Tag: Gratitude

23 April 2023 Social Media

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

How do you use social media?

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m doing ok – just back from church, eating part of my traditional Subway sandwich and walk with Link. It was starting to sprinkle while we were out.

Todays prompt is a good one. I use a lot of social media platforms to connect with the world. Some of the ones I use are WordPress, Facebook, Twitch, Tik Tok, Discord, Messenger and Clapper for examples. Using these helps me not feel so lonely but they can’t take the place of real life connections with people. That’s why going for walks and seeing some of my neighbors and going to church are so important. Today I got to hug one of my friends I made through church and see her beautiful baby girl!

I am grateful to have family living nearby and I cherish the time we get to spend together. All of those real life moments are so important. I love it when my Aunt and or Uncle or cousins will ask if I want to get out of the house and they come over and we go for coffee, breakfast, lunch or ice cream. Sometimes my Aunt invites me over for a meal and we watch a show together. All the social media I mentioned and those I didn’t can’t take the place of making memories with loved ones. Fellowship with those we care about and love is powerful:

Acts 2:42-47New International Version

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.

Picture I took when my Aunt and Uncle came and got me out of Orofino, the hospital, last November. My Aunt and Uncle are more than just family – they are earth angels – they are dear friends that don’t hesitate to help me when I ask (and when I don’t.) They passed this on to my cousins who are much the same. I’m so grateful.

22 April 2023 Henry (prayers)

by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Health, Home, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

Hello to you. Today begins on a somber note. The first thing I’m thinking of is Henry. I just found out Henry, another one of my ex families dogs has cancer and probably will only be with us a couple of months. He has rectal cancer – a big tumor. Henry is one of those dogs that you just love at first sight. He is a Yorky.

This is the last time I saw Henry – 25 May 2020 what a sweet boy!

Henry came into our lives as a stray. My mother-in-law Beth saw him by the side of the road. She opened her car door and when he came to her she called him Henry. He responded to the name and got in the car with her and that was that! Henry and my dog Spot love each other. I can remember dog sitting Henry and he and Spot played on our bed for like an hour straight. Spot got a bump on her lip for it lol! They were making out!

I remember what it was like losing my Sam, Blondie, Amber and May. This poem really speaks to this:

This applies to cats too for me! I had wonderful cats.

If you pray, please keep little Henry in mind and Beth and Tim his owners. Henry is the third of my exes family dogs to get sick. We lost Smokie, Jack and most recently Titan. When we had family gatherings we had lots of dogs! They would line up at Beth’s pantry for treats. I just hope Henry is comfortable and doesn’t suffer. I feel sure Tim and Beth will make sure of that. They love their dogs like I do – they are family.

I’m grateful Link is in good health. We went to the vet yesterday and other than his teeth and being a bit chubby all is well.

21 April 2023 Random Encounter

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

Hello to you. How are you? I’m feeling a bit strange – tired. I woke up a couple times in the night – not a restful sleep. Then I got a text at like 4:30 in the morning from a person I reconnected with lol. So I’m writing from bed. Link has his annual exam at the vet today so I have to get up and at em eventually!

Todays prompt brought to mind a great part of my journey. I was having troubles while being on active duty in Florida. For some reason I was at the finance office on base and ran into a man, I can’t remember his name, but he was really beautiful. He was a black man with crystal blue eyes. I think I have mentioned before I have a thing with blue eyes. Anyways we started talking. He was a broker I think, He asked me if I had a church home and I said no, He invited me to the mega church he was attending in addition to a lunch his company was having for clients.

What’s funny about meeting this man is back when I was in Colorado I had gone to Manitou Springs a few years before being stationed in Florida, I had a rune reading done that prophesied I would meet a man that would change my entire life. Meeting this man felt like s fulfillment of that prophesy.

I went to the mega church with this man and his family and the message was about how the Holy Spirit is an actual person you can have a relationship with. Not just a ghost or something like that. Well this all happened when I was struggling with my mental and physical health. Especially having problems with abusing alcohol and I was taking mental health meds – not a good combination.

It was a Sunday after the message about the Holy Spirit that I was sitting in my sun porch in the base housing we lived in and I was in my swimming suite and drunk. I remembered the message from the church service and just said “I surrender.” The very next day the Holy Spirit started moving me along. The following Monday I was getting my bike out to ride to work and the chain just fell off! I had to put it back on – hands a mess of oil. I was running late then. Then, on the way, I was nearly hit by a turning car had I been a few seconds earlier. I got to work and found out I had an annual physical appointment so I had to leave again. At the appointment there was questions pertaining to alcohol use and I was moved by the Spirit to answer honestly. From there began being sent to treatment in Maryland, introduction to AA (Alcoholics anonymous) and ultimately my being medically retired, divorced and falling in love.

