Gratitude Archive

There will be days that the people you love will be suffering and having difficulty finding peace in their lives.  It is very important that we remain calm to comfort others.

We feel that if our friends or family members have health issues or marital problems that we need to intervene and “solve” all of their problems.  I am here to say, “Step  back, breathe and let God take over.”

As humans we feel the need to correct and control everything.  The sooner we learn that we cannot control others or their situations the better off we will be.  Now me being a mother, wife, daughter, grandmother, board member, friend, business woman, etc I wear many hats. When I have these hats on I always feel like I am in a leadership position and should be problem solving for everyone.  I tend to think my years of experience make me the best person to solve issues and give advice.  My experiences do help but I am not in control.  I do realize that.

I am a better person when I trust that God will handle any problem and I am to remain still and silent.  Let’s  think about it.  Have you ever not had God intervene and take care of you or your loved ones?  I haven’t.  He has always been there for me.

I once had a family member that was suffering terribly with OCD and anxiety.  I was so worried and distraught over the situation.  There was no way I could control the situation because I was not the one suffering.  I was standing by as my family member suffered.

Each day she seemed to get a bit worse.  I didn’t have an understanding of how debilitating this would be for her.  Minutes seemed like hours for her. He mind would never rest.   It broke my heart.

After about five days of watching her struggle, I sat on my back patio and prayed.  “God I don’t understand why we are going through this incredibly dark time but I trust in you.  Please Lord help me to understand and release this to you.”  After praying for quite a bit of time, I looked on Pinterest for quotes regarding God’s grace and mercy.  I must have read and pinned one hundred and fifty pins about remaining faithful during dark times.  Each time I found a pin stating God’s grace I felt a small bit of the worry lift off of me.

I again said, “This is it God, I know you will handle this according to your plan and I trust in You.”  I then went to bed and slept like a baby for the first time in a week.

When I awoke the next morning and was laying in bed before getting up I had a realization.  I had learned from another board member that our local hospital has an outpatient program that deals with all types of mental health issues.  My family member’s condition could be addressed if she would go and get help.  It hit me like a bolt of lightening.  God’s intervention.

I dropped into the center to ask a few questions  and to see if they accepted our health insurance.  Something ironic is that at the beginning of the year my husband’s insurance coverage had changed and we went from having no mental health coverage to full treatment coverage.  A blessing from God.

The people at the center were very kind and helpful.  They asked me to bring my family member back to meet them and to see if she would be open to outpatient treatment.  I was able to get her to the center with her husband and she said she would start treatment in a few days.  As we were pulling away from the center she looked up and said said, “I am going to conquer this!”  Thank you again God!

She began treatment a few days later and it was a very excruciating process.  She had group therapy with others that had some very severe mental issues and it was hard for her to hear all of their problems as well as talk about her own.

She did continue to go several more days and she had access to a very good psychiatrist that prescribed a combination of two medicines that would correct the chemical imbalance her brain was suffering from.

The medication she was given would take three to four weeks to stabilize before she would feel better, maybe longer.  Each day I worried and was so stressed as to what the outcome of this condition would be.  It was a waiting process that required much prayer.

As each day passed, I slowly saw her feel better and smile again.  I guess I should have told you earlier that she was also pregnant at this time so this added to the limited medications that could be used and the strength in which they could be used.  Pregnancy hormones on top of anxiety and OCD was a rough combination.

She was discharged from the center and they recommended a therapist for her to see as well as instructed her to see her regular psychiatrist.  Once again I checked our health insurance benefits and they would pay all of the expenses for the therapist for eight visits and all but $125 for the psychiatrist.

The insurance change was such a blessing and God was guiding the HR director that switched our plan at the beginning of the year  since God knew we would need mental health coverage.  The final bill for the week and a half treatment was almost $9,000 and our insurance paid all but $1400.  Thank you, thank you, thank you God!

I recognized that the moment I turned everything over to God I knew He would give us the answer.  There have been several times in my life I have fully surrendered myself to God and he has taken much better care of me that I could have done myself.

God knows what path he wants us to walk along and for what reasons.   It is not for us to decide or control.

