Good Morning and Happy Sunday!!!

Mornings, the beginning of a brand new day! Who do you resemble more in the morning? Cinderella, who wakes up singing, throws open the shutters and issues a cheery hello to all the farm animals OR possibly more like Sebastian the wicked stepmother’s grouchy cat, who scowls and grumbles as he walks to his bowl of milk.

I tend to be a Sebastian… I stumble and grumble to the coffee pot, as I’ve mentioned before I then sit and sip, repeatedly for quite a while…then looking up and say Good Morning Papa (God)… I then grab the first of my 3 yearly devotionals that I am reading and proceed to change my mood!

What I was moved to write about this morning is the Spirit of Thankfulness!!! I have a notebook that I write 5 to 10 things every morning that I’m thankful for; Ex: The Lord’s love, his guidance and plans in my life, the lives of my children and grandchildren, my eye sight and hearing, my mental and motor skills, (and the older I get the more thankful I am) My Khloe Renee is cancer free!!!

That I don’t live in a country where bombs and gun fire are the normal outside sounds rather then my water fountains and the birds singing. My dad is still with me, I’m blessed with a good and faithful husband… the list could go on and it does.

There something special in being thankful. A report in Positive Psychology.com, states; “when we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine and seretonin, the 2 crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, and they makes us feel ‘good’. They enhance our mood immediately, making us feel happy.”

Psalms 100: 4-5 NIV “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

1Corinthians 16:57 NIV “But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Christ Jesus.”

Maybe you are in a season where being happy or thankful is just not happening. You received an unwanted report from the doctor, the bank, or from your boss, someone dear to you has passed and the greif has you paralyzed; maybe it isn’t a death but the loss of a relationship and all the broken dreams that went with it…again the list could go on and does.

STILL, while you are in a place where praise and thanksgiving seems impossible, start small; it may be that you were able to get out of bed today, that all the hard work of your physical therapy is working and you were able to stand alone for a brief moment. I don’t know but you do and so does God…he is with you in every step you take. Matthew 28:20b NIV “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. There’s something right there to be thankful for, you are never alone.

Sometimes we have to look for the things we can be or are thankful for but they are everywhere just take a look around you. Open your eyes and really take a look: grass, flowers, sky, grandbabies faces, your dog or cat laying protectively beside you in blissful slumber…the fact you woke up to another day, another start, another chance.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT “The faithful love of God never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

I don’t know about you but the fact that the Lord starts my day off fresh and new in his love and mercy everyday…well there’s the first thing on my list of things I’m thankful for…Go outside today, smell the fresh air, look up and say hello…Its a beautiful summer day go enjoy the sunshine on your shoulder. Have a Blessed day. Thank you for joining me🥰

I love the beach and I know I am not alone in this sentiment. There is nothing as beautiful as the Ocean on a bright blue sunny day. The sun glistens on the water sending prisms of sparkling diamond rays everywhere. The ocean roars as it sends it waves crashing onto the shore all but then to gently have them swirl around your feet, sand filling in between your toes.

You watch the seagulls dive into the water on their quest for lunch their voices carry across the sky blending into the salt air, a perfect picture from God…some things just go together and one without the other wouldn’t seem right. There’s something ethereal in the ocean, one of Gods most powerful churches. I can’t ever stand and look out at the ocean that has no end and not think of a scripture that always puts things in perspective for me.

Isaiah 40:12 NLT “Who has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?”

What does that say to you? To me, it says that no matter how big my problems seem, there is nothing on this Earth that I am going through that is to big for God!!! Nothing!!! If my God who not only created the earth and all the waters can hold them in the palm of his hand…Thats a big hand and my big problems or woes are tiny in comparison.

Are you feeling exiled in your land of Egypt? Is life making you feel: Burdened, Weighed Down, Abused, Used, Hopeless, Defeated…Tired!!!

Are you trying to escape the bondage of: Debt, Anger, Depression, Drugs or Alcohol, A Nowhere Job, No Job, A Relationship…your prison can be anything that has a hold over you that you seem to have lost control of or it feels so big that there seems no way out!!!

