Unpredictable

I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July! We have been busy this month with our first 4th of July barbeque at our new home, overnight visits from family members and trips to the beach. I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone by. Well before July is over I would like to share with you some thoughts that I had a few days ago.

One morning as I was opening up the doors and windows on the sun porch my eyes were immediately directed towards the southern sky, ominous dark clouds were floating all around. I began to contemplate whether or not to close up the doors and windows since the weather patterns at the beach can be so unpredictable.

The northern sky was quite a different scene, sunlight, blue skies and puffy white clouds.

But eventually the entire sky became dark and the rain came down. As I watched this contrasting natural act I found it to be an excellent example of how life can be at times. Bright, sunny, and warm, with a slight breeze to cool you off at just the right time, and then the dark rain clouds roll in.

There are times in all of our lives when things happen that make us feel lost and alone, but this too will pass away. The dark clouds will fade away and the white puffy billowy clouds will return. The rain will come and refresh your life and the sun will once again shine upon your face, just the way it brightly shines up in the sky.

Trish

In God’s pattern book of nature we can trace many valuable lessons. – Our Daily Bread July 13th 2012.

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Stand Still

One day in late August I was outside puttering around in my garden, before I knew it my puttering around turned into working up a serious sweat. It seemed that at the very moment that I needed to cool off an ocean breeze came out of nowhere.  I stopped what I was doing stretched out my arms, tilted my head back and embraced the cool breeze… if you stand still you will feel the breeze.

For many of us our calendar of scheduled activities and events run our lives and dictates how we spend our time and with whom we spend it with.  Well I am here to advocate that we sometimes stand still and feel the breeze whether it is individually or together. Start off by penciling in your or our feel the breeze time.  And for all of those married people please don’t write down the usual dinner out or movie night… boring! Instead think about writing down something new and different this time.  When you open yourself up to trying something new you will find it to be interesting, exciting and very memorable.  Ok, for singles put down what ever it is that you say to yourself that you don’t have time to do or what you would like to do if you had more time to do it… make a commitment to yourself and set aside some time to do it.

Trust me I am not trying to tell you how to run your life. I am simply suggesting that you try something that works and which I have discovered will only enrich your life. So if you stand still you will feel the cool breeze.

Trish

Every day, take some time for yourself. Love yourself. Honor yourself. Give priority to your physical, mental and emotional wellness. – Unknown

Life is a beautiful song that God is teaching us to play. – From Our Daily Bread November 26, 2011


Have a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends!

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More than a Mantra

A few weeks ago I purchased some coffee mugs for our new home. The color and design were perfect, but it was the words on the mugs that really influenced my overall purchase. The words Sit long, Talk much, Laugh often, just the message that I wanted our family and friends to receive and feel when they visited our new home.

It was a few days later when I was pouring a cup of coffee into one of the mugs that I read those words again… Sit long, Talk much, Laugh often, and as I sat down to enjoy my late afternoon cup of java I began to wonder if it was even possible to exercise that kind of mantra, especially in today’s fast paced tech savvy world. Is this Sit long, Talk much, Laugh often mantra just reserved for guest who are visiting our home or when we go away on vacation or major holidays? Can we realistically apply these words to our everyday lives?

I believe that we can and will if we see the value of Sitting long with the people who are apart of our lives, taking time to talk much (face to face) which could very well lead to laughing often. The mugs are there to server as a daily reminder to live life this way…then and only then those words will become much more than just a mantra on a coffee mug. Have you had your warm sip of the gift of life today?

Trish

Sitting Long

Sitting
When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park? Ralph Marston

Talk Much


Let's Talk
Let’s talk, let’s open our hearts out to each other and talk
You may laugh at this plea, at this suggestion you may balk
You might scoff and tell me, “You’ve gone mad today.”
But reflect a bit and you will find many things to say

Come hither, and let us bare our sorrows to each other
So that we can feel lighter and be not in a spot of bother
Good or bad, let us talk about our dealings with life
It’s much better to be open than be cut up by tension’s knife.

Taken from Let’s Talk - by Rony Patra

Laugh often

Laughter is good medicine it’s a great “shock absorber” for life’s unexpected bumps. It helps take the monotony out of everyday life.
Don’t miss out on the continual feast of a cheerful heart.
You’ll see that a happy heart bubbles over into a smile. And it’s contagious!
Love, your God of joy – Proverbs 17:22; 15:13-15
Taken from Hugs for friends by LeAnn Weiss & Caron Loveless

Proverbs 15:13 (KJV)
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.



Photo of Grandson: by LJN
Sunset Photo: by LJN 

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Have a beautiful Easter!
***Help to feed the hungry @ Rock and Wrap It Up: http://www.rockandwrapitup.org/

A New Stage

“We live life in stages and experience it on different levels.” – Dr. A.R. Bernard


A new stage of my life began on Wednesday March 2nd taking up residence in a new home in West Ocean City, Md. What we thought was a serious buyer for our home in Pennsylvania turned out to be a big waste of our time, energy and emotions. So we have moved on to plan B for a year, hopefully it won’t take that long for our home in Pa to be sold.

