The Butterfly Sign

  Perhaps as the day progressed you thought you knew what the day had in store for you.                 Think again, in fact we rarely even have a clue as to what the world will unfold in front of us. In the midst of anguish and heartache God can do so much with a broken heart and a weary soul. Are you willing to just simply be present and wait on God, can you? Could you just consider showing up and being fully present?
                    I surmise that in fact we rarely even think about what all God has running in the background. What if, what is in the background is really what matters the most? Can you for a moment contemplate the possibility that in places and ways that we cannot possibly know or understand that there is a whole world being orchestrated on our behalf?   What if the entire cycle of a butterfly has nothing to do with the transformation but rather its willingness to build the cocoon and that the transformation is the bonus for obedience. That having spent it's life crawling on the ground through obedience it now is given the ability to fly. To go from being unnoticed to being admired and loved.
  What is it that has you crawling around on your belly? What are you begging for? What are you crawling away from in shame? What if you were willing to just for a moment completely yield your thoughts emotions and actions to God? Can you trust the Lord to build a cocoon around you and keep you safe while you heal and become the very thing your were called to be all along?
  I was recently a given a gift of renewal. Someone who chose to be fully present spoke up and into my life, their words rang so deep into my soul that the echo across my heart resonated to the depths of the beginning of who I am and who I was meant to be.
  Sometimes in life we need a brakeman on the job, a watchman on tower. God is always running something in the background. The flight of the butterfly is the beginning, middle and the end. You see it is two creatures with but one life. We as well are two creatures a spirit man and a soul man. We must choose to live one life in Christ.

 

Written by Robbin King aka. Butterfly Girl

True turning point in my life...April 2012

The music has returned and the words are dancing.

It’s Stuffing Time!!

Do you have the time?
A question with so many potential meanings



Do you have the time? This simple yet complex question can evoke so many thoughts. For instance I may look at my watch and make note of the actual time. Perhaps I look at my watch and ask will I be on time. Maybe it is a planning question, will there be enough time, or how much time will I need. I might simply look to a calendar, weather it is on the wall, the desk, the computer, day planner or PDA. This could lead me to ask what kinds of time do I have, there is work time, appointment time, exercise time, time with the kids, time to do work around the house, time for shopping, time to read, time for a favorite show, time for commuting, time with friends and perhaps time for me.

Could there be more? What about the time of year, what season is it? Time for birthdays, holidays, and special days of recognition. Might I look at chronological time, how much time on this earth do I have?

Clearly time is of the essence. Many of the things I read hear or are told, today are time based. Act now while supplies last. Hurry in for today’s sale. For a limited time only. Send this to 10 people in the next three minutes. While you still can. Before it’s too late.

Let me take a moment (of time) and relax, think about who is really in control of my time. How do I want to spend it? Time is my greatest commodity and I will want to use it as wisely as I do any other resource. We are a society of gatherers we gather together and we gather things. No matter what is going on in the world we are constantly gathering something for some greater purpose. I must stop to consider what it is I am gathering and for what purpose? It is so easy to place value on that special gift all wrapped up. Can we begin to place an even greater value on our time?

This season of the year we tend to gather supplies together to make things to share with others, some heartfelt some out of a sense of obligation. And in return we become recipients of other people’s gatherings. Thus the cycle of “stuff” begins. Maybe it is tangible “stuff” or emotional “stuff”, but we are definitely entering the season of “stuff”. Will I enjoy the “stuff” I give? Will I enjoy the “stuff” I receive? Will I find contentment in this new season or will I “stuff” my feelings down?

I propose that we each take the time to ask ourselves some questions. What are we trying to accomplish? Do I want, need or feel obligated to purchase? Do others in my life want, need, or feel obligated to receive? Is today’s gift tomorrow’s yard sale or a lifetime treasure? Was it an after- thought or well thought out?

