One of the most difficult parts of dating over fifty is finding a dreamer. Most men are semi-retired, already retired, or looking forward to retirement. They want to travel in an RV, or on a motorcycle, but here’s an update. You don’t have to wait to travel. It’s available at any time.
I have big dreams for my life, but sometimes I wonder if they’re big enough. As humans, we tend to dream attainable dreams. Things we know with some hard work and planning, they’ll come to fruition. My dreams are merely stepping stones to a greater plan, and that plan is a mystery.
We’ll use writing as an example. I don’t want to be famous, but I do want to write, and God can use my willingness to write in a big way. That’s the scary part. What is His plan?
Maybe you think you’re too old for dreams, or they were a part of your youth, but I’m not buying it. As long as there’s breath in our bodies, we still have a purpose. Don’t give up on your dreams, because if you woke up to a new day, your dreams are still in you. Be a dreamer.
It’s one of those things I’ve been putting off, but then remembered saying that prayer. “Hey God. Open up a space one day this week to take him.” Friday morning, standing at the kitchen window, I knew it was the day.
I’ve been looking at those type things fondly called, ‘the put off’s’. During the winter months, I put off walking until evening, letting the day become as warm as possible. I’d put off waking up with the dawn, just to get a little more sleep. I’d put off meditating until I was fully awake, instead of taking advantage of that sweet spot where the brain isn’t alert and engaged.
Now mind you, I completed my intentions and morning ritual, but it felt like a wrestling match of putting it off, if only for a moment.
And then I decided to stop.
I woke up and sat up in bed before dawn. Drank my bottle of water and did a body scan. Moved to my desk for the Morning Pages, and then went for a walk. Yes, I had to bundle up, but this offered a chance to wear my favorite fuzzy scarf once more. Now I remember why I was so enamored with walking in the mornings, and taking in the new day as it’s coming to life.
All of my put off’s were small, but faithfulness in the small things, prepares us for bigger. This is me, putting a stop to the put off’s.
P.S. If you haven’t met Michelle GD, you need to. She’s a blogger here at WordPress and hosts a monthly workshop entitled, ‘The Quiet Page.’ I just signed up for April 20th, and would love to see you there.
I awoke this morning with absurd thoughts like, “Maybe I should stop writing, or maybe I’m not really a writer.” Hogwash. I’m not sure what would be left if God removed the writer from me.
Over the weekend, I cleaned a window. The actual outside of the window, and it startled me with it’s sparkling cleanliness as I walked by. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in life could be as clear as a clean window and as easily achieved. It took less than 5 minutes to return it to it’s original clarity.
Why did I clean this one window? Because it’s my favorite one to gaze out of as I write. The weather forecast is calling for rain all day and there’s a little weather app at the bottom of my laptop screen. It can’t make up it’s mind about the rain, so one minute it says, ‘Rain to stop’, and the next minute it says, ‘Flood’. There’s a large gap of uncertainty between those two events.
This window had a water stain running the length of it from the last rain we had, and it was distracting. Every time I’d gaze out the window, I couldn’t help but notice the stain, but today the window is clear and it reveals a totally different story. We cannot believe everything we think, especially first thing in the morning, so give the mind a moment to clear.
Wherever you choose to sit and write, I hope it’ll offer a clear view.
Driving back from town I turned the radio on, and this song began to play. I haven’t listened to Cody’s new album, Human in it’s entirety, but this song is by far one of my favorites.
To people who know me, it’s no secret I love Cody Johnson. He’s like the underdog who made it big because he never gave up. My guess would be, one thing he did to achieve his well-earned success is he kept singing his heart out. Cody sings so many things I want to say. I haven’t shared nearly enough songs by Cody, so we’ll need to fix that!
All of Cody’s songs are real and raw. When you watch this video, wait until the 2:54 mark and you’ll see how passionate he is about his words. I believe we’re supposed to unleash our passion in what we do and let ourselves love big! The part of the song that hits home for me is when Cody reminds us to chase our dreams, because they won’t chase us back.
If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back
Tomorrow isn’t promised, so there’s no room for putting things off. Take a chance, and go all in when you do, ’til you can’t.
During the Texas snow/ice storm, I saw a post on Facebook that made me smile. It was a photo of a front yard covered in tree branches, and said, “It’s raining firewood.”
