A day to forgive.

It has been a while since I have written because this year has certainly started off with a bang.  I have had a lot of year end work to do and it has kept me preoccupied by working on the weekend.  One thing that has crept into my mind lately is about forgiveness.  I stuggle with this in various areas of my life.  It took me years to forgive my parents for dying, 10 yrs. to forgive my ex-husbands, and then the various times I have needed to forgive people ( including my boss) because it was the right thing to do.

There are still times, eventhough I know in my heart I have forgiven, my mind still replays the offense over and over.  I question myself if I truly forgave that person and cleansed myself of the weight I carried around because of it.  Why do we harbor such bad feelings and why can these feelings control our very existence.  One thing I have found, is that by holding a grudge, I get very tired by the end of the day.  My mind can come up with purely fabricated garbage about the person in question that has nothing to do with offense that took place.  Forgiveness is the only way to truly escape the insanity.  Forgiveness can free not only our hearts, but also our minds, it enables us to live a full and joyful life.

Point to ponder: As Christians we all must learn to forgive.  Eph 4:32  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Lets get started

Well I just took the Christmas tree down today.  I don't know if you are like me but, I like my Christmas tree.  Once it comes down it is a reminder the New Year  has definately started.  I made it through the first full week of work for 2010 and it started off wonderful and ended up very tiring.  Some how I think of the resolutions we are all suppose to be keeping.  We start off with a bang and then we are burnt out.  I feel for the ones who made resolutions with their food.  Can you imagine how hungry they are today?

Since we are on the subject of resolutions, I guess we can talk some more about mine.  I made the resolution to be a more faithful servant and to volunteer myself more.  Both of which I am doing.  Through my church I have been given contact information for a member who is a missionary in Nepal.  She is starting an orphanage and eventually will require quilts for the children.  I am so excited to be able to help supply the orphanage with as many quilts as I can whip up.  The orphanage itself is not built, that is probably a good thing, because I have yet to get started.  One of my other resolutions was about procrastinating, so far so good on that, because I don't want these kids to wait on me.

I hope your year, so far, has been encouraging and your resolutions are still in tact. Be mindful not only of yourself, but of others as well and I will leave you with this verse:

Be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

New Beginnings in 2010

So far so good for the third day into this decade.  Resolutions in tact, for the most part, and well on my way to keeping at least the one about not procrastinating.  I decided long before the new year began that I wanted my new year to be filled with happiness beyond compare and a new vision for my life as well.  I have been blogging about the need to volunteer oneself, so that we can improve someone's life outside of our own.  I truly believe that my life has this calling and that I plan on using my talents this year, as a quilt maker, to make and donate quilts (via my church I pray) to orphanages or children anywhere in need. I want to think that this effort is not in vain and that any charitable contribution will be well received.  My heart has always gone out to the countries in such desperate need, that when you see the pictures of their tortured lives you almost wish death upon them as to end the misery they live in.  I hope that in some small way, by providing warmth, one can also provide security in a sense that it brings comfort.  I know that hope is what they need the most, but any small offering will help towards a better tomorrow.

I am profoundly blessed to have been born American.  My life has been one of privilege in comparison to the people I imagine I can help.  I believe the world can be saved if everyone just tried to set aside their selfish ways for a moment and step out in faith to the people who need us the most.  I will be setting up a new blog to follow and document my charitable quilt donations which I will be calling The Piece Quilter.  Check back soon on the progress.

Point to ponder:  Romans 12:1-13.

The New Year

Since Christmas is over and the new year is about to begin, we start to think about our wonderful New Years resolutions.  I can't remember a time I actually stated a resolution or started a resolution.  I find that most resolutions are the things we should be doing throughout the year anyways.  I thought about some of the most typical one's like excercise more, eat right, stop smoking, limit drinking, etc.  I believe we, as people, want the easiest and most direct route to perfection while bypassing the real reasons we want it.  We want it because others want it for us, everyone does something new at the New Year or I will wait until the timing is perfect (ie: waiting on so and so to do it first or just basically putting it off until the New Year).  Wanting a new you doesn't have to wait for the perfect time of year,  just do it for you.

