HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
May your day be filled with the love and warmth of family and friends together.
May your bodies be blessed with food that nourishes and comforts.
May your lives live out the gratitude on this special day of thanks.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Thursday, November 21, 2019
WORDS TO LIVE BY
[I'm reposting because I spent a large part of the past two weeks getting little accomplished--part was due to flu, part to having workmen in the house replacing entry doors. After such extraordinary times, I needed a spiritual reset. Hope you enjoy this reminder from Mother Teresa.]
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A hard copy of the above inspirations has resided on my kitchen bulletin board for years. From time to time I see it, half-covered by photos of my great-grandchildren, and I am reminded that there is a reason for me to endure what must be endured, to try to help where I can, and to continue to live and give and be. The last line says it all.
Have a blessed week.
[I'm reposting because I spent a large part of the past two weeks getting little accomplished--part was due to flu, part to having workmen in the house replacing entry doors. After such extraordinary times, I needed a spiritual reset. Hope you enjoy this reminder from Mother Teresa.]-----
The verses below reportedly were written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her.
Some sources say that the words below were written on the wall in Mother Teresa's own room. In any case, their association with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity has made them popular worldwide, expressing as they do, the spirit in which they lived their lives.
They seem to be based on a composition originally by Kent Keith, but much of the second half has been re-written in a more spiritual way.
----from prayerfoundation.org
QUICK INSPIRATIONS
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, there may be jealousy; be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.
[This version attributed to Mother Theresa.]
A hard copy of the above inspirations has resided on my kitchen bulletin board for years. From time to time I see it, half-covered by photos of my great-grandchildren, and I am reminded that there is a reason for me to endure what must be endured, to try to help where I can, and to continue to live and give and be. The last line says it all.
Have a blessed week.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Your what hurts?
I am now nursing a sore back--the kind that causes me to walk bent over so I'm looking directly to the floor. Nothing much of interest down there on the floor, unless you consider dust bunnies and debris left by the workers (still here) and bits of fabric and thread that escaped from the sewing area.
Before you ask--I don't know what I did, or didn't do, or how I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to end up with this malady.
(My grandmother would probably have said it was meanness coming out. Not that I was mean, that was just her way of saying, "these things happen." I think. I hope.)
Today marks the sixth day of this ongoing disability. I am not good with ill health. Nor with the inability to do my normal things. I have little patience for sick folks (just ask my kids), and even less with myself. A sore back isn't sick, for heaven's sake, more of a major annoyance.
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Naturally, given that I'm not 100% on top of things, this is the week for stuff to happen.
- my guys came to install new entry doors, with storm doors, on the three sides of my house where ingress and egress occurs. This is a several day process.
- I have two noontime knitting sessions with a friend; one has already been cancelled.
- yesterday was haircut day--rescheduled for the following week.
- I was two days late in getting the hymn list to the church office for next Sunday's bulletin.
- I wrote checks to pay bills, then missed the mailman's visit.
- extra-cold weather for the past and future few days dampened my interest in going anywhere--grocery store, post office drive-up box, church for my weekly sewing for the NICU babies.
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In the meantime, I leave you with some of the life lessons I learned (or maybe, relearned):
- Some people want to help--you just have to let them know. One of the guys who is installing doors (he's also the owner of the business) was on his way to Home Depot and asked if there was anything he could do for me. Could he stop by the Post Office and drop my bill payments in the box? He could.
- Most people will forgive you for not showing up--just make sure you tell them it's going to happen. (That's if you're not involved in an emergency. You know what I mean.) They have plans, too.
- Ask yourself (this is an oldie but a goodie)--what's the worst thing that can happen if you don't do your part? Only you can really answer that, but I figure the worst thing that can happen in my life is that people will realize that I'm human, not a machine, and therefore not 100% reliable. I'll do my share when, and if, I can; sometimes I'll go the extra mile. But--like all my fellow human beings, body parts wear out, just when you least expect them to.
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My back is improving, slowly, so by next week's installment of Thursday's Child I should be done with grunting, groaning, and whimpering. Or maybe not . . . I may get used to being pampered. (Assuming pampering comes along.)
Take care of yourself--and if you are visited by indisposition or infirmity, do your best to get through it with your sense of humor intact. Funny movies help. Also sentimental ones--I've already watched White Christmas because it snowed a few days ago (three inches of the stuff). Talk to people, surf the 'web, read a book you've always wanted to read (or re-read). And smile!
Talk to you soon!
I am now nursing a sore back--the kind that causes me to walk bent over so I'm looking directly to the floor. Nothing much of interest down there on the floor, unless you consider dust bunnies and debris left by the workers (still here) and bits of fabric and thread that escaped from the sewing area.
Before you ask--I don't know what I did, or didn't do, or how I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to end up with this malady.
(My grandmother would probably have said it was meanness coming out. Not that I was mean, that was just her way of saying, "these things happen." I think. I hope.)
