What makes life interesting to you?

Greetings!

I am just sitting here, with my Daisy by my side, watching huge white flakes fall, and I am thinking about what makes life interesting to me. And I began to wonder - what makes life interesting to you, my friends? For me, I believe that life is an Adventure, filled with hills and valleys, sunny days and seemingly endless dark winter nights. I love the "everydayness" sometimes the best of all. Dinners with my husband, calls from my kids, having friends over to spend an evening doing nothing special but just sharing our thoughts and the events in our lives - these are the "things" that make Life interesting to me. Knowing that I am so Blessed to have the stability in my life of my faith, and those friends and family that I can count on, who love me warts and all, who have no illusions that I am something more than I am - a simple but often complex human being trying to figure out my way through this life like - well, like everybody else! And knowing that I have those "things" in my life- the important things - friends and family - in my corner allows me to pursue my Adventure, unique and amazing to me! So again I ask, what makes your life interesting? I am excited to hear!

Moments

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. How amazing is His Name, His Heart, His Creation! Yesterday, as I was working at my desk and looking out at our beautiful Lake Erie, I saw a red fox bounding across the snow-covered beach! The stark contrast of the fox against the white terrain was striking! He was so beautiful with his sleek form and eye-catching coat of fur. I am ever amazed at the beauty of God's workmanship! It is everywhere if we just take the time - not hours or days but moments - to catch a glimpse of the beauty that surrounds us. It is everywhere we look - in the flakes of snow, or the moon rising, or the sun coming up. In a conversation with a hurting friend or the joy of sharing an exciting experience with that special someone in your life. In the weathered skin of a person who has seen life at its best and worst - and still has a twinkle in his eye! My prayer is that I don't miss Life in its fullness while being caught up in the mundane and endless number of "things that need done." I want to embrace this beautiful Life with arms wide open, seen through the eyes of a child. I am including a clip today to share one of those "moments" with you. So take 5 minutes and enjoy this lovely reminder of all that is around us/ Have an amazing day, my friends, and may it be filled with "moments"

http://www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html

Belief

In case you have not noticed, one of my favorite topics is sharing my Adventures with the Lord!  So how did I begin my walk with Him? How did I find Him?  What keeps me following Him in good times and bad? And why call it an adventure?  Well, I began my walk with Him as many "believers" do.  I looked around at my life, and decided that if this was all there was, I was in deep trouble!  So I asked Him - and my prayer was hardly "righteous and full of faith" - to let me know if He was real because if He was not, then I could make no sense of this life; that I would take care of my kids as best I could but that was all.  I wish I had a great testimony that the lightning flashed, my life turned around and I won a bunch of money. For me it is pretty simple - I had nowhere else to turn for answers to my life's problems, of which there were many.  Others may have stories that tell of all of the "wonderful things that happened to them," but for me, things got worse rather than better.  Except for one thing - I had a flame of Hope in my heart that would not stop burning.  And that flame still burns today, wildly, courageously, hopefully and full of Grace. 

What an adventure it has been, full of twists and turns, deserts and storms, beautiful days and nights, memories galore and always, always the flame burning in my heart. As to how I found Him – the truth is that I really never "found" Him - He was not lost:)  I was lost, but He never lost sight of me, not even for a mille-second - ever!  He takes me out of myself - there is so much more, I am such a small cog in a great wheel - and that brings about great joy! “Lord, cause me to be a Blessing today” has become one of my favorite prayers! He guides and feeds and nurtures me, as a most tender Father would.  I trust Him and He never fails me.  How can this be, a Love so great and kind and merciful - and FUN!  I love the Life He has given to me - it is mine if only I take the time to listen and follow.  So what is belief?  I am not sure I can put into words what that means to me - I only know how it was before, and how it is now - and I cannot help but to believe.  More to come on this subject, because as I said, it is my favorite thing to share with my friends and YOU are all of my friends!  Have a most amazing day!  As for me – the adventure continues….

Dreamers

Are you a dreamer?  I am!  I love to dream and plan and hope.  Some have said to me, "Why dream about that?  You will never have it so don't set yourself up for disappointment."  Hmmmm - an interesting, albeit negative and unproductive thought.  I have asked people, "So what are your dreams?"  And I am amazed at how many people have NO DREAMS!! I began dreaming as a young girl, as most children do. Ask a child, "What would you like for Christmas, or what do you want to be when you grow up?"  Her eyes become huge with hope and wonder as she tells you all of the things that are in her heart. "I want a baby doll and a carriage, I want a puppy, and I want to be a doctor when I grow up...."  How precious are these times, these thoughts, these dreams?

So, I wonder what happens to us when we "grow up."  How do we lose that wonderful, creative gift? And how can we re-capture it?  Do we need to cultivate it - use it or lose it?  Should we take more time to just...dream?  Should we take the risk????  I say definitively YES!  I have had many dreams, and it is amazing how many have become a reality in my life!  I am walking out my dreams!  Isn't that the most wonderful thing?  When asked, “why dream, you know you will never have this or that”, my response has become, "Why NOT me?  God loves me just as much as anyone else, so why NOT me?  He can tell me "No, my child," and I am OK with that, but I not going to listen to you!”

Should you dream?  Should you take that risk?  Do you dare to - HOPE?  Well, what do you have to lose?  On the one hand, you may experience disappointment, feeling foolish, putting yourself “out there." On the other hand, you may find an amazing new world of opportunity!  The degree you always wanted, or the hope of the home and family tucked away in your heart, or a new relationship, new job, new challenge!  Now that is exciting! 

