Joy Rising

So, I've been gone for a while...

2013-10-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

Today, October 25, 2013 finds me in a very different place than I was a year ago.

Currently, I am only working part-time at a job that brings me great satisfaction because I am able to actually HELP people work to get their lives back. Lord only knows that I've had to get my own life back more than a few times in the past! So, I have some experience to share.

Now, it's time to "dust off" all those little fuzzy bunnies that hide in the corners and crevices of my mind... the dust bunnies of loss, emotional exhaustion, financial worry, sadness, etc, etc. And start with a clean and shiny new day !

The mantra for today is: HALT
Never let yourself get
                                 too HUNGRY
                                  too ANGRY
                                  too LONELY
                           or, too TIRED

I am off to gather my thoughts, do a little 'house-blog-cleaning' of my own, get a fresh new outlook, and........... maybe take a nap!

But, I WILL see you back here tomorrow. Until then,
Have a BLESSED day !

Losing your but...

2012-05-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

This morning I was enjoying my favorite TV Evangelist Joyce Meyer (joycemeyerministries.com). When I say 'watching', I mean dusting or doing dishes while she talks. Suddenly, I heard her say "...lose your butts". Well, that immediately got my full attention, as I have plenty of THAT to lose!

Come to find out, it was a different kind of "butt" to which she was referring, BUT it was the message that God wanted me to hear.

How many of you can relate to some of these comments:
"I'd go to church Sunday, but..."
"I'd be happier, but..."
"I'd really like to help out, BUT..."
"I don't want to have hurt feelings, BUT..."
"I would exercise more... eat healthier... take more time with my kids... spend more time in prayer... BUT!
This list can go on and on about why we act, think, believe the way we do. We find reasons for not doing the good and rightful things; things that would please God, bless another, help a community, make things easier at home with a spouse or other family. We find reasons to not do many things that God places on our hearts... it is then that we use our BUTS.

God's message to me this morning was loud and clear
GET UP OFF YOUR BUTs !

Have a BLESSED DAY!

What is it about the combination of sweet and hot?

2012-05-12T12:20:00.000-04:00

One thing that brings me great joy is good food. And when that "good food" is actually good for me, I feel doubly blessed!

Today's lunch was a salad that I learned to make from a friend of mine who is a pilot for US Airways.

I call it Capt. Tom's Heart Healthy Salad

It's very healthy and tremendously delicious.

Ingredients:

2 cups Romaine washed and torn in bite size pieces

Sprinkle lettuce with about a teaspoon of Lemon Juice

Mix Dressing:

2 Tablespoons of good grade Olive Oil

1 packet artificial sweetner of choice (I use Splenda)

1/8 tsp. of Ceyenne Pepper

Stir until well blended then drizzle over the Romaine

Crush 4 - 6 Salad Croutons (I use Marzetti's Garlic 'n Butter) and sprinkle over the salad

Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese

Toss and enjoy!

*add on options - pecans, cranberries, diced chicken, pine nuts

I personally like it plain and simple... sometimes I toss in some cranberries.

Add a glass of ice water with extra lemon and you have a light and refreshing meal !

I LOVE RAIN... and I love the Daily OM

2012-05-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

May 11, 2012

Rain

Cleansing Nature

by Taylor Madisyn

On the next rainy day, imagine the rain washing away and cleansing your emotional body.

There are times when we might feel the need to wash away all of our troubles and call forth freshness into our lives. Since perhaps the most cleansing substance on this earth is water, we can think of the joy rain brings as an energetic bath, rejuvenating our minds, bodies and souls. Just being able to spend a few moments every time it rains to become aware of the healing powers water brings to us can renew us in so many ways. As we do this we will find that the more we appreciate the universe’s gift to us in the form of rain, the more we can see that a gentle rain shower is a strong reflective tool that has the ability to cleanse our entire being.

