Hello to you. How are you today? I hope you are well. This morning I’m thinking about steps…..steps of faith. This is from church yesterday when Pastor Jason illustrated it so well. Standing in a space and seeing the next step God has called us to take and actually taking it not knowing really what it will all mean to take it….. that’s faith. I’m also thinking about the smiling faces that greeted me when I got to church….hugs and smiles. There were a couple faces missing I had hoped to see and I pray they are alright. The longer you go to church the more connected you become! Like a family….dear friends.
Just one step and gradually many more!
I was looking at more videos from Master Shi and came across one of him doing a 20 minute Quigong practice. The song in the background was so beautiful that I had to find it to share with you. I hope you’ll give it a listen:
I’m trying to commit myself to breath in movement each day even if it’s just for the length of one song.
Make sure you are kind to who is looking back at you today!
Didn’t take many pictures yesterday but that’s ok. Sometimes sitting by the water under clouded skies means you will meet someone walking home after a hard day as an in- home healthcare worker. So tired but still having a kind word and a smile on her face.
My growing eclectic mixture of inside flowers Glimpse of the sun – we got more wonderful rain Tree by our post office Another tree by our post office – it’s like they are dancing Falling rain – there was lightening and a bit of thunder in these clouds – loved it! When I was looking for lightening in the Bible I found this passage I found this painting and it was so perfect in light of so much “weather” stuff going on in the world Some cute for you – I love how his ear is sticking straight up!!
Hello to you on this Friday the 13th! How are you? I’m happy to say last night was drama free other than the usual struggle to fall asleep. Yesterday I had a visit with my Aunt, Uncle and their little dog Smokey. She’s healing well from the knee surgery but there is pain and swelling. when I arrived her physical therapist was there helping her do exercises to help with the healing process. She and I talked about a lot to include her telling me that the previous night she had a horrible nightmare. It felt to her that whatever was after me went after her instead. So last night I told her that we should both read and pray about putting on the armor of God before bed. The other thing I did was focus on Jesus in various ways – even looking at silly gifs people have made with him in it. From the information on the shroud of Turin faces of Christ have emerged and I found the one I felt the most peace seeing. I have it on my phone so if I wake up in the night like I do, I can have a face to see – to rest in.
Ephesians 6This is when I think the resurrection happened and the image was made on the shroud. It’s interesting to think of the power of light. They say an energy more powerful than that of all the earth was responsible for the illumination that occurred to make the image on the shroud. Can you imagine looking into these eyes? There are many images of what people think he looked like. This one resonates with me. I often think of his saying he would return -he didn’t say specifically how he would do that!
Messages from A Woman’s Spirit for today:
The truest measurement of my growth and accomplishments is in remembering where I came from, where I’ve been, and where I’m going. – Joan Rohde
Our daily routines can be so absorbing that we lose perspective on how we used to live. That’s okay. We need to be present to the moment. However, it benefits us to remember occasionally what our lives used to be like. Never getting too far from the insanity of our past helps us be grateful for the gifts that have become commonplace now.
We’ve grown as the result of recovery. For many of us, very little in our lives looks or feels the same.We have new friends, sober relationships, more self-esteem, and a positive direction.
A true gift of this new life is that we have hope.We know we can do great things. We know we lived through our traumas because we had not yet fulfilled our purpose, our part of God’s destiny. And we know we’ll get the guidance we need to fulfill that destiny if we remain committed to the program’s principles.
I am in a”growing”state of mind. My life is a rich and purposeful play directed by my Higher Power.
(What comes to mind reading this is almost everyone has a “something” that has taken their focus not just stuff like alcohol, food or work. A something has been overly influential in their life. There is a long list of what those something’s are and just what has happened to a life when those something’s rule. Is the something influencing you these days feeding your worldly aspect or your soul? How do you feel in the “something” process? Does it lift you up or break you down?)
I always hope something in these blogs helps….speaks to someone else besides me!
A little walk yesterday:
I’ve never seen this type of flower before! I love stopping to see what the various trees on my walks are doing – their processes for living a life as a tree. Yellow tulip The first cat we’ve encountered on a walk around here that wasn’t bothered by Link.I could take pictures of the sun and clouds all day lol! I’m always amazed to see what’s going on up there. “Hello! I’m a good boy! You try to be good too ok?!”
Hello to you. How does today find you? I hope for your very best! My thanks to all who have been praying for me. I want you to know I’m praying for you too. We got this! At least I hope so. I did have a mild spooky experience last night – sensing a presence walking in the room – but I was able to go back to sleep. I dreamt about going to this place that was like an attraction of some sort and it was scary. There were energies I was trying to keep out. I couldn’t find the exit and strangest of all was being in this place with a morbidly obese Lady Gaga! Dreams like this aren’t very restful. It’s probably related to all those paranormal investigations I’ve watched.
