20 April 2022 The Garden We Get To Live In

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m doing ok. Feeling grateful for the little rains we’ve been getting. What is amazing is when I go for walks with Link. Everywhere my eyes rest on beauty. This is what you get to experience getting out walking where you live.

Yesterday I found myself thinking that I’m living in a garden – God’s garden. So many different plants, flowers, trees, birds, animals and insects…..everywhere you look life is happening! Now there are the canals with water that sparkle in the sun. Yesterday Link and I just stood and listened to the rushing waters. The more I focus on the wonders of God’s creation, the more I see! Beyond the buildings, moving vehicles and pavement- the flurry of our daily lives – there is evidence of an amazing God all around us. Look and see!

Psalm 8:3-6New International Version

When I consider your heavens,(A)
    the work of your fingers,(B)
the moon and the stars,(C)
    which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?[a](D)

5 You have made them[b] a little lower than the angels[c](E)
and crowned them[d] with glory and honor.(F)
6 You made them rulers(G) over the works of your hands;(H)
you put everything under their[e] feet:(I)

Pictures from yesterday:

These blooms smell so good! So soft.
I’m like a bee when I go by this tree lol
“You can learn a lot from us dogs. Slow down, take a nap if your tired and stay in the “now” – quit worrying so much. You are eruff!”

Happiness is mine today. It’s as close as the expression of my gratitude. – A Woman’s Spirit

Whenever I hear this song I think of standing in my driveway in base housing in Florida. The moon was full and I was waiting to be with who would become my husband. He introduced me to the voice of Chris:

https://youtu.be/tLrz0vMOhU4. – Audioslave The Last Remaining Light

Roll me on your frozen fields
Break my bones to watch them heal
Drown me in your thirsty veins
Where I’ll watch and I’ll wait
And pray for the rain

Curl like smoke and breath again
Down your throat inside your ribs
Through your spine in every nerve
Where I watch and I wait and yield to the hurt

And if you don’t believe
The sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

Seven moons and seven suns
Heaven waits for those who run
Down your winter and
Underneath your waves
Where you watch and you wait
And pray for the day

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light
Light
Light
Light

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brad Wilk / Chris Cornell / Timothy Commerford / Tom Morello

The Last Remaining Light lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Wixen Music Publishing

19 April 2022 Surprises on Walks

Hello to you. How are you doing? I didn’t do a video for Twitch again today. It’s been about a week. I just haven’t felt up to it. It’s been hard to convince myself to get out of bed lately! I just hurt!

I was doing some surfing yesterday about joint pain and arthritis connected to having Covid. Turns out it’s indeed a thing! I’m really starting to believe what I’ve been going through is post Covid related stuff. Here is a link to one of the videos I found where a man and his wife have been experiencing joint pain after Covid: https://youtu.be/fyR9uJHCdKA – if you are experiencing inflammation and pain in your joints, like for me it’s my upper thighs and knees, this video might resonate with you. I am hoping it will eventually stop!

Despite the pain, I’ve been trying to get out for walks with Link. It’s so rewarding when I do! So much to see! There have been surprises lately too! This morning I looked down for just one minute and was amazed to see not one but two wild pansies in the edge of a yard we were passing! I struggled to get down to take the picture…..getting up made me curse gravity a bit lol….but it was worth it!

A lovely surprise for us today on the morning walk- a wild pansy!

Other pictures from yesterday and today:

The tulips are out here in Idaho – when I see them I think of my Mom. She used to grow flowers like tulips
“You make me smile…”
I noticed this yesterday in the shopping center on our walk
This beauty caught my eye even with being surrounded by so many power lines
Part of what makes each tree an individual is their bark – I love seeing trees in afternoon light
This little one made me think of a cat we used to see all the time in Alvarado TX! Love the mustache!
A blue version of the car I used to drive in Sr. High School! Mine was red. I’ll never forget Dad and I practicing stick shift in a parking lot lol!
Ridleys is the grocery store I always go to. I told the cashier I was so grateful she was there (they seem a little short handed), that I was grateful to wake up to peace and quiet and that there was food in the store…..little things people in warring parts of the world aren’t experiencing today. We are so fortunate!

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light f my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace – A Woman’s Spirit

https://youtu.be/bFeNjMjk0dA – Toni Cornell singing Nothing Compares 2 U in honor of her Dad Chris. Her eyes are so sad to me. This was the first song Kyle and I listened to (the Sinead O’Conner version) after we said goodbye to our sweet dog Sam. It’s hard for me to listen to for that reason but I toughed it out to hear both Chris and now Toni’s interpretation of it. She did her Dad proud I think!