I thought of my own resolutions, if you want to call them that, and they have nothing to do with body image.
My resolutions go like this:

Be a more faithful servant.
Take the oil painting class at the community college.
Learn to bake something or should I say anything.
Volunteer myself more.
Go to a spa for once, because I really want a massage.
Stop being a procrastinator and be more mindful.
Be a better friend.

I know we all have something we can improve upon, but it is not always on the surface.  Sometimes we need to improve within ourselves or it could be as simple as adding a new craft to enjoy once in a while.  So, I toast to you and the New Year in hopes that it brings peace, prosperity and joy in abundance to your lives. 

Point to ponder:  I believe resolutions can set someone up for failure from the get go and therefore, the New Year becomes too challenging from the start.  I an effort to start the year off right what can you do for yourself or others that would be stress free, worry free, guilt free, thoughtful, playful and down right fun!  I have a few ideas of my own.

Merry Christmas!

What a joyous day and I hope everyone got all they asked Santa for this year.  I am thankful for the many blessings my children and family bring to my life and on this day I am especially thankful!  I wish everyone a wonderful rest of your holiday and very Happy New Year!!!

The time is now

Hustle and bustle
Hustle and bustle
As Christmas draws near I watch all the people scurrying around to get their last minute gifts for their loved ones. I often wonder if the gifts we buy truly express our feelings for the desired recipients.  Do the gifts actually show our love, affection and appreciation for that person or are they just tokens expected this time of year.

I also wonder what Christmas would be like if everyone lived with the notion that it is better to give than to receive.  I believe that in lieu of a gift you should give of yourself and somewhere along the line a gift will be given back to you.  It may not be a tangible gift, but a gift of the heart.  We are a society of people who put way too much value on material things and not enough in each other.

True acts of kindness are where it's at.  Ask yourself why it has become so hard to just smile at a stranger, to volunteer to feed the poor or to take that childs name off an angel tree and give. It is because we are afraid of taking something away from our own, be it time, food, money, etc.  What we are missing in the whole act of kindness thing, is that we are not taking anything at all, but giving happiness to someone and being that light we are suppose to be in Christ.  A gift, no matter how large or small, has many meanings not only to the giver but to the receiver as well.   So give of yourself, because the gift of pure love and kindness can change a life forever.

Point to ponder:  Not everything we do to  help others is charity, sometimes it is just the right thing to do.

Tradionally

I find us humans to be great creatures of habit.  If I really focused on our repetitive nature and given the season, it would bring my thoughts to holiday traditions. I never found my own family to be much for holiday traditions, but other families I have had the pleasure to get to know have many wonderful traditions.

I guess I should start by first defining a tradition.  According to Webster, a Tradition is the handing down of information, beliefs and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction.  I hope there are no written instructions because that would take all the fun out of it.  To me a tradition should come from the heart and be passed down because it has deep meaning and the holiday or event would not be the same without it.  In the whole scheme of things, we all have the tradition of putting up a Christmas Tree and trimming it with lights and ornaments, maybe you sing Christmas carols, or open one gift on Christmas Eve or even have that well awaited wrapping paper fight once it is all said and done. Whatever you do to make this holiday more memorable for your family, one day they too will share the same memories and traditions with their family, as to keep the torch burning for future generations. 

I feel that if you do not have one set tradition you follow, get one!  Kids love to know what to expect on certain occasions because it becomes ingrained in their minds and the excitement just builds from there. I do recall  as a child, my mother making candies for me at Christmas. I don't know if I asked for them or if she did it just because, but for whatever reason I looked forward to the yummy goodness every year!

Point to ponder:  What traditions do you keep alive and what traditions would be fun to start just because?

Like a canvas

From our earth and by our creator is the most beautiful art of all.

Ode to the Christmas Tree

To me trimming the Christmas tree is the best part about Christmas. I love turning all the lights off in the room and just watching all the ornaments twinkle and glisten.  It is probably the most peaceful and heart warming feeling you can have knowing the holiday presence is there at that moment.

I remember though, as a child, watching all the old Christmas movies and holiday specials with my parents.  One movie comes to mind that always touched my heart.  The movie was called The House without a Christmas Tree.  It was about a man whose wife died shortly after childbirth and he felt no need to celebrate the holidays, much less have a tree, until the day his daughter wins a contest at school and the prize was a Christmas tree.  I won't tell you the rest in case you want to see it, but a house without a Christmas tree is hard to imagine.

