Mood

The text from a friend,

 sharing a poem as a gentle reminder.

" there are days

when the light flickers

and then i remember

i am the light

i go in and

switch it back on 

                        ~power "

" Live in a way that makes you proud.

Keep good company.

Make space for creativity.

Drink good coffee or tea.

Smile on the inside.

Learn from others.

Love well.

Dream.

Repeat."

xoxo

💞

 

Gratitude

" Gratitude is a dialysis of sorts.

It flushes the self-pity out of our systems."

                                     ~Max Lucado~

 This morning my spirit is a little discouraged

because I don't have all the answers.

I am out of my comfort zone, and fear and doubt

keep trying to creep in and steal my faith.

So I decided I'd write the alphabet, focusing on this moment, 

and what I am grateful for as I sit in uncertainty.

A: apartment

B: blankets

C: Christmas tree

D: devotional

E: eyes

F: friends

G: God

H: health

I: ink

J: jigsaw puzzle

K: kleenex

L: lessons

M: music

N: Netflix

O: origami

P: Push-ups

Q: quotes

R: rest

S: slippers

T: tears

U: underwear 

V: view

W: walks

X: o's

Y: You Tube fireplace

Z: Zen

" There is magic in empowering the good,

because whatever we empower grows bigger."

xoxo

💔

Chapter

" There is no point spending an entire life

trying to win the love  you didn't feel

when you needed it.

You sometimes just have to let go of an old story

and start your own.

Give yourself some love.

You can't change the past.

You can't change other people.

You can change you though.

You narrate the story.

So start to write a new chapter."

                                                        ~The Comfort Book~

 

Contradictions

My quote for the day...

" Today I can feel anger toward someone & still love them.

I can feel afraid of new experiences, yet move forward through them.

I can survive being hurt without giving up on love.

And I can experience sadness and still be confident

that I will be happy again."

                                                                                 ~Courage to Change~

' Life, for all its agonies...

is exciting & beautiful,

amusing & artful & endearing...

we shall not have this life again.'

xoxo

💗

 

Soothing

" When Your seeking answers,

spending time in silence can often be more powerful

than any amount of questioning, searching, or researching.

Soften in and let go of the need to constantly move.

Go for a walk alone to feel fresh air on your face.

Sit quietly with a warm drink in hand.

Allow your mind the time it needs to clear.

There is a space within the silence.

When you give your heart the room it needs to speak,

it will. "

Currently I am:

Reading:  Boundary Boss by Terri Cole

Wondering:  what to bring along on my outing to the farm today.

It's going to be in the 70's. 

I'll be chillin'.

Appreciating: peace and quiet.

Anticipating:  a day of fresh air, and sunshine.

Listening to:  the wind chimes on the front porch.

Feeling:  thankful

Quoting: " When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars."

xoxo

💗

 

Pursue

" It is easy to let the outer workings of

daily life sidetrack you on the way to your dreams.

But stay focused. 

Remind yourself often of what matters

most to you, and relentlessly

pursue it."

Feeling thankful for:

the kindness of strangers

small town businesses

hosting my first Friendsgiving

laughing with friends

being OK

kids that remind us to lighten up and play

good car insurance

My Dad, who always says the right things, just when I need them.

Kisses and hugs...and " I love you SO much" (s) from little monkeys.

xoxo

💖

 

A Little Plan

" Be curious. Go outside. Get to bed on time. Hydrate. 

Breathe from the diaphragm. Eat happy. 

Get a routine baggy enough to live in.

Be kind. Accept that not everyone will like you.

Appreciate those who do. Don't be defined.

Allow the fuck-ups. Want what you have.

Learn to say no to things that get in the way of life.

And to say yes to the things that help you live."

xoxo

💗

 

Details

" If we don't carve out time and space for keeping 

a record of the web of events where we can trace

His handiwork in our lives-

the moments slip away forgotten."

" Life covers them over.

A month later, we can't even remember.

The details that were so fresh one day are now 

forgotten treasure."

xoxo

💖

 

Happening

" Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you."

"What if you assumed that everything in your life 

is working for you rather than against you?"

(book: A year of Positive Thinking)

Happening for me this morning:

Early morning joggers, the first cup of coffee,

furkids with attention seeking behavior.

xoxo

💖

 

 

Presently

Listening to:

Highlights this week:

Watched this week:  The Social Dilemma

(it's an eye opener)

Reading:  The Comfort Book

Quote:  "Don't worry about being cool.  

