Are you saying yes, when you should be saying no?

I let a friend down today.  That makes me feel sad and disappointed in myself.  What happened to the day when someone said they would do something and you never gave it another thought because you knew they would do it because they said they would?  I did it...the thing I hate most....I said yes when I should have said no. 

B U S Y...that is the theme of our society today.  Are we getting to busy to keep our word? ouch.  There is a price to pay when you let someone down.  You not only have to live with your own inner guilt, you have to live with the consequences that you caused your friend to have to deal with.  Now the faith and trust that friend had in you must be rebuilt.  So....how do we go about rebuilding that faith and trust? A day at a time by our actions, that is how you rebuild that trust.  Life Lesson..."What you do, speaks so loud that I can not hear what you say."

So how do I move on?

• First and most important is to ask God to forgive you for the pain you caused this person.
• Next and just as important is to  F O R G I V E  yourself. 
• Tell the person you are sorry and that you are aware of the situation it put them in.
• Then let it go....stop beating yourself up....you can not have a do-over ~ Learn from the pain and begin to ask yourself this very important question when someone asks you to do something - "Am I saying yes, when I should be saying no?  

Grieving people are not really selfish people or untrustworthy people; they are people who really want to be there for others but sometimes they are barely there for themselves.  Maybe the lesson I learned today is to say no, when I want to say yes.

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

   Smile at everyone you walk past.  It will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

The Angel on top of the tree...

When I walked into the Church Sanctuary Sunday Morning, the Christmas Tree, all decorated and glorious, became the focal point of my attention.  There she sat in all of her magnificent beauty and poise... the Angel on top of the tree.  This is not a common site these days...to see the Angel on top of the tree.  Just look around if you do not believe me.  You may see a star or some pretty bows...I even saw a red cardinal today; these are the "new" tree tops.  But seldom...rarely...not nearly often enough...will you see the Angel on top of the tree.

Growing up we had an Angle on top of our Christmas Tree.  She was a magnificent beautiful Angel. She sat there proclaiming that Christmas was coming as she perched there atop our tree.  Her beautiful long blond hair, wings with glitter, the candle she held in her hands and her long flowing white robe illuminated from a hidden bulb inside her, these sites will forever be etched in my childhood Christmas memories.  How lovely was our Angel on top of the tree.  She was a big part of our Christmas decorating and celebrating...even after Faye decided to cut her long beautiful locks into a more modern bob cut.  She continued to sit there on top of our tree for all to see....

...to see that we all have hope and joy because of the Christmas Season.  Our Jesus Christ was born to bring us restoration and forgiveness for our sins and to give us the real gift of Christmas....Life Eternal, Sins Forgiven, Grace and Mercy given freely to each of us who believe and receive.  It did not matter that our Angel on top of our tree had the scissors of "life" come upon her.  She continued to stand there tall and proud, magnificent and royal...proclaiming the Good News; as she let her light shine from the bulb hidden deep inside of her!

Can you do that today?  Can you let your light shine from deep inside even if the scissors of life are cutting away at the things around you?  I challenge you to be the Angel on top of the tree today...LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE.

Fun thing to do....look at all the tree tops you see this Christmas Season and

record the variety of tops you see.  Remember...the Angel on top of the tree,

 is a reflection of the Angel on the hillside who told the Good News.

Luke 2:8-15

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.  "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find the baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of the heavenly - praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

  Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.



Everyone is in such a hurry!

I don't know about you, but I feel sad that we are all in such a hurry we can no longer take a day off to just enjoy being quiet.  Black Friday starts on Thanksgiving Day?  What?  Is this whole life thing about making money???  Simple pleasures no longer bring pleasure. Gotta run here, gotta run there....go go go. 

I am going to  S T O P  this holiday season and try to reclaim the simple pleasures. 

Do you want to join me?

