Let your imagination run…

Can we talk imagination for a moment? We are talking about the simplicity and belief of a 9-year-old. One of our grandson’s has a brilliant brain. So brilliant, his simple child-like faith amazes not just me but all who meet him. His family just moved into a new home. The first home his parents have bought. It is a great place to grow up and become an adult. Until that time, his parents try to allow all their boys (yep, four of them) just to be kids. We try to “cane” them everyone once in a while. My husband and I decided we would meet them at the new place. With candy canes in hand, we stuck them on door handles, light posts and the various trees in their yard. Of course, the fun is for them to find them. Not hard when it is winter unless it is an evergreen tree or a bush.

Today, they had the joy of finding said candy canes. We “Marco Polo” as a family to enjoy the fun adventures when we can’t be there. Their nine-year-old came up to his dad and simply stated (while showing his stash), “See Dad, candy canes do grow on trees.” To which his Dad replied, “It is a miracle!” The wonder and imagination of this child never ceases to amaze me! He takes things at face value. He doesn’t (at this point) reason the truth or reality behind it, he simple accepts what he sees. For him this simple act of finding candy canes helped him adjust to his new home and surroundings. There will be a lot of surprises to which his imagination will take in and astound us all, I am sure.

I believe during this season, we as adults could take a hint from my grandson. In this season just before the new year, let your imagination go and take you on an adventure either by yourself or with your family. Make lasting memories. After all, I still believe candy grows on trees and there are some money trees I am still looking to find. Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Placing myself in check…..

Should I spill? As I approach the last bit of closure in the spreading of ashes, I believe I am angry. I know this emotion is okay, however, my thoughts have not been as generous as they could or should be towards others and myself. I know this is a part of the process. Is it wrong to want to lash out to hurt others (who are hurting just as much as I am). Can I formulate and articulate my feelings in a way that will give value instead of pain? This is not easy for any of us. This is not how it was supposed to be and yet, here we are…spreading ashes.

My problem is no one is to blame in this situation. Choices were made and we who are left behind need to accept those choices. The reality is those very choices can not be changed.

My opinion or emotional spewing will not bring her back. Even as I think upon it, I would not want her to come back to a life of pain and sorrow. I know she is in a better place. The questions come. Did I do enough? Could I have……??? Should I have….? Why didn’t I? My desires were not fully realized for her.

We will celebrate her on her birthday this weekend. Presently, I am allowing myself the emotion of hurt and anger. I allow the thoughts to roam and be captured before they escape my lips. God’s word says to be angry and sin not. I am angry, but I do not want sin to rule my heart. So, I give my thoughts to Him. He understands loss even as we celebrate the birth of His Son, Jesus.

When we are together I don’t want to say or do anything to dishonor the one we are celebrating. We will gather one last time with this loved one in a final “earthly” goodbye, but not forgotten. We will move on….albeit to quickly to new adventures with a slight hole in our hearts.

My rant is over, I think.

December….once again…..

December. The last month of our year. It is a time of reflection. This year has seen its hardships as well as blessings. Through it all we have held onto the Lord’s hand. He has not let us go. We have walked and continue to walk in the “valley of the shadow of death”, yet we do not fear. (Ps. 23) We have clung to many different scriptures as the Holy Spirit opened up the word for us. We are grateful for those who have walked with us in prayer and literally walked with us. In the midst He prepared a table for us..(Ps. 23) We have partaken of His goodness and His love. The school has been going well. We will be finishing up at the beginning of the new year. We will have graduation in February. We will be starting a new class as well. We can not tell you how grateful we are for YOU. Thank you for loving us so well. Blessings as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our King. (Is. 9:6-7). In this new month and at this time, may the Lord meet you and keep you.

What cleaning agent do you use?

