SLOW DOWN

She was recounting her and her husbands dreamy motorcycle ride through Vermont and as they pulled over at small local café to have lunch.

The waitress approached us and inquired "Where you from?" (She reminded her of Mrs. Garrett from the old 80’s TV show called Facts Of Life.)  Before they knew Mrs. G. was telling her story from a few years ago when life in New York was crazy, she had an important job and the world was running by. She felt as if she was missing out on the true meaning to life and needed to get out and slow down. The kind and gracious waitress finished her story and walked away. The couple looked at each other and felt the story resonated with them. They really sensed they met her for a reason and this truly was a golden message... "Slow down"...  They paid their bill, mounted their motorcycles, ready to take off  when Mrs. G. ran out hugged them and said good-bye.

While at home they remained convinced that it was time for change and they truly needed to "Slow down."

Have you ever sensed in your heart that you met someone for a reason?

I love God stories and I believe they are meant to encourage the storyteller and those they chose to pass the story on to!

In Acts 19 Paul arrives in Miletus and sent message to the elders of the church in Ephesus. It was time for him to leave but they all knew parting would be such sweet sorrow. His final words to them:

Remain faithful. Hold on to the faith. Hold on to the truth.But a final message to hold on to what sustains you. A message of hope. “When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him” (Acts 19:36-37 NIV). 

A time to let go. A loss. 

Paul pulled over knowing he would never return to these people again but he took the time to pray and say good-bye. We all have loss in our life. Words of knowledge help us to remember what is important. We work through our pain in life and learn to be sustained by our Lord.

These two stories teach us about moving on in life, making changes and holding on to messages of truth that will keep us filled with hope.

How can you slow down so you don't miss messages in life?

Prayer:  Father in heaven thank You for watching over me and showing me Your will for my life. I need help to see and hear it. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

GOOD GRIEF

Recently I followed up with a elderly lady whose husband died. I asked her how she was doing and she responded "Honestly I don't even want to answer the phone because I don't want to answer that question." She was not being rude she was being honest.

I hung up feeling sad that I was one of many who had been asking her that dreaded question. The incident prompted me to really consider my words for the grieving. Remember grieving can be anything; the loss of a loved one, job, health etc.

When I asked a funeral director what he says this was his response "I don’t usually like the “how are you doing?” question.  It sounds too canned and does not always get an honest answer.

I might open by saying that I wanted to follow up and let you know that they are still in our prayers.  Then, rather than ask the question, I might say, “I’m hoping that you’ve been able to get through this time OK.”  See if there is any response to either of those statements.  If not, they don’t want to talk- but you’ve still made them feel cared for."

It's nice to follow-up with the grieving help them with  "Good grief." 
I was walking around saying good grief I do not know what to say.

I thought a good verse to go with this note today would be
"Greater love has no one than this;  to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13 NIV).

PRAYER:  Lord help me with my words so that I help others. Amen.

HOUSEWORK WON'T KILL YOU, BUT WHY TAKE A CHANCE?

Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance? —Phyllis Diller

How many of you remember who Amelia Bedelia is?
The author Peggy Parish wrote 41 books. The beloved character, Amelia Bedelia, was a maid for a family who gave her commands that she misunderstood. She took figures of speech and various terminology literally which caused her to take incorrect action with a comical effect. In the end Amelia always wins her family over by baking delicious pies or cakes. 
Examples of her crazy antics:
The family would leave a leave a note saying "Dust the furniture." Amelia would think that is crazy saying "Why would anyone want to dust the furniture?" She proceeded to get dusting powder container and use the puff to put dust on the furniture.
"Strip the sheets"- Amelia would take a scissor and cut strips from the bed sheets.
"Change the towel"-She would get the scissors and make them different shapes.
"Make the bed"-She would get wood and construct a bed.
"Put Balls on the Christmas tree"-She would fill the tree with soccor, baseball, basketball balls. All sorts of sports balls.
"Remove the spots from dress"-She would cut the polka dots out of a dress. 
There notes should have read. "Undust the furniture", "Put the wet towels in the laundry and replace with the clean towels", "Take the sheets off of the bed and put clean ones on", "Take the bedding for the bed and put it on the bed", "Take the Christmas decorations and put them on the tree" 
 What is the saying "A Happy wife is a happy life"
Happy mom Happy home.
I discovered that secret to a clean house never let your children or husband enter it.
I'm starting to clean my house and by cleaning I mean drinking wind and spraying Febreeze.
A clean house means a broken computer.
A clean house means someone is scheduled to come over.
I thought I would clean the house. But whats the house done for me lately?
I dreamed about a clean house...
The responsibility of keeping our homes clean is big. Some of us get OCD about it. Some of us may be okay with a mess but only too a point. It's all about what you can live with. 
Too get up in front of a audience and say you should do this and you should do that is not for me to do. To laugh about our antics and encourage you to do the best you can. To lovingly let the people in home know what you can live with and what you can not.Finally I am going to give you what you have been waiting for. Cleaning/organizational tips.
1. Pick item up off the floor.
I don't know about you but the bending getting back up is getting pretty hard. That could take a minute or two.
2. Go to doorway of a room, closet or cabinet.
3. Throw items into room, closet or cabinet.
4. Shut the door.
Truly here are some of the best tips someone gave me.
1. Don't drive your family crazy.
2. Pray.
3. Suggest to them I am these three rooms to clean.
4. Can I get some help.
5. Gain positive help by making a list and letting them chose what they want to do.
When we gain a positive spirit they may next time pick a less desirable job. Cooperation, mutual respect is learned by us modeling it.
6. Don't do every room at once and drive everyone crazy. unless they agree and say "yah lets just get it all done on Saturday.
7. Take three bags or boxes or storage bins into a room
a. one is a give away bag.
b. two is a keep and put somewhere else bag
c. three is a garbage bag.
Thumb of rule. If you haven't used it in over a year. Get rid of it!
Surveyed some pretty expert cleaners and they have found the cheapest and environmentally safe product today is vinegar diluted with water. Put in spray bottle. Cleans windows, toilets, counters, sinks, floors.

