Grateful for My Blessings

A beautiful new day…whether sunshine or rain, I am grateful for another day.

For every breath I take.

For my eyes to see the beauty in this world and every person I meet.

For my ears to hear the sounds of life around me…birds chirping, rainfall, laughter, and music.

For my sense of smell to enjoy the fragrance of flowers and autumn leaves.

For my voice, whether spoken words or written.

For my sense of touch, to know the feeling of a hug, a soft breeze, sand under my feet, the comfort of a soft blanket.

For my church community, all the people in my life whether family, close friends, acquaintances and all the strangers who pass by.

People are the greatest blessings in my life.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Recently as I lay waiting for my nighttime sleep to begin, I felt my current life’s path was about to change. I sensed a new journey was about to begin.

I have had so many paths in my life. There was a mixture of bad and good experiences. The best part of each path has been the wonderful people who came into my life.

Every new path brought many lessons, each making my life better than before.

It is exciting to anticipate what new blessings God has in store for me.

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Blessed Silence ~ Love

Time to sit in silence, blessed silence. Allow my spirit to let peace and tranquility dwell within me.
My imagination wanders the pathways of my mind, open to hearing God’s whispers.

The word Love comes floating in. What do I do with that? Send my special angel out to touch the souls of every person I love, whether family, friends, acquaintances, or strangers I meet along the way.

Life is so much more beautiful when we love others, even strangers, whatever their race, creed, culture, or any difference from ourselves. We are all children of God.

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The Greatest Gift…

The greatest gift of all is God’s gift to us, His son Jesus.  Thank you God, and Happy Birthday Jesus.

Remembering that He was born to give the gift of His life for our sins…that we are forgiven…let us give ourselves and others the gift of forgiveness.

It is “Time for Letting Go”   https://amarquette333.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/time-for-letting-go/  and you will be richly blessed.

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  Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Pexels.com

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My Christmas message

Let us remember the purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Image via Wikipedia

It’s fun to give and get gifts as part of the celebration, but not at the expense of going into debt to do so.

We can  find ways to give the gift of ourselves to others by helping them in some specific way, meaningful to them.  Help someone in need, someone you don’t even know.

The most important part of celebrating Christmas, is by simply sharing a special time and a meal with friends and family.

Don’t get me wrong, I love giving gifts, when I can, even some small meaningful item.  For parents it is hard when they can’t afford to give gifts to their children.  I remember a time when me and my brother were young and our parents explained that we would only get one gift that Christmas because money was tight.  I don’t recall us being upset at all, we understood.

This is my early Christmas message to each and every one of you~

I wish for all of you throughout this special time…wisdom, peace, joy, caring, kindness, love for all, and safety.  I wish you many blessings this Christmas, and Hanukkah to my Jewish friends, and throughout the New Year.

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Letting Go…

Every once in a while the thought of Letting Go comes to mind.  Some times it’s because there is a conversation with others about something or someone in their lives they feel must go. So, again I repost this piece that may help you in the Letting Go process. 

You can, and most likely will find peace within yourself by Letting Go.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

One of the most painful things we have to do in our lives is Letting Go. Sometimes it’s Letting Go of things…material things which mean a lot to us, even if only sentimental value. It may mean Letting Go of feelings. When we hold sadness inside, and try to mask it with only a show of happiness, it is better to let it go, to feel the sadness so it washes through us. A good cry can be cleansing.

Sometimes, we have to let go of someone in our life. Maybe we no longer belong in each others lives, for whatever reason. If it’s a love relationship, romantic or friendship, Letting Go may be the best gift we can give them. Even when we know a relationship is not right, on both sides, or one person has a doubt about it, it is hard to let go of something that seems secure. We often accept less than the best because we can’t bear to let go.

There are occasions when we feel something wonderful for someone, but we don’t express it for fear of being rejected. Some times our feelings will be rejected. Yet, what if we withhold it from the one person who could very well be that One Special Someone in our lives and they too have been afraid to express their true feelings, or don’t even realize their true feelings yet! How sad that we may miss The Best for fear of Letting Go of the expression of those feelings.

Whatever the reason, or situation, it is never easy Letting Go.

You can, and most likely will find peace within yourself by Letting Go.

©March 1994 Edited July 25, 2019

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Magic in a Book Store

Another beautiful experience in my local hangout, Barnes and Noble.  I have been sitting here with earbuds in listening to beautiful music and reading.  Suddenly a little boy with blond hair came up to my table.  Cute as can be.  His mom smiled and walked him away.  I smiled at him.

Finally I had to go to the restroom.  When I came out and heading into the main part of the store I saw him and his mom again, several feet away, but facing me.  He started walking toward me.  I smiled and held my arms out. Immediately he held his arms out and ran into mine and let me pick him up!!!

What a joy.  His mom smiled.  He is 2 and a half years old with wispy blond hair.  His name is Brody.

Brody made my Heart Smile.  And now when I think of him my heart has the biggest, warmest smile.

