Today's Truth

Today's Truth: 
Live and love as if tomorrow may not come. 
Savor every minute! Let go of past hurts and embrace today's joy!

See you all Saturday for Day 1 of our "31 Days of Peace!" 
I am SO looking forward to how we will all bloom these next 31 days!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Jamie's prompt this week, is as always a great one!
What do you wish to invest in?

I wish to invest in myself for a change.  I am always last in all that I do and I wish to no longer be this way.  I will be conducting the 31 days of peace starting May 1st.  In this journey I wish to bring myself back to center.  I wish to walk through each day in complete joy and I wish to gift myself a kind act for the full 31 days.

My Object?  To wrap myself in loving-kindness.  Given from me to me. 


Podcast: A Pledge Of Peace

A Pledge Of Peace

Last year I did 28 days of kindness and that was a huge success.  This year I wanted to change it up a bit.  After everything that has gone on and with my finding my spiritual groove back I don't want to lose this feeling.  So, starting Saturday 5/1 I will be conducting "31 days of peace."  This means that for 31 days straight I will NOT allow anyone nor anything to shake my peace.  I will meditate every morning and before bed (I sleep like a baby afterward).  I will do something I never do - I will commit kind acts for myself.  This is hard for me as I prefer doing things for others, but I know that in order to make others happy I must be happy first.  Daily I will come here and share my positive thoughts and Aha moments with you.

Will you join me?  Nothing major is required and you can take it as slow as you'd like.  The main object is to be good to yourself.  To pledge to love on yourself and not allow others to steal that joy and love.  Are you with me?  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section whenever you feel like jumping in!

*Added 2:59pm*  I came up with this little pledge and if you're joining us please feel free to print this or write it with your name and recite it daily. :)

I Tabitha pledge to treat myself right
I promise to cover myself in God's love both day and night
I pledge to laugh, sing and dance
I promise to choose joy with every chance
I pledge to let ignorance and negativity flee
I pledge from this day forward to forever and always choose me

Getting My Groove Back

Have you ever been in a fogged state of mind to come out of it and feel completely renewed?  This is what happened to me!  I started meditating in 2008, but admittedly during 2009 I practiced it vaguely.  A few days ago I started meditating again, but during this time I would do it a little differently.  I decided I would pray and expressed gratitude for both the good and the bad in my life.  After the first day I knew something wonderful was beginning.  Yesterday morning I sat at my desk, positioned myself comfortably and played my meditation music.  I did a couple deep breaths and then thanked God for everything.  I asserted my strength back into my life.  My breathing changed as this was taking place and I could feel my body going limp.  I was fully embracing the practice once again and it felt amazing!!

I have never played the helpless role before and I'm not about to start now.  I thanked God for the people who've hurt me.  Each of them have taught me somethings about life and about myself.  I am a child of God above all other titles and I take that to heart.  He promises us as long as we believe in him and live as he wishes us to no one can truly take anything away from us.  I am now living on that promise even stronger than before.  After my meditation I felt lighter as if a huge load of junk had been lifted from my heart.  I was literally breathing easier!  I found it my friends!  I have been reunited with peace and have gotten my spiritual groove back!

Thank You Father!!

Just Flow

After posting yesterday's blog post I held a very long talk with my professor (he and his wife are also my spiritual counselors and mentors).  I expressed to him my struggle and he asked "have you allowed yourself to be angry?"  I told him no and I explained that I thought that if I were angry with my offender God would be angry with me.  Then he asked "just how do you think God felt when your offender hurt you?"  I hesitantly replied "angry?"  He yelled "exactly!"  Just as you were hurt and angry, so was your Father. 

