Thank a Soldier Today

Take a few minutes today to thank a soldier. It's a quiet Sunday here in the USA. All is well. What a blessing! The weather is perfect, the golfers are on the golf course, football games are being played, children are out on bicycles, and life is good. We are blessed indeed!
I received this note today from a cousin who is overseas. His note says it all very well. Pray for them all.
The note reads:
dust, dust, dust - microscopic particles that stride right in where sand grains fear the tread .. talc like spoil as light as breath .. comes in through the door, the cracks in the walls, around windows and, I believe up through the floor by way of osmosis .. it thinks it owns this land (come to think of it, it is this land) ..figgers' it can squat where it pleases .. the most prolific (I think they make babies) product of the Middle East .. and to think, I can't even send a small pebble home .. less a nuisance than the flies that are coming, but a bother all the same .. this land has its built in plagues .. Who needs Egypt .. I can bring you to the complete package .. and you won't have to make bricks without straw ...

all this, and the winds have yet to come .. good ol' Iraqi rose (desert tan back home) is the universal color after a slight breeze .. what else do you want to know about this place? .. .. the sun is fierce, the rain is wet .. Americans from all parts of our country are here to keep the events here away from home, 'n don't you forget it! .. if you know a soldier, be sure to tell them thanks .. sometimes they feel squeezed into thankless jobs .. I try to thank AT LEAST one a day .. my family, my children, my grandchildren depend on them .. heroes, ALL ..

our water comes from the Euphrates, our courage, dignity, pride, wisdom, understanding, drive, respect, qualities ad infinitum comes from home .. it'll be so good to bring these qualities back AFTER the job is done.. ..please pardon my rambling .. maybe next time I’ll tell some about this place but I doubt it..
the GOD that dwells here, dwells mainly in our hearts .. the same GOD we have at home .. may HIS will be done...

Wait three days

My mama used to say "wait 3 days." What she meant was that most of our small problems take care of themselves in 3 days. She wanted us to wait and see if things worked themselves out, instead of reacting immediately to every little thing that happened to us in a day. I think the advice has merit. Oftentimes, things have a way of working themselves out. Plans change, time passes, and things have a way of sifting.

I laugh as I remember way back in the 60's, rumors were going around school that two different fellows were going to ask to escort me to the prom. I was all in a dither about what to do. Again "wait 3 days" worked. No point in getting all flustered before the fact. And yes, it worked out just fine. :)

This is also true when you feel offended, angry, upset. It is best not to burn bridges in the heat of the moment. Just wait things out -- 3 days should do it!

And maybe the same rule would apply as well to worry. My husband always tells me 90% of the things you worry about never happen and the other 10% are not worth worrying about. Yep! Again that 3 day rule. Wait the 3 days, and then if it is worth worrying about, you can choose to do that worrying at an appointed time!. :)

Have a happy day!

Wear a Purple Bracelet

:) I am back to day one. On Sunday night I was challenged to go 21 days without complaining, criticizing or gossiping! What a challenge! The program is called A Complaint Free World and the story has gone around the world fast. People must be starving for ways to improve their lives and their spirits! The bracelets have been featured on Oprah and the Today Show. It works like this -- You wear a purple bracelet (free from http://acomplaintfreeworld.org/bracelets/) and when you catch yourself complaining, you have to switch the bracelet to the other arm and start over. and if you catch someone else (also wearing the bracelet) complaining, you are free to remind them, but if you do, you must change your own bracelet first! On Monday morning, I almost got through my first cup of coffee without complaining. and started over! Hopefully I am improving, but I have lost count of the number of times I have moved that bracelet. Scientists have proven that if you get out of the habit of negative thinking, your brain will completely stop producing that kind of thought. Now that sounds wonderful to me! I will continue with my efforts and hope some of you will join me. oh.....and when you actually complete 21 days with no complaining, gossiping or criticizing, please come back to this blog and tell me about it -- use the comment section!

P. S. This is a great idea for any club, group, or even young people -- and would be a great family project too!

P.S.S. The bracelet program is manned by volunteers and they are far behind trying to fill orders -- our group is using a purple potholder loop for our bracelets -- a good solution while you wait for your real bracelets to arrive!

UPDATE! October 30, 2007 -- Complaint Free World now charges for the bracelets. Visit http://www.complaintfreeworld.biz/ to see their new store. Cost is minimal. Response to the project was far beyond anything they expected.

The Tree is my Teacher

I started blogging as a way to insure that my now adult children will always know some of the most important lessons I have learned in my lifetime. I hope that you also find my life lessons helpful.

It was a dark and dreary time in my life. I began to read a book of spiritual exercises. I cannot even remember the name of the book now, but it was important to me at the time. One of the suggestions was to go outside and draw a tree. I almost laughed. I cannot draw at all!! But I was determined-- and went outside and sketched a picture of a little crepe myrtle out in the back yard. The next assignment was go back in one month,and re-draw the tree on top of my original drawing -- in a different color highlighter. And then again, to re-draw the tree on top of the original drawing, in a different color each month. I was faithful to my little drawing for several months and then forgot about it. I found it again a year or so later, and redrew my little tree in still another color. I was amazed! The little tree had grown new branches, and flowered, and gotten much taller. The spiritual lesson to be learned was that everything changes in time. When we feel "stuck" or feel we are living a nightmare, we can rest assured that things will change, though at times the change seems ever so slow. Today when I look out at that same tree, I am reminded that life is ever moving, ever changing. If you are feeling stuck today, go draw a tree!

Act as If

One of the best concepts I have learned in life is the concept of "act as if". I first read about this in Norman Vincent Peale's book, Dynamic Imaging. When you need/want something in your life to change, you simply act as if it is already done. A dear friend of mine used this technique successfully many years ago to repair the relationship with one of her parents. She simply continued to act as if that parent loved her dearly, act as if she loved that parent dearly. In time, and long before the parent's death, the principle had worked. They shared a loving, compassionate relationship for many years. Does this mean she was in denial? No, it simply means that she treated her parent as if the parent was a treasured family member and eliminated negativity from her part of the relationship.

This concept works for other challenges also. If you have a room to decorate, and no money to decorate the room, creating a plan with pictures of every detail will help that room to create itself. The reality of what happens with this kind of "act as if" project is discussed thoroughly in The Secret. When a project is in our minds, then we are drawn to items that will fit our plans and those items are drawn to us. A friend might say, "Do you need some furniture? I am remodeling and have some pieces that will not fit." You might be shopping and find exactly what you want on sale at a price you can afford. "Acting as if" opens your heart and your mind to receive what is available in your world to create your project.

And of course, "acting as if" can also work in the negative. If you enter a room expecting people to dislike you, to ignore you---that is exactly what will happen. The "act as if" principle is about attitude.