Thank you Brody. 

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Feel Like Crying ~ Why!

Every once-in-awhile, over the last few months, I will suddenly feel like crying! No tears in my eyes. The feeling is dep inside.  Maybe in my heart!  I don’t know if it is a sadness or for a happy reason.  Maybe in between.  I wish I knew.

Have you ever felt like that?  Would love to hear from you..

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Random Thoughts Journal

Friday Afternoon, September 15, 2017

It might be necessary to give up the quality time I currently have to read, watch, listen, daydream and write. I need the means for a supplemental income. My dream is to have enough temp/contract work, some full time some part time to bring in the finances needed, but still have plenty of free quality time for me and my dreams. None of my friends believe that is possible.  I believe it is, if it is God’s will it will happen.  Anyway, I am happy and grateful for my blessings.

I love meeting new people, and that also happens at the BN Cafes. It often begins by just seeing some of the same people over and over again, then we smile and say hello to each other. Eventually a time comes when one of us starts a conversation. It becomes a community, even if never socializing outside of here. Yet Greenville is still small enough to occasionally run into someone at another location, like a grocery store, at church etc.

Yesterday I watched a couple UTube posts about being grateful and saying thank you to others. It is a great reminder. I do thank God, at least most every day and sometimes more than once a day. But sometimes I forget to tell others thank you. It doesn’t matter if it is for something big or small. Too many times we take things for granted i.e. someone holding a door open for us, providing service with a smile, the gift of a handwritten message sent by snail mail, even a short kind text message. How many times a day do we miss saying thank you to someone, and brightening their day? How many things, a day can we be grateful for…especially the people in our lives.

Have you ever thought of being grateful for those things you are not even aware of, like being protected from an accident you might not have noticed while driving on our roads these days!

I love daydreaming as I look out the window wall I sit next to in the Café.  I watch the white fluffy clouds in the blue sky. I remember the time I saw one which looked like an island, My Island in the Sky
https://amarquette333.wordpress.com/?s=my+island+in+the+sky

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Labor Day 2017

My Thoughts on this Labor Day 2017 as I am happily spending time in my local BN Café.

The only men in my life who really loved me. My Dad, and my high school boyfriend Johnny. And, the one who is alive…my brother, John who is also a best friend.
Johnny and I met through our church youth group while in high school. We became fast friends. He had asthma, and this was back in the 60s when there was no medicine for it like there is now.

He lived, probably a good 5 miles from where I lived. Usually one of his parents would drop him off at my house so he could spend time with us (me). When they couldn’t he would walk the miles to come see me; one day even in the rain without an umbrella! Some times when he could not come because of his asthma he would call and we would talk a long time on the phone. And, he would often play the piano for me over the phone. He was an amazing pianist and even wrote a beautiful piece which was going to be recorded! It reminded me of a beautiful waterfall. It was never recorded because the next summer Johnny died. I was devastated.
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Each time I come to BN Café lately I read a few pages of the latest issue of BELLA GRACE. Right now I can’t afford to buy it. I just turned the page to the next article “You are Loved!” Recently I have been sensing a feeling of what it might be like to have God’s best man for me in my life; almost as if it could actually happen. I don’t feel any need to have one, and definitely not looking. So it is strange to get this feeling just out of the blue.

A moment ago inside of a bubble of sensing something wonderful there was a hint of a tear in my soul. Don’t know if a sad tear or a happy one.
Even with my headphones on listening to music from Pandora I love watching the variety of people who come to this popular café and vaguely watch and listen to life going on around me.

Couples sitting together, but doing their own thing i.e. reading by whatever means they have chosen, doing crosswords etc. Some writing, working on a laptop or tablet, daydreaming, or chatting with others. Such an interesting mix of people. I love it all.

I like sitting next to the window wall. Often when a parent is walking past with their children, a child will look at me and smile as she is passing. Of course I smile back. It warms my spirit.

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INSPIRATION FROM BELLA GRACE Issue 12

Reading the Touchstones of Happiness, 75 of them from various individuals reminds me of some of my own.

My morning cup of French Press coffee with Jesus.

The day my brother came to us, only a few days old as a foster child. And again, when our parents brought him back home from a hospital in Virginia where is biological mother had left him, then decided to let us adopt him. We got him back before his first birthday. Thinking of him makes me smile.

A sweatshirt he gave me which I wore until it was nearly in tatters. I was able to save the front of it and a friend made it into a small pillow cover. Now I can hug it lovingly, like I am hugging him.

Fresh flowers bring me joy, especially tulips, calilies, and daisies.

Books, books, books.

My Tiffany Bracelet from Becky. And remembering how I met her…at my Tiffany Reception hosted by the Regional VP of Tiffany’s for my newly published book.

Walks along a sandy beach at the ocean.

A fresh new legal pad of paper, a favorite pen…and the beginning of a new writing.

