18 March 2022 Expectations

March 18, 2022March 18, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

There was a halo around the sun yesterday

Check out 18 March 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1429355478

Hello to you. How are you this Friday? I’m doing ok. Kind of slow going today.

Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit touched on expectations. Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others. I have to remind myself that each of us is different. We are all at different phases of life….our journey. Sometimes we expect from others things we were raised to believe ourselves and what we believe may not resonate. Sometimes the lessons we have been taught and learned haven’t been by the people we share this existence with. We may get frustrated and or resentful that they aren’t on the same page as us. It’s important to remember where we came from, who we have been and forgive others who are just catching up! I experienced this in AA. Others who were further along in their sobriety journey were kind and patient with us newcomers! Like my friend and I talked about today on the stream too is sometimes you have to let people go with love especially if having them in your life will sabotage your peace of mind. I have had to do this to others and it has been done to me. Some people are with us for a lifetime and others just a moment. I say this thinking about all the people I’ve had “chance” encounters with and never saw them again. God has ways of getting messages to us!

A Woman’s Spirit messages:

Through learning to like myself, I’ve been more willing to understand others. -JoAnn Reed

Unrealistic expectations hinder our growth and relationships. We too often try to be superwoman and we want others to complement our drama. But no one can match our expectations. It’s helpful, then, to step back and remind ourselves that we’re all okay, we’re good enough. We are where we need to be for this point in our journey. With effort we’re coming to believe this, little by little.

How do we give up unrealistic expectations, especially when they are triggered by our shame over not being perfect? Coming to believe that we are acceptable, even lovable, to our Higher Power requires a suspension of disbelief. We must first “act as if” and then take time to notice all the goodness on our lives. The evidence will convince us that we are protected and guided, thus loved. Meditating on this truth will give us permission to accept and love ourselves. Understanding and then loving others is only a small step away.

I want to love and appreciate myself and all my friends today. We are here to help each other. God is here too.

___________

17 March 2022 Dwell In Me God

March 17, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 17 March 2022 Thursday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1428406120

Hello to you in your where and when as you visit me here. How are you? I hope this finds you well. I’m doing ok. I had to redo my stream on Twitch because I got invaded by some trolls. It happens. Thankfully I can ban them!

“Dwell in me God. Be strong when I am weak”

Sometimes we are faced with people, places, things and or situations where we just don’t know what to do. Sometimes the only answer is to be still and ask God for help. I have to do that a lot. I have to get myself to shut up both in my head and out of my mouth – be willing to just listen. I fail a lot but keep trying!

Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit kind of talks about letting God into our daily lives:

I don’t always know what I want, but I do know what I don’t want. -Helen Neujahr

We don’t want pain or confusion in our lives. We don’t want friends to depart. We don’t want a boss to be too demanding. And we don’t want to lose control of the outcomes that are unfolding around us every day. There is so much we don’t want. How lucky we are to be in this program and to have a caring Higher Power to help us handle the situations that we don’t want in our lives.

We need the help of a Higher Power because we seldom know what is really best for us. Had we had our way in years past, we most likely would not be recovering. Instead, we may have stayed in a relationship that was quietly killing us, or we may have killed someone’s else or ourselves because of our addiction. God had a better plan for us then; God continues to have a better plan for us now.

We must be ready to relinquish that which we think we want if the evidence confronting us suggests God thinks differently. We must let hindsight offer us enlightenment regarding God’s better plan.

I will trust God to direct my thoughts and my actions. I will try to want what God wants for me today.

___________________

Lately I have been asking God to just be with me. The message in the drawing was a little prayer yesterday. I have been struggling in my body with being heavier and pain in my legs. The issues of this world feel heavy. The only real escape has come from my thoughts and prayers. I talk to God as I would my dearest friend, with my heart,”Hey God do you want to hang out with me today?”

https://youtu.be/7IIZIPtQuW8 – Passion – God Your So Good (live) Kristian Stanfill, Melodie Malone

16 March 2022 Tapestry

March 16, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 16 March 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1427420115

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m feeling a little tired but it will pass. Things are doing things!! I didn’t know it but apparently the UN is trying to come up with a global plastic treaty. I think that’s great. My only concern is that once the treaty is made that it will actually be enforced! Kind of like laws. Laws are great on paper but are worthless if there is no one to enforce them! https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/as-world-drowns-in-plastic-waste-u-n-to-hammer-out-global-treaty/amp/ The other thing is daylight savings. Our Senate is putting a bill forward that would make it permanent – no more setting our clocks to fall back: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/03/15/politics/senate-daylight-saving-time-permanent/index.html.

