Journal Dump

Serenity is always available to me,

but I have to seek it where it can be found.

Cue...my journal. 

Yesterday I wanted to share a quote with a classmate.

I knew it was in my journal...and I had to flip through pages

to find it. I decided then, that I would start rounding up

all my highlighted aha's and quoteable's,

and at the end of the month post them here.

December Journal Dump:

You cannot remember what you just heard or read 

because you have a cluttered mind.

Every moment of your life is a gift.

Instead of feeling entitled to better circumstances,

make the most of whatever is provided.

Give your best effort.

Decision making can be one of life's 

greatest adventures.

Walk in the world as if nothing is missing.

Pray and meditate daily,

and practice being present in the little gaps

throughout the day.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble,

whatever is right...think about such things."

If it seems you can't get it together, 

it may be that you have given too much of yourself

away.

Be aware of the things that you do that diminish & distort

your sense of wholeness, worthiness, and your ability

to make your own choices and decisions.

Say no to fear and yes to love.

We can make ourselves miserable or make ourselves

strong.

It is essential for you to set wise boundaries

& refuse to be drawn off course.

Whoever is tempting you to anger or frustration

is a person in need of grace.

Take a break from trying to figure everything out.

Empower the good, 

because what we empower grows bigger.

Take good care of yourself: spiritually,

emotionally, & physically.

Protect yourself 

from those who would take advantage of you.

Turn to the spirit within your own being

as your refuge and strength.

Do not hold on to emotions 

that cause you to be unloving.

Your willingness to love others

must never depend on their ability to give love

back to you.

I don't have to be responsible 

for other peoples choices.

Whenever you are questioning your own capability,

the answer is always yes.

"If we want to stop the vicious cycle of unhappiness,

we must learn new ways of living,

new ways of relating to each other."

If holding on is disturbing your peace of mind, 

it makes sense to let go.

"When you get a red flag..

it may be a warning that your thoughts

and actions are not in your best interest.

Look at your own involvement and make changes."

When the time is right,

the way before you suddenly clears-

through no effort of your own.

"Happiness is a skill.

It requires effort and time." 

"I need not struggle to make things happen, 

and I need not plan how my life will unfold.

I need only respond to the invitation of each moment,

to show up fully in excellence and love."

"Always you can go higher, for within yourself

you are greater than you think.

Believe that, for it is a fact-

a great, big, truthful, wonderful fact."

"At times, the humblest, roughest wrappings

hold the very greatest, most precious &

powerful gifts."

Believe to expect miracles

and you will.

xoxo

💝

 

 

Christmas Afterglow

Christmas was hands down, one of the best!

Brandon drove in around 11:30 p.m. that eve.

We sat at the table and had a nice chat,

and decided to turn in about an hour later.

Christmas day was incredibly simple and meaningful.

*peaceful*

The lasagna turned out great, however it may not make

our traditional Christmas meal, as I found out afterwards,

hubby is not a big fan of lasagna.

It will however be something Brandon and I will make together.

Chances are,...(as cheffy as my kiddo is...)

there will be a modified version of it in the future...

however Grams recipe will always be the firm foundation.

Speaking of foundations...

I believe this year some cracks have been repaired,

clearing done, and healing has taken place in my

(spiritual/soul) foundation.

I am as ready as I will ever be to dive deeper into my coaching course.

 and the discoveries I make along the way.

I will follow my heart and surrender my expectations,

as I stay open to where this leads me. 

There is so much to learn on this path to health and wholeness.

I pray that my journey into the New Year as well as yours,

is one filled with health, happiness and wellness.

May we set our own pace, and savor the steps along the way,

remembering that every step matters.

May our days be filled with the joyful simplicities 

waiting to found in the small moments.

May we trust that love will not fail us,

 believe in ourselves, and believe in the One that 

believes in us. 

xoxo

💖

"You are never alone.  Divine love sustains you, surrounds you,

enfolds you, protects you. 

Go in peace."

Christmas Traditions

I love Christmas, although I can get a bit emotional.

Like every time I hear " Mary, Did You Know"

(in my last post).

Also when I think of my family back home...and wish

we could all be together.

