisor who I feel close to about some of my concerns, and I am hoping they will be addressed.

I jotted down a short prayer, and I decided to try a new app, and turn my prayer into an image. This is something I was just completing when my Dad came, and he liked it.

A practice I believe in, and I see my boyfriend making it a rule for himself as well, is to stay productive. Anger is a natural part of the heart and mind. We should not feel shame for things that are a natural part of who we are. If we accept our anger, then it is more likely that we will handle it appropriately. Whatever is going on in your life, seek to share the the truth of your heart with people. Is there any way you can fail, if you do this?

On forgiveness, via Tumblr

Here, you have a tune,  along with some good words on forgiveness,  which I didn't want you to miss out on.

On forgiveness