Thanksgiving and other Random thoughts

Hiya all, so in case you are wondering yep I am still alive and this blog is still active (sorta). I know its been 3 months since I have written but I have been super busy school ends in less then a month (wow thats frightening) so I shall have a little bit more time for a little while until next term.

Anyway Today is Thanksgiving, which for me is one of my favorite holidays. I think its an important holiday sadly it doesn't get the attention it deserves people tend to go straight from Halloween to Christmas and it seems Thanksgiving is just now another day of shopping or a day to prepare for black friday.

Is it me or does anyone else think that Black Friday is getting way out of hand? really I mean people are already waiting outside for what? more material items. When it was just Friday it was bad enough but now many stores are open for Thanksgiving or open Thanksgiving evening to start black friday early. I mean really using the one day of the year set aside to be thankful for all the wonderful blessings we have to buy more material things what is wrong with that picture comeon seriously.
Not only does it mean countless people will be shopping instead of spending time with their families, reflecting on all they have to be thankful for, but all the employees have to spend Thanksgiving away from their families thaks to their money hungry stores and companies who want to beat out the other stores and get to people early.

To me there is something wrong with society when people are being shot at and killed over a parking spot on black friday and others are being trampled to death so others can get the "hottest item" which will just be replaced with the new "hottest item" in a few weeks. Whats worse is this takes place the day after we celebrate all we have to be thankful for. but nope we need more more more. Its sad to me. Can't we just Celebrate Thanksgiving for what its suppose to be sharing a feast with your loved ones around you. Giving thanks for all the wonderful blessings we have in life. and sharing time with those who mean the most to you.

Like I mentioned I LOVE Thanksgiving and I refuse for this post dedicated to Thanksgiving to be all negative and complainy like :D soo. from here on out I am focusing on what the holiday is all about and how I celebrate this wonderful day.

Its funny though I have several tradtions there isn't one single way we celebrate Thanksgiving. It depends on who is here celebating with us. and what our schedules are the past few years I always worked Thanksgiving which was hard but at least I got off in time for the feast. Last year me and my sister made most of thanksgiving dinner. Other years my mom and aunt did it all. This year my aunt isn't coming so it looks like it will be me, my mom and my sister cooking. We usually always eat breakfast out. (since we don't like dirtying the kitchen before cooking) then we have appetizers and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Then of course we have our Feast and dessert and clean up and just spend time together. My favorite dish is Corn casserole and green bean casserole. :D

The best thing about Thanksgiving and remembering all we have to be thankful for. I am so blessed and have so much to be thankful for, though in the daily grind of life with everything going on and all the little things that get me down or stress me out its easy to forget. Its nice having a time to stop and really reflect how wonderful life is. I am so thankful for so many things and people I don't think I could possibly name everything but here are the major things.
  I am so thankful for my family my mom, who I love so much who has my back no matter what I do or where life takes me. I know no matter how old I get I can always count on her to be there for me with unconditional love and support. I couldn't ask for a better mother.
For my dad, who would do anything for us, he cares so much about all of us and is always there though I don't say it enough I love him so much and am so proud and happy that he is my dad.
For my sister, my best friend in the whole world. I cannot imagine life without her. We do everything together she has always been my secret keeper, my allie, my study partner, my best friend. I love her so much and am soo thankful for the bond we have.
For my brother and his wonderful family, I love them all so much. I still talk about the pranks my brother played on me and how he made me laugh and was always there for me. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful sister in law and three beautiful nephews and having them come down after Christmas this year will definitly be one of my favorite Christmas gifts.
For my grandparents, though many of them are no longer here on Earth but with God in heaven their spirit endures they were the most kind hearted people I knew and I loved them all very much. and For my grandpa, who is one the most extrordinary men I know, He has so many of us grandkids yet has a way of making every single one of us feel loved and special. No one can make me laugh like he can. He is such a kind hearted, sweet, loving, strong family man and I love him soo much.
For all my aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, I am so blessed to be part of such a huge family I love being able to see them all during our annual christmas party, though we live all over we all have such a committment to family and I love them all.
For all My lakehouse sisters. though I haven't met many of you in person you are all truly my sisters these girls never fail to make me smile and I love hanging out with each and every one of them every chance I get.
For my church, and my church family, my church is truly my second home, the people there are so welcoming and kind and they really are my second family.
For my health
For my job, I may have off days and sure it has its challenges but I love working at the happiest place on Earth.Disney is truly a Magical place and I love being a part of such a wonderful company
For School, I finally feel like my life has direction and I have an idea of where its headed and I have a future thanks to the oppurtunity to get an education.
For my wonderful pets, my dogs zeus and sophie and my cockitil Buckeye these animals have become part of the family and bring me so much joy.
For my relationship with God, its so comforting to know that God is always by my side and is always there for me. knowing I don't have to go through this alone is a beautiful thing.

well there is my long list I am so thankful that I have food to eat and a roof over my head and clean clothes to wear, and clean sheets on a warm bed. and a car to drive. and the freedoms of being an American being able to speak my mind and practice my faith. All of these things that I so often take for granted are true blessings.