Or a clean white Word doc writing with the keys on my tablet as I sit in the Barnes and Noble Café.

Quality time with friends, face to face.

What are some of your touchstones of happiness?  Would love to read yours.

http://bellagracemagazine.com

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LETTING NEVERLAND NOURISH YOUR SOUL ~ Bella Grace magazine

As I read this article in Bella Grace, I made a few notes for myself.

As Peter’s emotions brought on different seasons allow mine to do the same: dress for the season I want to be in, whether actual clothes or colors i.e. no black but spring colors when feeling it.

Create a Fairy Garden, on my porch or inside.

Settle in for Neverland inspired movies.

Step out of my color comfort zone and buy some Tiger Lilies and other colors of flowers.

Become a Fairy for a time by imagining being so tiny that I can contain only ONE emotion and FEEL it.  Write words that reflect that feeling, think of anything that is a part of those words/sensations etc.

Take myself to a Neverland – feel it, go there, be there, see it…

I love Bella Grace.  It encourages and inspires reflection within; and the journal pages gives me the place to write my thoughts.

Check out Bella Grace for yourself  http://bellagracemagazine.com/

Wishing everyone a Neverland of your own.

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Sharing ~ Bella Grace & Love Letter to a Single Friend

A couple months ago I opened a current issue of Bella Grace, a magazine of inspiration and part journal.  Love this publication. It is only three years old, but it will be around for a very long time.  Wish I would have noticed it much sooner.  It inspires and encourages calm, peaceful, simpler living; and appreciation, respect, and love of others.

I also receive the blog Grace Notes, and today read an awesome post by Elle Harris “Love Letter to a Single Friend.”  It can be for someone who never found that special someONE, or did but lost them, even anyone to realize the importance of the gift of them to others who love them.  It is beautifully written and I hope you will take a few minutes to read it then pass it on to others in your life.

http://bellagracemagazine.com/blog/love-letter-to-a-single-friend/

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April 1st ~ HEART continued

The great blessing during the first four days of April and after are the people who were and are there for me. As I lay in the first ER, before hearing the shocking news of being in afib I had texted my friend and neighbor Catherine, and a friend from church, Philomena. They both arrived quickly and almost the same time. What a comfort and help they were; and still a comfort by being my good friends.
During my stay in the Telemetry area of the other hospital several others came to see me. All offered to help in any way I needed. Thank you Paula, Ann, Ed and Carolyn, Tammy and David, Carole and Dan. My friend Judy came to spend time with me, especially the day of the procedure to connect the pacemaker to my heart’s electrical system! And she came the next morning to be with me until I was discharged, then drove me home making sure I was ok before she left.
My brother arrived from Michigan a few hours after I got home, and he stayed with me for two weeks. I wasn’t able to drive that first two weeks so he drove. As he was there over Easter we had a lovely Easter brunch at a nice local restaurant. I love him so much, and thank God for bringing him into my life.
I went back to work part time the week after I got home from hospital and the staff were awesome and caring. It did me good to get back, even part time to have my mind on something else. Between that and my brother being here with me those first two weeks I know it helped my recovery.
It is 3 months since and I am doing good. Feeling like a new person and in wonderment each day as I feel and think differently. Amazing how something that seems so bad can turn out to be so good.
Thank you God.

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Journal Entry – Saturday September 28, 2015

On this date I went to the club house to read and write while listing to music.  I’ve been asking God for answers to prayers and for inspiration.  Amazing what we hear when we change locations, whether a quiet place or not so quiet but different.

Other than the music being piped in it was quiet in the community club house with no one else around.  It afforded me the time to clear my mind, to allow inspiration and wisdom to flow inward.  So I put my headphones on, and chose a relaxing music  station on Pandora.

A lovely piece started and caught my attention.  I looked at the screen and saw it was from Adoration by David Nevue and titled “Just As I Am”.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxcPPfSVyRs  I sat mesmerized by the music, and at that moment giving myself to God – Just As I Am, because I know He loves me unconditionally, even when I make dumb decisions.

Next from the piano of Chris Rice on his album The Living Room Sessions came “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hps2_qf8hLk and I began remembering my blessings.

That was followed by The Hymns Collection b Anthony Burger and the piece titled “There is Power in The Blood/Nothing but the Blood/at Calvary”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74XbGtG0kY I wondered about the differences of working through blood, sweat, and tears; or through peace, joy, and the beautiful inspiration walking the pathways of our minds.

God’s gifts of various art forms to those who are so inspired, are then passed on to others in the form of encouragement,  peace within,  inspiration.

All of these were gifted to me this day.  And the final two pieces were just what I needed as part of this special time through music …  “Be Still My Soul” by Chris Rice, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PglFWGZHy8 and “Peaceful Seclusion” by Nature on: Waterfalls.

How beautiful such peace and calm washes over me, and my forever gratitude to God, my Heavenly Father through His son Jesus Christ for the gifts He bestows on all those who are inspired to create such as these.

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