photo credit: MumbleyJoe
“Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see.” ~ William Newton Clark
Lance writes stories from his heart, aiming to inspire and motivate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hanging out with his family, riding a bike, or just generally acting goofy.
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What a pretty picture. I am not religious but I do have faith. Faith in myself, in the good in people and the world. And I continuously strive to look farther than my own horizon. When I succeed, I marvel at what I learn and I become a better person for it.
Thanks for sharing.
Mindful Mimi´s last blog post..Do schools kill creativity?
Nice quote, Lance.
Merry Christmas to you and family.
tikno´s last blog post..Christmas Contemplation When The Bell Ringing
Same here, I’m not religious but do have faith in God, the universe, the angels and overall invisible “life force.” Gorgeous, gorgeous photo! Looking at it seems to infiltrate my entire body with light, love and contentment.
Stephen Hopson´s last blog post..Stephen Hopson Interview with Lance of Jungle of Life, Part I of II
Faith helps us achieve things we never thought we could do.
kathy´s last blog post..Simple Supper Saturday: Stir Fry
This is exactly the motivation I needed today! Thank you for this and all the other posts that help me “run through the jungle”.
brian´s last blog post..‘Tis the season to be grateful…
Fear is what holds us back from reaching farther than the soul can see. It’s faith that pushes us past this fear because we see the beauty in what can be accomplished.
Great quote and one that I’m still working on implementing into my life.
Karl — Work Happy Now´s last blog post..Mind Training Matters
Hi, Lance. This photo is incredible. And it perfectly matches the quote. The photo made a strong emotional impression, then with the quote, two thoughts struck simultaneously: the light is as if God* is continually raining love upon us (whether we realize it or not) and that this is the same light/love which shines from within each of us. Faith, the act of recognizing and remembering and holding fast to the awareness of that loving light, involves looking heaven-ward as much as inward, so that our expansion, our growth in all directions (outward and inward) is safely guided and made easier. You’ve found the perfect quote (and photo) for a daily reminder! What you do for us with your Sunday quotes is just wonderful. Thank you!
*(God is easier than something like God/Universe/Love/Life/Light/All That Is/The Great I Am, but it’s not quite comfortable enough for those of us who aren’t religious. Does anyone have suggestions? Mimi? Stephen?)
Julie´s last blog post..Beautiful Words to Live By
Very cool photo selection and great quote, Lance.
If we have faith, we always see beauty in our life and no obstacle is too great to overcome.
Lighthouses make me feel so alive! Can go anywhere be anyone do anything.
Happy Sunday Lance. Inspiring, both quote and photo — thanks.
@ Julie… how about “spirit” instead of God?
God promises to give us a lamp for our feet not a flashlight into the future. Faith is trusting in the promises and attributes of God. Faith requires us to make the first step into the water and know that God will part the seas. Sometimes he doesn’t part them the way we want so we think God is not true but we don’t have his perspective on things and can’t understand the bigger picture. I try to remember…“When you can’t see his hand, trust his heart.”
@Julie– The following link has the names of God and what they mean. http://ldolphin.org/Names.html You may find anyone of these might feel more comfortable for you depending on your circumstance. I am not “religious” but I am spiritual. I have a relationship with God (I am Christian) but I don’t get into mindless ceremony which is what I associate with being religious. Christ was not happy with the “religious” Pharisees of his day for being religious but not loving to each other or showing grace and mercy. Depending on what is going on in my day I will use any one of these names. When I am amazed at something beautiful, I call him Elohim. When I am needy I call him Jehovah Jireh but mostly I just call God Papa. He doesn’t mind what you call him as long as you call. ;o)
Having recently plowed headfirst into a snowbank because I couldn’t see very well while sledding, I decided not to push my faith too far! It turned out fine, but who knows what would happened the second time.
Sorry to be a wet blanket but one could argue that the current financial crisis was caused by too much optimism/faith. How does that fit in?
