This has been a very stressful, emotional and busy week.  My entire routine has gone out the window.  I'm glad it's Friday, I am also glad I was a part of something that changed me for the better.

I was able to help a dear friend pack up her Florida condo for a journey back to her children.  It was a sad time, hard to say goodbye.  At the same time it was an opportunity to see life through someone else's eyes.

To see that everyone has to make sacrifices for the ones they love.  It is part of life.  To have a happy life, I need to learn to walk through the sacrifices, one at a time, with love.

I want to be a person who is in tune with others.  One who makes a difference in my corner of this wide world.  I believe LOVE is the answer to everything.  If we give out love to others, it comes back to us ten fold.

Every day is an opportunity to make better choices.  One choice at a time we can become the person we see in our minds eye.  Who do you imagine yourself to be?  Do one thing everyday to become that.  Soon, you will wake up and your life will have changed.

Love is the greatest power in the universe.  Most of us came from a moment of love, it is the only way to change our world.  To love others, creates in us a giving spirit.  Changes our selfishness into selflessness.  When we are thinking of how to make someone else's life better, God is plotting to make our life better.  I know this to be true, because I'm experiencing it right now.

Scripture tells us:  Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

Fantasizing the freedom from ego to give myself to others with a pure heart.

Starting a gratitude journal has been one of the most powerful practices in my life.  Once I start listing the things I am grateful for, the list just pours out of my heart.

I go to work everyday in a skilled nursing facility.  When working with the residents, I see every moment, another thing to be grateful for.

Did you ever consider the ability to speak, hear, see, stand up, sit down, etc. . . as something to be grateful for? I have.  When working with individuals, young and old, unable to sit up in bed, stand, go to the bathroom by themselves, eat without help; I am so very thankful for these things I am able to accomplish today.

The ability to get in my car and drive to the store for bread or milk.  Go to a movie. . .when so many are not.  Count showering in hot water, sheets on your bed, a bed, clean water to drink, a beautiful place to live.  A sound mind.  SO, so many things most of us take for granted every day. 

Are you guilty of always "Wanting more"? A better car, bigger house, nicer clothes, more money?  Take a look around and the hunger and squalor right here in America.  Children who have no care from their parents, running the streets.  The list goes on, ad infinitum.

Today I am so very grateful and thankful to be a child of God, who takes care of all my needs.  He loves me and my family.  Give thanks in all things, even those you do not appreciate so much.  God has a plan for your life, bigger and better than any you could think or dream of.

Fantasizing a huge, grateful heart.  Freedom to smile in the face of all things trying.

Life: to become animated and vigorous. By definition, life is movement.  It is an ever changing state of being.  As long as we live, we are changing.  The question is; changing for the good or for the bad?

To change for the good, I believe, I need to live on purpose,  think on purpose and speak on purpose. Purpose;  an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.  To change for the bad, simply following my base feelings and desires selfishly, is all that is required.

For the past year and a half, I have striven to live on purpose.  It has taken a lot of thought, courage and action.  It has taken, looking in the mirror and choosing to get up and show up.  It has also, been a series of failures.

I know I have made a fool of myself, repeatedly, in front of certain people.  Therefore, I have to redeem myself in front of those same people.  It is hard to do.  It is also, SO, worth the effort.  When I feel like I have shamed myself beyond redemption, I must realized, everyone has felt this way at some point in life.

It seems as though, when I show up in a purposeful way, people I care about, show up too. To humble ones self publicly is powerful.  Much more powerful than pumping myself up in my mind.  God is not finished with any of us until we have breathed in our last breath.

Give yourself permission to fail.  Know too, each failure will take you higher.  Fantasizing freedom to fail and try, try again.

I believe others can change, because I did.  Life is a journey, a series of ups and downs, challenges and victories.  To be stubborn and unwilling to entertain change, can lead to a stagnant, lifeless existence.

It is demonstrated all around us everyday.  The weather changes moment by moment, tides, plants, animals, surroundings, people.  Life is all about change.

