PERISHABLE OR INDESTRUCTIBLE

PERISHABLE OR INDESTRUCTIBLE

Material goods bring temporary joy. Things with a heart bring everlasting happiness and love.

~Marie T. Morrison~

HAPPINESS-with typos corrected!

Happiness is having God in our hearts.
Happiness is feeling God's happiness in our hearts.

Happiness is finding the soul-mate God planned for us.
Happiness is making a life-long commitment with this soul-mate.

Happiness is having soul-mates create an extension of themselves.
Happiness is watching these little beings develop their own gifts from God.

Happiness is having a toddler, not talking yet, taking my hand, to show me a ladybug.
Happiness is that though this tiny child cannot talk yet, can speak volumes within the silence.

Happiness is seeing the glistening dew as the sun rises.
Happiness is looking at the oranges and yellows cast upon the land as the sun sets.

Happiness is running into an old friend.
Happiness is having long conversations with this old friend, reminiscing about the past,
While also talking about what has happened since then.

Happiness is making a new friend.
Happiness is laughing, talking, and crying, with the new friend.

Happiness is stepping outside to get the morning newspaper, hearing the singing of birds,
After a long, long winter.
Happiness is watching the birds come to bird feeders, arriving in-mass,
To enjoy a meal.

Happiness is having a beautiful garden, filled with flowers of every kind and color.
Happiness is knowing my spouse will be the one to pull the weeds in the garden,
along with tending to every care and need.

Happiness is having my first words uttered each morning be,
“Good morning, God!”
Happiness is having my last words uttered each night be,
 “Good night, God!  Thank you for another day!”

Happiness is listening to the music I love.
Happiness is feeling how the music reaches deep into my soul.

Happiness is seeing my child smiling on stage,
Performing in front of an audience.
Happiness is having the emotions flow
As I watch my child.

Happiness is seeing the silhouettes of distant mountains,
Admiring in awe their massiveness.
Happiness is reaching the base of the mountains,
Feeling the earth under my feet.

Happiness is hearing the crickets chirp,
A sound of summer.
Happiness is that hearing how many chirps there are in 30 seconds, and adding 15 to it,
I will know what the temperature is at that moment.

Happiness is loving the beautiful shade trees of summer.
Happiness is sitting under those trees, having a delicious picnic.

Happiness is reading a good book.
Happiness is remembering what made the book special many years later.

Happiness is lending out a good book to a friend.
Happiness is hearing the friend share the same excitement as I had while reading it.

Happiness is being with the grandparents.
Happiness is listening to their stories of their younger years.

Happiness is a blue, blue sky.
Happiness is admiring the majestic clouds,
Sitting magnificently in the sky.

Happiness is having a good work-out.
Happiness is being glad when the work-out time is over.

Happiness is winning a competition.
Happiness is seeing how all those practices paid off.

Happiness is viewing the vast ocean and the beauty of it,
Casting off rays of greens and blues.
Happiness is sitting on the soft beach sand,
Hearing the waves splash, the cold water reaching my feet as I daydream.

Happiness is having a delightful conversation with God.
Happiness is hearing what God has to say to me during our dialogue.

Happiness is knowing God never leaves me alone,
Happiness is knowing God always helps me carry my burdens.

Happiness is being given a challenge to stretch my mind, body and soul.
Happiness is accomplishing the challenges I was given,
Recognizing God had a hand in it.

Happiness is playing a board game with family.
Happiness is enjoying the laughter and conversation
As the game is played, bringing everyone close together.

Happiness is seeing the golden leaves of fall.
Happiness is hearing the giggle of children,
As they are covered with fallen leaves.

Happiness is noticing a flowing mountain river.
Happiness is sitting on a rock in the middle of the river,
Writing a letter to a loved one.

Happiness is watching the snow fall.
Happiness is loving the wintry scene only God could give us.

Happiness is knowing all that makes me happy are gifts from God.
Happiness is praising God, thanking Him for the wonderful life He provides for all.

