Tag: #Encouraging

A Gratitude Jar

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I didn’t do my Morning Pages this morning.

It’s all good though. My daughter has classes, and I chose to spend time with her before she left.

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Thank you for your encouraging comments yesterday about These Two Jars. I found a shoe-box and dumped the pieces of paper inside. It lost all appeal. It was like the shoe box covered up the idea. I’d probably forget about writing on a slip of paper a day using the box, so back to the jar we went.

Walking away from the shoe box with jar in hand, I just plopped it down on top of the coffee bar to ponder it’s placement. Seeing the jar sitting there this morning, it looked at home, even though it was not planned. Scooping up the pieces of paper from the box I placed them back inside the jar.

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Sometimes I make things more complicated than they should be. The gratitude jar was a simple idea I read about, and then tried to make perfect.

The first idea is the best idea.

Stick with the original idea. That is called inspiration when the idea of adding something meaningful to our lives first strikes. To hear that still small voice and follow through. Logic is overrated in my opinion because by following your heart there doesn’t seem to be a lot of logic to it.

By  paying attention to what’s around us, we can instill the simplistic beauty of a gratitude jar.

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Take a Minute

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The house is quiet and still, but it wasn’t. Two days ago, my daughter brought home a puppy.

She went to meet a friend for lunch, and puppy went with. I have some errands to run, but decided to take a minute and enjoy this quiet moment.

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‘Velvet Blaze’ Grinds by Summer Moon. 

A small french press enhances a moment. It’s actually a moment within itself, and I could feel myself relaxing through every step of the process.

I’m having trouble keeping up with the days.

It’s December, and we are counting the days until she leaves for  England. In two weeks, she will board the plane. Then, the following week is Christmas, and next comes the New Year! I remember counting down the months, not days.

I poured a cup of brew from the press.

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Décembre.

Strolled by our wood calendar, and flipped the block to the right date. This calendar shows me what day it is, and takes less that a minute to flip.

Be encouraged lovely. You have more control than you realize. Just breathe, and take a minute.

Just Trust Me

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I wrote this two years ago today. I find it interesting how time goes by, and our lives change. This Blog refers to something from my past coming back to haunt me, but I don’t even recall what that was. It must not have been that bad, because I’m here loving life.

Another thing I noticed is, now when people ask me what I do, the first thing I tell them is, “I write.” That has come to the forefront for me, and my job is in the background. I also trust God more now, than a couple of years ago.  Time goes by, we make choices, and here we are.

Letitgocoach

I’m sitting here before I retire for the evening and just wanted to write. I love to write. People ask me what I do and I tell them about my jobs and then I add, “I’m a writer.” They find my job status interesting enough. Helping people with their businesses is a stretch and grow for me, but they always look up at me with a smile when I add the ‘writer’ part. It’s like they want to ask all of the questions rolling through their mind, but are hesitant. It’s fun.

trustI found myself coming full circle today on trusting God. There was a season in my life, not that long ago, that I trusted Him just to wake me up the next day. He always did. Not knowing what direction my new life should go, I trusted Him for every step and sometimes every breath.

Making decisions with…

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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.

 

No More Pain

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I caught our landlord, Pete this morning taking the trash down to the street. Pete is happily married, and he and his wife treat me like a daughter. It’s nice, you know? He takes care of all the manly stuff around here, and then goes home to his wife. I like it.

He asked how I was feeling, and I just beamed and told him, “Great!” He looked so perplexed, and said, “You are handling this whole thing so well.” (The Breast Cancer )

I looked at him and said, “It’s not me. It’s all God.”

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Breast Cancer was my secret for a while.

I ignored the symptoms for months, and self diagnosed continuously. Reaching for some other conclusion besides the big “C.” How can God get the glory for the miracle in store if nobody knows? I am sharing this journey in hopes of encouraging others through.

An ordinary woman, walking into the second half of her life with a daughter, a few of my favorite things, and God. If I can do it, so can you. How was I going to continue this mission with Cancer? For me, it was an ugly word, so how was there going to be beauty? Because God is a master at beauty.

God knows I am stubborn. He knows it’s going to take time to get me where I need to be. The best way to get my attention is physical pain. God doesn’t cause pain, but He will use it.

I was in a lot of pain. It took time, but it got to the point where I dreaded going to bed at night. I knew it was going to hurt when I laid down. I didn’t share this with anyone. Only the few people who saw me, could tell I was in a world of pain. They watched and waited.

They knew it was going to have to be my decision to go see a doctor. Finally, I surrendered.

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Do you know, the day I left that doctor’s office, my pain subsided? That night was the first night in months, I slept all night with no pain. By surrendering, and taking that first step into the doctor, and onto this path, God was pleased. I was terrified, but God was happy.

At first, I didn’t want anyone to know, or anyone to pity me. There is a difference between pity and sympathy. When I wrote the initial Blog about it, some friends were taken aback, and not sure what to say, so I just let them be. Others embraced it, and stood up as Prayer Warriors immediately.

My life seems more beautiful recently than ever before, or maybe I am seeing it through eyes of no pain. Whatever it is, there’s no more pain.

Your Beautiful Life

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This morning, my daughter and I are sitting in one of our favorite shops. The owners are taking a much needed break and we are here for them. It’s a Vintage shop full of goodness, and we love being here. It’s a blessing in our lives.

I love walking though the shop and seeing everything that’s been added since my last visit. It’s one of those places you stroll through and look carefully in every nook and corner. Otherwise, you might miss something really sweet.

One of the first things I noticed was a book that looked very similar to what I have in mind. The size and how it feels in your hand, not the actual book. God has revealed what He wants me to write, but I didn’t have a feel until now.

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This was on my Facebook page this morning. Simple elegance is what I see and it resonated as a possible book cover. I love the acronym for SWEN, but what caught my attention foremost was the bottom left hand corner. It simply says, ‘Your Beautiful Life.’

I have been pondering this for most of this week. How beautiful life is. Going through the different phases of life, I am sitting in a sweet one. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect. I want everyone to see the beauty in life and relax into the knowing, it’s all God.

There is nothing I physically did to have what I have. God spent many years giving me a beautiful life, but it took time for me to see it. The more grateful I am, the more beautiful it becomes. Earning less money than ever before, and happier than I could ever imagine.

As people walk into the shop, I smile and ask them about their day. Encouraging people is what I love to do. God will use us to bless others, and that is what makes a beautiful life.