A Pat on the Back!

Wow, here I am again, almost at the close of June, and I am smiling from ear to ear, and I had to even stop, and pat myself on the back, and tell myself that I did a good job! Sometimes, we just have to do that...stop and take the time to commend our self, for the good job that we do!

Ever been at a place in life where you know that a particular thing must be done, no way of getting around it, no matter how long that you ignore it, procrastinate in doing it, you know that it must be done? Things that I know must be accomplished, especially the things that I like to do...(not the things that cause a little anxiety, or that are not especially fun...) I seem to do those things. I will jump right on things that I especially like to do...but those things that I don't want to do, I usually put them off, knowing that I will eventually have to come back to them and do them anyway, because if they are going to get done, I must be the one who gets them done. It might be small things around the house, which was my case, or it may be something major, that you just don't want to face at the moment..like telling something to your spouse, calling a creditor about a past due bill, sharing something with a boss, a friend, a co-worker that isn't easy to say, etc. All of my life, I have been asked to do things, not wanting to do them, but not having the nerve to say no. Then my family had to listen to me whine about having to do something that I just didn't want to do!

Well, I decided that some things just had to change! I had to handle things that needed to get done, stop putting them off and I also had to stop being forced into doing things that I din't want to do, in other words, I had to learn to speak up! I am too old to be stressed, and Jesus has done too much for me to allow myself to be stressed!

Well I had to stop and smile today, pat myself on the back. I set some goals for myself, for the month of June. I had to tackle some things, and I had to tackle them, my way. I see that I am going to have to set monthly goals for me. I am not telling anyone how to get things done, I just know that I am going to have to handle things on a monthly basis...that seems to work for me. Ok, you know that I am Mrs. Christmas, love, love, love to decorate...not just one tree, but many trees. These are not counter top trees, these are 61/2 and  9ft. trees. One tree has 2400 lights on it...one tree! It is so much fun beginning in October, when I start decorating. It is a major accomplishment when I can light up the house on Thanksgiving night, and enjoy all of the trees and lights, all of November and December...but here comes January! In January, when I face all of the decorations...I really don't feel like taking all of that stuff down! Putting it up is so much fun, but taking it down is another matter!

So here it is, June, and yes I am still looking at trees (don't judge me-LOL!). Every day since January 1st, I keep telling myself that I am going to start taking down decorations...and every evening I tell myself...tomorrow. Well six months into 2012, outside temperatures are at 100 degrees, and I have a Winter Wonderland and snow in my Living Room!

Well I decided that I must tackle this, and tackle it NOW! At the beginning of this month, I set a goal for myself...I was determined to have all decorations in the front three rooms of my home...totally free of any trace of Christmas. About 30 minutes ago, that goal was accomplished! I totally removed every Christmas item from each of those rooms, and I even totally rearranged the furniture in my parlor...Jesus and me! Living room, dining room, parlor, totally empty of any and every Christmas items...even  glitter! It took an entire month to get it done, but it is done! thus the pat on the back, and me blogging about it! I just had to shout about it, and share this accomplishment. Hey, I even spoke up, and did not do some thing that I was asked to do by someone! I did not feel like doing it, and I didn't! Yay me! That set me free!!! I actually had to have a serious conversation with myself. I had to tell myself, "Gayle, you are a grown woman, married, raised two adult sons, 55 years old...and you are allowing someone to make you do what you don't want to do...what's wrong with you! Well when the day came, I didn't do it, and I felt good! I was free...I am forever free! I had to tell myself that Jesus made me free indeed, then I has to ask myself, why am I allowing myself to be bound by not speaking up! I broke free, and I am not going to allow myself to be bound again!

So June is a great month for me! Goals were reached. I am now busy setting my goal for July...take down more trees. I know that Jesus and I will get this done too!

Yes!

Charles Jenkins - Awesome

Peace and Quiet....Priceless!

Good Saturday morning to you! It has been a while since I have been here, but I could not let this moment pass today, without posting this morning. It is a beautiful, sunny, peaceful, still, calm, Saturday morning, and I am absolutely enjoying it! No one besides me is moving at my house. The birds are still asleep...all I hear is the tick-tock, tick-tock of the clock in the room. I seems like the trees, birds, insects...are still asleep. I am sitting and looking out of the window of my family room, and the trees are still, the shrubbery is still, nothing moving but one brightly colored , green lizard. He seems to be glad that the has the whole outside to himself!

There are many things that I enjoy in life, but there is nothing that I cherish more and enjoy more than peace and quiet. I love these special moments, moments when I know that it is just me and my Father, no one else! Moments when I know that He is sitting right there besides me...I have Him all to myself, I have all of His attention, yet in reality, I know that someone else on the other side of the world, is sitting and perhaps saying the very same thing, and feeling exactly as I am right now, that it is just the two of them! He has this way of making you feel like there is no one else in the world, that no one else matters at the moment but me, but the two of us, and no one can get in the way of us! I love these moments...sitting and just meditating on how great He is. Just sitting, not rushed, not worried, not afraid, just still, peaceful, quiet, lost in His embrace, talking back and forth, not having to say everything grammatically correct, not having to be formal, and not having to feel that I am not worthy to be enjoying being with Him. I can really sit and enjoy my Father.

