12 May 2022 Travels of the Mind

May 12, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, books, dreams, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

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.

https://youtu.be/fk9cq3gRCP0 – Inside Iman and David Bowie Scenic Home Filled With Wonderful Objects

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.

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!

https://youtu.be/LAn5Hwb7Y94 – Behold The Metatron (Dogma, Alan Rickman)

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.

—————————-

Song I found this morning that I didn’t know David had sung before:

https://youtu.be/hODALOTiH6A – David Gilmour, David Bowie, Richard Wright “Comfortably Numb”

Let’s go for a short walk:

If you want to see beauty in this world you just need to make the choice to seek it.

9 May 2022 Hesed and God Moving In Mysterious Ways

May 9, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, dreams, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How is your day going as you visit here? I hope well. Last night I had another one of those dreams like I recently shared with you. I felt like this energy entered my room and went over me. I could hear and feel it. It was different this time as I spoke to the darkness and was able to say “Jesus!” more than once. Well apparently this crossed over into the waking world and scared Link off of the bed! Not quite sure what’s going on. There are things always going on in the unseen spirit world and sometimes it seems we cross paths with it and we experience things. For me it’s mostly in dreams and I’m grateful for that.

After church these sweet girls passed out flowers to us

Yesterday was a really good day. I got myself to church and got to meet two new people! What is so beautiful was these were people I had noticed the Sunday before – one of them in a wheelchair. They were a daughter and her mom who had been going to the other campus for the church in Nampa but decided to start going to Middleton. Our church is smaller ( right now) and the traffic isn’t so bad (yet). It’s funny how God works and to actually experience his love, or hesed, first hand. So many things flit across my mind and heart that lead to moments like I’m describing to you. We are God’s feet. We are instruments God uses to demonstrate hesed. This word was spoken for the second time since I’ve been going back to church. I had never heard the word hesed before:

https://firmisrael.org/learn/the-meaning-of-hesed-hebrew-for-love/

Yesterday spending time with my family to honor my Aunt I saw hesed in various forms:

My beautiful Auntie and cousin having a moment of hesed. Their love goes beyond words.

My cousins husband and Smokey finally get along! They used to hate each other! They just had to learn to communicate.

Some other images from the day:

My Auntie is recovering from knee surgery. It was so good to see her and the family!

Wonderful smells here in a bush in my Aunt and Uncles front yard

My cousins husbands Mothers Day card art work – loved it!!

This is from the story The Help: https://youtu.be/3H50llsHm3k – video clip from The Help

Messages:

This passage makes me think of how I went from just noticing a woman in a wheelchair to actually meeting her and getting to shake her hand! God works in mysterious and wonderful ways! I didn’t realize this commonly used phrase had an origin other than the Bible:

God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is a Christian hymn, written in 1773 by William Cowper from England.

https://youtu.be/yjPR09kdCgc – God Moves In A Mysterious Way (Hyms of Grace)

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-god-moves-in-a-mysterious-way-cowper

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44028/light-shining-out-of-darkness#:~:text=God%20moves%20in%20a%20mysterious,And%20rides%20upon%20the%20storm.

Light Shining out of Darkness

BY WILLIAM COWPER

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding ev’ry hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

3 May 2022 Who Is Your Boss?

May 3, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m writing to you from my bed. My lower body is still not happy with me. Mornings are the toughest part of the day but through the course of the day things loosen and warm up. Yesterday was a really good day. The gravel install went really well and the men did a wonderful job. I’m so grateful to them. Such hard working people that I could even hear whistling as they worked! Doing that kind of work has to take a toll on the body. I prayed for them and their bodies.

This will make things a lot easier for me!

My neighbors thought the crew did a great job too. My neighbor works 40-60 hrs a week and has a child. She doesn’t have much free time or energy for yard maintenance. She’s thinking about having these guys fix her yard too. With drought conditions also it’s a good move.

These words really resonated thinking specifically about the men working here yesterday and others I see splashed over headlines. Generated a question as I observe much of the world and what it’s going through – who do you work for? Who is your boss? Ultimately who do you answer to with the work and other things you do? For me, God is my boss. God gets the glory not me.

