Spirit: God's Love

Spirit: Sometimes I feel like I pray and reach out to the Lord for comfort and can't seem to feel anything. I am really wanting something tangible (to feel arms around me or words of comfort). I have been stumped on how we are supposed to feel His Love. Then, one evening last week I read a statement in a book store (it was inside a little "mini" book) - that said something like: how do we know God really loves us? I flipped the pages and in my head, I know this is awful, but I was saying "yada yada yada" until I came to this one page that said -- He sends us flowers every spring!

I must confess I had a moment. Imagine ---- He, the wonderful creator and Heavenly Father, does in fact send US flowers every ----- every spring!!!!!!!!

You see sometimes we are not appreciating the way God shows us His Love. I am now trying to see the "gifts" that God gives me and I mean really see them as a tangible expression of Love!


My children are amazing miracles
My friends' and their sweet hugs and laughter
All my abilities and free will
My pets and their loving humerous ways
Music of the natural world and abilities given to fellow human beings to create music


Well, that's just it --- I am loving looking at the constructive, creative things that people can do--- with the perspective that God is in it and the precipitous to it all!

We are so Loved and God is merciful-- He renews our potential to be all that He wants us to be every morning!! God wants us to be an expression of His Love to others!

Image via Wikipedia

A poem to contemplate the love expressed to us daily:


           I Will Not Hurry
I will not hurry through this day!
Lord, I will listen by the way,
To humming bees and singing birds,
To speaking trees and friendly words;
And for the moments in between
Seek glimpses of Thy great Unseen.

I will not hurry through this day;
I will take time to think and pray;
I will look up into the sky,
Where fleecy clouds and swallows go by;
And somewhere in the day, maybe
I will catch whispers, Lord, from Thee!

                 -Ralph Spaulding Cushman

Mind/Spirit: Chores for the house and for the spirit

When I keep up with my chores - and my home is clean I feel overall better anyway- don't you?

Copied from the New Homemaker website:

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Long ago, the rhythm of the average American housewife's life was fairly standard no matter where you went. Each day had its own task, and so the work got done in a logical, orderly fashion as the week progressed. It went like this:

Monday: Wash Day

Tuesday: Ironing Day

Wednesday: Sewing Day

Thursday: Market Day

Friday: Cleaning Day

Saturday: Baking Day

Sunday: Day of Rest



With a few variations (some folks had a gardening day instead of a separate ironing day, or the days were not quite in this order), this is the way everyone kept house for more than a hundred years. It was such a common scheme that day-of-the-week dishtowels emblazoned with that day's chore were everywhere. (You can still get Aunt Martha iron-on embroidery or paint transfers with this scheme--I collect them, in fact.)



There was logic behind this. Laundry was far and away the heaviest task a housewife faced, requiring a great deal of strength and fortitude to hand-wring clothes and carry big baskets of wet laundry to the clothesline from the basement washtubs. Monday was the day to do it, when you were still fresh and rested from Sunday. Tuesday's ironing followed Monday's wash. Mending and sewing on Wednesday made sense when you'd just been through the clothes and noticed what needed a button or a patch. And so on.
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Well, I did find this posting on The New Homemaker website very interesting because I had recently seen the dish towells made with this order of chores on them and this is what made me look for an article about the houskeeping weekly guide! Then I realized that I have a small painted fabric hanging that I bought 3-4 years ago at a festival/jamboree in Smithville, Tn.  that has a spiritual depiction of these chore days!


 I love it and want to share what HH used on their artwork; wouldn't it be wonderful if we could organize this into our daily chores as well?

It says:

Sunday - The Lord's Day - O God, I have prepared my house for you. Please come into my heart as my honored guest, so I may spend the day in your presence.

Monday - Wash Day - Lord, Help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility through the week.

Tuesday - Ironing Day - Dear Lord, Help me iron out all the wrinkles of prejudice I have collected through the years, so I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday - Mending Day - O God, Help me mend my ways so I will not set a bad example for others.

Thursday - Cleaning Day - Lord Jesus, Help me dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in secret corners of my heart.

Friday - Shopping Day - O God, Give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal happiness for myself and all others in need of your Love.