I now sit on a Board of Directors that fundraises and educated the public on mental health issues.  We are currently raising money to train families on how to recognize the symptoms of mental health in others so help can be obtained quickly.  Mental health issues are not just bipolar and schizophrenia, it is substance abuse, postpartum depression, anxiety and many other conditions not normally thought of.

There is no doubt in my mind that God had us walk this dark path to only serve Him and others through mental health awareness.  Although it was a tough time, I am so grateful God took care of us and allowed us to grow even closer with Him.  May our journey and service help many people get the help they need and help understand they are not alone.  We are all in this together.   love, peace and gratitude

Jesus relied, ” You don’t understand what I am doing now but someday you will.”  John  13:7

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=91UIZPZDaes&feature=youtu.be

I recently saw a beautiful TED Talk where Brother David Steindl-Rast spoke about gratefulness and gratitude.  I was mesmerized by his short talk.  I believe it was less than 16 minutes long.

David Steindl-Rast is a Catholic Benedictine monk that is best known for his work on the interaction between spirituality and science.  I am especially found of this link because many people can only see the spiritual side of  life and others can only see the scientific side of life.  His blend of both is remarkable and very eloquent.

In this TED talk he notes that happiness comes from being grateful and that happy people are not the basis for gratitude but that grateful people are the basis for happiness.  We all want to be happy.  The easiest way to be happy is to practice gratitude.

Brother Davis takes us back to our childhood.  When we were small, we were taught a basic lesson on how to cross the street.  You must first stop, look and then go.  He correlates this to gratitude very simply.  When we were young we would see stop signs.  These signs directed us to stop or halt ourselves for safety reasons.  With gratitude you must also stop yourself and get quiet.  As you observed the street for traffic, you must stop and observe your surroundings or life.  You must get quiet to hear, see and touch your surroundings.  Breathe in the air, hear the birds singing or children playing.   Open  your senses and heart to what is around  you.  Quietly just feel your surroundings.

As you look around yourself, recognize God’s blessings.  I am writing this blog from my bedroom and I can see a blue jay outside my window.  I found that interesting because in animal symbolism, the blue jay resonates truth, faithfulness, and solidarity. They also keep the same mate for life, which is symbolic of endurance, patience and loyalty.  This is interesting to me because this is the rom I share with my husband and we practice all of these qualities.

I also see pictures of my daughter in different stages of her life.  I have one of her around 5 years old with Santa Claus peeking out of a curtain behind her.  This is special because when she had the picture taken Santa was no where to be found and when I picked up the picture to show her Santa was there.  It was magical and one of my favorite pictures.  I have one from her junior prom dressed so gorgeous in the dress we negotiated for at a local dress shop.  She looked far beyond her 16 years in this shot.  I also have a picture of her and her husband as she transitioned into being a wife and a grown woman.

In my room I see my amazing grandson’s baby crib that he uses when he naps at my house.  He is such a miracle and blessing from God.  This is also another reminder that my daughter has transitioned into being a mother and another thing I am grateful for.

What are you observing around you as you read this blog?  Breathe in the air, feel the sunshine if you are outside, celebrate another day in our world by the grace of God.  Recognize the miracles and wonders that surround you.  What I am saying is stop and look.

The final point in crossing that street of gratitude is to go.  That’s right, go.  Explore your world and give thanks for every given moment.  We know we are never promised tomorrow so live in this moment for today.  Touch someone’s life, say a pray or maybe call an old friend.  Don’t waste your moments.  Savor every one of them.

Every moment is a gift of opportunity.  How do you choose to use your moments of opportunity?  I personally choose many different ways to drink in and feel my opportunities.  Let me tell you a few ways.

I choose to give of myself because in touching other, I am receiving back so much more than I give.  Every day I post an inspirational message on Facebook that celebrates God’s love or Word.  I do this because it makes me feel tremendous reading the quote for the post that is reaffirming God’s love for me.  I also see others sharing and liking the post meaning God is part of their life as well.

Another way I choose is I have a podcast that is about 10 minutes per episode speaking on how I am grateful for so many blessings in my life.  I try to  honor those that are constantly blessing me with love and support.  My facilitator of my Grateful Gratitude with LoLo podcasts also practice gratitude and has helped me immensely to develop another format for gratitude.  I know some people prefer hearing the words as opposed to reading them.

