Ten Random Acts of Kindness

Thoughts of kindness came upon me this last week. Random acts of kindness. You know those little things that get you through the day? We all do them, even the harshest of personalities will do a kind thing some times. I have met some real distasteful persons in my life, but even they can do kind things at times. There was a time when I went through a toll booth from the Illinois border into the Indiana border. The toll was sixty cents and out of the blue my daughter Lindsay says, "Mom pay for the car behind us!" I ask why and she says she thought it would just be kind. The person behind us didn't know us, but as we pulled away, I could see the toll booth person pointing at our car and you know what....it felt pretty good!

Relationships are Complicated

So I was thinking again the other day about relationships. I mean I am not forcing you to read my blog, and my insight may or may not be right, but to be able to freely type my thoughts and share them is pretty amazing!
Relationships are complicated in general  ..right? I dated my husband for two and half years before marriage, and it was...well...complicated at times.

Two Days... Till Friday

This week has been some what of a usual week with some unusual happenings. Funny things I would say. Maybe you will agree after I tell you of my last two days of pure insanity....by the way the definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different conclusion. Hmmm? Questionable to say the least....I would definitely say that my last two days would very much be the definition of insanity.

Got Purpose?

I was reflecting today on an incident that happened back this last summer. I would venture to say it would have been called the "brink of death" for me. I was eating some venison steak one evening, as it seems to me that I have been on a low carb diet called the Primal Blue Print for six to seven months. Venison is a very dense steak and tends to be a bit drier. For anyone that does not know what venison is, it is deer meat. I absolutely love venison...especially a doe. This particular evening, my husband and I was enjoying a venison steak, when I took a bite a bit too big.

Cannibals Chicken Noodle Soup is Pure Bliss

Looking back over my week...I chuckle a bit at my youngest boy, Tad who hands down can, on a good day, beat any national comedian with the things that he says.On Tuesday I have school for my boys and my nephew. I teach spelling, english, reading and geography. This Tuesday I told the boys that I was going to only have grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch. I heard the grumblings from three very disappointed little boys. Seth asks, "Mom, what kind of soup are we having?" I simply state," Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup." Tad looks at his brother and says "See Seth it is Cannibals chicken noodle soup!" So I guess that day we were going to be brutish, beast-like,anthropophagite, bush dwelling soup and sandwich eaters....he just didn't know it!

My Old Friend...Inner Turmoil

This story is referring back to an incident that happened last week to me. I have these beautiful American Indian choker necklaces that my husband bought for me, that I absolutely love. I have 2..one is black with the white bone..the other is brown wood-like beads with black. I chose to wear the black with brown and I went to town, into Walmart..thinking nothing of my amazing necklace...but someone else did. I noticed some folks were looking at my neck. Now please don't think me vain, but I am sure any woman reading this blog will agree (if she is honest with herself)  that she has been there...she has felt this at some point. We all have....

This is a Hold Up..Hand Over the Backpack!

Do you relate to the picture? I mean as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, grandchild , and as a woman do we ever feel that way? When I seen this picture today, it truly said how I was feeling today. Why do we  take on the "weight of the world" anyways? Is it expected by others, or are we our own worst enemies?

The Art of Wearing a Hospital Gown

The very art of wearing a hospital gown is overwhelming for some of us out there...right? I mean the hospital gown has its own cartoons, because they cause so much emotional distress. My daughter had her gallbladder surgery yesterday and as soon as the nurse set the folded hospital gown on the bed, I seen her eyes grow larger, pupils dilate, hands and feet began to sweat and her mouth began to get dry.

Lessons from Mammoth Cave

You know its funny, I was out running the other day thinking of a new blog post, when I remembered our trip to Kentucky to the Mammoth Cave. You wonder why I would be thinking about a big dark cave..right? There is this one particular moment at the beginning of our tour, that most sticks out in my mind.

Reverse Thinking

So this weekend we had our friends Craig , Kristy and their son Keith came down from Northern Indiana. They came on Friday evening and left this morning. My emotions got away from me again, and as they pulled away I cried. I cried for myself, I cried for my friendships so far away, I cried for that intimacy of having dear friends that love you unconditionally. Friends do bring serenity and peace in the lives of those that will allow those friends to bless you.

It's All in Your Perspective

Here I sit one hour from the new Year of 2012. What am I to expect this year? Only God knows. But I can tell you that I want to be in the center of His will. My friend made a wonderful statement today, when you are in the center of Gods will its the safest place to be. Pretty impressionable statement I thought. So why does things feel completely chaotic and out of control when you were pretty sure at the start of the day you were in Gods will for that day? It began by me taking this past Thursday off from work to take my daughter, son and another teenager in my church up to Springfield Illinois for a teen conference.

