Month: April 2018

Never Wasted

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I wish I had gotten a picture, but I was so captivated by the magnitude of the intricacies of life and the Creator of it all that I just watched.

This tiny little bird with blue jean colored feathers, alert black eyes and a crisp little fo-hawk landed about 3 feet away from me. At first it grabbed my attention because we don’t tend to have brave little visitors near our house due to our dog and cat, so a little birdy being so close was actually a rare sight to behold.

Then I noticed where the bird hand landed – on a pile of Hattie’s dog hair that I had groomed and brushed away in the busy fashion that is my life.

The bird landed, looked around- for safety precautions I imagine, and then began pecking at the soft hair tufts. As soon as he had what he could carry in his beak, he swiftly flew away, off to make its nest.

So what amazed me about this seemingly every day scenario? Well, I had a week. I mean, quite THE WEEK. Or maybe month. Months? Something like that 🙂 During this time, I have been reminding myself of Romans 8:28, that all things work to the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. I have been telling myself and my husband to get on our dancing shoes, because something GOOD is around the next corner- it has to be!

So when I saw that beautiful, tiny bird land and grab up some discarded treasure to use to build its castle in the sky, I was reminded with astounding clarity that God does not waste anything. He will take all the muck and the mess of our life – all of the, “how is this even happening?!” and “Oh, not again!!” moments and turn them into something good- beautiful even.  He won’t waste an opportunity to turn things around for you. Wouldn’t you do the same for your child? I know I would be chomping at the bit for the chance to go make things right, to help, to instill justice, to protect my children and to bless them beyond what they can even imagine.

So maybe even now, at this very time, God is picking up the tufts and saying, “We can use this.” Maybe it will be to build my castle in the sky, too. 😊💜

I don’t have all the answers. I never will. I will always have a pile of “why’s” on this earth. My heart yearns for kindness, for people to think of others and beyond themselves and what they want, sometimes my heart yearns for a break from all the trials and sadness and “why’s” here. But as C.S. Lewis said, we yearn for more because we were made for more.

….

Well, though I’m signing off from tonight’s ponderings, I’m sure the bird will come back – after all, we have the best hair fluff in town – all organic and totally DIY 🙂

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Rainy Monday Mama Thoughts

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Over the past 5 or so years of being mostly home with the kids and working mostly from home, I took them all sorts of fun places: parks, beaches, picnics, bike riding, walks, to play with friends and more. Then Daddy and I also went on many vacations with the kid’s where the destinations when we arrived were always about what would be fun for the kids. In fact one hot summer, I spent an entire day at Dollywood Amusement Park, holding my youngest ALL DAY- it was a loooong, sweaty day of looking for the shady spots for me and the baby while daddy took our oldest on the kiddy rides (my youngest had a very hard time in loud, crowded places as a baby and would SCREAM unless I was holding him, so I held him for many years straight- until I found a natural alternative that helped him – now he is a social butterfly and non-stop talker! NON-STOP! lol 😊!)

So today, my oldest found a pressed coin from one of our trips to Amish Country that had a horse and buggy on it. I asked him if he remembered going on those rides, as it has been a year or 2 since we have been that way. I tell him about how when he was younger, he LOVED buggy rides and we would look for them wherever we traveled so that he could enjoy them… He doesn’t remember.

*Mom rant thoughts!* But, but, but…all that time! All that effort! All the money! The physical stress of holding my little one 24/7 in my arms so we could go and do all those things!

Now ask him if he remembers the time mommy threw out an old, broken toy that no one ever played with and the memory is as crisp as an Autumn apple! LOL!

I read a book several years ago by Dr. Kevin Leman, a psychologist, that basically says, tell me your first 3 childhood memories and I will tell you about your life.

You see, the memories WE hold onto and HOW we view those memories shapes how we see the world… And being a counselor mommy, I think about these things. And I am always wondering which memory we are creating that he will remember for the long term, though I know that every moment we have with our babies shapes them into the people they will become- whether they remember or not 💜

Just a few thoughts from my rainy Monday…

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Broken Trees Still Bloom?

Categories Enjoyment, Existential, family, Jesus, Life, natural, Pity party, Positive mental attitude, Psychology, roanoke, scripture, UncategorizedLeave a Comment on Broken Trees Still Bloom?

I live in the country. Like… The country. Let’s just say that overalls are normal here (no, I don’t own any- I’ve always had a splash of Hollywood in my veins😊) and we may or may not have some people in our county that use old comodes (aka toilets for the northern folks!) in the front yard with their house number proudly displayed on it.

It always makes me smile and shake my head just slightly in bemusement when I drive by but hey, if you’re ever in a pinch… 😂

I love the country- in fact, I am currently on my porch swing enjoying the rain. That was one of the things my dad and I had in common- we both liked sitting on the porch and listening to the rain. 💜

I also love being in nature and I try to make it an everyday practice that the kids and I go for a walk around our family mountain for outdoor time and physical health.