Each year we change, even when we don't try.  It is either change for the better or the worse.  Life never stays neutral.  Either we become weaker or stronger, sharper or dull.  The choice is yours. 

I try to learn something new everyday.  Simply staying alert and listening, leads to learning.  I learn from the people around me.  Their example will either give me understanding of things to do better, or things to avoid.

As a young woman, I often  worked with the elderly.  It gave me a good idea of what I wanted to be, what was to be fostered and what was to be avoided.  As life goes on, I am working my way through the maze of life, making choices to become like the little old ladies that inspired me.  The 85 year old with her colorful style and youthful spirit when I was 21 in a dental office, Hilda, in the church I worked for, who always had a spring in her step and surprised me every time I saw her.

Then there was the example set by the grumpy, dowdy ones.  You know the type, you ask how they are and they give you a laundry list of their complaints, aches and pains.  Both types of people have influenced me.  Not so much by what they said, but how they made me feel. 

I want to make others around me feel happy.  Giving happiness, brings happiness.

Fantasizing freedom to grow older without aging.  Will you join me?

Power has been a theme in my life for as long as I can remember.  Most likely, because, as I was growing up, I had no power over anything.  We moved constantly, it became harder and harder to make friends, the older I became.

At first, defiance felt like power to me. Then it progressed to anger.  I was an aggressive, angry young woman.  When it became so bad that I made people cry, I knew it had to change, but I didn't know how.

Now, years later, I am free of the anger.  It was a process, not a fun one, to let go of all the anger.  I wasn't even aware of most of it.  That, opened my heart to realize, it is love that is the true, complete face of power.

Lately, I have been experiencing something akin to fear, a dull, underlying panic that my life will never be what I want it to be.  When the feeling became overpowering, I realized I needed to take a step back and ask myself; what is it I really believe?

If I am honest and thinking on purpose, it is my God I believe.  He has told me that he's on the job and doesn't need my help to pull it off.  I must remember always, God has a plan for me and for all of us.  Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us; "11 For I know the plansA)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19647A"> I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosperB)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19647B"> you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.C)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19647C"> 12 Then you will callD)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19648D"> on me and come and prayE)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19648E"> to me, and I will listenF)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19648F"> to you. 13 You will seekG)' data-cr="#cen-NIV-19649G"> me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Fantasizing the freedom to do today without fear of the future.  AMEN

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
― Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer

Well said. Every time I have a complaint, my friend Joanie, tells me to write a gratitude list.  Of course this is the last thing I want to do. But, I do as I'm told and it always changes my mind.

Some of the things I am grateful for are; A roof over my head, a beautiful place to live, legs that carry me, arms to hug with, eyes to see and ears to hear.  There are so many things I am so grateful for.

When raising my children, I found that it was hard to bless them when they were ungrateful for what they already had.  I'm still this way today.  There is nothing like a whiner and complainer to shut me down. On the other hand, when approached with a grateful heart, I am inspired to pour out what blessing I am able.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Today  I am able to thank God for all the things He has taken me through.  In fact, the most disturbing and scary things, I am most grateful for.  These are the events in my life where the biggest growth occurred.

Everybody goes through trials and tribulations in the valleys of their lives.  It's in the climbing up out of the valley, you become strong.  Unless of course you succumb to the darkness and decide it is where you want to stay, wallowing in despair.  I would challenge you to stand up to the darkness and be open to following the light.

I would not be the person I am today if I had given up in times of trial and tribulation.  Today I am more, who I was born to be, than the day of my birth.  So, embrace the troubles that come your way.  Face them, challenge them, learn from them, be thankful for them and see the Lord lead you out.  It is then, you  will see God move for you, make a way where there seems to be no way.

It is breath taking when this happens.  Awe inspiring when it is a way of life.  What are you grateful for today?  "If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it is enough.  Meister Eckhart"

Fantasizing the freedom to be grateful in all things.

Be still and know that I am God.  It is in the stillness of waiting on the Lord, we find peace and miracles can happen.