Jean Browman–Cheerful Monk´s last blog post..Watching the Weather
@Jean– The current financial crises isn’t caused by too much faith. We still are required to use our common sense. To me, comparing the financial crises to faith is like looking head on, with faith, into an on coming bus and wonder why it still hit you. People should have enough sense to not stand in front of a bus. People should have enough sense to not borrow money with the hope they can repay it. They have to have a concrete plan and a way to execute it. Where faith comes into this is knowing that in these tough times, God will provide for your needs. Now your idea of your needs and his may be different. Faith is knowing that whatever path you are on, God will use it for good if you have faith in him. Faith is not getting what you want. It is understanding that what you get will be ok. It is trusting God with it. Why is it ok? Because God is bigger than our circumstances. I hope this helps.
what a beautiful picture and quote. Without faith my soul lies empty.
bobbi´s last blog post..None of Us Get Out of it Alive…
Hi Lance — what an awesome picture and quote. The light seems amazingly bright. Has it been photoshopped, or is it the original?
@Davina, thanks for a great suggestion. I’ll “try it on.”
@Laurie, thanks for the site. I, too, am not religious, but am quite spiritual. I really resonate with your way of different names for different moods.
To both of you, I really appreciate your suggestions!
@Mindful Mimi — That picture really spoke “faith” to me. I think it’s the light being projected up into the sky — into the unknown. Faith really is a belief, whether you’re religious or not, in what is beyond what we can see. And this really can be looked at from both a secular viewpoint, and a religious one. In either case, if really is believing in what we can’t necessarily grasp, see, feel, touch. And, looking farther than our own horizon — that really is it, no matter who we look at it. Well said, Mimi.
@Tikno — Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you and all your loved ones!
@Stephen Hopson — That photo really is a powerful one! Like I said to Mimi, it just really spoke “faith” to me. You bring up a good point, Stephen. Religion and faith are not mutually exclusive — you can have one without the other — in either direction. And, I really believe that the most important of these is faith. Religion can be a means of growing your faith, or connecting with people who share a similar faith as yours. However, religion can also be something that just happens on Sunday morning, and then is forgotten the rest of the week — if faith is weak, or really non-existent. I think that’s an important point to remember…
@Kathy — Great point, Kathy. Faith is what helps us achieve what we didn’t think we could do — as long as we have that faith — in whatever it is we’re trying to achieve — it IS possible!
@Brian — Great to hear this helped today! Thanks for stopping by today!
@Karl — Faith is a tough one! It’s tough, because it’s not something we can see — we have to “believe”. In the battle of fear vs. faith, fear really does hold us back. Only when we really let our faith take over, do we really allow ourselves to succeed! And, I too, am still working on implementing this in my life. You’re definitely not alone here, Karl…
@Julie — The photo really does fit this quote well! I love how you’ve described this light as the light that shines from within each of us — we all DO have that light, we just need to let it shine sometimes! Julie, you’ve really expanded upon this quote so wonderfully — thank you!
@Arswino — With faith, anything is possible — and like you’ve said — no obstacle is too great — very well said, my friend.
@Sagan — There is something about lighthouses! The image of them really is powerful — maybe it’s the thought of what their purpose is — to be a beacon of light for ships in the darkness — and when we relate that to our lives — it’s as if they provide light for us too.
@Davina — I like it — “spirit” really is a good word to use in place of God. It can be an encompassing word for all. Thank you, Davina!
