Friday, June 12th, 2020

Wedding…the word itself sounds beautiful! Start adding flowers, dress apparel and music and it’s nearly impossible to put into words. I have dreamed of having a wedding since I was a very young girl. I’ll admit over the years it has taken on different styles and decorations in my mind and each of them still float around in my thoughts. I would guess many little girls dream of weddings. My life has taken me down many different paths, I have no regrets though I could have made better decisions. My past is what has molded me into the person I am today, and I have chosen to learn and grow from my past. If I were to discount or discard my past, it would eliminate the lessons I’ve learned.

Just the other day I spent some time thinking about some of the individuals I’ve dated and entered into a relationship with over the period of my adult life. I’m sure there’s a statistic somewhere about how many relationship a person might have in a lifetime, I’m not going to look because it’s irrelevant to me. For a longtime I tried living my life based upon what I admired and seen in others. It can be a roadmap for disaster, if you are not careful. We can appreciate what others do but we must find our own way in the world. I love my parents and the example they set before me, next month would have been their 57th wedding anniversary. My mom passed away just shy of their 49th anniversary. I had planned a special trip just for her and my dad as a surprise, sort of a prelude to their 50th, unfortunately they never had the opportunity to go. Longevity is a wonderful thing, it’s beautiful to see love grow and change through the years. I’ve learned it’s not the years but the moments when it comes to love. I’ve also learned that love is not the same from person to person, and that’s ok as well as being beautifully different. You know, it’s true what they say, “Beauty (love) is in the eye of the beholder.”

I may not be a little girl with dreams of a wedding but I am most definitely a woman who is still dreaming of a wedding, being a bride with a bouquet of flowers and holding the hand of my beloved. Someday, maybe…

Please click the link to view an article/photos that helped to rekindled my thoughts of weddings:

Beautiful Weddings Moments

https://beautifulweddings.com.au/

Be good to yourself! Be kind to one another! Share JOY! Please practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Friday, June 12th, 2020

I was nominated to participate in this fun blog post, it’s been a lot of fun and has provided an opportunity to share some interesting facts about myself and some of my favorite feelings! I was nominated by Blogs by J: https://blogbyj.life/ “The Experiences of Life Will Take Us in Many Directions.” This quote is on oJ’s home page. I have found J’s posts to be interesting and insightful. Please check it out.

Rules:

Simply list 10 of your favorite feelings and then pass on nominations to other bloggers!

My 10 Favorite Feelings:

1. Happiness/Awe— Walt Disney World. I don’t get to go as often as I would like but it holds many precious memories for me. I feel so relaxed, free and innocence when I’m there. I am also a huge fan of The Flintstones and have a collection of memorabilia from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

2. Love— I love, love. I love my friends and my family. I love Jesus. I love my job. I love being in love. I love to see others happy.

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”

—Khalil Gibran

3. Curiosity— I like talk about life and things…God, history, religion, politics, emotions, feelings, past, present and future. Discuss the “what if’s?” and “why’s” of life.

4. Chemistry— As it relates to people, what attracted one person to another, where we choose to work and socialize. The world and the universe are fascinating!

5. Hopeful— I seek to be optimistic most of the time. I seek to encourage others and share HOPE.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite of all the darkness.”

—Desmond Tutu

6. Affection — I love to love and be loved, It makes me happy! I am a very touchy, feely kind of person, I love to give hugs and receive hugs. Having friends around me helps to nurture and support my soul and spirit.

7. Sleep/Slumber— I enjoy sleeping long hours, staying up late at night and sleeping in, in the mornings. I’ve learned over time that excessive sleeping does not have to be a sign of laziness. In fact, some of us just require more restful sleep than others.

8. Confidence— This is not always an easy feeling for me, but I like how I feel when I am confident and sure of myself. For me, this means I am growing more comfortable in my own skin and being proud of the person I am becoming.

8. Learning/Awakening— I enjoy digging deeper into subjects that peak my interest and expanding my knowledge. I like reading or listening to books by C.S.Lewis, Mitch Albom, Richard Bach, Rachel Held Evans, to list a few. I enjoy theological studies of the Bible and of other sacred texts.

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”

—Ernest Hemingway

9. Relaxation/5 Senses— Embracing the healing qualities of our five senses; touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. I am enchanted by nature. The ebb and flow of the ocean, the musical features of a waterfall, the sweet aroma of the grass, flowers, and trees. The beauty of flames dancing on a campfire, the mystery of fireflies. Holding the hand of a beloved.

10. Competition— I grew up playing softball, started around the age of five and continued playing for over three decades. I enjoyed the sport and being part of a team. I also like to challenge myself by taking courses online to broaden my knowledge as it relates to my faith and my job. In the past I’ve taken courses about weather, management skills, computer and writing skills as well as biblical studies.