Missing the friends and family that are no longer with us.

Cue....

Christmas traditions.

 Traditions ground me and bring me joy.

Some of my special little traditions:

Hanging the paper snowflakes on the tree.

(that Brandon and I made 19 years ago...the first Christmas as a single mom)

Baking my great-grandmother's (from my Mom's side) Swedish Spritz cookies with Brandon.

Having a Christmas puzzle scattered on the table the start of December,

that slowly forms, as peeps pause near to place a piece or two.

No more than 1/2 the puzzle ever gets put together,

  and Christmas day we gather around to finish it. 

It must be finished by the end of the day. It's a rule. 

Loading up in the car to go for a drive to view the Christmas lights with friends or family.

Usually with a few twinkle lights in the car as well as Christmas CD's that have been collected 

over the years.

That used to be a tradition too! Every year I would buy a new Christmas CD 

to play during the holidays.

That tradition just seemed to fade away, although I still have to buy

a new Christmas CD from time to time. 

Maybe next year. 

It's been a while.

And....

 this year...

a couple of new traditions may be born.

So...one....is, I made dog-bones for all my doggy-friends this Christmas.

I wanted to make sure I had enough, and tripled the batch.

(one of my friends has seven dog...just sayin')

I ended up spending a day baking the little doggy-treats.

 Christmas tunes playing, twinkle light twinkling, hot tea and candles.

 It was quite relaxing really, and my doggy-friends (even the most finicky) loved their 

home-baked goodies.

It may become a monthly ritual really.

Nonetheless it will be wrapped in pretty gift-bags and bling for them only for Christmas.

And...another tradition that's still on the fence....

is making my Grandmother's Lasagna recipe.(on my Dad's side)

 My youngest cousin sent it to me, and I have been waiting for 

Christmas to fix it.

If all goes well, it will be our traditional meal,

served on her fine china, for many years to come.

Traditions just seem to connect the dots for me.

Bringing the past and the present all together

into the moment. 

It connects me to my peeps both near and far,

and reminds me just how special life really is, has been,

and how grateful I am for it all.

Sticking with the Holiday Spirit, 

here are some of my favorite Christmas Quotes this week:

" Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us,

that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.

It may weave a spell of nostalgia.

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,

but always it will be a day of remembrance - 

a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved."

" The best gifts around any Christmas tree:

the presence of a happy family all wrapped

up in each other."

" Love is what is what's in the room with you at Christmas

if you stop opening presents and listen."

" Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold , everything is softer and more beautiful."

Merry Christmas with much love !

xoxo

💝

 

Christmas Song

Every Christmas season, while watching a children's program

(last Sunday)

or during Christmas eve service at church

they play this song.

And I cry. 

Every. 

Time.

xoxo

💓

Wish Tree

Last year my me and my girlfriend Angie decided to go

 explore a local antique shop.

We both had fun searching for and finding little treasures to take home.

I found some little floral saucers that day.

I have a thing for using the old and the mis-matched pieces (dishes, silverware) often.

I find them charming & a nice addition to my tea or coffee breaks.

It's all about creating something special out of the little ordinary moments.

I thank my beloved Swedish Fika-hygge gene for that. 

So anyway....

on the way out the door, there was a pretty pine tree

 covered with little slips of paper.

The shop keeper told us it was a wish tree, 

and invited us to add our wishes to the tree if we'd like.

We did of course! 

We made the wish, wrote it down, and fastened it along with 

hundreds of other wishes.

Honestly, I totally forgot about it after that.

The other day I was writing my prayer in my journal and thanking

God for certain things and also "for restoring relationships in my life"...

and that is when it hit me!

I remembered... that was the wish that I hung on the tree.

Dare to daydream. Imagine. Wish. Believe.

May your see them come true.

xoxo

💖

 

Grace Country

This sweet girl has been by my side, 

ever since my first day on the farm.

I remember her little white calf-self approached me to give me the once over.

I felt I had to pass her inspection to gain entrance through the gate.

I knew then that she'd be special.

That was 12 years ago.

The farm is definitely my saving grace.

I can start out having a rough-semi-emotional-

snarky-kind-of-day ,

and come back home full of peace and contentment.

