Category: Inspirational

Bible, Inspirational, Little Women, Spring

Longing for Transformation

by Simply Megan Joy9 Comments on Longing for Transformation

Longing for Transformation - simplymeganjoy.wordpress.com

There is always something that we wish to change in our lives. It was the transformation from winter to spring that I longed for this year. It seemed to take forever for nature to wake up and be alive again. Every time I felt the bitter cold in my face I asked: where are you spring? Why haven’t you come? For months, mother nature’s heart refused to be warmed.

In one of my favorite films, Little Women (1994), Jo March says that she is “longing for transformation.” I know precisely how she feels. Don’t you?

In each of our lives there are stages, some good and some bad. It’s the bad stages that seem to drone on forever. It feels like there is no end, for we cannot see it ahead.

With whatever someone is going through, a family member sick or in the hospital, financial burdens, continuous frustration, any trial that we may have, are we guaranteed an end? Are we handed a calendar with a big X on it, symbolizing the day of the transformation from bad to good? No. So how can we continue on with a smile? If there is something to bog down our happiness, why be happy?

As Christians, we “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 KJV. Trials, loss, pain; it’s all temporary. Every moment we live longing for transformation is a moment of building hope and faith in God. The question is, can we push past our heavy burdens and finally reach that transformation? Only with God’s help, we can. The Lord may let trials fall in our path, but he is always there to help us, never forsaking us. He makes sure that we are equipped, so that we may walk through those trials and come out the other side with a smile. It’s how we grow.

Choose to look at each of your trials as a test. Can you keep faith that God knows best as you wait for that transformation? Can you keep a smile and uplifted heart as you wait for that change? Can you use your situation for Him? Can you trust in the Lord?

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” KJV

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What trials have been in your heart lately?

Do you have any prayer requests? Just let me know and I’ll be happy to pray for you.

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Megan Joy

Inspirational, Poems of Old

Poems of Old // Afton Water

by Simply Megan Joy7 Comments on Poems of Old // Afton Water

This poem by the Scottish writer, Robert Burns, was composed in 1791, and later put to music as Flow Gently, Sweet Afton in 1837, by Jonathan Spilman. By what I’ve been recently told, I may be in some way related to Robert Burns the poet, so I feel a special connection to the words I’ve been singing for years. I love the words Burns chose to rhythm together; it’s such a lovely piece to read.

Poems of Old - Afton Water - simplymeganjoy.wordpress.com.JPG

Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,

Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise;

My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,

Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

Thou stock-dove, whose echo resounds thro’ the glen,

Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,

Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear,

I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair.

How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills,

Far mark’d with the courses of clear winding rills;

There daily I wander as noon rises high,

My flocks and my Mary’s sweet cot in my eye.

How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below,

Where wild in the woodlands the primroses blow;

There oft, as mild Ev’ning sweeps over the lea,

The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.

Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides,

And winds by the cot where my Mary resides,

How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave,

As gathering sweet flowrets she stems thy clear wave.

Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,

Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays;

My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,

Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

Robert Burns, 1791

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Do you know this as a song or a poem?

Did you ever find out that one of your ancestors is well-known?

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Megan Joy

Bible, Collections, DIY, Inspirational

7 Free Bible Verse Posters to Hang on Your Wall

by Simply Megan Joy10 Comments on 7 Free Bible Verse Posters to Hang on Your Wall

Seven Free Bible Verse Posters to Hang on Your Wall - simplymeganjoy.wordpress

What’s a better place to hang some inspiring and uplifting verses other than your bedroom wall? I’ve created 7 verse designs for you to print out and place where you will see them every day!

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3 5-6

Joshua 1:9

Joshua 1-9

Matthew 11:28

Matthew 11-28

1st Peter 5:7

floral 5

Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4-13

Matthew 6:21

Matthew 6-21

Romans 8:28

Romans 8-28 2nd

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You can save these photos to your computer, print, and cut them out, and hang them wherever you like. You could give one to a friend who needs encouragement or fold one up and slip it into your sibling’s backpack with a note on the back saying how much you appreciate them! Be creative by printing them out on cardstock and give them as Valentine’s Day gifts (or save them for Easter).

P.S. All verses above were taken from the King James Version Bible.

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Which verse speaks to you the most?

Shout out to “The Hungry JPEG” for the use of their free graphic designs!

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Megan Joy

Inspirational, Movies, Music, Poems of Old

Poems of Old // Weep You No More

by Simply Megan Joy9 Comments on Poems of Old // Weep You No More

Have you ever seen the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thomson and Kate Winslet? Do you remember the song that Marianne sings in the movie (the scene where Colonel Brandon sees her for the first time)? Well, this is it! It was originally a poem supposedly written by an anonymous poet in the 1800s, although there are rumors that it was written by the English musician John Dowland in 1603 to an alternate tune. Whether either be true, it is a beautiful work of poetry and I wanted to share it.

Poems of Old - Weep You No More Sad Fountians simplymeganjoy.wordpress.com.JPG

Weep you no more, sad fountains;

What need you flow so fast?

Look how the snowy mountains

Heaven’s sun doth gently waste.

