It's Hard To Do Nothing

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



Let me go where'er I will,
I hear a sky-born music still:
It sounds from all things old,
It sounds from all things young,
From all that's fair, from all that's foul,
Peals out a cheerful song.
It is not only in the rose,
It is not only in the bird,
Not only where the rainbow glows,
Nor in the song of woman heard,
But in the darkest, meanest things
There alway, alway something sings.
'Tis not in the high stars alone,
Nor in the cup of budding flowers,
Nor in the redbreast's mellow tone,
Nor in the bow that smiles in showers,
But in the mud and scum of things
There alway, alway something sings.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

My plans for the week were actually to do nothing. Have you ever tried to do nothing? It's pretty hard. No matter how much you try to be idle, something always seems to fall into your lap.

I'm actually kidding. Since I really cannot do anything in my room until further notice, my plans were to be spent crocheting. That's it. Then my car ran out of gas. I figured since I was on the road already, I should pick up a few items from the store. Since I was on the road, you know. Then I thought, I might as well go to the bank for some quarters. That's how it began, very innocently. Next thing I know, my whole morning was gone!

I think it's very hard to do nothing, because one doesn't know how to be idle. If you have spent majority of your life juggling all your extracurricular activities, it's very difficult to sit down and stare out the window. Not that anything is wrong with that, I love a nice scene. My parents both get up at crack of dawn every single day even though they have been retired for years. It is in them and they can't do otherwise. 

I remember years ago watching a program on television that conducted a small experiment. There were two people in separate rooms both watching a show. They were trying to see which one of the adults was burning more calories. You're probably like what! Yes, both were sitting on the couch, but one of them actually burned calories while sitting there. They kept fidgeting constantly, hence burning more calories. 

That's how I feel about doing nothing, a constant fidgeting! Some people make doing nothing an art form and others don't even know how to begin. That's the beauty of living life in a diverse world. Each of us has been made completely different from the other, but yet we have one thing in common. We all were made by our Heavenly Father. 

Have a blessed day everyone. 

A Glass Half Full

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



The solitude of life is known to us all;
for the most part we are alone,
and the voices of friends come only
 faint and broken across the impassable
 gulfs which surround every human soul.

— Hamilton Mabie.

People often say to me that I am a person who is very positive and one who sees their glass as half full. For the most part, I make a great effort to appear to be just that. Yet, there are days where I am filled with despair. I can feel the weight of the world upon my shoulders. Have you ever felt so utterly and completely alone? As if no one understood you or held the same beliefs as you. I want to be around people who believe what I believe and have the same moral values. Don't we all?

I think we all have days like that and although we may spend some time wallowing in our misery, we try our best to get ourselves out of that pit. The misery pit is not where we want to remain for too long. Remaining positive takes work and effort on a daily basis. Everyday I walk into work with a smile on my face and try to greet the people I encounter along the way. It doesn't matter how I truly feel on the inside, I am determined to get through that day unscalded. 

Work used to be such a huge obstacle for me to overcome ever since third shift has been eliminated. This new change that followed took me over five years to conquer. I didn't care for the shift hours nor the people on it. It felt like an alien world and I wondered how two shifts could be so opposite. Aren't we working for the same Company? 

I am not sure when the change for the better actually happened. Was it a new boss? Or the next one and the one after that? Lord knows, I was blessed with some great bosses on this dreadful shift. Each new one even better than the last. Whatever and whenever the atmosphere changed, my heart broke free and my glass became half full. 

Nowadays, it isn't a hardship to go in everyday. The smile isn't forced and the conversations are real.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

The Pastor's Mother

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

No great genius was ever
 without some mixture of madness
, nor can anything grand or superior
to the voice of common mortals be
 spoken except by the agitated soul.
—Aristotle.

So the other day, the following post showed up on my Facebook feed from a few years back.

Emily: Mom, who is your favorite Pastor of all time?

Me: Well, it's hard to say, I have many favorites.
Emily: But if you had to choose one which one would you choose?
Me: I guess I would choose David Jeremiah.
Emily: You wouldn't choose your own son?

Fyi: For those who don't know, my son is a Pastor.

Boy, she really threw me a curveball there! My son wears many hats, but I guess to me, he will always be just my son. As a mother of a Pastor, there is always a form of respect that comes with it. People tend to be extremely nice to you no matter if you deserve it or not. When there is a Church event, no one really expects you to do anything except show up. Yup, that's the life of a Pastor's mother.

