A Tough Subject

 Good morning y'all. I hope that everyone is having a great day and week. I have been thinking of writing this for a while now. I see the chaos in our world today and have many different feeling about it. I am one of those people that hate to offend others. I don't like to hurt anyone's feelings and sometimes that means that I just don't say what I really mean. I would not say anything to intentionally hurt or offend anyone else but is that being true to myself? I don't have all the answers. I think that our world today has gotten to a point where no matter what you say, it will offend someone. I feel strongly about this. 

We all have our own opinions. My opinion will not be the same as everyone. My religion may not be yours. But that is what is so great. I am allowed to have my own thoughts. If I voice these things, it's not meant to say that I am right and that you are wrong. And I am not trying to push my ideas on you. There are times when everyone has to agree to just disagree. As I have my own thoughts and ideas, I should respect that everyone else has their own thoughts and ideas. Just because I don't agree doesn't mean they don't have a right to them. 

This is the same for religion. I am suppose to tell people about God and I am suppose to live my life according to His laws. Does this mean that I am suppose to push my religion on others? No! But I am not going to be offended because you have a different belief. Others thoughts and beliefs push me to learn more. And knowledge is power. The more we learn about our history and present times, the more that we can better ourselves. If you don't study history to figure out why we have made some of the mistakes we have made, then we never learn from them and are bound to repeat the same mistakes over and over. 

I believe that if we loved more, there would be less hatred in this world. I also believe that instead of being offended, try to be understanding and learn from each other. There needs to be more compassion toward others. And understanding someone else's opinion doesn't mean I have to agree with them, it just means that I need to know they are entitled to their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Don't let outside influences rule you (such as media). Do a little research and form your own opinion but be careful that you use credible resources when doing research. Not everything on the internet is true.

 I challenge you to learn something new today. Study something about something that might offend you and try to figure out why it offends you. I hope that you have a beautiful day. 

Being Understanding

 

Good morning y'all. I've been thinking a lot (don't be scared 😉) about how we treat each other. I'm blessed because I don't have a vengeful nature. There are times that I hold grudges but I'm only hurting myself when I do that. I've made snide remarks and always regret them. As I have gotten older, I think God has given me a little wisdom (I am still waiting on more). I know that the bible says that revenge is not for us. 

I think that one of the hardest things to do is to put ourselves in other peoples shoes. First, we have look beyond our own pain and that is not always easy to do. We want others to know that we are hurting. That comes down to just being acknowledged and understood. And the second thing is believing that there is good in this world. We have to realize that we all make mistakes and no matter the pain that causes, we have to move on. It doesn't give anyone the right to reach out and hurt others. What I mean is if someone hurts me (physically, mentally, or emotionally) it does not mean that I have a right to hurt someone else. 

One of the steps to this is understanding. What is that person going through? Are they hurting and lashing out because of their hurt? I'm not saying that it is right for them to do so. I'm saying that we should try to understand that most of the time, they aren't necessarily trying to hurt us, it's more of the pain inside of them trying to be expressed. At least that is my opinion.

I guess what I'm trying to say is to love one another even if it is from afar. I think that the world would be a far better place if we try to understand each other rather than being self centered and only think of how we are feeling. Each of our feeling are valid and we have a right to our feelings but be cautious of our reactions. They have a ripple effect. Good reactions can have good ripple effects but by the same token bad reactions can have damaging effects.

I hope that y'all have a wonderful day. Try to put yourselves in someone else's shoes and see if that gives you a better understanding. 

Choose Happiness

Good morning y'all. I am so glad to be home! I have had a busy couple of weeks. I don't have plans to go anywhere until Halloween weekend now. So it is time to get some projects done. Today, I am going to work on my house and get it back into shape. Thanks to my friend, Katherine, it won't be a really tough job. She has been staying over here taking care of our dogs when we have been gone and she always does housework while she is here! What a Godsend she is.

We went to my brothers deer lease this weekend. I got plenty of rest so I'm not as exhausted as I thought I would be today. It was relaxing to just sit and visit. I always enjoy his wife. There is sething calming about sitting with her and chatting.

I don't have any deep thoughtful things to write about today because that always take so much out of me. So, for today, I'm going to keep it light and relaxing. I just need to mop and do dishes today. I also have a little laundry from the weekend. I think that I will do my sheets and covers tomorrow. I need to give our dogs baths but not sure if that will happen today.

My beautiful granddaughter, Eva, was supposed to start actually going to Pre-K today but she isn't feeling too good. Bless her heart, she was so excited about going and then not able to go. She called me yesterday evening and again today. She always makes my day. I hope that she feels better so that she can go tomorrow. 

We have been checking into "tiny houses". There is so many different things to consider. I didn't realize this before but doing some research has been eye-opening for me. If you have some (any) information that I might need, I would love advise! I'll post pictures of what we are looking at later on.