It's okay to be angry as long as you don't live in it.  So he suggested that I just flow.  What!  What in the hell does that mean?  I asked.  He said "once you have allowed yourself to be angry pick up your mat and move the hell on."  I was startled that he used hell in that sentence, but laughed my butt off at how it sounded coming from him. LOL

What did I learn from our talk?  Life is a process and each day we make choices in our lives.  I could choose to live in confusion or I could allow my feelings to be whatever they are and then flow with life.  When we hold things in or deny ourselves to "feel" we go against the grain, but when we allow those feelings to emerge and we move forward we are flowing in the same direction with life.  I've ridden this bus of hurt for too long now and I am so ready to take back my power!  My offender was selfish and inconsiderate!  But, I will no longer dwell on that fact.  I must now pick up my mat and flow with life.  I must walk with and in love.  It is the best remedy for healing.  Although I still love my offender it has been altered to a different form.  I am truly okay with that.  I no longer fear what they may or may not do.  What matters most is what I "will" do.  And I choose to live my life in a peaceful and joyous manner.  Love surrounds me and everything that is of good now flows with me.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:6

Simple Gratitude

 Photo from Google

"Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you.  But if you turn your attention to other things it will come and sit softly on your shoulder..." ~Thoreau

Every time I reach a crossroad in the end or right before the end the answer is shown to me.  I am very grateful for this.  When the answers come most times I simply reply duh!  I think "I should have known that!"  But the blessing is learning it right at the correct time.

So today I'm Grateful For...
new truths
the beautiful sunshine
warm warter in the pool and a good book to read
my bible
the ability to cook dinner for my family
the reactions to my cooking from my family
hot coffee and cold water with crystal light
that I have a choice between the two
tight hugs
sweet kisses
joy deep in my soul
that I'm getting to know the real ME
I love the real me
the cool air blowing from our air conditioner
for the music blaring from my phone
my brand new phone (haven't been excited about a cell in a LONG time)
for the understanding that God is in control
He's on myside and I have nothing to fear
all will be as it should
to be alive

The Goings On Within My Mind

It's a new day and I'm deeply grateful to see it.  Walking in this new path is proving to be a true struggle, but I'm a stubborn one.  Even though we face obstacles the good outweighs the bad.  This forgiveness thing is testing me to the point of no return.  I never want to be lied to, so I will never lie to you.  It is SO HARD forgiving someone who ripped the very breath from your body!  I want to.  I truly want to forgive anyone who has done me wrong, but this case is proving to be more challenging than anticipated.  You know the saying "kill them with kindness?"  Yeah well, it's killing me more than the offender.  Ugh!  I want to be free of this, but I am fully aware that it can and will be an ongoing process.  I am one step closer today.  I read another blog on forgiveness and her insight was dead on.  It felt as if she were writing for me and I felt God's love for me.

I'm no surprise to God, but sometimes I fear I may be driving him crazy. LOL

What Love Can Do

Photo by Princess Charlie

Today I Am:

1. Joyful     2. Learning     3. Growing     4. Patient     5. LOVE     6. Loved     7. Beautiful     8. Calm

It's amazing what we beings will do for love.  I look back on relationships within my life and cringe at some of the people I ached to love me.  Most of these people didn't deserve to be in my life at all, yet I wanted their love so badly.  My husband and I have been through some rough storms in our thirteen years of marriage, but never did we ever have to jump through hoops for one another's love.  It just happened naturally and from day one felt as if it were meant to be.  I'll be the first to say on any given day I have wanted to ring his neck. LOL

What we are both learning in our spiritual walk with God is being in love also requires great patience.  The love I receive from Princess Charlie and my hubby are natural highs, but the love I receive from God himself is on an entirely different level.  I feel this joy that I simply can not explain, yet I know it when it arrives.  In my journey of building a relationship with God I have also fallen head over heels with myself.  Now that love is simply divine!  I've learned to love everything about me.  I love my faults just as much as I love my assets.  This brings my mental state to a brand new level.  When you love yourself you can love anyone who comes your way - even enemies.  Is it easy?  No way, but it's possible!  It's a day by day process, but LOVE can change your life.  I started by getting to know God and in doing so fell deeply in love with my Father.  Knowing He loved me no matter what made me see myself in a whole new light.  With that I was able to view others differently.  Because of love I am patient with myself, kind to myself and truly love the being I am becoming.  With each minute I am blessed to learn what love can truly do.

