Let the Light shine out of Darkness

I don't really follow any type of denomination, however I am quite Spiritual. I believe in the God of my choosing.......one that embodies Love. I don't believe in a punishing God. I don't feel as though I will be cast to hell or damned to the pit of sulphur for not going to Church every Sunday or for having an unfriendly thought about someone or something. I am human, after all. I am not perfect. What would the point of this all be if we were to fear our whole lives away? Therefore, I choose to love as much as I can in my life. I choose to fear as little as possible and to raise children who will not fear, especially the God of their choosing. It our greatest effort to know that we are loved, always. To know that no matter what, we will be loved, supported and looked after. That is our simple right as dwellers of this Earth. To love and be loved, to give and to receive, to hold and be held. This Lenten season, as millions of folks 'sacrifice' something they love and cherish for their own spiritual growth and to 'show' their faithfulness to their God of choice, I will follow a little differently. Sacrificing at Lent, as I understand it, is to show that we understand the sacrifices that Jesus made during his 40 day retreat into the wilderness. He fasted for those 40 days so giving up food items is typical. In more modern times, giving up TV, gambling, smoking, driving, drinking and many other kinds of personal vices have become popular. This year, it seems many people feel that giving up Facebook is a sacrifice!!!



"The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and alms giving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations." To provide a sound plan for celebrating Lent with my family we will utilize the three traditional practices: prayer, fasting, alms giving.



Each day, during the 40 days of Lent, we will focus our 'prayer' by connecting with our God of choice, whether in sitting together quietly, taking a walk outside and connecting with our surroundings, preparing a meal together giving full attention to the bounty before us, writing, or reading something that inspires us.



Each day, during the 40 days in Lent, we will make sure to focus our 'fasting' to better the lives of those we live with. We will fast from saying hurtful words, forgetting our chores, not listening, and other acts that may seem hurtful or unfriendly (to be determined by each individual). Being a family with small children, I feel like it is so important to allow our children the most potential for personal growth. Having said that, fasting from foods is not something I want to encourage, even if it is sweets, ice cream, or gum! Focusing on 'doing' something positive seems more fulfilling in the long run and will hopefully bring lasting change. Sweet treats will always return after Lent, but, working long and hard on changes within our personality, my hope is that the harmony that will ensue will be clear......everyone will be happier!



Each day, during the 40 days in Lent, we will focus our energies on 'giving'. Giving to each other, giving to our neighbors, giving to those we don't know. We will give of our time and talents......to focus deeply on things we are good at and then doing to benefit someone other than ourselves. These tasks are easily done by all members a family, young and old! Little ones and older ones can help clean out a neighbors garden bed, bring treats to the Humane Society, bake for the food pantry, visit the home bound, bring cheer to someone who might be feeling down. The ideas and possibilities are endless. Giving is endless. Lent is about Giving, the ultimate in sacrifice! Giving is LOVE. God is LOVE!!!! It all makes perfect sense and these things don't need to end once Lent has. They can be motivations to change ones life forever and bring us closer to the God our our choosing as well as bring us close to remembering who we are meant to be. These small shifts in ones consciousness will bring peace to the heart and soul.



Each day during these 40 days I will share a thought of the day. A focus to help guide the Lenten day. Whether it is an idea to share with family, a simple meditation, a song, a poem, a picture. My hope is to bring inspiration to Lent and to help foster the joy Lent can bring in it's endless celebration of life and giving. I am choosing not to focus on the traditional 'sadness and grief' that is associated with Lent but to bring about the Love that was shared by Jesus and all others that suffered in sacrifice to each other. This truly is such an inspirational time. Being that today is Ash Wednesday we will celebrate the beginning of our Lent together with a fire. We will make ash to bring symbolism to the day. We will share this poem:

"Tomorrow at sunset the Journey begins
The footprints precede you, but glow from within
Stop often to listen, to pray and to write
Be aware of your breathing, your feelings, your Light
Be true to intention, to wisdom received
Allow for transition in what you believe
Open your heart that your Way may be known:
That your peace and your truth become solid as stone."

