Snowflakes....

How you ever considered watching it snow???  If not, try it!!! Snowflakes are fascinating!!  Snowflakes are a single, feathery crystal of snow.  They are usually white or opaque and can melt in a few seconds, but oh, the fun you can have trying to catch one on your tongue!!!

Think about each snowflake - they are unique and each one is configured differently.  They are similar to fingerprints in that way - no two are alike!  Each one has its own shape and size - some are fluffy, some are slushy, some are light, some are heavy.  None of them are the same!  Have you ever studied one?  

I did an experiment with mindfulness and snowflakes....I decided to take some time to watch them come down on my windshield for almost an hour as I sat in park to just reflect on the quiet beauty....they fall softly, serenely, and quietly.  They can cause you to stop and wonder how these particles of ice can mesmerize us and how they create such beauty and such serenity.

Watching from a window inside your house where it is nice and warm is another fun way to enjoy snow!  Grab a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate....then, sit down and watch Mother Nature entertain you for a bit.  

Reflect on a wonderful memory from childhood when you made a snow angel or went ice skating or went down a long hill on a sled!!!  Take time to be still and let the good memories take you back to that happy time in your life.  Take time to just ponder the wonder of snow....ponder the quiet place inside you when you may feel dreary or lethargic and let yourself be that for a short time.  It is really okay to slow down.  Relax.  Ponder.....

Winter offers a wealth of opportunities to just sit still and contemplate things in life.  Allow yourself that time of reflection, that time of wonder, that time of being still.

Someone recently showed my a way to meditate on Psalm 46:10 which says:

"Be Still and Know that I am God."

Now, take it apart one sentence at a time:

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know....

Be still...

Be.

See?  You can do it!!!

Watching the snow falling is one way to slow down, to quiet the busy lives we lead, to become still and listen for that still, small voice we long to hear.  God's voice.....Holy whispers that speak to our heart.

One day, I would like to become as lovely as snow falling.

How about you???

Look for Joy!

One of my favorite authors is Barbara Johnson, a Christian humorist who makes life fun with slogans like:  "Pain is inevitable, misery is optional, so stick a geranium in your hat and be happy!"
I love this saying!!! 
Here is another one by Barbara:  "You have to look for the joy...Look for the light of God that is hitting your life, and you will find sparkles you didn't know were there."

Look for JOY!  Yes, look for it!!  Why??? Because it brightens your day, your mood, your life and other people's lives.......
You may be asking WHY do we have to look for joy? 
Because we take it for granted. 
Or, we are so caught up in the stresses of everyday life, that we miss it!

Look for the Light of God!  It shines all around us if only we have eyes to see it...it sparkles and shines through every heart that helps a hurting soul....that shows up at just the right moment when we need it most....

JOY:  It is all around us and yet, we seldom take the time to find it....see it...savor it.
Joy is in the little things.....and joy is all around us!!!

Take a peek at these ideas:
Do you see the cardinal in the tree?  Listen for her call! 
Take a second look at your child...see the smile that gleams back at you when you really take the time to look?
Feel the warmth of a hot bath...soak in the heat...feel your cares floating away!  Remember the old Calgon bath salts commercial from the 1960's?  "Calgon:  Take me away!!!"  Ahhhh....remember those days of soaking in a hot tub and go try it tonight!

Pick up your dog's toy and throw it for him intentionally for a change!  Watch the sparkle in his eye and see the playfulness come out! 
Laugh out loud!  Yep!  A huge, deep down belly laugh!!!
Enjoy the moment and try it again tomorrow....
Listen for your grandchildren's laughter...hear the giggles each time you tickle them!
Get on the floor and wrestle with your dog or your kids!  Relish the time with them...cherish them...give them your full attention and your heart!  You won't regret it and you will be amazed at what you get in return!!!

Joy abounds!!!  Watch the sunrise tomorrow....or, absorb the beauty of the sunset tonight!
Ask a friend, a loved one, or a neighbor to watch it with you....stand there and see how the colors change...shade after shade after beautiful shade.