It takes no time to find my serenity

 by simply tromping through the pastures, gathering snapshots of my

cow-kids, counting mourning doves as they perch on the fence line,

while listening to the soothing sounds of the herd as they munch and moo around me

(and always a snuggle and a lick or two).

No matter what kind of day I am having, 

it seems I'm always brought back to my center.

Welcomed and nourished.

The space envelopes me.

It doesn't care if I'm frustrated or snarky.

Or that my hair is a mess.

Or that I come in mis-matched clothes and dirty-worn boots.

It just seems happy to have me back,

and willing to hold space for me to rest & regroup. 

I'm most at ease there.

 I can sit with nature, and

gather my thoughts along with other parts of myself that have gone astray.

It's my place of grace in this busy world.

Once I wander onto the farm...

it's always a bit of a challenge for me to leave again.

" I do not at all understand the mystery of grace--

only that it meets us where we are

 but does not leave us where it found us."

~Anne Lamott~

xoxo

💝

 

Think Good

It's a good morning to have a good morning.

*side note- I am a morning person.

It was a wonderful weekend.

I had my girlfriend Ang here for a few days.

(she recently lost her Dad 💔)

I am getting ready to start on Module 4 of my course today.

I reached out to a MO course mate,

( a total stranger...awkward)

 and planned a connection via Zoom 

( also awkward as I will need to learn how to initiate the meeting)

to meet this Wednesday.

I was invited to go with a friend and her Mom to their church yesterday

to watch the MSU Choral perform.

It was so beautiful we had tears dripping.

It couldn't be helped ( I tried..).

The lumps in my throat were about to explode.

Powerful. That's all I have to stay.

Hubby and I went out to the farm for chores.

He made his rounds...

and I walked the pasture and played with my Buddy boy.

We did turn the herd out into a new pasture,

  I was curious to see

if he'd pick (what's left of) the grass

or me.

Guess what he picked.

Mmm...hmmm....

 he still loves his human Mama.

I finished Module 3 last night. 

and my big take away is this:

believe in yourself

have fun

don't let any one influence you from your path.

Do one little right thing each day to work towards

your dreams.

My biggest hurdle has always been to believe in myself, (truly believe)

and to stop being influenced by....well...influencers.

It takes a great deal of believing in yourself,

(and in my case, God too)

to dodge the bullets of negativity, doubt, skepticism,

cynicism, fear, insecurities and all the distractions today

and be courageous enough to stay true to yourself.

My biggest tool in the last few years

 is to be more mindful of my thoughts.

(always a work in process)

We can choose what we want to think.

We can use our mental energy positively. 

We can empower the good or empower the bad,

the choice is ours. 

What we empower grows bigger.

Our choices are just a bunch of little habits we can change.

Remember habits take time to change, but it is totally doable.

We can't control much else, but we do have that power,

and it makes life so much more joyful.

xoxo

💖

 

 

Checking In

We shall not have this life again.

Don't short change yourself over

hurts from the past.

Get out of your head and do 

what you need to heal.

You can't go forward looking back.

" Love's miracles are being created in every given moment,

unobstructed by anything carried over from the past."

"Faith in love doesn't determine love's power,

but it does determine whether or not we 

experience it's power."

Choose the kind of life you want to build.

Instead of the pursuit of happiness

pursue a full meaningful, engaging life,

and happiness will follow.

The circle of life

This is the Circle of Life I mentioned in my last post.

There are so many ways to nourish yourself, and most

of them have little to do with food.

On this circle are the other ingredients for a balanced

and healthy life.

In my course these are called the Primary foods.

Placing a dot toward the center of the circle = dissatisfied

Placing a dot toward the outer circle = satisfied

( I drew mine out on paper)

Once you get every line marked with a dot, you can connect

them if you like.  

It's a handy little tool to show where there is an imbalance

in your life. 

The circle will never be perfect ..(...so I'm told).

Check in with yourself.

Have fun, we all have things to work on.

 Mom and I each did a connect-the-dots over Thanksgiving.

One of ours looked like a tulip, and one looked like a bat.

Enjoying the little things.

xoxo

💖