The "In-Between" Days...

Well...it looks like the last post done on this Blog was for Memorial Day....when was that ! Wow !! 4 months ago !!
Time sure does fly by...what happened??

Summer time came and went so quickly!

One of my daughter's teachers once said that

"Summer's run and Winter's walk"
Somehow, that is the way it seems to play out in our lives....

In any event, once again summer has ended and we are off running into Fall. It seems our lives are lived from one Holiday or Event to the next.

Memorial Day's activities had just faded as we begin to anticipate my June birthday and then it was the Last Day of School followed by Father's Day! How quickly Independance Day rolled around and as soon as that celebration ended Summer was off and running---to picnics and backyard BBQ's, trips to the beach and campouts in the forest, swimming and hiking, biking and exploring, weekend adventures with family and friends.....how quickly now it is all a memory as once again we look forward to Fall.

The memories we have of all these Holidays and Events are treasures beyond compare, but what about the "In-Between Days" ? Those Tuesdays or Thursdays that have no special meaning on our calendars. Was there anything memorable about them? Was there anything valuable in those days that would validate us exchanging one day of our life for them? Did we pause to enjoy anything, learn something new, or make a difference in someone's day?
It is something worth thinking about.....

In this often crazy fast paced world we live in, I often like to pause and remind myself that EVERYDAY is SPECIAL ! Everyday is a chance for us to experience new things. It is a chance for us to celebrate LIFE ! We don't need to wait for Holidays or Special Events--we have an opportunity to enjoy life available to us with every breath we take!
In fact, with that in mind, our Winter's might even begin to Run !

Memorial Day....Recall, Remember,Reflect,Respect

Recall, Remember,Reflect,Respect....these are some words we could use today on this Memorial Day--USA 2009.

Recall what others have done to secure our freedom.

Remember those who paid the price for us.

Reflect on what freedom means.

Respect our flag and what it stands for.

Today is Memorial Day, soon it will be Flag Day (June 14th) and then Independence Day.
I recently came across this clipping I had saved from an old newspaper and I want to share it now. Everytime I read it it touches my heart. I hope it does the same for you.

---

Our Flag

"Hello. Remember me? Some people call me Old Glory, others call me the Star-Spangled Banner, but whatever they call me, I am your flag, the flag of the United States of America.

Something has been bothering me, so I thought I might talk it over with you-because it is about you and me.

I remember some time ago, people would line up on both sides of the street to watch the parade, and naturally I was leading everyone, proudly waving in the breeze.

When your daddy saw me coming, he immediately removed his hat and placed it against his left shoulder so that his hand was directly over his heart--remember?

And you, I remember, were standing there straight as a soldier. You didn't have a hat, but you were giving the right salute. Remember your little sister? Not to be outdone, she was saluting the same as you with her right hand over her heart--remember?

What happened? I'm still the same old flag. Oh, I've added a few more stars since you were a boy, and a lot more blood has been shed since those parades long ago.

But now, somehow I don't feel as proud as I used to feel. When I come down the street, you just stand there with your hands in your pockets. You may give me a small glance and then look away. I see children running around shouting, they don't seem to know who I am.

I saw one old man take his hat off, then look around, and when he didn't see anybody else take off his hat, he quickly put his on again.

Is it a sin to be patriotic today? Have you forgotten what I stand for, and where I have been? Anzio, Guadalcanal, Korea and Vietnam!

Take a look at the memorial honor rolls and see the names of those patriotic Americans who gave their lives to keep this republic free. When you salute me, you are saluting them.

Well, it won't be long until I'll be coming down your street again. So, when you see me, please stand straight and place your hand over your heart and I'll know you remembered.

I'll salute you by waving back! "
--Author Unknown

Into the New Year....

"Well into the New Year and moving forward...."
That's what I thought today as I re-read my last post on this blog.
Although quite a few days have gone by and the "New Year" freshness has worn off, I have been able to keep the "everyday is a new day" focus which helps greatly when some of those "New Year" days seem like they are re-runs from "Old Years".

Scripture says we can "be transformed by the renewing of our minds" [Romans 12:2],
so basically how we think, is how we feel and act. Postive thinking will bring positive days, even when we are surrounded by adverse circumstances.
Therefore, just as the days of winter slowly turn into springtime, our minds can be transformed by renewing the way we think about things. We can learn to respond instead of react. We can learn to look for the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.
We can replace the "im" with "or" and be "Victors" instead of "Victims", as we renew our minds to stop the victim thinking mentality and start thinking victoriously.

So, on this Spring day, three month's into this New Year, we have a choice. We can continue moving forward by growing and blossoming with the "new life" of springtime or just let ourselves melt away like the winter snow.
What's your choice going to be?

New Year Thoughts

It's a New Year ! 365 brand new days! A new start. A clean slate. A fresh page.


I could go on and on saying how great it is to feel we have a chance to start over again.

However, once the minutes start ticking in that New Year it can become the "same ol' same ol' "really quick....because we humans, although we try, are not easily prone to change.

I was thinking about this today, when three days into the New Year, I messed up on some paperwork and had to shred it and redo it. As I was feeding the shredder the thought came to me that it would be so nice to be able to feed all of our mistakes into a shredder.


Oops, those words I said that I wish I hadn't---take them back and shred them---bingo--gone forever! The negative thoughts that often come---zap into the shredder and plunk they're history. We could make confetti out of all our bad days and have a celebration!


Each day we could just take those little scraps of shredded mistakes and throw them away out of our lives forever and we would be free to start all over again!

The reality is, God does give us a way to do just that every day.


"Great is His faithfulness, His mercies begin afresh each day." Lamentations 3:23 NLT


By His grace and love in Christ, we can be free from the burdens of our failures by giving them to Him and in that way we can start everyday afresh--no shredder needed either because :
"He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west."
Psalms 103:12 And....He will never again remember them! (Jeremiah 31:34)

He is my hope for everyday of this New Year because with Him each day can be a new beginning! Now that's something to look forward to ! Happy New Year !

Thanksgiving Thoughts.....

Another Thanksgiving Day has come and is nearly gone....
Did you take some time to really think about what you are thankful for?

I found this quote at ThinkExist.com
“There's always something to be thankful for. If you can't pay your bills, you can be thankful you're not one of your creditors.” (source/author unknown)

The above quote turns negative thinking into positive thinking and keeps us in a postive, thankful mood instead of in a negative, depressed mood. Sounds like good thinkin' to me!

It's kinda like when we have a sink full of dishes and a big mess in the kitchen after cooking the Thanksgiving Day dinner---we can be thankful for that because it means we had the means to purchase all the groceries, the knowledge of how to cook them, the time to do it all and people to share it all with. We can make our clean up a positive experience by focusing on our blessings.

I think it would be a good idea to make everyday a day of thanksgiving.

You can start by jotting down one thing on the calendar each day that you are thankful for,

then by next Thanksgiving Day you will have 365 things to give thanks for !