Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits…

I think my dad had a poster or a little statue in his office which said that.

Here I am sitting.  And thinking.  I honestly have only a partial thought in mind for this blog.

In the “ya can’t make this shit up” category:  today’s “verse of the day” on Bible Gateway (well, it might possibly have been two days ago’s verse since i haven’t updated the page since then) when I just looked is:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Now, of course, it is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  And, it so happens that I have an affinity for chapter 4 of Philippians.  But here’s the thing…today, mom had a little panic attack about buying shoes.  And, while I still get all jammed up inside just wishing she could make a decision, or remember what she said five minutes ago, I instead should go back to Philippians 4. because there’s so much good stuff in there.

What good stuff?  Glad you asked.

Rejoice.  I mean, it’s kinda an “antiquated” way of saying, “Don’t worry, be happy” (which in and of itself is kinda antiquated now).  Paul (wrote Philippians) actually maintains you should rejoice in everything.  Good, bad or indifferent.  So, instead of wringing my hands until they hurt when “stuff” happens…REJOICE, MARY.  You have so much to rejoice about:  a job.  A wonderful husband.  A second job you’re actually excited about.  A house that is paid off and one you want to sell.  A car that is paid off.  New tires on that car.  A mom who is alive, vibrant and healthy.  I am blessed.  Even in the saddest of moments…I am blessed.  So, REJOICE MARY!

Then there’s that stuff up there.  Pray away your anxiety – bring your petitions to a God that loves us so much that He will replace our anxiety with peace.  Yes.  Anxiety will be replaced with PEACE!  Geez, who doesn’t need a little peace.  But not just peace…the PEACE of God which passes all understanding!  More Power Peace.  Turbo Peace.  Peace Jacked Up.  I want that.

And, then there’s the 4:8 verse:

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Tell yourself to think of those admirable, good, true, noble things.  Think about them…skip all things that DON’T fit into those categories.  And, try to mimic Christ (well, mimic Paul who was TRYING to mimic Christ at that point).

And those of us who forget, Paul was in prison when he penned quite a bit of ALL these letters.  So check this out.

¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

We tend to remember the “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” line, but forget that Paul admits to knowing need and knowing plenty.  He has been in both places and has learned to be content.  Content in Christ.  Can any of us say that?  Genuinely say that?  That when I know I have nothing, I can still be content because Christ gives me strength.  I know I wish that was my first thought.  Usually when I’m down to nothing, my first thought is filled with panic.  But Paul says, “Nope.  Christ’s got my back…”

How about this one:  ¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

I think his God is my Good…and he’s gonna meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory – We have riches coming.  Oh, don’t get that excited…wait, get WAY excited.  These are riches beyond what our broken, fallen world can give.  These are the “gold and silver” of redemption and everlasting life.  The $50s and $100s of salvation and grace.  What else do we need?  Seriously…that money stuff, the property, the baubles of our human form…ya can’t take it with ya.  AND…when we get to see Him in His glory – we will be redeemed!

Finally, Paul teaches us to ²¹ Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus.  I will be extrapolating here but…when we come across a child of God (whether we know them to be Christian or not), we are to greet them as if you are greeting a brother or sister in Christ.  Show them light,  life, and love.  Show them how you have come to know the abundant life Christ came to give us.  Show them how you are saved.  Death has no control over you – Christ’s blood has bought and paid for it.  Show them that.  Do not let your humanity cause you to grumble or groan about this person or that.  Greet them ALL in Christ Jesus.  All of them.  Not all of them  ”except for” Mary who is mean to me or Frank who says bad things…or…or… or…NO.  All of them.

How are ya doin?  Are you with it all?  Remember, I was just sittin, and thought of all of this.  With one nudge from God. Go back, start at the top and revisit the nuggets we get with Philippians 4.  (Remember, that’s just chapter 4!)

A Witness…redux…as best I can remember

I was asked to witness tonight.  I’ve really only witnessed by request twice…and the first time didn’t go so well.  But…here’s the way things went.

The request came around 3 PM ish.  Either Jim or I.  Witness to the local Cursillo community.  At the Welcome Home dinner.  Jim didn’t feel well.  I was kinda thinking it would be good for him to witness.  He needs more time to tell his story.  :)

So, I had planned to do the whole “how I came to be Mrs. Aquino-Cooper” thing but…as we were doing our small group discussion, it came to me that I had to witness how important my church family is to me.  So…here it went a bit like this.

