*MY Version* of the Serenity Prayer w/pic

The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change;
(the past)
courage to change
the things I can;
(the present and future)
and wisdom
to know the difference.
(already given)

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  This beautiful rose started as a beautiful rosebud with a broken stem. My friend Colleen might have decided it was going to die anyway so why not just throw it out. The past can't be changed. The stem was broken. It couldn't be repaired. But she gave it a chance. The rosebud proved that the present and the future can be changed. It didn't die and it didn't stay the same. It blossomed. Can you see how a temporarily broken relationship might look sorta like this? I can.

I never considered clarifying the Serenity Prayer until the Oklahoma Bombing. I was so mad. I went over to the small parchment plaque of the Serenity Prayer on my wall, I jerked it down and at first I scratched out the part about what we couldn't change.

My friend Deanna treated my action like an act of sacrilege. I reminded her the prayer was never a part of the bible. It still bothered her, as it may some of you.

A year or two later I took it down again and stared at it for a long time, trying to figure it out. I had prayed for the wisdom to know the difference and I wanted it almost desperately. It was like looking at one of those multidimensional pictures that I never can see the real picture in. Only with this one, finally, I got it. The only things we can't change are the things in the past. Everything else is up to us.

Everything. Our joy, our sorrow, our strength and our weakness..... everything is up to us. Since then, mostly I pray for more light and more courage. If you pray for me, please, pray the same.

The Complete Serenity Prayer! (original)

God,
Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the Courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

Amen.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

 

[My version of the serenity prayer © lollie dot com] 

Heart Ache Relief Songs

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[First written July 2003 - wow, that seems so long ago now]


Many of us listen to pain-inducing songs when we have a broken heart. I'm absolutely convinced "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" has been playing at far more suicides than anything Ozzy Osbourne has ever written. All I'm suggesting here is that instead of listening to songs that increase the intensity of your suffering, you make a conscious choice to listen to only pain-reducing songs when your heart is hurting.

I put this "Emergency Heartache Relief Song List" together several months ago. But I couldn't in good conscience share it with you till I'd tried it on myself first. Recently we were blessed with my latest broken heart. I've been self-medicating with this CD for a week and it works even better than expected. It is immediate pain relief. I play it all the time and I haven't hurt for three days. Three whole days and only a week into it! Not bad at the possible/probable end of a three year, fun, interesting, romantic relationship.

If you are suffering a broken heart as you read this, you be sure to burn this to a cd or mp3 player asap and start listening to it all the time to get immediate relief. If you're doing fine, either create the cd and save it or at least bookmark this song list cause eventually, most of us will get our hearts broken again in the future. Also, share it with any friends who are suffering.

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In case of heartache, play most of these songs.
I've linked them to their lyrics so you can pick the best selections for you. Just reading them will help a little, but nothing compared to listening to the songs daily. If you had a headache you'd take something for it right away instead of just suffering it. A heartache is a lot worse than a headache. So if you're hurting, get with it! Download your favorites and listen to them all the time, till you're better!

• You Gotta Be ~ Des'ree
• Takin' Back My Heart ~ Cher
• I'm Gonna Be Alright ~ Jennifer Lopez
• I Will Survive ~ Gloria Gaynor
• Strong Enough ~ Cher
• Can't Keep a Good Man Down ~ Alabama
• Believe ~ Cher
• Button off of My Shirt ~ Ronnie Milsap
• On My Own ~ Whitney Houston
• I'm a Survivor ~ Destiny's Child
• Coming out of the Dark ~ Gloria Estefan
• New Attitude ~ Patti LaBelle
• It's Raining Men ~ The Weather Girls
• Fighter - Christina Aguilera - added 2007
• The Voice Within ~Christina Aguilera - added 2007
• Finally Made Me Happy ~ Macy Gray - added 2007
• Irreplaceable ~ Beyonce - added 2007

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Some of my favorite heart ache quotes.....

God is closest to those with broken hearts.
~Jewish Saying

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak; sometimes it means
that you are strong enough to let go.
~Author Unknown

When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness; instead
keep your head up high and gaze into heaven for that is where your broken heart
has been sent to heal.
~Author Unknown

Music is always great brain programming. Any time you're not consciously listening to it, the words are going straight to your subconscious. The more you listen to it, the less you listen to it consciously. That's why I don't listen to any music with rules, values or beliefs that weaken me. I pray you don't much either.

[photo and heartache relief © lollie dot com]

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