The next time it rains might be a good chance to experience the rain through all of your senses, allowing you to truly understand just how truly important each and every drop of water is. First, take a few minutes to look outside and notice how each individual raindrop seems to come down in a continual stream. By noticing this you can contemplate how it takes many small accomplishments to create the whole of your existence, for nothing exists in isolation. Then you might wish to focus your attention on the sound of the rainfall, letting the sounds of drops penetrate into the innermost recesses of your self. Listening in this way may bring you a greater sense of connection with nature and the world around you, knowing that the sounds you hear are an integral part of not just the physical sustenance you require but also nourish your spirit as well.

Consciously using our senses to feel nature’s healing energy as it comes to us in the form of rain is an act of internal cleansing. Just as the rain physically washes over the earth and rinses out any impurities and imperfections, so it also bathes our spirit in the joy that comes from knowing that we are in fact one with the world around us.

THE END ... or The BEGINNING?

2012-05-11T09:18:00.002-04:00

”When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from God’s love.” ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

In Memory of my wonderful husband of 39 years who passed this life April 27, 2012 and joined our son in Heaven:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXKUsGSMtHE

I love and miss you both!

There is JOY in the morning!

2010-11-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

"May all beings learn how to nourish themselves with joy each day." Thich Nhat Hanh

Hung out to dry...

2010-11-05T12:23:00.000-04:00

As winter nights approach, I've pulled out the down comforter, flannel sheets and mattress heating pad. Nothing like a nice toasty bed on a cold winter's day!

I wanted to freshen them up after being stored away for months to I hung them out in the sun and brisk breeze... the fresh smell took me back to my childhood and the wringer washer, rinse tub and clotheslines. The towels and jeans would be a little stiff, but OHhhhh the fragrance of sunshine and fresh air! No one has been able to reproduce THAT fragrance.

I did. Did you?

2010-11-02T16:28:00.000-04:00

Abundance is my birthright...

2010-11-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

I'm still participating in the online course to help re-align my financial balance with the Universe as I claim that which is mine.

I can honestly stay that positive affirmations, regardless of the subject, truly work! I will not provide in-depth details of the class, but as I began, I will give you a little 'taste' and some personal results.

Lesson 4: Provided a prosperity symbol that should be placed in plain view. A place where it would be seen often... a reminder that all I need is provided easily and abundantly.

Lesson 5: Is an ongoing project as I collect items to place in a Feng Shui Wealth Vase.

Lesson 6: Is collecting a few ounces of water from places that represent success or financial wealth, and pouring the collected waters into a vase that sits in the kitchen.

That catches me up. I am heading out to vote and to collect the waters. I'm thinking I'll drop by a couple of banks and get some from the water fountain, and maybe in a few days I'll get some from the Belterra Casino.

** As for results or signs that all this is working:
It appears my issues with Unemployment are worked out, and I recieved all past monies owed, on Saturday.
I needed a new printer cartridge, and found a Target Gift Card from last Christmas. The card was $25, the cartridge cost $25.96 !
In searching for a job close to home, with daytime hours and benefits... a new dental office is looking for an office manager position (4 miles up the road), and I am not freaking out 'WANTING' the position, I am trusting it will be mine if it's meant to be. I know the right job for me is out there... I won't settle.

So off I go to do my duty and vote!!

If you can believe the 'wooly worm'...

2010-11-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

It's going to be a MILD winter !

Homemade Bean Soup

2010-10-23T17:31:00.000-04:00

So today is sort of gloomy... cool and gray. It looks like rain. Steve and I are both a little lazy and want something to eat that is warm, filling, and convenient while we click between the Louisville football game and the NASCAR race.

What could be better than bean soup and cornbread?

This is an "almost homemade soup":

In a 2 1/2 qt. soup kettle add

1 can great northern beans
1 can navy beans
1 can red bean
1 can large butterbeans
1 pkg. smoked sausage (diced / sliced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
1 can Rotell tomatoes with green chilies
1 chicken boullion cube
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. This is a great soup to have with tortilla chips and a little hot sauce, or cornbread.

* You can substitute any beans you like. I love to add black beans or large red kidney beans for a colorful bowl of soup.

ENJOY!