Never worry what the cool people think.

Life is warmth.

You'll be cool when you're dead.

Head for the warm people.

Head for life."

Enjoying: learning new things.

Discovering: I can still do a headstand.

Hating: drama.

Loving:  having a kitten in the house.

Thinking:  about sharing the words that made me cry this morning...

It was this:

" Beneath all the pain, the disappointment, the resentment

and fear that your life will never be as you want it to be, there is love.

There is a memory of the touch, the feel, the excitement of love.

There is a yearning to know and experience that expression of love.

Go there! Be there! Rest there! 

Celebrate the love that you buried in your heart."

" The love that lies beneath what happened, however it happened,

will remind you that you haven't been rejected, abandoned,

abused or defeated.

You were simply being given an opportunity to remember

that there is a place within you in which you can  find everything

you need or thought you lost or wished that you had more of.

Go there now!

The only thing that you need to do to find the love in you

is to remember, God's love has brought you this far."

xoxo

💗

Lunchdate

I love that we share a love of trying new things,

and he always knows just the right place.

I love that some of our best conversations happen

 while running errands.

I love how he'll pause for a selfie, even if he

sighs and gives me the eye roll.

I love our time together,

and every selfie or snapshot captured, 

I will return to somewhere in the future, and

I will feel all the feels once again.

A quote for my kiddo:

"No one gets to decide how empowered you are except for you.

Take center stage, and accept the spotlight.

Lead by example. Do what makes you proud.

Shine brightly, and courageously show us how it's done.

Decide to show up in the world as the empowered, 

powerful being that you are."

xoxo

💖

 

Imagine

"Can you imagine what would happen if for one moment,

with every fiber of your being,

you allowed yourself to believe that you can have life

exactly as you choose to have it?"

Or:

" Imagine that your brain was removed from your body

and all you had to use to make everyday decisions 

were your feelings.

No logical thinking.

No memories of how things are

or how they'll probably turn out,

no judgements or fears that you'll look like an idiot,

or disappoint someone.

How would that change things for you?"

I'm not going to lie...

somedays I feel like my brain has been removed from my body!!

These are questions I have pondered today!

xoxo

💗

 

 

Trust

'He has no sight and yet sprints down

a track and flings himself feet first into a sand pit

he cannot see.'

His trainer stands at the end and yells "Fly!"

over and over.

He sprints towards a voice he can trust.

Note:

Have voices in your life that you trust.

Lose the fear, and make the jump, 

even if it takes a friend or two. 

More notes:

We have to take risks, because to stay where we are

gets us nowhere.

Whatever you choose & wherever you go, 

you must go with faith that everything will be OK;

that even if your decision may not work out the way you planned,

that at least you tried,

at least you did it,

at least you were willing to risk what you had

for something more.

Have a game plan.

Set goals.

Reward yourself.

The only way you can fail, is if you quit.

Jots

Going through some sermon notes

that I jotted down.

Extracting some words so

that I can toss the pages laying here and there.

Jots:

What do you want to be filled with...

what the world is doing?

Or the Holy Spirit? Word.

There is what you say & what they see.

People do what they see.

Sometimes you have to do something you've never seen before.

You are who God says you are. Not what people, or the world 

says about you.  What the word says about you.

That which you copy is that which you become.

That which you believe is that which you become.

Some of the things in you have to be uprooted

before God's words can be planted.

When imitating the world...consider the outcome.

Is the way of life you're choosing, producing

the outcome you desire ?

If you keep doing what you're doing...

where is it going?

" Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed

by the renewal of your mind so that you may

prove [for yourselves] what is good

and acceptable and perfect will of God..." Romans 12:2

Conformity you can change.

Transformation has to happen because of what is on the inside of you.

What's in you has to come out.

What example do you want to set?

How do you want to feel at the end of the day?

What are your values?

Stop copying crazy!

You copy what you saw, and don't even realize it.

You can break it.

You have permission to break a bad pattern.

You're a good person. You just have some bad patterns.

Don't tell yourself lies.

Limitations are lies that you saw. (don't copy that)

We go back to what we saw, what we copied in our heart.

Let go of faulty stories holding you back.

The lies you tell yourself.

Release the wrong voices & receive the word of God.

It's not to late to break the pattern.

What God put in you is greater.

