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talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

talktodiana

Tag Archives: grace

How To Set The World On Fire

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

200 words, authentic, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, grace, Gratitude, growing up, happy, History, joy, life, mission, passion, Purpose, That thing you're meant to do, true to yourself, vision

long-term-effects-of-alcohol

Be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire.

St. Catherine of Siena

There was a time when it was considered good and sensible to accept one’s lot in life with grace and gratitude. A time when if your father was a servant, it would follow that you would be a servant, and your son would be a servant.

These days, we tell ourselves that we can be whoever we want to be. Some folks achieve their dreams, many don’t.

I wonder have we set ourselves up for failure and ultimately, a life of misery because of it?

Just as with any stream of contemporary thought in any given time in human history, when we examine our ideals over a long period of time, we discover that the pendulum has swung from one extreme to another.

So I find myself thinking it best that the pendulum rest somewhere in the middle.

That it doesn’t have to be completely this way or that.

That purpose can be found in this way AND that.

That any person using their unique gifts can set their world on fire; no matter their station in life.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Morning Coffee

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

blessing, coffee, comforting, Dad, Diana Schwenk, dream, family, grace, grief, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, loss, love, memories, Mom, parents

coffee-cup-120516

It’s only been a short time since Dad passed away. The hardest is when I forget and then remember again that he is gone. This morning though, a small blessing, a moment of grace to start my day.

A comforting dream, just before I awoke.

I was walking from the back bedroom of their house toward the kitchen. And there was Dad, just as he’d always been when I’d been there on previous visits, except he was standing – with no pain on his face, wearing that white shirt with navy and red stripes and making me an instant morning coffee.

Mom joined him from the dining room and both of them lifted their eyes up from the coffee to greet me.

Then I woke up.

Thanks for my morning coffee and checking in on me Dad. You must have known how much I am missing you.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Dare To Do Our Duty

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 44 Comments

Tags

200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, grace, growing up, integrity, judging, kindness, living in the moment, lost wallet, love, world issues

Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. – Abe Lincoln

941f1561a78c3f96768282ba235cde09Yesterday my friend Helga was telling me about a movie she recently saw about a man who finds a wallet.

The man who finds the wallet initially intends to return it; in the absence of ID, the man calls the name and number on a slip of paper he finds tucked deep in the wallet.

The person agrees to call the owner of the wallet and pass on the wallet-finding man’s contact information.

Later, the man finds a lottery ticket tucked into the wallet and checks the number.

It’s a winner.

And now the man begins to struggle with his initial intention.

It’s easy to judge this man.

We’d like to think that we would do the right thing.

But doing the right thing isn’t always easy.

If it were, wouldn’t everybody be doing it?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Often, doing the right thing takes us off track, or costs us in some way. I can’t help thinking that the price of not doing the right thing though, is ultimately more costly.

A Vulcan Blessing from Leonard Nimoy

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion, My Stories

≈ 49 Comments

Tags

200 words, calm, chaos, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, grace, grief, kindness, Leonard Nimoy, life, logical, Mr. Spock, passion, Star Trek, Vulcan greeting, wisdom

“I am and always will be your friend” – Spock (Leonard Nimoy)

untitledWhen I was a little girl watching Star Trek, I had a secret crush on Mr. Spock.

While alien women were throwing themselves at Captain Kirk, I was drawn to his first officer.

When the rest of the crew seemed to run around fuelled by passion and chaos, Spock, the ever logical, the always calm, stepped in with his wisdom and grace.

Even in my 20s, it was my 11:30Pm ritual to watch Star Trek in bed before falling asleep.

Here, I read that: Nimoy’s fame as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character. 

I am saddened by Leonard Nimoy’s passing but so grateful for the man he was, and the way he embedded himself into the character of Mr. Spock.

As seen in the video below posted by the NY Times, Leonard was also a wonderful story-teller. I invite you to learn the origin of the Vulcan greeting by clicking the link below.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

❤ R.I.P Leonard Nimoy  ❤

Standing On Sacred Ground

01 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion, My Stories

≈ 46 Comments

Tags

200 words, Burning bush, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, God, grace, integrity, journey, judging, life, mission, sacred ground, spiritual, vision, Who I am

Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

imagesHTL4L22WOne of the most life-changing letters I ever received was sent to me from a missionary in Guatemala when I was in my early twenties.

I was new in my faith and struggling with questions of judgment and grace and had written to him about it.

His reply to me referenced the Biblical Burning Bush story found in Exodus.

He told me my journey was my own. That I shouldn’t worry about other people and what they did on their journey. That God would reveal to me when I was standing on sacred ground and when it was time to remove my sandals from my feet.

Why is it that when we discover a truth about our own journey, we feel a need to impose it on everyone else? How does our way of doing something suddenly become the right way for everyone else to do it?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What would happen if instead of judging and correcting others, we sought solely to be the best version of ourselves?