We will celebrate a lovely meal and enjoy our homemade Lenten pretzels (which have a fun Lenten history). We will make a plan for the next day to keep our focus and to share in the excitement of all the wonderful gifts to come: how we will 'pray/connect' together, what we will 'fast' from, and how we will give of ourselves. I wish for you an inspiring Lenten journey.

Trust that your God loves you and wants only the best for you. Trust that giving of yourself is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Trust that God is Love.

OPEN YOUR HEART!

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear......

Welcome to the New Moon! There is an awesome awareness that comes with this moon: an expansion of new understanding and creative endeavors that will support our ability to tap into the energies of our dreams and aspirations. WOW!!! This energy will be with us for the next 18 months so it seems as though this would be a great time to reconnect with our intentions and put good use to this extraordinary energetic shift.



The most wonderful realization about the time of the New Moon is that it marks a new beginning. This time identifies one that can be of deeper connection and inner growth within our personal lives. This particular New Moon will require that we find or rediscover our own truths and connection to our passion. We could be flooded with a library of new ideas and spirit that will drive us into action in order to discover what it is that makes our hearts sing. In that light, it is of utmost importance to act, in all ways, from the heart........to be open to our truths and feel love and a deep sense of compassion for every living thing.



How awesome that we get the chance to start anew every single month! We are given the opportunity to re-evaluate the prior month, weed out the things that didn’t work, and apply a brand new approach in our lives and the path we’re leading. It’s very liberating when you think about that......it’s like a breath of fresh air that we can count on to purify and replenish all that is within us. As I think of how I might be affected by this energetic shift, I am reminded that everyone’s response and reactions to these changes will be different, they may even pose a challenge. Change is not easy.......and when we feel an inner drive to be something different, feel a calling for another type of work/creative play/project, it can bring with it frustration and sense of being unclear with all that you have become thus far. Compassion. Act with compassion.



I think about how my life has changed, from 10 years ago to now. Of course that is a broad time frame, however, I can clearly see how I have grown.........in motherhood, in friendships, in marriage, in personal awareness and growth. It is astonishing how in 10 years, all of these amazing changes and shifts can happen, but........I find it most amazing that during those huge transitions, revelations, epiphanies, I was almost unaware of what was happening. I knew ‘something’ was happening.......beginning an education, moving through a personal journey, rediscovering those ideals that align my heart with my mind.......but I didn’t know what and to what capacity. I just trusted that all was well, I discovered my direction and found the guidance I needed for the questions I needed answered.



Having discovered the potential that comes with this New Moon, I am awestruck to know that this will also be the time that I begin my tuning for Reiki I. I have been feeling the intense pull to act on this and the time kept narrowing itself to now. I had originally thought to begin with the newness of the Spring Equinox, but thankfully, my teacher knew that this time would be optimal. To know that my heart is aligning with my mind and to know the power that comes from being connected, evenly, to both, is wonderful inspiring and assuring.



As I think of all the amazing potential this new time holds for all of us, I’m always called to discover what that means for the children. How will our children be effected through all of the energetic pulling and shifting? Some might be a little cranky, some might have more energy than usual, and some may become saddened or troubled. They know there is something happening, it’s a matter of whether or not they are held in the light so that they may have the opportunity to grow, shift, align their hearts and minds. Our children are our biggest dreams and dreamers. Imagine the amazing potential they would have if we could just let them loose and allow them to cultivate all that is real for them. I think of my daughter, Bella, who has been put in a very tight spot. She has just learned that a vacation has been planned, where she is expected to go, on the same weekend as her dance recital. For her, no matter what she decides, she feels someone will be disappointed. Typically, my sweet child would throw a tantrum, become very irritable, and stay hold up in her room angry and wistful. Instead, she has been talking about how she feels and she has discovered that she doesn’t really like this particular dance class anymore. She’s feeling the urge to move on to other grand adventures, like horseback riding. She has also discovered that it feels better for her to not go on vacation and finish out her dance class instead, since it will be her last. Now, her gut reaction was to go on vacation and forget about dance, but once she sat quietly, aligned her heart and mind, she discover that which she thought she knew didn’t fit. It’s these little lessons our children bring that reminds us of how we can be more authentic to ourselves and those around us.



