Basking in the Sunshine

I took myself on a wonderful walk through Riverwalk in Hillsborough, North Carolina. It was a glorious spring day in the middle of February. I put in my headphones, cranked up my walking music and really enjoyed the day.

I enjoy walking once I get myself out there; it is the getting myself out there that sometimes is the challenge. Just laziness or procrastination, if I am honest. This is my time, my time to commune with God. Nothing deep – just me sharing how I feel, what is happening in my world, questions, concerns and such – – you know – Praying

“And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there; none other has ever known. “

As I became tired, I found a comfy bench and sat down. In another day and time, I may have been a cat. I love to sit and bask in the sun. The warmth of its rays on my skin invigorates me, lifts my mood and just feels good. As I closed my eyes and tilted my face up into the sun; I felt the love of the Son beaming down on me, and I soaked it in.

As I sat there I began to think of His goodness and His love for me.

As a photographer the camera allows me to express myself, to show and express the beauty and love of life around us. During photo shoots I work to put the client at easy, compliment them and help them to feel beautiful. Most times, the lens is not focused on me. I am too quick to find my faults or “I wish this was different” items. But as I sat there in the sun, with the Son all I felt was His love and His reminder of how He sees me.

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ” Psalm 139:14

And I allowed myself, to see me as His beautiful creation.

As the Lord encouraged me, I would like to encourage you…. see your own beauty. Stop being so quick to see or point out the negative. We all have something that we would like to change or could work on, work on it. But let your focus be on encouraging yourself, taking care of yourself, sticking up for yourself and LOVING YOURSELF.

Be a source of inspiration and encouragement for others. People face things in their lives that tear them down and cause them to feel negatively about who they are or who they can be. Let your life, your voice, your very countenance be one of hope, encouragement, and show forth the love that God shines on all of us. Be the sunshine in someone else’s day.

March 13, 2019

Just Follow His Lead

… and for no known reason my eyes fell on the adapter piece for my iPhone. You can barely even see it on this messy side table.

I looked at it for several minutes, pondering whether I needed it or not. I had no plans that would require it, after all it had been sitting there for over 6 months – and I never found myself wishing I had it. So, in my finite wisdom; I left it where it sat.

On with the day….

Jaxon, my 3 year old grandson is sleepy. He was up late and had to get up early this morning. Shoot we all were sleepy, but today is a big day. It is Discovery Day at his new Preschool. Discovery day is where a toddler gets to spend a few hours at the preschool before starting full time. They get to meet their teachers, see the room, meet their fellow classmates and get used to the idea of a new routine. This is a big deal because we want him to be happy and excited about where he is going and receptive, even looking forward to, the change.

We all hop in the car to take the 30 minute drive to his new preschool. Jaxon is strapped into his car seat for the ride. Jaxon is truly my grandson. I am that child that would fall asleep every time we took a trip in the car. I am that woman who had to pray not to fall asleep when going on long trips with my former husband. I am the woman who’s eyes think night fall means bed time whether I am home or needing to drive to get there. Soooo of course, we wanted to get and keep Jaxon awake and alert so he would be receptive to his Discovery day.

“Do you have toddler tunes on your playlist”, I say to my daughter who is driving. “Nope, I no longer have my iTunes account”, she replies. “I have some on my playlist”, I say, “can I plug into your car?”. My eyes fall to look at the car adapter outlet and then I look at my iphone and shake my head. BAMMMMMM and there it is, the moment that God knew was coming when I was standing by my bed looking at that auxiliary adapter.

In that moment I said out loud “Lord, help; help me just follow you even when I don’t know why. Incline my ears that I may hear and obey”

Immediately I am remined of the INFINITE wisdom of God and His all knowing sovereignty. I am also reminded of how much he cares for every area of my life. His love encompasses every area of our lives not just through the gift of salvation but through His mercy and grace and Him being mindful of even the very little areas of our day. In this moment I remembered the sermon of last week where we were encouraged to “invite God into our situations”. Part one is to invite Him in, but there is a part two. When we invite Him in, we then have to be willing to hear from Him and follow his lead. Sometimes it is so easy to miss the moment – so we have to ask Him to give us an ear to hear Him and to recognize His ways.

