Inspiration and Spirituality **Award Free**
The origin of the name Monday is from the old English and or, the Greek reference to the Norse god Mani – the Moon. Monday came into English meaning, “day of the Moon” from either old English: Mōnandæg or the Greek: ἡμέρᾱ Σελήνης, diēs Lūnae.¹ In either case, Monday was and is a celebration of the moon’s influence on our plant, namely the movement of the ocean, gravity and, in its seasons, as our night light in the skies.
As a child I was fascinated by the moon (I still am). I used to pretend that God was sitting up there using a big lantern (the moon) to keep an eye on the world 🙂 That image however childish, helped me to understand that God as Creator holds himself responsible for the care of all of creation.
Thus, for me, Monday is a reminder of God’s care for each and every one of us. Take comfort in knowing that Monday is not just “another day.” It is not just the wheel of life going around once again.
It also is the mark of the hand of the Creator on this week. His eternal care for each of us, who he created in “the image of his own eternity” (Wisdom of Solomon 2:23). We experience this day only once. I leave you with this quote as you begin this week.
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit,
when there are footprints on the moon” – Paul Brandt
Enjoy your day!
¹ Source: Livescience.com
Life is not always fun, sunshine, flowers, pixie dust and unicorns. The ebb and flow of life means that sometimes we have low points, we are down, we feel less than joyful. And, we all have those moments – it is the nature of being human. “When things go wrong, don’t go with them” – Elvis Presley. There is a peculiar kind of strength, I find, in being stubborn. Stubborn with respect to refusing to stay in the dark place, fighting to look for the light, battling the energies of despair and purposing to win.
In those times when life ebbs low, think of what you have added to your life and not what has been subtracted. Ponder the beauty of light that is in you rather than the gloominess of the weather. Who said that we had to allow the weather to dictate how we feel, anyway.? Think of the joys you have brought to at least one person in your life rather than the actions of many who may have shaken your faith in human kindness. Liberate yourself.
“No matter how tall the mountain is, it cannot block the sun.” – Chinese Proverb
Our life’s journey is often defined more by what we choose not to do, than by what we do.
I was on my way to the grocery store today and I was waiting to make the left turn from the main street into the grocery mall parking lot. I saw an opening in the seemingly endless sea of cars going in the opposite direction. I pondered my move to make the left turn. And then, I thought to myself, “just because I can make that turn between those two cars, does not mean I should.” My mind, continued to reason, “there is no point in risking an accident when the way would be clearer in just a few more minutes after that car.” And so, I waited for a longer space between the cars and made my turn safely.
This may not be the time to make a quick turn. Take the time you need to plan, to strategize, resist the urge to do something just because you can. Just because you can do a thing is not permission to do it. Be safe, in your life journey today.
Letting go is not easy. Letting go for me, means change. And as the leaves change and the summer fades, the transition of the seasons remind me of the beauty of letting go of the things that no longer nourish.
There is wisdom in knowing when to let go of the former things and to move on, to make a new start, to start a new chapter in your life. It takes discernment to know when things are right for letting go. It takes your ability to dig deep into who you want to become and how badly you want it, to propel you to let go what no longer serves your best interest. Letting go and fear for me seem to be strange bedfellows.
When/if I am thinking of letting go in some way in my life – all of a sudden, fear creeps in, with all kinds of enticingly delicious reasons why I should not do it. When I was young-er, fear limited my life considerably. It bridled my desire for adventure.
As I grow older I am discovering (still not fully there yet, it is a process), that when I sense fear with respect to letting go and trying a new path, it is then that I know I am onto something that may very well be a good change for me. The status quo is comfortable. Letting go is epic discomfort. If it is right for you, let go and move on, despite the fears, or perhaps, because of them 🙂
Letting go changes you.
If
I could be a season I’d be autumn.
It makes letting go look so painless, and sublime.
-Chitra Pachouri
As the fall season comes into view…
“…the trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go” -Anon
[Image credit: fb.com/alifesimplified]
Photo credits: Images are of The Muskokas, Ontario Canada
[Photos from bluewatertourism.com and deerhurstresort.com. I am not affiliated with either link in any way]
A short motivational video for you today. In case you have forgotten that you are courageous. You are a survivor. Your best days are now. You have the courage to live in the now and cherish each moment — despite the hell you have been through. You have the courage to stand up for the idea that you alone, can make a difference in the the lives of others, not only by what you say but by how you live. Live your best days now? Not someday. Enjoy.
