Category: healing

Thoughtful Thursday…

Wiwohka7 Comments

Be thoughtful today…

Open the door for a stranger, take someone’s cart back for them, allow a car to merge in front of you, offer a smile to encourage another, or even be bold enough to pay it forward, so to speak.

Let’s do as we were meant to do,

John 13:34-35:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. 

1 John 4:7:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God”. 

Romans 12:10:

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves”. 

Ephesians 4:32:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (describes the nature of love).

1 Peter 4:8:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”. 

Colossians 3:14:

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”. 

1 John 3:18:

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”.

Something worth thinking about!

There’s life in the learning…

Wiwohka8 Comments
Daily writing prompt
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
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Good events, bad events, and events that are happy or sad, all have one thing in common. They’re all significant!

What we choose to glean from those events, whether we like it or not, will form the perspectives we have later in life.

The things we encounter become our defining hour, not by what we overcame, but how we overcame.

Age, and the passage of time, have taught me that my perspective can be intentional, rather than being brought about from life’s influences.

The only perspective I desire to attain is one shaped by God. If he deems it so, then I allow things of the past to influence my perspective. For example, putting myself in someone else’s shoes, or something like that.

I’m certainly not saying that I don’t think I’ve been influenced by things from the past, because none are immune to it.

I will say this… the experiences I’ve lived through, and those that I put myself through, have all left an indelible mark upon my heart, but from there it’s been my choice whether to be a statistic or a survivor.

The mind is a powerful and complicated thing. We need to take captive every thought, every word, and every perspective. Humans are wishy washy with our attitudes, motives, and yes, our perspectives.

From the beginning of time, God gave mankind the free will to choose their physical, emotional, and spiritual choices. For the most part, we’re terrible choosers! We allow things of this world to control our perspective, but those things are just that… of this world.

When I let go of my own opinions and perspectives, laying them before God, he provides the perspective that should be within my spirit. F.Y.I., I said when I let go, not I always let go.

I tend to build mountains out of mole hills, while God leads me right up over em! Being carried is always a humbling experience, but such a blessing.

God does the heavy lifting, so I’m left to watch him work, and in turn, form a Christ like perspective. When God’s the one in control, there’s life in the learning. That’s what I call influence!

Cookie?

Whispers…

Wiwohka4 Comments

Sometimes, the winds and rain of life’s storms can become so loud and overpowering, all one can do is hold fast to something solid.

All strength has been spent in search of answers, directions and/or solutions to escape the storm’s fury.

But, what if one is meant to endure a storm, rather than escape it? What then?

I find that when things are beyond my control, my understanding, and my own strength… I seek God!

Here’s the place where my thoughts, my opinions, my plans of escape, and the sound of my own voice, need to take a time-out!

God most often will speak softer and quieter, the more agitated and anxious I become. You would think that he would simply raise his voice over my own babbling, just as I would do to my children when they were small.

But I’m not a small child any more. Those days are far behind me, so I’ve no excuse for not listening when my heavenly father counsels his daughter.

Here’s why I am eternally compelled to seek this God that I speak of so often… He whispers!

I’ve had ups, downs, successes, failures, and really big Uh Oh’s!

God has walked with me through each and every storm of my life, whether it was of my own design or something completely undeserved. He stayed, comforted, encouraged, and counseled… but always in the quiet, after I’d settled down into his lap, as it were. I learned a long time ago that when I felt the most anxious, it was because I wasn’t listening for God’s quiet voice.

There were times that I became angry with God for not speaking louder, telling myself that I could have avoided a thing all together, had He spoken up!

The funny thing is, I doubt I would have listened to His counsel anyway… it’s what I often did over the years. You know I like to keep things honest.

I would be less than truthful if I didn’t admit that I still do this on occasion. It gives me hope to know that I live in grace.

I doubt I’ll get all this stuff right in just one little ole earthly lifetime… I’m pretty sure that’s what eternity’s all about.

Now that I’m getting older, it’s even more important that I listen more carefully for His whispers. My hearing isn’t what it used to be. Fortunately, in my case, God often speaks clearly to my heart through scripture.

You know why he does this to me?

Cause I can’t read and talk at the same time…

Hugs

Musical Monday…

Wiwohka1 Comment

Even when waters are deep, hold to your faith in Him. May this mornings song encourage you to keep going, even when you are weary, and your strength is gone…

Have a blessed Monday… hugs

Wednesday Words…

Wiwohka8 Comments

According to Eustace, I should be eating more spinach. In truth, I think we all should!

Lately I’ve been craving it something fierce. I suppose that I probably look and feel a great deal like Olive Oil did, from that old Saturday morning cartoon!