Yesterday my cousin and I got a chance to talk on the phone and she mentioned my other cousins husbands mom had a stroke. My cousin and I are about the same age (50’s) and we are noticing that there is a whole generation of people, for us in their 70’s that are going through a lot of “body stuff” all at once. I felt sad when I heard about Naomi Judd and her battle with and ultimately succumbing to mental health issues. She was in her 70’s. I know from my own journey that mental health can be a potentially fatal condition. Suicide being the big part of it. What happens with our mind affects our entire existence. What I see in the news about all this doesn’t talk about what I see in the dis-eases of the mind and body. For all the proclamations of faith we are a very sick country spiritually. You can’t put tangibles…things of a material world in the soul. That space is just for God. All the pills, self help modalities, treatments and spa days in the world aren’t going to help a broken soul. This is what I have had to learn and relearn for most of my life.

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/mental-health/3474366-naomi-judds-death-spotlights-a-national-mental-health-crisis-worsened-by-covid-19/amp/

Millions of Americans struggled with their mental health well before COVID-19, but the pandemic hasn’t made shouldering mental illness any easier – an issue brought to light over the weekend after the death of country music star Naomi Judd.

Who is your boss? Do you even really know? When I was in the military I had a boss all the way to the President! A lot of different people telling me, ordering, what to do each day. Through all the voices, expectations and demands I had to understand that ultimately I answer to God. When all is said and done in this life no one here on earth is going to matter to you. Who are you allowing to feed your soul?

Time for a walk, Link and I have been going even if it hurts! We just go really slow!

I looked this up and I think it’s going to be an Iris!

This place gives me a rest – love the running water

So vibrant! Had to stop and admire this!

One of these walks I’m going to remember to bring money so I can try food from this little food truck!

Doesn’t the sun look huge lol?! These are shops when we take the longer walk – pizza, tanning and s laundromat

This is a musician I spent time listening to yesterday – mentioned him here before – Astravert aka Justin Carter. I realized yesterday when he smiles he reminds me of my younger dad when he would smile and laugh! He’s back in Omaha Nebraska with his parents for a couple months to save money. Some times trying to live off of A Twitch salary is rough! Watch https://twitch.tv/astravert with me on Twitch! astravert

I was exploring yesterday. I had been hearing an instrument in some music lately and discovered it was the Tanpura! You can really sing with this instrument – so soothing! It’s a very distinctive sound in music from India:

https://youtube.com/shorts/t-Tf-YP5Ttk?feature=share

https://youtu.be/Qh67dka7a5I – Drone Music, Briefly, All you need to know about Drones

https://youtu.be/DGhN2O6Eh6g – Dead Can Dance The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove

I noticed music from The Chosen has the sound of the Tanpura in it also!

2 May 2022 It’s Okay To Cry – The Healing Process

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m feeling better than yesterday or the day before. Today is a new day and I’m grateful for it. Something happened this morning that hasn’t happened for quite awhile – I cried. I was listening to the song I shared with you, Pray for Me by The Weeknd and I just felt the song really deep inside. There is a part of the song that made me think of Black Panther’s Wakanda – tribal. It made me think of sitting with Kyle and our friend Billy who had brought over the Black Panther movie so we could watch it together. I remember getting goosebumps watching it! Finally a new story being told with people of color starring in it! It’s one of my favorite Marvel movies. My thoughts touched on how sad it is Chadwick is not going to be in the next Black Panther movie….I suspect there will be a new king.

After all these thoughts and tears I found I felt less pain everywhere. I’ve been noticing how the pains in my body keep moving around. I’ll get relief in one part of my body only for a new part to start hurting! When I was doing Quantum Touch energy healing that phenomenon happened a lot. We would have to chase the pain around the body like it was a actual entity – a ghost needing to be sent to the light. Pain is a stubborn energy that like a bad renter can be difficult to evict! One of the ways to expel pain is through tears. Sometimes I think pain is a way for our body to seek attention from us. In our busy lives it’s really easy to take our bodies and the amazing….sometimes extremely complex things we ask of them for granted! I have been guilty of this at many points in my life.

https://youtu.be/8jzrSqgVL_A – Rosie Grier It’s Alright to Cry (it’s gonna make you feel better)

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-crying-good-for-you-2021030122020

Researchers have established that crying releases oxytocin and endogenous opioids, also known as endorphins.These feel-good chemicals help ease both physical and emotional pain.Mar 1, 2021

It doesn’t make you any less or weak when you let yourself feel things and shed tears

The walks yesterday:

I made myself go to church yesterday even though it hurt. There was an elderly woman there in a wheelchair…how then can I complain when I can walk? I was imagining my Aunt and Uncle filling these chairs. They are going through their own body stuff too!