We can begin to break this cycle. We are “stuffing” so much into ourselves and each other that we are all slowly suffocating on well intentioned “stuff”. The greatest gift we have is time. Time to take care of me, time to spend with my family and friends, time to gather together and connect in a meaningful way, perhaps if we actually spend more time gathering together and less time gathering “stuff”, we would find that in all actuality we want, need and feel less obligated to gather “meaningless “stuff”.

So this season will I begin to “stuff” my shopping cart, “stuff” my home, “stuff” calendar and perhaps “stuff” we must realize that although “stuff” may trigger a memory our memories will far outlast the “stuff”.

This season I am going to choose to do something a bit old fashioned. I will choose to spend my time more wisely on more meaningful things, and more memories!

Seriously have you ever seen memories for sale on e-bay? There simply is no way to price them!

Applesauce Cakes

On this chilly winter day I am going to take a cake out of the jar take off the ring and lid and pop in the microwave for 10 seconds and slice this thing up with some butter or cream cheese settle down with a cup of coffee and mmmm, you have to try this. Great to have on hand for that drop in.

I love baking these little cakes in a jar. Actually you can adapt many cakes to this method. I like to bake these every year at Christmas time. I usually bake around 100 jars and give these to friends and family. They last up to a year sealed in the jars.

When I bake I like to get all the ingredients out so that it makes the mixing process faster. You can find these small bowls in many stores for a great price. I found these on sale at Pier One for .50 each.

It is important to follow the recipe. Many people like to skip this sifting method but it is vital to get the right texture for your baked goods if the recipe requires it.  

Once you have your batter mixed up you add one cup of batter to a wide mouth pint jar.

Arrange directly on your oven rack and bake for 45 minutes @ 325 degrees

When you remove the jars from the oven

 have your

 lids and rings handy so that you

 can put them on immediately.

Do not tighten the lids too tight.

Set them out on a flat surface where they can be left alone to seal.

When you hear a little tink and notice that the center of the lid now looks like a tiny dimple your jar has sealed and is ready to be decorated for a gift or put on your shelf for later.

This truly has become a tradition in our home and friends and family look forward to them each year.

It is so nice to just take one out of the pantry and mmmmm fresh baked cake.

Applesauce Cake in a Jar (makes 8 pints)

2/3 Cup solid shortening

2 & 2/3 Cups of Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Cups Applesauce

2/3 Cups water

3 & 1/3 Cups Flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Cloves

1 Cup finely chopped pecans

Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs, applesauce and water.  Sift all dry ingredients. Add to mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour into wide-mouthed pint jars that have been sprayed with Pam.  Fill 1/2 full (1cup of batter)  A large pastry bag or Ziploc with a hole works great as well for putting the batter in with. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Wipe sealing edges clean. when finished baking put on lids and rings iimmediately and screw down, not too tight just snug when they have sealed you can tighten. Jars will seal as cake cools. Store as you would any canned good. Best if eaten within 1 year.



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A bit of whimsy

As I was going through my computer today after it had to be reloaded (post crash). Thank you to my son for fixing it for me. Anyway I came across a project I did a long time ago that always brings a smile to my face so I thought that I would share it with you all.

It all started as the church I was attending at the time was hosting a Christmas party where each table is hosted by someone different and it is your pleasure to decorate your table in a style all your own. All the ladies were sitting down and talking about the event and that it was not supposed to be a competition but to have fun. I decided to do something totally out of the box and the project was born.


The little houses started out as simple plain brown cardboard.

It is amazing what we can do when we allow ourselves to think in a way that is different from our normal course. What evolved through this process was so much fun. Something I had not allowed myself to have in such a long time. It appeared that I had just been taking life so seriously that I truly needed this.


The plates are painted bamboo plates with clear plastic on top to eat off of.

On several occasions I have gotten this set out just for fun for a lunch with friends. We really do need to have fun.

These are simple whimsical ornaments attached with pipecleaners hidden by the small white fur. The candle holders are filled with plastic crystals and topped with a round candle.

We should always try to allow our creative side to be nourished. Life is meant to be lived in color so why is that we insist on black and white.

What are you chasing?

