Give.......

My Thought for this Day....If you can only give me one thing, don't give me riches, give me love. Don't hand me tangible things, pass me your trust. The most blessed things have no monetary value. Truly, granting me your time, your smile, your laugh, and even your tears, sustains me much more than you can ever imagine. Let me lend my ear, use my words, reach out with an embrace to lighten your load. This.....this.......this is what puts joy in my soul.

Fight...

My Thought for this Day.......Even the strongest among us are weak. It is a human condition. It is a truth lived out daily. It is the door opening to negativity and hopelessness and guilt. It is a defeat that takes away Grace. It steals joy, and purposefulness and gratitude. And it comes like the proverbial thief in the night. So what is our defense? Awareness. Simply awareness. We live under the umbrella of God given grace, and if we fall into the pit, we are, in the moment, hour, day, week, month, losing a most precious gift. A free gift. A miraculous gift. We are told to put on the full armor of God. It's that simple, yet at times, that difficult. Be present in your emotional well being. Recognize the pitfalls purposefully put in your path. Be victorious in life. These actions, my friends, will girth you for war. And we, today and everyday are at war with the unseen enemy. I pray for your victory, and mine. Stand on your mountaintop and shake your fist at today's atrocities, and then step into the ring.

Wish.......

My Late Thought for this Day......My Wish for you today is that you could see yourself as others see you. The depth, the shallowness, the selfless, the selfish, the humble, the egotistical , the humorous, the godly, the godless, the righteous, the ignorant, the wise........you will never know someone else, nor finish your mission on this earth until you know yourself.

Ease.......

My Thought for this Day......Did you know it's just as easy to say an encouraging word as a discouraging one, just as simple to sing a praise as to snarl criticism, more wise to behold your green grass rather than disdainfully gaze on your neighbor's weeds? It doesn't take much to turn your back on things that are dark and instead, cast rays of hope and light? With confidence you can be the mirror that reflects onto the dimness that cloaks your minute corner of the world. Don't live your life to judge, for nobody put you behind that bench on high. Live your life to shine with the sole intent of extinguishing that darkness and hurt that haunts the corners of your world.

Rest.......

My Thought for this Day........And on the Seventh day the Lord rested. I am an expert at resting. It is Biblical. Today's life is too harried. Running on empty depletes your mind, body and spirit. And the weak are preyed upon by evil. No good seed planted prospers in soil that is not tended. Let me ask you this, if God needed a day of rest, what makes you think you can run all day, every day, with no thought of relaxation? Oh, but I can. Oh, but you can't. Not without consequences. There is a revitalization in a spirit that is renewed. Be encouraged to take baby steps, small increments of time, just mere minutes of silence and repose. It is soul spectacular.

Tragedy......

My Thought for this Day..........When we are in the middle of the vortex of tragedy, we tend to lose all sense of time and space and being. And then, when we are able, whether it be a week, a month, or a year, to fully pair ourselves with the upheaval, then, and only then, do we understand that this world revolves in imperfection. But at the same time, it rotates in its steady, steadfast pace and there begins to emerge a consistency, that when realized, becomes soothing in its predictability. It in no way diminishes the pain, but with mercy, it soothes our souls.

Gravel.......

My Thought for this Day.......Don't be the person who kicks gravel in someone's face just because you can. This is the action of emotional bullies. If that is the purpose of your walk, then I feel for your pain......for it must be huge.

Dig......

My Thought for this Day.....Sometimes you have to grab a shovel and dig out your grave of insecurities and resentments and guilt and failures. They are dead and buried, so free them. Allow yourself this soul consuming exercise in cleansing. Hard work, calloused hands, tear stained checks. Not easy, fun, nor pleasant. But in the end, when you fall on your mound of tainted dirt, how absolutely freeing it will be. Life is never more joyful than when your are unburdened and unchained. Release those ropes that bind.

Gift.......

