wham-

Driving home from work, I panicked and braked while a long white truck was pulling out in front of me... very slowly. wham. My first car accident wasn't a personal tragedy, but my car was totalled. (I loved that car.)

I think about how many times in life each person gets a "wham"- "out of nowhere"- "where did that come from?" experience. Say, for example, a cold or the flu. wham. It hits you square between the eyes-- and suddenly you cherish your ability to breathe, you remember the days without pain, etc. Even after the cold/flu is gone, you remember for a few days how wonderful it is to breathe again! Then as we go about our everyday life, we forget quickly how many great miracles are working for us each day.

We had a rental car for a few weeks and then my wonderful husband found us a car. Not just any car, but a better car than the first car. Now it's hard to remember how many things needed fixing in the old car... now it's difficult to remember exactly what the dashboard looked like... My everyday life is moving me along quickly.

All this to say that I had my first car accident? Nope. All this to say, "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses." Just because it isn't a problem right now doesn't mean we need to take it for granted! Give someone you love a hug; smell your beverages and food; taste fully; feel the weather; notice your environment and take in the sounds, sights and smells; give generously;
"Act kindly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

Time to huddle!

The economic crisis of 2008/2009... that's where we're at. The stock market went down, the price of gas went down, the interest rates went down, the price of gold went down, peoples incomes went down, the price of housing went down, the price of clothing went down, the price of foods went down, the price of life went down-- and unemployment is widespread. It's time to huddle.

If everyone is in the same boat, so to say, then it's not quite so bad. If we stay close to friends, stay close to a church family, hang tight in our immediate family, then we can work it out and still find hapiness in our everyday. :) Undeniably, this is tough. It's plaguing the minds of people while they're trying to move on; preoccupying our thoughts when we try to relax. However, since it's a continued factor, we need to mentally set it aside for a short amount of time each day and feel some relaxation in whatever blessing we have.

Me? I have a wonderful family and loving friends. I have my friend, God, who cares about me and knows me better than anyone else. I also have a house big enough that if someone lost their house, we could co-habitate. ... It would be tight, only one shower, but we could do it!

Life is full of choices: non stop daily choices. I say 'let's not dwell on the obvious trouble. Let's huddle together and find more options in our day.'
And once again, I have a full day ahead of me... what should I do with this 24 hours?? :)

Praying

I have this "thing", passion if you will, for praying. It's an amazing phenomenum. Picture the creator of the entire universe, of the bodies in the heavens right down to the nuclear systems and organic systems that keep us all together on the Earth... picture this Creator, "God", who lets us talk to Him personally. w o w.

If I start from a point where I haven't been praying for a while, I am respectful and distant. But here's that wonderful miracle part-- this God wants to be BFF. Yep, my Best Friend Forever.
I can say anything and think of God as a person since He was a person; and He was a person just for us and our benefit.

So what should I ask for today? I usually start out saying that I'm sorry I do many things that wouldn't be acceptable in His Court in the Universe... I'm kind of scuzzy. But I'm also thankful that He overlooks that because Jesus was perfect! (Very thankful...) You know what I usually do? I usually ask God to be with a long list of people I love. I want them all to FEEL God.

Today... today I think I'll ask for God's direction. I love it when life falls into place easily. Asking for jobs and health is a priority, but besides that, without clear direction I get frustrated. I feel like someone put a bag over my head and I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do! Today I want to specifically ask for Him to show me in my real life that He's really here. (I love that!!)
Well, I've thought about it enough. I'm anxious to make my cup of coffee and have coffee with my Jesus. :)

Now I feel strong enough to live through another day. Thank you Jesus.