The End Of The Week

                                            Everyday is a brand new day,
                                            everyday is a journey.


I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! Yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God, can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

--Edgar Allan Poe.

The end of the work week is here. I should be elated and thrilled, but right now, it's just another day. I found that whenever we have a busy weekend ahead, we don't really have a relaxed mind on Fridays. Instead, our energy levels are steeped with full throttle ahead. 

The weird thing? I'm actually looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing my Ministry ladies. Looking forward to packaging up some of these deliveries that have taken over my bedroom and kitchen. Looking forward to getting my bedroom back. So I don't mind if it ends up being busy and I don't have time to lounge in my pajamas. 

I do understand that some of you may have had a very difficult week and are extremely looking forward to doing nothing, but relaxing. I do hope you find that rest.  

Rest is something I have struggled with over the years. I always felt guilt for taking a day or two to simply do nothing, but lounge. In my family, we have been brought up to work, always keeping busy. My parents worked and in their free time, they entertained. I cannot ever remember seeing them just doing nothing. My mom would spend hours in her garden every single day. Keeping busy has always been a way of life in my family.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? Feeling guilty for resting, but it's true. It's taken me a long time to accept that rest is vital to our well being both mentally and physically. I can't be at my best without rest. I can't do what I love most if I'm too tired to do it. So no matter what kind of weekend you may have planned, I hope there some time set aside for something so simple as rest. 

Have a blessed day everyone. 

The Path Of Life

                                                       Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                        everyday is a journey.


So long as we love we serve; 
so long as we are loved by others 
I would almost say that we are indispensable;
 and no man is useless while he has a friend.
--Robert L. Stevenson.

Where are we going and what are we going to do there once we get there? People have been pondering that question for decades after decades. Everyone is searching for a path in life, a path to live a purposeful life. Am I living that purposeful life? I'd like to think so, but I know I could be doing so much more.

Emily on the other hand, thinks I need to stop adding more activities and responsibilities. She feels that I can barely keep up with all I have on my plate now. This idea of a Chronic Illness Group is not sitting well with her at all. 

"And exactly how do you plan on doing all this?"

I don't feel it's too much. I don't look at my full plate and see bitterness at having all these responsibilities.  I love being active in serving others. I wish I could spend my entire day focused on issues such as these. I wish we didn't need money to live on, so I could devote my time in other ways. 

Take today, for instance. We have spent the day running around full throttle. My Ministry met this past weekend, so I had quite a bit of crocheted items to wash, prep and pack for delivery. When the boxes were loaded up in my car, I looked around my kitchen satisfied. These empty boxes have stood in my kitchen for almost two months waiting to be filled. Sometimes, they blocked my movement in that kitchen, but I loved seeing them fill up with goodies for charitable organizations. That brings me joy.

Was I busy? Yes. Was my plate over brimming at times? Yes. Was I tired? Yes. Yet, the joy I felt afterwards covered and then some all of the above. It's like a mother being in labor and finally giving birth. She never holds onto that pain, because the joy in her arms was worth it. That's how I feel about my Ministries. It's all worth it. 

So how do I plan on making time for it? I'm just going to do it! I have complete faith in God and His ability to make it happen. The ideas are already forming within my mind as to the how. Everything will be just fine.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

Apartment Living

                                         Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.



For all sweet and pleasant passages in the great story of life men may well thank God; for leisure and ease and health and friendship may God make us truly and humbly grateful; but our chief song of thanksgiving must be always for our kinship with him, with all that such divinity of greatness brings of peril, hardship, toil, and sacrifice.
--Hamilton Mabie.

I've always been a home owner until the year 2011. Ever since then, the world of apartment living has been my domain. There are many positives and negatives to living in an apartment. Here are some observations I have made in the last several years. 

POSITIVE
1. Yard work
I do not miss shoveling snow in the Winter. We all love the first snow day and eagerly go outside with our shovels to clear the paths while our children make snowmen. Any snow that comes after that, we groan and moan s we head out that door. The same applies for raking, mowing or any other outside maintenance. I appreciate that someone maintains these chores. 

2. Maintenance Inside
When something breaks down, all I have to do is call a landlord to fix it. I do not have to worry about looking for a repairman. I expect it to be done as part for paying my rent. 

3. Neighbors
Some of the best people I've met came from being my neighbors. When I went through treatment, I cannot tell you how many times they brought supper over for Emily and myself. Or how many times they offered to do my laundry or bring my grocery shopping. I don't have problems with neighbors. We all can be loud or rude. We all leave the door open. None of us are the perfect neighbor. It's all about how we treat one another. 

NEGATIVE
1. Maintenance Inside
I've listed this under both positive and negative. Just because we call the landlord, it doesn't mean the problem will get fixed. It all depends on the landlord. 

2. The Landlord
I've yet to see the perfect landlord. I, myself have had three, but I've also asked friends and family for reports on their landlords. For some reasons, all landlords think they can fix things themselves when they cannot. 

Some take several hours and even days to fix something minor like replacing a toilet pump/chain. This incident, he used a paperclip that worked for only a week. Another, told me to tap on the side and top of the stove in hopes of un-sticking the igniter to light. Usually the latter are the ones who attache the door on their hinges the wrong way and then blame the manufacturer for the malfunction. 

Some landlords came over almost every day, knocking on your door for every excuse. Others were the opposite with multiple cancellations before he finally showed up. Even then, he would rush out the door with promises of coming back tomorrow to finish the job. He never showed. If there was a lamp in the dumpster, one of my landlords could tell you what apartment it came from. Creepy, huh? 

