I need a quiet place

Found this wonderful picture "Warning No Easy-Listening Music," and realized I tire of hearing music in every elevator, grocery store, and mall. Sometimes I need some quiet to keep my thoughts straight. When I saw this picture I yearned not to hear "that music" while waiting endlessly on hold while the customer service does "whatever." I have to watch my skeptical mind. I wait for what feels like hours, imagining that they put me on hold and remembered to join their best friend for lunch and it will be hours before they realize I'm listening to "that music." You know you're in trouble when a song is repeated. But I hesitate on hanging up and replacing the call. I get so frustrated with their recorded message, "listen to the menu and press the correct key for your needs," and then I get bored and finally my need comes up and my brain has dulled. I am screaming in my mind, "Was it 3 or 4?" I dare to press 3 and it is my department. So, hanging up and going through all that is sometimes worse than waiting for them to finally come back to me. But "that music" gets to me more than aging while I wait.

Laughter Bonds Family Together

As I have been sharing with you I am believing to find humor and laughter in my life. Laughter almost embarassed me at my 97 year old aunt's funeral this week.

Everything was coming off on cue, but the very old pastor who is related through marriage kept recalling times with my aunt. Her only son had obviously set things up...I could tell by the way his wife and sister would turn and stare at him. He kept his eyes straight on the pastor and refused any of the "subtle" looks they kept sending him. One thing my family maintains is "never let them see you sweat."

The trapped congregation began to fidget, roll their eyes, and shrug their shoulders because everyone realized that this could go on for hours. Some of the relatives were facing travel of one-way trips of five plus hours to get home on Sunday before facing the tough Monday morning workday. Pastor must haved gotten a hint because he said, "In closing...." But he didn't close it out. That really heightened the anxiety of the congregation. What could they do? My kin treat family with much grace and latitude. Remember he is family, even if it is through marriage. In fact, he's our only preacher. We would have passed out before ever making any obivious move to get him to close.

Then he came over to our family pew. He mentioned the laugh of our funny aunt. He challenged the cousin seated beside me to emulate it. She let out a cackle that peeled paint. And she kept on laughing and laughing and everyone in the the church was staring our way.

My last aunt living is in her nineties and she's deaf and has limited vision. During the refreshments and fellowship time she came up really close to me and one of my cousins. She strained to get a good look at us. She told us we both looked great. We were basking in this great compliment from this dear aunt, when she added, "Now, gaining weight is a problem in our family at your ages. It's a shame both of you have gotten so fat." He and I hugged and laughed. Looking great moved to being fat oldies. But we celebrated still being alive and together.

Since this church was our family church it stirred up memories of all the silly things we enjoyed when we got together at Grandaddy's farm most weekends. Yes, laughter comes easily in my family because we had a safe place to laugh through the years. My grandparents were committed in all things to the Lord. They had humble lives filled with hard work and joy all along the way. My grandmother was a beautiful country woman who had faith beyond compare. I have never forgotten this one line from her, "I don't know why folks have trouble believing Jonah was swallowed by a big fish. I'd believe the Bible if it read that Jonah swallowed the big fish..whale. God can do anything He decides to do." Yes, laughter and joy come easily if your faith is secure that you belong to God who can do anything.

Have a laugh today...if this is new for you; have one on me and my zany family.

Motivated to write on "thriving"

Blogging is new for me. As with most of my life pursuits I started out blogging with zest. When I didn't see any comments posted in the blog I was disappointed. It seemed I was writing to myself. Typically I gave up.

My pain from the recent death of my husband was part of my passion for writing. I wanted to live my life in spite of this grief. I was hoping to hear from others. I whined to a friend and she told me she had posted back. She had missed not having any more posts from me. Looks like blogging for me is much like many of my poor relationship communications: a one way conversation with me doing the talking. I will investigate how I am missing the posts from others. But I am back on this blog with new energy.

Last week a dear friend was going through a major tragedy and could not sleep. She hit my blog for the first time. This blog gave her hope when she could find none. Knowing one person got through a black night with this blog is enough fire under me to keep my fingers flying across the keyboard faithfully.

Thriving as a Christian is taking a new twist for me. I love a laugh as much as anyone, but recently I am finding I NEED a laugh. I am deliberately making sure I watch or read things that will encourage some joy and laughter. In prayer I am sensing that the new speaking and writing assignments I have coming up should include good humor. Sometimes I am funny, but I have never planned on it. Funny things just come up. This is most challenging for me and I don't have easy solutions. I have found a few resources in books, etc., but none of them have me confident in my abilities.

My life is framed in prayer, so I know where to go when stumped....

"Father God,

That month on the cancer floor caring for John with his lung cancer and walking out this grief has drained my joy tank. How do I refuel? I have searched the internet, library, etc. about this humor mission for myself and to encourage laughter and joy in others. What do I do? Most of the secular humor is rated X, and if I listen or read much of some of the comics I could subconsciously pick up some raw vocabulary. "

Thoughts came to me about the funny things I notice in day to day living.

"Oh, I get it .... I'll just watch folks doing silly things and I can journal my observations and share this with others."

Somehow I knew I was close, but there was something better. Then it was like a video played in my mind of the dumb, silly absurd things I have done and the way friends and family would laugh for hours at my "stuff."

"Lord, I can journal my goofs and missteps and have all the material I will ever need. I am the most absurd person I know. Oh, well this should handle keeping me humble as well as having plenty of good writing ideas."

