Cloud Watching: The Anti-Venom for Busy-Ness

Greetings Everybody, 
We have all looked up at the sky and seen clouds. 


Do you remember Elementary School and learning the types of clouds?


I Do: Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus & Nimbus


And most us have at one time or another passed a pleasant bit of time watching those clouds.   


Please tell me that you have watched clouds before???  If you haven't, you might want to try it sometime.  It's very relaxing.


Most folks I know deal with stress , but lots of those same people refuse to take time to just be still and breathe.


Meditation is Good For The Body and The Soul


God even tells us to be still and contemplative.


"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10


But alas, we resist.


These days it seems it's all about being busy.
As if being busy equals being successful.


But it doesn't.


Being busy sometimes causes us to lose touch with what is most important to us: Faith, Family and Friends.


I know a whole lot of people who would be a whole lot happier if they would just slow down and spend a little time being spiritually contemplative


 ...and then maybe look up and watch clouds.


A good dose of Cloud Watching might serve as a pretty good anti-venom for all that "Busy-Ness" that is poisoning our society.


Yeah clouds have fascinated me since I was a kid. 


Was it just ME...or did anybody else ever think that clouds were giant cotton balls in the sky?


Did Thunder also fascinate you guys?


As a little girl, I used to think that thunder was caused when one dark & angry cloud bumped into another dark & angry cloud.  


Not sure if somebody told me that, or I just "figured it out for myself".


Such is childhood...


Anyway, although I'm a grandmother now, clouds are still compelling to me. I can totally lose track of time while watching them.


This morning for example... I watched a particularly dark cloud display a sudden brilliance at the highest peak of its formation. 


It was almost as if Gods' Glory was shining through the top of the cloud...even in the midst of its' "blustering anger". 

And of course...the life lesson revealed itself to me: 

In the midst of our darkness, 

God is still there. 

His Glory is ALWAYS there and is ALWAYS shining.

If we want to see that glory though, it's important that we seek it by looking UPWARD rather than INWARD! :)

Perhaps instead of spending our time floating through life like clouds, 

bumping & thundering & "raining",

we should try to reflect some of His Glory for others to see.

God is closer than we think.

In Him,

Grace

Doorknobs, Storms and Friends: A Correlation

Greetings Everybody,
Let's talk about Doorknobs for just a little bit.

Photo courtesy of Royalty Free Fotosearch.com

There are lots of different kinds of doorknobs.

Photo courtesy of Royalty Free Fotosearch.com

Photo courtesy of Royalty Free Fotosearch.com

Photo courtesy of Royalty Free Fotosearch.com

                                                                                                            
And when we are looking for hardware for our doors we can spend AGES looking for just the right style.


Some doorknobs are all "sparkle and shine" like that glass doorknob.
Some of them are all "cozy and warm" like the blue and white ceramic one.
Still others are all "sleek and efficient" like the metal one.


There is a style for everybody's taste.


And People are Just Like That Too.
Some are all "sparkle and shine".
Others are "cozy and warm".
While other folks are "sleek and efficient".


The people who surround us in our daily lives may be quite an eclectic bunch. 
If you are like me, we may be friendly with many people. 
But our actual FRIENDS are fewer in number.


This is never more poignantly apparent than when we really need somebody we can turn to during hard times.
That's when we "thin the herd" and select only the ones who are most reliable and trustworthy to share sorrows with.


During difficulties, we get real particular about who we turn to don't we?


We do so BECAUSE... 


1. The people who are all sparkle and shine tend to be shallow.


2. All too often the cozy and warm ones are rather "opaque" emotionally and don't really seem to understand our troubles either.


3.  And the sleek and efficient ones are all about the quick fix to the problem and they really don't want to sit and listen, cause they just don't have time.




This is when we need someone who understands us well and will hold hands with us when we cry.


Ok...I am just about to tie these loose threads together, so stay with me.


Just for a moment...please examine this next photo and then I'll link it to Storms.

Photo taken at the top of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona Beach, Florida

Ok...now that you've had a look at this doorknob, let's talk about it.