I mentioned Amelia Bedelia because the owner of the house is always ready to get rid of Amelia but in the end they smell the perfect of aroma of cakes or pies coming from the kitchen and they realize what is important. FOOD! 

No, they realize that life is short and caring for one another is more important than a house that is pristine beautiful. They realize they can communicate better with Amelia next time. We can realize that we can keep trying.
So on any given day just end it with being grateful for people in your life. 
Always start your day asking God to help you get done what you can get done. That you read a little inspiration from the bible and then proceed with the Holy Spirit to guide and help you.

You will be covered with God to move through the day. To live and move and let Him have his way. 

That day should go better.
Do you believe that?

LIVE CHRIST

You just want more for the ones you love.
Devotion. Care. Compassion. Comfort. Support. Hope. More meaning in life. Peace

All the things available to us through Christ.

Christ alone.

Isaiah 28:16 [Full Chapter]

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

Ahh, there is the ticket. To never be stricken with panic.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Dear Friend:

In a class you find the talkers, the over-spiritual participant, the sympathizers, the non-emotional, the quiet reserved, the needy, the lonely, the intellectuals and the problem-solvers. I want to value each type. Not always easy.

Conviction waves over me like a gush of wind. I stop. Reflect. Pray. Seek and obey the Holy Spirit's prompting. I find thankfulness for each individual. This is not always easy. A cliche':  Each of us is on our own individual journey. Appreciate.

Love is beautiful and serious. Let us rejoice and appreciate/celebrate each individual.

I heard recently that it is called being socially intelligent to try not to judge but appreciate each person in the circle.

"There are those that speak rashly, like the piercing of the sword, but the image of the wise brings healing". (Proverbs12:18 NIV).

Lord help me to be humble on not proud to embrace everyone even if were not on the same wave length. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Happy day of love. May you find it in small and big ways! Hugs! God is love.

Stand firm understanding the Lord's love.

Love from above,

Elaine

OVERLOOK AN OFFENSE

Have you ever set time aside with a friend, spouse or co-worker and it ends up being a flop? I mean your looking forward to it but clearly that person shows lack of interest to your conversation, they seem distracted and to top it off they rush off short of the time allotted. Your left will a pit in your stomach, lump in your throat and a question on your mind like "What did I do to deserve that?"

We do not deserve that treatment I validate us but when we begin to stew on it to long it maybe a problem for us and that relationship.

I feel when this happens I come to a fork in a road and it becomes a choice as to which road I will take. Will I take the anger road where my mind races, why did they do that, I don't deserve this...I form arguments in my mind all the time with my finger on the button to call and confront them. Or I take the passive anxious road...I will call them, no wait I won't, how will I say it without sounding goofy, they may not even realize they just did that therefore I look crazy. 

The third road is just to overlook the whole thing and chalk it up to a bad day and chose to truly let it go. How do you do this? We pray, we wait...we pray, we wait. 

I like this scripture:

Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend! (Proverbs 17:9 MSG)

Does reading this scripture take away our pit in the stomach, lump in the throat, loose thoughts? That scripture is wisdom but really helps is when we pray we realize God loves us he never falls short of attention for us, tell ourselves it is going to be okay, realize that we they may have been having a bad day and it is their issue. We can be forgiving by reminding ourselves that we could have done the same thing or have already done the same thing to another person. In any case we take the thoughts to higher level thinking. 

We begin to self soothe ourselves with truth. Maybe in the past other have let us down and it is a familiar feeling and we get triggered. It takes extra time to think it through but inviting higher level wisdom gives us permission to feel hurt but then helps us to move on. Of course time heals that.

PINK RIBBON

He got out of his car to see if the other driver was okay. Their cars hit each other and all he could think of was she okay. As he walked toward her he noticed her license plate had the pink ribbon symbol on it. Hmm, cancer awareness symbol something he was familiar with himself. Cancer had crept up on him years before. The battles he had won were many. In fact he was on his way that very moment to get a CT scan. There was a possibility of another kind of cancer invading his body. With that in mind he greeted her. He found out she was okay and that she had just moved to his city four days prior. He depended on God and was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. This incident prompted him to state “I believe this accident was not an accident at all.” Their worlds collided and they both had a need for God.  He told her of his involvement with a Cancer support group at his church. He learned that she would need to find a church so he invited her to his church.

As he drove away He dismissed the thoughts of the hassle it would be to reschedule his CT scan and  repairs needed for his car. Instead he chose to trust God with this sudden interruption in his life and count it as a divine appointment.

It is hard not to look at an accident as an inconvenience which quickly turns into a chore with the follow-up of insurance, repair etc.

Tune into God and you will not be surprised that God helps you to see an accident differently.

What a rich way of living free from being entangled in the world full of disappointments. Stories like this fill us with hope and joy. Jesus is alive and working on a quilt, which is the world, the tapestry design so intricate full of color and detail. Thus the saying “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

It was such a joy to hear this story from the man who lived it. His heart told a story that helped him find satisfaction from God and more zeal for life.

I am sure he could agree with David the psalmist when he penned “I will be full satisfied as with the riches of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

A prayer written by Author, Lee Strobel prayer:   "Lord, here I am fully available to you, use me as you have never used me before."