My Thought for this Day....When I look at life, I see toughness and despair. I see joy and celebration. I see hard work and easy streets. I see molding and breaking apart. I don't think this life is always meant to be a ride around the park with a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. Nor do I think it's forever meant to be climbing the face of a granite mountain. What I do think is life is a jumble of actions, emotions and happenings, both good and bad. And our job is to take that jumble and through strength and endurance and the grace of both acceptance and noble rejection turn that jumble into a amazing puzzle whose pieces fit tightly and in the end create the beauty that was our magnificent gift when we drew our first breath.

We.......

My Thought for this Day......At any point in time, your 'we' or 'us' can suddenly change. Life is not certain. I hope you cherish the 'we' and the 'us' of your life. I pray you don't put off until tomorrow those words that need to be said. How heartbreaking to allow yourself the freedom of thinking there's always tomorrow. You hold this moment in your grasp. Tomorrow is a mere wish.

Life..........

My Thought for this Day.....Today I will understand that the passing of time is a steady process. I can neither rush it nor slow it down. What I can do, if I am to live this gift of life to the fullest, is to know that living in today is holy. The past is gone and tomorrow is untouchable. But today surrounds me with a pulsing spirit. Today is life.

Who?

My Thought for this Day.....Who cares for you? Dries your tears? Shares a laugh? Listens to your silence? Doesn't judge? Respects your pain? That person. That soul. That friend is a blessing above all. Don't squander what you have with what you think you want. Listen carefully. Don't pull a weed from your garden of life, only to realize it was the prize rose.

Entitle......

My Thought for this Day.....How dangerous it is to feel entitled. We are a nation of 'must have's'. And we are passing this legacy down with a passion. We judge by the outer, not by the inner. We obsess over the title, the label, the possession. And with this, we bury ourselves in the sand of debt. We are hamsters in the wheel of catch up. We miss out on the free and the beautiful vista of our true world as we are tied to the grindstone in the state of perpetual keeping up and paying for. The entitlement becomes the master. The payback the work house. And we, the tenants.

Time....

My Thought for this Day.........I don't think we really realize the importance of time. Oh we get it. We all wear our branded watches that beautifully tell us the time. We make sure to have just the right one that will bring us status as well as show us seconds, minutes and hours. But we don't truly realize that time marches on with its own agenda. I sometimes think of the most important things of life. My family, my friends, for sure, but my thoughts rarely center on time as being one of my biggest blessings. I have been given a lot of time on this planet, and I have squandered away much of it. Time is a precious gift, one that disappears with every blink of an eye. Don't ignore your time; embrace it, use it. It is merely a breath taken and then gone. And with its disappearance opportunities are lost. Take the time to do what matters, what encourages, what brings joy. Time marches to a demanding master, and we need to play in its band.

Drain....

My Thought for this Day......Sometimes our drains of life get stuck. We pull and we yank, and we pry, but that little rubber stopper won't budge. And when this happens, the waters begin to rise, and we become frantic with the terror of being drowned in this and that and these and those. And with our hysteria we become ineffectual in our effort to stay afloat. We thrash and we dash from one thing to another and in doing so we create a tsunami of emotion and activity that leads to nothing purposeful. STOP IT! It's okay to be busy. It's not okay to be frantic. "Oh, but I must," you say. No, no you don't. You don't have the need , nor they right to over schedule, over work, nor over whatever it is that's creating the flood of dirty water. Think on this for a moment. When you hurry and scurry, you most probably miss the finish line anyway. And you are too busy to value the trip. You are too frantic to soak in the wonder of what surrounds you. You are way too important to be important. Get it? Relax and drift in life's water for as long as you need to realize that the finish line always moves farther away with each frenzied dash and pull of that plug. Don't miss out on the float because you are drowning in the waves.

Choice.....

My Thought for this Day.....I think we can spend each and every day dwelling on the evil that is alive, well, and seemingly insurmountable in today's world. But instead, I choose to focus on the joy and strength of the human spirit. I choose to live with a clarity of sight, and my eyes trained on the heavens and the surety that Our mighty God sits on His throne. I choose to see me and my folks surrounded by invincible Angels, all tall in their stature and decked with the weapons of my Lord. I choose to not only believe, but know, that He will give me passage and if venom enters my world, He will give me the antidote with which to fight and win. I choose victory over loss.

The Being.....