To celebrate the New Moon with my family, we are planning a retreat. We will stay home, be at peace with one another, play games, draw together, read together, snuggle in together. We will honor that which makes us all who we are and begin the dialogue to discover those things that align our hearts and minds. We will discover and help chart out the paths that will lead to the guidance and answers we need to make it happen for each of us. We will celebrate life and our family. We will simply be......in love and compassion.



As the New Moon shifts into your life, I wish for you a stronger sense of peace. I wish for you the guidance and answers that you seek to align your hearts and minds. Be free from those things that keep you from allowing yourself your dreams. It is all possible.......be in it. Be.......in love and compassion.

The March winds are the morning yawn

It has been a beautiful March thus far. Sunny, mild temperatures, and a cheerful disposition make the day that much brighter. It was an early morning and I'll admit, it was lovely to be up and going before 7:00am. Usually, I'm not one to admit that willingly but today......I will.

Charlotte and I decided that since today was March 1st we must celebrate the newness that is forthcoming. Charlotte and I love making things together, typically they're baked things, but today we decided to 'bake' for the birds. On our home we have two lovely bird feeders. One right close to our kitchen window where we see and talk to the birds that dine at our window buffet. It's a wonderful treat early in the morning when the birds are just waking up and one by one they come to the window. It's this quiet, slow time of day that I luxuriate over my cup of coffee and am grateful for the little things......particularly juncos!

Since Spring is on it's way and along with it a plethora of new birds we decided to make a bird treat. I had a couple of larger pine cones lying around so we thought using those as our vehicles with which to deliver our snacks would be sufficient. Most recipes for bird snacks call for lard or some other animal derived fatty substance........we went with peanut butter! I can only think it's healthier for the birds who will gorge themselves and, well......this is a whole other topic entirely! Nonetheless, peanut butter will offer them the extra calories essential oil content and will also work to glue our birdseed on to the pine cones.





The basic rule is to have fun, make a messy and lick your fingers!!! Simply coat a pine cone with peanut butter (smooth or crunchy would be fine as well as ANY other type of nut butter)and then roll the peanut butter slathered pine cone in birdseed.



We tied our two together with some twine and hung it on a branch where the birds wait their turn for the other bird feeders.



After we had hung up our little surprise for the birds we sat quietly on our porch step and waited and listened and watched the flurry begin. The chickadees and juncos discovered the pungent peanut snack and flitted by and around the pine cones. I had suggested to Charlotte, and not only because I wasn't wearing my coat, that we sneak back inside and watch from our window.

Once we returned and warmed up a wee bit we came to the window to discover this.......




Today I am grateful for my children,the birds and this most inspiring day!

"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A smile worth sharing!

Today the children and I are on quest.......a quest to bring smiles to the faces of strangers. We know and practice the power of smiling all the time. It's a particular useful skill when one of us may become a bit too serious and then be lead to smile on account of someone elses silliness. This morning, for example, Charlotte was devastated that Daddy had to go to work.......again!!! So, in an effort to reverse her tears Daddy became silly, made silly faces, started to laugh, and even though it took a little time, Charlotte's tears stopped and she began to giggle. It wasn't until after Daddy left that she came running for the window and with a laugh and a smile waved good-bye, lovingly. It's in these little moments that I realize how much power we have to change a situation, for the better. We always have a choice in any situation to help someone to feel better.