I had been a member of St. George’s in Summerville for quite a few years, went to Cursillo 147, until a couple of years ago when my dad, who had stage 4 cancer but was doing fairly well, wound up in the hospital.  My mom called me in tears and asked me to come.  So, I hung up with her, called my boss and said I gotta go.  Then I called Jim and said I was going.  Packed the dog and my stuff and never went back.

With all the crazy mixed up of the time, I knew where I would go to church.  I had met a few Cursillo friends who were now attending The Well.  And when Jim attended Mary Rife’s Cursillo 160…well, that sealed it.

These people became my family.  They helped me through when my dad passed away a year ago.  They stood by me when I swore up and down that I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER get married again…and then smiled when I announced that I was engaged.  And of course, rejoiced with me at my wedding.

This is my family, my church family…my Cursillo family.  You all are.

Close but not exact…cuz well, I spoke off the cuff.  :)

 

 

One Year Later

I’m not sure how we’ve made it through this year.  Really…

Things change, time passes so quickly but I’m just not sure.  So many things have happened…and yet we all have felt this empty feeling because they happened without Dad.

Y’know, I don’t cry enough about it.  But I kinda realized last night that I have not had time to cry.  I have to be the rock that everyone stands on cuz everyone else cries.  I’ve had my moments for sure…but not like you’d expect.

I truly was daddy’s little girl.  I never exploited it, but I was PROUD (most of the time) to be Antone Aquino’s little girl.  And yet, I think if we counted tears…well…I would be the drought zone of this “tragedy”.  I’d be Central Texas…while others would be the areas around the Mississippi River.

When you read about grief, you read that everyone grieves differently.  I’m hoping this is my method of grieving because otherwise, something big and bad and hairy and scary will happen if the flood gates open.  I’m suggesting we might need IV fluids I may cry myself dry.

Or not.

I celebrate his life.  But in these moments sitting in the dark, I wonder…is this the moment I will cry?  Will I actually let go and lose it?

…

Nope.

Well I love that dirty water…….BOSTON YOU’RE MY HOME

If there was one place in the world I could say was my “home town”, it would be Peabody, MA.  If you don’t know where Peabody is, find Boston and look north about 25 miles.  That’s Peabody.  It’s where I went to elementary school, junior high, and high school.  I met my husband there (I married him 37 years later down here but….whatever).

 

And, never before has Boston been such a huge topic of conversation for an entire week.  I mean, the Pats have won the Super Bowl, the Sox the World Series…occasionally we hear about the Boston Marathon.

 

Not like this year.

 

Friends and relatives…well, we needed to know where they were.  We made sure that everyone we knew was accounted for.

 

And, we waited.

 

I honestly cringed on Friday when I saw pictures of the totally barren Mass Pike on the way into Boston – the Longfellow bridge, the SE Expressway, the Tobin, Storrow Drive, Harvard Square…EMPTY.  It was beyond chilling…it was downright upsetting.

 

In some of those upsetting moments I had to dig deep and remember that we are NOT to judge, we are not to condemn a whole race/group of people for the actions of one or two.  How hard is that?

 

I thought of this fro Matthew 6:  ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

 

Why that verse?  Because – I believe that when this kind of man-made disaster occurs we *do* worry.  We worry about ourselves.  We worry about family, friends, our homes, our former homes…we worry that life will change again as it did after 9/11.  It is in our make-up to worry about such things.  Remember, John tells us in chapter 16 that Jesus said, ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

So…when I was sad, distraught and somewhat freaked out about all the stuff going on in my home town – really, a town that I hold near and dear – I found quiet comfort in Matthew 6:27 and John 16:33.  They told me everything I needed to know at the time.  Don’t worry.  This world is a mess.  But Jesus, our Savior, has overcome the world!

 

It would be an amazing thing to keep those two verses close to our hearts as this month/year moves on….

English: Official highway sign placed along many state highways indicating a corporate boundary. This sign indicates entering the city of Boston. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brussels Sprouts…

Yes, you spell it like that, by the way…

I am a fan of all things green – mostly green and leafy – cuz I don’t *love* lima beans and they’re green.  And, when i saw the jumbo economy size bag of brussels sprouts at Costco today…….well….I had to.

