Category: Present Moment

The Perfect Day

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I am yearning for more. I am grateful for where I am, and what I have, but my heart, and soul are telling me there is so much more in store. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” I’m a thinker, and I ask a lot from God, but He says more than I could ask or think.

I’m reading a book by Melody Beattie, and want to share this simple meditation to help set your intention for the day. Yes, I do believe what you pray and meditate on, will eventually come to pass.

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“Create the perfect day each day.

“In the morning, before you get out of bed, or while you’re drinking your coffee or tea, spend a moment thinking about what the perfect day would be like for you. No, we’re not in control, but we can help create enthusiasm, excitement, and passion in our lives. Projecting positive thoughts, and images can be important part of our prayers.”

“Touch for a moment on some ideas that would be meaningful for you throughout the day. What would feel good? What would make your heart happy? Then, surrender control.”

“See what life has in store. Enter fully into each experience, and emotion that comes your way. At the end of the day-whether what you projected happened or not-take time to thank God for giving you the perfect day.”

Excerpt from, “Finding Your Way Home: A Soul Survival Kit,” by Melody Beattie

I Like We

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Strong and independent is she. Slaying dragons in her world, and anyone else’s dear to her heart.  Pushing her way through every storm, and obstacle. She is strong, but tired.

She is not alone. Those same people she wields her sword for, have swords of their own. They may not be just like hers, but they are fit for a battle none the less. Can she rest her weary bones, and allow others to stand guard? Can she trust others to fight and win?

I believe so.

There is not much difference between being a “loner”, and being “alone”.

Do you feel alone in your battles?

There is a quote I have in my house that reads, “The battle is God’s, not yours.” It’s a little reminder that I don’t have to fight every battle today. To be honest, I stay away from drama, and my sword is pretty dusty from not being used. I have fight in me, but it’s has to be of high importance for me to release that fight. Breast Cancer falls into that category of fight.

I do what I can, and let God do the rest.

Letting people help me through this time in my life, was extremely difficult, but I finally surrendered, and became good at it. If I am to win this battle, I must take care of me. The people I love want me around for a while, so to do that, I must pick and choose my battles.

It’s not all about me. It’s about ‘We’. I like we.

Is It Real

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With modern technology today, we are only limited by our minds. Scientists are creating things we don’t know about, and probably don’t want to know. We have tools like Facebook, and other social medias, to encourage, and reach people, but it’s outreach is limited by the people in charge.

This is a huge controversy today among encouraging pages, but is it real?

I enjoy reaching people through social media, but I had to learn some lessons. At one time, I was too wrapped up in the numbers, which is easy to do. Then God did something crazy.

To show me that He is still on the throne, and I better have a sense of humor, He did this.

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Months ago, I posted this. It was cute even though the information is dated. I just thought it would cheer somebody up. Well, do you see how many people it reached? Over 10 million.

That was unreal. It is still floating around out there, because I still receive notifications of people liking it, and commenting. It brought so many people joy, and they had a lot of fun with it. The one Meme, that I slapped up there just for fun, God took it and ran with it. I couldn’t control any of it. I tried to keep up with the comments, but there were too many.

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Learning I have Breast Cancer, has caused me to pause and look at my life. Was it as beautiful as it could be? It had become off balanced, and things had been overlooked, or neglected. Was everything in order?

My daughter and I have lived in this house for over a year. When we moved in, we sat things in their designated room.

Yesterday, I looked at my bedroom, which should be my haven, but it was a mess. I wasn’t happy with how it was arranged, so I moved everything around. God has provided everything needed for a beautiful life, it just needed some care, and consideration.

After the big pieces were moved, which takes patience thanks to Chemo, I was ready to beautify. I wanted new drapes for my room, but didn’t feel led to go buy any. I have always loved the ones in the den, so I swapped the bedroom drapes, with the den. There is a large painting hanging in the den that has always brought me joy. It’s now in my room too.

I added more color to the bed, with down stuffed pillows, that had been laying on a shelf. Just little things from around the house, that I love, but they were in the wrong room.

My room is now a happy, serene haven once again. I won’t get so wrapped up in the virtual world, that I lose site of my world. My world is beautiful, and it is real.

 

Brick by Brick

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I have read a lot of frightening articles about relationships. You can barely define the word anymore. In an ever changing world, God hasn’t changed His definition. It is still the same.

Maybe we have forgotten what love is?

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Firmly planted in my mind, was an idea of how I wanted to be loved. Based on parts that felt good in the past. I had to let all that go of my past beliefs, to receive what God had planned.

It didn’t look familiar, but there’s that connection you can’t deny. Maybe people are looking for that immediate connection, and get lost in it instead.

Are you a trustworthy person? Are you loyal? Do you strive to do the next right thing?