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is so good I am going to share all of it:

We are who we are, shaped and molded by the times, by the events, and by the persons we encounter on our way, and no one ever changes very much or escapes entirely from that mold. – Ruth Casey

Everything we experience today is woven with all that has gone before. We are a tapestry in progress. We grow and change, heightening some of our patterns, successfully diminishing others, and maintaining still others. We need feel more shame for this person we’ve become; we’ve done our best. From this point forward, with the help of the program, our Higher Power , and the wonderful friendships that sustain us, we will add many new colors and stronger threads to the tapestry that continues to be us.

Even though there is often much we want to change in ourselves, there is much that will and should stay the same. Let’s trust God will guide our efforts in changing those traits that deserve our attention now, leaving the rest for another time. We have been loved, guided, and protected even though we are not perfect. That will be true always.

All that has gone before will help me handle whatever today offers. I am in Gods keeping now and forever.

______________

Today this Psalm 103 resonated. I was looking for a Psalm to read for my Twitch video and I came across this one with lots of it highlighted! May be there is something within it that will resonate with you too:

Psalm 103New International Version

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul;^(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.^(C)
²Praise the Lord,^(D) my soul,
    and forget not^(E) all his benefits—
³who forgives all your sins^(F)
    and heals^(G) all your diseases,
⁴who redeems your life^(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,^(I)
⁵who satisfies^(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed^(K) like the eagle’s.^(L)

⁶The Lord works righteousness^(M)
and justice for all the oppressed.^(N)

⁷He made known^(O) his ways^(P) to Moses,
    his deeds^(Q) to the people of Israel:
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,^(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;^(S)
¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve^(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love^(U) for those who fear him;^(V)
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions^(W) from us.

¹³As a father has compassion^(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,^(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.^(Z)
¹⁵The life of mortals is like grass,^(AA)
    they flourish like a flower^(AB) of the field;
¹⁶the wind blows^(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place^(AD) remembers it no more.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children^(AE)—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant^(AF)
    and remember^(AG) to obey his precepts.^(AH)

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne^(AI)in heaven,
and his kingdom rules^(AJ) over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord,^(AK) you his angels,^(AL)
    you mighty ones^(AM) who do his bidding,^(AN)
    who obey his word.
²¹Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,^(AO)
    you his servants^(AP) who do his will.
²²Praise the Lord, all his works^(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AR)

14 March 2022 You Are Significant

March 14, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, books, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 14 March 2022 Monday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1425549698

A little joke between my cousin and I – she gave this to me yesterday lol

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m a little slow today. It’s amazing how much just one hour can screw you up lol! Most people I talk to agree it would be ok if we did away with the daylight savings.

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit was about how important it is to value your own significance. By valuing your own significance you are more able to value the significance of others. When people are caretaker types or and have low self esteem or are damaged by life they don’t realize their own value. They always put others wants, needs and value before their own. I was like this and wasn’t checking my motives about it……I got resentful! Resentment is the seed oftentimes for addictive behaviors. In addition to trying to get sleep, I used to drink to deal with my feelings. I wanted to be numb. Distractions of this world are used to lose ourselves too. If I’m doing a distracting thing I don’t have to think about anything else – I can avoid myself!

Right now I am having time to get to know myself. I am still not feeling suited to be somebody’s significant other! The void in me that was created by the divorce is being filled with getting to know myself better and getting closer to God.

A Woman’s Spirit Message for today:

Before I can become a significant other, I must become significant to myself. – Kelley Vickstrom

Why is it so hard to feel as if we matter? Putting other people’s wishes and needs before our own may seem natural. We may feel shame when we say no. As girls, we may have watched our mothers and grandmothers tending to the whims of everyone else. Probably without ever being told, we simply followed suit. What’s worse , we may not have even expected appreciation for our actions.