Video credit:
Speaker: Pastor T. D. Jakes
Publisher: Ben Lionel Scott
Nobody tells everybody everything. In this modern world the trend is to be transparent. Baring all for the world to see seems to be the new kind of “honesty.”
But, there are still some things that should remain secret. And, you are the best judge of that. What I think happens is that we feel guilty about keeping some secrets. The ability to keep secrets is a skill, that once learned come through in our character — the part of character to do with trustworthiness. Trust is invaluable and irreplaceable in any solid relationship. If someone tells you a secret, something in confidence, it is a measure of how much that other person trusts you. That relationship is invaluable.
Betina Krahn says it best, I think, when she says, “And it’s about this whole “secrets” business. We all have them. Every single one of us has something we’re keeping inside… sometimes to protect ourselves, sometimes to protect others… If love is the prime value we hold, we must make certain what we will reveal has a critical or urgent moral imperative (i.e., to prevent an injustice, loss of life, damage to health, or the abuse of power). Think of the secrets you hold about yourself, your loved ones, and those you work and live with, Which of them would be worth hurting your spouse or family to reveal? Sobering to think about.”
You don’t need to apologize to yourself for having secrets. It is your choice to make as the gatekeeper of your own soul. Some things should stay between you and God.
“A good friend keeps your secrets for you. A best friend helps you keep your own secrets.” – Lauren Oliver
So you have made a huge mistake. You missed an entire component to a project, your family is upset with you for not ordering a key item on the back to school list, you missed someone’s birthday or anniversary, you failed to meet the inspector code for a high ticket construction project — you messed up really big in some way. It happens to all of us in one way or another.
But, you are upset with God because you prayed for everything to go perfectly according to plan. You even mentioned in your prayer that it would result in events which glorify His name.
So what went wrong? Or, did it?
When things go wrong or it would seem, not according to what you had planned it is not a loss.
You learn from the experience how to do things better. How to handle your own emotions when things do not go according to plan. This is all true. However there is I think, a much bigger picture to remember. The mistake, or misstep maybe for someone else’s benefit!
Someone times what we think is a grave error could be an opportunity for us to own a mistake, admit it to the person affected, apologize sincerely and move on. Perhaps that apology was the whole point of the error. It was a vehicle for someone to receive from you, a sincere owning up of a mistake, something that person needed to restore their trust in the goodness of humanity. Many of us have been hurt in so many ways by others. Very few people take the time to offer a sincere apology and “own the mistake.”
In a number of cases, a person does not receive the closure needed because the person has long since passed or moved very far away. But the hurt does not heal. The pained soul seeks justice. And perhaps your sincere apology and owning of your mistake is what that other person needed to begin or continue to heal from trauma. It may not be clear what is happening. The person may not accept your apology. However, take comfort in knowing that you did the right thing.
And, move on.
“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life” – Sophia Loren
Don’t camp out on your mistake. That is not the fire you wish to stir in yourself. You want to live with the confidence that you are human, mistakes, big and small will happen. Your choice is to move past it. Help other along the way.
“If you have the guts to keep making mistakes, your wisdom and intelligence leap forward with huge momentum.” – Holly Near
Extend grace to others when they mess up, because you have traveled the road of mistakes often enough to be a companion and a guidepost to help someone else move from despair to hope. Be a blessing today mistakes and all 🙂
I enjoy fall! It is by far my favorite season. The colors of the leaves, the smell of the autumn air, the coolness of the weather, the sometimes foggy mornings and nights. These are all delights that I look forward to as fall approaches. Fall is harvest. Whatever is sown in the earlier parts of the year, bear fruit in fall. Life has seasons. It is not one long event. Each season of your life bears fruit.
Seasons and cycles summarize the ebb and flow of life. Fall is witness to the end of the “green” of summer and the promise of the “gold” to come. A present and future hope.
Fall is anticipation. There is a “newness” to fall that I think, brings me to reflect on what is to come. There is a different “busy” in the fall. As schools starts, there is more traffic on the road. The shops are busier. More goods are being shipped to market from the farms and so on. Life picks up in many ways different from the gently laid-back pace of summer.
Fall colors are unique. The browns, the golds, the brownish reds, the shades of orange are vivid against the sometimes foggy day. A reminder that there is life to be lived in all kinds of circumstance.
Fall is a reminder to look forward to the new growth of the trees to come in the Spring. It reminds us that change is coming. It points to the season to come. Fall in all its splendor, to me, symbolizes Hope.
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