Let me tell you about my "Thankful to God for...." list. It varies often depending on mood, amount of sleep, stress level and ... whether or not I feel a sense of hope and well being in the future. To explain briefly,

MY PAST, although past, is very much a part of my ongoing story , but can not control my present or future. It may influence it sometimes, but I forgave myself for poor judgement and wrong choices, and put the pain in the past. Letting go of the "junk" allows me to remember the beautiful and meaningful parts of the past and to look back on the good and special life I have been blessed to have. We all have a myriad of great memories and need to look back and smile!!

MY PRESENT
I have a little prayer that works for me:

" Lord, I can't undo what I've done , can't undo what's been done to me, and can't even figure out how much guilt I should feel . So thank you for a new day and stay with me. Remind me that I am not alone, and help me make my choices. Open my eyes. Open my ears. Open my mind. Guide my heart . God, let the beauty of this day stay with me, and help me to share that beauty with others. AMEN and Good luck."

It can't be easy for God . I have my moments.

I have many prayer concerns, and even though some of those will be because of my choices, most will be praises- God has been good, and has given me more than my share of His time and attention. He has also managed to surround me with loving and caring people. I have been carried, and because of those times, I have been blessed to be able to help others through their pain. Support systems are a gift of God that we all benefit from, and we all need to give our support to others. It's huge way to give back.

MY FUTURE

I've tried to lay a firm foundation, and think I have a plan... Retirement with enough.... I have a wish list, but I have to realize the future is God's to know. There will be crisis times there will be many tests of faith, but God has been faithful to me... so Why not be faithful to Him? During those times is not the time to question your faith or to doubt your God. If anything it is the time to be glad you are a church attending Christian where other people will surround you with warmth and love... and help you to face whatever. We should always be able to thank God for the beauty which we found in His day. Without the ability to enjoy good times and peaceful thoughts, your crisis times have won. Every day has a trial or two, but has many good times. Without the ability to appreciate the good things and peaceful moments you allow the junk to win. That is a wrong choice that I won't make, and it is a choice. I am thankful for past, present, and whatever the future holds, and pland to live it every day, with a lot of help, a lot of faith, and a lot of prayer.

Oh yes, prayer. I know for a fact there is a lot of it still going on in schools and workplaces. Ask the kids and talk to working people. God is very much still alive and well!! Sally

New Years Eve was a time of making resolutions- of attempting to better ourselves by working on a negative trait. Spring is now here, and most of our resolutions have been forgotten or just lost along the way. Now is a good time to renew our commitment or maybe start over. Why not both!!?

I have Incorporated my efforts and those of some other people and thought I would share with you my:
SPRING THING

S- Savor the senses- see, hear, smell, feel and taste the newness around you.

P- Pray- for those who need care to be able to inspire their caregivers to enjoy their time together. That they can bring smiles to each other many times throughout the day!!!

R- Renew your childish excitement- find the fun in your day, and laugh out loud!

I- Infect and inspire others - Let the strength of your faith shine!!

N- Notice the good in every person, place and thing!

G- Get fit- eat right, exercise, think positive. Do something different with your routine. Use a juicer, move more, challenge your mind-- make it interesting-- but most of all resolve to find fun- It's not just for kids!!!
Sally

A LARGER CIRCLE



My family and I have been very busy moving my Mother. In the process we have come across some very old photo albums belonging to my Grandparents on both sides. We don’t remember seeing the photos before, and spent hours with Mom figuring out who all of the people were.

Relatives emerged who we never knew, such as both sets of Grandparents Parents. There were pictures of fellow workers and friends, events and even one of Herbert Hoover that my Dad took when he was a small boy and part of a crowd watching as he stood on the back of a train to talk to all of them.

It was a strange sensation because we could feel the ties with our relatives- even though we had never met some of them. Seeing them as young (and my Parents as babies with their parents) brought thoughts of belonging to a much larger circle than we usually think about. As my grandchildren looked through some of the albums they were looking at the backgrounds too. Old cars, vintage clothing, bicycles and furniture caught their eye. Ours too, because we still have some of the furnishings that were handed down through the generations, and now were seeing pictures with our “antiques” in the background!!