I'm not suggesting that we become enablers or martyrs, I'm simply hoping that when a time arises that we are given the opportunity to rise up, we will. There is a moment, recently, where I can think of a time I didn't, and of course now, I wished I had. I was at a meeting and a dear friend of mine, who's mother had just passed away, arrived. I was shocked to see her, and she barely smiled. She wouldn't even speak throughout the meeting. My eyes met hers and then we looked away. I didn't even have a second to give her a smile. At one moment during the meeting, she abruptly stood up and said she had to go. My gut was telling me to follow her and reach out, but, being that we were in a stated meeting, I hesitated and let her walk out. My heart was pounding and kept screaming at me to "GET UP!!! GO TO HER!!!".......but I didn't. It's these times, when our hearts are reaching for us to go the next mile, where we have the most power to make difference, even if it's only a smile.



In discussing this with the children (they're on school break this week so I thought it was a perfect time to introduce some alternative learning) I asked them what they thought might be fun ways to bring smiles to people we don't know. The first idea was to simply smile at someone who walks by us. Easy enough! Then we thought of simply acts of kindness......holding the door for someone, picking something up for someone who accidentally dropped it, helping an older person put the cart away at the grocery store, leaving smiley face notes on random cars. These ideas came with a flurry of others and from them we decided that we would come up with little notes....."You have a beautiful smile"......"You are a good friend"........"Thank you for being you"........and leave them in various places around town. On someones windshield, on a table at a restaurant, on a bathroom mirror. It's a quest. One that is exciting because it's meant to be secretive.....one that is joyful because it will bring a smile to someones face.



Today, while you're out in the world running your errands, working, or simply going out for lunch, maybe think of how you could change someones day with a smile. There are many people are quietly suffering, you would never know their sadness that sits within them. A simple smile and acknowledgement of their existence could change everything.

"Smile more. Laugh often. Live much."

Love is all around us.......

A simple collection of the love that exists around me and my family. There is no greater gift than love. It heals, brings hope, fulfillment, power, and creation. My wish is that love caresses your life everyday, like a gentle kiss on your cheek or the wind blowing through your hair, may you find the love that is all around you.

 

 

Love the One Your With

To err is human, to love is divine. There is nothing more pure than the gift of unconditional love. You can love your dog or car. You might love chocolate or going to the movies. The question is......WHO do you love unconditionally? Your kids? Your spouse? Your parents? Do you love them without rigid conditions that leave your gift empty? Do you love those around you even when they may disappoint you? Do you hold it against them? Love is said to be a virtue......why is it so hard sometimes to just be in it? To love without fear; to love without hesitation; to love without the hope of anything in return.



This study on love is lifelong. It never ends. We practice our love with those around us, good or bad. There is one creature in my life that I love unconditionally, my cat, Miles, or Mamösh, as he is affectionately known. Now, I'm not saying I don't love my children or my husband, because I do. Endlessly. I love them with all of my being, however, I'm not so perfect as to think that my love is not muddled, or altered in some way. My cat, well......he loves me. He doesn't ask anything of me, he cuddles me at any opportunity, in fact he is sitting in my lap loving me as I write. Miles knows when all I need is a good hug to help make life tolerable again. Miles doesn't get angry with me, yell at me, ignore me. He doesn't talk back or say anything that is hurtful. His presence is calm and affectionate. He wants nothing more than to give love. Miles is my 'hero of love.'



Now, that being said, I will share my love for my family. My children, well, they run the ages of 16 months to 11 years. My son (almost 11) is outspoken, bold, intelligent, challenging, selfishly motivated, a powerhouse......he truly would make a great litigator. He questions every answer, even his own. He thinks he knows it all, even when he's asking the questions. He' the sweetest kid but then he can be really unfriendly. My son is the greatest contradiction. I think it's the age, or maybe because he's a boy, either way, being his Mother is a task. One that the great Lord above trusted with me to provide. The Lord gave me this child as a reminder of what a struggle it is to be firm yet gentle, honest yet obscure, easy going yet not too much. The Lord above knew that I needed the lessons that our son would bring in order for me to move on to the person I'm wishing to grow into. He brings with him the lesson of balance. I love my son. I love him 'all the way to the moon and back.' Sometimes, though, and I'll admit it, it is difficult. I don't ever take or wish my love away, but sometimes, after several winter days cooped up inside, after multiple moments of needing to raise my voice over hurtful words spoken or a swat to the back, I'm angered beyond consolable and for a moment........our love is conditional. It's much easier to love when the person receiving your love does things, say things or behaves the way you want them to. When caution goes to the wind and unfavorable behaviour slips out, the heart aches and the thought......"how is it possible to love but feel so hurt" may come to mind. When all is said and done, my son and I usually share a spot on my bed, snuggle in together, we usually choose not to speak because typically too much has been said already. We sit, wrapped up in each other, breathing and relaxing into the love that we share this is not conditional. At that same moment when our sub-conscious knows we're in that space one of us will say those words we always long to hear......"I love you".