The Jews in the 13th Century felt the exact same way!!! They prayed to God asking for deliverance from their bondage of slavery in Egypt. God heard their prayers and sent them a man named Moses…now deliverance came but it wasn’t without work and help from everyone and it didn’t happen over night but the take away is they never ceased in prayers or faith and the day came of their Exodus.

But…the fight wasn’t over. They were delivered but they still had to walk in their new path and obstacles were encountered and once more prayer was the key…it’s one of the most famous stories in the Bible…The Parting of the Red Sea. Can you imagine how cool that was walking on the floor of the ocean with a wall of water as still as glass on each side of you. I imagine as cool as it was to watch the sea life in their inhabitant, (God’s first aquarium) that it was also a bit unnerving to be in such a precarious predicament…

However, they kept walking forward…they got tired, they got discouraged, some even quit…but for the ones who held on, kept walking, kept praying and believing…they made it to the land of milk and honey.

Mark 11:22-24 NCV “Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’. And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you”

I have had a few mountains in my life that I have prayed into the sea. I’ve stepped out on a path or two that was as intimidating as the walls of water and had to walk in faith, never giving up on that mountain being gone or the end of the path arriving. BUT, they are gone, and with each new mountain comes my visit to the beach and my new prayer of Exodus.

Don’t ever give up, don’t ever stop striving and believing in not only Jesus but yourself as well. You got this…Have a most Blessed Day…Thank you for joining me 🥰

Opposites make the world go round! With every push, there’s a pull…for every up there’s a down. Are you an introvert? Tend to possibly be shy and quiet. Enjoying your own time as opposed to a room full of many. Abit more reserved and inward as compared to it’s cohort the extrovert…Did you just mention Extrovert…HEY!!! I’m over here!!!…These people tend to be outgoing, friendly, the ones who get noticed in social settings as they themselves enjoy people and socializing. OR…Maybe you are a balance of a little of both just depends on the situation or settings.

Are you a Happy person or a Grouchy person? Is your glass half full or half empty? When it rains do you only see the inconvenience, wet and mud… OR … do you get out and walk in it, enjoying the fresh cleansing as God has turned on his sprinkler and is watering his grounds…do you stop then to notice how good everything smells after the rain, the beautiful raindrops still clinging to leaves like crystals and best of all the glorious Rainbow that is not only a spectacular view but a promise from God that he would never destroy all life again with a flood.

We are who we are by our personalities and characteristics. I personally an optimist! I don’t bury my head in the sand regarding life and its challenges and I think I look pretty good in my Rose colored glasses so I choose to keep them on. I don’t judge the pessimist who grumbles and expects the worst as they hide behind their dark colored glasses. BUT, I don’t have to accept or adopt this behavior nor do I need to apologize for being one who would rather see the beautiful rose as opposed to it’s thorns.

It’s not wrong to be Shy or Outgoing…Its not wrong to be Positive or Negative…Its not wrong to be Happy or Grouchy. Our world is made and run on polar opposites…God’s ways, thoughts and ideals are OPPOSITES of our worlds ways, thoughts and ideals…

Isaiah 55:8-9 “The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher then the earth, so are my ways higher then your ways and my thoughts are higher then your thoughts.”

Matthew 5:44-45a NIV “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be son’s of your Father in Heaven”

How’s that for a polar opposite… pray for your enemy or enemies. I have to be honest I still struggle with this. Its ok to struggle with any of God’s commands because they usually are opposite to what we’ve been taught, watched and learned. Someone hurts you, you hurt them back and a bit more! Right? No!…Not in God’s World…We are not of this World!!!

I challenge myself each day to be a better me. A person I am inspiring to become. Do I do this on my own…No!!! I have to pray and ask for his help, strength and guidance daily. James 1:5 NIV “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Matthew 26:41 NLT ” Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give into temptation. For the spirit is willing but the body is weak.”

So, I challenge you this week…step out of you comfort zone. Try something opposite! Go talk to that person who you really want to get to know but are to shy…chances are they want to talk to you too but your shyness might be read as aloofness and disinterest. If you wear a bun in your hair and a frown on your face…get in the car, let your hair down and sing loudly to the radio…I dance and sing in the car all the time…do people probably think I’ve lost it probably but then there’s someone else in another car like me thinking…she’s having such a great funday…whatever your norm that you’d possibly like to change or tweek…look up, ask for his help, keep asking change doesn’t come over night but it will come…

Have a most blessed day…Go enjoy the sunshine…Thank you for joining me.