Also a huge thank you to all the brave men and women who are fighting or have fought for our country. Keeping us safe. May God bless you and your families Thank you for your service you truly are America's finest.

So there you have it my thanksgiving post. What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions and dishes? and what are you truly most Thankful for.

oh yeah forgot one thing I am truly thankful for all my followers and all the wonderful comments you leave you make it all worth it Thanks for reading may you all have a wonderful and blessed Thankgiving.

remember to love one another as God has loved you

Thanks for reading love ya all God bless

Closure.. and other random thoughts

So picture a perfect world where everyone is kind and sweet to each other, there are no fights, everyone thinks before speaking and rarely are people's feeling ever hurt and when they are hurt the involved parties always apologize and work it out.......
.......

Okay back to reality now we all know this is a dream world and in the real world many people don't think before they speak, and usually have no idea the impact of what they said and how much it hurt someone else. People get their feelings hurt all the time and not very often is an apology ever offered or is anything else ever said. I know harsh right but come on think about it I am sure you have been in a position where someone you hardly know or a complete stranger comes by says something rude or mean and walks on by now chances are that you will never see that person again and they probably don't realize and don't care that they hurt you. But a lot of times their hostility and harsh words do stick with us and how much they stick with us can be surprising I mean why should the thoughts of a complete stranger bug us so much. I don't think its the words as much as it is the lack of closure or even their lack of acknowledging anything is wrong.

I face this at work all the time people yell or curse at me at things i have little or no control over and of course it hurts, and at the moment all I want to do is either cry or chase that person down and remind them I am a person with real feelings and at least be acknowledged by them but what would any of these options solve, crying may relieve the emotion but only temporarily and chasing them down will not only get me in trouble but quite possibly laughed at. And I know it hurts and quite frankly it sucks they get to go on with their life and I am still feeling hurt NOT FAIR. but then when is life ever fair. However I do have a choice I can push it aside telling myself THEY ARE NOT worth it and letting the happier moments take place sure its still there but I can choose not to let it rule me.

We have to face in life that not all conflicts are going to be resolved whether it is between complete strangers or worse between friends or family. But at some point we have to move on and find another way of closure without the other person. In a case of a stranger your never going to see them again so eventually you have to let it go for your sake. With the case of friends and family its even more crucial to let it go otherwise you risk shattering your relationship with that person.

The best way to find closure and find peace is to remember that like us no one is perfect. People will make mistakes and let emotion or stress or frustration get the best of them. Often it has little with you or anything you did there is more going on. Facing the fact that chances are the person didn't mean to hurt us and we are not to blame can help us find closure on the subject or conflict.

Moving on to happier or anyway other news a few weeks ago I rediscovered my favorite Christian radio station my mom happened to have it on in her car when i was riding with her :D and so i turned it on in me and my sister's car and have been listening to it ever since. and wow i can't believe the difference it just is so relaxing and automatically puts me in a better mood especially when I am on my way to work it just makes me look at things a lot more positively. Its mriaculous the way God uses the smallest of changes to make such big impacts in our life. I thought I would share some of my favoirte songs here for you all to enjoy so well.. enjoy

song title : I refuse

Artist: Josh Wilson

This song is incredible its so motivating and is a great reminder

                                                         song title: strong enough
                                                          artist: Matthew West
                                           definitly one of my favorite songs very reassuring and comforting

I will probably share more later but thats all for now Hope you all enjoy remember to love one another as God has loved you God bless

A sweet lesson on patience

 

I found this story on facebook and it brought tears to my eyes and really made me think before i go more into my thoughts of it and the lesson I was reminded of by it let me first share it with you.

 

 

A sweet lesson on patience.

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across... the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

 

So what did you think? Pretty awsome huh? Its pretty incredible to think that just taking a few hours of your life or even a few minutes can have such an impact on someone else. It would have been easy for this taxi driver to want to rush home and have dinner with his family or simply relax after a hard days work. But he put this women's needs and wants ahead of his own and wow what a payoff.

