WELCOME 2020

HERE WE GO, HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Welcome, 2020!

Pause & Consider

 

A perfect year for listening, learning, and loving. Carry on. . .

Out with the old, in with the new. Kinda nice how that works. New beginnings -- fresh starts -- give us a zip, like we're hitting a refresh button. With mental energy . spontaneous ideas . creative fusion . goal setting, we boldly move forward: undeterred, undaunted, resilient in heart.

I am grateful for all my blessings. Grateful to God for taking care of me. Grateful for you, my faithful followers. Grateful for the grace that gets me through each day. Grateful to be alive.

I am so glad God is a God of second chances. He offers grace, forgiveness, and life to all who believe. Across the spectrum those in the faith experience restorative spiritual life. Life is complicated. We can derail with this or that misguided notion, but God guides us back.

Awareness of nature's wonders lifts the spirits. Delight in looking closely at the natural world: Delicate flower petals, fluffy cumulus clouds, sparkling fresh-fallen snow, glorious firs and stately pines, mountain peaks rising to greet the sky. See its breathtaking loveliness.

'The Love of God' is an old song that is a song of the heart from the heart. We could never pen the magnitude of God's love. Truly impossible. My brother plays 'The Love of God' on the harmonica. The song is incredibly beautiful to listen to.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song.

 

God’s best to you and yours as we enter a new decade.

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Photo: Unsplash Collections, Kelly Sikkema
Content from @nlbrumbaugh on Twitter

Prayer in the Daily Occurrences of Life

We could pray 24/7.

Praying throughout the day is a beautiful thing. Suffering and struggle are everywhere. Hope and healing are also everywhere, but you must intentionally look for them in order to see their effects. Praying throughout every day becomes a lifestyle practice, an on-going conversation with our Heavenly Father. It is also a mind-set of doing good for others.

I pray as I drive, as I shop, as I sit in a coffee shop, as I view a natural wonder. As I see them, I pray for them. I pray for the homeless, for the elderly, for the children and their parents, for the disabled, for the person who looks sad, for the person in line at the clinic or pharmacy, for the friend or relative in need of a touch from God. Life is hard and everyone needs prayer. While in the hospital E-R, I pray for the newborns every time the music on the intercom announces a baby's arrival. I pray for their life and that they will someday know God and his love. Yes, it is a privilege to pray. Prayer is a blessing we give to the world.

Daily I visit an acute rehab facility where a family member is receiving assistance. Some residents have amputated limbs. Some suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Some have head traumas that limit their capbilities. Some are alert and some are not. There is a cheeriness in the place due to a friendly, caring staff. It's a different world, though. Some there get forgotten by the outside world.

An old friend of mine sings hymns with the residents on Sunday afternoons. It is a gift from his heart to theirs. When he asked me to pray in the middle of the service, it caught me off guard. I didn't know these people or their spiritual path. Yet God's grace was in that room with us. The peace of God enveloped me and them as I prayed and thanked God for being in the room with us. It was a beautiful moment. One of the residents who suffers with Alzheimer's was singing the words of a hymn. That surprised me. I had silently prayed for her the day before because she was confused and behaving erratically. I asked God to calm her and to reach her. It was amazing the difference in the moment.

We pray for those struggling in difficult marriages. We pray for those with anxiety and depression. We pray for those who need a relationship with Christ. We pray for the many needs, and we ask God to intervene. We pray prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of praise, and prayers that honor God and for his blessings to us. We meditate, contemplate, and speak words of gratefulness.

Prayer enriches our lives and the lives of others. What a joy it is to pray. Prayer changes things. Prayer changes us. We soften in the center of our being when we pray. Our attitude towards others also soften as we make prayer a light that glows in the daily. Prayer is God's work. He uses us. Our prayers effect eternity. That is praise-worthy.

Revitalize your day by speaking blessings as you encounter people, places and things. Stressed? Send a prayer up. God is awake. Happy? Give thanks to God. Sad? Know you are heard. Thankful? Send up a praise to God. Discouraged? He understands. Be blessed.

The need is great. God calls us to pray without ceasing

"Father God, I pray blessing on each person who reads this. May you surround them with your love and grace. Amen"

YOU CAN DO THIS

Be Others-Focused, Just Because

You can do this.

You can. You can do this.

You can find your voice and use it wisely. You can extend grace, show mercy, and be kind. Your life can make a difference in the world. The focus changes when you live to give, not to get; live to help, not to hinder; live to love others and not to hate them.

 Live for the better good. Be a remarkable citizen. Roll up your sleeves and do the hard work to make life better for others in your community, county, country, and world. When you see a problem, do something about it rather than say to yourself, that’s not my problem. 

Lead the way to making a better day. Believe in others, the process, and lead and guide the discussion to motivate action in others. 

Be sincere. Listen to others. Motivate your own actions through love that chooses to bless others.You are given a chance to make a difference in this world. 

Change it up. Get it right for yourself and show how it can be done for others. Be a person of quality and integrity. Rethink what you do and how you come across. Work on your stuff first before advising others. 

Become the person you can be. Address your habits and your purpose. Speak life to others and secure a right relationship to health and well-being for yourself and for others. Don’t sell yourself short. 

You can do this. 

You can’t change someone else but you can change yourself. You can’t make the world become a happier place, but you can make yourself into a happier person. 

I have watched people do that. I did that. I literally changed my focus to an outward focus. Mothers often do this. They put themselves last and others first. It is not because they are weak or ineffectual, it is because they are selfless and caring. They want their family, friends, and others to be happy. Period.

This puts people on notice that somebody’s happy around here. 

How sweet it is!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

The days are so beautiful right now. They remind me of Southern California. When I was a child, we would visit my grandmother in Glendora. We spent our time skating on the sidewalk or playing in her lovely backyard. There was this vibrant peacefulness and a unique scent in the air. 

Glendora still has that mystique. Recently we were in Glendora for my Mum's graveside service. Afterwards, the reception was held at the church where my mother (as a child) and grandmother attended two blocks from my grandma's bungalow. 

We breathed the air and walked the circle from the church to her house and back, me with my two adult sons. We walked down the alley out back. The citrus trees and avocado tree, with the best avocados ever, in the backyard are thriving. How I miss our visits. I often dream of being back in that house for a visit.

My oldest two sons remembered their younger years and visits to Great Grandma's and the neighbors just down the street. Visits to Grandma's house were always a delight, for me and for them. 

Those are special memories that will not to be replicated. Wonderful. Today is like being back there, with the sounds of the city and the lazy, crisp beauty of another day. 

I feel soft inside with a tenderness that joy so richly imbues in the remarkable moments that give goodness to our days. Life is good. How precious is each moment.

The picture is from a visit to my Grandma Weigold's in Glendora around 1994. We're standing in front of her sweet little home on a Sunday morning, ready to walk to church. The boys are wearing shirts my mother made them. What a blessed memory.