My Thought for this Day.......Life is nor about the going and the doing and the having and the making. Life is about the BEING. Be first. When you get that understood and appreciated and lived, when you realize that your presence is truly needed by YOU, then and only then can the other things follow like adjectives that complete the main noun. At this moment the thorns fall off and the flowers bloom. The stillness in your core is complete and mature and able to truly live all of your going and doing and having and making. The Being.

Shedding.....

My Thought for this Day.....Life is a continual shedding of skin. We shed our skins of infancy, childhood, young adulthood, and then we remain adults until we aren't. And even though layers upon layers have been shed, we still manage to retain imperfections, and immaturities, and left over hurts and bumps and bruises. But the hope is that when we come to the end of the shedding, we are better accommodated to handle life's curve balls. We, in fact, have thickened our skin and sharpened our perspectives of what life truly is. We know that we aren't perfect, as no one is, and what might have bruised at age 5, or 8, or 18, or 25, is now merely an uncomfortable touch that can be forgotten. If we live our lives with infant skin, we stay in that stage of emotion. And in that stage we can't see past our own wants and needs. How sad to continually be bruised and battered and bent under the weight of perceived slights. It's a Hatfield and McCoys existence.

Actions......

My Thought for this Day...........Sometimes we allow private thoughts to become public actions. And in so doing, we show our true colors. While not always a bad thing, it is hanging your clothes on a very visible clothesline. Be careful what seeps from your mind into this world. For without a doubt, you are teaching a lesson of life which will leave a lasting impression on those around you, those who love you, and those who take pride in others' shortcomings. How sad, but how very true, that we are often remembered not for our positive, but for our negative. One wrong can cover oh so many rights with a cloak of ridicule. It will be your legacy. So before you post a rant, loudly argue a point, or make a hurtful action, remember that you are indeed in the very middle of writing your book of life. And that those you love will not only read it, but have to live with your library.

Share........

My Thought for this Day.......Don't dwell on what you have to bear; dwell on what you have to share. Each and every one of us has burdens to carry.....some heavier than others. But gloriously, we all also have gifts, talents, and blessings to share. What good is it to hold your beacons of light so tightly in your fist, that no one basks in your glow? We all are a link in the chain of existence, a leg in the relay of life. Don't be the weakest link, nor the slowest sprinter. Digging a hole and merely existing with your troubles helps no one.....least of all you. So today, if even for a minute, share what you can, and maybe, just, maybe, you will lighten someone else's burden. How truly wonderful would that be? Don't be a dweller, be a sharer.

One nation.....

My Thought for this Day......We the People......The Preamble of the Constitution of this Mighty nation began with these words. In our self centered, privileged, all about me, ways we have turned it into ...I the Person. Until we turn our selfish eyes outward instead of inward, until we realize that nobody owes us anything, until we truly understand that each of us is only a tiny spoke in the enormous wheel of life, and most importantly until we kneel at the feet of our God, the Mighty will continue to fall. I wrote these words in 2014. And I believe that no progress has been made. As a matter of fact, I feel like we are teetering on the Pinnacle of destruction. And yet I fight daily to not become more cynical. This battle I'm losing, and it brings tears to my eyes. I want to still see the wonder and beauty in people. I want our grandson Titus, to live in a nation of cohesion and safety. I do not want to worry about malls, and banks, and schools being places of violence. And it's a daily battle that exhausts me, yet I'm determined to win. So with all this long rambling jumble of words being said, I do wish us all Freedom. And I wish us thankfulness and gratitude for this great nation. And I wish us to become We the People once more.

Circle.......

My Thought for this Day.....As I look out our windows and see the rains fall from the Heavens, I think of the natural cleansing of our trees, plants and grass. All these things have been planted and have endured both good and bad times. They have struggled through heat and drought and then have blossomed in cool breezes and glorious rain. I think we, as humans, are much the same. Wherever we have been planted, we too must endure, strive to live in the arid moments and then exist in glory when our Heavens open and abundant blessings fall upon us. I wonder if you realize the cycle? I wonder if you allow yourself to soak up the miracles of moisture, and then store them to be prepared for the droughts? We thirst; we hunger, and then we flourish. The Circle of Life.