OK, so I need to get serious again

2010-10-18T11:19:00.000-04:00

I've lost 35 lbs since February! That's wonderful, isn't it?? Well, I still have 30 more to go. Currently I'm at a standstill... a plateau. I am bouncing between 173 - 175, and I can't seem to break the 173 'pound barrier' ! LOL

So, today I'm going to focus on moving more. Housework, although helpful, is NOT to be considered exercise! Back to the treadmill and floor exercises. UGH!

This is me at 173:

I'm thrilled to see that I have a WAIST... and that I don't have the muffin tops that have been with me for a couple of years! This brings me JOY.

I will post my progress each week... complete with photos! This will give me some accountability.

After lunch, it's time for a ride...

2010-10-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

Can you hear it??? When it's idling it says, "potato - potato - potato"... that's when you know it's a real Harley ! LOL

Not such a lazy Sunday

2010-10-17T12:26:00.000-04:00

We've been busy all morning! It's just now noon, and we've finished the laundry, had breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, made the bed, vaccumed and straightened the living room, and collected all the leaves in the yard. The leaves were the toughest job! The wind wasn't very cooperative. After that we cleaned off the porch and swept out the garage. The yard looks a LOT better:

There is a "chill" in the air

2010-10-16T20:07:00.000-04:00

So soup is on the menu ! Tonight we enjoyed steaming bowls of homemade vegetable soup

Warm pumpkin bread

and really good coffee!

Now we are stuffed, and being lazy. Me on the computer and Steve watching the NASCAR race in Charlotte, NC. on tv.

I love cooking and putzing around doing nothing !

Turkey in the straw !

2010-10-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

These turkeys are fattening themselves up for someone's Thanksgiving Dinner !

It's that time of year.

2010-10-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

The trees are putting on their fall colors...

Pumkins and Scarecrows come out of hiding...

I enjoy the fall of the year. It's like earth's 2nd chance... old things are tossed away, and after a period of hibernation, all things will become new.

A Blank Mind

2010-10-15T15:50:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I have no idea what I want to talk about...

Can't see the forest for the trees...

2010-10-11T12:20:00.002-04:00

Mt. Carmel Methodist Church

"You can't see the forest for the trees"
I've heard that phrase so many times. On this particular day it hit me square in the face! Traveling south on HWY 421 I glanced east to see the Mt Carmel Methodist Church. It's a lovely small rural church with a fine steeple. Years ago it became etched in my memory when I saw it aglow in a dazzling sunset. Back then (30 + years), the trees that you now see were just young sapplings and the church was completely visible and striking... much like God's welcome sign on a lonely road.

Fast forward to the present; the trees have grown and now shade, protect and yes... "hide" the church from immediate view as you travel on HWY 421. This lovely church is still there, you just have to look past the trees... thus:

"You can't see the forest for the trees..." Isn't that a wonderful analogy?

If we focus on the small things in life, the minor distractions, hurdles, detours, disappointment etc. we can't see the big picture... it doesn't mean our goals, dreams, healings, prosperity, or peace aren't available or coming! We just need to get our focus off the minor details (trees) and on to the BIG PICTURE !
May God bless each of you with an abundance of joy!

Joy is a warm bath !

2010-09-24T20:37:00.001-04:00

I WANT this tub !

When I was traveling for IHG, I was lucky enough to be treated to a beautiful suite in one of the lovely Holiday Inns in Indiana. Imagine my delight when I walked into the oversized bathroom to find this lovely, deep soaking tub! Aaaaah !

Our little farm house doesn't have a bathtub, we only have a shower. And when I travel, I don't usually like sitting in a hotel bathtub. This time I made the exception.

Tonight I'm wondering... how often do I fail to find joy in the small daily things I do? If I had a tub, would I take time to truly relax and let my mind reset itself to a calmer more lucid time, would I allow my muscles to un-tense... would I let "Calgon take me away" ?? And like that night in Indiana, would I stay until I was PRUNE-Y ?

The joy of the Lord is my strength...

2010-09-24T20:16:00.000-04:00

Jesus Laughing

I love this picture. Laughter plays a huge part in my life. In my coping skills. In my health and mental / emotional well-being. The image of our most loving God laughing brings great comfort to me. Look around you (wink) you KNOW God had to have a sense of humor !

