Organizing Life: Part 5 Smile

 I hope you have enjoyed the adventure of organizing life. Now it is time to sum it all up with part 5: Smile. It is kind of ironic that the  last post in this series has stretched my organizing "capacity" to the maximum.
In the midst of organizing my life we have sold our home. It is a good, but that is another story to come soon.  The selling of our home has meant that every daily activity we simplified , scheduled, strategized, and systematized, has been put on hold and applied towards packing, cleaning, and organizing a move.
So, to write about smiling in the midst of organizing life has truly been easy simple okay let's face it, tough. Life doesn't always happen according to our schedules and this is only proof of that fact. I can however, say we have fared through it with some learning lessons to go with it.
SMILE, n,

1. A peculiar contraction of the features of the face, which naturally expresses pleasure, moderate joy, approbation or kindness; opposed to frown. Sweet intercourse of looks and smiles.

2. Gay or joyous appearance; as the smiles of spring.

3. Favor; countenance; propitiousness; as the smiles of providence.

 It is easy to smile through anything when we stop and truly evaluate the situation in relation to the big picture in life. The hard part is knowing when to stop the negativity roller coaster. Our emotions can get so involved with our rational thinking skills it can cloud over many problems that could be fixed rather expediently.

 

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.  

(Psalms 42:11)

 

The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.  

(Proverbs 15:30)

 

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. (Acts 2:28)

 

 

Our countenance is said to be a "window of the soul" to be more precise it is a quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero a Roman statesman born in 106 BC who said "The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intention."

Cicero by: Martin Knoller 1775

Organizing Life is shown in our countenances to be sure. Our faces will reflect our attitudes towards what we are doing.  If it is a chore to organize everything right now, stop and re-evaluate why and how you are working towards your goal.  If your goal is to just get by, than it will be reflected in your countenance. Smiling has some great health benefits read this article Health Benefits From Smiling. Sharing a smile may sometimes be harder to do, but it sure goes much farther than a scowl or a frown. Think about what you are multiplying by a smile: joy, happiness, laughter, warmth and beauty.

 

 

Photo Courtesy of: Beauty Begins With A Smile

 

Father's Day Is Here: Let's Celebrate Dads

Dad Appreciating New Life

Any man can be a father, but not every father is a dad. Let's celebrate and honor those men who are dads and pray for those who are fathers but not around to be dad.

I am blessed to have a man who is not only a great husband and father, but an awesome dad. Part of the help is having  him knowing Jesus Christ as his savior and seeking to honor Him first. For those who may not have such a loving, caring husband and/or father remember this promise:

1 Peter 3:1-2 "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear."

There is so much that can be done through our actions that does more to bring a man to Christ than any amount of preaching could ever do. It's a great promise and it saved and healed our marriage!

There is so much to praise a husband/father for. Is he a hard worker providing for the family? Does he spend time playing and wrestling with the children? Is he showing the children what it means to be a godly man or woman, directing them to Jesus Christ? Does he instill an ethic of work and diligence? These are just a few examples of how my husband interacts as a dad. There are many more qualities I didn't add, but I sure am grateful to be able to celebrate my man for Father's Day.

Testing Out A Raft The Boys and Dad Made
(note: fresh wet wood doesn't float)

Hiking Through The Woods

Building Our Home

 Thank you Lord, for a husband and father that our family can celebrate this Father's Day! May all the fathers out there trust in this promise:

Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

A Heartfelt Thanks

 

Thanks so much to all who have prayed, offered sympathy and moral support during this time. We are so blessed by the outpouring of love and can only offer our heartfelt thank you for the kindness of gifts to help us and my mom through this difficult time.  

The funeral for my brother seemed like something out of a movie. It was supposed to be 50 degrees,  but instead it was an unexpected two inches of snow and sleet with 30 degree weather.  I had to borrow a coat and umbrella from a family member and we had about a five minute graveside service. 

It was hard to look through the stuff of my brother's life, he didn't have much and as I helped my mom sort through things, I found a note he wrote, a journal of sorts.  It didn't say too much, it was just him trying to be stronger and not focus on past hurts and his present pain. He was just struggling to survive and found it hard to do that.