Something that has really been sticking out to me this past month on our walks is how many of our trees are almost completely snapped in half due to the strong winds- and yet there are beautiful flowers blooming on the broken side- and ONLY THE BROKEN SIDE! Rather astonishing, I think.

After our walk today, I grabbed my phone and headed back down to get a pic of a tree that has been on my mind. When I got to it,  it began to pour down rain but I did the best I could in the few seconds I had 🙂

There’s a life lesson in this. A MAJOR one. Have you figured it out yet?

Think about it. A tree limb. Snapped in half. Hanging by a literal thread of wood. But there it is, blooming and producing beautiful flowers. Meanwhile on the other side, the unbroken side, there is just branch- no new growth, no flowers. Is anyone picking up on this? Get my drift?

No matter what image people try to portray, I can tell you as one who studies the mind (and lives in one!) That no one has their life perfectly together- and that’s good- and normal! Because if we did have everything ‘perfect’, there would be no growth. It is the adversity, the suffering, the literal snapping in half of our lives where we are left hanging on my a mere thread that the growth happens. Because it is in those moments that we can either fall over, play possom and call it a day, or we can use these challenges to make something new and wonderful, overcoming the odds and choosing life over despair- no matter how dire the situation. Wow. Those are some big words. Some tough words. I am almost cringing as they come to me to write down. Because what I’m writing, what I’m suggesting, is hard. Hard. Hard.

But it’s worth it; to throw in the towel on the things in our lives that we think are broken and don’t have a chance is to deny our God-given capabilites, strength and resilence. No, we can’t undo a shattered tree limb. But God can. And sometimes it may be His plan to fix your situation for you and make things comfortable again for you. And other times, most of the time I think, He see our brokenness. He sees our tears, our torn limb and the mess we find ourselves in. And instead of turning away and ignoring our pitiful state of need and despair, He comes along side us and helps us grow beautiful flowers. He helps us bloom in the midst of our pain – maybe even because of it. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted (the broken limbed) and if you are willing to let Him, He will help you turn that obstacle, that stressor, that suffering into something beautiful. Something that can not only help you and your branch, but also inspire all who walk by, seeing your glorious flowers and thinking, how did THAT happen? ….I thought she was just a broken limb.

💜 Bobbie-jo

 

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Is There Time to Pick a Flower in Heaven?

Categories Balance, Career Mom, Church, Enjoyment, Existential, family, Future, Jesus, Mom Life, Passion, Positive mental attitude, Psychology, SAHM, self-care, wellness coach, wife, Working MomLeave a Comment on Is There Time to Pick a Flower in Heaven?

That’s what my youngest child thoughtfully asked me as he was riding in his car seat on the way home from church today. I told him, yes, I think there will be time to do that- to which he replied, “Ok, I am going to bring one to Jesus.”

What a precious thought of a 4 year old- to bring Jesus a gift- a flower. Imagine if for a minute our adult minds could slow down and think about bringing Jesus a flower. You know, when I put it that way, thinking of this is way more exciting than my to-do list constantly running in my head. (No wonder I give myself so many headaches!)

Not only do I have a constant “to-do” list in my mind of things I need to do for the family, the house, the careers, the wallet, the vehicles, friends etc., I also have a list of things “I need to do” to help everyone in the world. No wonder I am overwhelmed so much! Because last time I looked in the mirror, I did NOT suddenly discover I was Superwoman and though I may wear sandals, I am NOT Jesus. 😊

You know what I become when I try to be SuperWoman? Super Stressed, Super Tense, Super Tired and Super Migraine, to name a few. That’s *probably* proof that I’m not meant to do it all. And though it’s great to have goals, to want to help others and want to have a well-kept home, we simply can’t have it all in this world-  Not in a Debbie Downer way (don’t start flushing your dreams down the toilet!) – but in a ‘we have to pick and choose what’s most important to us’ way.

I went to a work conference yesterday and one of the speakers was right up my alley in terms of my personal 2018 goals – “Simplify.” She spoke about life being like a balance beam; you can only put so much on it before things start toppling off. So you have to choose. And for every “item” you put on your balance beam, that makes some thing else that cannot fit on your beam. I know for me that’s hard because this self-admitted NOT SuperWoman still has this silly belief in her head that she can do it all – or that she HAS to do it all (enter Super Migraine).

I hope today you can examine your balance beam and say “yes” to what’s most important to you and “no” – or simply “not yet” to the things that just won’t fit. I hope you save some wiggle room on your beam for time for baths and walks…. and thoughts about bringing Jesus flowers.

💜 Bobbie-jo

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