I have entered a very different season of life. I find myself asking some very hard questions. As our entire family has entered a year of transition it is only fitting to look at my own life and ask my self if I am going in the direction that will yield fruit? Am I on the path that God has called me to? I find that over the past year I have been cleaning out both heart and home. I find that I have had to let go of relationships both friend and family that were only one way energy drains. What I mean to say is that a relationship should be an exchange of life not just a drain out to one party.

I have let go of groups that I have been teaching and am even considering come changes to my company. I truly have peace about the decisions but it does beg the question...what am I chasing?

I am chasing the will of God, the perfect peace of our Lord. I want to be used as a vessel. I long to teach young women how to become productive Home Managers. how to embrace a way of life that will render them great joy. I yearn to help people find first that you must clean out your heart before you will ever be able to tackle your kitchen table.

So I challenge each of you to consider what is it that you are chasing. Are you chasing your tail like a dog? Are you chasing someone elses' dreams? Perhaps you are sitting idly by waiting on someone to come along and tell you what to do.

I say leave the drawing board and take action.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Since childhood homemade cinnamon rolls have marked the arrival of fall.

This is the dough after the first rise. The bowl was a wedding gift my mother started out homemaking with.



After the first rise I roll out the dough and do a melted butter wash then  sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture with just a hint of nutmeg. Roll it up and then slice it in 3/4 " slices and place in a 9-13 pan.  Sometimes I make a special pecan a sugar glaze to place them on top of in the pan....crunchy goodness.                                 

Here they are piping hot out of the oven glazed with a cream cheese icing with a hint of almond extract.

I have made hundreds of these over the years. The recipe originated in a little town in Kansas from a very special lady named Elsie....

 

Happy Fall ya'll !!!

On Your Mark...Get Ready...Get Set...GO !!!!

If you are like most people this announcement makes you think you are at the races. Spectator or runner this gets your adrenaline pumping. It is exciting to cheer someone on to do their best. That is my goal here to cheer you on to do your best.

Every home must have a manager. Sometimes this happens by default, but someone must manage. If this task has fallen to you or if you have chosen it I want to encourage you in knowing that you have the most important role in life. You possess the skill to help each and every family member in your home have a positive “Launch” into the day.

In order for us to do our best we must be at our best. We need to launch from a platform that sets us up for accomplishment.

What is the “Mark”?  The “Mark” is your destination for each and every day. Where do you need to be? What do you need to do? How are you going to do it? Why does it need to be done?

What is “Get Ready”?  “Get Ready” simply means you must be prepared to hit your “Mark”. What tools do you need? How much time do you need? What training do you need? Will you need help?

What is “Get Set”? “Get Set” means to hold fast don’t get ahead of yourself. To have a solid “Launch” you must do so from a solid foundation of preparedness. Then hold steady, don’t jump the gun, listen, wait for it…….

GO GO GO

I challenge you to remove you and your family from the high speed race track and place them gently in a foot race. Ask yourself the questions as I have asked them above.

Do you know your “Mark”? 

Are you willing to put the work in to “Get Ready”?

Will you choose to slow down and wait for the right timing so that can “Get Set”?

Before you blow the whistle or fire the fun or shout out the “Go” signal….make sure you have plan that helps you to “Launch” you and your family from a solid daily platform that sets you up for success.

If you fail to plan you have planned to fail.

You can do it….hang in there…practice makes perfect…don’t give up…the hardest things in life are hard work and well worth it.

We can not have a gourmet life on a drive thru investment.

Just Curious

It seems as though this has been a year of recovery for me. Medical situations, emotional situations, family situations, friendship situations, spiritual situations. But something miraculous happens when you are recovering. Recently I am recovering from gallbladder surgery. Years ago they kept you in the hospital for at least 10 days for this procedure, now they send you home within hours of leaving the O.R. I have had a good recovery so far, I have no more stomach pain for the first time in five years. I had no idea I had gallbladder problems we actually sort of found out as an after thought. It seems that in our era of specialists in the medical field that it is hard to find one Doctor to look at the whole person, rather they only look at a piece of you. I actually had a Doctor, hold on wait for it, he decided to look beyond his specialty and voila!!!!