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” – Woody Allen


It is our hopes, wishes and wants that set our expectations as to what the outcome will be, but I have been blessed to discover that these things are set against God’s plan for our life. And I truly believe in the end, if we are connected spiritually in anyway we will be able to see his greater plan.

I am also still learning to take one day at a time and to savor each moment of that day, some days I am better at it then other days… for we know that tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Psalm 90:12 - So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Well as I look around at my new surroundings I am totally grateful for having a nice roof over my head at this time. I look forward to the warm beach days ahead… Lord willing.

Trish

Japan earthquake: How to help
https://www.savethechildren.org/



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Dr. A.R. Bernard: http://www.arbernard.com/


Proverbs 27:1 – Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

A Winter Beach Stroll

A few days ago I experienced strolling on an East Coast beach with my husband in the dead of winter, what a truly exhilarating first time experience. This winter beach stroll on the Eastern shore of Maryland was my first new experience of 2011. And I can’t help thinking about what other first time experiences this New Year holds for me.

To those of you who started the New Year with your new year’s resolution in hand, I would like to share with you some things that you might like to consider adding to your list…

1. Trust your instincts.
2. Believe that all things are possible.
3. Open yourself up to those in need.
4. Have as many impromptu moments as your life can hold.
5. Vow to experience and try new things.
6. Stop wondering about what’s to come.
7. Take one day at a time.
8. Pray and meditate often.

As you begin to embrace this New Year I hope that you will resolve in your own way to simply live life and to experience it NOW!

Trish

**http://www.showyourhelpinghand.com/


Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? St. Matthew 6:26-27 NIV

**Photos of Trish: by LJN
**Photo of the Moon: by LJN

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Slow down, slowing down…

First let me start off by saying Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! I had a few things to say in Nov and Dec but somehow I never quite found the time to post my thoughts. And now I can’t believe that the month of January 2010 is almost over. Time seems to be marching on at such a rapid pace. I find myself on the brink of another month and I can hear myself saying what happen to January. It is definitely time for me to slow down.

Slow down, slowing down a bit what does that actually mean and for some people what does that look like, what visions do they conger up in their mind… sitting on a tropical beach and sipping exotic drinks, sun bathing on the deck of a cruise ship, or sitting by a warm fire in a cabin reading a book. I venture to say that if I had conducted a random street survey and asked this question I could have received any one of those answers and more.

The question that I propose is how do we learn to slow down in our daily day to day living? Do we stumble upon the answer when a major illness hits us? Unfortunately for some of us the answer is YES. And then and only then we finally realize that we need to slow down. Yes we all have our day to day routine of getting up and going to work, having breakfast, lunch and dinner, the occasional doctor appointments, social activities and special events. I know that it is vitally important to safeguard myself from allowing my day to day routine define my life, if not this could certainly usher in one month turning into another and wondering if this is all there is to life. I told myself that I needed to start slowing down more, for it truly is ok to take the time to sit down and smell the coffee, to savor the smell of it and the moment spent having it.

Let’s not miss the important parts of our lives, so please slow down. Smell that coffee, gaze at the moon and the stars once in awhile with that special someone, spread your tentacles beyond your day to day world and live. Flood your senses with life which is all around you. Don’t let the day to day routine rob you of really living life.

Trish

It is only in exceptional moods that we realize how wonderful are the commonest experiences of life. It seems to me sometimes that these experiences have an "inner" side, as well as the outer side we normally perceive. At such moments one suddenly sees everything with new eyes; one feels on the brink of some great revelation. It is as if we caught a glimpse of some incredibly beautiful world that lies silently about us all the time. -J.W.N. Sullivan

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Thank You 2008... Hello 2009!

Many people were very glad to be able to say good-by to 2008. For me it was Thank you! I am truly thankful to have lived through the entire year with all of its joys, heartaches, disappointments, happiness, sorrows, losses, gains, and many unexpected blessings along the way. I will always cherish the memories that only 2008 could give me. I am excited knowing that new memories are on the horizon in 2009. You see there is no such thing as a good year or a bad year… there is living life and no matter what you do or where you live or how much money you make or don’t make you are not insulated from experiencing many of the same things that took place the year before. Those experiences may be a lot less and not as intense this year then they were last year. And for some people that alone will cause them to conclude at the end of 2009 whether or not it was a “good” year or a “bad” year.

In life there will always be a time when you will experience joy, heartache, disappointment, happiness, sorrow, loss, gains and many unexpected blessings along the way. It is good to set goals, so go ahead and set some! And what ever you do don’t make any New Year resolutions…let’s be realistic and just live life!

Trish

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3-8)

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

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http://www.tljnicholas.com/

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!