Amen.

So you want to know when does the joy ride begin? Give me a break. I just got the revelation. I am accustomed to pushing my dumbness to the back of my mind. Now, I am learning to notice it, record it and discover how to share it so we can laugh together. Want to help me out? Write back with some of your funny moments. I will gladly post all of your oops that could bring giggles on this blog.

Guess we all will thrive if we don't take ourselves so seriously. I recall an old psychiatrist telling me a key way to judge sanity and maturity is when a patient can laugh at themselves. Keep it light and fly with the angels!!!

Live & Thrive Quotes Emerson & Churchill

Some days thriving is not what seems possible. This is one of those days. When stumped I am one to read and hope for a thread of wisdom to pull me back on track.

Today Ralph Waldo Emerson inspired me with:

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."

I am in the dumps and I had to stretch to see that I have one of all the above. Yes, I agree I am succeeding and I am thriving; even if pain is part of that journey.

Now, Winston Churchill is one my favorite "wordsmiths," so I have read much of his writings and speeches. This little quote eluded me until now, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

I'm having to pull myself up by my bootstraps to find my enthusiasm today. I'm usually the one with zip and fire, but grief and some other downers have pushed me to want to withdraw and be very still and sober. I have held onto Churchill's ever famous line, "Never, never quit..." Seeing and focusing on my enthusiasm for life is inside me; and I am deciding right now to keep on keeping on in my choices to be about expressing it on and on.

Thrive or just getting through one more day is a mindset. I'm setting my mind on thriving no matter what.

Quiet day, but still thriving

Today is a quiet day spent at home alone. I'm the live wire loving having people all around me. It is good for me to be still and have time to reflect on deep things in God. I sense I need to do the routine unexciting necessities quietly.

Thriving is discovering that elusive "balance" in life. Having enough of the quiet and the lively.

I recall a favorite pastor telling me God will usually call you to work that pushes you to what is uncomfortable. He told of one Christian college friend who was uncomfortable speaking to groups and speaking to crowds of people. God called him to preach and manage large churches. Then he recalled the fellow who loved action, people and something going on all the time. You guessed it, he was called to a quiet position of writing (mostly alone), and much time in research in libraries.

Relying on God and believing He is directing my steps on this path I am rejoicing whether I'm up to that activity that suits my "bent" or if I am pressing through the things that stretch me.

Pain Lessons and Abundant Living

Heartbreak is a crushing pain. A young friend just phoned to share his pain of breaking up with someone he had hoped to marry. C.S. Lewis' teachings on God's classroom of pain came to my mind as I heard my friend lament his anquish. Lewis maintained that some lessons can only be learned in pain. I am convinced that none of our pain is wasted in lives totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. When I'm pierced by pain there are two key questions I cry out to God:
1. What do You want me to learn?
2. What do You desire for me to do with my newly found wisdom and understanding?

I encouraged my friend to hold on and remember that this pain will pass. Pain is not a destination, but a place to pass through.

Pain doesn't line up with our American "be happy" concept of life. But when we read the Bible we soon discover that God calls us to significant living far more significant that personal convenience and happiness. Keeping us "happy and pain-free" is not the object of the Kingdom of God. Joy and peace that passes all understanding is our promise. Participating with God in eternal works that will never die is the amazing privileges of being one with Christ. When we look at Jesus' pain in His life we must realize that this extraordinary journey with Christ will have some pain. Throughout the Bible God's greatest heroes endured great pain and hardship as they developed into the giants of the faith. Thriving Christianity is the focus of this blog. Even if pain is necessary to thrive and live abundantly would any of us want less in life?

To any readers, please know I want to hear how you thrive in your Christian life. If you desire to thrive, but feel like you're just dragging through your days, I need to hear from you also.

My hope is that we all grab the adventure Jesus Christ has secured for us and LIVE.

Good Morning World I'm Alive

Christians, are we "thriving" yet?

I hear more negative and gloom than hope or adventure on the airwaves, in conversations and most places I go. Believing that God is in control I have all hope to live a passionate faith-filled Christian life, but I will have to know I may not have a majority of folks agreeing with me.

Scientific experts say that there are many health benefits to hopeful living with optimism. I tripped onto a Scripture today "A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the'bones'." Proverbs 17:22 RSV.

If I focused on some issues in my life I could feel like a modern Job. He felt his stresses and losses so that his "friends" said that sin of the spirit and bones: tremble so badly that all his bones shook Job 4:14; his bones would cleave to his skin (19:20; he had continual strife with his bones (33:19). But Job proclaimed that those who are blessed by God, will enjoy good health..."wholly at ease and secure, his body full of fat and marrow of his bones moist" (21:24).

Thriving in gratitude for life is my choice. St. Paul commanded his disciples: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."Phi. 4:8.

Some days this is a mind struggle for me. The worries and "what if's" want to hang around my thinking. I've read that many scientific studies hold it to be true that those patients who have hope and a healthy approach to illness, chaos, and stressors heal easier, and there is less susceptibility to disease.

So bones...I'm not trusting in "my" ability to embrace the goodness of this day. No, I rely on the Spirit of the Lord to empower and direct me. In Christ I can hope for all that Scripture promises. Again Paul lights up my fire: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and "body" be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thess 5:23

To all of you reading this post take your Rx from the Lord and delight yourself in Him. Your "bones" will thank you.