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Letting it all Hang Out

Posted in WONDER, tagged abraham lincoln, if you can't say anything nice, keeping quiet, letting it all hang out, wit on January 17, 2014| 2 Comments »

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Ever want to just let it all hang out?

You know, just press pause on the ‘indoor’ (unspoken) voice and simply say it all out loud … not giving a rip who hears the trash talk, the emotion, the real you.

A few years ago I wrote about the Evil Thoughts that I have been known to have in all sorts of daily living activities. Lately my evil thoughts are more the verbal sort, the quick wit, the sharp on the draw, the on the ball things that the mature person chooses to keep to herself.

Lately the quick-witted retorts have been getting louder in my head. Sometimes I wonder if, as the hormonal changes of the next number of years to come occur, I’ll completely lose my ability to bite my tongue … or maybe I will have already severed it! 2f8d5421e6a398f9a89e079f6944062b

When those thoughts are about to be birthed from my mind to my tongue, it is then that I am ‘mother-slapped’ by that old piece of maternal advise :

if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all

and the words start to (regretfully) delete from my memory. It’s really like the deflation of a balloon … something that could have been so witty, so clever, so … how I was really thinking … got the wind knocked out of it. If only I could freely share my wit with the rest of the world.

And then I think of the word of Abraham Lincoln (below), and I swallow my wit, and smile quietly … most of the time 😉

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Hopeful Grief

Posted in WONDER, tagged 1 thessalonians 4:13, Death, Hope, re-birth, Redemption, revelation 21:4 on January 16, 2014| 1 Comment »

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Days ago I received an email from a lovely lady, catching up her email group about the status of the health of her hubby, dealing with terminal cancer. I read, I sighed … the end seemed near.

And now his end has opened the door for his greatest beginning.

Death can be hard. It is a separation from those we love. It is an end to life as we know it. It is absence of presence.

But death does not have to be … final.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 is a verse that hubby (who is a pastor) often quotes when dealing with death and dying, tears and grief, separation and absence. In a nutshell (Carole version) it says,

“by the way, I almost forgot, when you are faced with the death of another follower of Christ, don’t worry. We do not mourn as those who have no hope”

The hope that is available to all who choose to accept it is the hope that the birth of Christ (which was celebrated just weeks ago) provided. Christ, the redemption, or Savior, of our sins. Because of His sacrificial death on a cross, we never have to experience death the same way. Death is no longer an eternity of nothingness, or an eternity of suffering. It is an eternity of life, and not just life as we have it here and now, but eternity without “mourning, or crying or pain.”

This hope is not something easy to understand or explain.

This hope is kind of like those bulbs that you might have planted back in the fall. They were hard and lifeless. Yet, we planted them in the ground, believing that their energy and life were simply dormant, sleeping. We had hope that one spring day, the kinetic energy within would awaken, and that the life within would burst through the ground … beautifully reminding us of the new and fresh life that comes from that which sleeps for a time … then comes fully alive.

May we accept the hope that allows us to mourn differently … hope-fully.

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Resolute

Posted in WONDER, tagged Balance, new years resolutions, one word, Psalm 121, resolute on January 15, 2014| 2 Comments »

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Week three of the first month of the year.

How’s that resolution going?

Back at the beginning of the month I shared (Word of the Year) that I was not making a resolution for 2014. Instead I chose to find a word, and make it the focus of every area of my life. This word would act like a blanket, a covering over every part of my life, my being.

I had been inspired by something I had read by Arianne Segerman called Gratitude is the Catalyst. The one word she had chosen was intention, and she was writing about her word of the year in November, reflecting back on how that one word had affected her year. I was inspired to do the same!

I thought this was a novel and unique way to approach the New Year … I had no idea what a movement this one word concept is, and how widely it is practiced. Just type in ‘one word’ or ‘word of the year’ in your search bar, and you will be amazed at the number of sites that are dedicated to this concept. If I had a dime for every blog I have read, every Facebook link I have noted, every new book I have seen, I would be booking a trip south … okay probably only to Seattle, but it’s still south!

There are two common threads in what everyone is saying about this one word concept that are common.

one word can cover all facets of our lives … it is bigger than a promise about health, habits, etc.
one word is like a presence … it has ability to ‘stay’ with us throughout the weeks and months and not get forgotten

As I contemplated my one word for 2014, I also knew that I am not one to be ‘gung ho’ about much of anything in the month of January. It is dark, wet, gray and depressing in the Pacific Northwest … a reality that I find difficult to make me want to get out of bed, let alone feel inspired to start anything new. So my word had to be one that I could … ruminate over, as the new year got underway, while I work up the energy to actually apply it to my days.

b a l a n c e

My one word was chosen just over a week before Christmas Day. The ‘to do’ list was longer than the hours (or money) in that day, I had bitten off at least one head of a loved one, and my get-up-and-go had left without me. It was then that I uttered under my breath,

all I want for Christmas is some measure of balance in my life.

