Fight.....

My Thought for this Day.....Some days we have to fight for someone else. We have to be their battalion leader, their CEO, their champion. We go into full armor, and we become a warrior. Our eyes are outward, not inward. Our reward is their gold, not ours. We fight for them because they cannot, at this moment, do battle.  This is our duty. And in this war, we are shrewd, and capable and infallible. And we know, without a doubt, that if needed, any time, they would do the same for us. Consider the blessing of this. And then, be mighty.

Bubbles.....

My Thought for this Day......Sometimes I envision us all in bubbles.  Spheres of iridescent lights that float on waves of human emotion. Our bubbles are filled with the whims of the universe, or truthfully, they are filled with what at this moment, in this exact time period carries each and every one of us to our destinies.  Here's the depth, the gut, the atmosphere of out bubbles.......our ability to simply float. And with this floating comes either resentment, strength, sadness, usefulness, ignorance or self knowledge of 'oh the places we will go'. So, to only keep your eyes on other's bubbles,...to envy, covet, grasp that which is not ours, is to miss the wonderful prisms of life that is your bubble.  Think about this....and think deeply....you can't have or possess someone's else's bubble. You only have yours. So the key, the lesson, the life,  is to float within your sphere, knowing that whatever it is, it is truly meant for you. And in that knowledge, in those sparkling prisms of life, you find your core. What more could you ask for...for indeed, if you don't know yourself, your journey hasn't even begun.

Hand.......

My Thought for this Day......Close your eyes; still your mind. At this moment we are mentally gazing up, and we are visualizing all the hands that have reached down to help us climb the dunes of our lives. See them clearly, focused, cupped in kindness, stretching out to you. Are they gnarled with age?  Are they roughened with work?  Are they soft and gentle with the touch of an angel. How many do you see?  Disregard those that might have pressed down. They do not matter: they have become invisible. They are obscure and dark in the shadows of your past. Today, we rejoice in those hands that have patted, lifted, and guided. I hope you can see them with clarity and can understand that they have molded and shaped the you of today.  And then, learn, my friend. Learn the guidance, the passion that these hands have bestowed on you. These hands have blessed you, and the biggest debt you have is reverently stretching your hand down and passing the gifts to those who walk underneath your own tutelage. Holding your hands and reaching down to raise someone up. Do it with unselfishness.  It's not about you when you are grasping a hand lifted up toward yours. It's just not. Be those hands that someone looks up to and says Yes!

You....

My Wish for you This Day........I wish 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.

Lease......

My Thought for the Day.......Do you realize we only lease our lives?  We rent our bodies?  We do not own them. We have varying beliefs, thoughts, and actions on our leases.  Some people take them more seriously than others. Some never even consider that one day our leases will expire. Leases end in all sorts of ways. For some, it is just the decision to stop paying the rent and move on...........for these souls the pain and hurt must be so deep and wide and endless that they see no other option.  You have never and will never walk in another's shoes, breath their air, nor know exactly why they keep or break their leases.  You will never ever feel the pain of anyone but you and to say otherwise is presumptuous and ignorant on your part.  Don't ever say," I know how you feel" because you DON'T!  It is said that life is for the living.....but it is my belief it is also for the dead. For at times the dead teach so powerfully that these lessons surpass anything we have ever experienced. Whether you lease a penthouse or a basement,  you do lease. Please take stock of everything and everyone that inhabits your space. Listen, seek, watch, speak, and most of all learn. With learning you teach.......what is your lease lesson telling the world?  

Shadow.....

My Thought for this Day.....Sometimes in life we all feel alone, forgotten, misunderstood, left out. But remember, even in our loneliness, we cast a long shadow. And in that shadow are memories, experiences, friends and family that are with us. The gift is to always believe in the shadow.

Thread....

My Thought for this Day......I wonder what you let change your heart?  Do you allow gossip to weave its thorny vine around it?  Do you look only at the superficial appearance of people and turn and walk away with a hardened heart?  Do you stereotype your fellow man by race and ethnicity, thus missing out on a wealth of histories and cultures?  Are you missing the melting pot of the human race?  Does your heart cry out "Not like me, so not good"?  Think long and hard about just exactly what you might be missing. You are a tiny speck in a huge eternal world.  Can't you see that if you put blinders on your heart, you are overlooking the absolutely enormous gift of life in all its millions of facets?  What a shame. Embrace yourself with a coat of many fabrics. Each thread is special. Each stitch is God made.

Life.......

My Thought for this Day......Life. You’ll have days of silence and days of noise. In your soul. You’ll have days of sadness and days of joy. In your heart. You’ll have days of tiredness and days of energy. In your body. You’ll have days of optimism and days of pessimism. In your mind. You’ll have days of steadiness and days of stumbling. In your steps. You are not alone in any of these conditions. You are human.

Compare......

My Thought for this Day.....Don’t compare. Don’t compare your experiences to someone else’s. Don’t compare your lifestyle, your material goods, your knowledge, your spirituality , your goals, your accomplishments. Don’t compare your despair. Comparison leads to either envy or arrogance. We all have a commonality of experiences, yet in our individuality we live them differently. We react differently. We mourn differently. We rejoice differently. We may walk the same path, yet we walk it our way. And that is the human experience. That is our experience.

Early....

