REFLECTION SATURDAY -SUSAN

 

Today, I got to see one of my dearest friends, Susan.  We met in 4th grade at St. Bernards.  She has Epilepsy.  She's one of the sweetest, kindest souls you'll ever meet.   Epilepsy and Ceberal Palsy are 2 very different disablities. unfrrtunatley some people group all disabilities under one umbrella   School can be very difficult when you're disabled. (No, let's face it, school's hard on EVERYONE!!!)  There were people who weren't so nice to us and some people that I wasn't so nice to. ~ I can't imagine Susan not `being nice to anyone.  That's just she is.  She can melt your heart and set you at ease with just her smile.  Although our lives have led us on very journies, she'll always be one of my favorite people 

Thankful Thursday -For A Smile

 

I am thankful for the ability to smile.  The art of smiling goes beyond the physical act.  A smile

starts in the heart.  It grows and grows; until the moment's joy fills over and can't be contained by the heart any longer.

I don't think people smile enough; Many people claim there is nothing to smile about.

Smile is a verb...It's a choice...

Granted, there are times when we don't feel like smiling or it's inappropriate to smile and that's OK.  God gave us emotions for a reason.  HE knew we would have times of grief and sorrow.

But, joy comes in the morning!!!

Proverbs 15:13 {NIV} says "A happy heart makes a face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."

Grief and sadness take a toll on the body, mind, and soul

Just as...

Happiness causes the body, mind, and soul to heal and to be at peace.   

We learn in Ecclesiastes 6:1-a (NIV)  that there is a time for EVERYTHING!

For everything, there is a season, a time for everything under the sun

A time to be born & to die

A time to plant & a time to harvest

A time to kill & a time to heal

A time to tear down & a time  to build up

*A time to laugh  & a time to cry*

Will you choose to smile today?

Wednesday's Word ~ Fulfilled

 

Are you fulfilled?

The definition of fulfilled is to be satisfied or happy because of fully developing one's abilities or character.

If I'm honest, I do not feel fulfilled.   There are things that I think need to be fulfilled. If I only had that or if he only acted like that of if she had said that...IF! IF! IF! {If if and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas!!! 🎅}

Truth is, we can't be fulfilled by another person: even if they give us everything we want or need.  Only GOD can fulfill us!  It's only through reading HIS word and talking to HIM through prayer that we can know HIM and be fulfilled.

So many of us, all of us, have an idea of what would make us happy. It may be food, sex, money, baseball cards, whatever.  You fill in the blank.  We all think we know what is best for us, and we hate being told any differently.  

It has been said we can't pour into others when we, ourselves, are empty vessels.    

How can we encourage others if we aren't being encouraged?

How can we counsel others if we aren't being counseled?

How can we love others if we aren't being loved

WE  CAN'T

We have to choose to let GOD pour into us or we can't be fulfilled at all.

Mental Health Mondays - A Reasoning for my Thinking

 

It is hard to be a Christain when you have a mental illness.  You are often made to feel guilty because it takes you out of the neat little box that Christians are " supposed" to fit into. We are told that if we pray more, read our bibles more, and had more "godly" friends, we wouldn't feel the way we do.

Honesty, if it was the state of your mental health that was determined by these factors, well... I probably wouldn't be writing this post.

But I am.

It's embarrassing to admit that...you're not happy even though you have everything you could possibly need or want...You can be happy and laughing one minute and crying and sad the next...You think of making choices that you think will help people but in reality, will cause them grief.

It's a constant struggle between how you feel and what you know to be true - and it's a toss-up as to which one will win.

You may be made to feel like if you think this way you are wrong because "normal" people don't have constant thoughts of unhappiness, doubt, and even fear.  

These thoughts are not something that you can turn off like a faucet; even though some people think you can.    

Many times, most times for me, you live minute by minute, breath by breath; Like a fall leaf swirling in the wind, you can only guess which side it will land.

You smile and try to convince people that you're OK, but inside you're being tortured, silently yelling out in pain. 

But in the end, you do what needs to be done and what you've always done...you keep it bottled up.  You don't want to embarrass anyone or cause them to be inconvenienced.  You apologize for anything and everything you do that interrupts what they are doing at the time; even a simple thing as spilling water can cause you to feel worthless because at some point in time you were made to feel bad and/or guilty because of this. 

THANKFUL THURSDAY - MY VOICE

 

My parents were told I would never talk, but I did.

I hate my VOICE.

It has been compared to fingernails screeching down a chalkboard.  I actually like the sound.  Our 3rd and 4th-grade math teacher, Sister Helen would make us work problems on the chalkboard.  I guess because of the way I wrote, my nails scraped it.  It irritated her.  (I may or may not have done it on purpose.)

Psalm 98:4 says:

"Make a joyful sound unto the LORD, all the earth:  make a loud noise; rejoice and sing and praise."

I've never been accused of this.  You know you're a bad singer when your 5-year-old begs you to stop. (Barrett said we just had to have kids.😂😂😂)

Having a speech impediment isn't easy.  About a month ago we had a tech who yelled at me because I was trying to tell him I have to speak loud and annunciate my words to be understood.  He had no right to yell at me~`even if I yell at him. (I'm not saying I should.)   The speech therapist put a sign above my bed that reads:

"When I annunciate my words, my voice gets louder.  Please note I am not yelling."

It's kinda ironic that I am married to a radio broadcaster, who minored in speech.

As I get older, my speech will get worse. but there are some things I can do to improve it.

I keep telling Barret the more I talk the better my speech will be, but...

However, the reasons I am thankful for are because:

Welcome a new resident

Be a friend to someone in need

Go get help for someone if they need something

Thank the staff for what they do for us

Speak up for those who can't speak  for themselves

Tell Barret I love him

Tell Dalton and Megan I love them

Tell Bobbye I love her

But, most importantly,

Telle GOD I love HIM

Regardless of who likes my 

"JOYFUL NOISE"

Wednesday's Words - Quotes I Love

 

"We should live as though Christ is coming this afternoon." Jimmy Carter

"If you can't say anything nice; don't say nothing at all." Thumper in Bambi

"That that doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Clarice in Steel Magnolias

"You worship the quicksand I walk (roll) on." Clarice in Steel Magnolias

"Peace begins with a smile." Mother Teresa
" Life is what happens while you're making other plans." John Lennon

"The key to success is failure." Micheal Jordan

"Hate the sin, love the sinner." Gandhi

"You have heard the law say 'Love your neighbor and hate the enemy.'  But I say 'Love you, enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you.'" Jesus (Mathew 5:43-44)

"We meet no ordinary people in our lives." C S Lewis

"He died not for men. but each man.  If each man had been the only man made, HE would have done no less." C S Lewis

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."  Love Story

"Don't walk in front of me...I may not follow.   Don't walk behind me...I may not lead.  Walk beside me...Just be my friend."  Albert Camus

A friend is someone who knows all about you, and still loves you." Elbert Hubbard

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa 

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (Atticus) To Kill a Mockingbird

"You is kind...You is smart...You is important." The Help

10 Thing to Know About Me

I love GOD

I have Cerebral Palsy

I have 5 brothers & two sisters

1 have been married almost 24 years to Barrett

I have 2 kids: Dalton & Bobbye

Megan is my daughter-in-love

My favorite book is Ruth

I live in a nursing home

My 3 favorite "chick" flicks are

Steel Magnolias

Beaches

and 

Step Mom

My favorite drink is cherry vanilla Dr.  Pepper

 (from Sonic, of course)