There it was … the thing I needed most, the thing that could encapsulate every part of my life from time, to money, to energy, to health of my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. My word for 2014 is

b a l a n c e

I seek balance … not perfect balance, but better balance in my year, my weeks, my days, my moments. I am determined … I am resolute to seek balance.

And, what will assist my memory, which frequently fails when I walk from one room, with a reason, to another, having already forgotten the reason?

Psalm 121

“I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you– the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121

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The Year of the Lord’s Favor

Posted in WONDER, tagged beautiful things from dust, beauty for ashes, Dust, gungor, Hope, Isaiah 61, the year of the lord's favor on January 14, 2014| 1 Comment »

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New Years Eve, just three weeks ago, we were waving adiós to 2013, and making fresh promises as we prepared to enter 2014.

So, how are those resolutions, those promises going for you? Feeling down? Discouraged? Feeling lower than a speck of dust under your shoe?

There were so many personal responses to Sunday’s guest post by Annie Downs called Scared to Hope, I felt we needed a follow-up check-in.

So, here it is :

Isaiah 61

The entire chapter is titled … get this :

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

I don’t know about you, but I could really use the hope of a chapter title like that! To look upon 2014 as The Year of the Lord’s Favor could make our, already fouled up, resolutions … dust in the wind.

Speaking of dust, one of my most favorite parts of Isaiah 61 is the following :

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.

May the music of Gungor reinforce for you and me, that only God can take the ashes, the dust, of our lives and make something beautiful from it.

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A New Shower Puff Scrubs Rough

Posted in WONDER, tagged a new shower puff scrubs clean, Future, Helen Keller, Pain, Past on January 13, 2014| 2 Comments »

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I was excited to put a Christmas gift to good use, and immediately separated all of the parts contained in a gift box including coconut-scented body scrub, body butter, shower cream, a bath bar and a new puff. I am calling it :

memories of summer sunscreen

and I love it! Could there be a better scent for the monsoon season of the Pacific Northwest, than something that reminds ones nostrils of summer?

As I entered my shower I excitedly tossed my old shower puff … resembling more of a shower afghan, it was so stretched and misshapen. The new, replacement one was still almost round, and firm and delightfully clean.

I poured my memories of summer sunscreen coconut-scented shower cream onto the puff and smiled in anticipation of smelling better, and feeling cleaner that I had in months!

“OUCH!” I declared, audibly, in my private steamy oasis. That new puff lacked the benefit of having been softened by daily use, it’s edges were stiff and it’s effect was harsh to my tender, early morning, skin. I needed to alter my use. I needed to apply less pressure. The puff and I needed to come to an understanding of middle ground. I had not realized just how much pressure I had been putting on my old puff until I replaced it with the new, and like the idiom,

a new broom sweeps clean,

a new puff also rubs clean … and rough.

My epidermis is sensitive, and this was quite a violent way of cleaning the dead skin cells from the surface of my body!

Did you know that (according to http://www.kidshealth.org) we lose about nine pounds of skin cells every year … without breaking a sweat! Our skin, the human body’s largest organ, has an important job to do as it protects our bodies, holds everything together and gives us the ability to experience the sense of touch.

It was almost tempting to reach into that trash can and retrieve the old puff … but … I knew that the new one would probably clean better, removing the dead skin cells, so as to allow those below them to surface, so as to allow my skin to do it’s job well, so as to allow my skin to breath.

Even now, just a few days into using it, my skin feels more smooth.

The pain is worth it for the gain!

So it can be with any rough, painful, unexpected adjustment in life. The adjustments of today could pain off big time … in time. But, reaching back into the trash can of the past, means we are still dealing with the dirt of yesterday.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.
Only through experience of trial and suffering
can the soul be strengthened,
ambition inspired,
and success achieved.”
Helen Keller

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Scared to Hope?

Posted in WONDER, tagged annie downs, Hope, incourage, scared to hope, the year we hoped on January 12, 2014| 2 Comments »

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Hope is a dangerous word, because it is often closely connected to expectation of hopes fulfilled.

Life isn’t always like that, though.

Last week as I was reading a blog post by Annie Downs at (in)courage, she started with this question,

“What if this year we just hoped like crazy?”

and I almost deleted it before reading further.

But my ‘gut response’ to want to delete it, not read further, was rather surprising to me. Why did I respond that way? So, I kept reading.

Annie’s post, called, The Year We Hoped, left me feeling as though she was reminding me of what I know in my head, but had forgotten in my heart …

” now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1

Faith and hope go together … there is no faith if we do not allow ourselves to hope.

Give a read to Annie’s post, and see if you can have a renewed understanding that “hope … never stops at all.”

