Loving My Life In 2019? Yes.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" .... "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]."   ... Psalm 16:11, John 10:10


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Man, say what you will, but I love this life Jesus died to give me. 

Love. It. 

And hey, I'm not even pining away for Heaven(gasp!). I mean, I totally realize Earth-life is just a teeny peek at the Heavenly one, but oh Honey, this godly presence shakes joy over me like confetti. Mornings I bound out of bed feeling all anticipatory for more adventures with God.

More joy.
More learning.
More godly delight in the ordinary.

Like last week. This springtime I beat the birds in gathering my garden strawberries and took a tall plastic glass of them over to Neighbor Sally, then later, another glass to Sue. Both love strawberries, as do I, but my face (shall we say) only lets me eat very few. Er hem.

And I encouraged Amy at the coffee shop about a wild cake she'd been asked to bake, one of an old work-building soon-to-be demolished, complete with 2 porta-potties. Another regular, Jodi, made certain I also saw this unusual cake the week before and we marveled at Amy's intricate details created from a photo. (Men requested this cake and Amy said they especially loved the porta-potties. Of course.)  ツ

That master chore list God nudged me to make? Changed my life. I even sleep better now because gone are the dark-night nagging thoughts like, "Sheesh, you forgot to do _____  again," and "Your neglect of the  ____ is just sad!"

Whew. How remarkable that a small change can help me feel in-control while living in an out-of-control world.

I carried two bags of cast-off stuff down to the Salvation Army discard bin, further decluttering my life. Sat out on our front porch reading favorite books in sun-dappled shade, felt Jesus in the chair beside me. Shared favorite quotes, humor and my Prayer Garden photo at Facebook, encouraged a woman there who faced surgery and fun-chatted with a friend on Messenger.

Oh, what a remarkable life when God directs our steps, right?


"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart..."  ... Ecclesiastes 3:11


See? Previews of Heaven. It's biblical.

And color me too busy to use social media to complain about how Christians (and others) are getting things all wrong. No, I've got work to do! A job which God sent me here to complete so that His world will spin in a way it couldn't without me.

And so do you.

        (Thanks, Myrna, for sharing this at Facebook.It blessed my socks off.)



"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."   ... Isaiah 58:11  (Yes, while on this earthly journey. Yes, even in 2019. God is that huge!)

Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.

Alexander MacLaren

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Speaking of Facebook ... I didn't even know till 2 weeks ago that via Messenger you can call your Facebook friends for free(!) 

An old friend's son called me for some advice via Messenger, so that's how I discovered it (I'm not a just-shoot-the-breeze phone person at all, but to pray with someone over the air waves? Yeah, I'll do that.)

Anyway, in case you also didn't know about this service, well, there you go. Took un-techno-minded me a few minutes to figure it out on the Messenger page, but I eventually did. 

(But my oh my--nobody better ever contact me via the video chat option! You'll hear just ring after ring forever cuz I often sit here without my make-up--and that ain't pretty. heh.)   シ


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The World Has Need of You

If it's ever so small the part you take,
The world has need of you.
Be it big or little the effort you make,
The world has need of you.
If it's only a thought you give by the way,
If it's only love's word you pause to say,
It's a part that nobody else can play,
So the world has need of you.

By your smile you can change another's life;
By a word you can bring peace out of strife;
Then lift your head and never say die;
Count every blessing, stop every sigh,
Get busy ... don't let a chance slip by,
For the world has need of you.



----Evelyn Whitell




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"Master," said John, "we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." ... Luke 9:49,50

The Shock When You Realize 'This Dream Ain't Comin' True'

"And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   ... James 4:6

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I didn't tell you something.

Twice this year I sent Tom links to local (nearly perfect)houses for sale and both times he wrote, "We should go for it! Want me to set up an appointment for when I get off work today?"

But in each case I emailed back, "Nah. When you get home I'll show you my Why We Cannot Move list. But thanks, anyway, for considering it."

Sigh. And both houses cost about what we'd get for ours. Cheap.  シ

For the nearly 8 years we've lived at Hobbit Cottage, 4 of those I've imagined moving to a blank canvas house (with storage!) so I could start all over decorating-wise. 

Remember those scenes in It's A Wonderful Life where Mary's up on a ladder painting, wallpapering, having a marvelous time? Well, for 37 years (or so) that was me. And as I've visited the earliest pages of my blog so to tweak them, I've watched from doorways that younger Debra up on her trusty aluminum step-stool ladder and felt, well, awe (she did what in just one day?).

And sadness, also. That Debra? She's not here anymore. Today she's unable to decorate her little heart out. She just can't.

And Tom needs another shoulder surgery (plus, his scoliosis and herniated discs aren't exactly better) and if we moved, even with professional movers, he'd help too much. Like last time, back in 2011 when for two weeks afterward, he was ill.

There's more, but you know, it's that part about staying here for Tom's sake which finally set me down at acceptance. I told God, "If it's for Tom that we stay here, at least for now? Why, I can do that. Grace cushions those sacrifices I make for him. Love makes them not hard for me." 

Also, God reminded me of those days I work a bit harder and by 5:00 pm I'm stiff, bent in half, complaining. And suddenly I felt extremely grateful for our Hobbit Cottage. That we are here, already. Safe. Entrenched, yeah, but over time, we can 'unentrench' ourselves. Slowly, at our back-saving convenience. 

