Choice Notes

This morning as I sat on my porch, listening to the windchimes

jangle in the breeze and the Cardinal chirping from the Maple tree,

I also noticed the uncomfortable feeling within.

Everything was wonderful, yet...unsettling as well.

I picked up my journal, and wrote my thoughts..

my feelings, and my prayer. 

Throughout my time in prayer and devotion,

the icky bit came into the light.

Turns out, it was a visit from resentment.

It's a visitor that's been here before.

We're friends now.

I made that choice way back.

Truth is;

we may not have control over many things in our life, 

but we will always have the control over our choices.

We can choose where we want to direct our focus.

We can choose what we give our focus & energy to.

We can choose how to respond to our thoughts and emotions.

And, we can choose what will influence our choices and behaviors today.

I didn't want to ride out the day struggling with resentment.

It just wanted my attention.

So, I invited it to have a seat with me.

I thanked it for showing up, sat with it for a while, 

and then gave it my love as it slowly began to move away.

Truth is, God knows my past, my future, my woundedness.

He knows everything that makes me who I am-

and He love me anyway. 

And you.

If He can love us even with our icky bits....

shouldn't we love those things too?

Little by little Love does heal all things.

We just have to be willing to take part in the process.

Sometimes that requires finding a way to love the unlovable too.

xoxo

💖

 

Truth Notes

My morning routine has been the best decision I ever made.

It all started on July 17, 2011 when I was gifted "Jesus Calling" 

from my Pastor back home in NY.

It is also the birthdate of my late sister-in-law. 

God rest her soul.

Both have blessed me in ways I can't put words to.

I discovered what is best for me, is an hour or more of a

soul-sustaining respite from distractions.

Time spent in the word and prayer, and journal notes.

I always find what I need for that day, whether it be peace,

directions, assurance, comfort, affirmation, grace, conviction...

or answers to my prayers.

This morning my subject du jour was on TRUST.

I definitely have some struggles with this.

Not only with others, but in myself.

" We can learn to appropriately trust our Higher Power-

not to make people do what we want them to, but to help

us take care of ourselves."

This morning I can testify to this.

A year ago I could not. 

I am still learning.

About an hour ago, I picked up a spiritual book to re-read for the second time.

There were highlights marked on the pages from the first time through,

and memories of how I never thought it was going to be true for me.

Yet...this morning as I read the highlights, my heart was skipping beats.

Literally. Not kidding.

I felt joy (which also happens to be my late sister-in-laws name)

and excitement.

I am finding my truth.

Truth is truth.

We all have it.

I hope some of these words help you find your own.

Highlights and journal notes:

Truth is absolute. 

You have your own unique truth, it is only found when you seek it within,

not through others.

" You must do your own independent investigation of truth."

"The sheep always know the voice of the Shepherd."

" The truth will set you free"

"The truth will eliminate your need to be anything other

than you already are...Divine"

" The truth allows you to just Be. The ability to be okay with

who you are, doing whatever it is you are doing, in any given moment,

is the piece of heaven we spend our lives killing ourselves to find."

" God is the only power that is in control of life, spirit, and mind."

" God is within you and every living thing."

" God does not punish us. We punish ourselves with guilt, shame,

and fear when we choose not to act in concert with our

inherently divine nature."

" There is a Divine Order to everything in life.

It is for this reason that exactly where you are at any

given time in life is exactly where you should be according

to the Divine unfolding of your consciousness in life."

" When we live in harmony with the natural laws,

it becomes easy to understand the experiences we have."

" Our lives are a reflection of our conscious and subconscious 

choices. When we do not choose, we live by default."

"Everybody is born to fulfill a divine purpose, and God has given us 

everything we will ever need to fulfill that purpose."

" You are freed from the chains of habit by reminding yourself

daily that you are a perfect and unique representative of all that God is,

you will find that you are equipped to handle anything."

" God is Truth"

"Truth is consistent. It never changes."