I was reminded this morning how easy it is to allow weeds to grow in my heart and mind through the laundry. I know, kind of different. Let me explain. Today is laundry day. I usually just put my husband’s shirts in the wash. I don’t generally look for stain spots because he takes care of those. What I have failed to look at was his collar. As you might imagine there was a “ring” of dirt. Now these shirts get washed weekly. I would have thought the collars would not need “tending” or spraying. However, today, I decided to look the shirt over really well. How often have you thought an area in your life was okay? The psalmist said to the Lord, “create in me a clean heart”. (Psalm 51:10). Only upon inspection can we see the “ring”, “weed” or “stain” within us. We need a cleaning agent. As a believer, the cleaning agent is the blood Jesus shed for us. This week, I will be reflecting on other areas of my life to ensure there are no weeds, stains or rings to stop my communion with the Lord. Will you join me?

Change – the only constant in life

Found two dimes while on vacation this past weekend. Yes, my vacation was on the weekend, but actually started on Thursday. I found one dime on the pavement at one of the gas stations we make as a break for our trip to New York. I found another in the grass while walking the dog.

Over my life time, I seem to find differing amounts of money to indicate change for me. A penny can mean a small insignificant yet powerful change. A dime can mean more significance in the change happening. 

I try to be attentive to the things around me. One of those things is looking for change or money. I know it may seem silly, but there are times when it can bring a confirmation to a situation. 

I, of course, pick it up and throw it in my purse. It will add up eventually. 

If you are interested, I was faced with a major change today. It will take place over the course of the next month. I am processing this change as I will be impacted by the decisions of others. 

Change (situation) is happening all around us. We may have some control or no control in the process. I will allow my self the time to process the impact and in some cases the loss this change will bring. 

However, you can be sure, once through, I will be looking to find that next piece of change (money) on the ground. What about you?

What I learned….

As places begin to open up, remember to still be flexible with yourself and others. Over the weekend, my well laid out plans needed to be fine tuned. I have to remember this in business as well. I need to stay flexible when things don’t go as planned. Here are a few things I look at when plans tilt.

1. Have I figured in “wiggle” room? In other words, have I factored in the necessary time to be flexible?

2. I “punt”. It’s not a plan “B”, but I do make allowances for plans to change.

3. Don’t get stressed or upset. That is a reaction and you need to respond. Cool heads prevail as the saying goes.

4. SMILE! This helps with your attitude toward others.

5. Let it go….after all you can only control YOU. You can influence others to be better.

I hope you have a great week!

Decisions…life or death

She wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn’t been in this place before. How would she explain the difficult decision she was about to make? Who would she explain it to? Everyone was not in favor of her keeping the child within her. The man responsible no longer wanted to be responsible. Her parents only shook their heads in shame.

Yet no one asked how she felt. Yet, what did she feel? It wasn’t like this was back in the early 1800’s or later where this sort of thing was addressed in shame. Sent away to have the child and depending upon how wealthy the family was could have given the child up for adoption.  But that was really the problem. She wasn’t sure how she felt. Being with him had felt right. Giving to him her very essence seemed right. Yet after, what happened?

So many emotions had surged through her heart, her mind and her soul. She had believed it would be forever, didn’t he? What had he said, “You are the one I want. You are the one I could live with forever.” She had waited to be sure he was what she wanted. Sure they would have to wait till after graduation to think of any plans like marriage or children. Then when the sickness hit her day after day, she knew something wasn’t right. Then missing her cycle almost gave it away.

How could he not want to be with her. They both would have to make sacrifices. They were going to have a child. How could he just turn off his emotions like that? Or was he scared too? She never thought about that. Maybe, she could have a real heart to heart with him to really find out what he feels about this. Was his a reaction of shock as hers was? What about his parents? What would they say? Would they, could they accept the truth? Would her parents understand the price she was paying? Either way there was a price. She was willing to pay that price.

So many families face this scenario. Choices are made in a moment which changes you and the direction of your life. If you need help, reach out. There is both help and hope.