“If you want to find the real competition, just look in the mirror.”

—Unknown

In closing, this has been a lot of fun for me to do, I’ve had the opportunity to share many of my favorite things with you. Above all these things— the most important, special and sacred thing in my life is my Creator, my God, my Lord and Savior. None of my favorite things would be possible if not for my Creator.

—John 1:1-4—

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

Be good to yourself! Be kind to one another! Share JOY! Please practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

My Nominees:

Karen: https://simplysoulsearching.com/

Susie: https://susiesopinions.blog/

Sharvi: https://tipsfromsharvi.com/

Jan: https://janbeek.blog/

Wendi: https://simplychronicallyill.com/

I was nominated to participate in this lovely blog post and I am so glad because it’s been a lot of fun and has truly brought a smile to my face …

10 of my Favorite Feelings

Sunday, June 7th, 2020

Hello friends—

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” —Rumi

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela

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“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” —Leo Tolstoy

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“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” —Mahatma Gandhi

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

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Don’t Just—

Don’t just learn, experience.

Don’t just read, absorb.

Don’t just change, transform.

Don’t just relate, advocate.

Don’t just promise, prove.

Don’t just criticize, encourage.

Don’t just think, ponder.

Don’t just take, give.

Don’t just see, feel.

Don’t just dream, do.

Don’t just hear, listen.

Don’t just talk, act.

Don’t just tell, show.

Don’t just exist, live.

—Roy T. Bennett

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Now, you didn’t think I forgot to include a quote from C.S.Lewis, did you?

“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory or one of unthinkable horror.”

—C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity—

Have a Blessed Sunday! Be good to yourself! Be kind to one another! Share LOVE! Please practice social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️💛

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Saturday, June 6th, 2020

Hello all my lovely friends—

I wanted to share some photos and thoughts with you today. I like to surround myself with the things that feed my soul. I’ve got pictures of loved ones in many rooms of my home. I’ve got lots of books from some of my favorite authors; C.S.Lewis, Mitch Albom, Rachel Held Evans, Ken Blanchard, and many biblical reference books and Bibles in different translations. My walls have many positive sayings on them. I have framed some beautiful hand made cards I’ve received. I have dried flowers from my moms funeral and the prayer shawl my church blessed and gave her. These are all precious and priceless treasures to me.

How about you? Do you have things that bring you joy?

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One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Something that one person considers worthless may be considered valuable by someone else.

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Psalm 47:1

“Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.”

Psalm 16:11

“You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 30:4-5

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Press on friends, because JOY comes in the morning! ~Amen💙🙏🏻

Be good to yourself! Be kind to one another! Share JOY! Please practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Thursday, June 4th, 2020

Hi friends—

Just sharing some love and thoughts with you. I’m a big fan of C.S.Lewis and I wanted to share a few of his words and a video from a radio show relating to “right & wrong” the Moral Law. No big secret, I’m a sinner…we are all sinners. I am not more important than you, I am as important as you. We are all God’s children, life is not (should not) be a competition against one another for the survival of the fittest. We are all travelers on this planet called earth. The journey will always be lighter when you’re not traveling alone. Injustices are committed every day and present in all walks of life, on every continent on earth AND that does not make it right, merely a fact. Real change is possible, real change comes when we are constantly and consistently learning, growing, and helping one another through communication and compassion. We must be able to extend grace and forgiveness as God extends to us. I support all individuals who choose to march and assemble in peaceful protests. I applaud those who become more active in the pursuit of real change by finding ways to work and get involved with local communities and local government. They work to elect officials to improve their communities. They become active by attending local public government meetings, and they work with local churches, schools and law enforcement agencies. We can do this together!

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” —Mahatma Gandhi

“When the police arrived and found no lion, no broken wall, and no convicts, and the Head behaving like a lunatic, there was an inquiry into the whole thing. And in the inquiry all sorts of things about Experiment House came out, and about ten people got expelled. After that, the Head’s friends saw that the Head was no use as a Head, so they got her made an Inspector to interfere with other Heads. And when they found she wasn’t much good even at that, they got her into Parliament where she lived happily ever after.”

—“Chronicles of Narnia” by C. S. Lewis

The video below is titled, “Right & Wrong – A Clue to the Meaning of the Universe” by C.S.Lewis.

Be good to yourself! Be kind to one another! Please practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

US

https://www.youtube.com/user/CSLewisDoodle

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

“We are what we believe we are.”

~C.S.Lewis~

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“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

~C.S.Lewis~

1 Corinthians 13:4

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“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.”

1 John 4:19

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“We love because he first loved us.”

