~Reflections~*** A Year's Ending Message!!!

Reflections: Careful Thought ... especially the process of reconsidering previous actions, events, or decisions.

We've all engaged in reflecting over our lives. We've all looked back and wondered how did we make it through.

Reflection can be painful, but reflections can also be productive.

To me reflections must be reserved for solitary Moments. Moments alone to unlock and open the closets of my mind and heart. I also believe that wisdom comes from reflection.

Reflections for many are either Happy, Sad or Indifferent! Nonetheless, we all reflect.  Sometimes we have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead. Reflection aids in giving us a clearer picture.

Even in the darkness of death, there is a glee of light, of hope and perseverance to reflect on.

This year for many started one way and ended up another. However, your year has ended being grateful is still in order. It could have been worst. for whatever tragedy occurred in you life, remember, you are still standing. You are still here!

Whatever tragedy happened to a family member, remember, it could have been you. But, God's Grace allowed you to continue to stand.

For even in the darkness of death, there is a glee of light, of hope and perseverance to reflect on.

You realized your inner strength to carry on. You saw that God's grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect in weakness. ( I will be happy to explain this statement if you desire. Just shoot me an email).

So today, review your life, your accomplishments, the good times, the sad times, the difficult times during this past year. I can assure you that in the end the good out weighs the bad.

There is a saying: " Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy comes in the morning".




Above is a scale. As you reflect over your life during this past year. As you reflect over the good times, sad times, tragedies and over bad times. As you see yourself still standing. Then you measure on the scale which out weighed the other.

God has blessed us to see another year. Tragic as this statement is and even at this close juncture, some still will not make it into the next year.

This why I was determined to publish this New Year's message today. Because none of us know the day or moment God will call us home.

Personally, My year was great. I could have done more things better. I could have been nicer. I could have loved more. I could have given more. I could have visited more. I could have been more respectful.
I could have Loved and gave God more of me and the money that He gave to me, by giving me health to make it.

So reflect upon your present blessings and not on your past misfortunes.

For those of you who are terrified of facing a new year, and there are some. This is paragraph is for you:

It is always the first and last steps that are the hardest to take. You walk away and try not to turn to look back, or you stand just outside the gates, terrified to find what's waiting for you.

In between, you stumble blindly from one place in life to the next. You try to do the best you can. There are moments like this, however, when you feel as though you are neither coming or going, all you have to do is sit and look back on the life that God allowed you (us) to have.

Life is still one of the Greatest gifts God has given to us and His Son Jesus is the GREATEST gift of all!!!

~These are my thought  ... I welcome yours~

...~Change~ ...

~This rose was tightly closed ... the change was necessary to open and display it's beauty~

I believe that change can be good. Sometimes painful, but good. We live in a world where is change is constant and adaptability is sometimes slow.

I believe that complacency stagnates growth. Remember, fish need oxygen which they get from water. Water produces oxygen for the fish as it constantly moves. Should water become stagnant the fish will die due to a lack of oxygen. This is caused by the water not flowing or moving!

So it is in the human life. Change is inevitable. We must be in motion. Physically or mentally we must be in motion. This is how each of us grow and survive.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that people change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they are right.

We sometimes believes lies so we can eventually learn to trust no one but ourselves and sometime good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.

Look up the words  ... Stagnant ... and ... Stagnate to see if this is where you wish to remain.

know this, it is never to late to be what you might have been. Life is an opportunity, so benefit from it!

Don't let anyone hold you back from making a change in your life that you feel is right and better for you.

Please hear this: No matter what mistakes you've made in the past or think you  will make in the future;

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery to us all. But, today is a gift from God because you have life.

So today live and except this gift of a new day accompanied by Positive Change in your thought process and in your actions.

"This is the day that The Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it".

Why did I choose to write about change? Why are you so afraid to make a change? Do what is right for you! ..... Let your change be positive and I promise you will blossom like a rose. But if your change is negative, you will prick others like the thorns on a rose.

Nonetheless, make the necessary changes you need for you.

Revisit the rose above and read the words underneath the picture. What beauty lies ahead for you as you dare to change and blossom?

~These are my thoughts .. I welcome yours~

~Happiness ~vs~ What is Right~

 

  There is a cliche' that states "Love begins in a moment, Grows over time and Lasts for a lifetime".

 I've sat and thought, sat and listened, looked and wondered in the deepest depths of my own mind to sort this out.

 I'm aware that love brings joy and contentment and we know love can be very painful for some. But as stated "it is better to have loved, than to never have loved before".

 I've seen as you have relationships that seem to be strong,  inseparable and last for years. Then it seems all of a sudden the relationship begins to spiral down hill and then it is over. But believe me, it wasn't sudden, it was gradually falling apart.

It's the little foxes that spoil the vine. This means we allow little things that irritates us to go not discussed. These irritants build up and as they build they create a wedge within the relationship.

