Wishing You Love And Joy

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Blessed Christmas filled with so much love and joy!

I pray you enjoy a day that reminds you of all of the blessings we have to be grateful for surrounded by loving memories of those who cannot be with us today. I am reminded in the still of the morning with my sweet children asleep in their beds that these are the small blessings, the amazing moments that are to be cherished.

So hold your loved ones closely. Life is precious. Be the love and joy you wish to feel in this world. As always, keep shining your heartlights! You are loved!!

Shine On!

xo

Where Words Fail

Where words fail, music speaks.

~ Hans Christian Anderson

What’s your favorite music to listen to or are you like me and enjoy all different types of music?  I have varied tastes in music from today’s music, to that of my youth, to the music that our parents listened to, to classical piano music, to country, to gospel, to traditional church hymns, all the way to Broadway show-tunes.  The two types of music I haven’t ever really enjoyed are rap and opera, but perhaps they will reveal themselves to me one day.

I find that music soothes me in many different situations as I believe music has a vibration of its own to aid our heartlight through healing, lifting, inspiring, energizing and stilling us in contemplative melancholy to flow throughout our lifetimes.  While I enjoy the sound of silence and of snow falling, I often use music during the day to help me.

I am grateful that I can hear and feel the vibrations in my soul.  I love to explore the feelings I get when I hear different types of music.  Don’t you?  While I am not a good singer, I do enjoy belting out a good song every once in awhile, especially in the car on a long highway when I’m alone.  It just feels good.  Do you know what I mean?

Certain songs can bring me back to special memories and I do feel that when I put my songs on shuffle, I’m given messages through God and the Universe.  For example, when Unforgettable, sung by Natalie Cole and her dad, Nat King Cole comes on, I know that is a message from my Dad to me, as that was the song we danced to at my wedding.  Perhaps it’s simply coincidence or a random synchronicity, but I prefer to believe otherwise.

Do you feel something similar?

Do you have any favorites that you hold dear to heart?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

This one’s for you Dad….I can never forget you. ♥

Clear Away the Clutter

Since we are moving soon, I’m cleaning out the clutter – decades of it and it’s hard.  I am a saver at heart and because I’m downsizing, it’s time to release and move on with my life.  Nostalgia takes hold occasionally and I release a few tears as I remember happier times.  That which I choose to hold onto are the favorites, the items that bring me joy in my life, not those which remind me of the past.

It’s exhausting work, this decluttering and although I’ve read my share of ‘how to declutter’  and feng shui books, I can sometimes get bogged down in memories when I find a little treasure that I had forgotten.  Perhaps it’s the chemo brain or mid-life loss of memory that are the reasons I’ve forgotten.  Who knows?  But I continue to choose to think that it’s a rite of passage when I can be reminded by an item and then put it in a pile and not pack it away to be moved to our next home.

Letting go is easy for some people.  For me, sometimes, it’s a challenge, but I am happy to report that it’s been one of those life lessons that I never wanted to partake in and yet, I’m finding happiness by going through it.  I’m releasing and sending items with love to new owners so that they can find joy in them as well.  I figure it doubles the joy that the item’s lifetime gives!  Does that sound silly?  I guess it can sound silly, but it’s a mindset that has been working for me, so I’m sticking with it.

Clutter bogs down the mind, body and soul although when we are in the midst of it, some of us don’t realize it (meaning me).  Now that I’m clearing away items that I thought I would use someday or used for a bit and now don’t, I’m finding that it’s opening spaces of light and opportunity in my life.

Have you felt this way?

Change is hard for most of us.  Endings are only new beginnings I know, but they are still hard to fathom sometimes when we aren’t sure where the new path is taking us.  I think I’d feel better if I were able to see and know where I am going.  But I trust that God has a plan and I am surrendering to His plan.

I hope you have a lovely Memorial Day Weekend!

Shine On!

xo

Have You Ever Had Signs From Loved Ones?

Born on All Saint’s Day, my Dad has celebrated his birthday in Heaven for 5 years now.  Tempus Fugit as he would say, meaning ‘time flies’ and I would humbly have to agree with him.

I’m a bit melancholy today.  Perhaps that happens to you when it’s a loved one’s birth or death date  who has already passed on?  So much has changed in our lives since he left.  So much of our lives have changed so drastically.  Sometimes I wish I could just ask him for advice.