@Laurie — You make a very excellent point — faith is believing. And sometimes, even when things don’t work out the way we’d planned — that doesn’t mean we should lose faith — it means that we maybe will be presented with a new way to accomplish whatever it was we were trying to do. And I do believe this applies, no matter what your spiritual beliefs are. And, Laurie, thank you for the link. And for expressing, so freely, your beliefs here. Your openness is comforting. And it really makes me think about what the term “religious” really means — to me, for me, and in my life… And how that compares and contrasts from spirituality and faith. Really, I find this whole idea to be a very deep conversation — in how these terms are interpreted and what they really mean in daily life. Laurie, thank you for this too — for helping me to really evaluate what this all means to me, personally…
@Jean — A little sledding — that sounds fun Jean! And, I appreciate the views you express, Jean — so no “wet blanket” at all. I can see that there was too much optimism — and people believing that they could keep on spending, keep on borrowing, and everything would be okay. I’m not sold that this shows faith. There was corruption going on. There were people who knew they were leveraged too highly, and still — money flowed too easily. On faith? Faith that our economy would continue to expand? I think Laurie brings up an excellent point about common sense — that it has to be there as well. That’s not to say that if we have some wild and crazy idea, that we shouldn’t pursue it — because common sense says it will never work. No, if we really believe — then we should pursue it. I do, very much, appreciate this perspective, Jean. It is one that does make you think — was there too much faith in an economy that would continue to grow and grow? While I don’t think so, you’re point is well taken. Thank you for sharing that look at our economy…
@Bobbi — Bobbi, you’ve said this so well, too — the whole idea of our soul — and what faith means to it. And how empty we can feel without any faith in our lives… Thank you, Bobbi.
@Cath — From what I can tell, this photo is mostly original photography, with only slight image fixes — and it really is a very awesome photo! An amazing capture — ad powerful image!
@Julie — Thanks for stopping back. This is all good stuff for me, as well. And I’ll be “trying it all on” as well…
Hi Lance
Wonderful quote.
I think that so often the word “faith” is associated with religion, but I don’t feel that it need be. It is the letting go of the fears and moving into an expanded life — that is for everyone to experience.
Juliet
Striking picture and powerful quote Lance.
I believe I am one of the lightworkers here on earth as I have been seeing 11:11 on clocks, computers, anything that shows the time, since the 1970’s. Below is a short description about lighterworkers.
“11:11 is a wake-up call for lightworkers. Lightworkers are people who signed up for a “green beret” type of mission when they were on the spirit plane (before being incarnated on Earth). What the mission is, in short, is to hold as much Light as possible, as strongly as possible, on this planet”.
Happy New Year Lance.
Peggy
miruspeg´s last blog post..How We Perceive Ourselves
Amen
Miguel de Luis´s last blog post..Achieving your dreams — 1 of 3
Oh boy, for me this quote is about giving up control. It makes me uncomfortable. It goes along with “jump and the net shall appear”. As a person that is very afraid of heights I don’t like that quote much. I ain’t jumping off nothing, with or without a net.
LOL As a child I was afraid of the dark, I remember how I would hide behind the wall and reach around into a dark room and flip the switch. Your quote is conjuring up visions in my brain of just boldly heading forward without having it all figured out. Nobody can have it all figured out, but I sure do try. I must ask myself what am I so afraid of? The unknown!
Natalia Burleson´s last blog post..Good Friday Morning!
@LifeMadeGreat | Juliet — Faith can be associated with religion, yet you’re exactly right — it doesn’t need to be. In fact, when I posted this quote, my thought with it was more along the lines of a new year coming up, and that as we look toward what our future holds, it’s important that we have faith in our ourselves to get us where we desire to be. Thank you, Juliet, for bringing that up — it’s an important point to note…
@Miruspeg — They really are powerful together — this photo and quote! Continue to a light in this world, Peggy! Like a lighthouse, I believe we all have within us light that we can let shine onto the world. Not everyone does. Those who do, really do make this world a better place!
@Miguel — Thanks!
@Natalia — Faith, and the idea of giving up control — a great point you bring up Natalia. It is that unknown that can be daunting, that can test our faith, and where fear can take over. Being afraid of heights, I don’t like this much for that either. However, for those things which mean much to me, and yet can sometimes be unknown, faith can be, very much, a source to getting us to where we desire to be. It really can be about boldly going forward, not sure of what’s ahead. And it can also be tip-toeing there as well…
Amazing quote. Started a fantastic thought process in my mind! I love the idea of faith and putting faith in yourself towards a path leading to self actualization, happiness and love. Thanks Lance! Hope you had a great Christmas & are looking forward to a smashing new year!
