WHEN THE HEART IS FULL AND THE SOUL CONTENT AND HAPPY

A repost (written long time ago) because someone needs to see this now.


HI! :-)

How did your morning start today? Did you rise with the sun smiling and that special glow in your soul? 

The day is great, made special by the myriad of blessings strewn our way by a loving God. What others may perhaps think in their weary minds as quite ordinary or insignificant ------- isn't really. It's awesome, in fact!

Awesome is all around us. But often we fail to see that as these awesomely wondrous things seem to reveal itself gladly to the simple, trusting, calm and childlike heart. And somehow we have lost it somewhere down the road of our life journey. It's like we have shut ourselves - our minds, hearts, and souls - to everything else except work. All that we seem to care about is being busy …. like doing nothing is such a big crime. Busyness, essential as it is, has its own place and time and yet we allowed it to dominate all of our time. We allowed it to crowd out all the fine things essential to the heart and soul. Sadly we just don't know anymore how-where-and-when to stop --- look --- and listen.

If we try allow ourselves to be still for a moment from the hustle-and-bustle of our world, then perhaps we will get back the delight and pleasure of discovery amidst the grandeur and magnificence of life and all that is in it on land, sea, and air…. And in people, too.

Imagine……….

-- soar with our senses with the eagle flying above us on high,
-- breathe-in the fresh wisp of a gentle breeze,
-- be soothed by a gentle flowing stream,
-- be serenaded by the choir of birds song atop gently swaying trees,
-- be delighted by the sight of soft cotton clouds drifting by,
-- be inspired by the height and majesty of the king mountains,
-- marvel at the glorious arch of the rainbow,
-- be awed by the infinite span and space of a clear blue sky,
--feel the tingling hug of cool waters at our feet by the shore,
--be at peace and calm with the serene sunrise or sunset on the far horizon,
--appreciate the goodwill and comradeship of people around us
--enjoy just being

--and so much more; it's all up to you.

Think of these in your mind, feel it in your heart. Make these your first thoughts when you rise in the morn... until it becomes a habit. The smile will come easy when the heart is full ....... and the soul content and happy for understanding that things of immense beauty and magnificence is seen with the heart. By divine design. 

For these and more, I also thank God for you. God bless you.

BECAUSE I CAN -- IT'S A CHOICE

 

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What's on my mind today..... so somebody asks, not that he cares. But I do care to tell. Because somebody out there might need to hear it. He or she might need to hear what a day is like in the life of one of God's creation. And after hearing maybe just maybe it would light up the spark kindling in the heart that never was given the chance to shine out to the world brightly. There's plenty of us who live very quiet lives holding that spark within quietly. So thus here are my thoughts today...........

---- I can let any of my daughters choose the movie they want to see or pick the dish on the menu in a posh restaurant without having to ask of mine own choices if that puts huge smiles on their faces. Because I can.

---- I can shelve my precious free time to listen to my best friend when she calls on the phone with her miseries and woes. Because I can.

---- I can write of things which may not be popular to a greater number of people because it could be something about the harsh truths of life which they don't really want to know. Because I can.

---- I can stop by a display window at the mall gazing at gorgeous fashion and accessories of jewels shoes and bags without batting an eyelash and messing up my wallet. Because I can.

---- I can speak my mind honestly when necessary if the goal was to shake some sense into another person confused and unsure in his hour of darkness. Because I can.

---- I can cry in the privacy of my room, kneel down and pray when things get so tough and tougher. Because I can.

---- I can do a lot more other than what I have been born with as I acknowledge the power of God within me. Because I can.

It's a CHOICE. A choice to do what is good, what is necessary, what is essential, what is kind or noble or meek or generous or compassionate, and what is simply called --- 'doing my job'. A humbling of self so that others could have their joys. An honest acknowledgment of what we should really be doing here with our lives. You see, we have a job .. but our boss is HE who sits on the throne up there in the great halls of heaven.

And what, you may ask, is that JOB? It's simply this.......... to be the best we can be to ourselves and to others with who we are-what we have and aim for the greater glory and praise of a wonderful God and Father. He who loves us beyond measure -- constantly, unfailingly... whether we deserve it or not.

Make the right choices.. and do your job. You were created to do far more than you ever dreamed you could as a person and as a child of God. We cannot do anything less or lesser than that. Shine as you are right there where God has placed you. And make it your goal to make God smile. Everyday.
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THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL IN 'OLD'

 

This morning....... I had an early call from a good friend and along with it a long list of misery and unhappiness. Younger than me by a few years but old enough to own a senior citizen card, she bemoans her life and everything that’s in it. Except her children and grandchildren, but of course typically the doting parent and grandmother that she is. . We each have our stories, our history. She has hers. This time she’s feeling old and sad. Well, we chatted for a bit, until she had to go back to her morning chores and I went back to mine.
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She reminded me of a neighbor and a post written a year ago. Here it is…….

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With the sun shining warm and bright, puttering in my tiny pot garden on the patio was pleasurable made even more so when a tiny cool breeze came blowing my way. I was in the middle of trimming dried-up branches in one pot when a neighbor living just across the street strode down casually to the side of the patio facing the street and happily extended an invitation to her birthday party on Sunday which she’d rather call her Thanksgiving Party. She further added that she’s so grateful to be 75 and healthy. Indeed Amen to that! Bless her and do have many more!