18 April 2022 It Will Be Enough

Hello to you. How are you doing in your where and when? I’m getting a really late start. It took a lot of coaxing to get up today. Last night was another battle of trying to sleep. The lower part of my body has been experiencing a lot of pain and trying to sleep through that pain can be difficult.

What came to me is thinking about old dogs like my Sam and older people in my life both living and passed on. They didn’t complain about their aches and pains. The message of “it’s not what you can’t do but what you can do” came to my mind. I realized I could do some cleaning up this morning – it hurt but I did it!

When Sam and I used to go for walks without Kyle in Delaware he did something with me that he didn’t do when the three of us would walk. He occasionally would just stop, sit down and look at me with those eyes…”can we stop for a minute? I need a rest…” he seemed to say. Getting older in all our forms kind of forces us to slow down even though inside we want to go like we are still 20 year olds! Today I will remind myself that it’s ok when I am hurting. I will focus on the things I am capable of still doing even though I’m feeling this way – not focus on all the things I can’t do.

Matthew 26:41New International Version

41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.(A) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is about approaching life with gentleness:

Our own gentleness is a powerful force in our lives. It is like the gentle flower that grows through granite. – Patricia Hoolihan

We are attracted to women and men who have cultivated a gentle spirit. Their softness nurtured all of us who come into their space. We are soothed and made whole by their caring spirit. Let’s allow our caring spirit to develop too.

The aggression we may have grown accustomed to in our families and neighborhoods need not claim us for all time. We have the power within us to chart a new course. We have examples of gentleness all around us; they are our guides and are here by divine appointment.

Whatever task we are destined to perform in this clean and sober life can best be accomplished if directed by a heart that cares. Being gentle promises each of us the same comfort it offers others. Each gentle act heals our heart and lovingly nurtured the future.

Being gentle today is much easier than being mean-spirited. My gentle side will nurture my inner child and remove my fears.

————————-

Pictures from yesterdays adventures:

A bouquet

16 April 2022 Saturday Request

Hello to you. How are you? My thoughts this morning are all over the place to be honest! There is just so much going on in this world. The news isn’t good but I am trying to remain conscious that good things are happening. There are so many good people. For all of the awful we are being bombarded with at every turn, there is good. I remind myself that even though I am powerless to stop and change so much of what is going on, God is not. There will be justice….there is justice we can’t see with our eyes but know with our spirits. My request is God’s justice for atrocities such as this:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-business-black-sea-22d7279f32c15d4a7037a2195113fb57 – 900 souls

Philippians 4:6-7New International Version

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is a great reminder about the power of time….it passes. Whatever the trial or tribulation we are experiencing we can trust it won’t last. We wish we could hold on to the good stuff that happens as much as we want to let go and forget the bad stuff….the length either stays is where we are empowered outside the rules of time:

Everything passes, as I flow with this river of highs and lows, I become calm. I trust my experience and the life force guiding me. – Ruthie Albert

Everything passes. There is perhaps no greater comfort when we’re caught in the throes of trauma than the knowledge that this too shall pass. We lived many years without this knowledge as we struggled to change the i changeable. Unfortunately, the only thing that changed was our level of frustration: it got higher. Now we know that we can patiently wait for a situation to pass. Nothing lasts forever.

The good times pass too, of course. We hope to hold on to them, but the same principle applies. The minutes tick by, carrying is to new experiences. What we need to learn will become known to us through both the good times and the struggles. They all will pass, having prepared us for the high and lows that wait to serve us.

I am at peace with the knowledge that everything passes. My needs will be met today.

————————-

Here are pictures from yesterday’s adventures:

Morning light trying to happen- “dwell in me Lord, be strong when I am weak…”
Setting up for Good Friday service at Millcreek Elementary School
I took this going in to help set up. In the evening one of our parishioners children handed me a flower just like this from the same tree. Children and trees…….
Lots of extra chairs in anticipation of Easter. The Good Friday service really meant a lot to me. There was a good turn out.
Something that reminds us of the pain Jesus endured
Memories new and old in a moment
When I saw this moment I wanted to capture it for their Mom. I also thought of my Grandpa and what it must have been like for my Mom and her family to help Grandpa prepare for such occasions. These moments are so fleeting, thank goodness for cameras!
Gorgeous flower on our walk that I hadn’t seen before
Sweet beautiful boy we encountered on the walk. He wanted to come to me so bad but Link wasn’t having it! I hope he is home safe and loved.
My little bear Link getting my attention!
Found out yesterday that my brother Jerry is a Grandpa again!
This is one of the red tulips I shared the other day. More of them have appeared and I was able to get a closer look! I love the fringes on the edges!
Vanity….you would laugh at how many tries it took me to get this! Sometimes it’s nice to see a face that goes with words. I hope the best for you – no matter what things seem like now it’s all going to keep moving on. Stay focused on the helpers….do what you can to be a helper. Remember that no act of kindness is too small for God.