These attributes are what I call bricks, and helps build the foundation of the relationship.

What you have inside you, is what you have to offer. Be complete within yourself, and stop looking for someone to complete you. If you feel you’re missing something, or have a void inside, find that first.

For me, it was a God shaped void.

The day I asked God for help, He did, and I was made whole.

 

My unconditional love comes from God. He loves me no matter what, and forgives me when I mess up. I allow Him to mold me, and form me into what He wants me to be. It takes courage to allow someone to love you just the way you are.

To love and to be loved is the greatest gift of all. Time and patience. Brick by brick.

Fast or Slow

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I used to be afraid of aging.

Back then, it was for vanity reasons, but I’m not afraid anymore. I like growing up, and learning new things. Now, to just process it all.

I woke up at 6:00 am, grabbed my water bottle, and stepped outside to sit in the porch swing. We have a feral cat that has hung around for a while now. We feed it, but have never been able to get anywhere near it. It looks like she may be pregnant, and as she hopped up on the porch, I heard her purring.

She was full of love, and shared it with me.

It took a while, and much circling on her part, but eventually, she hopped up into the swing. I was amazed being this close to her, so I reached out and lifted her into my lap. She didn’t know what to do. She started kneading my robe, and lifting her face up toward mine.

It was scary for both of us. I wanted to keep my face in tact, and she wanted to trust.

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My daughter has me hooked on fresh pressed coffee. I know right? Always the Keurig, but not today! She gave me precise instructions lastnight, so I tried to recall it all this morning.

Get the kettle of water almost to a boil, then take it off to rest a minute. I measured the beans, and placed them in the grinder. Kept looking at them to make sure they didn’t turn to dust. Dumped them in the carafe, poured in the water, and the lid went on with a slight press. It didn’t look right. It wasn’t as dark as hers, but I am learning.

Once it was done, it was a robust cup of coffee. When I poured the cream in, I had to use a spoon to stir it. That was new. Normally the cream would just mix right in, but this stuff was thick! It seemed to take a long time to go through a lot of steps to enjoy this fine cup of brew. It was more than worth it.

 

I have spent many years rushing through life, but today, it’s all about the love. What used to be fast is now slow.

Love Some More

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Today is Valentines Day. I felt like writing last night at 11:45 pm. I thought that would be sweet to press publish around midnight of the day that points it out. I chose sleep instead.

I’m sitting at a large table, overlooking the lake. The sky has been thick with clouds all morning, but now, I can catch a glimpse of the sun trying to break through. This reminded me of how my heart felt right after I left my marriage. My heart had been closed off for so long, it was thick with clouds.

Slowly it started to crack open, and I could feel light within.

I had been filled with God’s love for 20 years, but life had hardened my heart. I didn’t feel loved where I was anymore. We had long ago let that die. I believe you have to nurture love to keep it alive and allow it to grow. Not knowing how to depend on God for that, I was expecting it from others. People cannot give love when they don’t have it to give.

God’s love is endless, deep and pure. I will never match the love He gives me, so why try?

It’s good practice. I believe what God gives us, He wants us to share with others. Our highest calling is to love, and it starts with ourselves. I had to forgive myself for what I thought were mistakes, or bad choices. Looking back, they were just part of my path, and have made me wiser. I made a decision to start over, and I still do that today. Do overs.

When we stop the ‘do overs’, we lose the practice. I believe to be really good at something, it takes practice. Allowing my heart to melt, and become pliable is what gave me a new heart. Today, I practice keeping my heart full and allow it to overflow onto others that will receive my love. The ones I have chosen, give it back in spades.

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Don’t be afraid of more. Love is one thing you can have an over abundance of. It’s in the overflow that we can freely give. This picture reminded me not only of more love, but more Barbara. When you believe you love enough, love some more.

A Quiet Sunday

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I haven’t written in a while. Have been questioning if I’m actually a writer, or just nested here for a while to tell my story. If the second one is accurate, then we all have writer in us.

The house is quiet, on a Sunday afternoon.

I hear my landlord mowing the field next to the house. It’s a very soothing sound of the mower coming and going. This time of day is beautiful.

Walking through the yard, I spotted this as a sweet reminder that life can come through even the hardest of surfaces. There is no dirt here, only concrete and rock, but the grass doesn’t mind. It came through just fine.

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I started a new job Monday.

My income will increase substantially, and I’m not sure what to do with that, but I think it’s a good problem to have. Reading my devotional this morning I found reassurance. “Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where I intend you to be.”

That was like water to my soul.

Taking one step at a time with this new job was where I had to be. I dove in head first on Monday, became overwhelmed, and started doubting myself. Trusting and relying on God with this, just as I have with everything else.

The blade of grass emerged through the rocky surface to reach the light, and so can I.