It's not built like most of our doorknobs today.
This one is substantially different.
It is meant for someone who requires a sure grip.


And so NOW things should be coming together for you as I ask you to consider the needs of a Lighthouse Keeper.


A Round Metal, Glass or Ceramic doorknob would be useless to a Lighthouse Keeper who was working in a torrential rain.


And A flattened metal doorknob, no matter how pretty and sleek, would be even worse because it would slip right out of their hands causing all manner of dangers.


But this doorknob is heavy duty hardware and will pretty much "hold hands' with you when you reach for it.


Even with gloves on a person could use this doorknob and safely manage to secure the door.


As listed in the caption of this photo, it was taken at the top of the The Ponce DeLeon Lighthouse in Florida. (It's been around since 1867 and as you can well imagine, this lighthouse has endured many a Stormy Night.)


Can you imagine how many times this doorknob has been held by the Lighthouse Keepers during gale force winds?


Can you imagine how grateful the Keepers were for the reliability of this Heavy Duty Hardware Doorknob?


I bet you are ahead of me right about now and you realize that we aren't talking about Lighthouses and Doorknobs anymore huh? 


And you have probably already figured out that those stormy nights and gale force winds are just figurative language for the hard times in a persons life right?


So here's where I tie all the loose threads together:


Yeah...we are talking about Friends now.

There are lots of different types of friends.

Some are really more like casual acquaintances.

But others are the reliable trustworthy kind of friends.

They are the ones you rely one when you really need somebody to "hold hands with" during the storms of life.

I'll take the "heavy duty hardware type of friend" any old day of the week.  There is a place for everybody on this planet, but during "stormy weather", I want a reliable trustworthy friend by my side.

We know that Abraham from the old Testament was God's Friend.

"And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend." '

James 2:23

I don't think it would be considered blasphemous to say that God Almighty is the ULTIMATE  "Heavy Duty Hardware Type of Friend". And we have a scriptural precedent letting us know that we CAN be His Friend.

But Scripture also talks about the importance and blessings of Earthly friends. Here are just a few of verses that mention Friends.

"A friend loves at all times, 

and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 17:17

"Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart." Proverbs 27:9


"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 


"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." 
Proverbs 18:24


May your life be blessed with the Heavy Duty Hardware Type of Friends.

In Him, 

Grace

Chocolate Silk Coffee..YUM

Greetings Everybody,
Looking forward to today.
Going to make cake and share it with some friends tonight.


I am excited about this.


Haven't seen them in a while.


And I am thinking how wonderful it will be to have cake and coffee with our pals.


But not just ANY Coffee...one called Chocolate Silk.


If you are a coffee "purist" and detest flavored coffees, then this is NOT for you.


                        But...if you enjoy flavored coffee, this one is outstanding!                 

I Really Dig It

                                             It is a true DESSERT COFFEE.                                           


Better than any Mocha I have ever tried.


Rich, Chocolaty, but not some sugary kids drink...it is DEFINITELY Coffee.


OK then...I see my work here is done lol!


Talk with you guys later :)


In Him,
Grace

Trapped Inside the Salad Spinner of Life...

Greetings Everybody,


Have you ever in your whole life just announced that for the next 30 seconds you were NOT going to speak, or listen, or do anything?

I did that today.


Looked at my class, then looked at the clock on the wall, then looked back at my class, and then said " I need 30 Seconds of Peace!"


And that for the next 30 Seconds I was Totally Still and Totally Silent.


When I saw that they were looking at me kinda funny, I just closed my eyes.


(Don't panic...my Student Teacher was in the room watching them.  So it wasn't as bad as it sounds lol)


Anyway, I took my 30 Seconds of Peace.


And after it was over... I explained myself.


I told them that this week has been spinning out of control and I just needed to make things STOP.


And  I told them that the only way I knew how to do that was to just FREEZE for about 30 seconds.


BASICALLY...This week has felt like I was...


"Trapped Inside 
the Salad Spinner of LIFE 
while some vicious Genie 
had me on a Permanent Spin Cycle." 