And so finally--finally--the new house dream, died. And I mean died-died. Took 4 long years (and yeah, often painful ones as they are whenever we want what God doesn't want for us), but it stopped breathing.

Oh, perhaps some year we'll make one more move, like, into an assisted living apartment. Yet at that time ol' Debra won't be up on any ladders slapping paint onto walls there, either. 

And this is what I'm still learning in layers: 

Some Life seasons are easy to release, yet others are hard, especially when they lasted decades, were huge parts of who God made us and kept us happily going even during stormy times.

But when we truly release them at God's request? He replaces them with sweet new dreams, ones which even now, yes! We can still do, and with a joy only Grace provides. 

Grace. She splashes color, happiness and contentment over everything God calls us to do. Yes, even now during these later autumn years.

And oh, to follow her so closely we can reach for her strong fingers at anytime we need her help.

Respect your seasons! Pay attention to their details, do what you have the energy, grace and promptings to do while you still can.

Or as Ann Kiemel Anderson said--

"I would have missed out on so many things in Life if I had not simply done them." 

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he."   ... Proverbs 29:18

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My dear friend, Wilma, said this Garfield cartoon reminded her of me--

--and I feel incredibly honored, not to mention, understood. 

Brighten the corner where you are, Everyone! And this, oh yes, remember this--


"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you." ...Isaiah 26:3


(Thank-you much, Wilma!)


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Okay, now this new tv ad was just too cute!

(Did you know you can be Jerry Mathers' and Tony Dow's friend at Facebook? They're pretty cool.)  ツ



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                                                               My Prayer Garden.





"Master," said John, "we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." ... Luke 9:49,50

Aging Gracefully, Yes? No? Maybe?

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"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day."   ... 2 Corinthians 4:16


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Look back over my semi-recent posts and you'll see I've spoken much about how ol' Debra feels herself aging.

Yet, my favorite teacher seldom speaks of that, even though she's 16 years older than me. But then, she's done this wild thing for years. It's called 'taking better care of herself'.

シ

But last Friday, wow. She did address aging and oh Honey, I've felt marvelous ever since, especially after she said this--


"Only a fool thinks he can always do what he's always done. We're always in the process of aging."   --- Joyce Meyer


Oh! Other people kept telling me to ignore getting older, it's all a state of mind, just a number, etc., but something felt wrong with that, for hey. I, now, cannot do some of what I've always done.

And that means something to me. It affects, in some ways, all my days.

Joyce even said it's exciting to go through these changes and I understand that, also. For me, it's thrilling to figure out new ways to solve old problems, to make changes so that folks think I'm still 'with it'. Capable. You know, still 'all there'. heh.

Remember that Master Daily List which God hinted I should write up? Oh wow.


No more am I-- 

--standing at the kitchen counter with tablet paper and a pen, asking myself, "Uhm. What must I do today?"

-- or worrying that this house and yard are gonna take me down. Soon.

-- or entering weekends with an aching back because I worked too hard on Fridays.


As George Peppard used to quip, "I love it when a plan comes together," and this Master Daily List makes me feel perhaps I can still 'get it all done' the next few years, after all.

Really, I'd wondered lately.

What's also encouraging me? That anti-inflammatory diet I mentioned to you (Gee, I'm feeling better), and this thought:

For years I'd assumed that I'll never be able to officially retire like people who had 'real jobs'. After all, someone has to still take care of the place. The house. The yard.

But last week? I told Tom, "Since many folks retire at age 62, maybe that's when I'll retire from doing yard work. Perhaps that can be the year we start hiring folks to mow and trim hedges for us."

Tom seemed ok with that idea! But I'm gonna wait awhile before hinting about my dreams to have a house cleaner drop by at least once a month.  ツ (Already I'm praying my pride won't have me washing stuff before Cleaning Lady arrives each time.)

Anyway, what am I really saying? Know thyself. Accept thyself, even if your older friends still have their 'litheness', but yours fell off years ago. And whether it's your family genes, a mishap or neglecting your body which is messing things all up--

Do what you still can. Gratefully.
Make wise changes so to keep going, longer.
Work smarter, not harder.
Ask God for His best ideas.
Keep a gratitude diary.
Find funny folks to hang out with--

--and never, ever lose your sense of humor, no matter what age, what shape you may find yourself in today or your many tomorrows ahead.

“So this is what you do when it all slows down and the minutes that tick by feels a little longer than before. You open your eyes a little wider, and look at everything. Take it all in. Rehash stories of old, remember people, times and occasions gone by. Allow everything you see to remind you of something. Talk about those things. Stop and take your time to notice things and make those things you notice matter. Find out the answers you didn't know to yesterday's crosswords. Slow down. Stop trying to do everything now, now, now.” 

― Cecelia Ahern, Thanks for the Memories


(Debra here) -- Would you like a copy of my personal Master Daily List? You know, out of curiosity or for potential ideas for your own? Feel free to email me at Gladone4@yahoo.com for a copy.

Maybe I'll do less these next years, but my aim will remain to do it with excellence, not an ordinary mediocrity. 


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Oh! And this upcoming film looks wonderful. Check out the movie trailer here.



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"It is not easy when you have to let go of things that you've done all your life and then sit back and watch somebody else do them."   

---Joyce Meyer


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