This year as my family comes and goes, those albums will all be on display for them to look through. My hope is that they all will get the feeling I have of belonging to a larger circle of people, and seeing the resemblance of eyes or a nose, hair or lack of hair, and realize that the people in these photos are part of their lives, heritage, and who they are.

If you haven’t checked on the old photos lately, get them out, have the family over, and have fun. Let me know if you feel it too!! Sally

The weather is beginning to break, and wake to sunshine! Spring has to be coming!! The season of new beginnings, bulbs sprouting and butterflys decorating the landscape. Happy hearts should be a part of Spring too. A time to look ahead and realize that every day will bring its own surprises and new experiences. This is the time to remember, reaffirm or discover the many occasions we have to smile or laugh. Wait for them, watch for them, and laugh your way to a great year. Think of Spring as the new year! Enjoy the warmth of the sun when it shines, bundle up against the cold when the weather changes, and see, feel, hear, touch, taste and smell the miracle of spring!

Today I feel there may be an end to the health problems that seem to have hit so many of us this winter. Pneumonia just takes forever to go away, and we have become used to designer drugs that will cure us in a few days or at least have us feeling much more human! Not so with this winter's ailments.

So many of my friends, church family and co-workers have been hit with a large variety of long term illnesses- life changing things that cause wonder, and sadness. I am finding that it is normal to have a little depression... after all we are human and some of us are not spring chickens any more! This is where we need to keep all of our faith and hope right in the front of our brains. Every discouraging moment, every setback, every Doctor appointment and test needs to become just another part of daily routine for awhile... not the whole daily routine!

My FAITH is a personal feeling and commitment between God and me. It is something a lot of people have and each of us deals with differently. God and I talk a lot, and in the tough times He is my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night and a source of comfort and warmth during throughout the day. I believe that I have more than once been protected by God and have not been His easiest child. It is hard to realize that you are not in control of your destiny. Kids can't wait to become adults so they can be in control and make their own decisions. Eventually it becomes very clear that a force much greater than our parents, our friends ourselves would continually guide us, and help us make our decisions.

As I witness the faith of others I am inspired by the strength and power they possess because quite simply.. they believe!

HOPE springs eternal from that faith. Faith begins with God, but spreads as it encompasses family, friends and others. We then realize we part of a circle of LOVE and have a responsibility to give and accept the love of others. We need to reach out to them as well as to allow them to reach out to us. The faith, hope and love that develops from a "two way street" means our faith will remain stronger, our hope will give us strength and the ability to look ahead while dealing with the present and our love for our God, ourselves and each other will continue to grow.

Snow Cold Curves

Hi, just thought you would like to know it is very cold and snowy here. The positive side is my pipes haven't frozen, the electric is still working, and the furnace is cooking nicely!! The down side is the pathetic noise the car makes when I try to start it and the slick roads. My car has spent a little too much time trying to run sideways.

NO SENSE COMPLAINING THOUGH. Everyone reading is in the snow belt and well aware!! How is your layering coming?! I have finally achieved the look ! Asbury t-shirt and snowman turtle neck topped with the Verizon sweat shirt. It is fun to do, because it doesn't really matter whether or not anything matches- except the outside layers. Who says senior citizens don't have fun any more?!

I went to Curves this morning. So far my commitment is still alive and well. "This Little Light of Mine" is a great song to keep your spirit and drive alive. "I'm Going To Let It Shine"!!!!! Guess the bottom line is I do feel better, am more mentally alive and my body is a little more limber when I do 30 minutes 3 times a week. BET THEY WON'T BE PUTTING ME ON THEIR ADS, BUT THEY SHOULD THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING WITH SOME OUT OF SHAPE "OLD" PEOPLE. Right Bets? Hee hee

I am going to become a Grandma again in a few months. By then I hope to be in decent physical and mental shape, and on a rational life path- with 2 sets of footprints in tact !!

NTAP Sally

Sometimes It's Tough To Keep Your Faith!

Recently I've had too much time to think. When you are on the verge of depression, excess time can be the enemy. Mercifully I have come to grips with some of the problems being pondered. The big unanswerable questions in life will always remain the big unanswerable questions in life!!!! Face it... go clean something in your house (or begin a major project) and regain the power over your own mind.