Saturday - Cooking Day - Help me my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it with clean sweet bread of human kindness.

I would love to know who originally did this "spiritual chore" list but I find no source on the artwork and HH is all the signage I see. But isn't this a lovely idea? -- Maybe it would be fitting to set aside a chore for house and spirit for everday of the week that is meaningful to our modern lives.

Organization does simplify our lives beautifully!!!

Spirit: Loving others is good for your spirit!

Image by Photo Kyography via Flickr

 






Set out to show love to your spouse/significant other, your extended family, co-workers and your kids today!

When you focus on giving your time and care to others you gain so much spiritually!

And remember,
Love is shown by way of our deeds and not by our feelings!

Mind- Priorities

Live a beautiful & simple life!!

Image by Andy Ciordia via Flickr

Living life simply is what everyone seems to strive for. My interpretation of this idea of "simple living" is to live with less stress and with more purpose. A beautiful unencumbered life! Appreciating the lovely gifts of every season and our cherished relationships. How does one go about setting up a life where you are fully engaged yet not overdoing it? Well here is some advice from the Simple Mom website:

Just what is simple living?
— the thing that is true for everybody – is that in order to truly live a simple life, you need to choose your priorities. Just like we don’t all have the same interests in music, or prefer the same climate, we can’t all live one pre-determined life and call that “simple living.”
My definition of simple living in the book (Organized Simplicity) requires an honest evaluation of all your priorities. And it asks you for a gut-check analysis to determine whether how you’re spending your time actually lines up with what’s truly important to you.


So now it is time to ask yourself: What are your priorities?
For me;
God is supposed to be my 1st priority
My children would have to follow as 2nd
My relationship with my husband should be 3rd (some would say 2nd)
My job (in order to provide for my kids)
My house, pets, car and extended family fall in line next.
My own hobbies and interests are last.

I use "supposed to" and "should be" because I do not live like my priorities would suggest.
I am guessing that most of you would have a similar list.

Think about what really matters to you and live toward fulfilling the needs of your priorities.

Living simply means cleaning out the clutter of your life!
Decide what you should not be wasting your time on:
If you feel more fulfilled in life by spending time writing and reading for example - put it in the proper perspective and take care of responsibilities first and you will enjoy the things that make you who you are so much more. Creating a daily pattern that follows your priorities will end up being the most fulfilling in the long run.
Further prioritization is needed to get straight what you really want out of life-
I am going to work on a list of my hobbies and joys and even prioritize them with goals for the future included.
Have a beautiful fall day and declutter your activities and surroundings.







Mind/Body/Spirit: what is going on personally in these areas-

This My school picture (I am a teacher you know) and my hubby and sons in their football picture. Michael had a stroke of brilliance when he decided to have the photographer take this picture and I love it!!!!  


I want to take stock in where I have progressed to now in the areas of Mind, Body and Spirit. Also, where I am going! Goal setting is huge in attaining the life that you want!  

Mind: I am working on mastering my mental processes when faced with a moment of insecurity (since completing Beth Moore's book - So Long Insecurity). It takes practice to hone the skill of controlling your thought patterns.
Also,
I am compiling a list of books to consume this Fall/Winter

Including
Re-reading The Day They Shook the Plum Tree by Arthur Lewis
Redeeming Love by FRancine Rivers
The Help! by Kathryn Stockett
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Art of living Consciously by Nathaniel Branden
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta's series (any book from this)

Reading is so important to keep your mind sharp!
Continued Blogging and journal writing along with keeping up with a clip board tallying my WW points is good use of my brainpower as well.
Writing daily has become so important to me.




Body:
I have set my ultimate goal as a loss of about 40 lb.s and I have a strategy planned out to get me there. If I follow my plan with fidelity I will reach my goal!

Working out 4-5 x's a week (cycle class on Tues. and Thurs.)
24 Weight Watcher's points consumed daily
lots of water and vitamins
moderate alcohol use (only special occasions)
 

Spirit:
I need to distance myself from a previous stronghold (spiritually speaking).
My heart has been hardened and I am dealing with some depression issues. I feel that there is a link between NOT honoring the importance of all three areas (mind,body,spirit) and how I have been sinking in the past 2 months. I have had the best of intentions but not followed through.