15 April 2022 A Different Kind of Friday

Hello to you. How are you today? In a little bit I will be going to join some others to help set up church for tonight’s Good Friday observance. In light of what is being remembered, I’ve always had a hard time thinking of this day as good. A good man was tortured, he suffered and died on a cross with criminals. What could possibly be good about that?’ What I’m reminded is good about today is he went through all that for us….so we wouldn’t have to. He took all of the world on himself out of love for both his father and each of us. It’s truly a beautiful thing to think about someone loving me that much to go through everything he did.

Good Fri·day

/ˈˌɡo͝od ˈfrīˌdā/

Learn to pronounce

noun

  1. the Friday before Easter Sunday, on which the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is commemorated in the Christian Church. It is traditionally a day of fasting and penance.

Last night I was restless and wanted to watch something. I was pleased to find and watch (finally! My cousin and his wife recommended this to me over a year ago!) The Case For Christ. It was the story of author Lee Strobel an atheist who after a journey of discovery and love found his way to believing in Jesus Christ. The movie did a really good job of showing what having a believer and an unbeliever living in the same house with children can really cause disruption….division. Test a marriage. My ex-husband and I went through some of that strife. If you haven’t seen it and are curious, I saw it on You tube.

https://youtu.be/pBcNvSA1kNo – The Case For Christ (full movie)

As you can see by my note and the date I’ve struggled with sleep for a long time. This is another scripture of comfort. You can talk to God about anything you need help with!

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is a good one for what we are remembering today….forgiveness:

Work for justice. Struggle for forgiveness. Choose love. -Patricia Benson

Justice, forgiveness, and love sound far loftier than they are. Developing these qualities requires only that we live as we think God wants us to live. It’s as simple as that. Admittedly, when we have wanted to punish a significant person in our lives, we have often preferred “justifiable” anger or resentment over love. However, the emotional hangover that has followed the expression of our outrage has diminished any pleasure we might have gained.

Our inclination to forgive other people and ourselves, coupled with our decision to love rather than punish those who irritate us, seems to grow daily. Our changed perspective comes from our willingness to grow in recovery. We can be as peace-filled and as loving as we want. We’re in charge!

I will stay in control of who I am today. I can fulfill God’s wishes.

In all the mysteries of mysteries there is light both seen and unseen. Matthew 5:16
New International Version

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,(A) that they may see your good deeds(B)and glorify(C) your Father in heaven.

https://youtu.be/y4CY3nf1Mvw – Phil Wickham Great Things (song)

14 April 2022 Comfort

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1455782752

Was this the mother of the baby I found? She was climbing all over the Willow tree like she was looking for something.
This passage helped me after my encounter with the squirrel. Tomorrow is Good Friday…I think of Jesus’s mother Mary – where is my son? Can you imagine her torment seeing what happened to Jesus? I think of Parents all over the world who have lost their children for one reason or another – especially suicide. I think at the core of what ails our children and us is how disconnected so many are from Spirit. It’s not just going to church or scripture…words! It’s action – intangible things as simple as a smile or hugs! There are alot of starving spirits in our world!

Hello to you. How are you? I hope this finds you well. As you can see from the picture of the squirrel that I had another experience at my favorite willow tree. I feel most certain that a squirrel can experience what we know as loss and grief. I could go home to my Bible but that squirrel has to find her own way to be comforted. There have been times in my life that I couldn’t find comfort or consolation. Nothing of this world….anything of the flesh could fill the void in me. Only time and things of the spirit could give me peace. The “stuff” of this world is meaningless if you don’t have the certainty of a relationship with the Spirit. Any comfort we find in material things is fleeting – it never lasts.

Matthew 6:19-21New International Version

Treasures in Heaven(A)

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,(B) where moths and vermin destroy,(C) and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,(D) where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.(E) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

As I see more and more about the mental health crisis going on I have come to believe it’s not just mental….at the core it is a spiritual crisis…..an emotional crisis. The crisis is an “inside crisis.” Start healing at the core of a person and the rest will gradually heal too….at least that’s been my own experience.