Leaving church….next it was going to get groceries! When you live alone everything is up to you. It won’t get done if you don’t do it. People offer to help but ultimately it ends up being your responsibility. Everybody has “stuff” going on!

This tree just captivated me every time I see it! Such a vibrant personality!

One of the yard ornaments in a neighbors yard – it’s a spinning one

My eyes turned to the various wild grasses growing in the neighborhood. I had to touch them, so soft! Spring isn’t just about blooms!

Yet another tree in the neighborhood being cut down. It always makes me sad as so many lives depend on just one tree. But I understand sometimes trees die or are causing a homeowner trouble like with the foundation.

Some day….right now there are a lot of little Eden’s

26 April 2022 Earth Angels and Finding Lasting Happiness

April 26, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, books, drawing, Health, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? Well Link and my day began with a knock on the door!

My Aunt and Uncle being at my door this morning made me think of Hebrew’s 13:2 – about angels

You can’t see his wings but they are there. I love and am so grateful for this man.

My beautiful Auntie making sure I got something to eat. She was worried about me this morning and she’s having surgery on her knee tomorrow!! She is such a blessing in my life! I have always felt like she is one of God’s earth angels! I love her so much!

I have been asking God to heal me and there has been relief from the pain but I think there hasn’t been complete healing because he’s trying to get me to slow down – to accept help!

This small message resonated with me yesterday. With healing there is more than just our physical bodies to be mended!

The message from A Woman’s Spirit seems to speak to what I’ve been reading about with young people of today and the concept of joining the work force. A lot of places that employ entry level people or places that pay low wages are really having trouble getting young people to work for them. I think there is a growing awareness that being happy and fulfilled in life is important! Working in some dead end job with toxic people and employment practices just isn’t worth it:

Many of us think that attaining status and financial success will make us happy. – Helene Lerner-Robbins

May be we have to attain status and material wealth before we realize that it doesn’t fulfill us. If we grew up in unhappy homes, we may have thought that material objects would change our lives. To discover otherwise takes wisdom, and we are only now seeking that.

The attainment of wisdom gives us the happiness we have sought everywhere else in our past. All that we longed for comes to us when we stop the rush to attain things and focus instead on the miracle of our spiritual being. Life is full of wonderful paradoxes; utilizing the tools of this program helps us discover them.

Let’s not mislead ourselves. Having status and financial success doesn’t preclude happiness; it just won’t guarantee it. Finding God and settling for wisdom does.

I don’t need anything special to be happy. My reliance on my Higher Power will give me lasting happiness.

——————-

I wasn’t able to get on a walk yesterday so I focused on other things that make me feel close to God:

I knew I couldn’t go for a walk but I COULD go and sit on the porch and admire the setting sun

The phrase is referenced with a reversal of the usual meaning in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s poem, “The Riddle of Strider”, originally written for The Fellowship of the Ring:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

It’s hard to believe it’s been about 3 years since I broke my wrist. My wrist is crooked but it is healed and a physical reminder of what happens when our spirit moves faster than our feet!

Have you ever really stopped and looked at your hands? Thought about all we use them for? What an amazing tool!

I was trying to get a picture of his paws and instead he did this – showing me how valuable paws are! My little healer….

25 April 2022 Pain is a Teacher

April 25, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? Today is another day of learning for me. The past few days I’ve been more active than usual. Yesterday I decided the yard work couldn’t wait and I really hurt my back doing it. I used to be able to take care of a front, back and side yard with weed whacking no problem just a couple of years ago! All I have now is weed whacking a little yard in the front and wore myself out! I’m so frustrated with my body….this getting older and limitations.

