Hope ~ Joy ~ Faith ~ Love
Thank You Mom
I love you
(I was supposed to blog about something else... I needed to blog my heart today.)
As I unpack and decorate my new room, home, life......
I take a few minutes to thank my Mom. Without her I don't know what I would do. I have been blessed with a woman in my life who truly understands me. Through all of our ups and downs she has remained strong and loving. She has given her all and not judged me when I have fallen short. When I had nowhere else to go, she gave my children & I that place to call home. She helped me heal and gave me time. Now she has given me the strength to begin again. She gave me the plaques below that now hang in my new home. They each have a saying and they each mean something more to me. That my mom gave them to me and that she also restored each of those within me when I was lacking. Thank you Mom... I love you. XO
Hope gets us up in the morning. That there is always a possibility for something wonderful to happen at any moment. Sometimes wonderful is happening all around us and we are not paying attention. Tis the the season to have happiness in our hearts. There is giving all around and beautiful thoughtful words of thankfulness being shared daily. Even in this stressed economy friends and family are still keeping the love of the holidays alive and well. We all should have hope and be thankful.
Joy gets us moving in the direction we want to go. When we see things that make us happy we naturally gravitate to them. This is also the season of over committing ourselves with too many activities. Truly happy people allow themselves to do only what makes them happy. When I was overwhelmed with too many commitments, I was told to simply say no & only commit myself to the activities I find enjoyable. There are so many ways to serve the community and I didn't need to do every one of them because I had been asked to do so. We all have our talents and there are gifts we may serve with. If we choose ways to serve that bring joy within our hearts, it may also increase the amount of joy it brings to others.
Faith keeps us strong when we feel weak. While following our hearts, in the pursuit of our goals, or serving the community we get tired. We hit speed bumps along our path. We find that not everyone is as excited as we are to keep moving. Or they do not share our passion for the ideal in the activities. Keeping to our faith in ourselves and all that we value helps us to remain strong while those around us grow weak.
((Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. NIV))
We should always return to what we know & believe in our heart is right. By bringing our lives back to the basics and keeping it simple & our faith pure we find ourselves free of unwanted energy draining negativity thoughts. We can allow ourselves the freedom to stay the course and even lift others up when they grow weak.
((Hebrews 11:6 states,
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God, must believe that He is,
and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
NKJV))
LOVE is the greatest of all. It is our passion for life, our ideas, & for each other that really makes everything work and worthwhile. Without LOVE there is nothing.
((1 Corinthians 13:13
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
NKJV))
It is my belief that the ability to create stems from the love of something, &/or even someone. Of course it helps to be gifted in talent, but if you enjoy a particular craft chances are you will be good at it because you will spend more time doing it. Practice makes one good at what they do.
A song writer can craft a beautiful story within a song for his love of music, but the true wealth of greatness within that song will be when he writes about something that stirs his passion. The closer he is to it the stronger of a piece it will become. I believe that love truly is the greatest gift that should not be taken lightly.
When I had lost my hope and those around me could see that the joy had gone from eyes, I was given the gift of being reminded who I truly am. It took some time, but I was lifted up by those who love me and dusted off. I'm not the me I used to be. I am a new me. I have been through a lot and now my new normal is better than it ever was. I can truly say that I have never been happier. I am very thankful to those who helped me. I'm blessed daily to have you in my life in whatever facet that is. Thank you for being Positively Present.... xo Jeri