TEA

I love to sip a cup of tea. It is most relaxing. I start my day with a cup of Irish Breakfast tea, using loose tea placed in a small , empty tea bag, made for such a purpose. Mid-morning, I might go for the Earl Grey tea, finding it soothing as I work on a hobby, read or plan a lesson. It can raise my spirits, leaving me calm and good -natured, getting my creative juices flowing.
Remaining in high spirits, it is time to tackle the laundry, clean up the kitchen and perform other mundane household duties. I usually have the house in silence as I work, taking this time to say prayers for those going through rough times and to have my conversations with God. My conversations are as if I was talking to my best friend, which in a way, I am! I may be expressing gratitude for the previous day’s activities, or telling Him how I will need to come up with the right words to use while teaching a class for my Church.
Time goes quickly by. After my lunch, I may finish it off with a cup of red bush tea. This gives me energy to start my afternoon plans. I will likely be venturing out to the Church, to facilitate an adult group of students, sharing what I have learned with them. Often, I bring my thermos cup of brown rice tea with me, to keep my voice from getting hoarse, while at the same time, giving me a bit of nourishment to remain at my high level of excitement as I teach.
The rest of the day zooms by. It may consist of working with one more religious ed. student out of my home, a child unable to make it to Church classes. I offer a cup of peppermint tea to my young lady, while I have apple cinnamon tea. We wrap our hands around our mugs, sipping them as we discuss together different Bible stories, curled up on the couch, facing one another as we converse.
Tea is something I would offer to all my groups of students while I was still teaching full time. They loved it, sipping green tea with honey as I taught. Some had never seen a teabag before, ripping it open to pour into their cups. They quickly learned from their peers how to use the teabag properly. These same young people came to visit me, years after they were in my class, asking for a cup of tea while we visited. What a nice way to reconnect, making a pause in a busy life, to sit and enjoy the company of another.
We tend to forget about the simple things in life, such as enjoying that cup of tea. God wants us to nourish our bodies and our souls, rather than rushing around so. It does not take long to enjoy a cup, but it can bring a long-lasting effect upon one. Others feel the calmness, responding in the same way, letting the tenseness leave the shoulders and neck. This calmness can be passed on to the next individual, and so forth. It is the way God’s world should be, rather than getting angry because of the slow driver in front of us, or the person who takes forever to write a check and post it in the ledger before allowing us to reach the clerk at the counter. Even picturing that cup of tea in a time of tenseness can let the anxiety dissipate.
Spoil yourself. It is actually okay! Go find a favorite mug and purchase some fun flavors of tea. Grab a relaxing book, take off the shoes, cozy up on the couch, sip your tea and enjoy the moment! It is just what God has ordered!

Blessed Gifts, Blessed Fruits

..."For your imperishable Spirit is in all things!" (Wisdom 12:1) Can you imagine life if the Spirit wasn't always there, dwelling within us?  A part of our own spirit would be lost, as the Spirit makes us be who we are. What we have to do is nourish it, and listen to what is being said to us if we begin to take a wrong path. Have patience with everyone, as hard as it can get at times. Have generosity.Share the blessed gifts God has personally given you with others.Have joy in your heart.Bring a radiance of happiness to others instead of self-pity. Learn from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Everything we say, every act we do, can build upon our experiences, strengthening the wisdom given to us.  Practice counsel. Strive for a life of perfection in the eyes of God. Practice piety. Don't be pious only once a week; have it be an active part of your daily life. Have understanding. What might seem trivial to us is important to another. Understand this, sharing your heart with all before you. Do have fear of the Lord.  Keep Him in awe. Recognize how great God is. Let the Holy Spirit constantly feed you with the grandeur of the Lord. Feel His power, Feel His strength. Feel the enormity of his passion and care. What He does for us, through His Son and in the Holy Spirit far surpasses what any other being can give us.  Be blessed!

Good Morning, God!

Today is a beautiful day out. My first words spoken in my mind today were to God, telling him good morning and thanking him for this crispy autumn air and the blue sky. I could feel my spirit starting to stir, as I noticed the blue jays stopping at our bird feeder, with others stopping at the bird bath. Though I might be at a standstill, the works of God never stop. His spreads his Holy Spirit everywhere. We are the privileged ones, being the recipients of His magnificent gifts. Let all of us go out today, feeling the strength of the Holy Spirit, and spread His love, kindness and joy to those who seem to be having a rather bad day. Bring on a smile!

Spirituality-What It Means To Me

1. First, I would define spirituality as a 'presence' I feel in myself and in others. It appears to have a calmness about it, which radiates from within. As it radiates, it transcends its calmness to the next person. A breath is inhaled, allowing the spirituality to enter, allowing this human being to also feel the calmness.
   
   Spirituality is seen in the eyes of the carrier, as they take on a glow of happiness. As they shine, it cannot be helped but to begin to feel the same luminosity within oneself, shining with the warmness of intense love and caring. It is God's own love and caring being present, as we absorb what those eyes are telling us.
   
   Spirituality is seen in the smile. The smile which is full of blessings, thanking God for the gift of life, for the gift of feeling His presence, no matter where the smile carries us. The smile spreads from one person to the next, as God fulfills each and everyone with His passion for all of His children.
   
   Spirituality is in the way one listens to another. It is taking time to hear what is being said, commenting on what is heard. It is taking the message told and acting upon it, whether it is with a hug, a prayer, or the lighting of a candle. It is being there for someone after knowing what has been told to another.
   
   It is felt within the heart. The heart is strong, filled with warmth, reaching out to others. It is going beyond oneself, to always offer a hand, an ear, a voice, an observance, to those surrounding us.
   
   It is understanding. No judgments are made. It is nodding one's head, in agreement to what is occurring in the lives of our fellow brethren. It is showing one will be there for our brothers and sisters, no matter what.
   
   It is acting upon faith and displaying faith. It is living the way God wants to to live, based upon our strong belief in Him. It is never giving up, to continue to live the faith, how having God in a one's life serves as a continuing inspiration so many can see how wonderful life is, in spite of the downfalls we endure.
   
   It is never feeling alone. It is knowing the Holy Spirit dwells within us, never leaving us, not even for a given moment. It is always feeling His love, warmth, care, attention and thoughts, day and night, throughout our lives, in this Kingdom and in the next.