Don't go there !!! These three words serve as a warning, a threat, and the beginning of positive thinking. We have all heard, "Get off the couch, get a grip, it's all in your head, get it together..." Well meaning comments from others who just want you to rise up, and get back to reality. Comments that hurt, but aren't meant to be mean.... Those comments can't do for you what you need to do for yourself. Just say to yourself, "Don't go there"!! Get your thoughts back, and you will get your life back.

The Bottom Line is your thoughts and only your thoughts, fueled by your belief systems and your faith, can pull you out of the hole and once again into life. The greatest gift my family probably ever gave my was the opportunity to grasp onto faith, to let it grow, and to let it become the mainstay of my existence. For Christmas my son gave me a footprints necklace.

"When you saw only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you."

Maybe he sensed that I needed something tangible, something I could see, feel, and know in my heart was right. Maybe I just needed to cry and give myself permission to feel bad for a couple days. Exactly what I did...Cried and felt bad for two days. Each time I read the necklace, I realized it was true. I was being carried, and it was time to get back up on my own two feet and reorganize my thinking, rebuild my physical strength, and find the good and positive part of living again. Its good to be back to caring about others more than myself and worrying about the health and welfare of family members, friends and coworkers instead of being consumed with ME

Sometimes it may be hard to keep your faith, but thats when you will be carried, that is the time to heal, mend and renew body, mind and soul. Now I am ready again to do for someone else waht my son did for me...
Friends don't let friends lose their faith

Sally

PNEUMONIA ... You don't want it!!

As I am still in recovery from it, I can't help but wonder if my Docs could have maybe given me a little more of a clue as to what was to be expected. Never having experienced anything quite as scary as this, my mind has been running away with its own thoughts as to what is happening to my body!

"Will I ever be the same? Will I ever recover? Will I relapse? How long should the cough last? What aren't the Doctors telling me? Do they know something? "

The trip hasn't been fun, but it has been an eye opener for me. I've cleaned up my act and discovered the fine art of eating well, sleeping well, and otherwise living as God intended his children to- well, at least I'm a lot closer than ever before. I have made many discoveries in the past 3 weeks, and gotten a serious look at >ME<

I began my ordeal by feeling very sorry for myself, being very afraid, and I remember thinking, " Is this an omen for the new year?" I spent New Year eve and day beyond depressed and in a dark place where feelings of exhaustion, fear, apprehension and self pity are the reality. There wasn't enough water in the world to get me hydrated.. dry mouth, dry lips... non stop drinking. Water is apparently not a great diet. I remember at one point feeling a closeness with people who have just gone off the deep end and been unable to come back. Then I learned the secrets of JUICE for raising blood sugar and keeping you leveled out a bit. .. So now we have water and all kinds of juice. For about five days this was all I could eat. Soon, I began researching on the internet the key words or pneumonia, lung healing, foods, etc. So I began to eat VEGETABLES which help the healing process, and foods to incorporate into your diet for regaining and keeping your healthy immune system and for replenishing your body with vital nutrients to help it heal and once again become strong.

Grape, orange, apple, cranberry, pink grapefruit and a mixed berry juice plus lots of water became my mainstays for 4 very long days. The grape juice (as a side note) is now my top juice- every day. After deciding I might live and realizing I was a bit hungry I began to eat canned vegetables. "Why canned?" Easy answer- too weak to do much cooking, and too tired to stay awake while anything cooked. Asparagus, peas, baked beans, green beans and beets were now added to the juice diet. After a week and a half I began to juice fresh carrots with apple and red and yellow peppers also. Adding other things makes for a better taste, but all in all, I have become a big fan of juicing. Yes, you do feel the kick when you juice. Besides the veggies you normally eat, this is a great way to get an extra 3 or 4 servings.

In a little over 2 weeks, I had lost 12 pounds, some bad habits, and had to go back to work. That first day was very hard. I was finally getting an appetite back, things seemed to be looking up, and then the Doc lays it out for you.... "scarring of the lungs, possibility of lung collapse, relapse- a distinct possibility, but its time to go back to work!!" OK, funny how my confidence was not riding high after that chat!! So back at work wondering if each breath is giving you enough air, if each rattle means your lung is filling up again or if that little pain means the other lung is collapsing.

It has been a little over 3 weeks now, and I still have some problems, my thoughts hit the dark places( but not as dark and not as often)

Sally