Yesterday was a day of traveling in my mind. I found myself watching videos talking about how science is proving that the Shroud of Turin is genuine – it is Jesus Christ.
The Shroud of Turin – face of a bruised and battered Christ Source: Internet
I spent some time with musicians who have passed on and their families. One in particular was David Bowie. He’s been on my mind lately. His voice helped me survive my teenage years! I watched a cool video done by Vogue of his wife Iman sharing treasures from her home with David. She is a pretty amazing woman.
Another was Chris Cornell from Sound Garden and his daughter Toni. Yet another was actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers and his little family. The internet makes travels like this so easy! When I connect with a person they become part of me and I care about them. Famous people are no better than anyone else….. at the end of it all they are just people.
Passage that resonated yesterday
The other place my mind traveled was to Sacred Geometry. For those who have been visiting here awhile, you know I really like Metatrons Cube. Something funny with this is I found out yesterday that actor Alan Rickman was “the Metatron” in the movie Dogma!
My orgonite Seed of Life Pendant : The basis of the Seed of Life is the circle, and in sacred geometry circles represent cycles, as well as encompassing things. In this case, the seven circles are often compared to the seven days of creation, with the different circles being ascribed to different points in the universe’s making. https://lasertrees.com › blog › seed-… SEED OF LIFE – LaserTrees
Let’s see what we have for a message in A Woman’s Spirit today:
I want to be loved, and for that to happen, I must love others and I must want love for them. – Betty MacDonald
Feeling love is so elusive. We savor the feeling when it comes, and we think if we hang on tightly, it won’t leave. But we must give love away if we want to keep feeling it. That is the paradox. It is also a principle we can rely on absolutely.
Feeling generous in spirit toward others gives us a powerful blessing in return. We quickly sense that whatever we feel toward the friends and associates in our lives we feel about ourselves. Carrying love for others in our hearts assured us of feeling loved too. It’s easier to understand once we begin utilizing this principle. What we give away, we get back.
I can influence whether or not I am loved by how I treat others today. What I sow I will reap.
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Song I found this morning that I didn’t know David had sung before:
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.
Me pondering the question of the placebo effect….the power of belief.
Hello to you. How are you? After my post yesterday when I shared my experiences with rose quartz it made me think about the placebo effect. To me that term is like belief. There are many things in our world that we believe to be true, believe to exist but there is little to no “peer reviewed scientific evidence.” Intangible things like God and our souls and yet we continue to believe and have positive experiences. Whether or not there hasn’t been a scientific study or there has been one doesn’t matter to me…..doesn’t change what I believe or negate the value of personal experiences I have had. Whether or not science thinks so, crystals help, God and the soul exist. There is great power in belief.
What is the placebo effect? The placebo effect is when a person’s physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or ‘dummy’ treatment. Placebo is Latin for ‘I will please’ and refers to a treatment that appears real, but is designed to have no therapeutic benefit.
There is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect; it is considered a pseudoscience. Alleged successes of crystal healing can be attributed to the placebo effect.
The messages from A Woman’s Spirit were good today:
Even on a rainy day, I can feel the sunshine. Even when the clouds are gray, I can feel a glow. There’s a little light inside me, just keeps burning. I take it with me, everywhere I go. – Jill Clark
We carry within ourselves the single necessary ingredient for our happiness: a positive attitude. Nothing can ruin our day , unless we let it. No remark can devastate us, unless we let it. No person can have a harmful, lasting impact on us, unless we let him or her. No unhealthy, negative attitude controls our thoughts without our assent.
Feeling good about the experiences we’re having, regardless of their nature, is a decision. Trusting that some good will come out of every one of them is a habit we can form. We can acquire an attitude of hope for growth and positive change.
I will see the sunshine even through the clouds if that’s my choice. Today I have twenty-four hours to practice this.
Seeing the sun in the clouds Some clouds yesterday that looked promising for rain
I wanted to mention my young friend on Twitch told us about another incident she and a friend experienced with bullying. This time they were coming from church and the boy was after the girls friend who has autism. He tried to punch the person and the girl tried to stop him and got punched in her chest. Whenever she gets on and tells us this stuff I feel powerless. I just want to climb through the wires and walk with her….protect her. I’m not completely powerless though. I can pray for her, lend my support and share her story.
Hello to you. How is your where and when as you visit me here? Hard to believe it’s Thursday already. The week has gone by fast.
This gift rock from my dear friend “T” brightens each day
Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit has to do with quieting the mind and meditation. Both of these things have been a challenge for me! I have always had a monkey mind and or chatter brain. However, when I was living in Texas I used to lay on my back for hours just connecting with the passing clouds or sit on the band stand we had and connect with the trees, flowers and insects. I guess it was like meditating! I do better outside when it comes to trying to still my body and mind. Inside there are so many distractions!
