Communication

   Communication is a very important key in relationships.   Think about it, even if a person does not have the ability to verbally speak, there is Sign Language to aide in communication!!  Sign Language  was created before texting & any other tech stuff was created to help speak for those who can not.      

  The song written by Paul Simon, "The Sound of Silence", has a verse in it that real drives home what is happening with communication today, 
 ".....Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share....".    People want to be heard but are not listening to each other.   People are so bent on being heard & being right, people are stop listening to what the other person is saying.    When the ears & hearts of the people close, communication dies.   

   Without communication there is no forward motion in relationships or the world!  To be in communication with each other does not mean you have to agree with everything the other person is saying, thinking or feeling.   Just hear them out.   They might surprise ya with something.  Who knows what they are saying just might help out with what you are saying.   


I pray for better communication in your relationships & through out the world.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Unconditional Love

  Unconditional love, what is it?  Do you give unconditional love?    Does your love have strings attached to it?  

  How do you know you have unconditional love?  The love you have, do you have to do anything for it?  Does anyone have to do anything for you for your love?

  What is the meaning of unconditional love?

Unconditional love is known as affection without any limitations, or love without conditions. This term is sometimes associated with other terms such as true altruism or complete love.

Unconditional love - Wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki › Unconditional_love

  If you have to do anything to receive love or if anyone has to do anything to receive love from you, that's not unconditional love.   Unconditional love just flows from you & excepts nothing in return.  It's a pure love.

  Pure love that flows from you to all people no matter the color, gender, age, behavior (doesn't mean you agree with the behavior, just that you still love the person),  or anything else that makes up people. 

  Unconditional love does not stop because we can not see eye to eye on the same subject matter.  It's ok to disagree & still get along,   "The root of unconditional love is understanding and forgiveness", (https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-examples-of-unconditional-love).   Another example is found in the Bible, Jesus.  Jesus gave unconditional love to every person in every town. 

  I pray that you have unconditional love & it flows through you freely!

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Mental Illness

  Mental Illness has many types and combinations that make for some interesting folks.  Not to sound like I am making fun of or disrespecting anyone who is dealing with or has dealt with these issues.  My heart goes out to all who have faced it, lived it, lived with it or is dealing with it.   

   There are five major categories of mental illness.  Within the major categories there can be subcategories.  Then there can be combinations of any number of major and subcategories.  When dealing with the combinations of mental illness it can be more difficult and can take longer to form a proper diagnosis.  Some folks can live a lifetime struggling with mental illness & may not seek or receive help.  That can destroy family relationships, jobs or any type of relationship.   

   Mental Illness can be caused by trauma,  abuse, virus, or the brain does not develop properly in the womb.  The cause and type of mental illness can help determine the course of treatment. It's not an "easy fix".   Some might say there is no "fix" or "cure".   I agree to a point.  There are so many things the medical teams do know & don't know about the brain, it's functions and it's inner workings.   However they are progressing.     

   Mental Illness is a very complex thing.  There is no easy way about it.  For families that have a mentally ill loved one, life is a challenge.    

   This post is just a scratch on the surface of the topic of mental illness.  It is by no means an in depth answer for mental illness.  This might just generate more questions. Mental illness can bring feelings of isolation both for afflicted and their loved ones.  I am just trying to shine some light in an area that many people may feel uncomfortable talking about.   I hope more light will bring more knowledge.  Knowledge is power.  I encourage you to start these conversations with your loved ones and medical team
   
  Mental Illness can leave people feeling very powerless & hopeless.  I pray this will help start to fight the powerless & hopeless feelings you may have. 

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Covenants

    In a world that consumes & throws away,  when stuff is not made to last, how does that effect us?  I did some digging about divorce rate.  I found that divorce rate was on an upper climb but in recent years it was slowly come down.   Which is good!!  I was afraid to see that it was going to be at an all time high, thank God it was not.   Gave me a little more hope about the world.    Like the fire in the picture,  lots of darkness with a a bursting of light.

   As I dug for facts I, came across a a web site, ( https://www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/), they had some interesting information.   Here are a few points I would like to share: divorce rates are about 40-50% of married couples in U.S.,  that is with them on a slowly climb down.   Reason for divorce: Lack of commitment, argue too much, infidelity, married to young, unrealistic expectations, lack of equality in the relationship, lack of preparation of the marriage & abuse.   Some marriages had multiples of the list that were causes for the marriages to end.  Believe it or not abuse was the lesser percentage for reasons for ending a marriage.  I was a bit surprised by that.  I thought that would be at the top.   What does this all say about us as people on how we view marriage/relationships?  