Lay down on the floor and look up into your Christmas tree this year....see the lights flicker and glow...imagine that first Christmas night:  Stars shining brightly and pointing to the manger...stop awhile and look...really look!  See the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger. 
Feel the awe, the wonder, the JOY!!!

Allow God's infinite love to embrace you....an infinite love was born that Christmas night just for you!  Just for me. 

Feel the joy...share it with everyone you meet!  Live a life that shows how much you love and how much you are loved.....see how much love comes back to you in return!

Look for Joy - let it splash on your face, on your life, and into the lives of others!!! 
Share the Joy this beautiful season!!!

Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in my heart!!!

JOY:  Jesus Only You!!!

Jesus.....the reason for the season and yes, the Christ child came to save the world...
He came to save me....He came to save you.
Now that is PURE Joy!!!

Nature's Steeples.....

I would like to share this devotion by Fr. James McKarns from Living Faith Devotional that I read each day as it describes mountains as Nature's Steeples - a wonderful concept!

Psalm 24:3
"Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord?"

"In biblical times, the people often referred to mountains as places where God dwelt.  On top of various mountains, once can find a church, temple or monastery.  I have been on a few of the famous biblical mountains and experienced deep religious sentiments.  It was a beautiful spring morning on Mount Tabor when I joined with others to celebrate the Mass of the Transfiguration.  Like Peter, James and John, I also wanted to stay longer.  When on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, there was a very slight rain trickling down a chapel window, like tears.  On Mount Calvary, I will always remember the unrestrained sobbing of a young woman with others kneeling, heads reverently bowed.  With my mountain spirituality at Mass, I always emphasize the words, "lift up your hearts."  The mountains are nature's church steeples urging us to keep looking up."

Wow!  Can you imagine visiting all those famous mountains and having a personal, spiritual experience on each one like those described above?  I can!!!  And, I may just have to make that my life goal to do just that in the next 5-10 years.....

Where is it that you want to linger longer?  Stay longer?  Remain until all the tears are shed?
One of my favorite Psalms in the Bible is Psalm 121.  I read it at my grandfather's funeral and my mom's memorial service, too.  It is simply beautiful:
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help....." (KJV)

Where does your help come from?  For me, it has always been God.  For whatever reason, I have known all of my life that lifting my eyes to the hills or higher places such as mountains has helped me focus on the help that God himself offers all of us...if only we will look up when we need help!

As the Psalm says, The Lord IS our shade at our right hand...He keeps Israel and He keeps us.  The Lord preserves us from all evil.  He preserves our soul.  He preserves our going out and our coming in - forever!

God keeps His promises.  Check it out!  Find any promise in the Bible and see if He won't keep it for you.  One of my favorites is from Isaiah 43:1-3:  "Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name.  You are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.  When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel."  Wow - that promise is incredible.  He never leaves us nor forsakes us!  Never!

I miss church steeples.  They are so majestic!!!  And, so is God!  His majesty cannot compare with anything else!  Nothing compares.

So, where is your steeple to remind you of where to turn for help?  What part of nature makes you think about our Creator?  Is there a mountain that makes you feel God's immensity?  Or, is it a hill at the park where you walk each day where you can see below and be in awe of the beauty you see? 

Where are you most reminded that you need to look up and ask for help?  Maybe it is "Knee Prints" by your bed in the morning or church every Sunday.  Wherever that place is, go there often!  Even if it is only a google image or picture on your computer or in a book!!! Remind yourself to look at Mount Tabor or Mount Calvary or the Mount of Olives in your heart.  You will find God waiting there - just for you!!!

Alchemy.....

Have you ever looked up the word "Alchemy?"  It is an interesting concept from the Middle Ages where chemically, the chief aim was to change baser metals into gold and to discover the elixer of perpetual youth.  A second definition is a method or power of transmutation.  Third, it is defined as the seemingly miraculous change of one thing into another.

Seemingly miraculous change......taking something usually of little value and changing it into a substance of great value.  Hmmmm....that sounds like something God would do!

