The Good Idea/Adaptability

Good morning everyone…..

The first thing I did this morning when I came down stairs was to look out our back door. I saw a most beautiful sight. The sun was shining brightly on my newly prepared garden. The soil in the garden and the grass around the garden was glistening with water from recent rains. How beautiful to see freshness like this. How beautiful to see life springing forth in the mist.

Then I glanced to the East and saw the Son shining so eagerly around the bend. There is a proclamation to all that the promise of a fresh day is here. I thank you Lord for the glories of your hand.

Recently I’ve been thinking about adaptability. Am I truly adaptable? Are you really adaptable? How far will and can we stretch? How much are you willing to change?

The reason for this pondering …..my hair dryer broke again this past Sunday and I’ve been using George’s. Have you ever used someone else’s hair dryer? It just doesn’t work, does it?

It is like when you are traveling and you use the hotel’s hair dryer. (Wind tunnel) Please, I look like I’ve been traveling on a motor cycle at warp speed without a helmet! I’m telling ya’, it ain’t pretty!!!

At this point in time I do not have a backup…well except for George’s. And…I’m very grateful for that! Really!!!

I see that I need to adapt to this situation and make the best of it until George can lay hands on it and fix it. That is unless I can make it to Target before George finds out. Anyway…..I need to do something.

There are times in our lives and there will be more of them when we just need to “go with the punches.” We need to adapt to whatever is thrown at us. We will survive, we are more than conquerors!

I’ve thought before, “What would I do if I put the coffee on in the morning and the pot broke?” What would I do? I would adapt…yes I would ….I would go next door and use hers!

Life does throw curve balls from time to time. How are you handling yours? Are they hitting you or are you ducking and adjusting?

I plan on ducking and adjusting…I’m going to Target! I’m going to have to ask George, “How do you dry your hair with that thing????”

So I have made a difference today – a difference in my look. It is all good, just don’t point and stare when you see me. Enjoy your day and make your difference count. Nancy

The Good Idea/Purpose & Destiny

Good morning everyone….

Isn’t it a wonderful thing to open your eyes in the morning knowing that you have the whole day ahead of you to do something great?

We’ve all been given the same amount of time to work and play in and I pray each and every day that I will use it all wisely. But I must confess I’m still working on it.

Today I want to share with you what has been “following” me around lately. You know what I mean….one day you see a beautiful car and you say to yourself, “Why I’ve never seen that color before.” Then the next 10 cars are that same color.

Or you read a line in a book or the newspaper and then you see it in 4 other publications. “Things” just keep following you around. How does this happen? I believe it is because your Creator wants you to get a message so He delivers it in a couple different ways.

Take for an example….."Purpose and Destiny."

That’s it… "Purpose and Destiny." If I’ve read about this once, I’ve read and heard about it several times over the past two weeks. Finding your purpose ….. I’ve even written about it in my book JustAsk…Let Your Spirit Guide You.

What is my purpose? What is my destiny? Questions that we have all had and we are still asking. We all want to know what we should be doing and where we are going.

Remember as a child or even an adult….laying in the grass, hands behind your head, one leg crossed over the other and you voice out loud…."What is my purpose?" "Why am I here?"

We’ve all done this; we’ve all pondered these big questions. Did you get your answer? Are you still working on your answer?

Do not be disturbed if you have found yourself a little older in this quest. I’m a little older (just a little bit!) and I just discovered it a few years ago.

Am I working my purpose? I do believe so. Am I aiming toward my destiny? I do believe so. You see your purpose is what you are doing while headed for your destiny.

God has given us all a destiny. Destiny is a place to work toward while working your purpose here and now.

Do you love what you are doing? Do you find a passion in what you are doing? Does it give you a good feeling and a confirmation in your heart? Then you are working your purpose while striving to fulfill your destiny.

We are all marching on. What direction are you going in? “JustAsk” for your purpose and destiny to be revealed to you. It will be revealed when you believe and know in your heart that there is something so much more for you!

When you discover your one true purpose and destiny a huge difference will be made in your life and the lives around you. Enjoy the journey….. Nancy

The Good Idea/Busy?

Yes…it is a good morning indeed!