The message in A Woman’s Spirit today talks about letting go of our painful pasts to make room for joy:

Letting go of old hurts makes room for new joys. -Sefra Kobrin Pitzele

Dwelling on the painful past gets tiresome eventually, but some of us hang on to it longer than others do. However, seeing women move from the bondage of the past to the freedom of living in the present gives us hope. Once we let go of the pain, we discover far more joy in even ordinary experiences. That’s the real surprise.

We have heard sponsors say that when old doors close, new doors open. Letting go of old hurts in order to appreciate new joys falls into the same category. Why not fill our voids with joys rather than recollections of pain?

None of us know how long a life we’ll be blessed with. Accepting how tentative life is helps us decide to seek more joy and less pain. The decision is only the first step, however. Taking control of how we think is the necessary action.

I will experience more joy if I give less thought to old hurts today. The decision is mine, and I can make it and remake it if necessary.

———————-

Some pictures from the walks yesterday:

I didn’t do this justice but seeing the little tricycle near a sapling just seemed to go together in my mind!

13 April 2022 Keep It Simple and Letting Go

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1454828924

Reminder to myself today and from my therapist too…too many mind!

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well. These past couple of days, months….years have been so surreal. I was watching the news yesterday about the shooting in the subway in New York and what popped into my head was this, “look for the helpers.” When I did that I regained my personal power. I went from powerlessness to being empowered. I want to adopt this lesson with all the chaos I see in the world. Who is helping? Who’s trying to restore peace…order. Focus attention and prayer on them not those responsible for instigating the chaos. I pray for the instigators but have to let God work on them beyond a prayer.

The message from A Woman’s Spirit today is about the difficulty but importance of being able to let go. When we are overly attached to stuff of this world we suffer when things change….when we are forced to let go. We’ve all had a favorite “something” in our lives and the mere thought of letting that something go may have brought about negative emotions…pain. Just one object can symbolize such powerful emotions and trigger so many memories. Think about what happens to you when you hear a favorite song? It’s like we become time travelers going back to the moment we first heard that song – smells, sights, people, what we were eating and drinking….what we were doing. To let go is the fear we will forget. Hopefully this message is for you today:

The child in me says “Hold on”; the adult in me says “Let go.” – Harriet Hodgkin

Learning to let go is growing up. Whether we’re twenty-five or sixty-five, we have to learn to let go. We don’t do it automatically . The principles of this program can serve as a guide.

Perhaps we learned in childhood that if we didn’t want to lose our toys, we had to hold on to them. A pattern was set; we began hanging on to everything. But now it’s time for new training , for learning to let go of everything: possessions, people, attitudes, opinions. Patience and practice accomplish the growth we seek.

We must be prepared for backsliding. Some situations cry for us to hold on rather than let go. We have to be vigilant and forgive ourselves when we give in to the old urge to control. Being adult takes desire and consistent effort. The child in us doesn’t give in easily.

I have a choice today. I can handle all circumstances as an adult and feel free, or my “child” can trigger a confrontation. What will I do?

————————-

It was cold, windy and overcast yesterday but we did get our walks in:

Tulips have been appearing in the neighborhood
Big clouds were milling about
Hey – I hope you are doing good. When everything is ruff and confusing look for what’s good. Don’t focus on what’s bad.

Article talking about what they are figuring out about memories and the brain:

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/many-brain-regions-store-a-single-memory-360560

A new study by scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides the most comprehensive and rigorous evidence yet that the mammalian brain stores a single memory across a widely distributed, functionally connected complex spanning many brain regions, rather than in just one or even a few places.

10 April 2022 Sometimes We Have To Look Down

Hello to you. Hope you are well today. Yesterday was a mostly ok good day. My Aunt and I joined some really special women for breakfast at Grace House. It’s the first time I’ve been in there since we did cleaning and setting up inside of it. It felt so good to meet in a place that felt like a home. Going places with my Aunt is like that. She brings home to a house. It was a blessing to share a moment with her and these women who love God. Emily gave a devotional and I think this is the passage she referenced. She was thinking of her Dad and saying this brought tears to her eyes and to ours:

2 Timothy 1:7New King James Version

7 For (A)God has not given us a spirit of fear, (B)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

On the walk last night I had one of those experiences that you pray you do it right. I had stopped to admire my favorite Willow tree like I usually do. I looked up into her flowing mane of green and then looked down…..I was dismayed at what I saw laying there. It was a dead baby squirrel. I stood there for a moment in sadness and wondering what I should do. Do I leave the body there? Then I saw a little girl in the window watching me. I took one of the bags I use to pick up after Link, and it took forever to get it open, and picked up the little body and put it in the bag. The little one hadn’t been dead long. Then Link and I walked home. I dug a hole in the yard and buried the little one. It made me think of Emily who lost her Dad. It made me wonder if that little squirrels Mom would miss her baby. It made me think of my own life….how one day my body will be a shell….return to the earth. I kept talking to God about it, thinking about that little girl watching what I was doing. My head is usually in the clouds but sometimes you have to look down. Be reminded of some of the hardest lessons God teaches- those about life and death. I hope I got it right.

