Tag: Writer

Enjoy the Journey

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“Relax. You’re on a journey of discovery. Let life reveal itself to you.”

Melody Beattie

My daughter was packing to go to her Dad’s and asked, “What are you doing this weekend?” I replied, “I’m going to not think so much.” I’ve just been enjoying the journey.

I once told my daughter, “I don’t have any problems,” and compared to the rest of the world I don’t, but I can create them in my mind. It takes just as much time to pray as it does to worry. It doesn’t zap your energy, it’s healthier and much more effective.

In listening to my meditation last night, the teacher was talking about ‘acceptance’ of things as they are. Some things in life can be changed quickly, some more slowly and some are out of our control.

“Ah…This is the way things are for now.”

Time passes and things change. Sometimes it’s our perspective and other times God steps in. I remembered telling my daughter, “I don’t have any problems”, but then came to this realization.

Just because there’s nothing wrong, doesn’t mean everything’s right. In the interim I can continue to enjoy the journey.

Have a week of splendidness. ~ Barb xx

We Are Learning

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My daughter is at her Dad‘s, so I filled her shoes this morning, and took care of the puppo.

The puppy is sleeping in a crate at night in my daughter’s room, but I could hear it’s pleas for freedom. The next thing I noticed was how spoiled I’ve become waking up on my schedule.

When you open the kennel, she bolts out, full of energy! We should wake up like that every morning.

Excited to be alive and having a new day.

It seems like a long time since she brought home a puppy. She loves dogs and would have 48 if possible, so we’ve had a few dogs come in and out of our life.

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Our home one year ago. Denver sunning on the step.  

They always came with a purpose.

One stayed with us for 14 years while others were just passing through to their forever home. Two years ago, I walked into the barn to find one curled up on moving boxes. It was a big dog and startled me. Living out in the country people love to drop off dogs, and our little house looked like a good home.

I questioned the timing of getting another dog. She leaves in 10 days for England and doesn’t return until the new year. Guess who’s caring for puppo?

“You’re getting puppies instead of grand-kids.”, she says.

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My future life. anoir-chafik-37957-unsplash

This morning would be different if my daughter were here. My daughter gets excited over puppo.

The puppo can feel her energy, and would be more energetic. After I released her from her kennel, I took her and her energy outside. I stood there and watched, but didn’t get excited, or encourage hyper behavior, I let her get it all out. Once back inside I missed my daughter making the Chemex.

She has about 30 minutes of puppy behavior every morning before she’s done and laying at my feet. That is how I know she has the good dog in her.

She lays at my feet while I write. She doesn’t run off creating chaos, causing me to leave the keyboard, and my train of thought. She waits for my move.

‘You are your environment’ works through dogs too.

My daughter returns home from her Dad’s today, but I wonder what puppo will be like when she returns from England? She’ll be gone almost four weeks, which seems like a long time for all of us.

The puppy will grow, but maybe I will too. I’d like to hop out of bed in the morning like she bolts out of her kennel. Maybe her purpose is to spark excitement, and mine is to show her about calm.

One morning at a time, we are learning.

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Waiting to Bloom

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It’s odd, how you pack up your belongings, and move into a new space. It’s the same stuff you’ve had, but it finds new places to nest. This house doesn’t have a mudroom, so the dogs are fed in a breezeway. Three weeks later, they know which cabinet holds the food, and which drawer has treats.

In Bénisse Cette Maison, Laura Jinkins commented, “I am happy for you and your new adventure. I am especially happy that after such a short period of time, your new abode already feels like HOME.”Looking at her Blog this morning, she has made her house even more of a home.

Making small changes, prepare us for bigger ones.

Laura moved rooms around, and repainted them, giving her home a whole new look, and herself a new work-space. She will be inspired in her freshly painted, private space.

When your heart finds a home, your belongings follow.

Last year, my daughter had been looking at houses online for months, before finding this one. She knew it was going to be a challenge to find a home that would feed both our hearts. I enjoy quiet, and peaceful, and she longed to be near her friends, and all her favorite shops. We knew the area we desired, but where, oh where, was the house?

We drove out to the lake area, over an hour away from where we were living at the time, to look at a house on the market. It was an older home, and the best thing about it was the front door. We walked through, and went from room to room, trying out figure out how to make it work, but it wasn’t right. My daughter was getting discouraged.

