Enjoying His grace... :)

The last day of the month. October 31. Two more to go, then the year's over. Wow!

So much has happened this year; yet, it went SO FAST.  It's almost 2012... Wow...

It's been a good year - a productive year. I trust it has for you too.

All of my goals have been met. *fist bump!* You know, those "New Year's Resolutions" that you put out on 12/31 and blow by 1/3?  I wouldn't let it happen. It's been a productively blessed year. I've got everything crossed off that list. Everything!  But... I never saw a lot of what happened this year coming when I flipped the new calendar on 1/1, and I wouldn't have imagined it anyway.

How about you? Has this year brought things into your life that you never would've thought of? 

So now I still have two months to get caught up with a to-do list I didn't count on and couldn't have thought of anyway, and it'll get done because everything's accomplished that I had set out to do this year. And then some. By God's grace, He smiled and made my life a blessed place with beautiful, Godly people. His grace is sufficient.  His love is unending! I have all that I need and much, much more, all provided from the Almighty hands of an all-loving and gracious God. I'm so thankful, and much too blessed to be stressed...

I hope that's true of you too.

A few random thoughts as I leave what's behind and go forward...

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." ~ Dr. Seuss

Good memories are a treasure for the heart to keep warm and cuddle with. Good memories encourage us when life can be rude, and can be the teddy bear that makes us feel safe and secure. It's good memories that travel with us like a blanket which we can wrap ourselves in when uncertainty frowns in our face.

It's the good memories I take with me as I enter this new adventure and leave the place where I thought I'd be for the rest of my life. I've learned so much during the past few years about how to love and care for people, and I'm grateful for the muscles built through the workouts I endured. I feel peace - anticipation - because I know the road ahead is waiting. I'm ready to go!

I take joy in where I've been, what I've learned, and how I've grown, and I look forward to where I'm going. And it all... starts... now...

Just above my nose...

It was a beautiful August evening - one of those nights with a warm gentle breeze and cicadas tuning up for a full performance as the sun sank lower in the sky. Thunderstorms were in the forecast for the next day, which meant lawn work needed to get done. It also meant the dog-walkers wanted to get full benefit of this late summer evening. The bushes were almost trimmed when a couple of dog-walkers stopped at a tree out by the road. They pointed, stared upward, and seemed enraptured by something more interesting than just leaves and branches.

"Hey, did you know there's a beehive in that tree?"

We looked over at the tree - and saw leaves and branches.

"Ohhh...
it's a BIG one!"

We walked towards the tree and continued to see... the tree... until we walked around the side and looked up - at the biggest thing hanging in a tree that I ever remembered seeing. It was unlike any hive I've ever seen in my life... because it wasn't just a beehive...

It was a HORNET'S nest.
Compared to hives I've seen, it was the Trump Tower!

It

was...

HUGE...

and it was a busy place - actively ACTIVE hornets were flying in and out of the entry hole and swarming around their meeting place. I wasn't going close, nor did I have a good plan as to how get rid of this thing! Trying to spray or knock this thing down could result in a fierce army of angry hornets being unleashed in a quietly peaceful neighborhood.

Not a good idea...


As I looked up, fascinated by this surprising discovery, I thought of life, and how hornets' nest of sorts are built and exist unknown and unheeded as we busily live our daily lives - totally unaware.

"Hornets" of life - destructive agents - build and congregate and we are clueless until

someone looks up...

and stops...

stares...

and is amazed...

by what has happened...

and has no idea of how to eradicate the structure without a mass catastrophe of consequence.

Fascinatingly dangerous.
Hidden from plain sight, yet just above our noses. Makes me wonder...

How many hornets' nest are likewise...

around me...?

There's something about a morning...

No matter how destructive the events of a day may have been;

while the effects may linger, the freshness of a new day brings

the margin of hope.

Indeed, 

joy comes in the morning

and 

- with it -

renewal,

strength,

and a sense that yes, 

I CAN

I CHOOSE TO

I WILL

 pick up the pieces and 

move forward.

