As I try to keep myself untangled from all the chaos and noise around me I look forward to a time when we love without reservation. When everywhere we go we are at peace with all those around us. A time when we serve others without worrying if it will be well received. Where there will be no concern with one’s race, ethnicity, religion, or level of education. Love will overcome hate and hope will take the place of despair. Kindness will become the norm and forgiveness will be abundant. Intentions will be good and deception will be eliminated…
Something invaluable that I have put into place is an unwillingness to let negative events run my life and steal my hope. Day after day, there are things that can put us in a mindset of despair. But all those same things dealt with from a positive perspective can be handled and packaged differently. If we don’t keep a positive perspective, all the negative aspects of the day will wear us down. They make us and the people around us exhausted and incapable of functioning properly. We hurt and grieve regarding many things in life. Often it is regarding…
As a child, if I wanted to do something well I made a point of practicing the task. The more I repeated the action the easier it was to perform and the more it became part of my memory. Often tasks become an automatic response to certain situations or environments. At home when one is finished with the meal the dishes need to be cleared from the table. Unless one person clears the table each night, the family needs to be trained to take their plates and the serving dishes to the kitchen counter. Some families may pray together before…
Love plays a major role in my everyday life. With love comes compassion, kindness, trust, and peace. It also opens the door to a beautiful relationship with Jesus. I was listening to a talk by Dr. Issam Nemeh regarding the importance of love and having the right state of mind as we live our daily lives. Having no doubt regarding your faith, living with love, and not allowing outside negative factors to weaken your relationship with Jesus. But none of this is possible without love. Love is a must. You can have a strong faith and live with love which…
I will speak for myself and say that although I would love to be without flaws, my list of things I wish I had not done or said is rather extensive. There are those sins that I immediately see, some that I see when reflecting upon the past, and I am certain there are plenty that have gone unnoticed. Flaws that I immediately notice are the easiest to resolve. I ask forgiveness from Jesus and pray that I can find the right words when apologizing to those I have hurt with my words or actions. Also praying for an opportunity…
After 59 years my family is closing out a chapter and moving forward leaving behind the family home where we were raised. My parents were incredibly happy living in the same home for most of their adult lives. They were comfortable with everything around them and there were few surprises. The home was manageable to them throughout every season of their lives. My father chose to leave the house and once that decision was made there was no looking back. He valued every moment our family spent living in the home, but after he made the decision to leave he…
Spring inspires us to clean up the yard and prepare the house for a beautiful summer. Just as we prepare our environment we also have to prepare ourselves. A dusting off of all the cobwebs that we have let settle in our minds. Making repairs on any damaged thinking we have let move into our brains. Often we are unnecessarily anxious about our future. Working overtime trying to control things that we believe are important to our growth and success. Worry and stress start to cloud our vision. Our wants escalate and become dangerous to our mental well-being. Cleaning…
Living life with love for others and having good intentions are important ingredients when striving for a unified world. Sometimes it is difficult to unveil the integrity of those who enter our circle of influence. Not that I am naive in thinking that everyone has good intentions, but I choose to react with love in the hope that compassion will prevail. Recently I received a phone call from an established person with whom I did not know. The conversation went fine and I was grateful. There were a few things said that alerted me to think, that was a bit…
I received a text from a friend with a photo and caption, “This is so not reality!” Noting that what appears in the picture is not anything like what was experienced at that moment. Creating an image on social media of what we want people to perceive, not always portraying the total experience as it plays out. It is hard not to buy into the images of everyone else’s life being so picture-perfect. But often that is what we get, picture-perfect, but not necessarily reality. All these perfect pictures drive our insecurities and tend to bring on…
Totality, what a breathtaking experience to see the total eclipse. From those who were able to experience it live, people described it as being so peaceful. I agree, as darkness moved in nature became silent and allowed all those participating to experience the stillness. Many of us experienced a beautiful glow at the base of the horizon, adding to the spectacular event. I couldn’t help but see similarities in totality and how we lead our lives as believers. Similar to the peace people experienced during the 4 minutes of totality, giving control to Jesus opens the door to living…