Historically, Christmas trees have been a tradition since around the 16th century and symbolize the Christmas spirit. Adorning our homes with the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas not only invites the Christmas spirit in, but also opens our hearts and lives to the joy of new beginnings.

Point to ponder:  Have you ever spent a Christmas without a Christmas tree and if so, how did you feel and what changed the next year?

Autumn

If everything was created for our pleasure from the earth to the sky, I don't know about you, but I love it. I am mesmorized everyday by the beautiful things in nature. I especially love this time of the year when summer becomes fall and the leaves on the trees turn wonderful shades of orange, red and yellow. They fall to the ground like a blanket to remind us of what is next.

I noticed that not just the plants, but the animals know winter is upon us and they prepare in advance like we do. It is as if you can smell the snow coming. While an animals fur gets thicker, we put on sweaters, while they store food, our menu gets heartier and while they build nests and homes for warmth, we do to. Amazing......

We might be human beings, but we are a part of nature as well. Everything working in harmony like a well oiled machine. Sometimes just taking the time to stop and actually see the small things is showing gratitude to the creator of all beautiful things!

Point to ponder: How do you picture the changing of the seasons? This quote really sums it up for me. "Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

Home for the Holidays

Today I had a very heart felt moment when I thought of the phrase Home for the Holidays.

I am a Real Estate Paralegal by profession and have personally seen the effects of our economy on so many families. People losing their homes and livelihoods to foreclosure in vast numbers, especially this year. As the holidays roll around, sooner than we think, how does one who has been touched by so much misfortune go home for the holidays.

I thought about this for a while and decided that, no matter where you are, a home is a place where your heart lives. A place where you surround yourself with loved ones, pets included. Home can be the place in our memories that we return to often to relive our childhood, to remember mommas cookin' or just to escape to a time that reminds us of great joy.

Even though, when our hearts feel like home is so far away and the longing for that familiar place some how escapes us, we can always have faith and embrace the present and know that the future is yet to be seen.

Point to ponder: During this wonderful time of year, what can we ALL do to help someone feel at Home for the Holidays?

Reason for the Season

I ask myself, is Christ in Christmas?

I've come to believe, that for whatever reason, Christ is not in Christmas anymore and people have truly lost sight of why we share this special day. Instead, Christmas time has become this random day we give ourselves permission to be frivolous overspenders without remote concern for the consequences of such insanity.

It is not O.K. to take this blessed time of the year for granted. If we take the gifts out of the equation what would we have left?

What is left is the true meaning of the season. Love, thankfulness, family, friends, blessings, reflections from the year and an appreciation for everyday we have life! There is definately a reason for the season.

Point to ponder: If you had no money to even buy a gift, what would you do instead? Maybe, in a humble way, you would just give a hug!

Troubleshoot

If only part of the blog shows, click on There is a reason under blog archive to the right. Thanks.

There is a reason

Welcome, thank you for stopping in. I was thinking today about some of the philosophies I live my life by, hence the name of my blog, but first let me introduce myself.

I call myself Kelly Ann and I live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The OBX is a beautiful place on the edge of no where. Better described, more or less, as a quaint fishing village for the city folk who want a mix of art, food, fish and fun on island time and close to their actual homes. I call it paradise, viewed through optomistic eyes, knowing this place gets crazy in the summer and sheer boredom in the winter. But, there is a reason...

I have always believed everything happens for a reason and nothing is a mistake. There is a reason I moved from San Diego to the OBX, a reason why I met my boyfriend of several years here, a reason I married 3 times and had 3 kids and so on and so forth. I must say though, there is a reason for this blog. There is something spiritual about cleansing our souls of life in general, whether we use art, music or words the need to express our wounds is evident in all we do.

We all have a reason to exist. We all have a message to send and I hope this blog will be an outlet for all to voice or share opinions and reasons that in some way will impact others positively. I hope this blog will create a faithful community where relationships can be born and grow out of ideas.

A point to ponder: Store bought or handmade at Christmas?
I feel consumerism has overshadowed the true meaning of Christmas and that a handmade gift is a direct reflection of the heart.