“What if this year we just hoped like crazy?

The kind of hope that can feel scary and look embarrassing and may blow up in your face.

It seems that there are times we are taught that to be “mature” and “holy” means to be without hope, without risk.

Show that you are okay as you are and that you’ll just play the cards you’ve been dealt.

Don’t dream for things to come or you’ll look foolish when they don’t.

Be content.

But what happens when “content” and “hopeless” become synonymous?

I’ve felt that. Haven’t you? I’ve labeled resignation as contentment. I’ve put all those words in the same folder, thinking the longer hope goes unfulfilled, the more interchangeable those words become. It doesn’t matter what you are hoping for or waiting for – a spouse, a child, a job, a dream, a break, a nap – I bet you’ve wrestled with this. Like I have. For years.

Friends, those words? Content. Hopeless. They were never meant to be synonyms. No one asked you to be content by giving up your dreams. Being CONTENT with life doesn’t mean you CONSENT to quit dreaming.

. . . . .

In 2014, I’m choosing to be content and ridiculously hopeful.

We’re going to have to dance with both words and watch as they step on each other’s toes and turn the wrong way here or there. But I think we can do it- live with hope, live fully today, and feel satisfied.

Here’s what. Hope isn’t being sure you are going to get what you want. Hope isn’t this silly idea that if you can just find the bottle, the genie will give you whatever is on your wish list.

Hope is being sure that we serve a God who CAN. We serve a God who DOES. And we serve a God who KNOWS. And watching to see how He does it all.

I’m full of hope this year about what God can do, what He will do, and trusting that He knows what will be for my good and for His glory.

Sure, I’m a little scared, especially saying it in front of you. And I’m not certain I know what this is going to look like. But I’m willing to try.

To 2014. The year we hoped.

. . . . .

Join me? What are you hoping for this year? “

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The Best of January 6 – 10

Posted in WONDER, tagged cleaning house, how busy are you, little things, positivity is the key to success, the best of, the best of January 6-10, the best of the week, the look of freedom on January 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Well we all survived the first week back

to work,

to school,

to regular routines.

How are you? Busy? That was the most viewed post of the week. I believe that busy is the dirty little four-letter word that doesn’t start with ‘F’ but everyone uses or wears like a badge of armor.

Also this week were :

Little Things
(the little things we do are big things)

Positivity is the Key to Success
(thinking positively can be good for your health)

Cleaning House
(how packing Christmas away helped me to finally celebrate it)

The Look of Freedom
(sometimes the look of freedom comes from escaping, but sometimes …)

Blessings on your week,Carole

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The Look of Freedom

Posted in WONDER, tagged dog on the loose, Freedom, returning home, runaway, the look of freedom on January 10, 2014| 1 Comment »

Sometimes ideas for blog posts simply cross my path … this time it ran out to greet me … wagging it’s tail.

On a dark and rainy night, I was heading home when something in the distance up the street caught my eye, and alerted me to proceed with caution.

As I got closer to the intersection, I saw clearly what had been in the shadows … a very happy dog.

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When I saw him on the sidewalk he was doing the canine equivalent of the happy dance, and I knew instinctively that he was a fugitive on the run.

As the cohabitator of a beast who has frequently been such a fugitive, I had seen the signs. Mouth wide open to fully taste freedom. Eyes wide opened so as to see previously unexplored places. Nose in the air filling his lungs with every scent he had previously only sniffed in passing, while out on leash. Tail raised like a monarchs sceptre, as if to say, “I’m the alpha dog.” And a body that could not stay still with the excitement of being free.

He appeared to be friendly, young, and a purebred Golden Retriever … not the sort of beast that normally lives on the streets of the burbs.

I was concerned that his joie de vivre was going to get him swiped, or wiped out by the next vehicle driven he decided to run out to sniff or chase.

As I looked into his big brown eyes I imagined that he might have a human pair of baby blues waiting at home for his return. So I turned the corner and parked on the side of the road, between a house in darkness, and one brightly lit.

“Now what?” I spoke into the air, as my furry stalker looked back at me … as if to say, “wanna play?”

Thankfully one of the two phone numbers I actually know is that of a family from that hood. I called, described the pup, and asked if it might sound like one they know. Through a series of questions we determined that I might actually be parked right in front of this dogs home.

I took a deep breath, and prayed quickly that this dog might be more beauty than beast.

The van door was barely shut when the freedom flier came soaring towards me. It sniffed my hand, my feet, my legs … all seemed to be going well! Then it jumped up, and I abruptly went into dog-owner mode and said in my ‘alpha’ voice

“SIT!”

… and he did.

All human concerns were gone … this dog knew his place (even if he had decided to vacate for awhile).

He followed me like a … puppy, to the door of the well lit house. To the door came two ladies, a two young children, and a mini-beast. When the door opened, one of the women said, “how did he get out?”