You haven't even seen the blueprint of the true you.

We have control over our response to any circumstance.

Anxiety is contagious.

Self- compassion is contagious.

Grab ahold of your own well being and we'll be better for others.

When we want change,

most times what we really want is someone else to change.

Change is hard. We have to give up what we know

& jump into uncertainty.

Some of the stuff we want to write on someone else

is ours.

Address your own habits.

Don't be so hard on yourself.  We are all human.

We all have a story. You don't know their story.

If you love deeply your going to struggle.

It's the price of admission.

Get  your priorities straight.

" I don't really need to put my energy toward....?"

to name just a few....

proving myself

comparing

negativity

hurts

judging 

social media

being responsible for others

the past...

xoxo

💖

 

Reconnect

Happiness comes for the simple things: cycling is a big one for me!

Reconnecting with those closest to me is another.

Sometimes I am blessed with both.

Due to circumstances, two years has gone by,

but when we got together, 

it was like it has always been.

" We go to to a lake or a farm or a favorite river

because we want to pause long enough to calm

the noise in our lives.  

We want to tune back to what's most important."

(book: Live in Grace, Walk in Love)

xoxo

💗

Afternoon

We spent the morning running errands,

then he took me to a quaint burger place in the village.

He told me I was his best friend.

That was the best part of my day. 

" In our daily lives,

we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful,

but the gratefulness that makes us happy."

xoxo

💖

 

Appreciation

Our friendship that has stood the test of time,

small town coffee shops,

and iced Coconut dreams.

The perfect rickety picnic table by the pond.

Quotes for the day:

"Discontent is empowered by a sense of entitlement."

"When entitlement is high, gratitude is low.

When gratitude is high, entitlement is low."

" Gratitude begins where our sense of entitlement ends."

(book...Crash the Chatterbox)

xoxo

💗

 

Discontent

The first thought I had this morning was:

 " I'm living (the movie) "Groundhog Day"!

 I was in a great mood, happy, and thankful...

& then that thought.

And the ones that usually follow, like...

Is this all there is?

My life is so boring.

There must be something more....

I'm missing out.

I could be....

They should be...

Discontent had moved in, and was landing.

Taking over my thoughts, and my beautiful morning.

But then... Nuh-uh!

I sat down & listened as the jet flew over. 

I heard the dove coo...

and I refocused.

I caught the discontent, before the discontent caught me.

Then as I sit to read, *cue the perfect quote!

"Contentment is like a big hug at the end of a hard day;

you inhale deeply, and everything else disappears around you.

It's a satisfaction, joy, and ease that you experience 

when you decide that what you have is plenty. 

The one caveat is that you are the only person

who decides whether contentment is possible

 or impossible."

xoxo

💗

Home

Sipping my coffee in the back yard,

old cat on one side, new kit on the other,

old dog at my feet, and feeling safely

blanketed in by the morning glories from Mom's morning glories.

"Why do we love certain houses, and why do they seem to love us?

It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in our surroundings."

Some journal notes from today:

Learn to enjoy life more.

The more you focus on God's Presence with you,

the more fully you can enjoy life.

" I came that you may have and enjoy life, 

and have it in abundance." John 10:10

We suffer more that we need to, reopening old wounds

by dwelling in the past.

Surrender the parts of the past that no longer serve you.

Where you are is an opportunity, remain open to new insights,

new information, learn, know your strengths,

and embrace your weaknesses.

Allow the questions you ask yourself,

teach you more about yourself.

Don't seek happiness, free yourself

from unhappiness.

" God, give me the courage and strength to see clearly."

Do not be hard on yourself.

xoxo

💗

 

Enough

Pulling out my chalk, before the heat sets in,

the wind chimes blowing in the breeze,

and a nice phone chat with with my Dad.

It's the simple things that take an ordinary morning...

to an extraordinary one.

" Life is not boring, unless you allow it to be. 

There is magic everywhere-from the sidewalk rainbow

after a rainstorm to the casual run-in with a long lost friend

to a smile received from a perfect stranger.

Notice how often you hear from someone

you've been thinking about or how you find 

just the right words to say in a moment you need them most.

This is magic that can easily be missed.

Practice noticing it.

Keep your heart and your eyes open wide enough

to appreciate the synchronicities and magic

around you !"

xoxo

💗

 

Balance

I giggled during my dance work out,

shed tears through yoga, 

and found solace in kitty purrs while meditating.

