Cleansing The Heart...one more time

As we approach the NEW year, It always gives us at least a small moment to reflect and hopefully make at least a mental note of a few things that we would like to pursue or work on in the coming year. I always try to improve on my personal self, the one deep inside of me, the one who tends to make huge mistakes at times and the one who i hope makes a difference in at least some of the lives i come in contact with.
It is my goal to be a better friend to the people who i love so dearly and have seen me through some of life's most challenging moments. It is my goal to slow down and always be in the moment wherever I am.( that's such a hard one for me). I personally have got to get back to my ART this year,reconnect with old friends and discover a whole new life out there. God has set forth so many changes in my life lately that I know he is preparing me for something major. On the one hand I am very anxious about what that will be and on the other I am very excited to see it unfold before my eyes. I pray that I can make better choices this year, and I hate to say it but be less trusting, well maybe I should say more cautious, in my personal relationships, This seems to get me in a lot of trouble when it comes to matters of the heart. So In 2010 I will one more time cleanse my heart and start anew, because I certainly believe that my friends and family deserve the best me that I give them. I plan to embrace LIFE and LIVE every moment as if it were my last.Looking forward to having a very healthy and enlightning 2010.

Terri

Cleansing the Heart

Now that It's Done......

When we take things that are meant to be really simple and complicate them, I have discovered this is WHERE THE STRESS BEGINS!!!! Hey folks we need to talk about Christmas for just a moment. I remember when Christmas, meant we went and got a tree just before Christmas, somewhere around my Birthday and we all decorated it with the ornaments that we had for ever since i could remember,and put a star on top, or somethimes and angel. I decorated 5 trees this year and the entire kitchen and the Back and Front of the house, and needed to have done a lot more in order to keep up with the neighbors. Don't get me wrong I love every minute of it, and It is absolutely beautiful and makes for a fun and festive event, but I start stressing about this before Thanksgiving and i'm still trying to get finishing touches done the day of Christmas. You know you can't just hang a wreath on the door anymore, you have to surround the entire entry way with the netting stuff and secure ten dollar a piece balls to that and make sure the lights are all burning brightly. personally we only own 1 blow up device and it never even got blown up this year, but some folks have many...And I really appreciate all the wonderful people who put out the thousands of lights every year for us to ride around and look at, but you better make sure you have given up your day job before you undertake this venture. Like I said I really enjoy decorating my home and transforming it into Christmas Cheer...It's the taking it down and packing it up that is the problem. I counted this year and I had 37 Totes and Bags of Christmas whatever...I'm not sure how many ornaments there are but this takes up 80% of the space in a 12x16 storage house. So I have decided that next year We will have 1 tree, and 1 wreath, We will enjoy , the people who gave up their day jobs to put up lights decorations and maybe I can come away destressed. All I want for Christmas next year is a gift certificate to a message of the month club, massage therapist delivered to my home monthly, and all the sound of the sea cd's ever made. I will then(as soon as Christmas is over) go on a cruise in the Carribean and lay back and let a little malaysian boy bring me pink umbrellas til the cows come home..Or in this case ( til I come home). So now that it's done and we've all eaten too much, stressed too much and earned a well deserved nervous breakdown, Let's all take a deep breath and Say thank you Lord for giving us The Lord Jesus in a manger far away with his tiny head asleep on the hay........

Now that It's DONE........

Joy at it's Best

Today's Joy was found at my Little Church in the Woods...Antioch Christian Church. After a wonderful morning service, tonite was the Anual Christmas program presented by the children in our small church. It absolutely amazes me, each year as i watch and listen to these children ages 2 to 12, stand for a whole hour and sing and perform speaking parts like little pros. Their voices sound like angels and for the most part their behavior is superb for children of their age. I have to hand it to Brooke Hollingsworth, Dawn Sibley and all the other wonderful teachers who take these little ones and make them into professionals for this one very special night. My heart was warmed, i forgot all my stresses and I was of course very proud of my daughter. I hope each of you have the chance this season to witness Christmas through the eyes of a child, especially the part of Christmas that has absolutely nothing to do with presents of any kind , except for the Best Present of All .......Baby Jesus,,,,,Happy Birthday and thank you my Lord for all our Blessings, and Children that make us stop and think about why we celebrate in the first place.

30 days of Joy ...In the Moment

Ok I know I 've been slacking but only because I've been very busy. I have restarted my life after a very stressful 6 months, but i am very grateful for the struggles for I know I have grown as a person and the Lord has taught me the precious lesson of how to forgive those who wrong us. I am desperately trying to work on patience now and thanks to one very special person in my life I believe I might conquer that one also. All this is leading up to something that has been on my heart to share with ya'll for a few weeks. The JOY of being in the moment.....I have always had a problem with not staying in the moment ...I have struggled with this and now I finally realize it's importance in my life.

I realized about 8 weeks ago that if I didn't start living in the moment I would never truly be happy. Being that I am the personality that I am, ( a big planner, analyzer and implimentor) I seemed to get disappointed alot when things didn't go exactly like I planned in my head. I realized that I needed to let go and enjoy what was actually happening whether it was good , bad or indifferent. I know I can't enjoy the moment if I am thinking about things I need to do, or if everyone else is having a good time , etc. So I have discovered a NEW JOY and that is staying in the moment and cherishing everything about it. To me it's like the bride who spends months and sometimes years to plan every little detail of the wedding and then can't remember any of it because she was so worried that some little detail was missed. How wonderful would it be if she had been truly in the moment and soaked up every expression on her husbands face , instead of worrying about whether Aunt Sally and Cousin Luther actually noticed that the ribbon on the stairs didn't quite match the ribbon in the bridesmaids bouquets.

During the analytical phase of all the self developement I realized that one of places or times that i am usually in the moment is in church. I have always been there for one reason and that is to hear God's word and try to implement those priorities in my life.

So now that I have found this New JOY in my life , what do I plan to do with it? Well I plan to milk every moment for what's it's worth. I am quite sure this is going to open my eyes to a lot of things that I was not really seeing before. I am ready for that challenge and really ready for the JOY that I feel it is going to bring to my life.