AGING GRATEFULLY

It has been a very busy summer for me.  I have made lots of memories
with my family.  I love pictures and albums to remind me of how my
time was spent.  I do not take TIME for granted.  I have surpassed the
spring and summer of my life and now I am plunging into the autumn.  Contemplating life is a part of what makes aging an exciting  journey. 
Finally there is time to think about everything and come to a decision concerning how to live.

We all have friends and acquaintances.  We give time to people who
are important to us.  I love people and enjoy observing the way in
which people interact with daily life.  I believe that my joy comes from
an attitude of aging gratefully.

I have heard women speaking about women who have aged gracefully.  This

JOY

I CHOOSE JOY BECAUSE IT IS A CHOICE.

Women have a hard time with so many things.  Women are the
fixers of life.  Our children require help and fixing on a regular basis 
I won't even discuss our husbands.  Have I mentioned our extended
family and friends?  There is so much worrying to be done and
someone has to do it!!  Wrong.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, He already has all of the answers
to all of our "problems".  This includes me, my children, my grand
children, my girlfriends, my relatives and those who are casual
acquaintances.  I know it sounds easy.  Why do we want difficult? 
When the Bible talks about His burden being easy and His load being
light,  it is true.  We burden ourselves,  God is not responsible.

If you begin a habit of God truly being in charge of every moment
of your life, then life is a piece of cake.  For those of us ladies
experiencing the downward trend of aging, our lines point up not
down.  My grandaughter informed me that I am not old.  okay.  She
says when people get old they are grumpy and look mean.  I told her
that I never want to be like that.  She says that as long as I keep
wearing sparkly jewelry, I will never be grumpy faced.  That works
for me.

You are thinking that I must live in a perfect world.  Everything
in my life is easy.  NOOOO!  The key is that I am not running my life
so there are no complaints.  Each day has so many blessings that I
sometimes cannot believe how good God is.  Focusing on what we
have is so much better than complaining about what we think we 
need.

Recently my husband and I were having a conversation about
money.  Now you are perked up!!  I told him that I am thankful that
we do not have a big bank account or 401K.  I told him that if we did,
I would not get excited about the early dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 
It would not thrill me to get a pedicure every now and then.  The
flowers he brings me from the grocery store would not be good enough
if I had lots of money.  It just takes the fun out of life.   I don't have to
worry about keeping what I don't have.

I am thankful and happy.  I love to smile and wear bright clothes.
I love to look people in the eye and welcome them into my world. 
He does it for me and He can do it for anyone who will give Him control.

Try it.  You may like it.

GIRLFRIENDS

It has been awhile since I have written.  A few friends have commented 
on this blog and I am ready to share once again.

GIRLFRIENDS come in all shapes, sizes, ages, ethnicities and
personalities.  They are a blessing of God on our lives.  Most of our
memories are linked to special people who are a part of an event. 
It can be as simple as a shared lunch with lots of laughing!!  My favorite expression between friends is a hug.  So simple and so energizing and refreshing...ahhh.

One day I called my granddaughter, girlfriend.  She was shocked.  " I
don't like that Nana.  You are not a boy and I don't want a boyfriend
either."  I did some explaining and now she does not mind at all.  It is
fun talking with her.  She has quite a personality.  Oh yes, she will
always be a loved girlfriend.

I have some young women who are dear girlfriends.  They love to be
real and talk about what God is doing in their lives and their families. 
It is so encouraging to know that God is working to bring these cute
young moms to a maturity in Christ that is amazing.  Whenever I spend
time with them, I leave with a big smile on my face and in my heart.

My sisters are my girlfriends.  They know me from the beginning and
they still talk to me!!  God has allowed my older sister to live near me
for quite a few years now.  We are so real with each other that most
women could not handle it.  She loves me and prays for me as I do her.
We have lots of fun together and lots of spiritual talks.  We lift up the
name of the Lord in our conversations.

I have a fun girlfriend my age.  This relationship is wonderful because
we are both dealing with aging, grandparenting, forgetting things, etc. 
We do so much laughing.  We are both blingy ladies.  Oh yes, you will
see us coming.  When we are together, we do not feel our age.  Remember
what it was like to have a girlfriend in high school?  That is the feeling
with my fun friend.

I have 3 daughters and one daughter by marriage to my son.  These
girls are all delightful.  I enjoy our times together whether or not we
are shopping.  They each bring something special as my girlfriends. 
It is wonderful to be their friend and not just mom.  What a joy they are
 to me.

Lately, God is showing me that I need to be thankful for all of the
friends that He has provided.  It is not something to be taken for
granted.  They may not always be here.  I may not always be here. 