Sometimes ya just gotta reach out and see if you can kick the Genie ...and somehow find a way to hit the STOP button on the thing.


So that's what I did today.


Furthermore, I believe that we need to teach our kids to do that sometimes too.


They need to know how to cope with pressure and deadlines and obligations...while still taking care of themselves physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.


It's a major life skill.


I am glad that they saw me take a wee bit of time to   "re-focus" myself by "un-busy-ing" myself.


Yeah Today I not only kicked the Genie and hit the STOP Button


...I got my sanity back too.


LOL, and if it's all the same to you guys, I think I'll SKIP the Salad option on my supper tonight.


I'm afraid it would seem somewhat "cannibalistic"  in light of my recent escape from the inside of that Salad Spinner. 


Afterall, I WASN'T Alone In There Ya KNOW!!! A few of the other "trapped ones" in there are friends of mine:)LOL


In Him,
Grace

Come On Christmas Break!

Greetings All,

Do you remember being a school kid who could hardly wait for Christmas Break?

                             I do!

My husband and I are like that EVERY year...right along WITH our students.

WE are just as ready as THEY are.

As a matter of fact, I think that TEACHERS are even MORE ready for school to be out than the KIDS are. Kids only do "public school" for their allotted K-12 years, but I did  "public school" for all the years when I WAS a kid, PLUS well over 20 years sitting on the other side of the desks. That's alot of Christmas Breaks to wait for.

I've been a Kid and I've been a Grown-up. 
I can speak from both perspectives.

And I can testify that my Grown-Up Self generally wants Christmas Break WAAAAY more than my Child Self ever did.

"Just a handful of days to go."

"Just a handful of days to go."

We teachers chant this to ourselves as we drive to work.

We teachers chant this to our colleagues between classes.

We teachers chant this to ourselves as we drive home from work.

We basically mutter this mantra till folks think we've "gone round the bend!" 

But somehow it seems to help lol.

This Christmas I have a list of things I want, but there's not much on my list that you can actually buy

Things I want during Christmas Break:

         -to wake up and realize that I don't HAVE to go anywhere at all

         -to wake up smelling cinnamon buns and coffee

         -to wear flannel pj's all day long while sitting on the sofa covered in a quilt

         -to read for several hours and not feel guilty

         -to have a good fire going in the fireplace every day

         -to have enough food & supplies in the house to keep us satisfied & safe

         -enough extra to share with those in need

         -health & safety for my family and my friends

         -a sense of peace and serenity

         -to be still for a couple of weeks

There will be other Christmas's when I pour on the High Energy...but I hope that this year is a soft and gentle one...my soul needs it


"Just a handful of days to go."


In Him,
Grace

We Were Never Designed To Live In Isolation

Greetings,

There is a picture that I just added on the right hand side of this blog.

It is black & white and shows the path to an ancient Hawaiian holy place on the island of Molokai.

This path was the path for barren women.

It was a trail of sadness for those who could not conceive.

Walking this path was lonely and stigmatizing.

But walking this path indicated that there was hope in your heart.

This is only one of many such paths on our planet.

We now understand that Ancient Tribal People would go on a quest on such paths...looking for something important in their lives.

This particular path is rather steep in places.

It is lonely.

It is desolate.

It is narrow and built for only one person to tread at at time.

No one could walk by your side as you made this journey.

It was a solo venture...as all truly soulful quests are.

Sometimes Modern Day People go on metaphorical quests too.

We forage on, uphill, and alone...looking for something important in our lives.

Though we can draw strength from such quests, WE WERE NEVER DESIGNED to live in isolation.

We need people.

We need family.

We need friends.

WE NEED GOD!

I hope that this month brings you happy times with your family and friends.

I hope that you get to spend time with Your "TRIBE".

I hope your priorities are all sorted.

I hope that Christmas is not about spending money, but about enjoying HOPE.


We ALL need HOPE!

May Family and Friends surround you.

And I want you to remember that you are NOT alone, whatever your quest.

Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

God, is always with us.


In Him,
Grace