I think that we are all guilty of this in our own lives. We have all asked this question, "Who's job is it?".  Or made the statement, "It's not my job!". Why do we do that?  When did we become a society of people always trying to put it off, on to the next person? You see this everywhere from Washington dictating how restaurants will serve food and what the ingredients will be, (because apparently we can not be held accountable for our own choices) we are angry at the schools for teaching about sex (and then get mad when our teenagers become parents). We seem to spend a lot of time telling other people what they should and should not do for us, in relation to us and then when the responsibility check comes due we still want to steer that in someone elses direction.

Perhaps, now I am going way out on a limb here we should start being accountable for our own actions. Easy now don't fall over it is just a thought. What if we actually starting parenting our children, you know the little darlings that you are always trying to show off and take credit for all the great things they do and then if they screw up you don't have enough fingers to point at everyone who is responsible. By the way it only takes one finger pointing at your own heart to be responsible.

I know this seems like quite a ramble but the news if full of reasons why our country is a mess, Washington is a mess, your neighbors are a mess, your children's classrooms are a mess, your church is a mess. Well what do you expect if "NO ONE" is responsible for their actions then who my friend can fix it.

So here is my challenge for each reader. Look at your own life with the same microscope you are looking into others. How much actual time are actually spending with your children? How many actual meals has your family had in the last week together? How  many meals did you cook? How much money have you spent, trying to "make it better" rather than just doing it right the first time? How many people have you blamed this week for the state of your life?

For the next seven days try to take full responsibility for your actions. Try to go out of your way to be a good parent, wife, husband, sister, daughter, brother, aunt, uncle,son, mother, father...well you get the idea. Try actually being the best you possible and take ownership of that.

There is no true accomplishment that comes through false means. What are you taking credit for that you did not do?  Who are you blaming for things you did?

During my year of recovering in one form or another I have come to realize that I have been carrying burdens that are not mine to carry and in the process ignored some that were mine and they lay neglected. This is my fault and mine to correct.

We must stop enabling those around us to fail because we won't let them succeed. We must be accountable for our own actions and stop worrying about everyone elses punishment.

So grab a notebook and your favorite beverage and map out the next seven days you just might find the better you has been napping and is ready to be awakened and put to work.

Blessings and Hope to you all
http://orgjunkie.com/

Packing up

It is time to pack and unpack. Have you ever moved? Some people never move. They spend a lifetime in the same place. It is strange to pack up everything you own and put it on a truck and take it to a new place. Sometimes when you get to the new place your things don't fit. It forces you to choose what you really love and either part with the rest or pay for a storage unit.

For the last five years we have had a storage unit. Seven and a half years ago our daughter moved out to get married. We kept a few things for her. We have gathered things, items we felt important enough at the time that they were given a place in our lives. Now we are moving only not changing addresses but seasons in life. Our son just moved to his first Apartment. The dog died three summers ago so now there are no extra feet at our house. No one extra to check on, to clean up after, to encourage, laugh with, cry with. Sometimes it is the extra stuff that brings us great joy. I talk with my daughter everyday in some form or another. I talk with my grandchildren several times a week. I talk with my Mom almost everyday. Now we Skype with our son and he has learned to like the phone. We must stay connected, it is simply not enough to intend to we must take action.

There are so many things that we can gather. The greatest of which is love. God gives us such amazing love. You hear a lot about "empty nest". This is a term that I am not fond of . Our home is not empty all the love and blessings that surrounded us all these years is still here. We will not pack it up and put it in storage. We will now have the opportunity to choose to invite others into our home to love them to serve them. The treasure of life is relationship and that should never go to storage.

We recently cleaned out our storage unit and we no longer have one. Whew....that was a great feeling. There has been a lot of shifting going on. Sometimes God shifts us just a little he always has a good reason although we do not always take it well.