Thank you to all of the women and girls that God is using in my life.

Showers of Blessing

It has been a while since I have written.  Life has been very busy and
most women know what I am talking about.  There is little time to
ponder the moments of a day.

Wherever we find ourselves in life, we are busy.  If we are young, we
are busy with schooling and marriage.  In mid life, we are busy raising
children and making a good home for our family.  In later life, we are
 busy being grandparents and coming alongside our children to encourage them.

In each of these seasons of life, we are also a silent mentor to someone.
There are always people observing our lives.  There are women that
watch us and listen to us while we are doing one day at a time.  They
see something in us that they would like to add to their life.  Perhaps
it is kindness, gentleness, encouragement, etc.  We do not think about 
this enough.  We all have gifts to share with other women that can help 
them to do life in a better fashion.

When we focus on this, we begin to see how God uses willing people to 
bless others.  I have been blessed by kind words that have been spoken
to me or sent in a card exactly when I needed it.  God has given me opportunities to be the best part of someone's day.  We need to leave a
place better than we find it.  We need to be women who are a blessing to
other women not a curse.

Many times I will think about how God has blessed my life.  It is over
whelming to realize that God cares that much for me...and you.  God
has done things that I would have never asked him to do.  He has given
gifts that have thrilled my heart and He was the only One who knew
what I needed.  He cares that much for each one of us.

I have been given the opportunity to spend time with my children and
grandchildren.  What a thrill to see what He is doing in their lives. 
He allows me to be a part of what He is doing.  I can share His love
with family in word and most importantly in deed.  I love the way God orchestrates each day.  He knows what is best not just good enough.

May His shower of blessings cover you and amaze you.  He is so good.

GOD IS IN CHARGE

I believe that God is in charge of all things.  I know that this is difficult for people to handle when bad things happen.  It is not up to us to question what
God is doing.  Our responsibility is to pray for people and be available for Him
to use in people's lives.  God is our model for really loving people.  We cannot
love without His love flowing through us.
Recently, I have been reminded that my days are ordered by the Lord.

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

Recently I have been reminded about the way people treat one another.
As a child I remember being told that if I had nothing nice to say, don't
say anything.  I think we need to review this thought. "Be ye kind to
one another..."
Women have such a problem with never being good enough.  Where do
those thoughts come from?  I think it is one way for the devil to get us
down.  We never focus on our strengths but rather pinpoint our short
comings.
It is amazing how many women deal with "friends" who can only find
fault in them.  "You are not good enough so I will help you with my
accusations about who you really are."  I am sure that if we look at the
word "friend" it has nothing to with downtrodden, negative people in
our life.  Have you ever thought about the person giving you advice?
How does their life hold up to scrutiny?  Do you want to model your
life after their life?
Because I have lived a long time, I know that people who criticize are
motivated by elevating themselves.  You drink too much coffee means
that she is better than you because she drinks 3 cokes a day!  It is funny
when you think about it.  Why is it that people cannot see their own
flaws but can easily spotlight someone else's? 
My title explains my view of the critique that people give.  The only One
who can change anyone is God.  So, if your "friend" really cares for you
she can spend more time in prayer and less time telling you what to do.
God has a time frame for change and it is individual.  He only expects
to deal with one thing at a time.  He will never give you more than you
can handle.  Everything He does comes from Love.
What can you do?  Let go of those people who are weighing you
down.  Surround yourself with people who realize that we all have our
strong points and our weak points.  Women need friends who pray for
them not people who try to fix them.

Love you girlfriends.

A Few Things I have learned along the way

You are always a mom no matter how old your children are!

Today my son is coming for the weekend.  I was thinking about how
long it has been since we have had time along to talk.  I know that some
sons do not like to talk but mine does!  We will just keep talking until
we sleep.  Ofcourse eating is also a big part of a man's life.  I have a
special restaurant picked out for one night.
My son is married to a wonderful girl and they have an adorable daughter,
Emma.  They live in Portland.  He will enjoy our great Arizona weather.
I know he will enjoy relaxing with no agenda.  That is what mom's home
is like.  Just breathe and relax.  My husband is on a trip so I have Tim
all to myself until Sunday.
Yesterday, Emma called to ask if we could Skype.  My answer is always
YES.  What fun that is.  I think that Skype is a blessing from God.  Now
I don't have to miss seeing the kids grow.  Emma loves ballet and I love
seeing her show me a move and her tutu.  I visit Portland in October and
we do all sorts of Fall Festivities.  I brought a sparkly pumpkin t-shirt and
ruffly little skirt for Emma to wear.  She loves dress up.
You can tell that I am excited.  I will let you know how wonderful it is.

Family is so important.  Love one another.