Today when I walked our youngest up to school I did not want to come inside. This is the type of day that I do not want to end. Are you aware that Glory is being shared with us? This is beautiful….."Little bit of Heaven!"

As I have mentioned before, George and I have many discussions about a vast variety of subjects. I so love our time together. We talk so much and share so much that when one of us has to leave; I feel like I am being robbed of time with him.

I have so many reasons for wanting to be with him and talk with him. One of the reasons is that when we talk; I am so inspired to think further on a subject. George challenges me with topics that become the focus of our discussions. He is so good to me! Thank you George Robert.

Why did I get so mushy and tell you all of this? Well, because it leads me into what I want to share with you today. It is what George and I have been talking about. (Thanks for being patient!)

Our lives are busy, aren’t they? Why? It is because of family, work and social demands. Why do we allow ourselves to be subject to so much pressure?

Well, one reason may be that our lives are just the way they are because we have some things that we gotta’ do. Another reason may be because we are running from something and if we stay real busy we do not have to face an issue.

For instance, like going home….some people do not want to go home because their life there is not all that rosy. So what do they do? They take on so much extra time consuming projects; they appear so busy that they do not have to face what is bothering them.

Oops, is that you? Are you being too busy to deal with the real issues? Skirting the issues….as “they” say.

To be busy in many cases is real and justified. You just have to get certain things done but are you being busy so that you do not have to feel the real things in your life that are displeasing to you? If so, it is time to “put the cards on the table” and deal with them.

I know of people who make themselves busy just to look busy….they are scrambling around like little ants. Are we running toward something or away from something? Hum….

May I suggest today that we run toward something….how about out into this glorious day? You just might feel the Son shine on your face and that will make the difference! Nancy

The Good Idea/Regrets?

Good Morning and Oh Happy Day!

Seriously, have you been outside yet? If not, I strongly urge you to venture out and enjoy this most beautiful morning. Yea, that’s what I’m talkin’ about! YIPPEE

“These are the days my friend…etc...” George and I were talking this morning about fully realizing the beauty and blessings in life. We said that you cannot truly be grateful until you see the other side. How good is it until you know how bad it can be?

Through the mist, through the clouds, through the dreariness of the days, we emerge into a glorious Son filled day! There is more to this then meets the eye! But we will save that for another day!

Which leads me right into a quote I read by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

We are talking about not having any regrets. How many times do we regret the things that we have not done. This holds especially true when someone passes on and we say, “oh I should have done this…I should have said that.”

We beat ourselves up because of our stubbornness to make amends or just to say I love you! Why do we beat ourselves up? Because we know that it is wrong.

How many of us think that we are bullet proof? How many of us think that we have from here to eternity to be kind, to make amends, to make a difference in our lives or the lives around us.

Too many I would venture to say. This is something that one has to work on…but don’t take too long because we are not the master of our time. And if you do not believe that just talk to others who want just one more moment to say “I love you”…to say “I forgive you”….to ask, “Please forgive me.”

Life is so precious; life is a gift that can be dissolved in an instant. I’ve had four of my family members pass away and I will tell you that I have no regrets. I loved them and they knew it; I spent time with them and we enjoyed each other and I will hold their memories so close to my heart. I can smile when I think of them because I have no regrets. There are no “could haves and should haves.”

We need to be prepared in love. We need to walk in love, talk in love and hold each other in love. That is the Father’s love. I believe “LOVE” should make the world go round. Enjoy your sunny day and walk in love without any regrets. You will see the difference that it makes. Nancy

The Good Idea/Inch by Inch

Hello and Good morning…

We have another day of rain which tells me that we will have beautiful flowers and green grass this season.

Our son has started mowing the grass already and to hear him complain you would think that we are asking him to mow the White House lawn by hand. We tell him that by doing this he is building character. It’s not going over too big. HA HA

Let’s talk about taking things a step at a time. Let’s talk about doing things on a day by day basis. By not doing too much at once you will not become overwhelmed.

I compare this with teaching a child how to tie his shoes. I remember when we taught our children we had to take it in steps. There was a time I went through the whole thing and I got this look. Oops too much too soon.