There are many instances in our lives where we wish we could change something and can't.  Yet, there are many other circumstances in which we do have the opportunity to change the outcome and we do.  All of us have the opportunity to explore new ways of looking at things and learning more about a subject that interests us or perplexes us. We have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips these days!  You can look up anything on Google!!!  Anything!!!  And, as we explore:  we grow, we change, we experiment, we adapt, we become new creations each day by our thoughts, our words, our deeds, our actions, our interactions, our reactions, but most of all our responses.

Think about one thing you would like to miraculously change into something else!  What would it take to do so?  Is it a matter of health?  Is it finances?  Is it a relationship that is waning?  Is it forgiveness?  Is it a matter of changing one habit?  Is it a matter of choosing to learn more about a subject?  Is it a matter of trying something new?  Or, is it a life-altering decision?  These are questions only you can answer.  These are questions that perhaps your soul is longing to ask.  These are questions you can ask God about. 

Go ahead.  Ask God for a miraculous change in your life!!!  Ask for transformation.  Ask for a new attitude.  Ask for forgiveness.  Ask for healing.  He longs to hear you speak to Him.  He longs to answer your questions.  He longs to be gracious to you.  He longs to show you compassion.

Isaiah 30:18 says just that:  "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion." 

Think about that.  The Creator of the Universe longs to be in your life.  We are not alone in this world.  We have a God who longs to be with us, comfort us, heal us.  He longs to transform us, renew us and make us "New!"

The older I get, the more I realize the less I know.  There is SO much for me to learn.....so much for me to explore....so much for me change!  But, am I willing?  Am I willing to allow God to transform me into the creation He wants me to be?

There used to be a band called Acoustic Alchemy - their music was mostly instrumental guitar music and it was fantastic!  I loved they way they changed their harmonies and weaved their rhythms and moved my soul!  The music would transform my soul into a peaceful state....what would transform you into a peaceful state?  What miraculous change would you like to propose to God for your life?  Lay it at His feet and watch what happens.  When we attend to the business of our souls, things change.  Things happen.  Transformation happens. I don't want the elixer of perpetual youth, but I do want the power of God in my life.  Every day.  Every minute.  How about you???

Have you ever felt JOYFUL???

Have you ever felt just JOYFUL???  It's a very wonderful feeling....a very glad feeling.....it is feeling of being happy....it is feeling of great delight over something or someone!!!  To be full of JOY is wonderful - you feel like rejoicing all the day long!!! Singing, humming, laughing, smiling....just pure JOY fills your heart!!!

There is a buoyancy that I have felt all of my life that is pure joy....and to me it is knowing that God is by my side....every minute, every day!  I don't have to fear anything because I know He is on my side!  It is an incredible feeling and I am truly grateful that I know that kind of Joy, that kind of love from our Heavenly Father!!!

I Peter 1:8-9 says: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Wow!!!  Isn't that incredible?  We can each have inexpressible and glorious joy....not just a little bit of joy, not a little bit of happiness, not a little bit of delight, but inexpressible!!!  Glorious!!!
Have you ever felt that kind of JOY?  It is glorious because it comes directly from Heaven.  It comes from knowing Jesus.

Joy is the way, the truth and the life because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life! 
Joy in the morning.  Joy throughout your entire day.  Joy at twilight.  Joy throughout the night.  Joy when the diagnosis comes.  Joy when bankruptcy comes.  Joy in our hopes.  Joy in our dreams - whether we are awake or asleep!!! 

Joy doesn't come from the outside or from our circumstances.  It doesn't come from a new car.  It doesn't come from a bigger house.  It doesn't come with a larger paycheck.  It doesn't come from being promoted.  It doesn't come from a clean bill of health.  Although each of these things in this life brings us happiness and some joy, the kind of joy I am talking about cannot be obtained by "things" of this earth.

The kind of JOY I am talking about comes from way down deep in our souls. 
It comes from having a relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  The Most High God.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit - The Triune God - three in One.  He is a Omnipotent (having all power and authority), Omnipresent (being present in all places at the same time), and Omniscience God (having infinite knowledge).  He is amazing!!!