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

  

   Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

T H A N K S G I V I N G

I don't have to tell you that tomorrow is Thanksgiving...I am pretty sure everyone knows that by now.  As I sit here in front of my computer screen thinking about my blog and what should I write about today...my mind keeps thinking about past Thanksgivings.   Now, when you are 58 years old, you have a lot of past Thanksgivings to remember. If you will allow me to go back into my memory bank, I would like to share a heart memory from the Thanksgivings our family had during the years mom and dad lived up north.

"Over the River and Through the Woods...to Grandmothers House We Go".... for several years after my dad retired my family and my sister and her family would gather at mom and dads up north house for Thanksgiving.  Tom and the kids would pick me up at the bank and we would head out for the three hour journey.  Traditionally, the first stop was at Long John Silvers in Bay City.  yummmmy.  Then back on the road.  We started seeing snow around Clair.  And the closer we got to Harrietta the more snow we saw. 

Mom started her baking and cooking days before.  She LOVED having all of us there.  The minute you walked into the door, the magic began.  Mom and Dad met you at the door with smiles beaming from their faces.  I can still see dad with his quilted plaid shirt and mom with some really cute sweat shirt.  You could not even get up to the door before it would swing open and there they were ready for hugs and kisses and everyone was talking at the same time.  Sharon and Roy were usually there before us, so her family was a big part of the welcoming committee. 

The grand kids immediately went to work on their "annual" entertainment preparations.  Lance was usually the leader of the pack. His leadership skills shown through as he assigned the parts to the other 5.  Some would sing, some would dance and some would tell stories.  We knew whatever was in store for us was going to be full of belly laughs and lots of fun.  Of course we had to have a ticket to attend, so some of the kids were assigned the task of creating the tickets. 

Thanksgiving Dinner over and the sun setting in the sky meant it was time for the show.  Here we would all come.  With ticket in hand, we would find our favorite seat in the living room and the show would begin.  Sharon and Roy were in charge of the video and those have become a precious treasure now that our little stars are now grown and have children of their own.

If you do not have them already, start this Thanksgiving to make some of those heart memories to carry with you.  It helps when me when I must face Thanksgiving Day without Mom, Dad, Dan, and Tom.  

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

   Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to. 

I Want My Flowers NOW....

I Love the smell of fresh flowers.  I love the way they draw you into a room.  I love the beauty of their colors. http://www.teleflora.com/flowercolors.asp. 

I don't love the fact that I have to be sick, or that I have to have experienced a death or a loss of some kind for someone to send me flowers.  Why can't we just send a friend or loved one some flowers because we woke up this morning and their name was on our mind?  Maybe they need a special prayer or a special pick me up of encouragement or just something different in their day.

No, I did not get a job at a florist shop.  So this is NOT a plug for business. hehe  But....I did meet this beautiful lady yesterday.  I was blessed to be in her house for about 6 hours and we talked, laughed and even cried a little.  She has been on this earth for over 90 years and yet she is sharp as a whip.  Boy, can she tell some awesome stories.  Not to many of us can brag that we were here when President Lincoln was in office. And how many do you know that can tell you about the very first radios?

Her life wisdom was so awesome.  Several things she said to me yesterday stuck in my mind.  One of those things she said to me was, "I want my flowers while I am here to enjoy them....not when I am dead and gone".  She was telling me how much she has always loved flowers.  Her husband would make sure that there were fresh flowers of all kinds and colors in their house daily.  She misses that. 

Her lifetime friend and soul mate has been in heaven for many years.  I asked her why she never dated or thought about remarriage after he passed.  She told me this...."No one could ever match up to the Best.  I had the Best for many years, I was Blessed."   

That is my daily prayer....to strive to be "The Best".  Lord with your help mold me to be the best ~ the best mother, the best grand-mother, the best sister, the best aunt, the best friend; the best at every hat I wear...mold me be the Best to your Glory.

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

   Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

You Give Me JOY Unspeakable...

Please take a few minutes to really listen to the words of this awesome song.  God, you do give me Joy that's unspeakable!  One line in the song says...You Shine Your Light of Amazing Grace; I receive it I receive it.