This morning I did something that I need to do more often and that is get quiet inside and focus my thoughts. It’s really hard for me to “hold a thought.” In particular my sinuses were kind of blocked up so I focused my thoughts to my sinus and told them to open up and or to clear…..it worked! I was able to breathe freely again. I then proceeded to focus on different parts of my body that have been hurting and was able to get relief there too. Then before my feet hit the ground to get up I just asked God to be with me today….”Hey God would you hang out with me today?”
Anyhew lol what I’m talking about here is a challenge in the kind of world we live in. I really struggle myself with this! If we are in a relationship of some kind, have kids, pets, a job, hobbies….things that keep us busy and distracted all day long, it can be really difficult to find time to just stop not only our bodies but our busy minds. Stop long enough to connect with our inner selves and our Higher Power. Be still…..some of us in this world are choosing and in many cases out of survival are having to stay busy every waking minute. We have to rest our bodies and our minds —- make space and time for our spiritual selves to exist. Like I said on my stream today if you are having trouble with having quiet time inside – why? What is keeping you from it and what can you do about it? If it’s a lot of things and you are overwhelmed what is one thing you can do to get peace inside? I have to do this myself – not focus on all the stuff I can’t change but focus on what I can. Kind of like what The Serenity Prayer talks about:
The Serenity Prayer is a prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. It is commonly quoted as: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Messages from A Woman’s Spirit today:
“Today I will stop brooding – and start meditation.” – Nancy T
“I can figure out my next best move today if I quiet my mind long enough to receive God’s message.”
Hello to you. How has your weekend been? It’s been kind of busy for me the past couple of days. Yesterday the church I go to needed help setting up so I went and helped. It’s something I can do even if my legs and back haven’t been being so friendly lately! Helping yesterday made me realize how much is going on behind the scenes to keep things going!
Later on my Aunt and I got together. We kind of just drove around Middleton. She drove me past the house the church is leasing for the next 5 years. They are calling it The Grace House. The plan is to use the place as an office and for things like Bible Study and Life Group meetings. It’s really a beautiful little Victorian style house that reminds me of the Painted Ladies in Colorado Springs CO. During our visit she was able to convince me that it’s time to get a new mattress! She used her Costco membership and we found one. My tax refund money going to a good cause. We think some of the pain I’m going through in my lower body is related to having s bad mattress. To celebrate we went to Jalapeños in Nampa and that way we got to see Uncle John. We are keeping many of our family members near and far in prayer and of course our entire world with all that is going on!
The service this morning was really good. Pastor Jason talked about renovation of our hearts and touched a bit on free will. That God gives us the free will to make choices but ultimately has the final say. Kind of like how I think of God being like the parent ultimately having the say over what happens in the lives of their children. Free will only goes so far. There are consequences for our choices both good and bad. I liked this: “Definition of the heart: where decisions or choices are made for the whole person. “ In thinking about this message about the heart I got more insight on the area I struggle with understanding – free will. It’s the sometimes sketchy area of like all things that once they leave their creator they develop a life….a story independent of their creator. Many things in this world are created and abandoned. We are being reassured that such is not the case with God. Pastor shared something that really affected me. He said there was a point in his life that considered suicide! What a loss it would have been. He wouldn’t be there to help me with aspects of loving and knowing God that I’m struggling with! I like to hear his stories.
Tomorrow morning we are meeting at the Grace House to do some cleaning before furniture is moved in. I hope we get a good turn out to help. https://www.idahograce.com/
The messages from A woman’s Spirit for yesterday and today were about the value of time in our lives and the healing gift of sharing our stories. For me personally, I have found that time and distance have been great healers for coping with difficult things in my life. The farther I get from a situation, the less it hurts. The same can be said for sharing stories about trials I have faced. The more I talk about it the less it hurts each time. Like I mentioned in my Twitch Stream this morning there are generations before mine that don’t like to talk about things they have faced or are facing. They keep it to themselves. I think by doing this they harm themselves and deny others the experience of hearing about hope. It’s like “I have faced this situation. I’m facing a trial but there is hope in it. I got through it…I’m getting through it.” It’s kind of looked down on by many those people who dump their troubles on someone else but I try to remember boundaries and also that even though there are 7 billion plus people on earth, so many people fall through the cracks….. literally have no one they feel they can confide in. I have felt that way before. Only having a therapist to really talk about and talk out what I was going through.
A Woman’s Spirit Messages:
“Time is my friend today. Each minute brings to me an experience I am ready for.”
“All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.” – Isak Dinesen
“I will tell a part of my story to someone today. She may be helped by it, and I will be free from it!”
