year end thoughts

At year’s end as I review…I realize many blessings…

surviving fears and dreads;

keeping parents in spite of health issues;

having my son return to NC with a reasonable distance to home and acquiring a good job in his field of expertise after a long journey both professionally and emotionally;

having a husband of 31 years continue to love and cherish me;

having supportive friends;

and the good grace of God over us all…..

end of year thoughts

Endings are terrible.

Finishing isn’t always positive.

Leaving is sad.

Goodbyes are difficult.

Change is hard.

Accept the challenges as gifts of grace, mercy and strength.

Happy Habits

Habits can be chosen and broken.



Bad habits can be replaced with good ones.


I’ve heard various amounts of time it takes to change habits.


I think some habitual activity is wise, but anything can be overdone.


I think we should all, especially in today’s world, find a way to make happiness a habit.


There’s a quote I love by Thich Naht Han:


     “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,


      but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy”.


I find this so true. With practice maybe we can all end the year and begin the new one with a smile on our faces, in our hearts and out there to share with the whole world.


Maybe this will be contagious and just heal a broken and hurting world.


Pie in the sky, Pollyanna thoughts but I needed to hear it and hope you did as well.

stop reading now if this is TMI

Unfortunately, I am one of those who tend to worry over what was and dread what will be. I obsess till I make myself sick many times. Being afflicted with irritable bowel syndrome only adds fuel to the fires of fear. Even good things that are not regular schedule stuff tends to bother me. For my type personality (and I don’t think there is a letter designating it yet) I tend to fret and stress over all things. As long as things are rocking along normally and in a rhythm I know then I do fine but the minute something throws me a curve, I lose it, in every possible way. In the end things are never as bad as I thought. Of course, I look back and see “past” hard times and find they were not so difficult. They brought me here.



So perhaps some day I will see these challenges and difficulties as a great strengthening of my spirit and not nearly so demanding. I hope that day is near. Maybe it I clean these negative thoughts, feelings and attitudes out now I will avoid them later.

Unity's 12 Gifts of Christmas become a focus for me.....

faith is my plan

strength is my fuel

wisdom is my guide

love is my endurance

power is my source

imagination is my catalyst

understanding is my salvation

will is my commitment

order is my fortress

zeal is my prayer

elimination is my safety switch

epiphany is my hope

if...

if a tiny babe born in a stable can change the world...believing in him can change a hurting world
if his grace can make a lost soul an eternal optimist...sharing that message can lead a world to eternal hope
if a single star can shine brightly enough to lead seekers to that stable...that same light can shine into the lives of a dark world
if three wise men can look for that babe....then we should be as wise to look for him
if christmas can be such big business in the secular world....then it should be as big in the life of each person in that world

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a time to…

Seek a child’s vision

Follow a shepherd’s star

Listen for angels’ hymns

Travel far in faith as the Wise Men

Accept a life of service and selflessness

As the parents and child in that Nativity long ago.

Choosing what's best for Christmas!

It’s Christmas Eve!

Time to choose:

Others over self

Hope over doubt

Faith rather than worry

Joy instead of sadness

Peace not despair

The Light is always just beyond the Dark.

Darkness looms but without bits of light it is not fully realized.

These time slivers of light fight the dark and illuminate my soul.

It is said it is darkest before the dawn.

Light is on the rim of all darkness, never far away.

Push past the darkness.

Seek the light.

It is there is you try hard enough to see it.

Similar to light and dark, hope and despair, obvious opposites, are only a breath apart.

If focus can be navigated, hope stays in the light and pushes the darkness of despair to the back.

So never give up; light trumps darkness.

Hope defeats despair.

All of life is about focus.

We can choose to allow the negative focus to rule or we can focus on the positive and push all the despair, all of the dark and all of the negative as far away as possible.

Christmas Survival Guide

Stay calm

Hold onto sanity

Breathe


Find joy


Know purpose and do it well


Trust hope, prayer & salvation


Give more


Complain less


Love more


Forgive


Accept


Ignore what is not eternal


See blessings


Share all you have


Express gratitude

A Christmas Exemplar

Mary's Witness

His breath is my breath.

His love sustains me.

His grace continues to save me.

His joy is my joy.

All things come of Him!

Oh, Lord!

Amen!

(If only I could be as faithful as Mary.)

C H R I S T M A S

C is for a CARING Lord    

H is for a HOPE like no other

R is for REDEEMER of my heart

I is for IMMENSE love

S is for my SAVIOR forever

T is for the TRUTH for always

M is for MASTER of my life

A is for endless ADORATION

S is for SANCTUARY for my soul



Christmas Lessons

Hope is multiplied when prayers are said.

Joy is created when blessings are share.

Grace is abundant when forgiveness is given.

Faith is increased when beliefs are stated.

Love is doubled when given and accepted.

Peace is realized when chosen as a daily practice.

breathe, live, repeat

Out of sorts

Unsettled

My soul cries

“turn to me,” says God

Downtrodden

Beaten

My heart cries

“hold to me,” says God

Lost

Uncertain

My spirit cries

“find me,” says God

***

Never far away

He hears my every cry

Always protected

He is my shield

Constantly fearful

He is my protector

Dreading life daily

He is my stronghold

***

A cool clear December morning

Ten days till Christmas

Can I hang on?

A quiet day of chores

A calm moment of repose

Can I get through it?

A life fully blessed

A hopeful future

Can I make it?

***

Words repeat

The same old fears

Prayers plea

The same old requests

Thoughts stale

The same old life

***

Just once

I’d like a whole day of quiet calm

Just now

I’d like a calendar with no “to dos”

Just for me

I’d like my old schedule to return.

***

There is not counter clockwise time.

There is no miracle for me.

There is only bitter struggle to keep up,

To exist,

To believe,

To hold more tightly

To faith than ever before.

art journal therapy

she lives and breathes

creative endeavors

she does more than

survive

she thrives

by sharing her voice

knowing her creative force

and

believing in the creative Master of her life

it is her safety net

her gift from God

God is there...always

Ready, Set, Release and Fly

Faith sustains me.

I still worry.

Hope supports me.

I still doubt.

Peace stills me.

I still fear.

I am weak but

He is strong

When will I truly

RELEASE

All to Him?

ability to choose

Everyday

We have the privilege

To choose:

• To walk in Christ’s light

• To see the world through Christ’s eyes

• To hear Christ’s voice in a child’s words

• To find Christ’s beauty in a sunrise

• To understand Christ’s mind in a preacher’s message

• To know Christ’s love in a warm hug from a dear one

• To accept Christ’s grace through a simple prayer

the gifts that keep on giving

dark Vs light plus color