The storage was full of decorations and coats. We do not use many coats in Florida but we keep them just in case. You may not have a crisis everyday and you may not feel like you need people but you never know and it is a really good idea to build good relationships for the winter. When we are hurting it is love that warms us.

I have a lot of holiday decorations some for home and some for the Air Force base. It is always exciting to me to see peoples' faces when you decorate. They get that little kid grin and act silly. They start talking about growing up and what the season means. I wonder how many of us carry our Bible as a decoration. It is the manual you know. All the answers are in there. We must seek God's word to guide us.

This week I have been giving things away. It is time, time to let go of things that no longer serve a purpose in my life. This will allow me to let new things in. I have been a mother for 28 years. I will not stop being a mother, I will just stop making the morning rounds. Now prayer takes on a whole new meaning. There is no seeing there is only faith. This is not a new concept to me it just takes on a deeper meaning. I have had to use this idea for my daughter and her family. For my parents. Now for my son.

We packed up his things and took them to his new apartment. His old room is now a music room for my husband. All the kids slept in that room at one time or another. So very fitting that the music of love will continue to echo from the walls.

I will have time to pursue some hobbies long forgotten. Time to spend writing and studying. My husband Paul and I are enjoying the time to visit and re-create our space and lives. It is a time of celebration.

It is true that I probably kept too many things for that much needed moment that never arrived. Possibly I put too many things on hold while I was enthralled with the journey of our family. These are all matters of opinion.

As I continue to sort it all out and go through all the emotions that this change has brought to us. There are so many things that I am excited about. Paul will now have his own place to play his beloved music and this brings such joy to his soul. Don't get me wrong I was not happy to see our children leave because they were a problem I was happy because we did it. We guided and released, by the grace of God. This is what God asked of us. Such a joy to my soul the memories that flood my heart.

Life is meant to be lived. We cannot not store people. We must treasure those that God places in our lives. Release with love those that are not intended to stay. But never pack them up as if they do not matter. Every person that crosses our path serves a purpose.

So in this new season some people and things did not make the journey. I will not dwell upon the absence but rather rejoice in what is to come.

My son is cooking every day for himself and managing his own place. This brings me joy. My daughter is getting her children ready for school she shares the moments with me and this brings me joy.

Don't pack up your joy...keep it out on the counter in easy reach.

There is No Free Fruit

Seriously I am at the drive through window getting a quick lunch...are you kidding me right now it has taken 3 minutes for me to get my lunch. Does this sound familiar? Oh and by the way I hope that I am getting a healthy nutritious lunch since I order off the healthy menu. Alright let me get this straight, drive through, lots of preservatives, meals in minutes and I want healthy. NOT POSSIBLE. Truly healthy will take time, much more than three minutes.

I am in the process of a health overhaul. After getting two very interesting diagnosis and being put on medication I am finally realizing that in fact I have not lost my mind but just perhaps it is returning. I had so beaten myself up for things that I could not explain. This has caused me to sleep, and sleep and sleep and did I mention sleep? Well in this process I have had some time to truly think about many things.

Today we got some terrific news that was answered prayer. We say answered prayer because we asked God for something that has happened. We asked in accordance with God's will. You know God does things for us all the time that are his will and we rarely give him credit unless we have asked for it. How selfish we are. We should hit the floor in gratitude, spend the day in gratitude and go to sleep with gratitude upon our lips. Good, bad or indifferent we are to be grateful to God for all he does.

So God granted this prayer and it was huge for our family. And it occurred to me the amount of work that took place in order for this fruit to come forth. That all the prayer in the world with no labor was fruitless. We so grumble and complain about things both big and small. And we need to process things and get them off our chest, but then we must give it to God and be on about the solution.