I am not kidding, all of this has happened. So you can see my frustrations with landlords. The place I'm in now, I hope to stay until my retirement and then , I plan on being my own landlord. Every time, I look at that sink that leaks or that door that still has no lock on it. I think to myself, it's like being married to a man who never cleans out that garage. 

Have a blessed day everyone. 

A 24 Hour Thing

                                                        Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                        everyday is a journey.

Last week, I had a 24 hour virus thingy that surprised me. I do not get sick, period. It's been so long since I had a cold or a flu or a virus of any kind. I'm not exactly sure why. It could be that my eating healthy boosts my immune system. Or perhaps the flu shot helps. I always laugh that with all the chemo and radiation inside of me has killed everything. 

Anyway, you could imagine my surprise when I didn't feel well one day last week before work. I thought that my stomach cramps might be gas or just something not agreeing with me that I've eaten. I bought some Sprite and headed out to work. 

Well, I can tell you that I spent an agonizing 2 1/2 hours running back and forth to the bathroom. I've felt so nauseous as if everything would come up without warning. I tried to induce vomiting on my own hoping to feel better. When it finally happened, it didn't help, but made it worse.The cramps became more painful. It was time to go home. 

I don't think I could have stunned my management more if I tried by opting to go home. In my 22 years, I've gone home only once and that was during a cancer treatment. 

My home is about ten to fifteen minutes away from work and that's during rush hour. I had to pull over by the local Liquor Barn, which was full by the way and everything inside me came up several times over. I must have looked a sight, heaving at the liquor store like a drunk. Came home, threw up again and went to sleep.

When I tell people that story, they double over in laughter. It's funny now, but it wasn't then. For the next several days, my tummy felt very queasy. Back to my BRAT diet until I felt better. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

Four Generations

                                                       Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                       everyday is a journey.


Heaven stands open to me,
 my Lord, 
in these deep and holy words. 
Through the open door I see
 the source of the golden light
 that shone around 
Thy earthly life,
and detect the secret of the music
that ever sounded around Thy path, 
as the music of the golden bells
 when Aaron passed to and fro.
Anon


Recently, I've had the pleasure of having lunch with my mom, my niece and her son. Four generations spending time together. I've noticed a few things, we are a lot alike. We're loud, we talk over each other and our mannerisms live on on even if we don't look like one another.

When we took a picture of our luncheon, I realized that we no longer were a five generational family living. Grandmother's Bernice death in October changed all that. She has been around for so long, it seems strange not to have her here. I could not have a conversation with my mom without hearing about Grandma. She lived a full life and left a large legacy behind.

                          Kathy, myself and mom.

                            Kathy's Kai.

                     My favorite picture of grandma Bernice.

The generational shift has occurred with my mom at the head of that family tree. The next Queen Bee, Mary. The circle of life continues. The names may have changed, but the characteristics continue on into the new generation.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

The Reading List 3

                                         Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

I've rediscovered reading books once again. I love books of all types and I've made a promise to myself this past Summer to make time to sit down to read. Let me engross myself in something other than my problems. Here a few that I've read so far.

Wait And See
By: Wendy Pope
This is actually a great bible study type of book where we can write in the answers. The whole study is about seeing the waiting period in our lives as a learning experience instead of something we dread. I actually learned how terrible I am during the waiting on God period. She does offer very insightful commentary on the behavior we all experience as we wait.

Soul Food
By: Havilah Cunnington
I really enjoyed this book. It dealt with what we need spiritually to feed our soul and how our soul needs to be fed on a daily basis. The story began in the Garden of Eden and ended up at The Last Supper. My favorite line from the book God endured the Cross because it takes more than bread to stay alive. He wants to rescue, redeem and restore you. 

Finding I Am 
By: Lysa Terkuerst      
In this book, Lysa describes and goes over the seven I am statements made by God.  It's fascinating to read how these seven I AM statements apply to our everyday life. Another surprise in this book? The actual names of the seven I Am statements.  Some are pretty obvious, but there is one that we always assumed was part of it and isn't. You'll have to read the book to find out the answer.


It doesn't matter what you choose to read, the idea here is not to lose that feel of a good book. Sit down and read a book!

Have a blessed day everyone.

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Two Months In

                                         Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.



Shall I hold on with both hands to every paltry possession? 
All I have teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Looking around my bedroom this morning, I grimaced both inwardly and out by the mess. It's only this room that resembles chaos and still hasn't been put together. Moving is a great TASK! Just when one believes everything has been transferred over or filled out, there's always something else. Every box that is opened, I wonder how in the world I fit all this stuff into that small apartment I left. 

I think we all experience this chaotic transition and I know there are people that have boxes still unpacked from when they have moved years ago. I hate clutter and I hate a mess. So I guess you know what I have been working on these past couple of days. It's only been around two months and yet our expectations are great. I want normalcy as soon as possible.


Life here keeps moving regardless of what is going on spiritually or mentally inside of us. The axis turns, days turn into nights and over once again. I am learning how easy it is to get behind and how difficult it can be to work out of boxes, searching for items that have mysteriously disappeared. 

A lot has been going on these past two months. Emily has found a new job around town, which means another schedule change for all of us to get used to. I know I have gotten used to a meal being ready when I get home from work. This isn't the case anymore as her schedule involves afternoon and nights on certain occasions. We never appreciate what we have until we lose it.

We have found a Church that we call home, but we haven't begun any volunteering as of yet. I did sign up for a welcome luncheon after Church to become formally introduced into the fold.

In the meantime, life intervenes with various struggles, upheavals and just existence. We need to work, we need to shop and we need to clean. In between all of that, we socialize, we enjoy our hobbies and we do our Ministry work. There is a schedule there somewhere, a routine waiting to emerge. Hopefully it will get here soon. 

Have a Blessed day everyone.