Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Posts tagged ‘helping others’

Inspirational Monday

Remember you are blessed to be a blessing!

Know someone who’s not feeling well? Find a little something to deliver to them today or send a card or visit with your best smile!

I’m volunteering at the medical center today. Greeting those who come in, walking them to their designation. We used to call folks like me “Candy Stripers” back in the “good ole days.” High school volunteers who wore red & white candy striped vests. Here we are retirees who are part of the Auxiliary. We’re the “Purple Ladies.” I showed you the group in a post last week with the check we donated after our annual fund raiser. A great bunch of giving ladies!

Are you a “giver”?

Is there a group you can join or start who will reach out to others in your community?

Or are you already a part of one? Tell me about it.

What’s Your Next Step?

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It’s easy to get caught up

In the  ABBAABBA  CDECDE

Rhyme Scheme and Rhythm

Of the Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet

That I have written below.

 

Petrarchan is fun!

white high raise building

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

I chose the Italian Sonnet as an exercise today

Because I do love Italy!

My maiden name is DeAngeles, afterall …

“Of Angels” – always seeking higher ground!

I remember a “step to higher ground”

My husband and I took a few years ago:

To this beautiful city of Venice …

A step out of reality

Into a dream world

Where only the blessed tourists and

The residents struggling to make

A livelihood seemed to venture out.

Here’s my step into the higher ground of poetry,

Trying my hand at a Petrarchan:

 


What’s Your Next Step?

A text from a friend of more than fifty years:

“What’s your next step?” she wrote to ask.

I’m retired, I thought, find sunshine in which to bask.

But, though she’s my age, I sensed some tears,

And figured she’d missed some steps in her latter years.

I wondered if she had some sort of task,

A favor perhaps, but her question was a mask,

Designed to seek help while hiding her fears.

selective focus photography of person wearing mask

Photo by fotografierende on Pexels.com

So I waited awhile to send her a reply,

Didn’t want to be flippant or seem like a jerk.

“What step do you have in mind?” I inquired.

She picked up the phone, and I heard her cry,

“I just lost my job. I can’t live without work.”

What help could I be to a friend who’d been fired?

woman wearing red hat and sunglasses

Photo by Nashua Volquez on Pexels.com

 

It was fun to try and create a “Petrarchan.”

You should try it!

 

This was a fiction account,

With a shred of truth;
For indeed I am blessed
With health and security
And a choice of next “steps,”
While I know friends who
Indeed are not and cannot!

grayscale photography of patient and relative holding hands

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Who will you reach out to today?
And will you try a Petrarchan?

 

Few Words Wednesday

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I had all kinds of plans to give my time to a few people today.
I guess God had other ideas.

I was headed out, but my car is stuck in a snowdrift in our driveway. Doesn’t look so bad in the picture, but it won’t go forward or backward… just spins in place.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ae63.jpg

TazE seems puzzled, huh?

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ae62.jpg

Compared to others, this is a small problem.

How did your day go?

Quote

Life and Changes

via Life and Changes

This is a link to the blogger from whom I borrowed the picture of those loving hands reaching out in my last post titled “Bring Peace.” I recently discovered her posts and am enjoying the chance to peruse her blog titled Peace-Renewal-Bold-Clarity. Lotsa good thoughts there. Check it out!

Trapped?

Are you feeling trapped?

Know someone else who is?

Rescuing people isn’t like

The funny saying on my apron.

.

I can’t pick you up,

Tip you sideways,

And pour you out

Of your trap.

.

But in all seriousness,

We help rescue one another.

We can help others

Escape their traps.

.

Now don’t look at me

And call me Pollyanna.

I’m not a do-gooder,

But I have a secret.

.

It’s the path to love.

It’s the joy and peace

That are absolutely mine.

The path is Jesus!

.

Yes, the right answer

Was learned on Sunday

Way back when you

Were just a little kid.

.

Your Sunday School teacher

Asked you a question,

And you had the key to answer:

“Jesus!” He is the Way!

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Don’t believe me?

Give Him a try.

If you’re feeling trapped,

Give your struggles to Jesus.

.

My Lord saved the groom

At the wedding feast.

He turned water into wine

And the guests celebrated.

.

If He can do that,

He can turn your challenges

Into learning opportunities.

He can unlock your traps!

.

I hope you really know

That guy named Jesus

Who came to unlock

The traps that bind us.

.

If He isn’t your friend,

I invite you to get acquainted.

Let Him rescue you.

He stands at your heart door.

.

Open it! Don’t remain

Trapped in a bottle, or

In sorrow, or in pain.

Whatever your question…

.

The answer is simply, “Jesus!”

He came to save us

From our entrapments.

Learn from Him – and be free!

.

T = Trust

Day #20 – T = Trust

It’s been quite a ride! My A-Z series on “What Makes Me Happy?” Is drawing near an end, but today I TRUST you’ll continue reading, and I’ll continue to be inspired with new, pertinent topics. Thank you for being here. The ability to TRUST makes me happy 😃

T rusting brings

R espect and

U nderstanding and

S afety to vulnerability

T rusting is essential

In a world where parents feel a need to teach their children NOT to trust, we must be the models of trustworthiness. We must exude the love 💕 and safety we wish covered the earth.

The opposite of trusting is mistrusting, of course, and that creates worry and anxiety. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could feel free as a people to just trust? To just teach trust?

It’s probably Pollyanna thinking… unrealistic, you say. But, can’t we teach caution without teaching fear? Without causing worry and anxiety?