1 Peter 4:8

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“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

Be good to yourself, be kind and please continue to practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020

Dearest friends and followers—

My heart hurts for many reasons these past few days, I will not list them one by one, I pray them to my Father in Heaven. We are all His children, He has no favorites. What a wonderful example of love. At the end of each day we all must answer for the things we have said and done. Tomorrow is the chance to do better.

“[E]very time you make a choice you are turning into the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.” ~C. S. Lewis

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“Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace.”

—Charles Spurgeon—

“All human beings bear God’s image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of one’s being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.”

—Bishop John Shelby Spong—

John 13:34

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

Be good to yourself, be kind and please continue to practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Sunday, May 31st, 2020

Dear Friends—

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Today I am choosing joy

Today I am trusting God

Today I am praying for YOU

Today I am choosing kindness

Today I am…

Friends, this list could go on and on with no ending. May I suggest you make a list for yourself and see what you choose for today. We only get one chance at today, if we wait too long it will become tomorrow and longer yet, it will be yesterday. We live day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute and seconds by seconds. We are not promised tomorrow, we have today to make the best of it. Our world and all who live in it must find ways of peaceful resolutions. Hate must be extinguished. Decisions, opinions and even anger are all possible without violence. Protests should not become opportunities to inflict misguided pain and loss. When protesters turn to violence it quickly becomes a recipe for disaster and many innocent people and business owners suffer. I totally support individuals having the right for peaceful protesting. It’s the violence and property damages and losses I passionately dislike. Just yesterday in my home city a war memorial monument was defaced, the monument had nothing to do with what the protesters were protesting. It is an inanimate object, totally defenseless. We must learn to listen to one another and respect one another so that peaceful resolutions can be found. Just be kind! We can disagree with each other and at the same time find ways to be respectful and kind. None of these are easy, they are actually difficult and take practice and discipline. Destroying property and acts of violence are crimes and should be treated accordingly. We all must pray for our communities, cities and countries for leadership and objectivity for the rights of all. The Bible provides many examples for appropriate actions and behaviors. I would never support stifling ones emotions and passions, anger can be expressed without violence. I personally raise my voice from time to time, I have even been known to curse. I’m not perfect and I also know perfection is not an appropriate goal. I am sharing these things with you because we are all human, we make mistakes. I am not always proud of all my actions and I constantly try to become a better person today than I was yesterday. We all must eventually face the person we see in the mirror. We always have the choice to be KIND TO ONE ANOTHER.

The Bible is filled with verses telling us how to live a life pleasing to God below are a few.

This first verse was part of my daily devotional for today and I read before I even decided to write this post today. I truly felt called to share what was on my heart.

~Isaiah 41:10~
“Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”

The verses found below are interesting to me because the main theme is found in all four gospels. The greatest commandment is to “Love One Another.”

~Matthew 22:36-40~

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

~Mark 12:28-31~

“One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

~Luke 10:25-28~

“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

~John 13:34-35~

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Be good to yourself, be kind and please continue to practice healthy social distancing along with good health and hygiene habits! 😷 May God Bless You in a special way today. Amen. 🙏🏻

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm

Friday, May 27th, 2020

Greeting Friends & Family —

I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. It is the theme song to the TV show, Star Trek: Enterprise. With all the spare time I have now with COVID-19 I have been watching some shows online that I had never seen before. I must say that the timing of hearing this song and the poem I posted earlier are not mere chance. I believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit is working together with God and Jesus for my good. Recently, I made a decision to be more proactive and resilient when it comes to life, specifically my life. I am choosing to live, learn and grow in ways that I never imagined possible. I have largely been living and looking forward while carry most of the weight of my past with me. On some level I convinced myself that I must bare the weight of all past mistakes even if they were not my fault alone. I am good at forgiveness when it comes to others but rarely extend it to myself. Recently, this misguided logic hit me hard and I could not ignore it any longer! I had been placing my judgment above God’s, how dare I! I was so wrong! As humans, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. That is the ugly truth. God does not have an expectation of perfection from us, He created us. He loves us.

Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”

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Philippians 3:12-15, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”

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James 3:2, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

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Due to the COVID-19, I’m spending a lot of time alone, this is both a blessing and a curse. I have been cooking, cleaning, decorating, planting, blogging, relaxing, reading to mention a few.

The best advice I could offer anyone is to be in relationship with your Creator, get to know yourself and together create a plan to become the person you were created to be. YOU ARE SO LOVED!

Here’s the poem I mentioned earlier…

Continue to practicing social distancing, good health and hygiene habits! 😊

~Peace~ ειρήνη~Charlotte 🌻🙏🏻☀️

ειρήνη– “Peace” in Greek, reference listed the below. 

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://biblehub.com/greek/1515.htm