🥰

Are you a worrier, a handwringer a nervous wreck? In today’s world I think “Worry” is the word of the Day!!! My heart hurts for so many as the struggles are real. We have a virus that has not only attacked physically but emotionally. Causing not only health issues but financial hardships as well. There is chaos and madness in my beautiful downtown city thats slowly being dismantled and destroyed. People are more divided then ever…hatred runs rampant and a life doesn’t seem to matter anymore, no matter what color your skin is…

We issued in 2020 so hopeful, so ready for our new year to begin! I don’t know about you but I wasn’t expecting a face cover to be the newest addition to my wardrobe yet here we are! So, here we are…can’t fight it so why worry when all this will stop and take a moment to remove your mask and take a deep breath, stop and smell the roses. This too shall pass!!!

Did you know that about 80% of what we set and worry and stew about never comes to pass!!! I can’t tell you how freeing that was when I read that, now when my mind tries to land on a life issue and I can tell it’s nothing but the 8 track replaying in my head, I remind myself I am now one of the 80%. I then make a mental change. We can all come up with something good to think about. Just stop and take a look around at nature, flowers, the sky, the sounds, the smells…God has given us much to look at and appreciate if you take the time.

I also remind myself of: Matthew 6:25-33 NIV…The whole passage speaks of worry and God knowing your needs I would suggest looking up the whole passage and reading however I would like to share a few scriptures from this chapter.

Matthew 6:25 NIV “Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

Matthew 6:27 NIV “Who by worrying can add a single hour to his life.”

Matthew 6:31-33 NLT “So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your Heavenly Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

I’m not saying that it’s easy to retrain the mind to not dwell on your circumstances but it can be done, just one little mustard seed step at a time until one day your little mustard seed is a tree and even though life will still throw curve balls of stress and worry…you in turn will throw them up to God, leave them in his hands, ask him what you need to do and then…Let Go and Let God!!!

He is here, He is with you, all you have to do is look up and start talking, he will do the rest…Rest in Him…it’s a wonderful place to be. Have a Most Blessed Day. Thank You for joining me. 🥰

Do you feel invisible? One definition defines the word as “treated as if unable to be seen; ignored or not taken into consideration” unless it’s by a police officer as you speed by his hidden car or your teacher/ boss when you don’t have the answer to their question. Being made to feel invisible is one of the saddest feelings I can think of.

Don’t get me wrong, we all have feelings of Waldo in this world. Our earth feels as though it is spinning faster even though we know it isn’t. The hands on the clock seem to spin faster but we know they aren’t and our heads feel like they are spinning at the same velocity often making it hard to catch a breath.

I think it’s up to us to slow our world down. Stop, reflect, ask yourself some hard questions…Why do I Feel Invisible? Who’s making me feel invisible? Are you taking on to much and it’s wearing you down? Are you in the wrong place, job, marriage/relationship or sadly even the wrong church?

Maybe you have been hurt by someone or something and have possibly put up a wall or placed a hedge of protection around you that could silently be sending a message of keep your distance? Are you in the right location or vocation? Is your partner treating you as though you are a ghost or only noticed when they want or need something? There can and are many scenario’s that leave us feeling: sad, lonely, ignored … Unworthy!!!

BUT…here’s the good news! We have someone who understands all your emotions and his name is Jesus.

Luke 12:6-7 NCV “Five Sparrows were sold for only 2 pennies, and God does not forget any of them. But God knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more then Sparrows.

Psalms 56:8 NLT “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in a bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

Psalms 121:8 NLT “The Lord watches over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”

This is good news… I can be by myself and I enjoy my alone time however I know I am never alone…My Lord is always with me, He is my Best Friend and he can be yours too…Just look up and start talking…he loves to share your day with you…He’s the passenger in your car however he doesn’t count for the carpool lane…He’s at lunch time with you as you eat your sandwich outside under a tree or reading a book in your car… simply, He’s wherever you are…you are not alone and definitely not invisible.

So, I hope you will take these words of love into your heart and walk with them and Him always. Have a most Blessed Day!! Thank you for joining me 🥰