It's the dawn of a new day.

No matter what 

plans-

hopes-

goals-

were

halted-

ended-

dashed.

Yesterday was. Today is.

It's time to take the experience, forgive where needed, and move forward; 

not forgetting but, instead, 

choosing to remember 

and grow stronger through it because

God's timing is perfect-

His mercy is great-

and His grace is sufficient.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened. ~ Dr. Seuss

Stop...

When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. 

~ Chinese Proverb

I'm a grammaphobic typochondriac with an uncontrollable addiction to quotes.  I was quietly feeding my addiction and happily scanning through quotes tonight when my eyes stopped - and stared - as I read the above. 


No author to cite.  No one person is attributed with speaking this profound truth.  Instead, a proverb from a people.  A concept of a culture.  A way of life for a land. 


So profound.  So simple.  So something we don't think to do in our busy lives that are filled with running ahead, running amuck... simply running.  


So stop.  Smile.  Consider.  Give thanks.  


You are not alone.  Let's work together and provide for each other. 

The value of... time...

Ramblings as I sit and consider…

Time - a resource that cannot be created or repeated; an invaluable source of blessings (or a curse); a cherished gift (“the present”) that gets more valuable as a person gets older.

Time is meant to be used wisely, even when it means studying one’s navel to refocus and refresh.

Time - an effective channel to obtain information, wise counsel, and for moving forward in life.  Time hurts, time heals, and can move too slowly or too quickly.

How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.

 ~ Zall's Second Law

Time is valuable: a source for compounding interest to create wealth, calming nerves, and for dealing with the challenges of life.  MUCH has been written about the "Value of Time"; typing those 3 words into Google provided: About 659,000,000 results. 

Wikipedia's explanation for the value of time comes in economic terms as an opportunity cost for decision-making and, when one reverses the order to read about time value, the discussion brings a storm of equations to calculate the financial repercussions of investing over time to achieve wealth - while their discussion of compound interest graphically illustrates the financial value of time as it relates to a$$et building. 

In Benjamin Franklin’s words: Time is money. Yes. It is.  

 And so much more.

Time is priceless.  It lives outside of a quantitative box as a qualitative entity to embrace and capture within its fluidity and with a positive, hopeful attitude of joy.  The future value of time comes from the he♥rt - not from a summation function.  An expectant heart looks at a positive value of time.  A disgruntled, disheartened, discouraged heart won’t value time, but will see it as an empty and bottomless pit that spirals downward for them.  The value of time = a choice.  A personal choice.  My choice. 

The internet is a plethora of research results, and among the results for “value of time” is an unknown source’s insights (which follow) that echo the fact that time = priceless.  Embrace time with a smile, enjoy it with enthusiasm, and experience excited expectation for what awaits ahead.  Find joy in your journey – each and every moment of it. 

Realize the value of time. Time in perspective.

Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.

What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank.  Its name is time.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance.  It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the records of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back.  There is no drawing against the tomorrow.
You must live in the present on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running.  Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have!  And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.

And remember, time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.  That's why it's called the present.

Freedom!

Happy 4th of July!  I love this holiday for all that it symbolizes: freedom, independence, the rights of individuals, yet all under an umbrella of respect for one another, justice, and "the American way" of life.  I love the fireworks, the sounds of summer that accompany the celebration, and a few hours away from the grind of everyday life to think and reflect on the blessings I enjoy with my loved ones.

With that came the discovery yesterday that a long-time friend had not only passed away suddenly, but was being eulogized at the very moment I found out about his death.  So I'm still coming to grips with the meaning of his death and how his family is probably coping, as I didn't have the opportunity to spend time with them.

*Sigh*

I think of all the loved ones that died for the cause of freedom - how their families must've individually ached so I can enjoy my life.  I think of things happening around me - decisions to be made - loved ones to be cared for - life that I can enjoy because of the bountiful blessings I have.

I am thankful.  I am blessed.  I have hope.  

God Bless America - and Happy Birthday to YOU!!