"Truth is greater than any problem on the physical level."

The truth is that God believes in you !

xoxo

💖

side-note: book One Day My Soul Just Opened Up

 

 

First Thing

Keep the first thing first.

"Put God first in everything you do...

Everything that I have is by the grace of God,

understand that. It's a gift...

I didn't always stick with Him,

but He stuck with me."

~Denzel Washington~

" Life is about not knowing,

having to change,

 taking the moment and making the best of it

without knowing what's going to happen next."

xoxo

💖

Feeling Hyggely

" Gratitude is the key to happiness.

When gratitude is practiced regularly and from the heart,

it leads to a richer, fuller and more complete life...

It is impossible to bring more abundance into your life

if you are feeling ungrateful about what you already have.

Why?

Because the thoughts and feelings you emit as you feel ungrateful

are negative emotions and they will attract more of those feelings 

and events into your life."

Lately I've been focusing on all I have to be grateful for, 

and loving my hyggely life.

With that said...it makes me think of a moment I had recently during my trip back home to NY.

I keep a set of twinkle lights there in a drawer, and put them up when I stay.

One morning, Dad and my brother were going to drive up to the hunting camp

 to put on a new roof. 

I decided I wanted to go along.

I threw my journal & morning reads in a bag, 

and Dad stopped to get me coffee 

along the way.

A morning with the guys just tugged at my heart

and sitting on the deck in the woods....count me in!

As I listened to the guys work a light sprinkle started hitting the trees,

and the bull frog belted out a tune from the pond.

I sat there soaking it all in and thought to myself,...

"all we need now are some twinkle lights."

So later when we were all sitting in the camper having a chat,

I looked at Dad, and said " You know what you need out here Dad?

Twinkle lights! If you hung some twinkle lights around the camper,

it would look so-cozy out here!"

*Dad look*

" I don't do twinkle lights."

Which cracked me up. 

End of story.

However, before I left, I told him where I kept them stashed...

y'know, just in case. 

Anyway....

gratitude and Hygge just seem to go together for me....

where there is one, there is usually the other.

It's the way I like to live.

Hygge is....

the best homemade chocolate pudding.

Chocolate Pudding Recipe:

(organic is an option....I just had it)

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs. unsweetened organic cocoa powder

1/4 cup corn starch

1/8 tsp. salt

2 3/4 cups milk (whole)

2 Tbs. room temperature butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt.
2. Over medium heat, stir in milk. Bring the pudding mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until the pudding thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
3. Remove pudding from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla until butter dissolves.
4. Let cool. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

xoxo

💖

 

Nature Lover

I was sitting in my quiet space on the porch this morning,

watching the wildflowers in my garden sway with the breeze,

listening to windchimes and the squirrel giving Polly (cat) 

a good telling off after she chased it up the tree.

Detecting hints of fabric softener in the air from my neighbors,

while enjoying a brief visit from the hummingbird greeting me

face to face.

It's all a feast for my soul. Nature awes me every single day!

I love the simplicity of it all, and I am filled with gratitude

for the natural flow of things.

Here are some quotes from today's reads...

" Trees don't sit around and worry about forest fires.

The water in the pond doesn't fret over turbulence it 

encounters a few miles up stream.

And I have never seen a butterfly pry into the affairs

of it's fellows.

All of creation is going about the business of living."

~Courage to Change~

" Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life

of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself."

~Thoreau~

Happy weekend!

xoxo

💖

 

So Blessed

" Ironically enough, when you  make peace with the fact

that the purpose of life is not happiness,

but rather experience and growth,

happiness comes as a natural byproduct.

When you are not seeking it as the objective,

it will find it's way to you."