Receive that Amazing Grace today as you walk in the Joy that is Unspeakable.

J Jesus
O  Others
Y      Yourself

I have been attending a Grief Share support group once a week at the Central Church of the Nazarene in Flint.  The support and love you receive from the group facilitators is so amazing.  Each of them too have experienced a loss and their hearts are right there with you...to walk right along side of you as you do your own grief journey.  I encourage anyone who is on a grief journey to find a support group to attend.  God did not design us to heal in isolation, we heal best in relationship.  Last night they held their annual Surviving The Holidays Seminar.  The tools that I walked away with encouraged  me and showed me that I can survive the Holidays ~ I can do it with JOY in my heart and memories of past Holidays with those whom I miss so very much.  My prayer for you today is that you will walk in real JOY and know that God is the one who desires to give you the relationship you need to walk this journey. 

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.



Have a Super Wonderful Day.

  Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

Seven Times, or however many times it takes.....

F O R G I V E N E S S ... to hard to do you say?  If God thought it was to hard to forgive, He would not have warned us to not hold unforgiveness in our spirit.  He NEVER tells us to do or not to do something that is impossible. It really is a choice you know, we can make a decision to forgive. 

Total forgiveness does not always mean their will be restoration in the relationship.  What it does mean is that we can move forward and not allow the offense to stay in our heart.  We can choose to not hold onto it.  Leave it, Let it go, Give it up, Drop it..off your mind ~ out of your mouth. One of the most challenging things we will do in our lives is to practice walking daily in unforgiveness. You may not be able to help how you feel, but you can have control over what you do.

A very interesting point about "offense".  Offense is all around us.  People walk on eggshells as to not "offend" someone.  People who have been offended will go so far as to end relationships because of the offence.  I read that the Greek word for offence is skandalon http://www.christianforums.net/f34/another-interesting-greek-word-skandalon-trap-quot-10549/.  Skandalon in the Greek means "trap".   The piece of the animal trap where the bait is hung to lure the victim into the trap.  Oh, how cleaver of Satin to cause many to have offence in their hearts .... The trap to end relationships. Matthew 24:10.

So are you ready for the questions?  Brace yourself because you may not like the answers.

1. Do you have to keep telling the story?

2. How do you feel when you hear they receive a blessing, something good in their life?

3. Can you be good, kind, and merciful to them?

There it is....the oucy test.  Please do not beat yourself up if you still have unforgiveness in your heart.  It is really not as hard as you may think to remove it.  First you must admit it is there, second you have to ask for God to remove it and third you have to learn to STOP and pray for them the very second you feel the unforgiveness returning.  You can do that!  The freedom you will receive is so worth it. Decide today that you are gong to live a life style of refusing to be offended! 

 Proverbs 19:11
Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense.
Amplified

Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
Life Application

A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
New American Standard.

The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
New King James

Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget.
The Message

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

   Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.



As Far As The East Is From The West....

Do You really want to be Free?

Then choose to               F O R G I V E.

Forgive yourself first, then you are free to forgive others.  You can forgive those who died and left you, you can forgive those who rejected you, you can forgive those who hurt you. That is the real KEY to Freedom ~ Forgive.

 On any given day, I would hear my own voice saying, Yes, I have forgiven them.  I even pray for them...referring to those who have rejected or hurt me.  Yes, I would also hear my own voice telling the story.  To whom?  To anyone who would listen.  Then I received this teaching tape in the mail....it was an ouchy.  It was titled: The Forgiveness Test. 

At first glance, I thought of a slew of people I needed to send this tape to.  Was I on that list? Of course not!  After all, I told you, I have forgiven, I even pray for those who have rejected and hurt me.  Well, this quiet voice inside of me (the Holy Spirit) whispered, "Faye, listen to the tape".  I did.

I wish I could report that I was right, that I had truly forgiven...but that was not the case.  I found that I did have unforgivness inside of me.  Eating away at my growth.  How could God take me to a new level of serving Him, with this ugly thing hiding inside of me?  O U C H.  That really hurt.

