What do Eye see…

Who actually looks into ones eyes fully these days…

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What can one tell about another by just taking the time to see…

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Rich, Poor, Old, Young, Nationality, Character… how hard is it to actually look…

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I encountered three young people on my walk yesterday… they shouted profanities in my face, after I told them to get the wheelchair they were riding out of three lanes of traffic. The reality is this, bad behavior starts at home, in my opinion…

If you knew me, you would know that I am not the picture of what their naughty names assigned me to be. I was born on this soil, and my heritage is mine… no label necessary. I am not offended at their remarks, as my husband and I have raised 6 smart mouthed kids of our own, so I am fully thick skinned in this regard, but I am saddened by the widespread aggressiveness of humanity… it is a palpable feeling, this anger that radiates off of our YOUNG…

While I won’t take personal offense at this behavior, I will call attention to something I believe as a society we CAN change…

I have no intention of telling others what to do, as I believe we all know what the difference is between right and wrong. We all have a choice to change things within our own homes. The truth of it will be whether or not, we as humanity, will act the way we know we should…

Yep, you guessed it…

Here, have a cookie…

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SSSHHHHH…

Daily writing prompt
What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?

If you can keep this little secret from my frenemy IBS, I will tell you of my fondness for a few things… I’m not going to follow the prompt, in its fullness, as it does not seem fair to do that to the beautiful world of foods.

I might be able to maybe select a type of food, and pick my favorite way to eat it, but to say that JUST one thing is the best, sorry…

I could try to use words to describe the way, say, cheese simply slowly and lazily oozes from the inside of the pizza crust, OR, I could show you…

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I could try to describe the release of endorphins that seems to happen when one swipes their tongue across creamy soft serve old fashioned vanilla ice-cream from your favorite fast food establishment, Or

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Lastly, I could make some futile attempts with words to relay how I remember it feeling after an all you can eat taco party, and your belly is full of Yummy, OR

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Please, Under NO Circumstance, are you to share this information with IBS, because she will be totally offended that I even think about these foods anymore… I mean, I know better than to do it, but she freaks out and thinks I am gonna shovel death into my mouth…

But… I love you all enough that I am willing to take the risk to share with you what I sometimes dream about (not joking) and drool about when we are out and about with others.

I still eat fantastic things, but they have to be modified in order for me to successfully get the good stuff out of them, that my body can process…

Oddly, I eat nowadays, exactly the way I ate as a small girl on the farm… Raw, Fresh, or Frozen… no cans, no preservatives, and no oil, grease, butter, fat or the like. It is not nearly as bad as it may sound, as I love foods.

***But… sometimes… late at night… when no one is peeking…I like to eat a whole bag of those Twizzler pull aparts… Don’t Judge!

Here…

Have a cookie…

Investigating Truths…

What is Church Cont’d

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I am learning to stay in the lobby…

As I am pursuing my beliefs in regards to Church, an epiphany arose within my mind.  If the church is what I think it is, that means I am supposed to think of myself as part of a body, right?  In terms of where I am in the body, or the office of the Boss man running said building, a picture forms within my mind.

 Imagine if you will, a hostess.  Preferably, you will imagine an elegant southern bell type, charming and delicately demure… but I will settle for the lady with the baseball cap and walking shoes.  When your mind enters said Church, this hostess(me) belongs inside the lobby in order to greet you and perhaps assist in directions to where you wish to go… she does not need her own office for private sessions of deep inspired directions, no!  She desires to remain in the lobby, ensuring that you get to where you were headed.

This hostess takes great joy in her role within the lobby, looking forward to seeing what life blossoms there, from day to day.  She takes pleasure in the cleaning and maintenance of her environment, happily refilling the bowl of refreshments, resting upon a small table within the lobby.  There is a lantern resting atop the tables surface, casting a warm and gentle glow throughout the room.  This light is always on and never requires anything in order to burn… it simply remains on, and in fact never even flickers!  If this light is always on, then my mind says that the bowl of refreshments does the same, right?  I will believe that this is true, and go further to say that it is possible then, that her presence within the lobby is not necessary for the One who placed her there, but for the visitors that she encounters in His service…

I am in no way saying that my search is over yet, in fact I am in deep study still, but I thought you may have wanted an update.  I will keep you posted, but for now I must get back at it!  Psalm 51, if you were curious…

J’J’J’J’Jam on it…

Daily writing prompt
If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?
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So, I discovered that it is not so easy to randomly find a picture of Footy Pajamas, and I had to improvise with regular ones… But for the record, it needs to be Footie Pajamas… yup… with a zipper… and a hood! Don’t judge… I actually have a pair that I wear from fall through til spring… it’s bloomin cold in this beautiful beast of an RV during the dark times (that which is not summer).

