Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God

Psalm 147:7

Good Morning Beloved,

I hope you’re having a beautiful morning.  I received this little message from Rex Barker (joke of the day.com):

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new job relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to go to!

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with knowledge and adventure.

Today I can dejectedly murmur because I have housework to do or I can feel grateful for shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped, and here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. And I shall decide what kind of day I shall have!”

This is Rex Barker asking you “How will you live TODAY?”. Try reading this every morning for a week, and see how you feel afterwards. And please share this and the other pieces for the week at your Thanksgiving table.

 

An attitude of gratitude.  Regardless of what is going on around us, there is something to be thankful for.  I am thankful for you. You mean a lot to me.  You are a child of God, so that makes us family.  Your natural family may not be the Huxtables, they may be more like the Addams Family, but they are yours.  Make peace where you can, and realize that you do have a place in the Body of Christ.  Your very own seat at God’s table.. you do know that God’s Words tells us,

The bible declares that, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” (Psalm 27:10)  You have a natural family (and some of us are blessed to have awesome families…..Elnora, Jah, Jacquie, Diane, LZ, Bev, Tina, Arlene, Shaun… much love), great friends that are family.  The Family of God – family all around you.  It is said that this time of the year is the loneliest time of the year for many people.  Considering the sheer numbers of lonely people, that is a shame… here’s a thought…. go on a people blessing mission…..

Monday, October 20, 2008

 
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Good Morning Beloved,

I pray that this day you walk in God’s favor, accept what God has given you and not miss the “small” blessings.  A few years ago, I made statement that still rings true today.  I told a friend that I have truly enjoyed my daughter and all of her stages.  When she was a baby, I can remember the diaper bags, huge pocketbooks, deluxe strollers and traveling up four flights of stairs to her baby sitter’s house.  When she reached elementary school I remember walking her to school and then to work.  Through the years, I remember traveling with her on buses until I was blessed with my car.  There have been many times of struggling and making due, but with God (and my mom’s) help, we have made it through some difficult days.  There are frustrating and stressful days.  Days like the time I had Jah dressed in her Christmas finery, (she was about 3 or 4) and she dumped a whole container of baby powder over her head.  Head to toe baby powder.  Instead of going totally ballistic… I grabbed a camera.  I still have that picture.  Now, it is a precious memory that makes me smile… the day it happened…. not so much.  There has always been a thought in the back of my mind that said, “enjoy this… these days will shortly be over”.  Find the humor in the situation.  We have lost family members and friends.  We still miss them, but now we can think about them and remember how they made us laugh and how they got on our nerves, which can bring us back to how they made us laugh. I remember Minister James Hughes, a former member of our church and my pastor’s nephew.  He was terminally ill for many years.  The year before he got really sick, our family and his went on vacation together.  He was a minister at another church at this time.  It was supposed to be their church trip, but everyone backed out but our family and his family, so we decided to go anyway.  We had so much fun.  “Jimmy” was a person who really knew how to enjoy life.  Even with sickness coursing through his body, it didn’t take over his spirit.  He laughed, and joked and teased the whole trip.  A couple of years later he was gone, but the memories we have of him live on….. Enjoy this day!

Share some Good News…..

… oh, I have some… Happy Birthday to our sister Janice Wellington… I worked under her many years ago, and she is hands down from that day ’til this the best boss I ever had!… She is a part of the ‘Soul Food’ family… Janice, may God bless you with many, many more happy ones.  Thank you for being YOU!

U BLESSED!

Have A Fabulous Day Everybody!

Regina