Rupal´s last blog post..He’s making a list, checking it twice!
Well ain’t that great! And that book “The Shack” I mentioned in my email earlier, it has a faith quote too…“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the one who is leading.” — Oswald Chambers.
Cheers, Mate.
Jannie´s last blog post..Unlucky four-leaf-clover CONTEST!!
What a match! I’m so into photo and quote matching — just what I needed to see on a brief internet drive-by in town. Happy New Year, Lance– thought of you with the latest Favre shenanigans. Oh, and Jannie– what do I find up at the cabin on the reading table but The Shack.
Betsy Wuebker´s last blog post..BEHOLD!
Hi Lance: I came across a cartoon of two little girls, one named Faith and the other named Reason. Reason has her two little feet firmly planted on the ground, which is good, but Faith can fly
Marelisa´s last blog post..Five Happiness Videos on YouTube
Laurie,
Actually one of my favorite quotes is by Kathleen Norris: “Prayer isn’t asking for what you think you want, it’s asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.”
Lance,
I do believe the present crisis is because times have been good for so long people didn’t realize, didn’t want to believe, that housing prices couldn’t keep going up and up. Sure there was corruption and chicanery, but the real problem in housing was people believed they could buy houses they couldn’t afford because the value of the house would increase enough to bail them out. A lot of people still believe that our horrendous deficits don’t matter. Yeah, sure. Not that we have a lot of choice right now.
Jean Browman–Cheerful Monk´s last blog post..Watching the Weather
Laurie,
Another of my favorite quotes is by Mother Teresa: “God never gives us more than we can handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” Apparently she got quite angry at God at times, but figured she was married to Him and that happens in marriages.
My favorite prayer when things don’t go the way I would like is, “Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity. I sure hope You know what You’re doing!” It’s hard to believe that God doesn’t have a sense of humor.
Jean Browman–Cheerful Monk´s last blog post..Watching the Weather
@Jean Browman– “asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.”
I love that! Thanks for sharing that. I love what it makes me feel when I pray it!
I have had the same discussion with the Big Guy about what he thought I can handle. It’s also nice to know that Mother Teresa had a sense of humor as well.
@Rupal — This whole idea of faith in ourselves, that we must believe in what is possible — is really a powerful concept. If we can just believe, then so much IS possible! The new year promises many great things, for all who have faith in themselves!
@Jannie — Hey Jannie! “The Shack” — I’ve got to check it out, you’re convincing me it’s definitely worth it (and that it’s not my place of residence!). Another great quote, really getting into the idea of faith and knowing ourselves. And how important that is! Thank you, Jannie.
@Betsy — You and Pete really do so well at combining words and photos — so I’m not surprised you like this combo! I, too, think they really fit together so perfectly. Favre…hmmm…yeah. Let’s not go there. That is like a whole new can of worms… So, another “Shack” reader…
@Marelisa — We need a little of both, don’t we — Faith and Reason. Reason seems like the easy one, at least for me. Faith, though, just like the cartoon, is really what can make us fly! Wonderful example Mare, thanks for sharing!
@Jean — Thanks for sharing a couple of quotes here. And, I agree — I think God must have a sense of humor — why else would we get such joy from laughing!
I understand your point about the current housing market and what has happened. Maybe there was a level of faith that prices would continue to rise… I think a real key point is that people didn’t want to believe this couldn’t go on forever. Hmmm… it is worth thinking about…
@Laurie — Yep, the Big Guy does challenge us sometimes! And yet, He seems to know how much we can handle, even though sometimes it seems like way more than we want to take on!
This beautiful image reminds me of my childhood dream to live in a lighthouse. Although that experience has not yet evolved, I have gained immense pleasure and knowledge from meeting some lighthouse keepers and visiting lighthouses which have sparked revelations about other aspects of my life. The quote you share is a friendly reminder thatthe imperceptible matters more than people often assume. Thanks for being a beacon in the lives of your readers.