Out of curiosity over my severe cravings, Eustace and I got to reading some things about natural foods.

Check this out! I clipped this off a nutrition calculator:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1 cup (180g)
Calories41
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0.47g1%
Saturated Fat 0.08g0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 126mg5%
Total Carbohydrate 6.8g2%
Dietary Fiber 4.3g15%
Total Sugars 0.77g2%
Includes –g Added Sugars–%
Protein 5.3g11%
Vitamin C 17.6mg20%
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Iron 6.4mg36%
Calcium 244.8mg19%
Potassium 838.8mg18%
Phosphorus 100.8mg8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

No wonder Popeye was so strong!

(2024) Hoomans Don’t Make No Sense At All…

Wiwohka3 Comments
Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
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I suppose if we were able to make our pets understand us, we’d have results landing on both sides of the proverbial coin! In one way it would be great if we could help our pets understand why we do some of the things we do, while on the other hand it might backfire, leading to animal world domination!

I personally don’t think it would be the best idea for us to give our pets any more information about us, as I’m not so sure that it would cause them to love us more than they already do… in fact, it might give them cause to rise up and put us in cages, just because WE pooped on the floor.

With that being said, if I could make animals understand deeper about anything humans have done, are doing, or will be doing sometime in the future… it would be to tell them we’re sorry!

Last year I had to rehome my pug of 4 years, as well as my two cats that I found under a shed when they were tiny. I waited for 3 years to get my pug, loving her ever so much… she was my baby! My sister-in-law found a batch of kittens under her porch, keeping one and handing the other two my way… I hand raised both boys from about 10 days old and I adored them! I had to make the most painful decision, last year, of rehoming all of them due to our situation… it was awful!

I guess that if it were possible, I would want to try to explain my actions, and say how sorry I am!

I pray that my choice was for the animals betterment, but it is still difficult to hold the last memories of letting go. Sometimes, doing the right thing does NOT feel good, yet it is still right! I cannot say for sure what they were feeling throughout the painful process, but if I could communicate with them, this would obviously be the conversation on the forefront of our discussion. What would they say… would they forgive me if they understood… maybe.

The best information to give our pets, in the effort of better understanding about us hoomans, would be the knowledge that we often behave in ways that don’t align with our feelings. Often times, we do the right thing for the wrong reason, while at other times, we do the wrong things for the right reasons… it’s what we do!

It’s not all bad, and I didn’t say ALL people, nor did I say ALL the time… it’s just that sometimes the numbers are stacked against us, that’s all!

There’s no way to know if I’ll ever have flurbies journeying with me again… perhaps, perhaps not! Just as our pets probably don’t plan ahead most of the time, thinking to build contingency plans for difficult situations… I would want them to know that often times, we hoomans don’t either! 

Issabella Pugalini
Ghost and Ash

Here, I need a cookie, so you better have one too…

Wednesday Words…

Wiwohka4 Comments

Eustace has taken it upon himself to watch over me, when it comes to health and nutrition. Watching me waste away has caused the camel to go full military on me!

He ensures that I eat my bowl of oatmeal, though I can no longer afford to put oat milk in, thanks for the good ole State of Washington to not only revoke my food stamps, but also demand that we pay back their overages, lol. Isn’t that a hoot!

Eustace also threw out both the Sucralfate and the Bentol I’d been prescribed to take, as the doctors never took the time to notice that the diagnosis they strapped onto my case (Gastroparesis), is exacerbated by those very medications… again, lol, isn’t that a hoot!!

They won’t even listen to my appeal until mid March, lol, and another hoot given!!!

I have been surviving since last June, on one bowl of oatmeal with a handful of raisins, two tsp of white sugar and one of brown, for my first of only two meals each day. My second is one serving of white rice, one cup frozen peas and carrots, and a 1/4 cup of peanuts if we don’t have 3 oz. of any boneless skinless chicken breast available (thank you again, Washington State). Chicken isn’t cheap anymore, nor is anything else, and my husband has to eat if he’s to finish his degree.

Wait for it, wait for it…. what a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eustace refuses to let me carry on with all the bloody details of this exercise in futility that one calls Government Assistance… he wants to take me to the desert for the rest of this wild ride. I’ve been to the desert before, but this is one I’ve not traveled across.

Thankfully, I’m with my trusty camel. This time, I’ll not be walking through the deadlands without aid… My camel carries our water, our bags… and me! I fear that this is one journey where my own legs have given out. I hadn’t realized til this moment how valuable Eustace is, and has always been, for my survival.