Ask and ye shall receive.  Do not fear, only believe.  There are so many scriptures admonishing us to believe and wait for God to move.

Believing is not something that you can do intellectually, it is done from the heart.  Psalm 112:7 ESV  "He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord." God is on our side, it is only in asking, believing and waiting, we see His hand move.  I have seen it, felt it, known it many, many times.

It's interesting how it is so much easier to believe for others, than ourselves.  Yesterday, I witnessed it again in the life of a friend.  She is going through a time of transition.  It's been very hard and scary.  As the time draws near, she is seeing her prayers answered without,  knowingly doing a thing about it.

Of course, I can see the actions she has taken and the answers she has received. I believe it is in following the leading of the spirit, she has realized all her needs being met.  As I look back over my life, I can track the same thing, time and time again.  As I released my will into God's hands, He moves.

This faith I am speaking of comes out of the deepest regions of the heart; that "knowing that I know". God has my best interests in His heart, knowing better than I, the way there.  I must trust Him at every turn.  Today, when change occurs, it is easier to stop, wait and see what the Lord has done.  Panic subsides and peace reigns supreme.

Fantasizing freedom from fear and anxiety about anything.

If only we could see into the future.  So many days of pain and angst could be avoided.  Looking back, I can surely remember many, many times I fought changes tooth and nail. Only to find out, I was better off after, than I was before.

Change is inevitable, everything is subject to change. When you are feeling overwhelmed with the changes you dread, it is time to throw your hands up, give it to God. Forget it and drive on.

It has taken me many years to see the truth in it.  Many, fruitless, sleepless nights.  The only thing served was a nervous stomach and an aching head.

I write two way prayers, meaning a Dear God from me and a dear Sharon from Him. I was feeling out of control one day and expressed my frustration and fear.  As I was penning His answer, at the end He said; "Trust me, fear not, AND don't try to figure it out."  WHAT? 

I did figure out, a long time ago, when God says trust me, what he really means is learn to wait and see. 

One particular time of trial involved being publicly dragged through the mud, attacked at every turn from a group of unethical, sneaky, people.  It went on for months until finally both my husband and I were out of work.  We sold the big house, most of our "toys", new car and moved into a nasty rental.  As we pursued work, we both decided, his high paying management position wasn't worth what he had to sacrifice.  (I was merely his secretary.)

We both found jobs, built a house we could live in stress free and spent more time with our children.  Today we are happy and in a good place.  It took ten years before satisfaction came. Our persecutors were brought to justice and we didn't have to lift a finger to make it happen.  They brought it all on themselves. 

So, when you face changes you are not happy about, ask for help, then let it go. You will see the miracle unfold in time.  Fantasizing freedom from fear of the future.

Friends come into our lives, sometimes for a lifetime, sometimes for a season, always for a lesson.  I've learned something valuable from all my friends.

Recently I was reflecting on friends as one of them is moving away soon.  She taught me that I am not the only one thinking as I do.  She also taught me to have fun.  Friends have taught me; life is fragile, sacrifice is sacred and in taking them for granted they are lost.  To have good friends means to be a good friend.

There have been so many over the years. When I look back and recall the times we shared, the laughter and tears.  They always gave themselves to me.  I am seeing, just as I honor them for simply being, I should do the same for myself. 

When my children were growing up, I told them; be your own best friend.  If you wouldn't say,   do, or want something to and or for your friend, you shouldn't say, do or want it for yourself.

When I started this journey to change my thinking and my life, it astounded me the things I was saying to and about myself.  Thinking on purpose highlights the times I say, I'm stupid, ugly, old, unwanted, unloved.  None of those things are true.

When we say "I AM" we are calling on God, for he called himself "I AM".  Whenever I say I am, I have to pause and realize my thoughts and my words create in my life what I think and say.  Today I AM, strong, beautiful, successful, blessed, chosen, adopted, redeemed and forgiven.  So are you.

Fantasizing the freedom to enjoy my friends and myself, just because we are.