   Do we leave at the first sign of a problem?   Are we lacking the ability to communicate with each other?  Are we not valuing the covenant of marriage?    Do we know how to make things last?  For the record, if you are in an abuse relationship get help right away!!!   Safety first!!!!   But the other stuff seems to me stuff that can be worked out.   

   Find married people who are happy in their marriage & ask them how they are happy & what are they doing to stay together when things get rough.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Desire

  Desire..... what do we know about it?   It could be something as simple as having an deep longing of something, a want or a wish.   

  What do you desire?  Do you have a list of things that you desire to do, go, have or see?  What is your plan to achieve your desires?  Do any of your desires conflict with each other?   That is ok.  I would try not to go for or do them at them same time.   If you need help building a list, contact me.

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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More on Adam & Eve

  Let's just jump into it!!   In the Bible, God created Adam & Eve. First God created the world then Adam to tend to the world then created Eve.    God created Adam capable to run the world all by himself.   Adam had everything he need to do so.   God created Eve so Adam was not lonely & they could mate to make more of their kind, just like the rest of creation.  

   Eve was not created to save Adam from being over worked or tell him what to do.  Eve was created for a sole purpose.  Eve was not Adam's savior from the world.    Adam was made complete to run the world without extra help from Eve.   

  Ladies look at your relationship with your guy.   Are you over stepping your bounds, thinking you are "helping out"?   God created your guy to be able to handle it all!   Review how you are doing things. Are you slowing down your guy by doing it all for him?  If you need help reviewing yourself, contact me.

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Gracious

   To be gracious, what does that mean?  Can it be taught/learned?  Are some just born with it?  We all want others to be gracious towards our self, are we gracious to others?  Is it a level of maturity? 

   This word gracious started me to think about what it meant.   Do I have a complete understanding of what the word means?  I thought I did.  But as I dug around looking at what that word meant, I was surprised.   Made me start to wonder if anyone really knows what the word means.    I think we have a small understanding of what it means.

   As I dug, looking into the the meaning of this word, I found 4 different meanings to it.  I was surprised by this.   First surprise was that the Christian culture has a different meaning to it than the rest of the world.  Second surprise is that the rest of the world had 3 descriptions of the word.   Finding this out makes it clear why there is so much dysfunction in communication with each other in this world.   If everyone has different meanings to what words are, how can anyone understand what the other is saying???!!!   Ok, rant done, back to the post.

   I would like to encourage you to do your own digging of gracious & what it means.  Then see which definition you want to live by & then line yourself up to that.   Also next time you & another person might disagree on something or even start to communicate with each, think about it, are you speaking the same language??

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Hole

  Let's imagine when we are born we all start at zero or a flat line.   As we grow, learn different things & our parents pour into us life giving lessons that will make us into the adults we are today.  That would be an upper-ward climb on the hill of life & who we are or zero starts becoming positive growing numbers.   

  Sometimes we don't get what we need at different stages in life & that would make a deposit in the negative or make a hole in us.   Life comes with different problems for us to face & that can make more of a hole in us or help us climb the hill of life.  

  If you are taught to give & not receive or to put others first & not to tend to yourself, that could add to the negative or the hole.  If you have relationships that you are life giving & not receiving life back, that feeds the negative/hole.  How can we stop feeding the negative, stop digging the hole?

    Some of us don't realize we are standing in the negative or a hole, because that is where you have been all your life.  Some may see their in the hole but don't know how to get out.  It can feel like waves crashing on us repeatedly  & you can not get  firm footing to stand to move.

  If you are in a hole & want out, contact me,  I can help point you out of the hole.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Offense

  This post will not have a beautiful picture of nature.   This post is addressing the pattern that has happened since Religion has began.   
  You read your Bible, go to church, have your Bible Study groups & volunteer your time at a soup kitchen, food pantry or thrift shop.  You may even have the desire to go out into the community or other places in the world to spread the knowledge of who God is.    Okay, stop right there.   All that stuff is wonderful, not knocking any of those actions there.   None of it is wrong.   But if you go out into the community or the world to spread God's word or get others to turn from their wicked ways & come to the good side, then look at them & be offend of what they do, say or believe, just stop.  Go back home & read up on how Jesus interacted with people.  Jesus did not look down on the people.  He came for them to know His Father & His Fathers love.   He did not reject them because they did not live a perfect life.