All this after a chance meeting with a perfect stranger! I feel bad I can’t remember his name – meeting him was definitely divine timing.

The reading I had in manitou springs
The Holy Spirit uses many different ways to communicate and guide us on our journey. This reading is not Christian but planted a seed in me. Meeting the seer who gave me this reading was able to tell me someone was going to come along and help me get where I needed to go with God.

20 April 2023 MRI Results

by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, photography, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. Yesterday my Auntie and I went and had my MRI. I’m so grateful she was able to go with me! They called me today about the results and the doctor had no further concerns. I have a follow up in June to discuss the results. I think my suspicion of my having Mal de barque syndrome is correct. We have checked the ears and the brain and nothing has shown up. So whatever is going on will either eventually go away or I will just have to live with it indefinitely. I will stay in gratitude that nothing bad has come up with all the tests.

This morning at 9:30 am was another prayer team session at Grace House. There were a couple of us to include Pastor Jason. We had about two pages of prayer praises and prayer requests. Some things didn’t make it to the printed list but passed our lips and hearts. There is a lot going on in our little church and the crazy world it’s trying to operate in!

My dear Link helps me each day

Romans 12:5New International Version

5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body,and each member belongs to all the others.

Proverbs 19:21New International Version

21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

15 April 2023 Happiness

by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, Food, history, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

Hello to you. How are you? I hope your doing ok. The world is kind of crazy! Todays prompt is a good one. When the world around you is seeming kind of chaotic a good way to get grounded is to focus thoughts on what’s good in your life – gratitude. Something I’ve done ever since I was in rehab many years ago was a mental gratitude list. Rather than sit and complain pull out your gratitude list. What’s fun about doing it is how quickly you go from just one thing your grateful for to a whole bunch of things.

I have many things that make me happy and that I’m grateful for. At the top of my list is family and friends. My family and friends have gotten me to this day! True examples of unconditional love. Next is of course Link. I love waking up to his sweet smile and wagging tail. Number three is good food – I enjoy food too much lol! Number four is my connection to God – having a church home has really been helpful to keeping that connection strong. Number five is nature – seeing nature wake up this spring just really makes me happy! The best florist in the world is momma nature!

My Uncle Bill shared a couple pictures this morning of a beautiful California poppy bloom. The rains made it happen! Something good out of something that has caused a lot of people trouble:

Poppy bloom picture from my Uncle Bill- what a beautiful sight. I can remember last year asking God about orange flowers and the first ones he showed me were these types of flowers growing here!

11 April 2023 Sunshine and Dandelions

by saymber, posted in animals, history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How’s your day going? I’m just back from taking Link for a morning drag – he likes to lollygag and dawdle! It’s another beautiful day out. The spring is definitely in full swing right now:

The dandelions are up – first flowers of spring and food for pollinators
Beautiful sunny and cloud filled sky

I was looking for a message of hope today and found this:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. —Romans 15:13

In todays world with so much going on sometimes it’s hard to find hope. In my family and a friend from church new babies have come or are on the way. In these newborns there is much hope for the future. Scrolling through the various platforms I use each day there are lots of puppies, kittens, lambs, kid goats, bunnies and baby birds – life is abundant!

7 April 2023 Hyper Aware and Good Friday

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. This morning I am feeling hyper aware of my body. It’s uncomfortable but passing thank goodness. When this happens I feel uncomfortable in my body – it’s like all my senses are raw nerves. I took 10mg of Zyprexa and it seems to be helping.

Today is Good Friday – I plan on attending my church’s service this evening. I have never really understood why they call it Good Friday considering what is being celebrated. I don’t think it was a very good day to be Jesus Christ! To be beaten and crucified is a pretty horrible thing. It’s for this reason, and I know all the reasons, I hate crosses. I feel like crosses are as anti-Christ as it gets. Like I said I’ve heard all the justifications as to why he had to die like he did but I still think it’s horrible and cruel. I can remember seeing The Passion of The Christ in the theater with my first husband and we both had nightmares afterwards! It was worse than a horror flick to see that kind of brutality and bloodshed. I know I’m supposed to be grateful that Jesus went through what he did and I am. I just don’t agree on the “good” part. Even with what he went through, this world is full of brokenness and feels ungrateful. I have heard all the reasons for that too! Anyhew – I’m learning and hope there will be another Bible study at some point. I learned a lot during the one I just finished.