If it doesn’t feel like home before you move, keep looking.

As we were driving away from that house, my daughter received an email notification of another house nearby. We stopped by, and what I saw outside, spoke to my heart.

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I stood inside this Arbor, looking at the dried vine, and pondered, “Would we bloom at the same time?” There is another vine growing along the fence at the end of the driveway.

The landlord assured me his landscape guy would come, and clean up the weeds clinging to everything. I said, “No. These are not weeds. They are flowers waiting to bloom.”

My daughter and I are freshly planted, and when the time is right, just like these vines, we will be ready to bloom.

Enjoy the Day

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You can hear the natural flow of the day when there is no additional noise. The air conditioning is blowing steadily through the air vent above my head. Sitting in the middle of my bed while typing, the cool air is landing on the back of my neck, arms, and shoulders. There is a ceiling fan on in the room quietly circulating the air.

Sitting in stillness and quiet is a vital part of well-being. It’s taught me to sit with myself and get to know who I am with no distractions.

I’m doing less with my phone.

I tested myself this week, and left my phone at home while out with my daughter. The only part I missed was the ability to take pictures of the moments. Some phones contain better camera’s than actual camera’s. I wonder if that’s intentional, so we rely on them more.

 

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Enjoy the day!

Feel the Music

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My daughter received a stereo for Christmas from her Dad. She hooked it up herself, but there was one piece she missed. The sub-woofer.

My daughter is all about the bass. She got the cord she needed from her Dad, and hooked it up right before she left on Friday.

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This sound system is against an outside wall, so as I walked into the kitchen, that entire wall, all the way past the kitchen was vibrating!

The house was literally moving.

This song has a lot of bass, so you can feel the vibration of the music. That’s how it should when a song resonates, to feel it in our heart and soul. This video reveals how everyone looks somber, almost bored until the music begins to play.  Sitting below the stage, they feel the music, it gets inside of them and they dance. By the end of the video all of the tables are moved out of the way and the restaurant turned into a dance floor.

Toby Mac sums it up best with, “I feel it in my heart, I feel it in my soul. That’s how I know.” When you feel it, let your body dance.

How God Works

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My daughter is coming home today! She has been gone for a week. Her father took her to Denver, CO to see snow. I believe she saw some, and I’m sure she had fun, but she will be glad to be home.

I’ve been listening to Ed Sheeran’s new album, Divide, the entire time she’s been gone. It’s been a healing experience for me, and very nourishing. Letting the album play has created a more peaceful space for her to walk into. Not that is wasn’t peaceful before, but now it’s more so.

I will run the vacuum, and go to the grocery store before she gets here. What used to be mundane chores, I look forward to them today. It’s the people I will meet while out doing what needs to be done. Stopping by a couple of my favorite shops along the way, maybe buying a candle, or some flowers, and spending time with the people that run the shops.

God has used me in the craziest instances while I’m out and about. Once, on my way out of the grocery store, I spotted a lady in front of me. She had a cart full of groceries, and was trying to safely maneuver it to her car, while talking on the phone. She sounded rather stressed, and said to the person on the phone, “I forgot Ziploc bags!”

I rarely buy Ziploc bags, but that day, I had bought two boxes. I pulled my cart along beside hers, and handed her a box of mine. She almost dropped her phone!

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That is how God works, if we are attentive to our path and who He places in front of us.

My to-do list today, looks much different from years ago. I don’t have things that ‘need’ to be done, or ‘have’ to be completed. I ‘want’ to run the vacuum. It brings me great joy when my daughter walks in and says, “Gosh! The house smells so good!” Candles…lots of candles.

I’m going to one of my favorite shops for a candle. My friend is part owner of the shop, and has limited time. She’s trying to run her life, and help a friend through breast cancer. Her friend just had a double mastectomy!

People need replenishing. John 14:4 says, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Spending quiet time with God replenishes me. I have time, and my friend doesn’t. She may not have time to sit at the well, but I can bring her a drink from it.

A Safe Space

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We all need a place to hide from time to time. That is where the healing begins.

My hope is that you find this Blog, a safe place to be. It is my honor and privilege to be led by God to create such a space. Your injured soul is safe.