I pray you are blessed to know what love can truly do!

Sunday Wisdom

Go Forward With Courage

When you are in doubt, be still, and wait;
when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage.
So long as mists envelop you, be still;
be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists
-- as it surely will.
Then act with courage.

Ponca Chief White Eagle (1800's to 1914)

She Uplifts Me!!

Charlie and I - Aug 2008

I have the sweetest daughter ever and God reminds me of this daily.  Yesterday I was going through a few emotions (without her knowing) and during her lunch break the following text took place.

Charlie: Mommy you are the coolest!

Me: What did I do?

Charlie: You're just so cool.

Me: Thank you baby!!

Charlie: Yeah, I'm your biggest fan and I have all your records

Me: Huh?

Charlie: You're my rock star mommy!

Me: Thank You God!!!

Struggling With My Flesh

If you are a new reader I welcome you.  If you are a new reader, then you may not know that in 2007 I started seriously seeking God and in 2008 He showed up and commanded my full attention.  Since then I have been blissfully walking with Him.  That was until someone I love broke my heart.  For the past two months I have been battling my flesh.  My spirit being wants to go through each day in complete bliss and forget everything that happened.  But my flesh, oh my flesh wishes to torment me.  My mind wanders back to the very moment the pain began and my heart and body are once again riddled with pain.

Saturday night I prayed.  I asked God to take my thoughts and emotions and hold them captive.  I asked him to save me from myself.  I have already forgiven the one who hurt me, so I truly need and want to move forward.  I asked him to speak to me, to show me how to do this and I would obey his words.  Sunday morning came and after praying the Our Father and thanking Him for a new day I went to my desk to watch Joel Osteen as I do every Sunday.  Joel's sermon was on not making little things into big things, but the part of his sermon which knocked me out of my chair and left me breathless (literally) was when he said "We must give the person a chance to become who God intends for them to be."  For two months now I have been saying to God "I wish for ____ to be who YOU wish them to be, but secretly I wanted ___ to hurry up and be who I needed them to be.  I was SO wrong!

I learned that as long as life was smooth I was blissful, but the moment things got dicey I fell apart.  How can I say I'm fully walking in God when I am STILL not fully trusting in Him?  And so, on Sunday morning ___ and I had a long talk.  Then I talked to God and asked him to please guide me.  I know He won't give up on me, so I shouldn't give up on myself.  I need to walk forward and leave the past where it is, because the past holds pain, disappointment and distress.  God only walks straight ahead.  He never looks back and so on Sunday I once again surrendered myself to God's will.  Instantly I felt renewed in his presence!  Growing with God is a minute by minute - day by day process.  One that I refuse to give up on.  If I have to surrender to Him every morning (which I will) to find my way I most certainly will do so.  So, this new transformation has yet again taken a new twist and I am grateful and eager to see where He takes me. 

More To Come!!

I Bloom With Gratitude

The Blessings Of My Weekend:

• 13th wedding anniversary shared with the hubby *wink wink*
• Beautiful flowers
• Candlelit dinner
• Romantic talks and serious soul sharing
• Laughing with Princess Charlie and Mr. T (nephew)
• Hearing God through Joel Osteen and the Peace that followed
• Awesome lasagna
• Morning coffee and Bible reading (heart smiles)
• The blessing of kindness
• Beautiful transformation (more to come on this)

Today I Am:

1. Beautiful   2. Content   3. Excited   4. Peaceful   5. Grateful

In Life There's Growth

Photo taken by Princess Charlie

I'm very good at talking people down from their chaotic minds, but lately I've been trying very hard to take my own advice.  I have to keep reminding myself that I can not change people, but I can change myself.  Learning this has been so freeing!  I am a huge lover of learning new things and every day I learn something and it leaves me in awe.