I decided I was gonna use them for lunchtime.  This week.  In an effort to not eat like a pig at least two meals a day.  They’re 0 Weight Watchers points.  In case you need to know.

So, I roasted them (or else they would have grown pale green and fuzzy by the end of the week.  That’s my luck with veggies when I buy lots.

Here is my super duper simple recipe with places where you can invent:

Clean and halve the brussels sprouts.  (I think this was a 4 lb bag)

Place on a baking sheet in a single layer, with space btwn them.

Spray with cooking spray (that’s my no-calorie, no point, no fat version…for flavor, drizzle with olive oil)

Liberally sprinkle sea salt on them.  

Roast in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  My mom’s oven is unreliable, so I checked after 20 minutes and they needed about 5 more minutes.  You may not need to do that.

Remove from baking sheet and sprinkle with cracked black pepper and a couple of dashes of ground ancho chili pepper.  

Also would be good:  smoked paprika, lemon zest, plain chili powder…and the likes…any of the above.

Hope this is helpful.  

Jim wants me to mention that anchovies look like eyebrows and taste like fish.  Has very little to do with this particular post…but, I wanted to honor my husband and his request.

 

Poor Customer Service

Honda Element (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So let me tell you a story about probably the WORST customer service I have ever received.  It happened just a few minutes ago.  Oh, and I’m naming names, so…

This morning we had determined that the starter on my car that I love so much, my 2003 Honda Element, was toast.  Jim pondered fixing it himself but since the starter is located beneath the intake manifold, he decided we should take it somewhere.

Since I was working, I located East Coast Honda online (in Myrtle Beach – 17 Southbound just beneath the 501 interchange) and found they had an open “request” form.  So, I asked via the internet for a quote on changing out the starter in the car.

I no sooner received the “acknowledgement” of the receipt of my request and my phone rang.  It was the sales department.  Mike McCauley was his name.  If you want his number, I still have it.  He asked how he could help, and I said that my starter was out on my car and I wanted to get a ballpark figure for getting it repaired.  Was it gonna be $150 or $1500?  He said that he was a salesperson and said something about getting a new one.  I explained that I loved my Element, and since Honda doesn’t make them anymore, I want to get it fixed.  I think he indicated that many of their Element owners are “trading in for the CRV” to which I replied, “That’s not the car for me…I like my Element.”

He said he would pass along the information to the service department and they would contact me.

Somehow, I assumed they wouldn’t.  Now, Jim didn’t go up to the mechanic I’m using until after 2:30 PM.  I received the call from East Coast at around 10:15.  That’s kinda um…well, not speedy service.

Conveniently, Jim’s Car Care (no relation to MY Jim) is taking care of the car.  Done deal, right?

No.

At 7:30, after the car has been hauled off to Ocean Isle Beach to be fixed, and we’ve not only ordered out but picked up and EATEN food…my phone rings.  It’s Michael McCauley from East Coast Honda.

He starts off by saying something about trading for a 2010 Element and…well, at that point I began to see red.  I indicated that I had already made arrangements to fix the car.  ”Oh, they called you?” he asked.  I told him that I made arrangements elsewhere.  That’s when he told me he got busy and forgot to pass my request onto the Service department.  Nice.

In my head I’m thinking to myself, “And now you want me to buy a car from you?”  But, instead, I said something like, “I want to keep my car and fix it.  I like my car.”  I don’t know what it was that flipped my switch however he said SOMETHING that peaved me…and my response was, “You’ve lost a potential customer at this point…goodbye.” I hung up.

Moments later, my phone rang again.  Michael McCauley.  Wow.  Does he have a set of kahunas or what?  Jim says to me, “Give me the phone….”

What transpired next wasn’t a “best effort” on either party’s part…I can guarantee that.  But, comments such as, “You need to tell your wife….” didn’t go over well with Jim.

Here’s the thing.  Up until tonight, I really loved Honda and was trying in my head to figure out how I could buy a car from Honda that would measure up to my baby, my Element.  Now, I’m not so sure.