Sometimes I think that we are all just clogging up the arteries of life. God has a flow for us and way in which we are to go in order to reach those he has placed in our lives and to accomplish that which he would have us to do. And yet, we are in the way, grumbling and complaining. Lord if I have to wash another dish. Really well if you have no food to eat you will have no dishes to worry about. Lord I am so sick of doing laundry, well if you have no clothing then laundry will no longer be a burden. Lord if my spouse does this or that I will well maybe we should just divorce. So if your spouse is taken away from you you will no longer have the love and joy the life partner you will be all alone, but no longer bothered by their problems. Lord if I had this or that!!!

We must learn to be content with what we have. Are you taking care of what you have? Are your dishes washed? Is your laundry done? Is your home clean? Are you spending time with your children? Are you paying attention to your spouse and their needs? Are you taking time out of your complaining to spend time with the Lord?

There is no free fruit. You must be willing to get out there and plow the field, prepare the soil for planting good seed, water the crop, remove the weeds(bad attitudes, toxic relationships)and prepare for a fruitful harvest. We do not get something for nothing.

Are you willing to put in some labor, some hard work? Are you willing to pay attention to the details?

God loves us each and everyone. You matter to God and to so many people. It is time that we stop complaining about our lives, the news, our neighbors, our friends, our situation.

When you can honestly say that you are doing all that you can do with integrity and excellence then you know that the harvest will yield you good and bountiful fruit.

God sent his son to die for our sins. He paid the price so that we could reap the fruit of his labor. The least we can do is to make the very best out of the magnificent gift that was given.

May God bless you as you labor in your field and grant you a bountiful harvest.

It is never the right time...

If you had the opportunity to choose when someone close to you would die you could not do it. There is never a right time to say goodbye to those we love. This evening a long time friend of mine came home and found her 28 year old son dead in a chair. (probably a heart attack) Two things here, a 28 yr old and a heart attack are not usually in the same sentence, second this is not what anyone expects to find on an otherwise normal day.

It seems that there is a lot of death in my life these days, in the past few years three of my own family members have passed away. Two of my neighbor's family members have passed away and several friends of our family, and several others that touched our lives in someway.

The initial news of death is always very dramatic, then the phone calls, then the conversation always trying to figure it all out. We suddenly become aware of their life, the person who has passed. Oh how I yearn to be more aware of those I love while they are living. We take so much for granted. We just assume that tomorrow will always come, and yet the Bible does not promise us tomorrow.

Our day to day tasks eat up much of our energy, we have too many places to go and too many things to do. If we did not own so many items of clothing and linens we would not be such a slave to laundry. And so picky God forbid if we actually wore something more than one time without washing it. And oh no don't let us wear the same item to a special event more than once that is unheard of. Are you kidding me right now? We seriously need to pull our heads out of the sand and get with the program. We are wasting precious moments of time worrying about the laundry and what people think of us. Making sure that our lives appear to be just perfect. Making sure that we only wear designer clothing and only drive the best cars and eat at the best places.

What good is all that when your loved one dies. Can any of those things comfort you. The working long hours and never being with you family to buy more things! The telling your kids your busy right now playing games, talking on the phone to get the latest news? Spending more time giving to other people's families than to your own.

What kind of memories are we creating? We must truly begin to get a grip on the truth of our lives. We buy too much junk, no matter what it is we could all downsize. We are in too much of a hurry. We get mad when the drive through takes more than 3 minutes and then wonder why the food is not good for us. What kind of quality can you find in three minutes?

I know that you may feel like I am rambling and perhaps I am, but I am really upset with our world and the fact that we have lost touch. I mean true touch!! We do everything by electronic communication including what I am doing right now. We need human interaction. We must get back to the very basics of living and that is all about relationship.

Do the people you love know it? Are you more concerned with bragging about what you have purchased or where your next vacation is? Do you really know what is important? We live in a society that does not want accountability. We text and email and then wonder why we fall short in a face to face conversation.

I challenge you to do better. Be the one in your family to do it differently. Care about those you love right now, don't wait until they are dead and gone to "get it" !!

Each and every one of you truly do matter you are important to people right here in the kingdom of God. We must stop living life like it is pitiful. How does that honor God?