2 April 2023 Namesake

by saymber, posted in history, Home, Leading Life by Example, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

If I could have something named after me it would be a park that people could access for free. When I lived in Colorado I used to love to visit Garden of the Gods – it was a beautiful free park. I have always said that if I ever came into a lot of money I would buy a plot of land and make it a park.

Today was Palm Sunday. I got out of bed late but still made it on time. I almost went back to sleep but something inside me decided to rise up and go. I think it was partially because the people at my church are so nice! I love to see their smiles and feel so welcome. I miss them when I don’t go to church.

29 March 2023 God the Gentleman (free will quandry)

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

Hello to you. How is your today going? I am doing ok. My thoughts are on my quandry about God and free will. I brought this up last night with the ladies in my Bible study. The answers that came from them were all similar. God didn’t make us to be mindless drones and followers of his word. God is a gentleman who gives us choice – to choose to believe in him or not. Nothing is forced. Emily, the leader of the study gave me a good example. She said imagine you have this friend who every time they go out they do the same thing. Like getting drunk and being miserable for it. You know this about them and suggest they not do it but ultimately it’s their choice. Emily was kind of tackling the all knowing God in her example. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we are going to do and can put other options and choices – better choices- before us but ultimately we make the final call. When I think of the times I’ve been through with my mental health I got myself in a tunnel. I couldn’t see the better choices because I lost control of my ability to see them. In the Christian community they might say the enemy had hold of me.

I read this morning that the Nashville shooter had been suffering. When we are suffering and don’t have faith and trust in God and the enemy is “driving the car” we make, in her case, fatal choices despite what God wants for us.

I am still struggling with the issue of God allowing mass shootings to go on. I feel like there is a lesson we are supposed to be learning and we are not learning it. For example there is no red flag law in Tennessee to prevent troubled people from purchasing weapons or keeping current guns in their possession. May be this case is another example that lawmakers need to make better choices too. Something like red flag laws should be federal law not just up to each state. That’s just my opinion of course. There is just too much inconsistency when it comes to guns in America.

So I’m glad I was able to talk to Emily and the other ladies in Bible study last night about Gods Grace when it comes to tragedy. There have been all kinds lately to include weather related. The people in Mississippi who lost their lives and or homes to tornados. I wonder what God wants us to learn about that or is it beyond God and a combination of man -made factors – climate change for example. I don’t think anybody is completely ready for something like a tornado. I know when we had one when we lived in Texas it took us by surprise even with the weather service warnings! We were grateful for our lives being spared and minimal damage to our property. It’s got to be hard to have everything destroyed like happened to the already poor in Mississippi. What is Gods plan for these unfortunates? I know after the tornado we had it pulled all of us neighbors closer together.

At the bottom of all tragedy, no matter what kind it is, what good can come from it? What can we learn about God and ourselves? We can choose to crumble or learn and rise above it wiser. It really helped me to hear fellow believers explain God as being a gentleman. We are given a choice and we don’t have to wait for tragedy, reaching our bottom in life, to choose Gods will for us. With these tragedies we are seeing the perpetrators are self will run riot. In cases like these mass shootings, fatally so. Passion takes over reason. I wonder if that shooter knew she was unconditionally loved by God if she still would have gone through with her plans.

27 March 2023 Feeling Like Spring

by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, Health, Home, Mental Health, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you how are you today? I hope we’ll. It’s starting to look and feel like spring already here in Idaho. My neighbors flowers are starting to push up through the winter soil. Every time I walk past her yard and see them I feel like smiling. Mother Nature, this earth is so amazing isn’t she? I’m always amazed at how quickly, with just a few elements life is able to happen. Like a construction site where a mound of dirt is pushed off to the side and within a short time it being covered with life. Last year I was awed by a beautiful purple flower growing in a crack in my Aunt and Uncles driveway. God is good! So much evidence of the master of creation.

On a slightly different note, we are trying to break a cycle of going to bed late and getting up late. I try to go to start winding down at 9 pm but often don’t fall asleep right away. I wake up around 8 am automatically no matter what I do. My Aunt, Uncle and therapist have been encouraging me to just get up. I need to practice this – May be make an appt with myself. Make a coffee date or exercise appt- something. Link and I walk in the morning but he likes to dawdle and I wonder if he’s starting to feel his age (like I am!) Anyhew I have been having spinning spells when I move a certain way the past couple of days.