It’s not Honda’s fault, but I can honestly say that if the sign a paycheck for this gentleman, I do have to question their commitment to customer service…and, well, when it comes right down to it, we have choices now-a-days.  Just cuz I’m a girl that loves her Honda Element doesn’t mean I’m a bubble head with cash to burn and will be sucked into buying another car when I’m not ready.  And, in this day and age…don’t assume that girls will just listen to whatever a car salesman says.  Especially when you can only get a USED Element, and I can go ANYWHERE and buy a used Element.  I got my current one from a Toyota dealership.

I’m not saying this guy’s dumb…well, yeah, I am.  Customer Lost.  Customer going to encourage all her friends to avoid EAST COAST HONDA of MYRTLE BEACH, SC like the plague.

I’m also planning a letter to Honda Corporate, and Jim will be stopping to speak with Mr. Cahill, the owner of East Coast Honda.

 

The footnote – Michael McCauley called back to apologize.  He claimed to be sure he won’t be able to sleep because of some of the things that were said.  I’m not positive he sounded sincere, especially when he said something like, “I didn’t mean to get into an argument with your husband, or boyfriend or…whatever he is.”  I suppose tone of voice is everything but I can say that while I wished him well – let him know that I accept his apology and hope he got some rest.  I also suggested a class in customer service for him.

It’s sad.  EAST COAST HONDA is the only Honda dealership in the Grand Strand.  Oh.  Well, I can just go to Jones Ford, to our usual salesperson Bill Young and have him get me a used Honda Element when it’s time.

Walking On Water in the 21st Century

What’s it like in this era to say you’ve “walked on water”?  What would be the modern-day cultural equivalent?

Many of us, I’m sure, feel as if we manage the impossible every day…and we also manage to not accomplish our goals.  While I place a high value on the day to day struggles we *all* face, I’m speaking of that true leap of faith.  Staring into the darkness, knowing that while no light is visible, there *is* a light and it will be the beacon that leads you forward.

Equate a situation to Peter – upon seeing the Lord walking on water towards the boat – he says, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water” _{(Matthew 14:27 NIV)} Here’s the situation.

You have a job.  It’s not great, but it’s a job.  You get up, you take your shower, you go to work, you come home and you collapse on the bed until the next morning when you…get up, take your shower, go to work, come home and collapse.  It might be a job that pays the bills, it might not.  Regardless of the monetary scenario, it is a job.  Not life giving, not connecting to your purpose in God’s eyes.

What if.  I said it.  WHAT IF.

Instead of coasting through a life of just getting by, what if you realized you had gifts?  Spiritual gifts, GOD given gifts.  They were given to you with the expressed purpose of being used.  They were given out of Love from our Father, for you to further the Kingdom.  Let’s say you have the gift of creative expression – and I’m using that one because it’s a HARD one to immediately morph into a “well paying job” in your mind.  Creative expression (drawing, playing an instrument, carving, knitting, design work) is a gift from God.  Some may think of it as a “side gift” – something to be used in your spare time.  Something to pass the time between when you get up and go to work.  A real job.

I say (and maybe it’s from above…because I feel it in my heart and soul) that sometimes the “spare time” gift is not really for your spare time at all but for your FULL TIME FOCUS.  Example, of course.

My gift may be art.  And, in that creative-art-expression gift, I find myself doodling while I’m sitting in church waiting on Bible Study to begin.  My friend’s six year old son comes up to me and asks, “Whatcha doin?”  I tell him I’m drawing a picture.  He wants to draw too.  So, he sits beside me and I give him one side of my notebook to draw on, and I continue to draw on the other.  While we’re drawing, we start talking about a bible story – the one where Jesus has the disciples cast their nets to the other side of the boat and many fish are caught.  He wondered if Jesus could see the fish, or how he knew.  We decided to draw our own pictures of the story.

His mom came to get him so we could go to Bible Study and he told her all about our talk.  After class, my friend said to me, “I don’t know if you know this but the position of Preschool Minister is vacant at our church.  Have you ever considered guiding our little ones to Christ with your talents?  I know you have a job, but you would be perfect for this one, and it’s got benefits…”

Right there in that moment, the “spare time spiritual gift” became a real job.  In the Kingdom.