Make the most of your day, no matter what that looks like for you!

Trying Something New

 

Good afternoon, y'all! For the past couple of days, I have been physically, emotionally, and mentally spent. I think that I just needed to sit and be still for a while. I had an awesome week and weekend last week. Wonderful time with my granddaughter, daughter, son-in-law, and hubby. Over the weekend, we got to visit with Rick and Tabitha, Harvey and Diana (Wesley's brother and sister-in-law), and got to go to the church where we got married. We had breakfast with Sister Carol who is a dear sweet woman whom I miss so much. 

I am going to try doing something a little different. I am going to try to do video's to include in my blog. So here is my first one:

I'm not sure what, when, or how I will be doing but it's another avenue that I want to try. And because I am a curious person and love to learn new things, that is why I want to try it.

Today has been better. I made myself start moving around a bit. I did dishes, got something out to cook, made tea for my hubby. These things seem mundane but they are things that I haven't even bother to try this week. So accomplishing them are a victory for me

I'm still tired and don't feel like doing them but I know they are a necessity. We are going to my brothers deer lease this weekend and I need to get out of this rut I seem to be in. I didn't go to a presentation that my daughter put together for the first responders in Hutto, Texas. I just didn't feel up to the trip. But I am planning on writing an email for them. 

The Love of my Life

 Good morning y'all! I haven't written in my journal in a while. I have had a busy week and I have so much to share. But for today, I want to talk about the man in my life. My hubby, soulmate, life partner, lover, best friend, help mate, and groom (whom I would choose again). I love you Wesley Shafer! I hope that your birthday was everything you ever dreamed of, because you have made my life everything that I have ever dreamed of. You have provided me with everything that we need. You are a hard worker to provide these things. God has provided me with so much by putting you in my life. Thank you for being you! Happy Birthday!

I am rich in so many ways. He allows me to be the mother and grandmother that I want to be. He doesn't get upset when I want to go visit or stay with the kiddos. That means that I have to leave him to fend for himself but is selfless in that way. We dream together, plan together, talk together, cry together, and laugh together. There is no one that I would rather spend my "golden years" with. 

For the longest time, I thought that I would be alone and that scared me. But God sent you to me and all I had to do was just be still and wait on Him. I cannot tell God enough how thankful I am for putting you in my life. You have been my rock during the many storms that have rocked our life. Without you, I don't know that I would have survived. 

Forgiving is Hard

 

Good afternoon y'all. I have been thinking of forgiveness. It is something that we all should do. Holding on to things only hurts ourselves. The reality of being angry with God is a hard one to explain. One of the hardest things for me to admit is that I am angry at myself for still being alive. It should have been me that passed on in May. It definitely wasn't my choice and I know that I can't change anything, so then why am I mad at myself. I will be working on this. My anger at God has lessened. 

But forgiveness is truly a gift that we give ourselves. It frees us from that bitterness that can take root in our very soul. It will darken your days and play havoc with your mind. I talk from experience. I used to think "I will forgive ___ if only they would say that they are sorry". But honestly, even if they say this, do they truly mean it? If I waited for everyone who ever did me wrong, I would be a bitter old woman. I don't want to feel this. I want to be joyful and loving. I can't be these things if I hold resentment. 

I know that we aren't always able to go to someone and say "I forgive you!" but it is important that you pray about it and sincerely forgive others. Again, it's not so much for them but for yourself. I challenge you to try this. I find that I feel better inside after doing so! 

Finding Inner Peace

 

Good afternoon y'all! As most of you know, my grandson passed on to his heavenly home back in May. My whole turned upside down that fateful day. I didn't know which way was up. I felt like a huge part of me died with him. I miss him terribly. But I will say that I am a big fan of finding peace within. I can't make this any better because no matter what I do, I can't bring him back. The reality of that breaks my heart. The pain this has caused my family is heart wrenching. There is something that I do know and that is Ezra wouldn't have wanted everyone to be sad. He had such joy in his heart and he would want everyone to find the joy within. Here are a couple of pictures of his dedication to the God. His parents made the commitment to make sure that they raised him to know God and they did this well. His smile and laughter was so contagious and I'm not sure if he ever met a stranger.   

                                              

                                 

How can I find peace when something so tragic happened? It is something that we find within ourselves. It is not based on things that are around us. I found this cool article that speaks of this:

https://positivepsychology.com/inner-peace-happiness/

As we know, tomorrow is not promised and life is too short. I hope that even in the biggest storm or worst season of your life, that you can find peace. I expect to live life to the fullest every day. I don't want to have regrets when I get older. I make a commitment to myself, my hubby, and my family that I will live life to best of my ability.

Do I feel this way every day? No, but I do make a choice everyday whether or not I want to find joy and inner peace in my life. I challenge you to do the same.