Now that we are learning to think of ourselves we feel a bit selfish. However , we must begin to honor our significance, and we have to understand that to do so is not egotistical. In order to lovingly appreciate others in our lives, to treat them as significant, we have to value our own significance. Our Higher Power considers us significant; it’s time we followed suit.

Affirming my own significance will help me appreciate other people. Today I will value my interactions with others.

This scene from one of my favorite films and books speaks volumes. In this scene multigenerational trauma, how we pass the good and bad through multiple generations is spoken:

https://youtu.be/tJzxpUkJYXo – Joy Luck Club you don’t know how much your worth

“No, this cannot be, this not knowing what you’re worth, this not begin with you. My mother not know her worth until too late – too late for her, but not for me.”

13 March 2022 Balance

March 13, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 13 March 2022 Sunday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1424597401

Hi there. Hope your having a nice weekend. It’s been good here. I’ve been participating more with church goings on and that’s been nice. Last night we had a prayer and praise gathering and I enjoyed that. This morning was church and despite the time change there was a good turn out. One of the messages from Pastor Jason Boyd that resonated was about not allowing ourselves – our lives – to be dominated by anything. An example he gave for himself and his wife was television. It can be your work, interests and or hobbies….anything that takes so much attention that there isn’t anything left for God and or what or who truly should matter in your life. Some people get so absorbed into things that they become strangers to themselves and the people that love them. I’ve lived such seasons! It’s exhausting to pour yourself into the seemingly endless grind of work.

The message from A Woman’s Spirit ties in nicely to what resonated from Pastors message today:

I wonder what my life would be like if I were to focus my energy and thoughts only on things that really matter. – Robbie Rocheford

We spend much of our precious time spinning our wheels. Our minds wander from thought to thought and person to person with no real sense of direction. Fortunately, we can develop the discipline of taking charge of our thoughts. We have merely to pause , quiet our minds, and focus. It’s a technique that we can hone, and practicing it empowers us. It also frees us to spend our precious moments on beneficial ideas or activities.

Our attitude about a task will determine our approach to it. It may seem impossible to be in charge of our thoughts, but that’s because we have never understood that we could responsibly and actively take control. Any negative thought can be stopped, even in midstream. And a replacement thought, such as “God is in charge,” can be substituted. The exhilaration we will feel at realizing the power of this technique is astounding. Our recovery will be enhanced many times over as we grow in our reliance on this tool.

I will pause throughout the day to clear my mind. Taking charge of my thoughts will be enlightening.

__________

This message also ties into something I’ve talked about before. When that train gets on the tracks, whatever it is, you can tell the conductor you want off the train or want to go to another destination. You just have to practice doing this and like the message today says – it will be empowering!

Lots of birthdays this month- happy birthday!!

12 March 2022 Programming

March 12, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, drawing, dreams, Health, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 12 March 2022 Saturday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1423415704

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well. It’s a sunny Saturday here. My first night on the new mattress went pretty well. I had lots of dreams so know that I actually fell asleep!

Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit had to do with how we process what our external world says about us. Says we should be. Says what we are. It’s all programming! When we were younger we didn’t have boundaries or an internal filter… life experience to be able to discern whether or not what the world and the people in our lives said to and about us. I know I mostly absorbed external inputs as truths whether they were true or not! I think that’s why it’s so rough for young people on social media. They don’t have the maturity to discern what is true and what isn’t….for many it’s all truth and that’s were self harm, suicide and eating disorders come in. What we put into our bodies and souls goes into our brain and becomes thoughts which then become action….the manifestation of our living reality. It’s so important to really pay attention to what we put into our CPU aka brain. Garbage in….garbage out!

The message today is so good I decided to put it all in this post. You become what you think about the most….what you “worship.” Put good stuff into yourself!

A Woman’s Spirit:

The subconscious works to create the reality according to the programming it has been fed.- Susan Smith Jones

The mind is seldom quiet. Even when we don’t think we are thinking, we are. Our lives reflect our thoughts. It should be obvious that the way to get a better life is to think better thoughts. If it’s that easy, why don’t we have more productive, joy-filled lives?

As youngsters we learned to interpret the faces and the comments of those close to us. That helped us determine how to evaluate ourselves as adults.

Just as the messages we heard in the past told us who we were, the messages we hear now do likewise. But as adults, we can now decide which messages to accept: some we should cherish, many we should discard. We have the maturity now to replace them at will.