No, that person isn’t me.  But – that person – who COULD be me…or you…or…someone you happen to know – might just need a nudge to “get out of the boat” and to “walk on water” by following what God might be asking him or her to do.

There’s a catch tho – remember this.  After Peter got out of the boat, he realized the wind, and the waves…and he TOOK HIS EYES off Jesus.  In that brief moment, he began to sink.

We are human.  We take our eyes off Jesus all the time.  And we begin to sink.  The hardest part about faith isn’t having it – it’s keeping it strong and making it the tie that binds you to Jesus and the abundant life he wants you to have.

In my former lives, when I’ve stepped out in faith – be it leaving a job that was providing well for me, or leaving a dangerous relationship – I didn’t look back, I just stepped out.  It wasn’t easy, but I did what I had to do to get me on to my next chapter.  The odd thing was, at that point in my life I didn’t know I had Jesus to fix my eyes on, and frequently, I would sink!

So…today’s lesson…step out in faith, for when you have your eyes on our Lord and Savior, you will not only walk on water, your talents will be raised up to the Glory of the Lord!

Cool Jazz

Lately Coombsy has had issues going to sleep.  She thinks she hears thunder, or rain, or a mouse, or a sonic boom in Malaysia…so, we have to sleep with cool jazz on.

Now that I’ve moved from one smart phone to another, I actually have the Pandora app on my phone.  I play the cool jazz station on that for her.  Tonight, not only is it cool jazz, but it’s piano-contemp versions of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

I was pondering this post – as you all know, I haven’t posted here in quite a while – and not sure what I was to talk about.  Cool Jazz isn’t really my topic, but it was a great opener.

Me, I’m just praying that the next four months does not bring too much of a palor over our small family.  We are about to embark upon the cavalcade of anniversaries:  Mom’s birthday (dad always went all out), 1 year anniversary of Dad’s death, Mother’s Day (again…dad…well, you get it), Dad’s Birthday, Father’s Day and their 58th anniversary.  Sigh.  A weaker soul would have crumbled, but mom is a trooper.  I don’t even think she knows she’s strong.  She’d probably scoff at the mention.

And, by jiminy, my husband will be joining me up here…yes, we are to live together (more than we have been) finally.  Ain’t life grand?

So, there’s a mixture of joy, sorrow, and of course, the continual need for cool jazz.  Geez, spring is thunderstorm season, isn’t it?

Once a writer, always a writer

I look at all the books that I (and others) consume on a daily, weekly, monthly basis and remember way back in college when I was going to write…well, I admit, I was never going to write the great American novel.  Someone with this level of A.D.D. can’t write for that long.  But I was going to have a book of poetry done and published…so much so that I was going to be sought after as a poet and lyricist by artists far & wide.  That would…of course, lead me to super-stardom in my own little world.

Now I often think of putting pen to paper (yeah…that’s the cliche, so deal with it) and creating.  Then that attention deficit disorder kicks in.  Should I write a novel?  A bunch of short stories?  Should I write non-fiction?  I mean, at this point, I’ve learned about providing top notch service in a service based industry, I’ve learned about coaching and providing feedback, I’ve written and delivered 15 speeches in a Toastmasters environment, I’ve facilitated discussion groups, lead worship at churches…I’ve learned all about cancer, cancer treatments, hospice, hospitals, patient rights…I’ve learned about family upheaval, and giving your life a positive spin even when it seems so negative.  I’ve learned about life on the road as a member of a rock band and as a member of the road crew.  I’ve learned about greyhounds.  I’ve learned about canine health issues.  I’ve learned about non-profits.  Oh wow.  I forgot I was blogging.  I’ll stop this list now (see?  attention deficit disorder….SQUIRREL!)

I can’t get to the point where I even feel good about writing down my thoughts since they do wind up quite disheveled.

My 50 years so far have provided me wisdom, and offers me the opportunity to shine a light into the dark – take that however you want to.  I don’t see myself as a “glass half empty” kinda gal.  And I feel as if I can share that in print.  But, I just don’t know where to start.

If you know how WordPress works, there are categories you can create for your blogs.  I see the categories over there on the right…ones I may never EVER use again but at the time, they seemed like the right thing to do.  So, I think tonight, as I wrap up this blog, I will categorize it with each of those categories.  Because I’m feeling as if every possible topic I could have ever wanted to put in a rambling has been used.