I've Learned:

*That I can only change me

*That everything has a reason for happening

*To seek the answers/upside to whatever happens

*That there are some very awesome beings in this world

*That I am in complete control of my happiness

*With God anything is possible (I see this daily)

Today I Am:

1. Growing     2. Loved     3.Kind     4. Compassionate     5. Forgiving     6. Beautiful     7. Content     8. Intelligent     9. Uplifted     10. Faithful

*Note*

I want to truly thank each and every one

of the people who read this blog daily.  Whether

you visit and leave a comment, visit without commenting

or subscribe through a reader I appreciate you to the highest.

I decided long ago not to do this blog for numbers or popularity.

I do it in hopes of helping someone through my words.  I do it to

uplift God in all his glory.  Thank you for being with me each day!!

Peaceful Time With God

Spending time with God in the morning always does great things for my spirit.  The quiet of our home, the feel of not being alone (in a spiritual way).  I sat in my comfy chair and allowed every muscle to release and relax.  While doing my deep breath cleanses my meditation music played softly in the background.  In my mind I saw God enter my room and begin to gently hug me.  As he was hugging me he was also filling me with his beautiful light.  It felt so warm and loving!  He never spoke, but he didn't have to, because I knew his actions were saying "I Love You My Child."  I saw postage stamps falling all around us, so I'm taking that as his way of saying my prayer will soon be answered abundantly.  I love these times that I encounter the essence of God.  It never happens daily, but when it does occur it fills me up for a very long time.  For this I am deeply grateful.

Today I Am:
1. Grateful     2. Blessed     3. Peaceful     4. Joyful     5. Content     6. Loved     7. Strong     8. Faithful     9. Alive     

I Am Grateful:
1. To be alive and know that God truly loves me
2. For the beautiful people God is sending my way
3. I have a comfy home that I love and it's filled with just what we need
4. That I have my daughter and she loves me unconditionally
5. To be chosen to uplift those in need

*Question*
What do you do to connect with God daily?  I truly love reading your answers!

Life As I Know It

This upcoming Saturday I will be married to the gent in the above photo for 11 years.  We've been a family for thirteen years, but I made him work hard to get me to say I do.  We have been through so much.  Good, bad and even the very ugly.  Both of us have made our mistakes.  Both have had to learn some very hard lessons.  But, through it all we've never lost our support of one another.  We've never lost our love as friends nor as husband and wife.  We've come very close to losing our marriage, but we both believe God stepped in to stop that from happening.  My hubby supports my dreams and is my biggest fan in the world next to Princess Charlie.  I know for a fact he believes in me, because his every action shows me so.  I'm thankful to God for blessing me with him as my husband.  It takes a loving person to commit to another being with physical challenges, but from day one he never treated me differently.  He saw a woman and he loves her and she loves him.  This Saturday I will celebrate the good and the bad with my prince charming and I thank God for all we've been through.  It brought us closer together, but more importantly it lead us closer to God himself.

I Believe:

1. Every true marriage is put together by God
2. With Him as a component a marriage can survive anything
3. I am truly blessed
4. As we go through the rough times we grow
5. What's meant to be...Is meant to be

Happy Birthday Princess Charlie!!

Dear God,

15 years ago today you honored me by allowing me to become Princess Charlie's mommy.  You sent one of your little Angels to play a huge role in the shaping of my life.  I was lost and you knew she would change that.  How can I ever thank you for the love my daughter has brought into my life?  She's my child and my friend.  She makes me laugh (hard) right when I need it.  If I need help she is always there to lend a hand and never complains.  Thank you God!!  Thank You for blessing me with the sweetest daughter ever to be created!

Princess Charlie, I love you more than I could ever express.  You bring joy, love and laughter to my life in a way that no other being can do.  You love and accept me for who I am and that means the world to me.  I'm so proud and honored that you call me mommy!  I love who are are and look so forward to knowing the you that's to come.

Happy 15th Birthday Baby Girl!!