Good news follows  ~  when we are obedient God goes to work.  I gave it to God, yes, it was that simple.  I said "Lord, you know me better than I know myself and I can not hide from you.  You know that I have unforgiveness in my spirit and only you can take it away."  Confess your sins to God and He is faithful and just to remove them and to forgive you for them.  WOW....can it be that simple?  Can just really being honest with something eating away at your insides and talking to God about it really change things?  YES, yes it can be that easy.  F R E E D O M.

If you want to read about the three questions to ask yourself

to see if you really have "forgiven", read my blog tomorrow. 

Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Amplified

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Life Application

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
New American Standard

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
New King James

And a far as the sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.
The Message

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

J O Y...Jesus Others Yourself

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

Singing in the RAIN

One of my all time favorite old movies is "Singing In The Rain" staring Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly.  Of course all of you old time movie buffs will remember the famous scene where Gene Kelly is dancing and singing in the rain.  Well, I think the grief journey is like that.  We must learn to dance and sing in the rain...the rain of our sadness, the rain of our loneliness, the rain of our despair.  Dance you say?  Yes, I choose to dance and sing before the Lord because HE is Good and His ways are always right.  I like to say, the day Danny died, God was not out taking a coffee break and came back to say...What Happened Here?  Dan Died???   NO, God was still on the throne and He knew more than I will ever know about why it was the day for Dan to die.  All I have to do is have Faith that my heavenly Father loves me, watches over me, comforts me and teaches me to dance and sing in the rain! 

"Thank You For The Gift Card"

Oh the innocence of youth and the many life lessons they can teach us.  My granddaughter, Sara, called me yesterday on her Mommy's cell phone to say..."Thank You for the Gift Card".  Sara is four years old.  For several days little Sara Bear (as I like to call her) has had to take some yucky tasting medicine because of a bad cough.  I know Sara hates to take medicine, and I also know Sara loves the Disney Princesses.   So....I found a really cute princess card and mailed Sara a little get well note.  Oh the excitement that flooded over her when Mommy opened the mail box to find a card addressed to Sara.  After opening the card and seeing her beloved Disney Princesses on the front of the card, she squealed with delight and shouted out loud.... "I Love My Gift Card"!  

Lord, may I squeal with laughter and delight

as I open the "Gift Cards" you send to me today.

   Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

Amplified

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
King James

Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Life Application

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
New American Standard

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
New King James

Gracious speech is like clover honey - good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.

The Message

Read It, study it, live it...the Word of God.

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

H O P E...Holding Onto Promises Eternal

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.

Welcome to Faye's Blog....Believeing Laughter Overcomes Grief

This is ME....Loving Life More and More Every Day! I invite you to follow my BLOG. I am on a journey of discovering  how to make everyday be the best day of my life?  So, think about this...I found it on a bumper sticker ~ gotta love those bumper stickers ~ right?   Yesterday is HISTORY ~ Tomorrow is a MYSTERY ~ Today is a Gift ~That's why they call it "The PRESENT"!

   Proverbs 15:13

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

King James

A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.

Amplified

A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.

The Message

For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

Life Application

A Merry Heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

New King James

Read it, study it, live it...the Word of God. 

It is powerful and full of tools to live by.

Somethings in life we have control over, like will I brush my teeth this morning and make my bed? But, there are other things in life we have no control over, like will it rain today or be sunny?  Begin each day knowing that you are not the one who controls everything.  This will free you to have the right attitude to face each and every situation you will encounter today.  If you purpose in your heart that you have a heavenly Father who wants what is best for you ~ you can give up the control you try so desperatly to hold onto.  He really does love you and wants what is best for you.

For I know the "plans that I have for you, "declares the Lord,"  plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

H O P E....Holding Onto Promises Eternal

Have a Super Wonderful Day...

Smile at everyone you walk past, it will make them wonder what mischief you have been up to.