  If you are going out spreading  the Word but are looking down on the people you are "helping".  Just stop!!   No one is receiving  God's love from you.  You actions are to make you feel good & you to build up yourself, that's not God's Word.   That's you using God's Word for your own purpose.

  Instead study how Jesus walked out His days going town to town.  He came to show God's love & who His Father is.  Not to build followers.   Jesus did not go town to town looking for needy people to "help" so He would feel good about what He is doing or to feel good about Himself.   It was never about Him.   It was all about His Father & His Fathers love for each person in each town.  

  If you go out to build yourself up, your building your kingdom not God's Kingdom.    If you are doing this & want to stop & need some help stopping the pattern, contact me.

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Flower vs Weed

  Flower vs Weed.... what are the difference that makes it one or the other?   Who decides what is what?  What is the purpose of a flower or a weed?   In the Bible it talks about flowers more than weeds. 

  A flower is seen as value, beauty,  enjoyment & is wanted.  A weed you see as useless, bothersome, a pain to get rid of  & not much value.    Do we view people the same way as a flower or a weed?  

  A flower & a weed has simpler life cycle: seed, growth, bloom & wither away to start all over.  Both have their own seasons.  Both have their own reason for growth. 

  In the Bible the flower is used more than a weed.  The flower is described as life, beauty, decorations in different structures on the Tabernacle.   A weed is described as just a plant, it is just there.   Do you want to be a flower or a weed?  

  A flower is the state of a bloom or flourishing, to develop & has value.   A weed is a plant that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.    How are you being a flower in the world?  Or are you a weed?  

  If you find yourself more like a weed & want to be more like a flower in the world, contact me.


 
If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Marriage, The Wife's Part

Wives are you happy with your marriage?   Does it need to be improvements in area's?  This is not about changing what the hubby is doing.   Just let that go.   Let's look at what we are doing as wives & address that.    Let's jump on in to some things to get us thinking what can we do different.  I hope the picture helps you relax as you jump in.

We will be looking at sowing & reaping.  To sow is to put in & to reap is was you get from after you have sown.  Very simple principle that can do great things.    You are doing the sowing & the reaping, not lets see what I can get my hubby to do different.   Ladies, leave the poor guy a lone.   He's got guy stuff to do.  

Look at what you want to have done different, is it more date nights with your hubby, more quality time with him at home, more communication with him or do you feel your not on the same page as him & want to change that?   Whatever your goal is, let's look at what you are doing now that is not getting the results that you want & stop doing them.   Let's look on how you can sow better things to reap better fruit.  When we are applying the sowing & reaping principle, do not look for the fast change. Some times it might take a season or so to get the fruit.   Have patience with yourself & what you are doing.  

Let's look at ourselves some more.  Are you taking care of you?  Eating healthy, exercises, getting out with the lady friends, building into the the family relationships outside of you & him & each other's friends?  Remember the times of dating each other & talking about it!!  Drop old issues, holding on to past pain & rough times kills the future joy.  How many nice loving words have you said towards him in a day?  Holding hands much?  Are you showing him respect?  Have you said thank you to him today?   Stop picking out ever little thing he does that is making you crazy!!  Doing that is killing your relationship.  You would not like it if the shoe was on the other foot.  

If you would like more help with this, please contact me.  Blessings on your path for a stronger, healthier marriage!!

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Pride & Arrogance

This post goes a long with "High Horse" post.   It's about how we present ourselves around other people.   Do you get along with others or do you have conflicts with others, a lot?   This might be because of pride/arrogance/high horse attitude we carry.   No body likes to be around a person that carries those personality traits.  

Pride is linked to our ego. It is satisfaction of our own abilities & possessions.  Pride is an unhealthy view of our own gifts & abilities.  It rejects criticism.   Please don't get confused by thinking I'm saying it is unhealthy to have self confidence.  Self confidence is very healthy.  There is a fine line between self confidence & pride.  We must be careful not to cross that fine line.  Self confidence is a healthy view of one's own gifts & abilities, it can take criticism & uses it to better themselves.  