We really need to be grateful for each and every moment that we do have and not spend so much time gripping and complaining about what we don't that all our time is eaten up with, "yeah but what about me"?

I say yes what about you? What are you doing to make it better? How are you helping the people you love to find peace? Or are you burdening them with your expectations and your needs?

Reach to each other while they can reach back and touch you too. Love God's children all of them because we all rub someone the wrong way. None of us are perfect. I pray that your heart never know that pain of the regret that death can bring. Do it all now today with all the love you have.

May God bless you all with Grace, Mercy and forgiveness.

We will Never truly know

I have had many opportunities lately to share gifts that the Lord has given me. It truly is a humbling experience. I have the most amazing time watching people find great joy in the things that the Lord chooses to bless them with.

It is also very sad to me to watch how many people are unable to receive. They find it difficult to take what you are giving. It is as if the very thing their hearts desires now represents some sort of pain.

Why do we pray for solutions and then we we find one we send it back as if it is the wrong one? Why do we question so much? Why is is so hard to simply accept the things that come from the heart of the Lord? We are so judgmental of ourselves and then wonder why people don't want to be around us. Perhaps we have become too needy? Are we constantly complaining about the same old things? Are we ever willing to take the steps towards finding solutions?

As a Professional Organizer I see this all the time. People are so hurt and so buried in the world around them that they can no longer see the child of God that stands before the mirror.

The Lord loves us each and every one. He cares about what is important to us. Please the next time that you are complaining and there comes to you a solution. Think carefully before you brush it aside.

It is nice to be back

I have been really sick. Actually since Christmas Eve. I have been on several rounds of antibiotics I had pneumonia. A huge amount of the time I was so weak I could not even talk on the phone. It is amazing to me how much happens and well what doesn't happen when you are sick. It truly is a time to find out just who your friends are.( And I will add here I have a couple that really do go above and beyond.) I mean I was out for six weeks and it was a true testament to who has concern for you or not.

It also gave me a lot of time to reflect on life. I looked back at where I have been and where God has brought me today. I have had the pleasure of looking into the future to see where we might be going.

I know that I am deeply blessed by the amazing family that the Lord has given me. My parents were here for Christmas and it brought such joy to my heart to spend time with them. Time has really gone by way too fast, upon their visit I became acutely aware of the passage of time and that we have no control over it's movement only conrol over the choices we make while it passes.

My husband and I are making some changes in our lives, long over do. We will no longer be doing things that just make "everyone else" happy. We are going to do things that work best for us that give us the greatest peace with the Lord. It truly is time to let go, let God and move on. We have spent so much time just waiting for the wrong things. We are already blessed with joy and peace, but to try to carry other peoples burdens, well that is a recipe for disaster.

I am really starting to feel better today after showering and getting ready I don't feel like I need a nap already.

I want to encourage you to stop compromising in your lives. Live your live as God wills you to, not as your friends pressure you to. Enjoy the blessings today don't pack them all up in storage. Tell the people you love that you love them. Mend your fences and embrace a new found peace.

Grace to you

Words that Linger

This will be the first post on my first blog.

Words, our minds are full of them swirling around. There are so many that we can tune to. Perhaps a childhood memory or this mornings news. I have recently been given an award. The type is not important the commentary is. I had while at this ceremony the opportunity to congratulate someone else on their accomplishment. This person reminded me that they had been a part of a conversation with a group of people where I had been encouraging everyone there to hang on to their dreams. He said that those words prompted him to change the course of his life and that as a result he was standing there today.

Now you and I both know that the words I spoke to him did not make up the entire dialogue of his life and yet he chose to hang this accomplishment in it's entirety upon the words he heard from me.

Truly it is imperative that we all realize we are the sum of so much more than one sentence. And to look at the flip side of that we must stop being careless with what we say as in fact someone, somewhere may hang their very life on one sentence that you have spoken.

God gives us such a grand privilege and yet we as humans manage to muck it up quite often. This episode has caused me to pause once again and be acutely aware of the gift of language and the impact on the human spirit.