Now, my oldest daughter is kind, forgiving, sneaky, spiteful at times, compassionate, and well, 9. She is learning the art of words......nice or not. She is learning the art of working it.....for good or bad. There again, the Lord knew that I needed to learn the lessons that she came with: tolerance, forgiveness, friendship. When this child and I come to blows it's a teary one, for both of us. Neither one of us likes to know that we've been hurt by the other. We are both sensitive creatures. I find that the naked honesty of being able to cry together is what has been the glue that keeps us held together so well. We might share some words......get upset and holler at each other. In the end, we'll meet on the sofa in her room, look at each other, apologize where it might be needed and then.....talk it out. There is never more than a moments time where there is anger between us, but, in that short lapse of time, we are both loving conditionally. And just as fast as the conditions came, they go. Then our love is able to flow without borders.



Thankfully, the littlest girls don't talk back just yet. They haven't learned the hurtful words of our preteen children. They don't even have it in their bones. They do know how to sneak into the cookie jar, write on the walls with marker, or stuff the toilet with a whole roll of toilet paper. At this stage, I've been there and done that. Now, I can just laugh or cry, depending on the scenario. I'll express my disparagement and usually the 3 year old will help clean up. The babies love unconditionally. They love that I'm around. They love that Mama makes pancakes. They love me because I am their Mama and nothing else matters. Of course every parent dreams of having children that won't ever dislike them or breathe a word of dissatisfaction towards them, but history proves, that no matter how cool you are, how much you bathe them with all the affections of the modern world, no matter how much you sacrifice of yourselves......eventually, they will love you with conditions. Not for ever, but, for brief moments in time when you said "No" or didn't allow them to have a sleep over, or couldn't (for whatever reason) take them shopping. The list is endless, but luckily, so is love. Love is an endless resource. Our wells go deeper than any spring. Our love can always be counted on to perk just when it's needed, or even just because. It flows......love flows. It is energy of the purest kind. Love is what brings us closer to our God of choice. God is Love.



The love I share with my partner.....well, I deem it very special. He loves me. I love him. These things we know. We are passionately in love. We still get excited to see each other. We want nothing more than to be together. In fact, the more time we spend apart the more we tend to argue. We still get that googly eyed look for each other, we hold hands at every possible turn (in the car, at the store, just because). We are madly in love with each other. Conditions......they do exist between us. Like with my children, I never wish nor do I ever take away my love for my partner, however, sometimes he just does things that really get me upset. For that brief moment, I love him MORE when he's not doing whatever it is that makes my hair stand on end like leaving a dirty sink, filling the garbage can too full, sitting in the bathroom for what seems like hours at a time. The same is true for him, I'm sure, like when I leave the laundry unfolded, let our dog sleep on our bed, or my many mood swings. I know, these things are trivial, however, it is the little things said or done that causes the rift of conditionality. At the end of the day, if we have been effected by something caused by the other, we talk. Before we go to bed we remind each other that there is no other person in this world we would want to share this journey with. It is for that reason we know our love, whether conditional or not, will always reign.