Lastly I have this incredible blog to share my thoughts and ideas on gratitude.  This blog helps me to embrace God’s love and support every time I sit down to write.  I know some times I write random blogs but always know they come from my heart and a place of appreciation for my life.

In closing this blog I would like to tell you once again I am blessed to have you on this journey with me.  I pray that everyone that is here with me feels God’s love, grace and mercy every day of your life.  Choose to stop, look and go.  Blessing, love, peace and gratitude.

“One can learn to focus on opportunity as the gift within every given moment.  This attitude towards life always improves the situation.  Even in times of sickness, someone who habitually practices grateful living will look for the opportunity a given moment offers and use it creatively.”    -David Steindl-Rast

I love my daytime job because I am offering promotional products to companies to promote their business or reward employees.  The tough thing about this job is I am always at the mercy of my manufacturers and the big delivery services.  You see I am a distributor for items that have business’s logos on them.  I don’t manufacture or decorate the products I only sell them.

When I write an order for a client I work with very reputable and “A” rated companies to ensure we sell a good product with a durable imprint and deliver on time.  Some days there can be challenges relying on so many other teams of people.  I have always said that I am responsible for the work of others yet I have no control over how my orders are handled.  You can see how this can be a difficult.

Today was a day that provided such a challenge.  One of my biggest clients called me last Thursday needing an item for an event tonight (just for clarification that was just 5 days) at 6 pm.  I knew that in taking this order I would open myself up to many opportunities for disaster.  The lady ordering was new to her position and didn’t know we normally need two weeks to complete an order from start to finish.  I took a leap of faith to help her.

The first thing I did was contact the manufacturer to make sure there was stock and the product could be imprinted and shipped within 24 hours.  Stock was good and my customer service rep said she would help me to get it done for my client and have the order arrive on time.  I expressed my gratitude for her help, said a little prayer and sent her the order.

Friday morning I received a confirmation that the order was being imprinted and was shipping out the door by 5 pm and again it would arrive in time for my client’s event.  I told her again how blessed I was to have her helping me with this order and that she was exceptional in her work.  She should be commended for staying on top of my order!

The order was shipped the same day and I received the tracking numbers so I could watch the shipment.  Yes indeed it was moving across the country by air and truck and still scheduled to arrive on time.  Thank you God.  I know you are watching over me and this order.

Fast forward to this morning.  I track the two boxes again.  They were now on the delivery truck to be delivered today.  Awesome, this is my day off and I can relax knowing everything is in place to arrive in time for my client’s event tonight.

Around lunchtime I had an inkling to email the client to make sure she had received her order and everything was as she had hoped.  This was about 1:30 pm.  She replied to my email, “No, not yet.  I wasn’t going to panic until 2 pm.”.  Holy moly, I know this particular delivery company always and I mean always delivers by 10:30 am.  The client is a major university and all packages go to a receiving warehouse.  With the number of packages arriving each day the driver likes to unload as much cargo as possible early in the day.  I was a bit worried.  Maybe more than a bit worried.

I tracked the packages on my cell phone and saw they were still on the truck and out for delivery before 6 pm.  “Oh no,” I thought, “I know this client has an event and she has bought these beautiful gifts for the attendees and now she may not have them.”

I took a deep breath and said a small prayer.  “Heavenly Father, if there is a way to get these packages to my client I would be ever so grateful.”  I didn’t beg or plead, I just asked God if they were meant to arrive would He please watch over the driver and the warehouse worker to get the package to the client for her event.”  I released it to God for a positive outcome.

When I arrived back to my office at 2:30 pm the packages were still “out for delivery”.  I am breathing deeply to calm myself.  I call the delivery company to ask if maybe the driver had forgotten to update the status to delivered and the packages were already delivered.  I was informed by the customer service rep that she can’t communicate to the driver but his route notes say he would normally deliver to my client’s receiving warehouse between 2 and 6 pm.  Yikes, the receiving warehouse closes at 4:30 pm.  It is now 3:20 pm.  Another deep, deep breath.