And then, just when I’m wondering if I’m doing everything right, or the way he would have wanted me to, he sends an earthy angel to tell me.  Recently, a friend of mine, out of the blue, who never knew my Dad told me that my Dad wanted me to know that he is prroud of me for all that I’m doing now.  This man said he felt a huge urge to say that to me and to pass along a message to me (from my Dad).  It was as if my Dad knew I needed to hear those words and I most certainly did.

While the veil is thinner, I pray that you and your loved ones can communicate a bit more, or at least, you can feel peace.  I have had a few signs lately, so I know he’s watching over his family.  There’s been a lot of forgiveness between us because as you know, ‘time heals,’ and I’m proof of that phrase.

So be on the lookout – feathers, coins, synchronicity, unexplained phenomenon and sometimes even more physical feelings of cool air, lights blinking, etc. can be signs.

Love is eternal even when we can’t see them.

Have you ever had signs from loved ones?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

 

You Gotta Live and Let Live

My Granddaddy owned a general store in a small town in South Carolina.  Because people sometimes didn’t have the money for the necessities that they needed to buy in his store, he would often trade with them instead of using currency.  He would come home with chickens or eggs, once even a goat, from the farmers who needed to buy flour etc.  The story goes that he never let anyone leave without what they needed even when they lacked money.

“You gotta live and let live,” was his motto even back then.  He has long since passed, but the refrain still sticks in my head.  I was talking with one of my cousins today and we were reminiscing about our family and the memories that we shared were priceless.  When I told him the motto above, he chuckled and said it was one of his favorite sayings from AA and he never knew why.  It was simply one that stuck in his brain.

~ Live and Let Live ~

What a lovely way to look at life, don’t you think?  Allow others to be who they are, don’t judge and just look after your own self.  Do what’s right.  Be a good person.  Be yourself.  Be kind and loving towards everyone.  Just remember you can only change yourself and you need to accept everyone else as who they are.  Be a blessing in someone else’s life.  Allow your hardships to help others and not to harden your heart.  Look up and embrace life.  Be joyful that you are here to hold someone else’s hand.  When it’s your turn to need help, embrace the kindness given to you.  Pay it forward.  Don’t hoard your lessons, but share the experiences.  We are all battling something ~ patience and understanding go far when we connect with others on our life journey.  It helps to share when you connect with understanding and embrace others in a kind, loving way.  Be grateful that you can help someone else, even in a small way.  That’s what we are all here for on this life’s journey.

Hold my hand…let’s share!

Shine On!

xo

Remember When?

Recently I attended my high school reunion.  It was so much fun to see so many childhood friends that I haven’t seen in years.  I guess that’s the beauty of a reunion as you get a chance to reconnect with others and you know how much I appreciate connecting with people!

It was interesting as the party went on and we reminisced ~ Remember When? ~ was often the start of a conversation which ended with giggles.  Among the guests were friends whom I’ve known since Kindergarten.  It’s an amazing experience to reminisce with people with whom you have gone to school for 13 years, all the way until high school graduation!  Even though many of us have changed hair color, grown a little bigger and now have children of our own, it was as if by magic, SNAP, we all were back to age 16!  I think that is in the ease of sharing such a group history that we all sparkled for the night!

For there’s something precious about the childhood friendship you make.  There’s nothing like that good feeling of going back ‘home’ for a little while where people know your name, they know who you are, they remember you fondly and you remember them with fondness.  We’ve all mellowed with age and just enjoyed being together.  What a feat ~ what a gift ~ what a blessing.

Greetings with hugs and kisses on the cheek, we bonded again.  Laughter filled the room as we easily joked and teased eachother like family.  We talked about being grownups and parents and how our children did the same things we did.  It’s hard to imagine that we are that old!

What I liked best about the night was that none of us seemed to notice the physical changes.  Instead we concentrated on the friendships that had been established years before and we saw the essence of those kids we knew way back when.  Many of us don’t see eachother more than at reunions, but it’s as if that history makes the immediate grin of connection smoothly jump through years of time in a flash and the comfort level is immediate as is the banter.

Being surrounded by friends who knew my essence, who knew me and accepted me for who I was and who I am is a gift.  No judgment, just friendship.  Growing up, many of us knew eachother’s parents and unfortunately, we have now attended quite a few funerals for them.  One childhood friend in particular unexpectedly showed to my Dad’s funeral 3 years ago and when we hugged at our reunion, tears came to our eyes.  I told her how it meant the world to me that she was there, even though we had lost touch.  Her response that she just had to be there for me warmed my heart to its core.  It was special moments like this which were so precious to me and reminded me again and again how blessed we are in this life.