When I first became a born again Christian, I wanted so badly to belong to that Pastor's table. I wanted to be part of the elite group of Elders, Deacons, Group Leaders and even the Pastor himself. I wanted to be invited to all their events and gatherings in their homes. It just never happened. I never understood what it was that I lacked. I joined all the women's groups and volunteered. I participated in all Church activities and yet, I never made it to any of their private parties. I just wanted to feel that I belonged.

Looking back now, I think it's so funny, because God had a plan for my son. And a plan for me. You see, I did finally make it to that Pastor's Table with my own son.

Have a blessed day everyone.

Winter Came On Halloween

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



In love, if love be love, if love be ours,
Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers:
Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all.
It is the little rift within the lute
That by and by will make the music mute,
And ever widening slowly silence all.
The little rift within the lover's lute,
Or little pitted speck in garner'd fruit,
That rotting inward slowly molders all.
It is not worth the keeping: let it g
But shall it? Answer, darling, answer no.
And trust me not at all or all in all.
—Alfred Tennyson.

Well, who would have thought it possible to be going trick or treating in the snow? That is something we definitely didn't expect to experience. I, myself, thought it would be a few flurries mixed in with rain a.k.a. sleet. Never did I think this (October 31, 2019) would turn out to be the first tracking snow of the Season.

Every year, Emily and I diligently keep track of the first tracking snow. There is an old wives tale about

the first snow fall that you get and whatever date it may come on, is how many more snow falls you are going to get the rest of Winter. Last year it came on November 25 and everyone laughed at me when I told them. December came and it was warm, too warm. I thought to myself this old wives tale is silly. Then came January, February and even March it snowed. I definitely believe in this old wives tale.

So here we are with Winter fast approaching upon us. Are we ready? Hmmm, maybe 80 % ready? I still haven't done my windows or put up my curtains. These past two weeks have been extremely busy with all the extra overtime. I have been basically working nonstop 10 hour days. Only a few more days are left of this fast paced work cycle.

Weather seems to be the one thing that no one can truly predict. Many times I have checked the forecast for the week and it would show nothing in particular happening. Then the days would come and my poor joints would be aching making sitting unbearable. Oh boy, I bet it's raining or sleet or cold temps outside. There was nothing in the forecast about it and yet, my aching joints proved otherwise.

People scoff at old wives tales or all our complaining body parts, but somehow they seem to come true. Or at least, better than the weatherman.

Have a blessed day everyone.

Just Share It:Dale O'Shields

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



Though Love repine, and Reason chafe,
    There came a voice without reply,--
  'Tis man's perdition to be safe,
    When for the truth he ought to die.
R. W. EMERSON.

The following post deals with a topic I have been trying to achieve for over ten years. I am still a work in progress, but I know people who have accomplished this feat. I totally agree with the concept that we determine how our day goes. No matter what happens in our life, how we deal with the struggles is up to us. Unfortunately, I don't always succeed, but I am a little bit better than what I used to be. I hope you enjoy.

“Have a good day!” It’s a cliche we regularly use with little thought. It’s a nice thing to hear and say. Obviously wishing someone a “good day” is better than the alternative — wishing them a “bad day!” But what is a “good day,” and how do we know if we’re having one? Most often we think of a good day as one that goes well — a day when good things come our way. It’s a day absent of bad news, bad feelings, bad interactions, bad attitudes and bad behavior. We think of it as a day when the right things happen to us, and the wrong things don’t. As some would define it, a good day is a day when “lady luck” shows up. The downside to these descriptions is that they put us at the mercy of outside forces — other people, outside circumstances and uncontrollable events. When all these are positive, we’re good, and when they’re not … ! An important step on the path to maturity is learning to live from the inside out rather than from the outside in. It’s learning to be a “thermostat” rather than a “thermometer.” The difference between the two is that the first sets the environment, the latter simply displays the conditions of the environment. A “thermometer” has no power of influence; no control over anything. It’s good for one thing, and one thing only, reporting. A “thermometer” reflects what is. A “thermostat” determines what will be. What does all of this have to do with “having a good day?” Everything. Life changes for the better when we realize that the quality of our day can, in very significant ways, be determined by us. We’re not at the mercy of outside forces or “lady luck” for happiness. We can set the environment of a day by internal choices and attitudes. We can think and act in ways that create a “good day” for us and others rather than hoping or wishing it would “happen” to us. Have a blessed day everyone.

Just Share It: Lysa Terkeurst

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

If I do what I may in earnest, 
I need not mourn if I work no
 great work on earth. 
To help the growth of a thought
 that struggles toward the light;
 to brush with gentle hand the
 stain from the white of one snowdrop
—such be my ambition.
—George Macdonald.