Trust In The Lord with All Thine Heart; and Lean Not Unto Thine On Understanding. In All Thy Ways Acknowledge Him, and He Shall Direct Thy Path. Proverbs 3:5-6

And so it is my prayer as I move forward into the new year that I will plain and simply FOLLOW THE LEADING OF THE HOLY GHOST, PERIOD. Whether I understand, can analyze the importance or relevance of it or even feel like it — JUST FOLLOW HIS LEAD.

Pray for and with me, this is going to be an awesome year in God as I grow in learning to hear Him and simply Follow His Lead.

January 29, 2019

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January 29, 2019

Preparing for a good New Year

I find this is a time for reflection, looking within and evaluating choices, decisions and plans.

In nature winter time is a time of hibernation and preparing for spring growth and blooming.
Plants and animals alike use this time to survive off of stored energy or food. They have eliminated what is unnecessary and cut off things that drain energy. So should we.

I am looking at fb groups, meet ups, subscriptions and fb folk I’ve added or joined over the year and evaluating them. Did it add energy, positive reinforcements, growth promoting ideas and joy? If so=keep. If not=DELETE. It’s really time out for entertaining things, people, events, thoughts, projects that don’t seek to encourage or build up your mind, body or spirit.
Do bears take snakes or wolves into their hibernation den? Do caterpillars surround themselves with larve eating insects during their cocoon cycle? NO. Then why would I entertain things that deplete, drain or are harmful to me? Not wise.

Do inventory of what and whom you entertain. Pray and seek wisdom concerning your life, goals and purpose and then make changes that set you up for a productive, positive and joyous New Year

December 26, 2017

Pruning Is Necessary

Sometimes you have to simplify in order to expand….

There is a churning in my spirit that kind of seems to defy words. A yearning to launch out, to expand, to delve deeper. So I have found myself doing a lot of introspective looking. What I found is that I have engaged in quite a few activities, projects, groups and things that draw my time. With each activity I found myself thinking the same series of questions…Does this matter to me? Does this help me reach a goal? Is this geared to my purpose? My Passion?

I found I was doing somethings on a whim, to join in or out of fun. Nothing wrong with that but I also found that those things that are my passions where being put on the back burner for these other things. This is when I realized that sometimes you have to simplify in order to expand. Simplify what I am engaged in so that I can expand and grow that which is really purposeful and meaningful for me. Pruning time.

My mind went to the Bible, John 15:2 “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t pruning produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” Notice what He does. First, the cutting. He identifies those things that aren’t productive. Projects that are started on a whim and not leading anywhere. Groups I joined that talk about nothing. He eliminates those things that don’t point towards the purpose, plans or growth of the tree.

Next, the pruning. Growing up I had a plant, and I learned that periodically I had to nip the top of it. Clipping it this way encouraged it to be bushy and produce more blossoms. You’ll notice in that scripture that pruning is exactly what God does next. I am identifying and reevaluation those things I am passionate about, things that cause my purpose to blossom, plans, goals and hearts desires. I am being purposeful in how I proceed in these areas.

Pruning is strategic and done with a purpose and plan. How you prune has a bearing on the shape a plant take as it grows. Pruning requires vision. I am seeking God, about those precious thoughts he has towards me and the wonderful plans he has for my life, and formulating a plan for how to grow forward. To help me with this I am creating a Vision Board as a visual reminder of where I want to focus and how I plan to proceed.

At first it seemed like I was going backwards, but then I realized that pruning is about fine tuning. Honing in on what matters and planning how to carry it forward.

Pruning is necessary. Simplifying brightens the perspective and gives clarity in how to move forward.

November 13, 2017

Change your MINDSET

Continue reading “Change your MINDSET” →

October 26, 2017

Yielding to fear – – NOT AN OPTION

JUST A REMINDER!!

Keep going. There is no failure in trying. The one who fails is the one who doesn’t try for fear of failing!!

Learn from trying, learn from failing – – learn how to succeed.

Give yourself permission to fail, you just don’t get permission to stop there!!