The Joy I am talking about comes from being close to this Divine, Most High God.  From calling Him Savior.  Calling Him friend.  Every day.  Learning something new about Him.  His love. His power.  His compassion for us as humans.  Reading His Word, the Bible.  Praying.  Confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness and healing.  Knowing He cares.

It comes from building a personal relationship with Him.  Not a superficial one - a true, genuine, real relationship.  One that lasts your entire lifetime!!!

Joy comes from trusting this God of the Universe to be by your side - day and night, thick or thin, happy or sad.  Over and over in the Bible, the scriptures tell us how much He loves us!  How much he cares for us!  How He will never leave us, nor forsake us.  Never.  Did that sink in?  NEVER!!!

That is a mighty powerful promise and it is one The Lord keeps for His children, His sheep, His people who love Him. 

Would you like to know that kind of JOY?  It is yours for the asking!  I pray you will ask Him into your heart today and find that buoyancy, that JOY.  It is truly amazing!!!

Cathartic healing.....

Cathartic.....ever consider this type of healing?

Well, it's a big word for a a thought-provoking conversation and/or process of healing.
If you google it, the definition is:  Providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions, causing catharsis.

Have you ever thought you have healed a past hurt and then realized there were (or are) more layers of healing needed???  Well, I just found that out this past weekend!  While spending time with a friend from high school and talking about our lives and the separate paths we took between high school and today, I came across quite a rude awakening!  Areas that I thought were completely healed came to the surface.  And, in some ways, they came back with a vengeance!  Like I said, I thought I had let them go and was pretty proud that I had prayed, spent time writing my feelings out in a journal, gone to counseling, etc. etc. etc. to heal those hurts.  And yet, in discussing some of those old wounds, it became very clear that I had not laid them to rest 100%. 

Now, will those hurts ever be healed 100%?  I honestly do not have that answer.  But, I do know that being able to work through the old feelings of bitterness, anger and/or resentment of the past, gave me a new level of relief as I openly expressed my side of the story!!!  Wow......how in the world had some of the anger settled in my heart?  How could that resentment re-surface? Bitterness?  Surely not!  And, yet, my friend heard it loud and clear!!!  It took me by surprise.....

Healing, wholeness, psychological relief, and strong emotions.....it's quite a mix!!!

Yes, we all have times or experiences when something is so disturbing that we have a hard time sleeping, or we go through a time a depression and grief.  But, have you considered that what you went through was truly a trauma in your life?  Stop for a moment and consider the possibility that you haven't completely healed yet....and then, consider going through a cathartic experience to bring about another layer of healing for your heart, mind and soul.

We are complex as human beings.  And, sometimes, we become a human "doing!"  We continue going through the motions and believe we are addressing the issues, and boom!  We find out, no we have not gotten it all out yet....if you have something traumatic in your past, consider going a little deeper to heal.  Be gentle with yourself and try again.  Feel the feelings and allow them to surface.  Remember, they are just feelings - you don't have to act on those feelings.  Just feel them.  Then, deal with how you feel about it again.  Seek some wise counsel or share with a friend who knows you and cares enough to listen.  Then, allow yourself to heal....again and again..........whether it's five minutes or five years, or perhaps twenty five years - allow your heart to let it go once again.  Simply acknowledge that it happened.  And, that you do NOT have to live it again!  You just need to heal.
Feel, deal, heal.........it's a wonderful gift to yourself!!!

Once You Find A Friend.....

This week was a very emotional week for me........one of my neighbors and dear friends for the past 18 years, Nancy passed away from cancer.  Thud!  I hate cancer!!!  It seems to be everywhere and each of us have many people fighting for their lives while battling this terrible disease, so I am not looking for a pity-party, just wanted to share how wonderful Nancy's friendship was.....

I met Nancy 18 years ago when I moved into my little house in Old Shawnee.  We shared the same address, but a different street across the pond, so we go each other's mail.  That is how we met!  Giving each other our mail.  That was so much fun and a friendship began.