I needed to see that because the most unnerving part of that week for me was the location of our home. The house is surrounded by ginormous oak trees and rests beneath their canopy. We’d hear the crack of a branch, then boom onto the roof, and the branch would slide and fall to the ground. I did a lot of meditating that week, and thanked God for metal roofs.
Once the snow had melted away, I stepped outside to look at the front yard, and was in agreement that it had rained firewood. The yard was covered with sticks, twigs and a few branches, but I looked at the sticks as, ‘kindling’, and the branches were easily broken into firewood. No healthy branch breaks. It was a good day for a fire, as I removed the cover from the firepit.
God knows my heart and knows I love to sit near a fire. I gathered up all the sticks and laid some in the pit. There were so many I had to start a pile of them nearby, along with the smaller broken branches. The larger branches were laid aside for future use. I sat by the fire for hours that day, and just pondered God’s goodness and grace. If it’s gonna rain, let it rain firewood.
I cannot remember the last time I went Black Friday shopping, but I went this year. There was one store having a sale, and I wondered what it would be like to go shopping on Black Friday during a pandemic. It was nothing like I thought it would be.
I made a deal with God Thursday night before bed. I told Him, “If going to this store Friday morning would be a beautiful experience, then wake me up early.” I woke up at 3:00 am, smiled and said, “Not this early. Let’s shoot for 6.” The next time I woke up it was precisely 6:00 a.m.
By 7:00 a.m., I was out the door.
It was foggy, and there was no traffic. When I arrived at the store, there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. Slipping on my mask, I saw a huge sign sitting at the storefront that said, “No more than 35 people allowed inside.” So far, it was nothing like I expected.
I went to the sale for their candles being buy 3, get 3 free. At first I thought, what a deal, but not really. They used to have a sale every month where their candles were half price. I would normally just buy a couple, but the black Friday sale insured me walking out of the store with six!
When the sales clerk handed me the bag full of candles, I was a little bit embarrassed by it size. It was enormous!
What we expect and what God has in store are different sizes. I catch myself not thinking big enough because it’s comfortable walking through the store with a small bag. We need to get good at carrying the enormous bag.
That’s the size of His plans for us if we embrace the unexpected. Hope my neighbors like candles.
Once you connect with the dream in your heart, it won’t leave, but it’s easy to put everything else before it. Since posting The Beach Rug, I’ve been following the trail of breadcrumbs.
I’ve had this cutting board for as long as I can remember. Why I took it with me when I left my marriage, I’m not sure, but am grateful I did. I was standing in the kitchen slicing a lemon for a pitcher of lemon water. No matter what I’m cutting, or how much pressure is applied, it just sits there unmoved.
I have a secret to share. When life gets to be a little much, or my job is throwing darts at rapid fire, I make croutons. My daughter will concur, a French Baguette in the house means contentment. I walk into the kitchen, lay it on the cutting board, and pull out my bread knife. I slice it in half, then slice it again lengthwise and continue slicing into the shape of croutons.
Step One of the croutons.
I’ve been doing this since mid March, so it doesn’t require any thought. This is my time to think through some thoughts. With each slice a thought floats by that may or may not need attention. When the slices are complete, I dump them into my red bowl to add garlic, parmesan and olive oil.
Slow the pace to watch your thoughts and only keep the ones of value. By letting go of the ones taking up space, we make room to see what’s important. Focus on that.
Always the red bowl and spatula.
My friend Shawna over at Finding a Sober Miracle left this comment, “This is exactly how my life works! And it happens all the time. And this morning, your blog is another bread crumb in my quest to find out just where I should be focusing my attention.” I found her comment in Spam as I was writing this post. Oh yes, darling check your Spam! Breadcrumbs have a way of hiding.
She left the comment on Breathe It in, and has no idea I’m writing this post which was titled days ago. When I told my daughter about the comment, she asked, “How does it make you feel?” I said, “It’s like confirmation of the path.” Watch for clues that you’re on the right path and follow the breadcrumbs.
Completed croutons in Caesar Salad.
We’ve been talking about living the dream. Here are the posts in order up to now. Thank you for your love and support. ~Barb
Letitgocoach 