 

How often do we go through life, ignoring all the people who need us simply because we just don't have time or don't wanna be bothered. We do it so often we don't even realize we do it. Maybe we see someone struggling to carry groceries but we have some where else to be so we pass it off saying they will manage. Or we know that the old lady across the street is lonely but we have our own lives to attend to, she will be okay since its convient for us if we just reassure ourselves she will be okay. Or we think surly i am not the only one who sees them and know they need help maybe someone else will help them. right? Sure we try to help but we are not perfect and lets all admit we let these moments that can really change someone's life or even just bring a smile to someone's face slip by us all the time.

 

 

 

As Christians we go to church and say how God saves and is great and loves us all and wants us to love which please don't get me wrong is very true and very important but how often do we supplement our preaching and witnessing with action. With actually living and doing what we are called to do.

 

We often use the excuse that if the moment came we would do good. The truth is that there are never ending moments sometimes we just have to look past our own wants and comforts and seek out those moments to become true sevants of the lord and to our fellow brothers and sisters.

 

Sorry if this post seemed kinda a bit all over the place. Just take time for one another and you will get just as much out of it as them. Do as God has called us to do. Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed

Love one another as God has loved you. God bless

 

On God's Watch

Heya I am back. Okay here is another thing that has been bothering me for sometime and something that I am working on accepting and that is patience. Which I have learned is not easy in a society that has made a time frame for every aspect of our lives. For example speak before age one, drive by age 15 or 16, live on your own or move out by 18, married with kids by your mid 20's. Its easy to feel the pressure. Honestly it can be quite stressful. But why should we care so much what society thinks. Honestly I am 22 years old. I still live at home and am going to school I have yet to earn a college degree. I work part time at Disney, I still turn to my parents for support and I do not nor ever had a boyfriend. For the longest time this stressed me out. I kept thinking what is wrong with me? It seemed everyone else had it all figured out and here I am. I used to be so embarrased when anyone asked where i lived or hows my romantic life going especially with the slight (all in good fun) teasing that many family members took part in. I knew they meant nothing by it and still don't but it did (and honestly still does) hurt.

But then I started thinking about it and wondered Why?
Why should I feel ashamed just because I haven't kept society's time clock?
Why should I feel like a failure just because I haven't had a boyfriend or moved out yet?
The fact remains that this is MY LIFE. I don't have to live it to please others, I will do things when God and I thinks its the right time and not before then.
I have goals and plans and I am working towards them. I know what I wanna do in life and I am working on it. Most importantly I am putting it in God's hands. I know that God has plans for me. He will help make things work out when the time is right. So I am done living on society's watch instead I am living on God's watch.

Now that doesn't mean I am going to sit around doing nothing waiting for God to do everything. Obviously that doesn't make any sense. I firmly beleive that God helps those who help themselves. But I am not going to worry about completing things when society thinks I should I am on God's time not society's.

I am not going to worry that I don't have a boyfriend. I know that God has a plan for me and when he thinks the time is right he will bring the right guy into my life. and if I am single for a while who cares. I am done living my life to please others. I am happy and thats what is important

Why do we want to rush through life. Life is a precious gift in a world that is saying Go Go Go, its sometimes hard to stop and listen to hear God saying "wait my child"

Waiting I know can be hard. We have it set in our minds that things must be accomplished otherwise we will be put behind everyone else. But trusting God is trusting that he will bring you where you need to be when you need to be there. Have faith in him and you won't be too early or to late you will be right on time reguardless of what anyone else thinks.

So if your approaching an age or time when society thinks you should accomplish or complete something and your not ready then just wait. It will not be the end of the world I promise you. It makes you no less of a person. and it certainly doesn't make you a failure. It just shows that you are on God's watch and trusting him. If I have to follow any watch i definitly choose God's.

Don't rush through life, embrace it. Live it to its fullest and most importantly remember God has a plan for you trust him and you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for reading. Remember to love others as God has loved you God bless

In my humble opinion...

Okay, So after much thought and consideration, carefully weighing the pros and cons, thinking about topics to discuss, planning it out in my mind. I decided to do a segment called "in my humble opinion". I do not yet know how often i will do this segment probably monthly or biweekly. Anyway in this segment i will give my humble opinion and view on a variety of topics some very controversial others not so much. All of the topics will be ones that i care about and view as important. Please know that it is not my intention to insult anyone in doing this so if you are someone who is easily upset or feel that the discussion will cause you any harm or stress at all please don't read there will be plenty of uplifting and inspiring posts as well. For the rest of you I hope you enjoy this segment, please comment and discuss thanks.