Morning with my Aunt:

Me seeing my Aunt
Big tree outside Grace House
My Aunt at Grace House – the mat is a perfect message about the feeling of the place

Pictures from walks yesterday:

Two crows can you see them?
A tiny reminder underneath the rocks of how precious and fragile this life is. We all belong to God all creatures great and small.

6 April 2022 A Tangible World

Check out 6 April 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1448162389

Hello to you. How are you? I hope you are well. Today I got out of my comfort zone and went to a Middleton Woman’s Group. They had their first meeting at our local bakery called The Rustic Oven. All of the ladies were recent transplants from various parts of California like the Bay Area. It was interesting to hear the different reasons they left California. For some it was the politics and others stuff like the fires. It was a nice first meeting. I went from interacting purely in the digital world to interacting in the tangible world. I got out of my comfort zone!

I had an orange roll here was really yummy. Got a chance to meet some nice ladies!

Today there was a good message in A Woman’s Spirit:

We can say yes to life even at its darkest moments if we can see it as part of the greater reality. – Mary Norton Gordon

We glimpse only the opportunities that bear our name during any experience. We have heard many times in this program that we are never given more than we can handle. We can trust that this is true. We have also heard that God tells us only what we need to know right now; the rest will come to us when we are ready, when the time is right. That too we can count on as truth.

It goes without saying, then, that every moments experience is part of the bigger design for our lives, a design that always has a positive outcome. If we feel scared or confused by the changes in our lives, it’s only because we have forgotten that God is in charge of the plan for our lives. We can say yes and be at peace.

I know that what comes to me today is a tiny part of God’s big plan for my life. I am not alone.

———————-

Some pictures from my walks yesterday and this morning:

Matthew 19:14New International Version

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs(A) to such as these.”(B)

4 April 2022 What Do You Want?

Check out 4 April 2022 Monday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1446211091

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well….rested? Are you getting enough rest? I myself am struggling with that. What’s frustrating is as I am getting older I have to rest more frequently than I used to! I don’t know how it is for you but sometimes it feels like the body betrays us leaving us feeling powerless!

My thoughts today are about the question I ask myself and others, “what do you want?” The context of the question is about the world we live in. Your immediate world that you experience each day. Who and what are you giving your personal power to?

What do you want to see more of in the world you live in? Where do you focus most of your mind, body and souls energy? Who and what gets most of your personal power?

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of videos on You tube from animal shelters and rescue agencies. They are finding and rescuing dogs that have been shot and left to die. One dog was shot while she was pregnant. Other dogs covered in oil, left in landfills and dumpsters…old dogs abandoned on a street, sick dogs left to wander. For a time I have been wondering if focusing my attention on such things is giving power to that stuff happening in the first place! I have asked God before if there were no rescue agencies and shelters would this horrible stuff still be happening? The answer is most likely yes and these animals would just suffer.

People take their powerlessness out on each other through horrific abuse and they take it out on animals. Where do people learn to be and do such horrible things? A lot of times they themselves were victims….they were taught and learned that acts of violence were the way to deal with difficult emotions and situations. The chain of this behavior has to be broken. Is that possible? Are we like some breeds of dogs born with a predisposition for certain behaviors? Is it in our DNA? If the right things happen that those violent tendencies in our code get activated?

What do I want? I want to see less activation of the genetic codes in people that make some aspects of this existence so horrible. We need to teach people at a very early age how to deal with difficult emotions and situations so that they don’t take all of that ugly out on the world around them…innocent animals and children.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence – I think this subject should be taught in school

Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments.[1] Although the term first appeared in 1964,[2] it gained popularity in the 1995 best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, written by science journalist Daniel Goleman. Goleman defined EI as the array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance.[3]

Waiting
Trees on our walk
Pink blooms caught my eye
Looking up through the branches
A succulent trying to survive in my window
A gift a couple Christmas’s ago still showing signs of life (Amaryllis)