I am writing on this topic in honor of the upcoming 'holiday'. St. Valentine's day. This day is advertised for lovers. As a married couple with children we have never celebrated this holiday just the two of us but the six of us. We share a nice supper, exchange loving words, I usually bake a heart shaped something to sweeten the pot. We celebrate as a family. It just seemed natural to want to share this day that is about love with the whole family, not just Mom and Dad. It seemed more appropriate to say "I love US" as opposed to "I love (just) YOU." In honor of this seven year tradition we will continue to make cards for everyone in the family. I will make a supper fit for kings and queens and princes and princesses for the whole family. We will love without condition, all day! I will, for the sake of love, let go of all the things I 'think' should be (behaviour, actions, words spoken) and allow myself the privilege of just loving. Letting that golden honey flow from the endless pot without a single thought of how much is going out but what is being gobbled up. I will just love and love and love. If the children should test me......I pray that the Lord will allow my the fortitude to find a loving way in which to handle it. *This is a daily prayer, by the way!*

In these long winter months, by this time, it's all about getting survival. Once in March, spring arrives, then in April the blooms pop, and in May, well, the weather might actually be decent. I think putting a 'holiday' about love smack dab in the middle of winter was brilliant. We need a reminder during these months of hard frosts, treacherous weather with most days spent indoors to celebrate that which made our families....Love. We could use a good healthy dose of love to get us through the next 6 weeks until spring. This post is nothing but a reflection of what I'm choosing to work on and what am choosing to save me these last few weeks. Being in love and saying it, in it's real strength and more often. I am lucky to say that one of the first things all of my children learned to say was "I love". We say it a LOT in this house. Over and over and over. The key is being able to say it and really truly mean it, where every single word is in it's power. I. LOVE. YOU. There is nothing more powerful than those three words together.
As you think about what love means to you and your family, maybe you might examine how conditions might play a role in your life. With friends, family, pets, co-workers. They do exist for us all. I don't know a single person who is free from condition. We are lucky enough to be able to start over, every day. We wake up and have the power to make a difference in our life or someone elses, and if in those moments we let love lead us......anything is possible.



Say it. Mean it. Practice it.
I LOVE YOU!

"Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Laughter. The single most important remedy to fix any an ailment. Laughter. It eases the soul, warms the belly,fills the lungs and quickens the heart. Does it get any more perfect than that? To revel in that awesome achy-faced satisfaction is like rolling around in a vat of chocolate......it's pure heaven

As a parent, sharing a laugh with my children is akin to being tickled. Their laughter is so contagious, regardless or not if I've had anything to do with bringing them that pure joy of a belly laugh. Their eyes well up, the faces turn red, their mouths turn up as high as they can go. Their laughter is exhilarating, innocent, holy. Through my children's laughter I can hear their spirits sing.



We try to bring laughter into our home at every turn. My husband is a superior jester. If he can turn anything into a joke, he will. It's because of this that most meals that we share together as a family there is a moment or two or three where we all have to put our forks down and safely swallow whatever it is we were trying to devour between laughing fits. Children LOVE jokes. I've noticed, especially between the ages of seven and nine, there is an almost innate desire to become a comedian. To share in that glory of bringing someone to laughter. There is grace in that, I believe. To make someone feel so good that they must laugh, to bring someone a happiness that forces them to blurt out their laughter (controlled or not). Laughter brings joy to the laugh-er and the laugh-ee.



There is something to behold in side-splitting redemption. Peace, love, happiness, ecstasy. The comfortable familiarity that is suggested between a pair that is laughing. Their truly is comfort there. I implore you to laugh today. Bring laughter to someone else; even just a smile would do. Hold hands and laugh until your blue in the face. There really is no better medicine. Laugh because your sad. Laugh because your crazy!!! Laugh because there is no other reason except to bring relief to a heavy heart.

Let go of your inhibitions and laugh as if there is no tomorrow.

* tickle some one's foot
* chase your child
* brush up on your joke stock
* watch a funny movie
* play dress up with your child
* make funny faces in the mirror
* play charades
* laugh in the face of deception
* smile when someone is being unfriendly
* where there is sorrow, listen to music
* where there is happiness, dance in it