There’s nothing like friendship and connecting with others, even after so many years.  There are good stored memories within you which ignite and twinkle when we reminisce.  It seems to me that we look for and hold onto the good in our past.  At this age, it’s not so much about competition in that situation, it’s simply about connection, our youth, silly moments and sharing smiles.

Cheers to sparkling memories of Auld Lang Syne…

Shine On!

xo

Remember this song?

Dad’s Flag Day

Today is Flag Day for those in the United States.  June 14th, marks the celebration of the birthday of our flag ~ a reminder of the love of freedom, liberty and justice for all that our country stands for and that our flag embodies ~ it is a day to proudly fly the American Flag.

And for me, it is a reminder of my Dad, who proudly flew the American Flag from our porch’s flagpole.  It was my Dad who showed me how to roll the flag and put her away.  He carefully never let her touch the ground and when she was battered by wind and the elements he carefully folded her and disposed of her properly.

It’s funny because I’ve never really remembered how reverently he treated the flag until now ~ and it brings to mind that at his funeral, we were blessed to have the help of the Navy to make it a military funeral which he would have loved.  At his request, he was even ‘piped over the side’ by a friend ~ just one of the few nuances to his service that those who attended experienced.

Which brings me to the Daily Prompt as I think this moment of recall counts ~ today I realized how strongly he felt towards the flag and the USA.  I never really thought about it until now, but as clear as day, I can still see his daily ritual of putting the flag out in the morning and taking her in at night and if she were left out, she had to have the porch light illuminating her.  I’d bet wherever he is now, he’s the one in charge of the flag!

Father’s Day looms this weekend and the first anniversary of his death comes shortly afterwards.  It’s been a long year without him ~ full of struggles, tears and conflicting emotions.  In fact, it simply doesn’t seem like he’s dead sometimes because I can trick myself into thinking he’s on one of his biking trips.  But then of course, when I have to continue to take care of everything for his business and my parents’ affairs, I know he’s gone.

I didn’t have an easy relationship with my Dad.  It was fraught with turmoil.  But I’d really appreciate seeing him again standing on the porch unfurling the flag proudly today.  He was very proud of his country, proud to serve her and proud to be a Navy man.

Long May Her Flag Wave!

Shine On!

xo

Daily Prompt: In Good Faith

Describe a memory or encounter in which you considered your faith, religion, spirituality — or lack of — for the first time.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/daily-prompt-faith/

Who Do You LOVE?

Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU!

There are  7 days left before Valentine’s Day ~ the holiday which allows you to open your heart and express how you feel without feeling funny because everyone is doing it!  (Yikes!  I hope my kids don’t read this post as I never let them do things just because everyone is doing it!)

I learned a sad lesson when my Dad died as the tricky conjecture of “did you love me and did you know I loved you?” can be a hard way to think when there’s not something tangible to hold, to see and to reread in the days to come.  You know what I mean, don’t you?  Tomorrow is promised to no one and we only have today.   I am a card giver (and I love to receive as well), and I want you to know why ~ it’s because the written word is tangible.  A card can be held, your words can be reread forever and no matter how long it’s been since we’ve had contact, when you write your feelings in a card, they are a lifelong memory of love.  There’s no trying to remember what you said to me or twisting memories.  It’s all there, in black and white, in your handwriting if you choose, in any color ink imaginable and in whatever language you speak because there are accents for French, Spanish, German, Italian or Portuguese in any font.  Your words, not someone else’s (unless of course you need a little help)!

What’s more special than that?  A real greeting card of love (or like) in the mailbox amidst the junk mail and bills to brighten your loved one’s day!  The beauty of it is that a card is forever, and with SendOutCards, it’s a priceless gift which costs less than $2!  Even when you add your own pictures to it, it still costs less than $2 plus postage!  You can even add a video via a QR code into your card!  How amazing is it to be able to have an interactive card ~ letting your loved one SEE you telling them that you love them!

So…Who needs to know how you feel?

Today my GIFT TO YOU is a FREE CARD ~ please send a special person a card today!

Click here to send a FREE CARD!

Who do you LOVE?

(George Thorogood’s song is below in case you want to rock out today!)