I don’t have to accept how anyone defines me today. I can give myself only positive input. My output will reflect it.

https://youtu.be/zHDrHRmaQjQ -Anilah Medicine Chant

11 March 2022 Water and Power Grids

March 11, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Nature, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 11 March 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1422335182

Check out 11 March 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1422344815

(For some reason I got interrupted mid-stream so it’s in two parts)

Hello to you. How are you today? I’ll start with the message from A Woman’s Spirit. It was really good. It was about how when we remove addicting substances or other obstructions we are able to get to know ourselves better.

“We don’t necessarily like every aspect of who we are now. And most of us loathe who we used to be. But having the tools to peel away the layers of denial about the past and having the willingness to face our feelings are paramount to becoming who we’d rather be. What we’re getting to, what’s deep in our soul, is the person God has hoped would emerge all along. Having the chance to know our soul is a profoundly important gift. Let’s gently unwrap it.”

On my Twitch Stream today my focus was on the crisis I see with our global water supply. Why does it seem like clouds don’t form on their own anymore? I lived in a state that heavily relied on cloud seeding to keep up with increased demands for water and it’s seeming to be the same here in Idaho. I think the water that comes isn’t natural water and I wonder if it’s contributing to why we have so many forest fires . I wonder if the water that falls from these manufactured clouds isn’t making vegetation more flammable. I remember seeing silver droplets on the leaves of my trees back in Texas after cloud seeding flights. I believe it’s all connected. We rely on water for just about everything we use just day to day. To think our planet can’t seem to generate “natural” water like it once did is very concerning to me.

The other thing I touched on is the potential train wreck I’m seeing ahead with the conversion to electric vehicles. I think the cart has been put in front of the horse about this. Can the current power grid support the massive increase of demand that will come with billions of electric vehicles without bankrupting most consumers with high electric bills? The smart thing to do would be to make sure we have sustainable power generation modalities to keep up with the increased demand. The back up to most alternative power generating modalities is usually gas. Nuclear power with proper safety procedures in place and proper facility maintenance is probably the near term answer. If the US would recycle fuel cells that would be good too. I just am seeing things moving really fast to get people into electric cars but the infrastructure needed to support it doesn’t seem to exist right now. I think ultimately consumers are really going to be footing a big expense. Seems to be that way no matter what we do doesn’t it?!!

Anyhew….I hope some visionaries are thinking about these things. It seems like so many people that control what makes our world go are using crisis management. Doing things and asking for forgiveness later.

10 March 2022 The Challenge of a Quiet Mind

March 10, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 10 March 2022 Thursday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1421288283

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.”

9 March 2022 Finding the Positive in Others and Ourselves

March 9, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 9 March 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1420371766

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. There was a great message in A Woman’s Spirit today about how if we can find positive attributes in other people we can find the positive within ourselves. What I learned from reading works by Shakti Gawain is that people are mirrors of ourselves both good and bad. If we don’t like someone or something chances are it’s because we are seeing a part of ourselves we don’t like or we were like that but have moved beyond it. I am trying to do this practice when I look at what’s going on with Putin. What is his existence trying to teach us? I believe ultimately God has the final say with all of this that is going on. What is God trying to teach us right now? What are we supposed to be learning? I think about bullies beating up the little kids on the block. How long do the spectators allow the bullying to go on? God is in charge- that’s what I feel anyways. I can’t help but think of what happened in A Christmas Story…..is “Ralphie” going to snap?

A Woman’s Spirit messages:

“Believe the best in yourself. Then it is easier to believe the best in others.”-Mardy Kopischke

“The contribution I can make today is really so easy. All I need to do is focus on a positive quality not only in someone else but also in myself. “

Todays psalm really resonated with the times we are facing:

Psalm 49^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹Hear^(A) this, all you peoples;^(B)
    listen, all who live in this world,^(C)
²both low and high,^(D)
    rich and poor alike:
³My mouth will speak words of wisdom;^(E)
    the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.^(F)
⁴I will turn my ear to a proverb;^(G)
    with the harp^(H) I will expound my riddle:^(I)

⁵Why should I fear^(J) when evil days come,
    when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶those who trust in their wealth^(K)
    and boast^(L) of their great riches?^(M)
⁷No one can redeem the life of another
    or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸the ransom^(N) for a life is costly,
    no payment is ever enough—^(O)
⁹so that they should live on^(P) forever
    and not see decay.^(Q)
¹⁰For all can see that the wise die,^(R)
    that the foolish and the senseless^(S)also perish,
    leaving their wealth^(T) to others.^(U)
¹¹Their tombs^(V) will remain their houses^[b]forever,
    their dwellings for endless generations,^(W)
    though they had^[c] named^(X) lands after themselves.