Hello to you. How are you? Link and I are doing ok. Last night we had a little drama here at the house. I had trimmed the matted hair around Links feet and got the brilliant idea to try and trim his nails. Bad move! Without having someone to hold him I just can’t do it by myself. So….doing extra laundry today to get blood out of it. Felt so bad!!!
On my Twitch Stream today we talked about what’s going on overseas right now. I have been focused on Putin and wanting God to deal with him. From the pictures I’ve seen of him lately he doesn’t look well physically like something is wrong. The Woman’s Spirit message was good but it provoked some questions. We are taught through religion and society to look outside of ourselves for completeness. Many of us as a result don’t know who we are! The Psalm 31 I read was just another crying out to God for help. Alot of the psalms are. Do we have free will or not? Why does it feel like the church of today I see seems to want us to have a codependent relationship with God? What has been coming to me lately is the importance of finding balance- to be able to discern where I am in the equation of having a healthy relationship with the God of my understanding. God may have all the answers but does seem to leave a lot for us to figure out on our own – through our own life experience. Like I said, I struggle with the mentality I see in religion. If we completely turn ourselves over to God where is the free will in that? Are we then nothing more than automatons? How are we to ever know who we truly are if we are always looking outward from ourselves for how to live this life? I think that finding balance is key.
Where do we find God? Outside? Inside? It seems like everywhere if I really think about who and what God is. I’ll never forget sitting with my Dad on my back porch in Texas. We were talking about God and we agreed that God is in everything. I think it’s our expectations that can get in the way of attaining balance in our relationship with the God of all. We put our expectations on how God answers our prayers and I know personally it’s those expectations that sometimes make me not see God is in fact answering prayers. Again it’s a balance between our inner and outer worlds – our spirituality…..our relationship with the God of our understanding.
What just came to me is thinking about prayers being answered like someone playing a strategy game. Many separate pieces have to move for an overall outcome to be achieved…. an ultimate goal to be reached. Just yesterday I saw a good analogy from Elevation Church “God sees the whole puzzle.” God invented the puzzle of this life and knows how all the pieces fit together.
Find balance in and outside yourself and don’t put expectations on your relationship with God – especially with prayers! Let God be God. These are things I am having to work on each day!
A Woman’s Spirit messages for today:
“Time and again I have searched for you, not knowing that it was me I needed to find.” -Betty MacDonald
“I will pay attention to who I am today. I will honor the whole of me. I know genuine happiness can be found only in this way.”
Hello to you today. How are you? I decided not to do a Twitch Stream today and that’s ok! A day of rest! This morning I got up late and almost missed church but I’m glad I made it. The message from Pastor Jason was good. He used the story of when he lost his wallet helping with farm work. It fell out of his back pocket and fell in the field covered with dirt. He and his friends went out looking for it and it wasn’t found until a couple months later! The lost wallet is like us…..like I’ve been so many times in my life….lost from my relationship with God. God seems to always be there waiting for the children to find their way home. Being lost like that wallet doesn’t mean we are worthless . We still have great value but we just aren’t doing what we were made to do. Our full potential isn’t being realized when we are lost. Least that is what I got out of his sermon!
Last night my Aunt and I went to a ladies game night at church and I met some really nice women. We played a game called Mad Gab first and that was just not my game lol! You get into teams and read these unrelated words to make a saying or phrase. I think I figured out one lol. Then we played a dice game called Tenzies and I wasn’t very good at that either but it was fun. We had pizza, salad and desserts. What was really neat is I met a woman that I ended up sitting next to in church today! As I write I realized I actually first met her at Next Steps classes. That’s the class you take when you are considering membership in the church. It was nice to see a friendly and familiar face today!
Hello to you! How are you? I’m doing ok. I decided to take a break from the videos this morning and just write and draw. We have sunshine! So happy about that! I will have to get Link out for a walk later.
The drawing today is a combination of a bunch of things! I’m being told intuitively that the man isn’t Deegan this time. I have always thought of Jesus as having a skeleton key to all doors to include those within peoples hearts. What do you see in this drawing?
I was curious to see if keys are mentioned in the Bible and there are a couple references one of which is Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” and then the other is in Revelations 20:1 And I saw an Angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
A lot to think about.
It’s almost time to get another sketchbook or try color again. I have a sketchbook my Aunt bought for me awhile ago that you use colored markers with. Things don’t flow as confidentially when I use color. I’m always afraid I will make a mistake !
I raked a little more this morning. The leaves are all wet and heavy and there is Link “presents.” I don’t have any work gloves to pick the stuff up. I’ll get it figured out. I miss the Alvarado house sometimes – having a garage and all the tools I needed.
Not much else from here. I hope your having a nice day.
To be 