Shine On & Share the LOVE!

xo

Christmas All Year Long…

Christmas is a little bit of home that we hold in our hearts

Have you noticed that a few blogs have snow gently falling?  How cool is that?  Thanks WordPress as the virtual snow just raised my spirits up a notch!  My heartfelt thanks to my blogger friend David at http://davidkanigan.com/  for kindly letting me in on the way to make it snow!  FYI:  You should stop by and see him as well ~ he’s a master of cool stuff!

I love snow, don’t you?  Watching it gently fall outside while I”m cozy and nestled warmly inside?  Ahh…it’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas…and it feels so good!  Now if the Jersey weather would just be less tropical, I’d be happy!  I know, I know, there’s time for cold ~ I agree…but a nip in the air would make it feel more like Christmas!

Lucky for me, I found this card last night when I was working and when I found this one, I knew that I had to use it for my inspiration.  You see, for me, it brings up the possibility that if we were to keep that little bit of home in our hearts all year long, we could make the Christmas Spirit last all year long…how wonderful would that be?  Can you imagine it?  Wouldn’t you like it?  A bit of holiday spirit everyday?!

Imagine a Baker’s Dozen of Warm, Gooey Ways Our Lives Would Change

When We Keep the Christmas Spirit in Our Hearts for 12 Months

1.  We feel the love and generosity in the air all year long.

2.  Everyone stays on their best behavior so that Santa and his Elves don’t put them on the Naughty List!

3.  More people are singing and smiling everyday!

4.  The Season of Giving and of World Peace is an everyday occurrence.

5.  Gratefulness is a daily sentiment ~ instead of tipping only at Christmas!

6.  Happy memories with family and friends occur more often!

7.  Reminiscing about those who have passed keeps their memories alive.

8.  A lightness in heart keeps people huggable.

9.  We sit down and enjoy our meals ~ with our families and friends!

10.  We send cards filled with loving words and pictures of our families and connect more often!

11.  I Believe is a sentiment heard more often than not!

12.  We enjoy the twinkling of lights and take time to contemplate their beauty.

13.  We embrace The Presents of Presence each and everyday!

Join me…let’s keep the Holiday Spirit glowing!

Keep Twinkling and Shine On!

xo

In my search for a good  follow up to yesterday’s post, I checked out the newest cards to find one as my inspiration.  You may not know that most of the images that I feature in my blog are actual cards from my business which I use to springboard my blog post ~ hopefully bringing to you, a bit of inspiration.  If the picture/card is not from the card catalog, then it’s one that I made in about 5 minutes from my own photo and the templates/elements of the free system.  If you want to try it for yourself, you can click below…

http://www.rememberchristmas.com/deanery

An Easy Answer to your Promptings!

Just sending a wave your way!

Have you ever had one of those moments when you just feel like you should reach out and see how a particular friend or family member is doing?  Perhaps you just get a brief moment’s feeling or thought in your head about them…

but you don’t want to call or text…

you want it to be special?

Well, that’s called a PROMPTING!

That inner voice of wisdom gives you the chance to make connections, touch lives and be the soul you are in the human body!  How many times have you thought of a long lost friend only to let the thought slip away because you don’t have enough time to call them, texting doesn’t seem the right solution and so you just do nothing…and then time goes on and you get busy again…

What if you could, when that prompting hits, quickly pick a card from a computer, anywhere in the world, write a little hello message to your friend and click SEND and immediately your card is on it’s way…and it’s not an e-card ~ it’s a REAL CARD!  One that you have to open…you know the treasure nestled in the pile of junk mail and bills…the envelope that’s going to be the first card your friend opens because it’s not junk nor a bill nor an advertisement…it’s a bit of connection…a bit of friendship…a bit of love!

What if you didn’t have to find a computer to do it?  What if you could use your iPhone?  What if you could do it from a FREE APP?!

Well, you can…and I’ll tell you about it tomorrow!

In the meantime, take a moment and think about the beauty in your life, the fun characters you know and love ~ the college roommates you’ve lost touch with, the best friends from childhood that you don’t see anymore…what about the cousins (bucking-expectations) whom you’ve lost touch with just because of circumstances beyond your control!

Life is richer because of the connections we make in it…we only have a short time here my friends ~ Does everyone in your life know how you feel about them?  Today’s the day to send a smile, renew a relationship, grow a friendship, send out love and increase your own happiness as you increase others!

How do you want to be remembered?

What are you waiting for?

Use your Promptings!

xo

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