I'm BACK!!!

Hello!!  Oh how I have missed blogging and you ALL so much!  I have been gone way too long.

This past year has been a FLASH of events, traumas, health issues and enormous stress.  All of which piled up on me to the point of exhaustion.  I needed to take a step back and take care of myself first; then figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.  

One thing lead to another this past year causing me to learn many lessons.  In the end I regained the confidence, strength and self esteem I seemed to have lost a time or two in the past few years.  Finding my direction and voice again has led me to the real path God intended for me all along.

Next week I start a brand new journey in a totally different field.  I am looking forward to a fresh start, new adventures working for a company that helps people with Christian values.  A company that models compassion and respect to their clients and employees in a positive work environment.

Positive environments, respect and reasonable expectations play a major roll in employee morale, health and happiness.  I have learned to both treat myself and others with respect, compassion and appreciation.  

All in all, I learned to take care of myself first.  I learned I can handle more work than I ever imagined.  I learned overwhelming amounts of information and now have the skills that brought me to these new opportunities.

I had so many positives this year too.  I met several great friends who taught me true compassion with their selfless acts of kindness.   I also met amazing people while volunteering this fall; who each taught me by example.  Such as how to enjoy the moments and find the good in everyone; as well as how to handle disappointments with grace and gratitude.  

Today I said goodbye to some of those amazing people and Friday I say 'see you later' to others whom I consider my guardian angels this past year.  This week is bitter sweet, filled with lots of mixed emotions; however I feel in my heart that this is the right decision and that this move will open so many more doors for me. :-)

"When one door closes; another one Opens!"

Accepting things as they come.....

The following story is a perfect example of two things.  The first, that if we accept things that happen with grace and acceptance, good things will happen.  Second, if we put others first, good things will happen.

This women didn't get upset with the store clerk when she gave her the wrong ticket, she just purchased a second ticket in the category she originally requested.  Then when she WON with the mistaken purchase, her first order of business is to take care of her mother and grandmother!  

What a self-less, kind and caring person!  We don't always see stories about these types of people; however they are out there with these awesome events happening more than we realize.  It sure is uplifting to see people like this WIN such prizes.    

Wrong Lottery Ticket Wins Georgia Woman $25 Million
Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:24:46 

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(SAVANNAH, Ga.) -- A woman in Savannah, Georgia has an inattentive clerk to thank for a $25 million lottery windfall she won on Sept. 14.

Kathy Scruggs, 44, tells the Savannah Morning News, "I asked for a Mega Millions ticket, and the lady gave me a Powerball ticket."  I just took it anyway.  So I bought Powerball and Mega Millions."

That twist of fate paid off -- big time.  Scruggs matched all of the winning numbers in the Powerball drawing, netting a $25 million jackpot.

Scruggs, who is unemployed and has been "looking and looking" for work, now plans to travel, and launch some charitable efforts with her winnings.  But, as the saying goes, charity begins at home.

"I’m going to build my mom and grandmother a home.  That's my first focus," Scruggs says.
Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

"Accept things with grace, believing some events are meant to be a blessing, see them as a sign and good things will happen." ~Me

Having Grace...

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 “Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul” ~William Hazlitt

What is Grace?  The dictionary offers these definitions:
1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.

None of us are or will ever be even close to perfect.  I don't expect it in myself or look for perfection in others by any means.  How we live our lives and treat others ... is what's important.  To me if you have Grace, it's truly in your heart... and that is what matters!

Marianne Williamson, in her book Everyday Grace, teaches that Having Grace is having Hope, Finding Forgiveness and Making Miracles happen.  She says that having Grace is having it 'all come together'!  I totally agree.

Having Grace inside of us is when we show kindness, compassion, beauty and love toward others.  It's an attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, and ease that radiates inward and out.

Having Grace towards other people is the ability to overlook a lot in their lives – not that you have to overlook everything, but that you ought to be able to ignore a lot of failures and blemishes and imperfections.  Grace increases your threshold of tolerance instead of increasing your expectations.  Grace makes it possible for people to have lots of second chances.  Just like you and I constantly have from God.

“Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.” ~Jackie Windspear

I found the following article and poem while researching this post.  They both explain Grace in everyday lives and well worth sharing.  Enjoy!

Grace... vs Karma   by Faith

Grace transcends karma. When you “get” a lesson without either blaming someone or exacting revenge, when you learn how to forgive and say thank you for every experience you have, then you are learning how to apply Grace to your life. When you give up feeling as though you are a victim of circumstances, Grace enters quietly. Grace frees you from having to repeat lessons over and over again. It’s your get out of jail free card!

Grace does not struggle. Grace simply observes. Grace does not judge. Grace sees the perfection in everyone. Grace is the act of being grateful and thankful. Grace finds peaceful solutions to every situation. Grace chooses to walk away from discord, into the arms of love.

Karma means cause and effect. For every action, there is an equal and measurable reaction. For example, you find your spouse and your best friend cheating on you. If you choose to keep the karmic wheel in motion, you would choose to hate them both and exact some form of revenge on them for their deceitfulness. Perhaps you’d play the victim role instead – you’d become bitter and spiteful. You’d never trust anyone again and you’d make sure that everyone knew how horrible your ex-spouse and best friend had treated you. Then in another lifetime, you would have the opportunity to do the same thing to the people who betrayed you…and so on.

If you choose Grace, however, you would work at forgiving them both. Through prayer, meditation, patience and gentleness with yourself, there would no longer be any more lessons like that one, ever again!

The soul is immortal. Everyone is family beyond the veil. We choose our roles and not everyone chooses to be “the good guy” while on earth. However, the villains that we love to hate, are made from the same cosmic dust as everyone else. The victimizers must play their roles convincingly, so that their victims will have an opportunity to either forgive them through the Law of Grace – or not through the Law of Karma.

Countries have karma, too – and cities – and families. There is individual karma and planetary karma. Applying the Law of Grace to every situation can, in time, clear all of it away.

The next time you find yourself in a difficult situation where you have a choice to make, challenge yourself to take a deep breath and choose Grace. Through the act of forgiveness, divine intelligence will help you to let go and transcend the situation. Soon you will find yourself moving forward and you will forget the pain of betrayal. Observe how much lighter you feel after having chosen the path of Grace. ~ by Faith

“Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.” ~ author unknown

Grace...   by: Sri Chinmoy

"Grace is our true meal. A true devotee can really and truly live on God's Grace. The Bible has taught us, "Man does not live by bread alone." This is true; but I wish to say that man can live by God's Grace alone. If a spiritual person, an aspirant, really cares for God's Grace, then I wish to say that he can live by God's Grace constantly and eternally.

God's Grace is God's self-revealing, self-fulfilling eternal Existence. We have to know that it is God's Grace that will give us illumination, liberation and realisation. The infinite life, the eternal life, God's infinite wealth will belong to the aspirant who really cares for the Supreme's Grace, which is our only meal.