So the next time you share a hope or a dream with someone and they try to rain on that dream, just look them square in the eye and say, "Why NOT me?  God loves me just as much as anyone else!" and see what begins to happen in your life. You may not get all of your dreams, but having hope along the way, and realizing the dreams that do come to pass, make life exciting and interesting and just plain fun!  So I say, dream away, my friend!  You have nothing to lose and so very much to gain.  Have an amazing day, and Happy Dreaming!

All you need is love, love, love, love....

.... love is all you need!  Well, can you hear the Beatles singing this song? I can - will likely not be able to get it out of my mind for the rest of the day! I have been hearing this message everywhere I go - all we need is love; love is the answer; people are looking desperately for love; loving-kindness can make such a difference in a life.  The message resonates loudly and clearly - the world is looking for love.  No big revelation here - it has been this way since the beginning of time. So how do we know when we are loved? Sometimes it is like the wind blowing across the waters - you cannot see it but you can feel it.  It washes over you and brings a sense of warmth and well-being. Love can be seen, in an act of kindness. Love can be felt, in a gentle hug when it is so desperately needed. Love can be heard, in a simple thank you. 

I remember days of old, not believing I was loved or cared for or precious to anyone. That awful sense of the realization that I was not worth being loved for who would want me? The sense of shame that I was somehow born "less than" the rest of the world. The lack of joy as I sank deeper into the abyss of sorrow, unhappiness and hopelessness.  And then You stepped into my life and oh, how that has changed!  For you have removed my sense of shame and replaced it with Hope!  My sorrow has been replaced with Joy! And my lack of self-worth has been changed to s Spirit of Confidence!

I understand why the world is looking for love, for love has the power to heal, and to restore and to make whole.  It is like a soothing balm on a wound.  Love can bring about miraculous changes in a person's life, changing them into something so much more precious than gold or silver or diamonds. I know that I know that I know this is true, for I am living it and walking in it and believing in it and growing day by day.  So I guess perhaps it is not a bad thing that the Beatles’ song will be playing in my head today, reminding me of this truth, for I believe the Beatles had it right - Love really is all you need....

If I had to place my bets...

As I look around me, I see so much uncertainty in the United States, and the world for that matter, that it nearly takes my breath away! Rising unemployment, budget deficits - who can even fathom how much "Trillions of dollars of debt" means? Worldwide economic collapse, terrorist activities, mudslides, earthquakes, tsunamis - the list of scary stuff is endless!  If I let it, it will sweep me away into the land of "What if?"s. You know, the land of...: "What if I lose my house? Become terminally ill? Die a slow and agonizing death due to chemical warfare? Lose my family, my job, my friends..."  And on and on - you get the picture.  So how do I move from that endless and fruitless mental activity to a place of Peace and Rest?  There is only one way that works for me and that is to trust in the One who took me "from the ugly miry clay, and the slippery slopes of life, and set my feet upon a Rock..."  There is no way to explain the result of who I am today with that frightened girl of long ago - the changes have taken place one step, one moment, one day at a time, slowly but surely.  Hmmm - replacing sorrow and pain and negativity with joy and peace and - well, a great life!  Dreaming (this is a big part of who I am, by the way) and then seeing those dreams and plans become the reality of my life - my "heart's desires" if you will - now that is a miracle!  Who I am today is the result of a Loving God who has invaded my life (only after I asked Him, of course, for He will never come uninvited) and brought me strength and joy and a peace that passes understanding.  “Why do you fear, my child? Have I not always taken care of you (and I might add better than you have taken care of yourself!)? Trust in me and you will NOT be disappointed…”

Yes the world is filled with fear and uncertainty.  And I can sometimes feel the fear coming as a thief in the night to steal my peace and joy.  But I’ll not allow it to stay – it must pass through here, for I will ask the One who has saved me and kept me to help me one day at a time, to keep my feet firmly planted on that Rock and my eyes on the One who Loves me with a perfect and everlasting love.  Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts and my heart with you.  Have an amazing day!

The New Year

As I begin the New Year, like most folks I look back on the year past, and set goals for the coming year. I usually have more goals than a person could possibly attain, but this year, it has been more challenging to me to set goals for myself.  Maybe it is because my thoughts on goals are changing? Maybe the hard and fast goals that are so easy to measure - "I will lose those ugly 10# of fat this year; I will pay off my debt; I will grow the business for my company more this year" - are beginning to be replaced with goals that are not so measurable.  How would I measure, "Lord, I want to draw closer to You that I might learn more of your ways"? Or how about setting a goal to be more loving and kind; how do you measure that? Or, I want to spend more time with family and friends?  And though I cannot measure them, these are the "higher goals."  These are the long-lasting goals.  These are the goals that He would ask of me; His higher calling which is that I would love others as He has loved me.

It is not wrong to have measurable goals - I still will lose those 10# of ugly fat!  It is just that they seem not as important to me as they have in years gone by.  The apostle Paul said, "forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God."  Loving others, especially those who are difficult and challenging, is not an easy goal, to be sure.  I may not be able to measure it, but if I let Him work out His plan in me – to love others - I will surely know it, for He will cause me to change, and I will experience to an even greater degree, His peace and His love and His joy. And that is a gift that is beyond measure.

Happy New Year, everyone!