What Is Really Important? Blog #148.

What is it that I feel is most important?  What is it that is most influential in my life?  How can I prioritize what is important?  How does that one thing that is most important to me, contribute to my life being more complete, content, and joyful? Is what I deem most important, really my most important priority?  Or do my priorities need to be realigned? For me, my faith is number one in my life.  Despite the fact that it is most important, I still find myself needing to refocus on that priority.  For me it was not a…

Sharing: Time, Knowledge, Love. Blog #147.

I believe when we were taught to share as young toddlers, it was one of the most important lessons of our life. If one is willing to share their time, knowledge, and love, those around them grow and they are able to be lifted to the next level if they so desire. Time Sharing one’s time is priceless.  We have 24 hours in a day.  We can’t buy more time, we can only extend deadlines. When someone generously gives the gift of their time, it is often meaningful in unspoken ways.  I am thinking about the gift of…

How To Get Into The Zone. Blog #146.

It would be nice if one just landed in the zone and had an instant ability to function with love in their heart on a daily basis.  To be able to live stress-free, with total forgiveness, no judgments, with peace, and love for all. For me, it is not easy, it’s not something that comes without thought, it’s not something that comes naturally and effortlessly.  I consciously choose love. It is my choice to stay focused on the good. Of course, I have moments of worry, stress, and anger, along with many other imperfections in my life…

Faith Strengthened. Blog #145.

For those of you who have been following my journey, you know that I have great respect for the Nemeh family and their “unshakeable” faith. The general mission of their organization, Path To Faith, is to “bring people closer to God by experiencing his love and his power that heals us both physically and spiritually.”  Dr. Nemeh and his wife, Kathy, “Hope to spread the message that God is present and active in our lives each day, and to guide all of us on the path to a more perfect life.” Years ago I was reading The Alchemist, by Paulo…

Mistakes: Digging Myself Deeper. Blog #144.

I think about times in my life when I’ve made mistakes. I review the options that are in front of me and I think about the implications.  How can I make those who were affected by my mistake feel better about themselves and/or about the issue?  How can I make right what I initially messed up?  How do I regain the trust of those involved? This is not an easy thing to do.  Who wants people to know that one has made an error?  However, asking for forgiveness and owning up to the misinterpretation is far less stressful…

United Let Us Stand. Blog #143.

United let us stand against racism. United let us stand against destruction and evil. United let us stand with forgiveness. United let us stand with love. United let us pray for peace. United let us stand one and all. United let us stand as people.  We are all equal.  Of course, we have different strengths, but we are all loved by God. Let us stand as equals, no person superior, allowing unity and love to bring peace.  Simple, yet powerful – God loves us all. United let us stand against racism.  In one of many powerful scenes in the movie…

Sewn Together By Faith. Blog #142.

This is not easy for me to admit, but 2020 has brought fleeting moments where I have questioned my faith.  In those moments of question, I take a step back and look at where my faith has brought me and how many disasters it has made right.  This year has brought challenges to the world, our country, and for many of us our families.  I believe those challenges will be untangled as our faith stands strong and as love prevails. What I have realized in those moments is that I am not questioning my faith, but my ability to hear…

Surrendering. Blog #141.

Lately, I find myself surrendering daily to Jesus.  I pray for continued strength to be guided by faith.  It is often the toughest route, sometimes the longest route, and usually a route where I have little prior knowledge as to why this is my path.  For me, making sure I stay on course is the most difficult part. I have to be patient yet be open to trying different paths. I don’t sit around waiting for answers, I explore paths that present themselves and pray for guidance.  Sometimes the path is clear and other times it is rather foggy…

A Reason To Smile. Blog #140.

I never thought I would need to remind myself to smile.  I hate to admit this, but I have smiled less, hugged less, and communicated less with people in general than I had six months ago.  Our lives changed dramatically with COVID-19.  One thing that has hit me hard lately is that I am using my smile infrequently.  I see social media posts that say, “I really am smiling behind this mask.”  I absolutely would have thought that I could identify a smile with or without the mask.  I thought our eyes would communicate the smile.  But in the…

Fears, Worries, and Bullies. Blog #139.

When something goes wrong, we are targeted, bullied, or are not included do we go the extra mile and pray for the individuals involved?  How many of us after we give our worries to God pray for those who we fear? Recently, I was reminded by a friend regarding the power of prayer. I won’t give details of the situation but she indicated that when stopped at a stoplight she and her daughter were verbally harassed.  Her first instinct was not to talk back but to pray.  She prayed not for safety for themselves, but for the people who…