Nancy LOVED coffee - I don't mean LIKED coffee, she LOVED it!!!  She only had Organic everything, so each time we shared a cup of coffee, it was special.  Not only from the taste of the coffee standpoint, but her friendship.  Just like me, Nancy was quirky!  She was much more of a fanatic about her organic this and that ( which I am NOT fanatical about at all - Ha! Ha!), but she loved life and we hit it off from the beginning!!!

Nancy was a die-hard "Rebel without a Cause" kind of girl!  I mean stubborn as all get out and rebellious beyond imagination in her early 1970 years!  She was not born deaf, but literally became deaf from listening to so many years of Rock and Roll in Lawrence, KS.  Yes, that's right, she was a Rock-Chalk Jayhawk through and through!!!  She loved music!!!  One of her favorite pastimes was the Crumpletons band - especially when they played at the KU Oriad bar and she loved to dance!!! And, she loved to go to Knuckleheads in downtown KC to listen to music as well.  She even took her 90 year old dad there!!!  He loved it as they were "Pals" and went everywhere together - they were a hoot!!!

The first time I went with Nancy to Knuckleheads, the music was so loud I had to go outside!!!  Nancy stayed in doors with her hearing aids up at full blast!!!  It was hilarious!!!

We share "soup night" once a month at my house and just chatted away about this and that and enjoyed each other's company.  Oh, how I would give a million bucks to have one more cup of coffee with her, one more soup night or one more night to listen to LOUD music with her.........I miss her tremendously.

Nancy shared with me the ugly cancer news sometime in May or June, so we started hanging out a bit more.  Then, she got really sick - 911 sick - and was taken to KU Medical center.  I honestly thought that would be it, but she revived!  She then ventured to Lakeview Village to their Skilled Nursing Facility and really rallied over the 4th of July.  I had the privilege of taking care of Moses, her beloved Golden Retriever.  We had to keep him calm during the Fireworks as Nancy was really concerned he would freak out.  He did great!  Then, after she came back  great from rehab, she returned home and the cancer continued to return with a venegence.  She had Breast Cancer 5 years ago and thought she beat it, but it reared it's ugly head again in April.  Went to her bones, liver, lungs and eventually her brain.  She was remarkable about her attitude during every phase.  She get adament telling ALL of us that God was going to heal her!!!  When, she first got home form Lakeview, I believed her!  She was doing SO well......

In June, I told her I was going to start sending her scriptures written out on index cards, so she could read them.  I just found one of them in her journal from June 18 and it had Psalm 28:7 on it which says:  "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for JOY and I will give thanks to Him in song."

When, I found the card this week after she was "Promoted to Heaven," I found that she had written something on the back of the card which said:

"Once you find a friend, you've come home.  They come visit me in my prayers and thoughts.  Joy are the echoes of good life within us."  

She and I had both "come home" together in our friendship.....it was truly a blessing to be by her side for the last 5 weeks and especially that last 5 days.  Her sister, Meg, her two nieces Sara and Emily and their hubbies Collins and John, her cousin Susan and her husband Dan, her brother-in-law Ken and his wife Charlene and her dear friend and Vet, Jeanie were by her side, too.  We had an amazing night of prayer and listened to the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe that last night.  Meg laid on one side of the bed with Nancy and each of her nieces rotated laying on the other side of her as we talked and prayed and laughed about all the adventures we had shared with this wonderful sister, aunt, cousin, sister-in-law and friend she had been to each of us.

"Once you find a friend, you've come home."  Ahhhh.....I found that friend in Nancy and I believe she found me.  She even kept telling people that I moved back from Ohio this year just for her!!!  It was amazing to have that privilege of being with her.

And, now, she is home....she is with the Lord Jesus Christ in Paradise.  The true Heaven.

Home at last....

Revelation 21:4 says:  "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

My prayer is that you have a friend that you feel you have come home to....and that you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart where home truly is........He is there waiting for each of us to make that choice.  He won't force us to believe in Him. He stands at the door and knocks.  I pray you will open that door!!!

One final note.  I have a beautiful Native American Indian card that says it perfectly:

"Peace at last....when my body lies without a song....my spirit and the eagles will soar together."

Soar Nancy, SOAR!!!!