Perspective

Perspective. Was making cookies today (Oatmeal, chocolate chip and peanut butter). I was thinking about the measurements given. I don’t think I am the only one to just “pour” the vanilla or keep shaking the cinnamon in because, well I like flavor. My perspective for a tablespoon may be different than yours. It is the same with how we see God or the world. His word keeps us in perspective for His truth. I measure how things are going when I use exactly what He has given. However, when I use my measurements I can get into trouble. Let His word be your perspective.

My First Story Written: The Search

As the first rays of the sun rose over the mountain, the clock chimed through the house. Mother stood at the bottom of the stairs calling for us to rise and shine. Father was out tending the cattle. Tom and I cam down the stairs to the kitchen with food on our minds. Mother served eggs with sausage, applesauce and milk. As we sat down, Father returned from the barn. He had a worried look on his face. After washing, he sat down to breakfast. We both waited for Father to tell us what was wrong. Father asked us to help him find a pregnant cow, however, chores would have to come first. When we finished breakfast, I picked up the dishes for Mother and started my chores. Before we knew it Mother was fixing lunch.

We hadn’t had time to ask Father about the cow until then. The sandwiches were set on the table. After hands were washed, Father said grace. When he was finished, before you could blink, the sandwiches disappeared. We were hungry! We asked Father about the cow. Father said there was no sign of her. We asked to be excused from the table to go look for the cow. Father told Tom and I to go look down the path to the back pasture while he headed up the road to the village.

As we ran outside, the warm sun met us. Tom and I raced down the path looking for the cow. When we came to an old fallen tree, we sat to rest. Looking about we wondered where she could be. She couldn’t have gone far in her condition? Could she? Well, there was no time for delay. We started calling for the cow. We would stop and listen. The most we could hear was a slight rustle of the breeze in the trees and the sound of bees near by. I looked in the low lying brush that we came to on our way. Tom climbed a tree to see if he could spot her, all he saw was more pasture. Not knowing how long we had been gone, we decided to head toward home. As we got on the path toward home Tom noticed the breeze had picked up. It had turned kind of cloudy. We decided to race home.

As we got there, Father was standing by the barn door. When he spotted us, he waved us to the barn. When we reached him, we asked if he had found the cow. He told us to lower our voices and to follow him. Once inside and our eyes adjusted to the somewhat dark barn, Father pointed to a corner where we saw the cow. But to our surprise and joy there was a baby calf. It was black with a white spot on its head. Father told us on his way up the road he had heard a strange sound. To him it sounded like a cow in trouble, so he decided to follow the sound. In a thicket he spotted the cow ready to give birth. He arrived in time to clear a spot for the calf when it came. After the calf was delivered and cleaned, Father lifted the calf and carried it home. Out of instinct the mother followed.

What a day it had been! First the hunt for this mama cow and then the birth of her calf. As we stood watching the calf and its mother, we heard Mother’s voice calling us to dinner and out the door we went!

(photo taken from: https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/JTxxxh_transparent-jersey-cow-clipart-cow-and-calf-png/)

A New Year

Wow, just a year ago, life was on a continuum. We had a pandemic already in motion (flu in my state) when another took its place (COVID). Panic, fear and the unknown hit many of us like a freight train running off its tracks! Each week we were inundated with confusing information. No one could make sense of what was really happening! We were quarantined. We were told to wash hands and wear masks. Distance ourselves. A raid on toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Markets could not keep up. Some had to reinvent themselves.

Somehow, the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months continued to come. With each passing day, hopes for the new year to hurry started showing up in almost every social media outlet.

What is the real expectation? January 1, 2021. Life will continue as it has been. Many are hoping to get back some normalcy to their lives. Businesses looking to have a new normal – work from home. Schools are in a groove until the end of the school year.

This year like every year is a new opportunity. This year has endless possibilities. My plans for this year will be flexible enough to change with the tide. Ebbs and flows – in and out….how about you?