The first topic i am going to tackle is Gay/lesibian rights and marriage. I know its kinda heavy but its one that really bothers me, its also one that parts of it i have been going back and forth on. Anyway here is my opinion on the matter. First of all let me just say quite bluntly everyone on this planet. White, black, hispanic, gay, lesbian, big, small,etc is God's child and DESERVES respect. They deserve to be treated kindly just as you would treat anyone else. The way some people treat those who are different is disgusting. There is absolutly no reason to treat anyone like they are below you. All people are God's children and are precious in his sight.

Another thing i completly disagree with is these so called relgious people (and i am not talking about all religious people i am very religious myself i am addressing a certain type of person) that think they are so righteous that they can tell gays and lesbians and futhermore supporters of gays and lesbians that they will rot in hell. Excuse me? since when is it anyones job to tell me what God thinks about me or others. What gives these people the right to speak out against the great big sin of being gay yet they seem fine with people killing others or cheating, etc. Guess what? judging and hating others is a sin too so instead of worrying about Gays and lesbians and bis going to hell and whats going to happen on their judgement day how about you start worrying about your own imperfect self. Stop looking at the faults and choices of others and judging them and worry about how to make yourself a better person. What happens to them when they die and face their final judgment as with anyone is between that person and God. so leave them alone. Do as God has told you and love one another as he has loved you i don't recall it saying in the bible love one another unless they are gay or lesbian. unless i am mistaken.

(I love love love this picture)

Another big issue when it comes to gays and lesbians is should they be allowed to get married and honestly i have been weighing back and forth on this. so i broke it up a bit should they be allowed to get married and have seen through the eyes of the church i guess not but they definitly should be allowed to be legally married. they should be allowed to make final choices for one another when it comes to the end of thier life or visit with one another in icu during their time of need. They should be allowed to be legally married in a legal sense. Honestly if we are okay with celebrites who make a mockery out of marriage by being married for hardly two weeks why do we see it so unacceptable for people who truly love each other, have gone through so much with each other and have yet to give up and will most likely remain with each other for life to have the same right that these celebrites abuse over and over again.

So there you have it my first part of the segment in my humble opinion. If you agree please comment if you disagree feel free to comment i am in no way offended that others don't share my point of view i just wanted to let you all know my point of view on different topics. Hope you enjoyed and hope no one was offended. Thanks for reading God bless and remember to love one another as God has loved you

i am still here

Hey y'all sorry i haven't posted or been on in like forever i have just been super busy. However now that sww is over i have more time in my schedule and i will be posting new posts shortly. Just stopping bye to say this blog isn't dead i will be back soon thanks for the patience God bless

"Be still and Know that I am God"

So Today I was planning my class for religious education tomorrow and for part of the lesson our director showed us this very beautiful wonderful activity, that I am so excited to do with my class (though i must admit since they are kindergartners i am really curious to see how its going to go )

The activity focuses on being quite. Its about quieting our minds and hearts (and surroundings) to really allow Jesus to enter our hearts.

Stop and think about it for a minute. How much of our day is spent in noise

Now think of how much of that noise is unnecessary. Why are we so afraid of silence?  Why do we feel the need to fill the silence with noise, a lot of times meaningless noise.

Silence can be a wondeful thing. It gives us time to think and reflect on the events of our lives and give God a chance to talk to us and for us to really hear him.

A wise person knows when to speak and when to be silent. Beleive it or not its okay not to fill every silence with meaningless words. In fact Silence should be embraced not feared. We should all seek out silence in our daily lives. Seek out the time to reflect and renew without distractions. Rediscover the littlle things that often get pushed aside since our world is so noisy.  A bird silenty chirping, the wind blowing, cricketes in the moonlight, a flowing stream.

Soo next time you have a quite moment in your life don't pick up your phone or power up your computer. Embrace the moment, Spend it in reflection and talking and LISTENING to the Lord.

So I challenge you and myself to find time each day (or every chance you can) to :

-find a quite place in your house

-turn off all electronics

-remove all distractions (books, photos, toys,games,etc)

-sit down

-close your eyes

-and just reflect and talk to the lord

-remember to also listen too

Remember that silence is a chance for renewal and reflection.
Its a time (sometimes a rare time) to really get to talk and spend time with God. So don;t fill it with needless distracting noise Embrace it for the gift it is.

Thanks for reading my friends
Remember to love one another as God loves you

God bless