Don’t stop – get it, get it!! 😀

February 5, 2017

Hashtag LoveTrumpsHate Hashtag MakeAmericaGreatAgain Hashtag WHEREISTHELOVE

I am not going to talk politics. I am talking love verses hate.

My heart is so heavy concerning so much that I see on Facebook, the news, and what I hear people saying and doing. It is hate-filled and it breaks my heart.

Contrary to what many say Christianity is supposed to be about love, hope, faith and not judgement and condemnation. Jesus came to save us all and commanded that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

The hashtag #lovetrumpshate is so prevalent right not; how come LOVE is not? On both sides of the political line there is so much animosity, fear and hate. How can we #makeAmericaGreatAgain with hatred, animosity and loveless acts? What the world needs now is LOVE!

Love does not have room for judgement or discrimination based upon color, sexual orientation, gender, religious beliefs, or political affiliations. Love is just LOVE. You know…Love is kind, love is gentle, love is patient, love is….

Love is not name calling, derogatory language, slanderous remarks or self-righteous behavior. Love is not loud, messy or disrespectful. You can disagree, and make your points clearly and stand up for what you believe without being disrespectful of others. You really can. A great man does not make his point by making others look small but by causing them to think. Love is not proud, love is not boastful, love is…

If people truly believe #lovetrumpshate or that it is time to #makeamericagreatagain then they will pattern their actions, thoughts and sayings after the tenants of love. That means loving one another in how they treat others, speak to others and carry themselves. Love is not easily angered, love protects, love hopes, love endures.

Love never fails.

*the above images are not mine; I found them through google search.

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January 23, 2017

Self-discipline

This week I am going to focus on …discipline. Self-discipline to be specific.

Holidays, weekends, and celebrations have quickly given me a reason to veer from my nutrition plans. Not feeling well, schedule changes and “life” have caused me to fall off on my exercise goals and other projects.

So this week, I have re-engaged myself and I am going to make a concerted effort to hold myself accountable. Self-restraint, self-discipline will be in charged and “feelings” will take a back seat.

It is fine to splurge sometimes; but now is not that time for me. Truthfully, I have over splurged! In order to reach goals and accomplish milestones; I must stay focused.

I realize there can always be an excuse or a reason for me to let myself off the hook; but if I am really serious about end result, I must use self-discipline!

Image does not belong to me. Above image found through google search engine from: Affirm Your Life: SELF-DISCIPLINE Affirmations.

January 17, 2017

Gratitude Log

*I got this idea from a facebook post shared from 104.9 The River.

This is my GRATITUDE LOG. Weekly, I will add one thing a week for which I am grateful.

January 8 –

My Faith in God. Because it gives me strength and hope to move from day to day. My rock, my shelter, my comfort to endure and overcome in life. My joy. My peace of mind that keeps me from moment to moment. Indeed in Him I live, and move and have my being. My faith in God and his plans for me gives me great expectation and hope for the new year.

January 16 -,

I am grateful for forgiveness; both receiving God’s forgiveness for me and being able to forgive others. For the longest time I would hold grudge long after I forgot why I was mad/upset/whatever. And if you didn’t ask or admit you were wrong or had mistreated me – WELLLLLL, I was never forgiving. That only hurt me, that held my heart in bondage to hurt feelings and negative energy. Recognizing that I fall far short of “perfection”; I knew I needed the forgiving mercy of God. His Word says that in the same manner that I forgive others, will He forgive me. I think that realization was the beginning to me opening my heart to trying to have a spirit of forgiveness.

January 23 –

I am grateful for my family!!! Oh My Gosh, I feel so blessed by the love and support that I have from my family. My family is my Mom and two sisters, then my three children and their fiances, and then my grandson, and then my niece and her family and my sister’s husband and children. Our family is growing leaps and bounds and I abstemiously love it. Family is a treasure.

January 31 –

I am grateful for JOY! Joy is not the same as happiness; Joy is deeper and underlying. Joy is “I’ve had an awful day, but I am still smiling inside”. Joy is not predicated by something great happening to or for you but a simple state of being. Joy is something I fought to acquire and will fight at all cost to keep. Joy, is priceless.

February 5 –

I am grateful for second chances!!!

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January 8, 2017