Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness – Day #7

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

Eyes that see. I serve in a ministry at my church that allowed me to meet a woman that exemplifies boldness of spirit when it comes to living life. It seems that she attempts to do just about whatever she wants to do. She may be even more bold that I in the things she takes on in life. See…she has eyes but she can’t see. She once had vision but at a certain point in her life she lost her eye-sight. I can only imagine what it would be like for me to lose my eye-sight after having it all these years. Though I’m learning to get better at it when necessary, I absolutely hate having to depend on anyone to do for me. And that’s how I see myself if I didn’t have vision—totally dependent on others for something. Even now I’m struggling to write about this because I really don’t know what else to say. I contemplate a lot and I think that’s what was going on with me when I wrote this poem (below) a few years ago. I think it sums up best what I want to say on the subject, but not before asking you to be thankful for your eye-sight….

If The Lights Ever Went Out

…I sometimes wonder how I’d function
If the windows to my soul
No longer took in light
I wonder just how much of my character
Would remain….

Would my life suddenly stand still?
If the windows to my soul—
Suddenly became darkened
Would there be a new me?

Is my soul the mere reflection of what is seen
On the outside of my windows
Or should the soul be reflecting something
From a much deeper place...
Something not produced by the externals?

My prayer—that my lights never go out
And may those who observe the windows to my soul
Always see past the reflection of my environment

Copyright © 2009 by Charlotte R. Beard

Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness – Day #6

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

No clothing or shoes. Okay. So, we already know that not having clothing to put on is a dire situation, especially when it has to do with participating in society. So, imagine not being able to go anywhere because you didn’t have clothing to wear…I mean literally?! Let’s say you do have something to put on but everything you have is pretty worn out. You can’t go to work or go to any interview for a job. With what you might have you feel very uncomfortable going around other people. You don’t have low self-esteem because your self-esteem is pretty much none existent. And what about your feet? Imagine having no shoes. Somewhat unimaginable for you? Well, imagine having shoes but there are holes in the soles that you cover up by inserting cardboard in the bottom. You’ve worn the same shoes day after day everywhere you’ve gone. And you can’t buy anymore shoes because you don’t have the money. It’s enough to just make you want to stay away from other people who “have,” doesn’t it? When was the last time you looked in your closet and said, “I have nothing to wear?” Or this—“I can’t find anything to wear.” But the reality is we have a closet full of clothes that maybe we’ve gotten tired of wearing. Or maybe we are having an off day that is affecting our outlook on the true purpose of clothing. Clothing is another one of those things we’ve turned into being a want for how we want to “feel” on a given day. How did we come to make clothing about our emotions? Our emotions will keep us wanting something different all the time because they are fickle. If you’re like me, I like fashion in moderation or more importantly, I like wearing things that speak my unique style. But I must be careful that my desires don’t cause me to be out of balance and fall into mistaking my wants for needs. Our closets show that we are blessed because there are no real needs when we open them.

Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness – Day #5

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

No food. So, when was the last time you had something to eat? Unless you’ve just awakened, on a fast, or just haven’t had time to eat yet it was in the last 24 hours. But imagine your funds were pretty low; you had some hard choices and couldn’t buy food. What would you do? Or, let’s say because of that electricity loss I mentioned a couple days ago, your food is all ruined. Even worst—imagine there was some great catastrophe where food resources were diminished over time and there were no longer any grocery stores, no farmer’s markets, no convenience stores, no nothing. No doubt things would seem pretty desperate and you don’t even want to think of the ramifications of that manifestation. When was the last time you heard yourself say that there was nothing to eat in your house and yet there really was something there but it just wasn’t what you wanted? Or maybe this—“I’m so hungry”—with “still good” leftovers sitting in your refrigerator? We can act so privileged when it comes to what we will and won’t eat but there are people literally dying to eat what we throw away or just totally disregard because maybe “I just don’t want that today.” Food is a necessity for survival but somehow we’ve come to the point of letting it be about our wants.

Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness – Day #4

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

No toiletries. This sounds ridiculous—right? At least it does to me because it’s such a SMALL necessity. BUT NOT HAVING THEM really makes them a BIG DEAL the moment you find yourself without them. Try being around someone who hasn’t used soap WITH WATER. And what about when that deodorant ain’t working (yep I said ain’t). For all my sun-kissed brothers and sisters, you know we need that moisturizer (ash city for some of us—just keeping it real)! For all of us—let’s not forget the hair! Got a brush? Comb? Something? If you have baking soda in the house you’re covered on brushing your teeth (if you keep it in the house). And even then, having the baking soda does no good if you don’t have something as simple as a tooth brush. And yet…so many people are without all of these things and more personal things I haven’t mentioned when it comes to hygiene items. You don’t have to go OCEANS AWAY to know that’s true. It used to be food was the primary need but requests for toiletries have become a bigger and bigger request as well now days. Not everyone knows how to be resourceful in taking care of their hygiene (in a natural way I mean). Imagine the inconvenience for many of us if we were forced to go that route. We are blessed but we complain…complain…complain.

Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness - Day #3

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

No electricity. It’s not uncommon to lose power due to a storm or some down wire or other issue, right? Well, what if our resources were to the point there was no source of electricity at all? Or, what if we were like other parts of the world where you only had access to electricity at certain times of the day? What if you couldn’t pay that electric bill? So, now you’re stumbling around in the dark when there is no light from outside, unless you have candles. But it goes further. That cordless home telephone you might have for backup to your cell phone—it doesn’t work without power. No television, no radio, and uh…you can forget about reading this on the internet. Nope—nothing that can’t run without batteries (so you just might have a radio J). Food is going bad in the refrigerator. Can't get cool in the summer and can't get warm in the winter (maybe pile on clothes...got a fireplace?) Oh, and forget about turning on that porch light at night that you’re so accustomed to having on. That’s right—so you also know that security alarm won’t work right? Maybe you have generators???