Liara Covert´s last blog post..8 ways to reclaim your own power
Thank you for that quote Lance. I know I’m late reading it and joining in on the discussion, but I’m glad I am. I needed this today. I’ve been down on myself about faith this morning and this was a great pick me up. There has been some really good discussion here. I especially appreciated the comments by Laurie and Jean. I love the prayer that asks God to change us in ways we can’t imagine! I’m open and looking for these ways. Thanks again Lance!
Jennifer´s last blog post..A Source of Huge Frustration
Nice sentiment and photo!
Just in time for the new year, I just wanted to let you know you’ve been tagged for a meme at my blog.
Dot´s last blog post..My First Meme (I’m So Proud)
This a a fantastic photo! Personally I see faith as a belief inside a person and it shine like a light within the person. So, you photo did just that me, great picture.
Thank You,
Giovanna Garcia
Giovanna Garcia´s last blog post..Have an eye for opportunity for the New Year.
I think you have been my grandmother’s old box. Somewhere in there is a saying similar to this. So true. Faith has a “noun” meaning and a spiritual meaning. Applying them both to our lives makes it easier to get up in the morning.
Happy New Year to you Lance.
Cricket´s last blog post..The world is yours to borrow…
I love lighthouses, Lance. So this pic is lovely to me. I need to see this about right now. Thanks for the pick-me-up. There’s a shore to come to…
@Liara — A lighthouse really is a beautiful image isn’t it! Seeing, visiting, interacting with lighthouses and those who work there — what a great way to really get a better feel for these structures and the feelings the conjure up in us!
@Jennifer — That this found you at the right time, Jennifer, is some of the best words I can hear. And, Laurie and Jean really have done a great job of taking this quote to the next level, and really digging into what it says. Jennifer, you really do shine faith in your life…
@Dot — Thank you. I’ve been tagged…thank you for that, as well!
@Giovanna — It really is an awesome photo — I was drawn to it! You’ve said it beautifully, Giovanna, that our faith and belief do shine like this lighthouse, if we just let that faith out for the world to see! Thank you for your interpretation — it’s wonderful!
@Cricket — You didn’t see me sneaking into your house the other day??? Faith as a noun and faith in the spiritual sense — together they sure do make our lives wonderful! Happy New Year Tammy!!
@Jewel — I love this photo too — lighthouses are wonderful to view, and this one, with the light just streaming from it, is an awesome image to behold! I’m glad you are here today, seeing this when you need to — there is indeed a shore to come to…
Lance,
Very nice interview with Stephen and thank you for letting me join you on Twitter.
I just have to say that this picture made me think of my brother, who collects lighthouses. Maybe because he tries so hard to protect people (policeman, homeland security expert, now fire commissioner),but he doesn’t seem to be able to speak to them. He tells lots of stories but he never quite connects. Maybe if we saw him as the lighthouse, we might be able to connect with him — I don’t know but he is out there shining a light for everyone but he is alone inside?
just my thoughts as they wander around this photograph and my thinking
Thank you
Patricia´s last blog post..Sparkling Tour with Bubbly Celebrations in Mind
Patricia, thank you for your compliments, and for stopping by here and commenting! That’s an interesting point you bring up, Patricia. I wonder how many are out there, who really are beacons of light in this world, and yet feel alone, and not connected to all those they spread light to. I’m sure there are many. And it makes me wonder what we can do to give back to them, to really make them feel a belonging… Thanks, so much, for sharing that thought…
@Patricia and Lance: I believe there are also those out there who have no idea how intense their light is. They have no idea what a positive thing they are for others. And then the opposite is true. There are those who have no idea how much their negativity weights down those around them. I believe in both cases the person belittles their impact on others. In both cases, if the person just knew their impact on others, it might change their lives.