My go-to guide is Scripture. Jesus shows us the way. He talks about the birds being clothed so splendidly, so why worry about what we’ll wear. He showed us how He fed the multitudes, and told us not to worry about where our next meal is coming from. “Do not fear,” He taught us.

Philippians 4:6-7 is Paul’s message to the people of Philippi in which he cautioned them about worry. “Don’t worry about anything;” he wrote, “instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

So, the way to live in TRUST is to read, study, and apply the TRUTH of Scripture. Trust in God. Trust in what Jesus taught us. Sounds simple, huh? No, it’s not.

In today’s world we worry about safety. We hear of innocent people being murdered all the time.

In today’s world we worry about international affairs, divisiveness, wars, prejudice, and how it’s tearing us apart. We feel helpless to create that peace Paul wrote about. God’s Peace. Where is it? How can we exude it? How can we be the change we want to see in this world? How can we trust those people and situations that seem so untrustworthy?

My only solution is to remember the words of Paul, “Pray about everything.”

And remember/think about the words that remind us of how our simplest acts can make a difference to those we touch… and to those whose lives are affected by what we do.

R. Buckminster Fuller wrote, “Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren’t any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn’t be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life’s challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person.

Like tomorrow, if you’re in the USA, we can each make a difference. Go vote (if you haven’t cast an absentee ballot already). Every vote DOES matter!

Reach out to your neighbor in love. Reach out with help to a friend in need. Reach out to a fellow blogger with affirmation. Tell them that the words you just read made a difference for you. They resonated. Trust that your small acts add up to big differences.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. In your shared weakness, you exhibit trust and you strengthen others.

Just TRUST!

He’s gotcha in the palm of His hand. Here’s my mantle in this season of Thanksgiving.  Remember to thank God for all the ways He loves and protects you. Trust Him!

May the peace of Christ that surpasses all human understanding be yours today.

O = Opportunities

Day #15 in my A – Z series of “What Makes Me Happy?”

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities

Should not ever be wasted

Grab onto one now

.

What opportunity might you take advantage of today?

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Share with me an “O” word that makes YOU happy.

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Oh, and Happy Halloween!

I = Inspiration

Day #9 of the A-Z series, “What Makes Me Happy?”

 

INSPIRATION

What inspires me most?

It’s invitations to think

Just positive thoughts.

 

Forget

The Positivity Blog
has 101 inspiring happiness quotes
by Henrik Edberg
to keep me smiling all day long

Spend time

Invitations are
Happy paths that lead us to
Increased and shared joy

Think Positive Thoughts

The following quote
– a Chinese proverb –
INSPIRES me to remember
the IMPORTANCE
of shared happiness:

 

“If you want happiness for an hour –
take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day,
go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year,
inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime,
help someone else.”

 

We all are INTERCONNECTED, you know.

Here is an Invitation to Inspire someone else.

photo of four persons uniting hands

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com


SHARE – – – What inspires you?

Antelope

Recently I posted an A-Z list of what makes me happy. One of my blogging friends responded and suggested I use those items as titles for future blogs. I like that idea, and decided I’d take her suggestion. But I had two items for each letter of the alphabet. I’ll choose just one of the two each day and see if I can keep at it for 26 consecutive days. I’ve never made it to more than 9 in a row in the past. So here we go!

Day #1 = Antelope

Meet Little Annie

She was the neighborhood pet

Fish and Wildlife killed her

Well, that little Haiku didn’t end the way you expected, did it? Why would the Fish and Wildlife authorities euthanize such a precious creature?

Annie was abandoned by her mother. Neighborhood kids found her in the bushes on their property. Not wanting her to starve, they began feeding her milk from a baby bottle. The mama antelope never returned. Eventually, Annie followed the children to their home.

As the weather turned colder, Annie began sleeping in their garage. During the day she roamed free. She made friends in the “hood.” Folks loved her. Naturally. She became bolder, and would enter people’s garages if their door was left open. One person decided she was a nuisance. She called the Fish & Wildlife (F&W) folks and told the children that she had done so.

Alarmed that they may have done something wrong, they told their folks about the disgruntled neighbor lady. Afraid of what the authorities might do, they called a friend whose house borders a nature preserve. The friends relocated Annie to their beautiful property that has a creek running through it.

Before Annie’s location was discovered by the F&W, and before she was able to be adopted by an antelope herd in the preserve, we visited her one last time.

Annie kissed us, ate out of my husband’s hand, and bid us good-bye, blinking her beautiful, long eyelashes. We all prayed that she’d link up with a herd.

No such luck! F&W found her, put her in their truck, brought her to their local headquarters and euthanized her! 😪

I know there are laws. I know people aren’t supposed to feed or tame wild animals. But, come on!! Wasn’t there a place she could have lived happily? A petting zoo somewhere or an animal preserve where she could have been placed far from people?

We live on a piece of property in Montana where the antelope come through daily. It’s the antelope freeway in our back yard. I often film them in that space between us and the neighbors. I love them! I’ve learned so much about them as I watch their migration from the mountains behind us to the Madison River east of us. But, I let them keep their distance. And I pray those Mamas keep good track of their babies!

Enjoy one of my videos! That’s Bob and me talking to them.

❤️ Rest In Peace, Annie ❤️

Bee 🐝Open

Open Your Gifts

Open your gifts

They allow

Your creativity

To flow

.

Open your heart

It allows

The love In you

To flow

.

Open your mind

To allow

Truth to

Flow in

.

Open your hearth

And allow

Weary Souls

To enter

.

Open this day

With joy

To let the

Son shine in

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Today’s a gift 🎁

Open it!