I am going to make 6:30 am to 7am my bible/prayer time
Trying to exhibit self-control and discipline with conscious connection to inner wisdom that God supplies (live more aware of the connection)


There you have it --- goes back to July when I was getting the hang of shifting my perspective spiritually by saying "OWN IT", "STRESS LESS", AND "ENJOY LIFE".
My goal here is to reassess where I am going and reprioritize my life.

Looking for that simple abundant life that is right in front of me.

Equal focus on the things that make me who I am: using talents and skills for creating a joyful life!

I hope you  reassess and set goals in the areas of mind, body, and spirit as well.

Spirit: positive projects

2 Very different styles of Fall Porch decorating but both fill the spirit with gladness! Using things of beauty from nature is very satisfying to create an expression of the season!





this image from blog Silver Trappings:

Spirit: gratitude is good for you!!!

Image by 2-Dog-Farm via Flickr

Be grateful for where you are - no matter where that may be. You may be a long way from your goals in life, but at least you're on the journey. Being thankful for the realization that the journey begun is the first step.
- This is from Livestrong.com (gratitude dare). I love how positive this statement is and am feeling like I am so thankful for the journey that I am on for self-improvement! ♥
 
To be actually thankful for the journey changes everything!!
Digest that for a moment ---- literally thankful for the journey!!
 
 I am loving the person I am in the struggle of becoming the person that I want to be = I already am grateful for who I am!
 
I like the fact that I never give up and that I have such an optimistic nature. I like the fact that I seek the Truth and answers. I like that I look at "the man in the mirror" (M. Jackson) more than others for blame.
 
I like that I put my family before my own selfish wants and that if I fail to work-out or have a weak moment due to familial stresses I am still trying to do what I feel is best for my family.
 
 
Part of the journey is also finding tools to help you strive for improvement. Anyone reading blogs with  a spirit of self-improvement I applaud you!!! Bravo!
It is actually fun to find new recipes, books, bible lessons, exercises and even friends that support you if you have the right attitude.
 
 
Why worry about improving Mind/Body/Spirit????
The alternative is not very satisfying!
We were made to flourish, grow and be productive, effective and inspiring role models for humanity.
When we are reaching our potential we are filled with the joy that God intended us to possess!

Related articles

• The 15 Timeless Secrets of Happy People (dumblittleman.com)

Mind: do the work and train your mind to have a new perspective

Image by First Hattiesburg via Flickr

Well one of my dearest friends and I just wrapped up a 9 week study on the book So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. I took notes and highlighted points that put an impression on my heart. My biggest take-away points were:
We are not meant to be motivated and live by reacting to our insecurities. We are meant to live effective, free, fulfilling, secure lives. God made us as "jars of clay" holding the most glorious treasure in our spirits. We have the power to decide to react to anything that threatens our security like a secure whole person would.
1. Identify what triggers your feelings of inadequacy then choose to react differently than you feel like reacting.
2.Tap into Jesus' power dwelling inside you.
3. Speak the truth into the feelings of self-doubt and choose to change your reaction into that of a secure person---- You may not have the secure feelings at first but your attitude will shift.
4. Be full of faith and realize no other person can give you the security that you desire. Only  our Heavenly Father can fulfill our needs. (Imperfect) People let you down!
5. There is a need for women to be a healthy role model for younger women. We are needing to be more aware of what images we are sending as a prosperous female.
6. Compliment yourself and other women for things other than their appearance etc.

There is way too much emphasis put on females to base their worth on how attractive or sensual they are!! We must deprogram ourselves and see ourselves through the Eternal Savior's eyes.
God made us and equipped us for our life and
we must above all trust Him above everything else!

a great blog to follow is

LPM blog (Living Proof Ministries)

Mind: things i am thankful for

Image via Wikipedia

Cool temperatures, leaves changing color, long meditative walks, bonfires, wearing cute jackets.

Image by Lorri37 via Flickr

Being thankful is so good for you because it helps you focus your mind on positive things. You cannot be thankful and mad at the same time. Oprah had a gratitude journal and I think it is a helpful practice but I simply try to say 5 things I am thankful for every night when I say my prayers.