Apparently the beautiful beast truly was a fugitive, and by the looks of love on all faces, a deeply wanted one too. The beast seemed to smile, as affection was lavished upon him, from his human and canine pack.

sometimes the look of freedom comes from escaping

but sometimes …

it comes from returning

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Cleaning House

Posted in WONDER, tagged christmas, christmas story, Jesus, joseph and mary, packing away christmas, symbols of christmas on January 9, 2014| 3 Comments »

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Many speak of how ’empty’ their homes feel once Christmas is packed away for another year. I have to admit, cleaning away the decor of Christmas is something I usually am ready to do by about noontime on Christmas Day. This year I waited patiently until December 29th.

When the last of the boxes was placed on it’s shelf, and the final needles from the tree vacuumed up, I then moved on to cleaning up the food of the season. The best way to do that was to encourage my son to have a couple of his fourteen year old, male, friends over for a day of video gaming … food cleaned up!

Once Christmas got packed away I looked forward to the following morning, when I sat down in my cozy chair, with a steaming cup of brew, and admired the clutter-free house.

It is then that Christmas hit … as though for the first time of the season.

I sit in the quiet of the still dark room and pondered the season we just celebrated.

Mary was young … really young … young like my fourteen-year old son. Still a child by today’s standards, but a young woman in her day. Preparing for her upcoming marriage to Joseph, her plans were knocked off their axis when she was visited by a stranger, who announced what was to come … a baby.

No, not just a baby … the Savior. The long-awaited Messiah.

Her wedding plans altered … did she realize her plans for the rest of her life were altered as well?

Joseph was planning and preparing to wed his betrothed by creating a good name for himself in his community and by laboring to establish a home for them to share. The reputation he had worked so hard to create was now to be destroyed by the news Mary shared … she was pregnant, and he knew this child did not originate in the sparkle in his eyes. As a man of honor he would divorce her quietly (engagement in those days was a legal contract, as binding as marriage). Then, he too was visited by a heavenly stranger … the nest egg he was planning to use to start a life for two, would now be needed to support three.

Sigh!

What a drama, a thriller, a mystery!

How is it that, I do not fully grasp the weighty significance of the Christmas story until after it is over, until after all of it’s symbols are packed away?

Maybe it is because the symbols are human ones …

trees topped with angels and stars
nativity sets
advent candles
carols

Maybe our focus is so directed to the symbols of Christmas we miss the figures they represent and the story they should lead us to ponder. The story of sin-filled people, in need of and waiting for the arrival of their Savior … Messiah. The story of God sending that Savior in a most unexpected, unassuming way … the way every person enters this life … as a baby.

Unlike the baby Jesus of our Christmas nativities and carols, this one did not stay a baby. He grew and skinned his knees, and learned his lessons, and did his chores. He began his ministry and taught lessons, and performed miracles, and loved the unlovable. He was crucified, died, buried, rose again.

And I sat, my still-filled mug not even cooled, as the tears of understanding rolled down my cheeks …

This Christmas gift was never given with the intent of being packed away until next year … that is only for the symbols.

What God gave was never intended to only be a symbol.

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Positivity is the Key to Success

Posted in WONDER, tagged blessings, charles dickens, count your blessings, positivity is the key to success on January 8, 2014| 1 Comment »

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There was a time, not that long ago, when one of my daughters was driving her brother nuts with the message

“positivity is the key to success.”

Lets just say that he had approached adolescents (or it had invaded him), and he was struggling with the surges of testosterone which resulted in flashes of anger, sarcasm and negativity.

His sister thought he needed a mantra that would quickly replace his negativity with positivity …

lets get real …

she also wanted to drive him batty!

(mission accomplished)

Is positivity the key to success?

According to an article on cnn.com (from the Mayo Clinic), there are health benefits from positive thinking, such as :

Increased life span
Lower rates of depression
Lower levels of distress
Greater resistance to the common cold
Better psychological and physical well-being
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It is believed that thinking positively can have such beneficial affects on reducing stress that over-all health can be improved.

Maybe we ought to start viewing

smiling

encouraging people

opening doors for others

taking a bubble bath

reading an enjoyed novel

dreaming of a snow day 😉

as exercise, for the soul, heart, mind and body.

Oh, and what about …

counting your blessings?

You know … the old hymn with the words,

“count your blessings, name them one by one”

Counting our blessings or thinking positively in no way indicates that we are to get in touch with our inner ostrich … burying our head in the sand, and pretending that the ‘curses’ and negatives are non-existent. Instead, to look at our blessings and think positively involves a choice to not allow the negative to rule our hearts, our minds and our days.

… it’s good for our health too 😉

“Reflect on your present blessings,
on which every man has many,

not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some.”

Charles Dickens

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