My nephew is hurting the most right now, he called my mom and asked "Granma, how much does it cost for a grave?" He said that he wanted to start saving up so he could be buried next to his dad. It made us all very broken to hear it. We are praying for him the most right now. It will be tough, he spent every weekend with his dad. We pray God will hold him close and give comfort.

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

May everyone who has given their prayers, encouragement, financial gifts and time be blessed. We could never express how truly thankful we are.

Paul, Lisa and family

Searching For The Right Words

There are moments in time when we try in vain to find the right words to say. The death of a loved one is one of those times. We search in vain to try to muster up just the right thing to say, and if you are like me, sometimes we feel we have nothing good to offer. That is why I like the picture I found above. It is an acronym that aptly defines the scripture Proverbs 25:11 "A word fitly spoken [is like] apples of gold in pictures of silver." Having a fitly spoken word (well timed and placed) does more to encourage a soul than trying to fumble over figuring out the right words we think someone wants to hear.

As I struggle with coming to grips and the reality of my only brother, Brian dying of cancer yesterday, I realize the importance of this phrase. He was 38 and he leaves behind a 14 year old son and an 18 year old whom he raised since he was 3. His ex-girlfriend and mother of the children threw my brother out last March when she realized he was no longer a viable income source and only a drain to her life. This situation put my mother dependent on taking care of all his needs.  She even had been using her limited resources to help him get medical care and food since then.We are trying to figure out how to pay to travel on our limited budget (my husband sold off some farm equipment to get us all there and to help pay for burial costs, (medicaid pays some and my mom doesn't want to ask for help). So, if anyone would feel inclined to give, email me and I will send along my mom's address. sowinlove@gmail.com

So, this will be a very hard funeral to go to. I have to be there for my mom who is wondering why she had to bury her husband and now has to bury a child. I am trying to make decisions and don't know the answers. It is blur right now. I am searching for the right words myself. I fear going to this funeral and having to watch my brother's ex-girlfriend, she has had vicious past actions towards us and my mom. I pray the Lord will give the right words to fill my mouth with. I am also dealing with my brother rejecting the Gospel. He stated he was comfortable that he would go to hell. As far as I know, he never repented.

A good friend reached out last night with some fitting words, she watched her mom reject the Gospel and die and now her dad died 3 weeks ago, as far as she knows they both rejected the Gospel. She had to endure people's loving intentions of saying at least her dad was with her mom now. To her those words didn't help, because she knew that meant they were both probably in Hell and she knew they certainly wouldn't be together. They weren't fitting for her situation. She simply told me to have comfort in the fact that I didn't neglect to tell him. Those were the words the Lord knew I needed to hear. She gave some timely advice that were apples of gold to me.

I am praying that the Lord supplies me with those kind of timely words, I fear to even open my mouth. If I seem quiet to everyone right now,  just know that I know everyone cares and I do appreciate your prayers and sympathy.

May we all be encouragers and have some apples of gold to give

A ppropriate

P leasant

P ure

L ovely

E ncouraging

S oft

Appreciation: How To Lighten Any Bad Mood

In scanning the news stories that flash is front of the screen it is quite depressing. The moral degradation of our society is enough for me to want to stay home, hide, lock my doors, and never leave again. I am instead declaring it Appreciation Day as an alternative to the news media's bias of Depreciation Daily. It is a commitment to try to seek the good versus the bad in all we say or do. May we all be able to “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken” Amos 5:14.
We can look at life and remember all the wrongs people have done to us or we can choose to remember the good we have received. Too often we look to the wrongs and think we deserve better.
Is it a “bad” marriage? Remember back to the character traits that attracted you to your spouse, then tell them how much you appreciate that trait about them. Someone has to go first to turn things around.
Perhaps the children are being selfish and uncooperative. Honor the good traits you see them manifest throughout the day, reward them with a big hug and an “I love you” when you see it.
Is there a good friend that you appreciate in your life? What is it that they have manifested to your life that you appreciate most and try to seek to do that . Thank them for sharing that trait to you.
Meditate on what the most treasured character traits that we see in others. Write down some of those positive traits that others possess. Here are some to get the memory kick started. Kindness, Thoughtfulness, Gentleness, Diligence.  Remember even a smile goes a long way.