But my sun’s heavenly eyes

View not your weeping,

That now lie sleeping

Softly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

 

Sleep is a reconciling,

A rest that peace begets.

Doth not the sun rise smiling

When fair at even he sets?

Rest you then, rest, sad eyes,

Melt not in weeping

While she lies sleeping

Softly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

Anonymous

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Have you ever seen the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility?

Do you remember Marianne singing this song?

To watch a clip of this scene from Sense and Sensibility, click HERE!

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Megan Joy

Inspirational, Poems of Old

Poems of Old // Hope is the Thing with Feathers

by Simply Megan Joy13 Comments on Poems of Old // Hope is the Thing with Feathers

This week’s poem is by the inspiring Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). It is believed to have been written during the first year of the Civil War and published three decades later. Below you can read her clever way with words in “Hope is the Thing with Feathers.”

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Hope is the things with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without words,

And never stops at all,

 

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

 

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson, 1861

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What do you think of this poem?

Don’t you just love Dickinson’s pleasant phrasing?

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Megan Joy

 

 

Anne of Green Gables, Inspirational, Poems of Old

Poems of Old // The Lady of Shallot

by Simply Megan Joy10 Comments on Poems of Old // The Lady of Shallot

This is the first post of the new 2018 weekly series: Poems of Old! Each week, I’ll share a poem or excerpt dated 1950 or older. This poem, written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1842, is my favorite work by Tennyson, mostly for the reason that it plays a part in the Anne of Green Gables book and film. Wanting to be like Anne, I’ve memorized the first paragraph of part two, which you can read below. I do not necessarily find the entire story of the Lady of Shallot appealing, though I like the flow and rhythm of this famous Tennyson work.Poems of Old - The Lady of Shallot - simplymeganjoy.wordpress.com 1.JPG

Part II

(first paragraph) 

“There she weaves by night and day

A magic web with colors gay.

She has heard a whisper say,

A curse is on her if she stay

To look down to Camelot.

She knows not what the curse may be

And so she weaveth steadily,

And little other care hath she,

The Lady of Shalott.”

Afred Lord Tennyson, 1842

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Have you ever memorized a poem just for fun?

What do you think of the new series?

What’s your favorite poem written before 1950? I always need more poem to feature!

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Megan Joy

Anne of Green Gables, Autumn, Inspirational, Music, Random

What My Bicycle Taught Me

by Simply Megan Joy12 Comments on What My Bicycle Taught Me

What My Bicycle Taught Me - simplymeganjoy.wordpress.com

The other day I went biking with my brother. It was the first warm and dry day of the week, so I was quite excited to head to the seven-mile trail with my backpack filled with water bottles, an ace bandage, and a handful of bandaids, just in case. I don’t even know where in the world we could have gotten Barbie bandaids. I have a feeling that my brother would rather bleed to death than to wear a Barbie bandaid.

The first half of the trail was rocky and covered with bumpy tree roots. The dirt path was set on a hillside with woods and a field above and a bluff and train tracks below. The best part was when I peacefully rode through the edge of the forest while listening to the soundtrack of Anne of Green Gables on my phone, which was wonderful!

The trail consisted of hills, many hills. They stretched up and down, then up, then back down again. It was scored with rocky slopes and miniature mountains. When we were at the top of a hill, we would peddle and coast all the way down in the hope that we could make it to the top of the next hill.

If we were lucky, we didn’t have to peddle at all and instead just rode up the hill with the ease that comes with momentum. Nevertheless, in many other cases, the uphill climb was just too tall and far for us to make it to the top without a struggle, even with the gears set in our benefit.

You know the feeling; your bike starts to slow down, you peddle as hard as you can and wonder if you’ll make it to the top. The wheels spin slower and slower yet you’re using all your strength and energy. Then you have to decide; should I keep on peddling or get off and push my bike up to the top? You know that the wheels are barely even moving anymore, but you still want to keep on trying and stay on that bike. It would be your last resort to surrender to the hill and give up. But when do you know when it’s time to give up? You know you can’t continue like this forever, or your bike will just tip over with a lack of movement. You must choose to keep on moving ever so slowly or give up and walk.

This story can also be related to our lives. We all have hills to climb and we all want to get to the top without a struggle, but when we begin to lose our speed, momentum, and strength, we wonder if we’ll ever make it to the top. It’s hard to know when we’ve given all that we can give, and it’s even harder to know when to quit. To get off the bike and push it up the hill may seem like a failure, to give up. But sometimes we need to say, “that’s enough,” get off the bike, and truly accept that we have given all we that can.

You can only give so much.

When we have to use up all our strength, power, and energy to peddle up that hill, eventually we can’t give anymore and our bike will slowly come to a stop and simply fall over! It’s okay to take a break and say “no more” when you’ve done all that you can do. Knowing when that time is can be difficult. How long should I keep peddling? The only person who knows that answer is you. You are allowed to get off the bike, slow down, and walk to the top. It’s not giving up hope, it’s saying no to “falling over.”

Don’t breakdown, take a break!

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Do you enjoy bike riding?

Do you need to say, “that’s enough” to something in your life right now?

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Megan Joy