Arrogance is an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims or assumptions.   Arrogance is undesirable traits as being disagreeable, aggressive,  having low or brittle self-esteem & prone to shame.   Arrogance tries to protect your own ego, self -worth, hide insecurities, lack of confidence & fear of rejection.  It is also often associated with narcissistic personality disorder.  People with this disorder have intense, unstable emotions & a distorted self-image.   The opposite of arrogance is humility.  Humility is being free from pride/arrogance/high horse.  Don't be a door mat,  humility with self-confidence is the right balance.  

With the information given here, you may be able to relate, a pattern might be starting to show here.  Wounds can be healed.   Skills can be learned to grow in areas that we struggle in.   Sometimes we need help from other people to grow or receive healing in areas.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Communicate

Are you having problem communicating with any one or everyone?  No matter how hard you try it just is not working & is adding to a bigger problem?   The problem could be girl vs boy language or something else.   Do you know how to tell the difference?   How do you fix the problem?

Communication is a skill that can be learned at any age,  not everyone knows of the skills, or they only know part & some do know all of the skills.    No matter where you fit in that, communication can be tricky when trying to communicate with others, whom may be at different levels of communication.   

Do you know how to keep communication going when you & the other person don't see eye to eye on a subject matter, when emotions tend to be high or you don't care for what is being talked about?  How do you keep communication going?

To communicate is to get someone to understand what you are thinking & feeling.  To communicate is not to get them to go a long with whatever you are thinking & feeling, but to understand where you are coming from & they are doing the same with you.    

Remember your opinion/thought/feelings/emotions are all yours & not everyone else.  We can all have our own & still be able to communicate with each other & not have relationship break downs. 
Communication works best when everyone is not over flowing with their emotions.  All of the relationship wiring in your head needs to be up & running.   Our emotions, when over flowing, can get in the way of this.  

If you like to learn about better communication, contact me.

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Standing In Judgement

Do you stand in judgement over someone?   How is that going for  ya?  Do you see & feel a healthy relationship growing between you & that person?   Are you having trouble "helping" a person be better?  Are you just trying to help someone & all there is more trouble?   

Did the person you are standing in judgement over ask you to judge them?  Did they ask for your opinion over/in their lives?  Or did you just give it?  Are you standing in judgement over someone because you care about them or does it make you feel better?    

What is in your heart for that person you are standing in judgement?  Is your judgement really helping or just driving more of a wedge between you?   So is standing in judgement really working? 

How do you want to change the way you are doing things?  Did you really want to have a relationship with that person?  So you really want to help this person?  Or are you just doing what you do to feel better about yourself?   What is the reason for your actions?   Are you on a high horse?

  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Freedom VS Slavery

To start with, here are some Bible verses to think about.

Bible verse on it- 

Freedom: 

1 Corinthians 7:22 (NIV)" For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave."-refers to spiritual & natural freeman.   

Slavery: 

Leviticus 19:20(KJV) 

" And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free."

Definition of each one- 

Freedom from Merriam-Webster Dictionary: 

1 :the quality or state of being free: such as  

a :the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action  

b :liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another :independence  

c :the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous  

• freedom from care 

d :ease, facility  

• spoke the language with freedom 

e :the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken  

• answered with freedom 

f :improper familiarity  

g :boldness of conception or execution  

h :unrestricted use 

2 a :a political right  

b :franchise, privilege  

Slavery from Merriam-Webster Dictionary: 

1 :drudgery, toil  

2 :submission to a dominating influence  

3 a :the state of a person who is a chattel of another  

b :the practice of slaveholding  

Now ask yourself which one do you live by? Are you living like a slave or walking in freedom? 

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

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Fall Colors

Fall colors are a time of change.  Spring & Summer are over, growth of plants stop or slow down.  Some people start to fall into seasonal depression.  Some get ready for the winter fun times.  What do you do in the fall?   Do you go on color tours with family & friends?  Hit the cider mill?  Confirm your Holiday plans with family, friends or your job?  Get your household & cars are for winter? Do you doing nothing different?  Do you live in the north & head south, run from the snow & cold?  Make plans for next Summer?

How do you handle change?  Sometimes we need help handling different changes in life.  Some of us can jump from one to the other with ease.  But there is some who it takes time & can not be rushed. It's all ok.  Each person is created different.  The ones who can jump into to change with no problem, must not rush those who need time.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.
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