Hustle ,Bustle, Starbucks and Take it Easy

Yesterday was the after Christmas shopping day with my  mom and sister and of course the "teen girls". We all love it, but it was truly hustle and bustle. I can only thank Jesus I didn't have anything to return! The return lines were just terrible. After going to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and having to sit by the rear exit of the restaurant, I was freezing! Open, close, open, close, and so forth went the door for the entire 30 minutes we were there. So we hit a couple of stores and then I asked my sister to go ahead and drop the girls and I off at the Paducah, Kentucky mall. Mom and my sister needed to go into another store, so my sister was glad to drop us off. The first place I wanted to go was Starbucks for a hot coffee just so I could feel my fingertips again. Of course..a line! 20 minutes in the line I wait for a tall (medium) coffee and then I hear my name...the coffee handed to me..I am smiling.... I can just taste the yummy delicious hot nectar in my mouth...until I notice its a small.

The Gift of Christmas

Christmas is a gift, wrapped in thoughts of a holy infant come to us in humble, meager circumstances to save the world. I can not deny that the thought of a baby being born in a stable sounds pretty disgusting. We do see a lot of scenes like the one above, but anyone who has ever been close to a barn, knows the stench from such a place. The cozy, warm amber aura that is in the above picture is pretty much unrealistic. But I ponder tonight on a Saviors birth, so meager at the beginning, yet He is the One, the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end.

Cookies, Family, Gifts and Naps

What an amazing day! Can serenity be found in cookies, family, gifts and naps? What is the synonyms of serenity...well here is a list from thesaurus.com ......

Definition:	calm, peacefulness
Synonyms:	calmness, composure, cool, patience, peace,peace of mind, placidity, quietness, quietude,stillness, tranquillity

Remember the old Seinfeld episode where George's father, Frank Constanza,  was seeking serenity. When his wife, Estelle,  would stress him out or make him upset...He would say over and over to himself , "Serenity now,serenity now!" 

Christmas Cookies and All the Bliss

Every year there is one day set aside for baking cookies. My mother, sister, and I try to collaborate and make Christmas cookies. We give these cookies as gifts to neighbors and friends. Each year we try to simplify this task by making 4 or 5 different kinds of cookies, so we are not overloaded.  We made fudge, toffee, sugar cookies, cornflake cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. Everything made out good except the fudge. There we stood over the two pans trying to get  the fudge up to 235 degrees Fahrenheit and for some reason I thought my oldest son Adam and my sister said 220 degrees Fahrenheit....so hence the double batch of white chocolate fudge...is taken off too soon, causing complete failure! The double batch of chocolate fudge never came up to heating point, so it was just overcooked.  So we had 5 recipes...hundreds of cookies...and the fudge didn't make. I know to concentrate on the good...right?

The Hum Drum of Life

Today was just another day...not particularly bad, but not what I would say life altering. So where to you find a serene moment in a day that is so "hum drum"? Maybe today I will find it in a hot cup of coffee, you know the kind that is steaming from the top of my favorite mug that has the quote from Psalm 33:21, In Him our Hearts rejoice. Its filled with a larger amount than I should have, of Vanilla Coffee Mate creamer. Maybe I will be typing on my blog and think how serene it is to hear two of my boys playing Monopoly with their dad. As I type this I am smiling at the serene scene of family being together spending time with one another and listening to my ten year old speak on how excited he is to have Oriental Avenue. I can say that I do find comfort in the wood stove after being cold all day at the office. Coming home to your husband cooking  a piece of fried ham and an egg over easy isn't so bad  either. Maybe just petting my grey cat, Motorboat, and listening to the hum of his constant purring making me feel welcome to be home is serenity in itself.  You know the more I think about it, the less "hum drum" this day is becoming and the more serenity I am feeling. I think I will help myself to another cup of coffee, thanks :)

Can this bring me serenity in 2012?

Well here I am beginning a new blog for the 2nd time in my life. Just typing that makes me feel like I have lost, before I have even began. Is that possible to lose before my first sentence is even typed? Mentally yes, but inside something burns for serenity, for an anger free life, for softer answers, peace, quietness when needed...those times when you need to just shut the mouth and let feelings pass before they begin. I have decided to let go of anger and disappointment this year of 2012. Yes..its a quest to defeat the foe that most defeats me in a days time..the foe of anger, aggravation and impatience. We all have those times that we let our husbands or wives down, our children, our family and most of all ourselves, when we just "blow it" again...blow our top...let lose and then you sit back afterwards and think to yourself that all they needed was just some understanding, someone to just hug them and say "its all right". Well I stand today, for this year in my life and type it out. Yes this quest will not be easy..when I look ahead in days to come and let myself down, but I truly want to see it typed out those days that I triumph through Christ, overcome and seize the serenity that is most needed in my heart. I ask you to walk with me...I desire to see the simple pleasure in life...reminding me that serenity is possible.