Some days are just like that.

Thought I'd also share this quote from the book,

You Are A Badass Every Day:

" Whatever we've got on repeat becomes

our 'reality' - what we look at every day,

our thoughts, what we read, listen to, talk about,

tell ourselves, etc."

xoxo

💗

Crazy

" You know how Corona Virus is contagious?

So is crazy! And they don't have a mask for that!"

Part of a sermon I just finished listening to.

This may be my favorite quote of the week!

Month maybe!

Sharing the sermon below.

(copy & paste in your browser)

https://youtu.be/7YowL9QXxyk

 Or go to You Tube and search Steven Furtick

"Be Careful What You Copy"

xoxo

💗

 

Nudge

I fumbled around with indecision,

then did what I needed to do.

Sometimes it's not what I want to do,

but it always seems to satisfy.

continuing ed.

xoxo

💗

 

Laughs

Jeff Allen...

I give myself permission to have more than one favorite comedian.

He is another on my list.

"Laughter is a bodily exercise,

precious to health."

xoxo

💖

Druthers

The sun peeking out of the clouds,

the birds landing on the feeders,

flowers & a nice gentle breeze  

on a cool Summer morning.

Old cat.

Comfy, cozy, content. 

Having me a hygge morning!

There are some things that give me that 

comfy cozy feeling of contentment.

What are some of yours?

Keep in mind...we're having a hygge moment here.

It's not picking one or the other... (like forever) that wouldn't be hygge at all. 😉

[I underlined my choice]

Early or Late 

Candles or Twinkle Lights

Walk or Drive

Sunshine or Snow

Small Town  or City Life

Beach House or Cozy Cabin

Fuzzy Socks or Slippers

Roses or Daisies

Showers or Baths

Soft Scarves  or Knitted Sweaters

Barbecues or Bonfires

Flying Kites or Bike Rides

Farmers Markets  or Nursery

Rain Boots  or Sandals

Today be grateful for the cozy, 

little moments in life.

xoxo

💖

 

Revamp

They came to repair an old ceiling.

I offered to prime and paint & finish up.

Over. Done. Hallelujah!

xoxo

💗

 

Recognize

....when your walls start to crumble,

 maybe God has a renovation in mind.

That feeling in my gut,

that empty feeling that kept trying to swallow me up,

the uncertainty of everything, the fear...

It isn't a life sentence...

(but it sure feels like it at times...)

it was just time for me to make some (more) positive changes in my life.

" Don't loose your cool.  God uses uncertainty in our lives

to remodel our hearts."

" When we feel the panic under our ribs,

it's our heart asking to be remodeled into something

more resilient, and beautiful."

" We'll trade anxiety and worry for 

purpose and confidence. We're being made new."

" If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:

The old has gone, and the new is here."  2Corin. 5:7

" Be of good courage.

Living in this broken world requires bravery on your part.

Since bravery is not the default setting in most human hearts,

you will need My help to be strong and courageous.

In spite of all the alarming events in the world,

you don't have to be terrified or discouraged.

Discipline yourself to fix your thoughts on Me again

and again-and again!

Find comfort in My promise to be with you 

wherever you go." 

~ Jesus Always~

xoxo

💗

Affection

This Mama's baby grew up to be a cowboy!

I haven't seen him for a little while, and he's gotten so big!

First thing he did was come up and start to headbutt, and lick me,

 which is the way he's always shown affection.

Poor boy...he doesn't know he can't love

the same as he always has.

He probably wondered why I was so squirmy.

He finally calmed down when I started giving him a good 

scratch on the neck.

It just takes time.

We'll re-adjust.

xoxo

💗

 

Adaptability

 We try to distance as much as we can, and still enjoy

each other's company.

So it's box fans, and old wash tubs filled with icy water

and iced peach tea on the front porch.

Treasure your friendships. 

Make time to have tea, and giggle.

Let your hair down.

xoxo

💖

 

 

Laughter

Sometimes I just need to sit back and have a good laugh!

Michael Jr. is by far my favorite for that sort of thing...💗

" I love people who make me laugh. 

I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh.

It cures a multitude of ills.

It's probably the most important thing in a person."

~Audrey Hepburn~

xoxo

💖

Focus

"Focus on the beauty in life, and that is what you 

will most often experience.

The opposite is also true."

" What you choose to focus on becomes your reality."

xoxo

💗