50, 60, 75 or beyond ... admittedly it is that time in life when everybody, both young and old alike regard you derisively, condescendingly, patronizingly, sarcastically, mockingly, irreverently......‘old’. It means just one thing to them --- old... and that to them means shriveled, bland, boring, useless, ugly, and irritating to their perceived landscape of life and living. Really some people can be both mean and cruel sometimes. That is sad.

Allow me to say something.....

Well, I think they just do not understand. A good friend once cheerfully said ….... 'It’s not how they look, it’s what they have made of themselves. It's essence not form, mi amiga!'. .....So then never mind the aching bones, the weak joints, the slowness, the failing eyesight or hearing, the pills nestling permanently in one’s pocket-bag-drawer, and the embarrassing memory lapses. All that and more is just the natural physical journey of the human body.

Rather it's what or how a person has made of himself or created for himself from the snippets of life presented to him that truly defines the person and his life. There is something special in 'old'. Here's why…

It is special.......

1.............to have better learned to consider a fellow being as an equal and loved by the same God. To see him not only through human eyes but through the heart of God and thus understand the struggle, burden, misery or pain behind those sad eyes. And then quickly shoot off a prayer to the heavens above which in turn creates a grace-filled path leading back to that person. It’s special because you have understood well.

2.............to have better learned to act kindly and patiently towards the young whose brazen and foolhardy behavior often get on your nerves. And instead seek to help, enlighten, uncover their potential, unobtrusively train them into the way that they should go, as designed by a good God. It’s special because you have learned to understand the young as they should be understood. Been there-done that.
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3.............to have better learned to accept life with both the good and the bad in it, to have understood that both are requisites for growth. That failing can be a stepping stone to greater success. It's okay to make mistakes, too, but not over and over again. Perfection is not the goal; excellence is. It’s special because you have learned to move in step with the music of life’s universal dance and essentially to God’s design for your life. .

4.............to have better learned to be friends with the sun, moon, stars, trees, seas, rivers, oceans, and the animals of land-sea-air, all the seasons and its changes and that you have a part in its preservation and continuance. It is special because you have understood your role as a steward of God’s work.

5.............to have better learned to separate the wheat from the chaff, to recognize those of true value in the midst of those things which only serve no good thing but waste. It is special because you have gained the ability to peel off unnecessary layers or masks which hide truth. Truth is and always will be the better choice.

6.............to have better learned that everything in life passes through heaven’s doors. Joy, sorrow, misery, success, failure, laughter, tears, and fear --- all can find its solution – hope – inspiration – comfort and consolation when it is passed through faithful prayer. It’s special because you have understood very well that nothing is or will be without GOD.
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If we can be masters at one, at least, then life's journey would be a gem and truly worthwhile. For then we have served some greater purpose. By God's design.

Old is a journey we all take. None exempted. Better to create or recreate it to be the best years of our life yet. We can still be so much more. Blessings from on high. Living it well is our gift back to God.

So then here’s for a ‘Happy Birthday’ to anyone and everyone who may be celebrating a birthday today or in the days ahead before the year ends. Don’t count the years in numbers but in how much and how well you have lived and learned. That is by God's intent and design.

Blessings to you all! In Christ.

NOVEMBER - EVERYTHNG FLOWS, NOTHING STANDS STILL

Another new month for the living … ironic to start it by thinking of the dead or of death as traditionally marked by All Soul’s Day (November 1). November is close to the end of the year. Most of us measure life by the number of years lived. We say ‘A good year’ or ‘A bad year’….. Blowing out candles on our birthday cakes accordingly with laughter in that year or a big sigh in the next.
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I have had my share of both the good and the bad. A huge diversity of experiences which comprise my storybook of life. Childhood, school, working, family, children, birthdays, debuts, anniversaries, death, travel, joy, sorrow, fear, disappointment, embarrassment, anger, suspicion, betrayal, surprises, sadness, adventure, worry, anxiety, middle age, adult, and now the golden years.
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That’s how life rolls out for every one of us. Our separate experiences despite being individual and unique run parallel to each other on the spectrum of life. We’re different from each other and yet so much the same. What separates us are the dividing lines of continents, countries, nations, governments, color, race, religion, ideologies, and this crazy idea that we are better than the guy sitting next to us. That makes living in this world such a burden.
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Well, since I can’t solve the world’s problems, neither can superman, but…………..
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I could at least do something about my day and life in my little corner of the world.
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I have learned that life should be measured not by the number of years but by the number of breaths of awesomeness we embrace. Those moments which fill our whole being with authentic joy, contentment, passion, compassion, understanding, love, empathy, gratitude, and positivity.
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Many have written about this '...not by years but by the number of breaths...' but it truly is a good thought. Imagine those many times we have wasted on negativity...... Imagine what we have lost by not loving enough what we love and instead wasting breath on bashing what we hate...... Imagine the strain on our senses as we ourselves create our problems...... Imagine how we have bit by negative bit been draining our souls of its power to heal our lives. We have always been our worst enemy… undoubtedly.
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November has a purpose. That is to remind us that we can’t live forever. Wake up and live life the way it should be lived…. By God’s design. The year will soon be ending as all things in life do. But let it not be said that we didn’t live a good life (tough life notwithstanding)... one precious moment at a time… one precious memory at a time… one joyful heartbeat at a time… one positive experience at a time... one prayer of gratitude at a time... one precious day at a time. Thank God for November, too.
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Blessings to you and your family