Grace

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

angels, Calgary, calling, Charity, Diana Schwenk, dreams, friends, God, grace, growing up, joy, living in the moment, love, memories, mission, Purpose, Relationships, The Mustard Seed, vision

When I moved to Calgary in March 1990, I’d been sure for a number of years that I had a calling to work with the homeless. When I arrived I discovered Teen Challenge in the phonebook and called them immediately, convinced I could get a job there. They told me they didn’t hire women because staff had to be physically strong enough to handle when their clients were going through withdrawal.

I was disappointed and was starting to wonder if I had just imagined my calling. My roommate Bonnie decided she would take me out for lunch to cheer me up. When we had ordered our meal, Bonnie said grace. And by saying grace, I mean she said a very loud prayer over our lunch. I was mortified and embarrassed!

It caught the attention of a woman sitting all by herself at the other end of the restaurant and she came over to our table. “Hi, my name is Grace. Pardon me for just barging in but I’m new in town,” she said. “And I’m looking for a church that I can attend.” We talked about the church we attended and invited her to join us. She then focused her attention on me, remarking that I seemed sad. I told her my whole story; the calling, the long waiting, the disappointment – all of it.

“Why don’t you go check out the Mustard Seed,” she said. “It’s only a block and half away from here.” I thanked her for the information and she wrote her phone number and address on a piece of paper for me so that I could call her and make arrangements for her to attend my church.

After lunch, Bonnie and I headed over to the Mustard Seed. That’s where I met Adele. I asked her if I could speak to the head pastor and she picked up the phone to inquire about it. She told me he’d be awhile and invited us to sit and wait. While we waited we chatted with Adele. I’m sure I told her that I would be a brilliant hire or something like that. A young good-looking man wearing acid-washed jeans and a purple tie-dyed T-shirt stopped in and we chatted with him for 30 or 40 minutes.

Not being the most patient person in the world, I finally turned to Adele and said, “So when is this head pastor gonna show so I can talk with him?” She laughed and gestured toward Mr. Acid-washed Tie-Dye and said you’ve been talking to him for half an hour!

Tim Bonenfant, Diana Schwenk, Pat Nixon, Karen Cates, Herb White Taken in 1991

Tim Bonenfant, Diana Schwenk, Pat Nixon, Karen Cates, Herb White
Taken in 1991

After that day I began volunteering at the Mustard Seed and by the time this picture was taken for a magazine article, I was on staff as an Outreach Worker. In total I spent about 20 years at the Mustard Seed. When I left in 2010, I was the Chief Development Officer.

This past Saturday, I attended an informal ‘Old Mustard Seeders’ reunion. Now, 24 years after I first walked through the doors of The Mustard Seed, it was good to catch up with everyone. We shared about what we’re all up to now and talked about the good old days. Pat Nixon, who was the leader of the Mustard Seed for over 26 years told us we should be proud of what we were able to contribute in the time that we were there. And we are proud and grateful for everything we learned about life and what’s really important from our amazing street friends.

Trish, Pat Nixon, Diana Schwenk, Chuck Harper, Adele Toews, Ty Ragan, Christie, Herb White Photo taken March 29, 2014

Trish Sonnenberg, Pat Nixon, Diana Schwenk, Chuck Harper, Adele Toews, Ty Ragan, Christie Halliday, Herb White
Photo taken March 29, 2014

We plan to get together again, perhaps for a picnic in the summer, with many others who couldn’t attend this past Saturday.

~

Oh yes, and what about Grace? I called her for weeks and weeks and her phone just rang and rang and rang. Finally, I got on a bus and went to the address she’d given me. It was a long-abandoned, empty lot.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ~ Hebrews 13:2

 ~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

 

 

The Embrace of Grace

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

200 words, anxiety, believe, betrayal, comfort, compassion, family, friends, grace, healing, hope, illness, life, living in the moment, love

“I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kind of things. Also, that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace’s arrival. But no, it’s clog and slog … on the floor, in the silence, in the dark”~ Anne Lamott

I can still hear my parents saying, “No one ever said life would be easy.”light

Considering what they went through as children in war-time Germany, I really didn’t have too much to complain about…

I’ve had my share of troubles in life – we all have.

Some worse than others

loss of loved ones

illness

anxiety over money

struggles of conscience

betrayals

and the list goes on.

But through it all there are moments of respite…

we catch a glimpse of light

we receive the comfort of human touch

we are gifted with words of encouragement

and we cling to hope.

It’s true, life isn’t always easy, in fact it’s mostly not easy, but is it worth it?

for the lessons learned

the friendships forged

the knowing that we are all connected – sometimes needing, sometimes needed

and always held in the embrace of grace.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

May you know grace in times of trouble

 

Talk to Diana


"I RELATE WITH, PROMOTE AND SPEAK COMMUNITY WHEREVER I AM..."

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