This morning I was reminded of a conversation I had with my ex once about being grateful I could do laundry. Some people with various physical and cognitive limitations can’t do it! They would give anything to be able to do it! This morning it was all I could do to get myself dressed! The other thing which is hard for me is asking for and accepting help! Thank God for my Aunt and Uncle this morning. They made sure I had something to eat and help for the pain. My Aunt used a massager on my back and left a cane and heating blanket for me! They helped me when they have their own things going on. My Aunt goes for her knee surgery Wednesday!

Pain is being my teacher. New, old and refresher lessons. I am reminding myself today to focus on what I can do and that my body is not meant to be a prison. What I’m going through will pass and new days will come. Hopefully mostly pain free days!

Please keep my Aunt in your prayers and my Mom. My Mom is having hip replacement surgery Tuesday!

Last night on The Chosen livestream psalm 77 was mentioned. I waited to read it this morning and it’s really perfect for what I’m experiencing with chronic pain. Especially the crying out to God for help part!

Psalm 77New International Version

Psalm 77^[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God^(A) for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
²When I was in distress,^(B) I sought the Lord;
    at night^(C) I stretched out untiring hands,^(D)
    and I would not be comforted.^(E)

³I remembered^(F) you, God, and I groaned;^(G)
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^[b]^(H)
⁴You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.^(I)
⁵I thought about the former days,^(J)
    the years of long ago;
⁶I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever?^(K)
    Will he never show his favor^(L) again?
⁸Has his unfailing love^(M) vanished forever?
    Has his promise^(N) failed for all time?
⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?^(O)
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?^(P)”

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.^(Q)
¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles^(R)of long ago.
¹²I will consider^(S) all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”^(T)

¹³Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?^(U)
¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles;^(V)
    you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,^(W)
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters^(X) saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;^(Y)
    the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷The clouds poured down water,^(Z)
    the heavens resounded with thunder;^(AA)
    your arrows^(AB) flashed back and forth.
¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,^(AC)
    your lightning^(AD) lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.^(AE)
¹⁹Your path^(AF) led through the sea,^(AG)
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰You led your people^(AH) like a flock^(AI)
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.^(AJ)

————————

Some pictures – no second walk yesterday!

Normally these are in the shade. Not sure what this plant is.

Sometimes when I pass this house a man is sitting in the chair. A peaceful little spot to meditate on things.

Poor Smokey! He got tuckered out! The way he looks in this picture is how I feel lately!

Linky looking at me with a look that seems to say “I’m sorry your hurting….you overdid it again! “

No clouds and hazy view of the setting sun

A lot of furry and feathered beings visit this tree out back

“It’s not about what you can’t do but what you can do.” Sometimes just playing with the sun has to be enough

A couple timely messages from A Woman’s Spirit today:

Healing is learning to trust my own wisdom, my own intuition. -Mary Zink

I am wise. I’ll know what to do today in every situation if I open my heart to my Higher Power.

In case your interested (season 3 is in the works right now): https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen

16 April 2022 Saturday Request

April 16, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, books, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

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

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And 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

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

April 15, 2022 by saymber, posted in books, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

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

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

¹⁶In 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

April 14, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, books, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

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. ²⁰But 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) ²¹For 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!

11 April 2022 Getting Well

April 11, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, books, drawing, Health, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1452938371

Hello to you today. How are you? I hope this finds you well. Ever since I saw this exchange portrayed on The Chosen I’ve been thinking about it:

John 5:6

⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

In the Chosen they added dialogue to the exchange. When the paralytic started to complain, Jesus was like look I asked you a question. I didn’t ask who was or wasn’t helping you. Do you want to be healed? In my Twitch stream today I talk about this. In our world the answer to healing isn’t instantaneous or lasting like it was between Jesus and those he healed. No matter what modality of trying to heal you turn to in our world today healing requires you to do something….to buy something. In our hearts we desire the healing power of someone like Jesus. There have been miracles in our times but for most there is always something they must actively do to get well, to be healed. When I was doing Quantum Touch healing a lot of times it worked but what was interesting is the healing usually wasn’t of what the person wanted healed – at least not right away. The healing usually began inside – it was an emotional healing first. A lot of what ails us does have origins in intangible things that manifest into reality. That’s been my personal experience both as a person trying to help others heal and trying to heal myself.

Some pictures from the walks yesterday: