The Christmas Season has arrived
and with it craziness abounds with endless lists
and immeasurable pressure on all of us.
Makes me feel like a scrooge every year
and I’m afraid I have impressed this
disgruntled attitude upon my children.
“Sorry!”

However. . . . today I woke
with an overwhelming feeling of calm.
“What the heck is this?” Was my first thought.
I closed my eyes, took in a few deep breaths
and pretended to wake again just in case
I was still dreaming.
But I was neither dead nor dreaming
so before I lost that loving feeling,
I decided to ‘embrace’ it!!

As I sipped my first cup of coffee,
mmmm. . . . I slowly gazed upon the
multitude of lists I have taped to my cabinets.
Go here, buy this, wrap that, bake these,
send this, clean that. . . and instead
of feeling my heart rate climb to a
dangerous level, I simply continued to
enjoy my morning coffee.
I told myself ~ RELAX Claudia !!!
And I am. . . . and I’m sending this
message to you to try your best
to do the same.

I know it isn’t easy. . . Really I do!!
But at least try, even if it
only lasts for this one day!
This cup of coffee will probably morph
into a sparkly glass of Prosecco later. ♡

NOVEMBER’S FULL MOON ❍

If you do nothing else this evening, step outside
and look up to the heavens.
I was putting my home in order and getting ready
for a busy week when I noticed an extraordinary glow
pouring in through the windows.
Curiosity brought me towards my front door.
I stepped out and immediately became mesmerized
in awe at the beauty before me.
The most magnificent full moon in all its brilliance
was lighting up the dark sky. It took my breath away.
I could barely turn my eyes away.
God is good.
11-13-16

World Kindness Day – November 13 ❀

A sweet little day, tucked away
in the second week of November
to observe the power of ‘kindness’.
It was created in 1998 to encourage us
to overlook our differences
in religion, race, and politics
and simply be kind to each other.
I think it is a splendid idea and
the timing this year is impeccable.

Just this morning, I dropped something in the
grocery store. A perfect stranger walked up
behind me and handed it to me.
I felt full of appreciation and found
myself in the same situation later in the
parking lot. The gentleman seemed very
surprised – he smiled and thanked me. ☺

Random acts of kindness are contagious.
Offering a warm gesture to someone, instills in them
the desire to reach out to another. ♡
11/13/16

Do You Pray? ✞

Tomorrow is a very important day for those of us
who live in the United States of America.
We will be electing a new President.
Putting aside all our differences,
I think we can all agree that
the dangers we face are unprecedented.

~ I believe it is time to PRAY. ✞
It is time to get down on our knees,
close our eyes,
fold our hands,
bow our heads
and pray to God for his divine protection.
These times we live in require intense spirituality.
This type of prayer is not for the faint of heart.
We need spiritual soldiers.
Those of us who aren’t afraid to open our hearts
and minds to the real possibility that God can help us.
There is no doubt that the devil is here;
we need to show him that we are not afraid.

Will you please join me and pray for our country
and whoever is elected tomorrow?
You and I will have little power over
what they do behind closed doors,
but we can pray that God’s grace protects us.
Despite our struggles through personal hardships,
we need to join together in our faith.
I believe in prayer.
I have personally seen it do the impossible.
I hope you will join me and pray for our country,
our world, and for each other.
Amen ✞
♡

❀ May your days on earth be many,
may your life be free from strife,
and may God walk beside you,
everyday of your life.♡

Dear Jesus,
I want my life to be a gift to all I know and love.
I need You to help me overcome my insecurities
and allow You to unwrap the person You created me to be.
Show me how to serve others.
Show me what gifts You have placed in me to serve others.
I want to be a blessing to You and to everyone
You put in my path.♡

~ From the book – “Prayers to My King”

(Post by: Christina Lunden)

Dear Jesus,
I want my life to be a gift to all I know and love.
I need You to help me overcome my insecurities and allow
You to unwrap the person You created me to be.
Show me how to serve others.
Show me what gifts You have placed in me to serve others.
I want to be a blessing to You and to everyone
You put in my path.♡
~ From the book – “Prayers to My King”

(Post by: Christina Lunden)

NO IT WASN’T A DREAM ❀
The second my eyes opened this morning,
and I realized that every worry I fell asleep with
was not just a dream, I felt immediately overwhelmed.
“I can’t start my day like this” I told myself.
I was unable to move.
I lay there with my eyes closed as the reel
of the previous days events ran through my mind.
I needed to figure out a way to deal with all this,
to fix all this, and to figure out how to make it all better.
With little to no patience for self pity,
I opened my eyes and let out an UGH!
“Get a hold of yourself and get up!” I told myself.
So I took in three big breaths
and said one of my favorite prayers. ✞
It is short, easy to remember, and it gives me strength.
More than anything it gives me the feeling
of God’s power and protection.

I know we all have these kinds of days now and again
and most of the time, we muddle through
hanging on to every minute as they pass.
But I really don’t feel well when I take this approach.
Not only do my worries bog me down
but my physical health feels compromised.
My back tightens up and my stomach
turns into a burning knot.
When this happens I can barely function.

So I said my prayers this morning;
then I said them again and again.
In fact I will say them many more times throughout my day.
Along with my Guardian Angel Prayer,
repeating these small passages
and reaching out to God for guidance and strength,
I know I can get through all this chaos
and come out the other end with my sanity in tact.

(Here are my prayers.)

✞ “My body, mind and soul
are unified within the Light of Jesus Christ
and the Fire of The Holy Spirit.”

✞ “Angel of God, my guardian dear,
for whom God’s love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side
to light and guard, to rule and guide.”

I hope you have a blessed day my friend. ♡

MEMORIES

I have flashbacks of my life constantly.
There are all sorts of images
swirling around inside my head,
bursting to the forefront of my thoughts
whenever something triggers a particular time or place.
Sometimes they surprise me just popping up
while I’m in the middle of some random activity.
Then there is the déjà vu factor that can be
a little creepy and unsettling
when I really can’t place the event.
Does that ever happen to you?

Today was one of those days when something
from over 30 years ago slid into my consciousness.
It was a beautiful and sad memory.
Is that even possible?
That memory triggered another and before I realized it,
I had stirred up memories the entire day
from that time in my life.
Although I’m sad that so much time has passed,
stepping back to reminisce about those events
is a small way for me to rejoice in a life well lived.

Of course there are uncomfortable and sometimes
regretful memories that we all have to deal with
but time passes regardless of how we live them.
Just like we try to teach our children,
we must learn from our mistakes
and move forward from them.
In doing so, our memories become
something we can rejoice in and savor.
Those are the memories that connect us
to each other and gift us with the stories
that last our lifetimes.

Today is a new day; it is beautiful and warm.
As I walk away from my keyboard,
I’ll be stepping into a perfectly unlived day.
Isn’t it ironic that while my mind
relives old events my body will be creating new ones?
I sure do hope they are all happy ones.

Now go make some wonderful memories today, my friend;
ones that make you smile when you think of them. ♡