I think what stood out to me with the following post is how easily this could be me or you or the person sitting next to you. Who hasn't made a wrong turn in life? I know I have many times. I love her descriptive phrase the unraveling of a sweater. Once we spiral downward, it's a series of events that follow we barely can control. I thought of my single mom that has fallen back into drugs when I read this post from Lysa. How many times has her life unraveled? How many times has she wondered or tried to pinpoint the exact moment she wandered off track? I pray for her as I pray for all my family members and my children. Lord, give us the strength to endure all the twists and turns of life. I hope you enjoy the following by Lysa. 

The Unraveling of a Legacy

LYSA TERKEURST

“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” 1 Kings 11:4 (NIV)

I don’t think anyone wakes up and says, “I’m going to make a total mess of my life today. I plan to purposefully ignore all the wisdom God has ever given me, sin like crazy, and then ruin all I hold dear.”

No. I think the unraveling of a life starts slowly. Much like what happened to one of my favorite sweaters. It was the kind of sweater that snagged easily if I wasn’t careful. For the longest time, I was mindful of the delicate nature of this sweater, protecting it so I could make it last and enjoy wearing it time and again.

But one day I got in a hurry and pulled a huge snag in it. And instead of taking the time to properly repair it, I snipped the loose threads and hoped for the best. That decision started an unraveling process that ended the life of my beautiful sweater.

It’s a process that makes me stop and think about the life of King Solomon — a king who forgot to carefully guard his heart (Proverbs 4:23) and ended up making choices that led to the unraveling of his legacy.

Solomon started out well. He was a king who sought the Lord for wisdom. He built the temple and prayerfully dedicated it to the Lord.

But Solomon had an area of sin that became a snagging point for him in his relationship with the Lord.

Pay close attention to the word “however” in this verse: 1 Kings 11:1 tells us, “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.”

This was a big issue because God had warned His people not to intermarry with those who didn’t worship the God of Israel. He knew their hearts would be led astray. (Exodus 34:12-16) You cannot enter into a love relationship with someone without that person affecting not only your mind and body but also your soul.

Sadly, this king who prayed during the temple dedication that the Lord would turn the hearts of the people of Israel toward Him (1 Kings 8:58) later clung to his forbidden wives and ended up with his own heart being turned away from the Lord.

Oh, sweet friends. God’s reminders to us in today’s passage should not be taken lightly. God isn't after our earthly accomplishments. And He doesn't want us going through the motions of devotion. He's after our hearts. God wants to be our soul's sole desire. And the minute we turn our hearts away from God is the minute our intimacy with Him and our legacy with others begins to unravel.

Let’s ask the Lord to reveal anything that holds our attention and affection more than Him. And then let’s take the time to repair those seemingly small snags — the ones that can have devastating consequences — by going to God in repentance. An act of humility that beautifully re-ties the knot between our heart and His.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

The Six Year Plan: The Money

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

When the powers of hell prevail
O'er our weakness and unfitness,
Could we lift the fleshly veil,
Could we for a moment witness
Those unnumbered hosts that stand
Calm and bright on either hand;
Oh, what joyful hope would cheer,
Oh, what faith serene would guide us!
Great may be the danger near,
Greater are the friends beside us.
ANON.

After doing an extensive research on the different options available to me as housing for after my retirement, I came to the conclusion that I need money. Without some sort of savings for it, none of it will exist. Money is needed to live in this world. I often joke that I need to hit over the head the person who invented the need for money. Why can't we barter for services?

Alas, money is needed. It makes no difference in what direction I may go, it involves having financial backing to do it. So saving money became a priority, but to do so, old debts had to be paid off first. So right now, this has become a priority. 

You know, I'm almost glad that my Company has been sold over the Summer. I feel as if all my plans for the future lacked reality. They were full of holes and the Lord has made that known to me by the loss of my milestone pension money. It has brought home that fact to me. A plan full of holes. Sometimes what we view as setbacks are actually blessings in disguise. This one certainly has become one. 

What I have now is definitely not enough. I will have to up the 401K and get some sort of savings started just for the purpose of purchasing a residence of some sort. Or at least, used for the remodel or such. I did meet up with a financial adviser to make some important decisions in regards to my pension. I am glad to having done so.

I am so close to being financially free. You have no idea how powerful that statement can become in our lives. The freedom that will provide for us to be able to do what we want versus what we have to. There is such a great difference here. Whenever that time comes, I plan on being ready and that includes financially, too.

Have a blessed day everyone.