Today marks the sixth day of this ongoing disability. I am not good with ill health. Nor with the inability to do my normal things. I have little patience for sick folks (just ask my kids), and even less with myself. A sore back isn't sick, for heaven's sake, more of a major annoyance.
-----
Naturally, given that I'm not 100% on top of things, this is the week for stuff to happen.
- my guys came to install new entry doors, with storm doors, on the three sides of my house where ingress and egress occurs. This is a several day process.
- I have two noontime knitting sessions with a friend; one has already been cancelled.
- yesterday was haircut day--rescheduled for the following week.
- I was two days late in getting the hymn list to the church office for next Sunday's bulletin.
- I wrote checks to pay bills, then missed the mailman's visit.
- extra-cold weather for the past and future few days dampened my interest in going anywhere--grocery store, post office drive-up box, church for my weekly sewing for the NICU babies.
-----
In the meantime, I leave you with some of the life lessons I learned (or maybe, relearned):
- Some people want to help--you just have to let them know. One of the guys who is installing doors (he's also the owner of the business) was on his way to Home Depot and asked if there was anything he could do for me. Could he stop by the Post Office and drop my bill payments in the box? He could.
- Most people will forgive you for not showing up--just make sure you tell them it's going to happen. (That's if you're not involved in an emergency. You know what I mean.) They have plans, too.
- Ask yourself (this is an oldie but a goodie)--what's the worst thing that can happen if you don't do your part? Only you can really answer that, but I figure the worst thing that can happen in my life is that people will realize that I'm human, not a machine, and therefore not 100% reliable. I'll do my share when, and if, I can; sometimes I'll go the extra mile. But--like all my fellow human beings, body parts wear out, just when you least expect them to.
-----
My back is improving, slowly, so by next week's installment of Thursday's Child I should be done with grunting, groaning, and whimpering. Or maybe not . . . I may get used to being pampered. (Assuming pampering comes along.)
Take care of yourself--and if you are visited by indisposition or infirmity, do your best to get through it with your sense of humor intact. Funny movies help. Also sentimental ones--I've already watched White Christmas because it snowed a few days ago (three inches of the stuff). Talk to people, surf the 'web, read a book you've always wanted to read (or re-read). And smile!
Talk to you soon!
 |
| Couldn't resist sharing this one |
Thursday, November 7, 2019
BLESSINGS - INCOMING
Remember Bing Crosby's song in White Christmas?
"When I'm worried, and I can't sleep,
I count my blessings, instead of sheep,
and I fall asleep, counting my blessings."
Yes, it's a little early for Bing & Co. But it's never too early--nor too late--to count one's blessings. Here are some of mine:
1-5: a home of my own; family who keep in touch (we have so many ways to make contact); friends and acquaintances who keep me social; neighbors who keep me from thinking my way is the only right way to live; and good people who work on my house, attend to my yard, and wait on me when I do my shopping.
6-9: living in a small town that cares about its citizens; and a country that allows me the freedom to vote as I see fit; freedom to worship in public; choices when I visit shops.
10-15: a free public library that provides books, movies, recordings, as well as digital services, public programs, and art exhibits.
16-18: good health; if health breaks down, many opportunities for treatment in my community; good medical personnel, in many specialties; a YMCA with fitness equipment, walking/running tracks, and fitness programs for individual or group work.
19-20: opportunities to serve others; places to share joy through music and the written word.
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When I started this post, I realized it could easily get out of hand. The above list could go on and on and on . . . one blessing recalls another, and then another. Sometimes they're right in front of my face. Sometimes they're completely visible, but I'm looking the other way.
You don't have to make a list to count your blessings. Just think of three or four ways you know you are blessed. Before you realize it, you'll go far beyond those three or four.
Have a blessed week!
Remember Bing Crosby's song in White Christmas?"When I'm worried, and I can't sleep,
I count my blessings, instead of sheep,
and I fall asleep, counting my blessings."
Yes, it's a little early for Bing & Co. But it's never too early--nor too late--to count one's blessings. Here are some of mine:
1-5: a home of my own; family who keep in touch (we have so many ways to make contact); friends and acquaintances who keep me social; neighbors who keep me from thinking my way is the only right way to live; and good people who work on my house, attend to my yard, and wait on me when I do my shopping.
6-9: living in a small town that cares about its citizens; and a country that allows me the freedom to vote as I see fit; freedom to worship in public; choices when I visit shops.
10-15: a free public library that provides books, movies, recordings, as well as digital services, public programs, and art exhibits.
16-18: good health; if health breaks down, many opportunities for treatment in my community; good medical personnel, in many specialties; a YMCA with fitness equipment, walking/running tracks, and fitness programs for individual or group work.
19-20: opportunities to serve others; places to share joy through music and the written word.
-----
When I started this post, I realized it could easily get out of hand. The above list could go on and on and on . . . one blessing recalls another, and then another. Sometimes they're right in front of my face. Sometimes they're completely visible, but I'm looking the other way.
You don't have to make a list to count your blessings. Just think of three or four ways you know you are blessed. Before you realize it, you'll go far beyond those three or four.
Have a blessed week!
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