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Again, you would think that it would be easier for me to locate a usable free pic of my preferred fluffy foot clouds. For today I will settle for this picture, but I want it clear that I actually need them to be full covers and not flip floppy style… I walk nearly 6 and sometimes 7 miles a day, when I can, so I literally have 3 pair of sneakers, my mocasins, a pair of water shoes, and my slippers.

My magic slippers, as I call them, were a gift from a very special soul. I can say in full honesty that I spend at least 85% of my day in that pair of slippers. They are the biggest, fluffiest, and most marshmallowy feeling slippers EVER…

Some people might say, “She Crazy”… but I say, No No No… Contrare Mor Frare… I am the queen of “If I am gonna wear it, it better make me feel pretty”!

Here, have a cookie…

Place your bets…

Daily writing prompt
How important is spirituality in your life?

I am offering up my very soul… All IN…

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When you figure on how fragile humanity is, I am going out on a limb here and say that it is pretty important, to me…

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This is a fallen and broken world, and the rule of thumb for most, it seems, is to take what you can before some one else gets it!

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The thought of amassing as much junk as I can, to then make everyone around me pack it up and put it in my grave with me, priceless! This idea seems actually more fun to me, not for the stuff, but to watch a bunch of people trying to fit it all in an underground palace (coffin).

I am going to guess that perhaps one wishes to hope on material things, rather than spiritual, out of either fear of the future, or ignorance. When I speak of ignorance, it is not the educational kind… it is the heart kind… I believe that ignorance comes from a hardened heart.

If anybody gets to have an excuse for having a hardened heart it will be Me! My life has rolled from one ugly scenario to another and has been now for 54 years, filled with cruelty and hurt caused by others. I could choose a much different path, but as you may have already guessed, I did not! Why???

I could tell you story after story of how God showed up over and over, when no one else did, oh wait… I already did that…

I could make a lot of choices, at this point in my life, that would cause a lot of embarrassment and shame for those involved… but it would not make the memories hurt any less…

I could try to share many different reasons, for me, that make my spirituality so vital, but I am choosing not to… why???

Because, nothing I say will make any difference to someone who carries a great burden of their own, except perhaps one thing…

My spirituality is the very air I breathe, do not read my words, go to the only place that is fully equipped to give you what you need…

Do You Remember…

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**Anniversary Edition**

To the other half of my heart…

Do You Remember…

June 26, 2006

I DO…

Do you remember our first meeting in that airport…

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I DO…

Do you remember driving non-stop from one side of the country to the other, just to be with me on Christmas Morning…

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I DO…

Do you remember what you felt, sharing vows behind that police station, with the Sherriff as our officiant…

Do you remember eating cold chicken off the back of the flatbed, in some far-off Walmart parking lot…

Or what about New York?  Do you remember the 4th of July we sat in a Subway parking lot, watching the fireworks coming from a boat out on the water…

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How about driving up through North Dakota in the dead of winter, when our fuel froze and we needed towing.  You kept grabbing the steering wheel, even though you were not the one driving…

I DO…

Do you remember the painful times, like when I gave myself two black eyes in a fit of grief?  You had to take me to the hospital and you were so terrified they would blame you, but you did it anyway, for me…

Or what about the time I lost my temper and slammed the RV door, breaking the locking mechanism…I was locked outside wearing a slinky nightgown and Ugg slippers, while you were stuck inside with no tools to open the door…Only after I had an all out explosive fit in my underwear in broad daylight, did the door hatch, lock and all, simply fall out onto the ground at my feet, with you sitting in the doorstep lookin at me in surprise…

I DO…

Do you remember all the moments that you stood in the darkness holding me up…

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Somewhere I forgot…

I remember now, because I can see that God was holding us both up…

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After all of this journey, remembering everything that we went through, forgiving everything we did to each other, and surviving everything the world has thrown at us…

God asked me to tell you, If you still wanted to marry me…

I would tell you what I told you 17 years ago, today…

I DO!

Self or Selfish…

Daily writing prompt
How do you practice self-care?