I love Him, but He loves me so much more! I am just sitting here thinking about how free that I am. How blessed that I am to have the assurance that I am loved, and always will be, the assurance that there is nothing that I can do to cause Him to ever stop loving me. That's so freeing to me...to know that someone will always love me, even if I mess up, say or do something so stupid, if I don't pray today, if I don't pick up my Bible today, if I get mad at someone, if I just don't feel like doing anything today...I am still loved! I will always be loved because it is not about what I do, how I perform. I don't have to perform, keep a list of rules, a do and don't list, to be accepted by Him. I don't have to perform to get God's blessings, to get His love, His favor or His grace, I am so accepted by Him.

I was just sitting here and thinking about all that God has done for me. How He created us because he wanted a family that He could shower with His love and abundant blessings, someone just like Him! The angels weren't enough, He wanted a family just like Himself, so He created you and me. I am just thinking about the length that he went to, to keep us, to keep our relationship even after Adam messed up and plunged us into sin, God still didn't let us go, He still wanted His family back! Every now and then, I have to stop and remember all that He did to get us back. Sometimes life will cause you to forget the real, the truth of life. What we see here on this earth with our natural eyes, will sometimes try to convince us that this is  reality, but really it isn't. The truth that I am eternally loved, forgiven, kept, protected, healed, prosperous, righteous, that I can never have God mad at me, that He will never reject me...that's real, that's reality!

Anyway, I am just  enjoying this quiet calm, and rejoicing, and so at peace! I hear a little stirring in the house now. Seems like nature is also awake now...I hear some birds!

I am going and continue to enjoy this wonderful day that God has given me. What will you do with your day? I hope that you will enjoy it!

Gayle

Happy Friday All...

Well hello everyone...I hope that everyone is having a good Friday. I sure am! I know that it has been a while since I have posted, so I decided to say hello today. I have really been enjoying myself, and quite happy about things around the house that are getting done, finally! Guess what, I have spent the week taking down Christmas tress! Yeah Christmas trees. You think I don't know it's June. Now that you have finished laughing and talking about me, I don't just put up one tree, and I don't just put up a wreath on the front door, I really decorate a tree and I really decorate our house. Sometimes as my sons says, "mama, I can't see the green tree, so many ornaments are on it"! As I have admitted before, I love to decorate at Christmas. Yes I know that it is June, but I am finally getting them down, and I am happy with myself. I am so quick to add that it was only by God's power and strength, that I am able to do so. Putting the trees up is always the fun part, but taking all of them down, is something else. I have to be in the right frame of mind for such a sometimes monumental undertaking.

I have always believed that God will use any situation to teach us a lesson (no I don't mean like making you sick, causing you to have financial problems, killing your child...things that people so often blame God for,) I mean He many times uses the day to day activities of life to show us something, and that is exactly what he is doing with the tree situation!

I absolutely, positively know that God loves me, and cares about me, and cares about the things that I care about or am concerned with. While taking a break from taking the trees down, God spoke to me and reminded me that He cares about me taking down Christmas trees, because He knew that I really was determined to take them down. For the last few weeks, I have been looking at them, and I wanted them down, but when I decided to start, I removed maybe 5 or 10 ornaments, got tired and turned and walked away. Yuk! Finally, this week arrived and I decided that I would begin again. I set a goal and I was determined to reach it. I always know that God is with me...but this time it was like I got a shot of power, and before I went to bed last night, I'd  taken down two trees, boxed them both and put them away. I went to bed feeling pretty good last night, feeling that I had really accomplished my first goal.

Today, I decided to press on, but before I got started, God talked to me and reminded me once again, that He cares about what concerns me...He cares about me taking down trees, He cares about me wanting a particular outfit, He cares about me having good service and good food at a restaurant that I eat at...He cares about what I care about. God is so amazing. He told me while talking to me today that so many people "save Him" for the big things in life. They save Him for the family problems, marriage problems, sickness and disease problems, problems with finances or a job. He said, "I care about everything! I care about the little things that you care about from day to day. I care about you getting a good parking spot. I care about you getting a good sale, cooking a good meal, your child wanting to go back to school, getting that right shade of lipstick. I care about that, because you care about that! God is so good!
I must say, "we are having fun talking and taking down trees", and we are getting it done. Being able to do it at mt own pace, not on schedule, being able to walk away from it, and coming back to it, helps a lot too.

I just wanted to share some of my day with you and encourage you at the same time. I want you to know that God really, really does care about you. He even told us to cast or give our cares to Him, BECAUSE He cares for us. That sounds like someone who really wants to get into our day, our activities. Someone who can do something about a situation for you. It doesn't sound like someone who doesn't want to be bothered with you, who couldn't care less about you, who does not care if your bills are not paid, who does not care if you have a pain. He cares about everything. There is noting that I cannot talk to my Father about! I can't think of anything! He absolutely cares about what you care about. He is teaching me about Photography. I want to know, and He is teaching me. He is teaching me about Graphic Design. I like that, and He is teaching me. We talk about everything, and I do mean everything. He's my Daddy!

Have a good day and a great weekend!