My Thought for this Day........In the quietness of the early morning is when you need to say hello to life. The hard lines of the day have not appeared. Daily disappointments are not yet present. The world is soft in your soul. Be gentle with yourself at this time. Reality will come on its own. For a few breaths, softly whisper your morning salutation.

Angels.....

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.

Bag.....

My Thought for this Day.......Maybe your world today is not in a picture perfect box tied with a very shiny bow. Maybe instead it is in a plastic bag with a hole and one broken handle. We've all been there. Many of us may be there now. Problems and sorrow and burdens of every kind weigh your plastic bag down and your fear is that all the pieces will fall out and never be retrieved and never be stored again in that beautiful box with that bow. The weight of that bag can and will weigh you down and do exactly what you let it. STEAL YOUR JOY!  Guard your heart with the promises given that you can carry your load and that you will be victorious. Life isn't always the candy aisle. Sometimes you have to be in the loading zone of burdens. But here's the joy. When you carry that burden, and then when you turn into that candy aisle, you have not only found your strength, you have been given the tools to help others when they are at their own loading dock. Be strong in your problems. Life abounds even when your choice isn't chocolate.

Rise......

My Thought for this Day......I hope you rise...always. Life has a way of throwing us into the dirt, against the wall, under the bus. But with faith and heart and glory, we can rise. When days are rough, and some will be, remember this quote from Maya Angelou. Her story is raw and real and still she rose. Be a riser. It is your duty to your existence. You are not meant for despair. You are meant to delight, defend and defeat. Rise.

Precious.....

My Thought for this Day....Don’t live your life hoarding possessions. Make and hoard memories. What’s more important?  The right label?  Or the right moment?  Never take for granted that time waits for no man. It is quite frankly the most precious possession you have. There is no label worthy of your time. It is indescribably delicious. Savor it like a perfect meal, for it truly nourishes the spirit much like the healthiest of food sustains your body. Put those dollars not into what you wear or carry. Put those dollars in moments and memories. The day will come when your heart will thank you.

Life...

My Thought for this Day.......Life is like a party. You invite a lot of people, some join you, some laugh with you, some don't come. But in the end, after the fun, there are only a few who stay and  help clean up the mess.  It’s the girl with the dishrag and mop who is the keeper of your heart and soul.

Advice.......

My Thought for this Day ......To give unsolicited advice reeks of moral and intellectual superiority. We all are guilty of this. Whether to the president, your neighbor, or your best friend, you have climbed on your mountain top and slathered the air with your words. You insinuate that you know better. Well, what you know, is just a sliver of the situation. You can not, will not, nor will ever be able to see any situation from a space that is not yours. You occupy your spec of this earth ONLY. I am so sick of hearing what someone should or should not do from people who simply like to hear their own empty words. So let me give you some advice (tongue in cheek) STOP. Unsolicited advice is like junk mail. It is tossed. Save your breath. Pull your own weeds. Till your own soil. Build your own house of brick, not straw. There. I’ve said it. And it wasn’t asked for, nor probably wanted. So file it away in Drawer 13. But only after you have thought about it. 😁😁.

Prayer.....

Do you realize what an honor it is to have someone pray for you?  I think if we are prayerful people, we concentrate much more on our prayers for others. We lift many in our prayers. But oh the joy and hope of realizing there are those who diligently pray for you. Think on this. For truly it is one of life’s biggest blessings. May you receive them in the earnestness in which they are given.

Mistakes.......

My Thought for this Day....We’ve all made mistakes. Little ones, big ones, colossal ones. It’s the Art of being Human. We have even made the same mistake over and over and over. We have misused our time, our money, our friends, our family. To say you haven’t is to sound arrogant, and well, stupid. Some mistakes disrupt a moment, some an hour, and some, days and weeks and months. But when we are open to the idea of change and lessons, then the mistakes become growth. I don’t know how you turn a mistake around. That choice is as varied as our individual personalities. The how isn’t as important as the reality, and the breakthrough. Painful though it is, a life lesson learned is a life  changer. So if you, at this moment, are living under the umbrella of mistake, at some point, you’re going to have to stand in the rain to get to the sunshine.

Blessings.....

My Thought for this Day....I think many times we skim right by our blessings and view them as ordinary life. We are always waiting on that BIG one. And in our wait, we miss oh so much. Stop for a moment and just for a breath or two inflate your heart with the tiniest of your blessings. And if you are true to your life, you will immediately be immersed in moments of joy. Gratitude, that’s what’s for today.

New Normal.....

My Thought for this Day....I am literally pulled over on the side of the road and typing. ‘New Normal’ is reverberating in my mind. So here goes.  We all, from time to time, will encounter a new normal. Birth, death, new job, illness, friends, emotions, the list goes on and on. Here are our choices. Fight, rage, accept, learn, pass on. With our different personalities, we encounter a new normal in a myriad of ways. And they all are fine. It’s your choice, and life. Yet I know that at the end of your process, it’s the passing on, the teaching, the instructing that will make your new normal ok. I don’t know if you have a new normal in your life. If not now, you will. It’s a certainty. So my hope and wish for you is to walk through that darkness, or that light with the intention of growth, power and peace. And then, relax in your days embracing your evolution with prayer and grace. I find myself right smack in the middle of a new normal. And the struggle is real. But the reward is a lesson well learned and a road soon to be well traveled.