Begin with a Blessing...

 "May the sun bring you new energy by day.

May the moon softly restore you by night.

May the rain wash away your worries.

May the breeze blow new strength into your being.

May you walk gently through the world and know it's beauty all the days of your life."

Appache Blessing

Arise!!!

A new day is dawning,

The sun raises her shades and light floods the world,

we sit up from our sleep,

groggy at first,

and

open our hands to receive our daily blessing of sorts.

Like tiny little birds waiting for their mothers beaks,

we hold out our hands to

the Universe

in

silent begs for mercy, grace, love, laughter and life.

Unseen atoms bounce around,

bounce off each other and all kinds of things

and

hit our palms

to energize us for the rest of the day.

We feel the love surge,

hear the beat so faint at first that

we're not sure from whence it comes....

the slow steady beat of life,

calling us

to new work,

new people, new adventure...

It enters our soul,

moves through our body,

fueling us for the day ahead....

And so we Rise..

to Go Forth into the World,

Ready to face the day

Because

:We Have Been Blessed:

May we just remember it all day long....

blessings and hugs.

How to lift a heart.....

"some things don't matter much.

 Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart--now, that matters. The whole problem with people is...they know what matters, but they don't choose it...The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters." — Sue Monk Kidd

It is true...it is often hard to make the right decision...to choose the thing you know.... that simple God whisper that comes and matters.

There is often an intuitive method to the maddness...

a force onnected

to each of us,

pushing us onward and then pulling us toward the goodness of life...

Lifting a person's heart has a cost that many of us are not willing to make...

it involves reaching across the invisible space between them and us and

connecting,

touching,

communicating,

acknowledging our presence and undeniable dependance upon each other.

We see pain, or hopelessness, or grief all written on someone's face,

we see the weight of the world on their shoulders so pushed down that they almost drag the ground,

we can hear all of it in their emotions...

we know..

really know..

how to make a difference...

but

often

making that choice to do so...

well it would

involve slowing down,

coming out from the inside of our own umbrella that we have pulled down over us

protecting our hearts, our soul's our own emotions.

So many things in life that I once saw as important

have lost their meaning

as I've tried to learn to take the risk,

to move out from under my protective covering,

it scares the hell out of me...

connecting that is...

touching

talking,

supporting,

giving....

but

often the most important

gift

that I can give to anyone is

a smile,

a glance in the eye,

a quick hello, how are you today?

a touch,

a hug,

an

acknowledgement.

clothes...really doesn't matter what we wear,

houses,...they come and they go....can be clean or dirty..

money...can't buy us love...

material wealth...what good is it if there is nobody to share it with...

Life comes and Life goes

and

inbetween each second,

there

are moments...

moments for us

to choose the right thing...

and

the right thing

is

always the thing that lifts the heart

that fills the world with a bit of love,

choose love,

choose life,

choose connections,

choose awareness,

choose your neighbor...

these things...

these are the things that matter the most...

the things of the heart spaces.

Have a wonderful Monday Evening...

blessings and hugs....

Let's Start Counting Them......Blessings that is!!!

~ When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. ~

willie nelson

Yesterday after getting my usual monthly "get the gray covered" beautification treatment from my specialist...(and I am looking oh so sexy hot this morning if I have to say so myself...)

I stopped to get gas and decided I needed a diet Pepsi from the fountain with lots of ice, so I went in the store.

One of the workers there was busy restocking the drink supplies..

a small short woman with curly blond hair...

as I walked by in my fog thinking about how good that cold d. Pepsi was gonna be....

I heard someone say something....well it was that girl.

She was pretty chipper and asked...

"How are you doing today?"

I thought she was talking to the guy behind me so I ignored her..thinking to myself..

wow she is "chipper".

In a moment I heard it again...

"How you doing today?" 

I looked and she was looking at me.

Oh...I'm doing well how about you.

She looked into my eyes and smiled

and said,

"I am blessed...so blessed...

I have this job, I have two children and I have my health...

I am blessed."

We chatted a bit and then we parted as I paid for my drink.

As I walked to my car,

I thought how much I might learn from

this woman.

I too am blessed.

I have a job.

I have a healthy family.

I have a car to drive.

I have a roof over my head.

I have a cold diet Pepsi in my hand and it tastes so good.

.....

I began to wonder

how some of us

get caught up in seeing the

world as a

glass half full

and

others who may appear to have an almost empty glass

can think that

they are full and actually fill others up to the brim.

It is a strange mysterious cycle..

our attitude that is...

a stop at a gas station,

a purchase of a drink

a woman I tried to ignore

and

my whole world is shifted abit, turned upside down if you will....

My morning walk yesterday brought me to these flowers where I stood and watched the bees eat...

their needs were met...

and

so were mine on this

day.

As I prepare to go preach this morning...

I sat thinking about my encounter...

sort of Holy and Divine, yet at a gas station...

and

I am thankful...

for

I am blessed

and

if I started actually counting...

well

I guess I would be counting all day!

Take a moment today

to think about yours...

What are your blessings?

Come on..
there has to be one or two...

share them with me.

May the Blessing You have Already Received

provide you fuel to get into tomorrow...

Enjoy your day,

look at the sun

and

go ahead..

just try and count them..

"name them one by one"

Sunday Blessings

and

Hugs

The Secret Life of my backyard.

"I hadn't been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called 'bee yard etiquette'. She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved." — Sue Monk Kidd

It is a secret world,

that back yard of mine...

I sat out on the deck this morning in my robe

(looking beautiful I must add--i didn't say sexy hot--i had a tan socks with aqua house shoes--was having a fashion faux pas)

coffee steaming hot

and

oh the music that came

at first I didn't hear it....

I was so caught up in my usual thinking but as

I sat,

I began to hear

the symphony of God begin to play for me.....

their voices..

all their chirping sounds,

singing, chanting, talking, mixing together, churning together

bouncing off each other's song

all swirling around in the air,

moving out

to beckon the world to remember that we are alive...

The grass is pushing up..will have to be cut soon,

the trees---

the flowers are turning into new formed leaves to shade me soon...

and that family of birds...

oh my what could have probably done

 to have pissed your mama off so bad...

you were probably fighting over your space in the nest....

I can relate to her--bet you hit that last nerve-

 been like that myself...

There is something going on in my own backyard..

a mystery of sort,

things living together,

feeding each other,

supporting each other in a way

that might just teach us human beings how to get along....

a community of sort that is rare to find these days

out in the hustle and bustle...

this morning

it invited me to stop,

beckoned me to listen,

the maestro stepped up on that

granddaddy log,

lifted her baton

and

the world listened...

 I listened...

and

I was changed....

thankful this morning for the wonder of

birds singing,

grass growing,

squirrels running,

honeybees gathering...

and even a Cecil dog digging in my herb bed...

and a moment...

just a moment,

when I caught a glimmer of

the Master conductor.....

I glanced at my cup...

it was empty

no more hot steam coming off..

but me...

ah...me.

I am filled with joy and contentment..

a gift from Her...

and

now I offer my song to the world....

Oh the secret life of my backyard.......

wonder what's outside your door?