Fresh Start!!

Monday...some people think bleah...  Today, I am thinking~ fresh start to implementing all those brilliant ideas that I thought I might put into practice days, weeks, months ago.  I am digging out my to do lists of days gone by and crossing off the things I HAVE DONE (yahoo...congrats to me) and not giving up on those items left undone: Thank you letters, prayers to offer up, making my bed-perhaps this one is debatable, pictures to paint...  just a few itemized priorites to have slipped through the cracks. 
  My main objective is not to beat myself up over lost time, but to remember these things were important enough to make special note of and perhaps give them a second look. 
  For starters: it is never too late to say, "Thank you."  It may be too late to send the card you have already addressed and set aside unstamped for three years.  But "presto-change-o!," wave of the magic wand, and placement of original card in a bigger card or folded letter stating, "I came across this "thank you," and remembered how special that meal/party/kind word made me feel and thought the orignal sentiments were worth sending."- and you have a valid piece of mail STILL worth sending; simply magic.  I suppose the same is true of a memory we come across.  A kind gesture that went without a thank you... pull out a paper write down our memory and a thank you.  I suppose it would help to actually put the stamp on the addressed envelope and walk it to the mailbox before the next three years go by.  POINT IS...I always love getting sweet or kind notes in the mail (heck, anything that isn't a bill- even a shampoo sample can brighten my day :),) and perhaps others would too.  A shared memory of someone's kindness is always a good thing, and is not a bill.
  As for prayers to offer up...hmmm..."Dear Father of us all, as each moment presents itself, may we grasp the opportunity to spread Your Love and Kindness.  May we also remember to thank You for each ray of hope You send, article of clothing we own, morsel we eat which are, in and of themselves, a sign of Your Love for us.  Thank You, God,  for the fresh start that comes with every day...well, every minute.  We love You.  Help us to know You as You really are- not who we think You are.  Help us to love ourselves as You love us...not the broken way we try and love ourselves... Amen."
  Next on the list...I think I will go paint a picture of me making my bed.

It boils down to...

The people in your life are there for a reason- LOVE THEM!  Everything else is just fluff.

Time Is Fleeting

  Time IS fleeting... This thought struck me like a gentle 2x4 while I was pondering this blog and when I would next write. 

  Why am I waiting for the perfect inspiration to move me?  Or is it that I am afraid of imperfection?... Maybe I'm on to something here- I just erased and rewrote the start to this paragraph three times, "Yep, that must be it!  Wahoo, I love that eureka moment of clarity and discovery!"

  What if I mess up?  What if I spell a word wrong and spell check doesn't catch it?  Or, even worse, what if the thoughts I'm having sound foreign and strange to others.

  Then again, what if I don't write the thoughts and deeds that have inspired my choices in life?  What if it is a sentence or new perspective that helps a person, maybe even a stranger, get through their day or feel uplifted and encouraged.  I've heard it said that the successful creative artists out there are often not the best the world has to offer- they are the brave ones.  This thought resonates within me because I find myself holding back more often than not until I feel "comfortable" sharing.  I believe I need to steer more towards putting something out there because it's a reflection of where I am in life or what I am thinking/feeling and see if it resonates with others.  How do we know unless we try.

  "USE WHAT TALENTS YOU POSESS:  THE WOODS WOULD BE VERY SILENT IF NO BIRDS SANG EXCEPT THOSE THAT SANG BEST."  Unatrributed (although some give credit to Henry D. Thoreau and others credit Henry Van Dyke with this quote)

  The message behind this quote, no matter who wrote it, is fantastic- and true.  I believe God has so much to give this world through each of us.  Collectively we represent the diamond that God is...each of us reflecting a face of that diamond.  Each face is different, yet uniquely brilliant- showing a dimension of our Creator.  When the Son shines on that indiviual face His light will reflect in a shower of unique beauty.  Now imagine this world if every person dusted off their surface and allowed our unique talents and dimension of God to reflect from ourselves~ how bright, beautiful, colorful, and brilliant this world would be.

  Time is fleeting... not one of us knows how long we've been given to share our unique message and talents.  Let us be brave in our sharing, recognizing that anything done in Love will one day bear fruit.

** Please remember in prayer the hundreds of thousands brave people marching today to show support of each person's Right to Life!