¹²People, despite their wealth, do not endure;^(Y)
they are like the beasts that perish.^(Z)

¹³This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,^(AA)
    and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
¹⁴They are like sheep and are destined^(AB)to die;^(AC)
    death will be their shepherd
    (but the upright will prevail^(AD) over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
    far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;^(AE)
    he will surely take me to himself.^(AF)
¹⁶Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷for they will take nothing^(AG) with them when they die,
    their splendor will not descend with them.^(AH)
¹⁸Though while they live they count themselves blessed—^(AI)
    and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹they will join those who have gone before them,^(AJ)
    who will never again see the light^(AK)of life.

²⁰People who have wealth but lack understanding^(AL)
are like the beasts that perish.^(AM)

8 March 2022 Learning Lessons

March 8, 2022 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Spirituality and Religion, technology, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 8 March 2022 Tuesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1419331338

Hello to you! How are you doing today? It’s cloudy here this morning. I hope we get some rain we really need it. We are having a drought here in Idaho.

Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit talks about letting other people learn their own lessons. I have always been the kind of person that has trouble just staying on my own side of the street and not trying to go over and clean another persons. For example I used to have a problem with feeling like I had to pick up trash. It was a very strong compulsion until it really sunk in that by picking up after people I was just enabling their behavior. There is so much we do in this world that we think is helping to solve a problem but really is just enabling undesirable behaviors. I saw it with the Animal Shelter back in Alvarado. People would dump their dogs and cats. The shelter would pick them up and the shelter would get full. The shelter would then have to take extreme measures to try and get the animals adopted, get emptied out and the whole cycle would start all over. People just kept getting away with being irresponsible. I see so much of that in its various forms. If there is no consequences people just keep doing things that are not ok. The other day I saw this article about Boyan Slats Ocean Cleanup operation: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/down-to-earth/22949475/ocean-plastic-pollution-cleanup and it was an interesting perspective about what operations like Boyans do. More needs to be done to make companies and people responsible for the mess they are making. There are so many flaws with the creation of plastics and other things that end up in landfills and our waterways. It’s like no one thinks about the life cycle of their products – environmental impact- before they make things. I started doing that and I don’t make things like I used to….and it’s ok.

A Woman’s Spirit message:

“Change comes about when we stop trying to shape up the other person and begin to observe patterns and find new options for our own behavior.” – Harriet Lerner

“Accepting that we can’t change someone else affects every detail of our lives. Many of us have spent years frustrated, even frantic at times, trying to control the actions and opinions of others.”

This psalm 46 really resonated – a power ballad of words for what’s going on these days:

Psalm 46New International Version

Psalm 46^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^[b] A song.

¹God is our refuge^(A) and strength,^(B)
    an ever-present^(C) help^(D) in trouble.^(E)
²Therefore we will not fear,^(F) though the earth give way^(G)
    and the mountains fall^(H) into the heart of the sea,^(I)
³though its waters roar^(J) and foam^(K)
    and the mountains quake^(L) with their surging.^[c]

⁴There is a river^(M) whose streams^(N)make glad the city of God,^(O)
    the holy place where the Most High^(P)dwells.^(Q)
⁵God is within her,^(R) she will not fall;^(S)
    God will help^(T) her at break of day.
⁶Nations^(U) are in uproar,^(V) kingdoms^(W)fall;
    he lifts his voice,^(X) the earth melts.^(Y)

⁷The Lord Almighty^(Z) is with us;^(AA)
the God of Jacob^(AB) is our fortress.^(AC)

⁸Come and see what the Lord has done,^(AD)
    the desolations^(AE) he has brought on the earth.
⁹He makes wars^(AF) cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow^(AG) and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields^[d] with fire.^(AH)
¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;^(AI)
    I will be exalted^(AJ) among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob^(AK) is our fortress.^(AL)