God Bless you, Eustace, my valiant steed!

Let this leg of our journey begin…

I made a list…

Wiwohka3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
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If one wants to answer this prompt adequately, we must first come to a clear understanding of what we consider clutter.

Essentially, the word clutter refers to a bunch of things laying about in a mess. That means that it’s going to look different, depending on whose looking, and in my opinion, isn’t limited to one or two categories.

Since the word clutter is classed as a noun, it has the potential to represent anything from a person, a place, OR a thing! Bearing this in mind, I considered what my tidying up checklist might look like…

Clutter Clean-up Checklist!

  • Too many people cluttering my doorway… nope… Check!
  • An overfilled laundry room, with no available working machines… nope… Check!
  • A library of unread books… nope… check!
  • A closet full of unused dirty clothes… nope… check!
  • Cupboards full of old, unused household items, outdated cleaning supplies, and moldy hamburger buns from behind the cabinet… nope… check!
  • Expired food in the back of the refrigerator… nope… check!
  • Shelves filled with trinkets, toys, bits and bobs from over the years… nope… check!

    The only clutter I’m really dealing with is that of the mind. Stacks of broken dreams, and painful memories, lay strewn along the roadside of the mind. That’s where the real clutter is for most, and it’s far more destructive that a pile of dirty old boots, or an overflowing Tupperware drawer in ones kitchen.

     Whether one is referring to physical clutter, or that of the mind, I think that the bible speaks of both…

    “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

    Oddly enough, sometimes Google’s AI does a fairly decent job of explaining a thing, and today was one of those times…

    “Store up treasures in heaven” means to focus on eternal, spiritual values rather than temporary earthly wealth, investing your life, resources, and heart in acts of generosity, faith, and love that have lasting significance, as taught by Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21. It involves shifting your priorities from material accumulation to spiritual riches, knowing that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.  

    I’ll leave you with that. Well, that and cookies…

    (2024)My Fingers…

    Wiwohka6 Comments

    I’m a writer, and as a writer I tend to write… with my fingers. My fingers are attached to my hands, which are attached to my arms, which are connected to my body at the shoulders. And, my body holds my noggin, which tries with all it’s might to oversee what the fingers do… that is, write!

    Bloganuary writing prompt
    In what ways do you communicate online?
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    My writings are how I communicate with others, within in an online setting. My phone rings from only 4 sources… hubby… my chica… my longtime friend Christine… and the Doctor’s office! For the entire rest of the world out there, my fingers are the only form of communication, giving more light to the cause of why I right so darn much, these days.

    In fact, the tougher life gets on me, the more I write! Did you know that while freezing my toenails off, I wrote another children’s book?! Go figure!

    Online communications has actually been a Godsend for this ole girl… I used to have to write all this stuff down with a pen and paper, and quite frankly, my hands were really suffering for it. The keyboard has actually allowed me to write at a rate that seems unprecedented, compared to what I was capable of writing before modern technology intervened!

    The only downside comes from mankind’s inability to create an autocorrect that functions properly… as many have seen from some of the text massages we’ve all been subjected two. See how I did that… hehe!

    One of my favorite things about all this online communication stuff… virtual cookies! 

    Here is a cookie with zero calories… all the fun without any guilt or unhealthy side effects… perfection! I do love technology when it works in my fingers… I mean favor!

    (2024)I’m Still On The Road…

    Wiwohka1 Comment
    Bloganuary writing prompt
    Think back on your most memorable road trip.
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    I can hardly believe that it’s been two years since I wrote this! Though we’re no longer in that beat up old R.V., this road trip is far from over. With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to re-use this old prompt response… hugs.

    I don’t have to think back too far, as we are still living in an RV, living like nomads wherever we go, and for however long we stay. We don’t really have any home left, here on actual earth, so we rumble along on this road trip, taking safe harbor wherever it can be found. 

    If you think about it, everyone is on a road trip of sorts, and I would imagine that we all feel like it’s quite memorable. I appreciate the prompts use of the word most, while referring to the road trip, as they could have used best, worst, happiest or saddest… but they chose most memorable. Life IS most memorable, wouldn’t you say?! 

    Don’t we always say things like, it’s a wild ride, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride, it’s a crazy ride, or Baby, what a ride? So I don’t need to think hard on why my thoughts drifted this way, once I began reading the prompt question.

    Life is most definitely a journey, or road trip if you will!

    It would take us all a very long time, to write down all of what we’ve seen, felt and experienced, along each of our personal highways… oh wait… that’s what I’ve already been doing, right here on WordPress… you’re welcome!

    Here, have a cookie…