So, it’s day 3. Are you thinking more about all the conveniences yet that you might take for granted?

Day #2 - Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness

Note: Refer to day number 1 (July 25, 2015 post) if you don’t know what this is all about.

No water. Imagine, it’s winter and the pipes in your home have burst. This is a costly repair and one of the biggest inconveniences ever. So—what are you going to do? Stay in a hotel for awhile? Try to find someone to stay with for awhile? Or…you’re one of those big shots that have the money to have this taken care of with the quickness? Regardless…water is one of those needs that we tend to take for granted. I need to boil some eggs—I turned the knob on that faucet and fill my pot with water. I need to bathe—I run water in the tub or turn on my shower (and I always get the right temperature without having to heat water on a stove). Whatever my need for water—it’s always at my disposal, even if I want to BUY drinking water, I have that option. No going out and pumping and packing pails of water back home like my mother did in her youth. No digging wells for water or having to deal with contaminated water as many still deal with today in other parts of the world. Water is such a great necessity, yet I/we don’t give it a second thought because it’s so readily available to us.

Why I Write

Answers the question why I write, from where comes my interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSiXTNOBX0

Days of PURPOSEFUL Thankfulness

My brain seems to always be busy with thoughts and ideas… it almost never SHUTS UP (until I get ready to sleep). But soon as I awake during the night or in the morning, there is INSTANTLY a thought or a song. This morning the discussion I had last night with a group of women during the Made To Crave class I facilitated came back to me. The main thought once again, was that the majority of us, this country, wakes up with EVERYTHING we NEED to sustain life, but we BELLY ACHE about WANTS. So I decided to go on a journey starting today until Thanksgiving Day where I post only 1 thing to “purposeful” be thankful about starting at the very minute (pronounced “minoot” here J).  You are welcome to journey with me by thinking about the inconveniences of not having this very same thing or start your own list. Let’s see where we mentally land by thanksgiving day! J I consider myself to be a very thankful person but we can always grow.  Here’s my day 1—

Toilet – I am thankful that I have access to a toilet in the morning or any time of the day. I don’t have to go to an outhouse or live in a 3^rd world country where I have to experience inconveniences to what I’ve become accustomed over my lifetime.  I could easily take this for granted. What if it didn’t flush…it broke! In my mind that’s money now I have to pay to have something fixed that I’m just so used to having work when I need it. I hate being inconvenienced in any area of my life because after all, I can easily think everything revolves around me if I’m used to having what I need. And I’m not alone in those tendencies. Yet…we take the conveniences of a toilet so for granted.

Sponsor for 6th Annual Writers in the Park in Kirkwood, MO

This year YOURS TRULY is one of the sponsors for the sixth annual Writers in the Park In Kirkwood, MO hosted by the St Louis Writers Guild. This yearly festival of writers is FREE and will take place on August 29th in Kirkwood Park at the Community Center. Visit the link to the page below for more details. Hope you can join us! http://www.stlwritersguild.org/writersinthepark.html

Second Chances - 2015 All Write Now! Conference

You Don't Have To Shut-Up...Unless God Tells You To

Often I hear things that get passed around from one minister to another that has no biblical spiritual relevance…one minister said it, another minister heard it and thought it sounded good so then they decide to use it.  On and on this thought gets passed around and pretty soon you have something that sounds like a lesson being taught, but in my understanding it does the complete opposite of what I believe what God would want us to grasp.  Case in point…I often hear ministers say that Joseph should have kept his mouth shut about his dreams when talking to his brothers; that’s what got him sold. They even go as far to say that you can’t tell your dreams to everyone.  To a degree, that’s true but let’s go back to Joseph.  Who gave Joseph his dreams?  We believe that to be God, right? Okay.  Now…do you think when God gave Joseph his dreams that God was clueless to the fact that Joseph was going to share them with his family, specifically his brothers???  You see, in my assessment of Joseph’s life from an eagle’s eye view along with other scriptures I can see that long before the New Testament passages came along, Romans 8:28 was working in Joseph’s life—God was working for the good of Joseph and his family.  God knew Joseph’s character when he gave him his dreams.  He told his dreams to his brothers and eventually some of them conspired to sell him.  But it was that sell of Joseph that catapulted Joseph into a life that later positioned him for saving their jealous be-hinds from poverty. Joseph himself told his brothers they meant what they did for evil but God meant it for good.  Perhaps if God had told Joseph along with the dreams how they would be fulfilled he would have kept his mouth closed.  You and I may have some rough edges that need a little smoothing out but sometimes our very weaknesses He will use to catapult us to where he wants us to be WHILE smoothing us out along the journey he places us on.  Haven’t you ever wondered why He never gives us all the details when He gives us a glimpse into where we’re headed? I do…it’s probably a good thing he doesn’t because I probably wouldn’t be doing or saying anything that would cause me to go through some things to get to where He’s taking me.  But rest assured that if we stay before Him in prayer daily He is smoothing out our character in whatever way necessary all while “He’s using it” for His glory.

 A flip-side to Joseph’s life…I wonder why none of the other brothers got that mission…why Joseph?  Maybe even with his yapping about his dreams, God saw a “worthy” heart in Joseph that none of his brothers had. When the rest of the family came to a point of need one of those other brothers probably would have been like, “You reap what you sow…” Uhmmm…I wonder……… :)

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