Getting Serious about blogging

2010-09-24T13:30:00.001-04:00

This is the view from my deck. Who couldn't be joyful here?

I have a lot of time on my hands. I've been unemployed since February... yet, here it is late September ! Where did all that time go?

There is no need to try and catch up now. Just move forward. Suffice it to say that since February:

I went into a deep depression, but came out on the other side with an entirely new perspective (as will become evident as I continue to write).
Crystal Bowesox did NOT win American Idol :( BIG disappointment for me).
As The World Turns ended last week. I grew up with the iconic Hughes family. I cried as Dr. Bob Hughes turned off the light in his office with an emotional "Good Night", and the globe on his desk glowed in the dark and began to turn!
We've had the hottest and dryest summer on record.
I've lost 33 pounds since Feb. 4th! Yes, you read that correctly... THIRTY-THREE POUNDS!

I will be writing about all of these things and more, and how they influence and filter my perspective in my search for ... J-O-Y.

Stay tuned !

My journey into joyfulness

2010-02-26T16:07:00.001-05:00

My first attempt at blogging:

I began thinking about blogging when I saw the movie 'Julie and Julia'. I envied how Julie could just sit down and click out her feelings and thoughts so clearly and openly! My thoughts are like b.b.'s rolling around in one of those little hand held games where you try and maneuver them into a hole. There's SO much noise in my head! I think the first thing I need to do is learn how to calm the playing field... get it level... and let the b.b.'s settle into their own little niches! Until I accomplish that feat, you will have to be patient with my ramblings.

I'm obsessed with joy. I love the word and the thought... I just wish I knew how to find it and hold on to it.

My office is a testament to my need to find joy. Bookshelves lined with wonderfully talented authors and motivational speakers; Joyce Meyer, Wayne Dyer, Steven Covey, the Olsteens, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins... the list goes on and on.

My iPod is crammed with songs about joy, and love, and peace, and over-coming.

I have CDs and DVDs... all promising at least 90 minutes of J-O-Y! But where is it now?
Where - is - MY - joy?

*This is where I should type some deep and insightful thought... something that will cause you to want to come back every day to drink from my wealth of wisdom, and insight, and my ummmm... my joy-full-ness' ! Well dear reader, here's what I've got:

Joy won't come from reading someone's ideas about it. It won't come from listening to someone talk about it, or sing about it. Joy will come NOT as we put motion to our thoughts, but only when we put thought into our motions.

Come on this journey with me, if you too are looking for your 'joy rising'... let's test this theory together!

See you soon!

Finding contentment in what you've got

2010-02-26T13:33:00.003-05:00

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have."

We live very simply. Small home with furnishings that are a little tattered and worn.

Sometimes I look around and I wonder why I can't decorate like my sister. She has this knack of pulling things together. Her house looks like something out of Martha Stewart Living! I have been known to refer to her as Minnesota's Martha Stewart! But my home IS what it IS!

This winter I realized how muchI love the little corner gas stove that looks like it's burning wood. It's so warm and comforting to sit next too. Our girls (dogs) are sleeping peacefully on the sofa. It's covered with a sheet and a blanket to protect the upholstery, but it looks in disarray most of the time. Still, hearing Maxine snoring from beneath the cover brings a smile to my face as I type from my office here in the next room. Maxine and Harley love their lifes. They are content on the sofa with the wadded up blanket, next to the fake wood-burning stove. They are filled with contentment with what they have, resting assured that everything they need is just a nap away.

Joyce Meyers puts it this way: 'Those who want to enjoy life must learn to enjoy the journey, which is filled with waiting. Eventually we reach our destination only to begin again on a new journey to another place; therefore, to never enjoy the journey is to never enjoy life."

Today, I enjoyed the syrupy slowness of the hours ticking away, listening to the soft snoring of my beloved Boston Terrier... the warmth of the fire... and even the steely gray sky threatening yet another snow. All I have, or need... is just a nap away.