* trusting in God

* believing the best in people

* loving nature

* embracing the unknown

* find the good in things

* pray instead of worry

* compassion

* believe in myself

* stop taking everything so personally

* laugh 

* journal

* stop blaming

* work toward what I want, not run from what I fear

* let go of trying to "fix" others

* understand that everyone is on their own journey

* let go of expectation

* smile

* play

* try new things

* be grateful for all that I do have

* love my animals

* write letters and cards to family and friends

* garden

* pick flowers 

* listen to the birds sing

*dance

* yoga

* try a new recipe

* limit social media and television

* make healthy food choices....but treat myself too

*pick up sticks in the yard (it reminds me of my Dad)

* get out of my head, and follow my heart

* live in the moment

* avoid drama

* de-clutter home, emotions, thoughts

* replace old destructive habits with beneficial ones

* create boundaries

* reflect

* breathe

* cry when I need to

* realize my triggers are only places that need to be healed

* stop comparing

* be honest with myself and others

* be kind

* open up to the possibilities

Well hello there! I wanted to get on here to share my theme song for the day,

because it's a great song!

Then some words just starting spilling out of stuff that has

blessed me,

so I just went with it.....,

sending love,

xoxo

💖

Thoughts and Breakthroughs

" The trick in life is learning how to deal with it."

~Helen Mirren~

I'm still on a self-induced high of a mixture of home, family, self-discovery,

acceptance, growth, awareness, accountability...and

other ingredients floating around in my heart right now.

Maybe I've gone off the deep end, 

and if so....I'm cool with it!!

Life feels good.

I took this pic. yesterday of hubby and I...(it makes me giggle)

like he's saying...."oh no....wait....let me get ready for..."

In this case a selfie....however, I can look back and see

how he never knows with me.

I never knew with me.

Things would be wonderful, then something would trigger

me like a ninja!

I have come a long way.

And that just makes me giddy.

I thank God, and all who helped me get to this place in life.

(good, difficult or even horrible...it all counts)

I read this quote this morning, and I wanted to share:

" True heroes and heroines are those who refuse to give up on the 

part they've been created to play on the stage of life."  

So, if you're reading this...that is you !

Keep believing that anything is possible.

I say that with sincerity!

It's true!

Never give up on yourself.

I will also paraphrase another page in my reading today,

 that just resonated with my mood lately.

'She's such a positive, upbeat woman.

She's always smiling. She's always calm. 

She's always reassuring.

She exudes confidence. 

Who is this woman you might ask?

This is the real you! It's who you are on the inside.

If you don't act this way all the time, it's simply because you haven't

evolved to a higher plane of existence yet.'

" When a woman falls in love with the magnificent possibilities within herself,

the forces that would limit those possibilities hold less sway over her."

'Occasionally we get glimmers of what it's like on this higher plane:

on a good hair day; when we've had 12 hours of sleep;

when we fit into last years clothes, soar through a business meeting,

or throw a great party & everyone enjoys themselves immensely.

When moments occur that we tend to think all is right with the word.

Everything just falls into place.

What we don't realize is that all's right with ourself.

We're in the flow of life and loving it.

We're in place where authenticity and reality merge into wholeness.'

How do we access the flow of life and tap into that spiritual energy more often?

'Meditation helps. so do long walks, soaks in scented bubble baths, smiling at

everyone we meet, being more gentle with ourselves,

watching a sunrise or a sunset, petting an animal,

playing with a child, having some small pleasure to look forward to every day,

being grateful'

" But above all, being open to change. Welcoming it."

" Watch. Wait. Time will unfold and fulfill its purpose."

' We must not go unconscious. we must think and grow. Rejoice and dream,

kneel and pray.'

❤

Quotes for today:

" If you don't love yourself,

you'll always be looking for someone else to fill the void inside you,

but no one will be able to do it."

"Sometimes people wound us because they're wounded

and tell us we're broken because that's how they feel,

but we don't have to believe them."

" Be the person you needed when you were younger."

"If you love yourself it doesn't matter if other people don't like you

because you don't need their approval to feel good about yourself."

Today I'm thankful for God helping me to get to know who I am.

And the people he gave me to help me on the journey.

xoxo

💖