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I am going to practice the art of keeping it real here…

If we take away all of the easy answers…

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What exactly will self care now begin to look like, for me anyways?

Setting aside THINGS… I think I can speak for most when I say that self care should mean what we need… what does the body, and mind need to rejuvinate that inner mojo, so to speak…

Sure, the pictures above represent things I would enjoy greatly, but would they fulfill what I will call my inner love tank. Nope! I can be pretty honest here, since I have none of the things up above besides the great outdoors, and my love tank has yet to run dry. It does get low, in truth, from time to time. In a world where everyone expects you to simply shut up, show up, and serve with a happy smile… well, it’s no wonder why we are all here trying to regale each other with a fancy insight into the art of “How To Pat Ourselves on the Back”!

I will share a little secret I learned along the way. For me, self care actually begins when I give… I know, strange right? Lemme break it down for you…

When my love tank is low, and I am feeling on the down side, the only things that help me are the following:

Giving Thanks – I must remember how much we do have, and how I am clothed, with food in my stomach, and a warm dry place to sleep and write to you all.

Giving Love to others – Love can come in many forms such as a phone call, or note, or perhaps fulfilling a task for another in need.

Giving prayers – Nothing reminds me how much I have to be grateful for, than when I am praying for the needs of others less fortunate than myself.

Sometimes SELF CARE comes from Selfless love. I know this seems backwards but He does truly work for the good of those that serve Him!

Live Wire…

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It may not look like much…

But maybe, just maybe…

Your not seeing the bigger picture…

Yet…

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Just look up…

Owe, My Eye…

Daily writing prompt
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

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Nothing beats watermelon! I remember sitting in the rain, eating watermelon in my swimsuit. The apartments where we lived, were located on the outskirts of our small town, and were just within viewing of our local water tower. I mention the water tower because, that was the reason we were siting in the rain spitting seeds at one another… or better yet, pinching them between our fingers for more force.

I remember the water tower, because the local fire department would always use these hot rainy days for their certification or training exercises. I was so fascinated with their ability to carry all of their gear up those ladders, fully covered in their fire resistant armor, as I called it.

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I don’t know about anyone else, but I have always had a great respect for law enforcement and all of our emergency responders, and I think this had something to do with it. I was so impressed with all these men, and they were always so kind to us kids who were watching. My home life was not fun, and my father was a 1st rate butnugget, but I guess the kindness of these masked strangers, brought some joy into the life of a small blue eyed girl, sticky with watermelon juice, and desperate for hope…

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Thank you…

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I mean it from the bottom of my heart…Thank you!!!

Who said that…

Daily writing prompt
Who is your favorite historical figure?

I know that in our current state, we are all fully aware that the earth is round, right…

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I went on the web, after reading the prompt, and tried to look up who it was that first said that the earth was not flat, and I got a page full…

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As silly as it sounds, I actually thought that if I just typed in the question, I would have my answer. It is a little more than than, as I discovered.

The only reason I even went looking was due to the fact that I mainly only have favorite biblical historical figures, and I thought you might be tired of hearing it…lol… and in truth, I am actually impressed with whoever it was that had the courage to challenge others to accept a new idea or belief. Times were different back then, and they did not have the internet. Anything new or unproven was usually rejected, sometimes with very harsh recriminations to whomever was seeking change.

I feel how real the struggle must have been for people like the apostle Paul for instance, who had the responsibility of spreading the gospel. Whenever I read any of the letters that he wrote, I get a strong sense of one attempting to structure and organize like maybe half a dozen Christian Universities, all at the same time, from a remote location (often prison). He was charged with organizing a bunch of unruly land owners and sheep herders, into the body of the church.

Paul received mainly a bunch of complaints, whining, name calling, and judgy folks thinkin they had it all figured out. No one wanted to do it his way, and they argued with Gods council, nonstop at times. Still he persisted in following a path that he believed to be right and true.

I sit here in comfort on my laptop, happily clickity clicketing all my little pearls of silly wisdom, of which may or may not be worth anything… all the while, I sip my warm coffee, with my rich vanilla creamer… man do I have it easy.

In a time where information is available willy nilly, and folks can watch a video of someone making popcorn with a bag of skittles, and are willing to nearly burn their houses down in an attempt to replicate this modern video miracle, I do wish to appreciate and give a shout out to Them That Went Before us…you all shaped our world… God Bless your brave souls…

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