I know I am a big goober but today on my walk I was on a senses JOY overload… You see, as I was heading out for my mandatory walk, quite necessary after a long week in NC eating all that I could, my head was spinning with all the have “to- do’s” of the day. I grabbed the leash and Sunshine and I headed out to walk a few lb’s off.

Within the first 20 steps my “to-do’s” were gone. My senses were thrilled with the day and what it presented. As I walked along I unwrapped the beautiful gift that I had been given….

The cool breeze blowing across my skin. The new bright green spring leaves for my eyes to take in. The birds filling my ears with their theme songs. And last but not least by a long shot, was the amazing smell that orange blossoms make when in full bloom! PURE JOY this walk was….Sunshine’s tail was in FULL WAG too I might add. I lifted my face up as the warm sun shone down upon me, my face smiled in deep contentment.

It is the art of simply noticing all that is around you. Allowing yourself to be present in the moment or walk, exhaling and breathing in. It is receiving and accepting the gift of the day that God has provided. It is acknowledging and being settled in the fact that I have a God who loves me and is present no matter what is going in within my life. Being grateful for all my senses He has blessed me with and that can bring me joy when I use them.

As it says in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” Yes, He is and I had a big helping today. Full and Satisfied. Best thing of all it was zero calorie! May you taste and see what the Lord has for you. Get yourself a big helping, it’s a great way to start your day!

“Life might be one darn thing after another, but it does not have to be the same darn thing over and over.” Rick Carson from his book Taming Your Gremlins.

This quote made me laugh out loud! How many times do we have to go around the mountain? Be presented with a familiar lesson still not learned? Does wisdom have to hit me on the head a few times before I will take it and run with it? Ouch, So many bumps and bruises!

I have found in my humble little life, God tends to repeat the lesson until I learn it. I can fuss, scream and say “Are you kidding me? Why? Really? I have to walk this path again?” The answer is always …..”Yes, you have to repeat “Life Lesson 101″ again and why don’t you sit in the front of the class this time and listen.”  God wants us to get it…. to grow, move forward, be Christ-like, so he can use us.  He loves us so much that he meets us wherever we find ourselves on the messy mountain, but loves us too much to leave us there. The challenge is for it not to be in the same spot we found ourselves the last time, not to hear…’She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain….” again!

Most the time we act out of habit, we tend to repeat the same behaviors over and over in similar or like situations. We are creatures of comfort and routine but by doing this we only replay the same dramas over and over. What if we stepped away from fear and familiarity, which holds us in that place of habit, and stepped out in faith? What if we had the courage to experiment with change, embrace a spirit of adventure, take notice of our patterns that tend to hold us in dark places, then make choices in our best interest and well being.

For me, I know it’s all about the lesson learned to prepare me for the next darn thing. To trust God and His wisdom to guide me to new terrain….. No more going round and round on this mountain….. I’ve got new adventures and places to explore!

If you read this blog regularly you know I love the C.S. Lewis quote….

“Friendship is born the moment one says to another, ‘What, you too? I thought I was the only one!”

How true is that! We walk around thinking and feeling we are the ONLY ONES! When in reality there are many others that have walked our path, carried similar burdens, know how we feel and understand the climb. None of us are immune from suffering, it might look a bit different but we all experience change and challenges.

I know this is a familiar song I sing quite often, but recently felt the need to share something with another and was not to sure how it would be received. When we humbly share the chapters of our life we have lived in order to comfort, inform or encourage others we put ourselves at risk to be judged, rejected or talked about. But over the years I know it is what God has called me to do, be authentically who He has created and molded me to be….messy and share it. Not gratuitously but when He asks me to so He can use it. So what  a wonderful surprise when I shared and got the response….”Me too!” It made me giggle because it is usually me singing the “Me Too’s!”

It really was at that moment that a deeper appreciation, intimacy and friendship was born…in the deep wells of sharing!

I had someone say they had some “Feel good transitions going on, like when you are pregnant but no one knows it.” This made me giggle! One, because this someone was a male, and second because I know how this feels having been prego 5 times.

It is great to know something is growing inside you and no one knows it yet. The excitement of something new, planted deep beneath the soil, but not knowing what it will grow into…. Boy, Girl, Friendship, Love, Flower, Tree…..The key is to just be quiet and allow it to grow into what it was intended to be. To be content with the new seedling, knowing it’s there.  Not needing to share this secret yet for it has not even broke through the ground, just enjoying the smile that it brings to your face because of it’s place.

This is true with every aspect of life. Things get planted by God within us that are part of his plan, and the best part is that no one can see or feel it except us. We cannot rush a new seed planted, but give it the attention, time, protection, space, sunshine and care that it needs to take root and finally blossom. If rushed, cut or shared too soon it might never grow into it’s full potential. The best is when there have been random seeds scattered and one pops up that was unexpected. These are some of the best blessings that God plants within our lives and are an unexpected harvest of much JOY! So go out and let stories happen to you, work them, water them with your tears and laughter til they bloom…til you yourself burst into full bloom!

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in
the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin

May you BLOOM today!

So, today I was talking to a friend about prayer and how so many are not comfortable with praying. They are not comfortable praying out loud, in front of others or even alone. Then some struggle with the thought of praying to someone they cannot see. “Hello, is anyone out there?” (that’s the faith thing)

My friend laughed and said, “Why would prayer be comfortable when we don’t even know how to talk each other.” Ding Ding Ding! And the lady with the correct answer will be leading us in prayer! kidding….She would die!

Communication is tough. We don’t say what we mean, we are scared to speak the truth,  we want others to approve and like us. We don’t state our expectations, then we complain and fuss when they are not met. We use words to tear down instead of uplift. We complain, compare, beat up and lie to ourselves and others. We really just don’t use our words well a lot of the time.  I heard recently that just as a boxer is about to enter the ring to fight, he must first put in his MOUTH GUARD. Hummm, interesting idea, I could have used one a time or two, wait maybe that was a muzzle!

I can see the difficulty with prayer when we can’t figure out how to use our words well with each other or ourselves. But Prayer is the safest of conversations, where what is said, is heard.  Even if it is peppered with things that try to clean it up, make it pretty and comfortable. God knows our messy hearts. He already knows what we really are thinking and feeling he just wants us to come to him.

So….. say it!

Don’t worry if the words are not right, well spoken or even make sense. He just wants us to come to him and spill the beans…. the hurt, the joy, the anger, the silly, the disappointment, the exciting and the challenging things that fill our days. Be intimate and real, he is listening and cares.  So give him a ring, there is never a busy signal, he always picks up. And I can guarantee there are no surprises, his love stays the same for as it has for the ages, he has heard it all! So go ahead and make the call for it will be the best communication of all!