This can also be compared to eating. What happens when we put too much in our mouths at once? We naturally choke. We shouldn’t take on that much at once. Our body is saying, too much, too soon, can’t breath! And….you look like a squirrel!

It can be so difficult to hold back and not to do it all at once. When we rush through; when we attempt to complete it all at one time; the possibility of doing it wrong is very high. My goodness, we miss the experience, the taste, the view and quite possibly the reason for the whole task. We become robot like, mechanical without the happy feeling of “hey I accomplished it.”

In our lives there can be so much to do that we want to get it all done at once. You know, get it over with so that we can move on. This will create anxiousness and nervousness.

When we are given a task to do, the time for it will be allotted for it. We probably rush because we feel that if we don’t we will not complete it. And…heaven knows that we probably have a bazillion more things waiting for us.

Time to slow down; grab a cup of coffee or tea or your favorite “energy” drink and remember this little poem….”Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard life is hard.” (Unknown)

Or this one by George Robert – “How do you eat an elephant?” (Author, probably someone else) We will ask our children this and they have heard it enough to respond…"one bite at a time."

So if you have an elephant in your life…..take one bite at a time and before long he is gone. Enjoy eating today. You can chomp away and make a difference. Nancy

The Good Idea/To hard to continue?

Good morning everyone –

I’m working here with two sweaters on, long socks, and the heat up. (Is this April?) I look outside my window and see a most wonderful sight. There sitting in a tree is a very beautiful, dark red Cardinal. I say thank you Lord for this promise of warmth soon to come!

Then to add “insult to injury” as my Mama would say, I spoke with one of my Sisters over the phone and she tells me that it is going to be in the 80’s today where she lives. That’s OK….our time will soon come.

Today I would like to pose a question for you to ponder. Do you feel that if something is “too hard” to get or accomplish; that it means you are not supposed to have it?

There are many theories on this one. Some say, “Nothing worth having comes easy.” and “If you struggle too much, you better let it go.”

Do you see the common idea here…..”Easy.” Whoever said that life would be easy? It is through our struggles and strides that we grow into who we are. Yes, sometimes it comes easier than others but in other times we must work at it.

So how do we decipher whether or not we should hang in there or forgo it all and start with something else? That answer is easy….you “JustAsk.”

We do not have all of the answers, why I would even venture to say that we do not have a hint on most of the questions. There is an all-knowing Source where the questions are already answered. Do I continue, do I quit? Or do I take the guess work out of it and hand those questions over to the One who knows.

I feel that it is true that all things come with a price and some of those prices are harder to come by than others. However, if that is where you are to be then you must hang in there because “joy will come in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5 NKJV)

Not all things come easy and that is called growth….to grow is good. It shows development and character. I have heard that sometimes the more difficult the situation….the bigger the reward in the end.

Does it really matter what our thoughts are on this one way or the other? What matters is that we do not give up too soon or too easily. The answer may just be around the corner. So hang in there in whatever you may be facing today because you might just be the one to make the difference. Nancy

The Good Idea/Success Story

Good morning to all….

What a beautiful day. Be sure to spend some time in it…you will love it! I began my exercising outside today and how wonderful it was! I saw such beautiful skies, felt so much crisp air and watched as birds danced around with each other. Spring has sprung!

This weekend I was reading about Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s and he definitely has had a remarkable life. Ray Kroc has never given up. He persevered through odd jobs and physical ailments. He knew that something greater was waiting for him.

This is what Ray Kroc said, “I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and incipient arthritis. I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns, but I was convinced that the best was ahead of me.”

WOW – talk about a success story.

What about your success story? What have you had to overcome to get where you are today? We all have stories and some of those stories have been responsible in catapulting us to the next level.

I myself have never given up. I always believed that there was more. I might have stumbled from time to time but I always believed.

You see, even when “life” deals us “a not so pretty hand”….we can still rise above it, walk through it and achieve success when we believe that God has more for us. He does.

Ray Kroc, he use to be a paper cup salesman, real estate broker, piano player and milk shake mixer. There was not a job too small for him.

What did you use to be? Where have you come from and where are you going?

If your journey has not been what you hoped it would have been; then look ahead with hope and belief in your heart and move forward. Change only comes to those that believe. And when you believe….a difference will be made. Nancy