And this is why I don’t write a novel, or an autobiography.  It would never end, would provide no resolution, and I would continue forward with yarns woven all over the place!

Are we sad or can we rejoice?

Our human nature is to wallow.  Those moments where we are so sad we can barely pick ourselves up off the (fill in the prone position of choice…bed, floor, ground, grass…) and move forward in life.  So, how is it that some of us continue on to the next moment?

Most of the time, my answer to that is, “I don’t know…I don’t know how I get up every day and figure out how I’ll follow my daily schedule.  I just don’t know.”

In these saddest of happy days, I somehow remembered a sermon regarding Philippians 4.

How is it that Paul can tell us to rejoice…all the time?  Wait, he says it like this (and then some):  ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I have to dissect.  Verse 4 says not only Rejoice in the Lord, but Rejoice in the Lord *always*.  Not just when happy things are happening…but ALWAYS.  How do I rejoice today?  I know someone who passed away at 40 yrs old (geez, I’m 10 yrs older than that).  And, left a wonderful wife…great person, she is a doll.  And…not just a wife but two children under 18 yrs old!  How do I rejoice in the Lord when this has occurred?

I think that in verse 5, after he commands us to be consciously and obviously gentle, Paul explains how we can rejoice.  ”The Lord is near.”  Now, those of you who are not believers OR have a hard time believing are going to say, “Why in the world would THAT make me rejoice?”  It all comes from the fact that the belief is BEYOND what we see on TV and hear in the news.  Belief is not religion.  Belief is that we have been saved, and that beyond this short, transitory life….there is the true promise.  The promise that we will transition into life eternal.

This world is exactly that.  The world.  Of human shortcomings and the trappings of the evil one.  It’s temporary…our time here in the big cosmos is so brief.  But one day, when it is our time to be with Christ, we will also be with the ones we love, the ones we’ve lost.  Friends, families…I personally believe pets too…so darn it, I’m gonna be covered in greyhounds.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When Dad passed, I wondered how we would get along, how any of us would ever Rejoice again.  And, to be quite honest…some days, rejoicing is downright difficult.  There are just times that I don’t WANT TO WAIT until I go to be with Jesus that I get to see my dad again.  That’s my humanity.  I have to do a few things to keep my faith.  They are:

1. Pray.  Paul says so in verse 6.  Oh,  many others say it too…but we’re talking about Philippians 4 here.  Pray.  Present your requests, your petitions to God.  My prayer, my petition – it’s simple.  ”Lord Jesus, Savior, Brother, Friend – intercede on our behalf to bring us closer to you.  As we intensify our walk with You, remind us daily that this is not the end but just the beginning.  Remind us that we are not in control, but God our Heavenly Father is.  Remind us to put our trust in him.”
2. Fix our eyes on Jesus.  Says so right there in the previous sentence.  When I lose that focus, I start to stray from everything that is good and pure.  Everything that feeds the hope I have in humanity…yes, I do have hope in humanity…we were made in God’s image so we’ve ALL got good in us.  What’s the line?  I am made in God’s image, and God don’t make no junk.  Fix your eyes on Jesus…stay the course.  The rewards are immense.
3. Rest.  Rest my mind, my heart, my soul, my being…safe in the knowledge that my faith has bought my redemption.  I truly am saved, as I believe Christ Jesus is my savior and redeemer.  And, I know that my redeemer lives.
4. Repent.  Yeah, I’ve got to do this one constantly.  I make mistakes and must ask forgiveness…and try not to mess up like that again.  But I will.  And then I’ll repent.  I will return to the foot of the Cross and ask for his blood to continue to wash me clean.
5. This is the big one – it’s where MY PEACE that passes all understanding comes from.  Love one another as Christ has loved us.  Look without judgement, fear, hatred, loathing, envy…all those “fruits” of the evil one.  Look at your “neighbor” and say, “I love you – agape love.”

Oh, there’s so much more.  But in rejoicing, in reminding myself of the abundant Life I have in Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Savior, and my Friend – well…I lift my eyes to Heaven and Thank Him who has made me, and given me all the true blessings of my life.

You, those of you who are reading this…and those of you who skipped…you are blessings in my life.