As this wedge widens, communication become fewer and irritation increases. As communication becomes fewer,,,, and this irritation increases, it can swiftly breakdown a relationship!

 Just remember, relationships fall into trouble when honesty and failure to communicate from the heart breaks down.  Relationships end when truth becomes a stranger and a lie becomes a last resort and a replacement for the truth.

Resort: ( A source of help) A person, place, or course of action seen as a source of help in dealing with a problem.

Word of advice:  If there is something bothering you or if you  see a different pattern going on with the person you love; my advice is to discuss this issue or issues as quickly as possible. If you want your relationship to continue.

Now, if you desire a change for your life without that person being with you in the same capacity, then let him or her know as soon as possible!

I have a question, what do you do when you have been with someone for several years and realize that you are in love with someone else. Truly love them, friend or lover, you lay your heart open to them.

 You give them a part of  yourself that you've given to no one else, and you let them inside a part of you that only they can hurt.

 You literally hand them the razor with a map of where to cut deepest and most painfully on your heart.


But remember you belong to someone else. What do you do?


My next question is this: Can you build your happiness on the unhappiness of someone else?


Should you stay with your commitment or should you follow you heart?

Well, I'm not Dr. Phil, but deep in my heart there is answer to be shared. However, I would love to hear your response to the questions that were ask first!

~These are my thoughts ... I welcome yours~

~A Holiday Message~

In life we go through so many circumstances. Sometimes these circumstances can be devastating.

However, I've lived long enough to know that there is no problem on earth that Heaven cannot resolve.

So regardless of what you are experiencing, remember the previous statement and trust that His Son, Jesus Christ can resolved them.

Remember, there is nothing to hard for God to do!!!

Whenever there is a complication in your life or circumstances do nothing until you can see Him, not sometimes, but always. (Isaiah 1:10).

Can you see The Lord in your thinking? If not, suspend your judgment or actions until you can.

Can you see the face of Jesus in your affections? If not, restrain them until you can. Can you see God in your circumstances? If not, do nothing until you can.

Our Lord can trust anything to the man or woman who has seen and been with Him.

The Word says "Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth". (Colossians 3:2) You need to gather your impulses and fix them.

I've learned that The spiritual life is not impulsive; we are impulsive when we walk in our flesh and are not in a spiritual state.

In every experience the standard is our Lord Jesus Himself., and He was never impulsive; impulse was the one thing He always checked. Impulse has to be trained and turned into intuition by discipline.

~I hope these thoughts fine you in an healthy state~

~All Things Work Together ~

~Starting over is okay~

I've always heard that that J.C. Penny was a Christian, but I could never prove this. At least until I began to research his life. And this is what I found.

I also realize that struggle is necessary.  We do like it nor do we want it, but it is necessary. And, the life of J.C. Penny proved this. 

But you know what? Whatever struggles you are going through, this is an example of how the word of God holds true when it says in Roman 8:28 ... "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose".

Most of us believe when we are experiencing humbling circumstances in our  lives and we are feeling down that we are in a low state, but the Word of God speaks otherwise. So, read on and learn!

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. - James 1:9

Do you find yourself in humble circumstances? If so, the book of James tells us that we are to take pride in this "high" position. These two things would seem to be an oxymoron. Most of us would not consider humble circumstances a high position. Successful business tells us that being on top means being wealthy, attaining favor and status, or having power to influence. However, Jesus influenced not from power, but from weakness.

Oxymoron: expression containing words with opposite meanings. an expression that contains words with opposite meanings, for example “a bitter sweet experience” (=an experience that is both unpleasant and pleasant)

J.C. Penney is a name synonymous with department store. He first launched his chain of "The Golden Rule" stores in 1907. In 1910 his first wife died. Three years later, he incorporated as the J.C. Penney company. In 1923 his second wife died giving birth to his son. In 1929 the stock market crashed and he lost $40 million.

By 1932, he had to sell out to satisfy...creditors. This left [Penney] virtually broke. ...Crushed in spirit from his loss and his health suddenly failing, Penney wound up in a Battle Creek, Michigan sanitarium. One morning he heard the distant singing of employees who gathered to start the day with God: Be not dismayed, whate'er betide, God will take care of you.... Penney followed the music to its source and slipped into a back row. He left a short time later a changed man, his health and spirit renewed, and ready to start the long climb back at age fifty-six.

By 1951 there was a J.C. Penney store in every state, and for the first time sales surpassed $1 billion a year. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 340-343.]

The success of J.C. Penney can be traced to God's mercy in his life to bring him out of his humble circumstance. Do you find yourself in a humble circumstance? 

God is the only one who can help you see your humble circumstance from His viewpoint-a high position. It is a high position because of what God is going to teach you in this place. He does not intend you to stay there; it is merely a stopping place to learn some important things you would not learn otherwise. Press into God and trust Him for the outcome to your circumstances.

Your opinion is greatly appreciated