I decided to call the receiving warehouse to see if I can reach someone to help me.  I would like to tell you now that over the past five years of working with this receiving warehouse that they never answer the phone.  I dialed the number and the phone rang five time and then I hear a voice at the other end.  God helped me again!  He placed the worker at his desk to answer my call.

I explained my situation to the worker and he said he would log in to his computer if I would provide the tracking numbers to see if they could account for the boxes.  He entered the numbers three times and nothing came back.  He said to me, ” I normally don’t do this but if you will hold on I will walk back into the warehouse to see if the delivery driver has been here yet.  Do you have time to hold?”  Do I have time to hold?  Yes, amen, thank you, thank you, thank you!

The man almost immediately came back on the phone and said that the driver was there now unloading all the boxes.  If I would call him back in 20 minutes he would confirm the two boxes arrived and my client could come to the warehouse and pick them up for her event.”  I agreed to call him at 3:45 pm.

As I hung up the phone I received a text and an email simultaneously.  The chimes sounded like angel’s trumpets going off.  My client’s text said, “Just received an email the boxes were delivered.” This was the exact same thing a new email in my inbox stated.  Your packages have been delivered at 3:33 pm signed for by Taylor. Hallelujah!

As I sit here and tell you this story I am still basking in the love God showed me in resolving this situation for me.  It is absolutely by the grace of God that my client has her order to give her attendees in just 2 hours and 27 minutes.  If God hadn’t walked with the driver and the warehouse worker blessing them with his goodness this may have been a disaster.

Every time I turn to God for His help, He never lets me down.  When He knows I have taken a risk but my faith lies in Him I always succeed.  I never take this for granted and I believe that since I took the time to tell others how grateful or blessed I was to have them helping me with this order God saw me through.

We get so much more from helping other that the receiver ever gets.  I mean to say when you are giving you are getting back tenfold from God.  I am so happy I can write this blog with a miraculous ending and showing how God is always here for us.  love, peace and gratitude-LoLo

“She who trusts in the Lord will never be disappointed”  Isaiah 49:23

 

You never know in life what opportunities will be presented to you.  This past Friday I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and speaking to Paula Deen several times.  Let me tell you how this all came about.

I have been honored to sit on the Board of Directors for our local chamber of commerce. One of the duties of being a board member is to attend ribbon cuttings and new member events.  I was thrilled to find out Paula Deen had chosen our community to open her fourth restaurant.  I was even more thrilled to hear we would get to have Paula actually cutting the ribbon and greeting attendees.

I saw on her Facebook page that Paula was going to be at the restaurant  with her husband, Michael for the ribbon cutting and signing books at two specified times.  The post said that you would have to have a wristband in order to have something signed and the wristband line would begin forming at 7 am in front of the restaurant.  I really struggled with if I wanted to go because Fridays are my day off and I wanted to sleep past 5:30 am for one day.

Well, yesterday morning at 5:44 am I was wide awake.  “Gosh,” I thought, “I should roll back over and go back to sleep.”. That wasn’t going to happen.  I had more energy than I can explain so I hopped out of bed and proceeded to get ready to head to Paula’s restaurant.

Now if you read my blog An Angel Saved my Friend’s Life   you already know the story of my friend choking and one of Paula’s waiters saving his life.  As I got ready, I played in my mind how my day would go and how I would see Paula and share that story with her.  I wanted her to know what a special man she had working for her.  I kept visualizing in my head telling this story to Paula and seeing her listening to me.

In my mind I saw Paula at the book signing and  me quickly telling her the story.  Well, it didn’t happen that way at all but I am getting ahead of myself.  Back to the line for the wristband.

Texas in April is usually in the high 60’s in the morning and very pleasant.  For some reason it was windy and 53 degrees.  Now you Northerners may think that sounds great but we who live in Texas find that to be freezing especially if you are waiting outside sitting on the cold, hard concrete for 2 1/2 hours.  Yes, the line forms at 7 am but the wristband process doesn’t begin until 9:30 am.

As the doors opened at 9:30 am the sweet lady opening the doors said that we must make a purchase to get a wristband and one band per person would be allowed.  You must be present to get a wristband and you had to present a receipt from today to get the band.  I entered the store and found four cookbooks to purchase to have signed for gifts.

As I reached my turn at the cash register, I asked if I could have one book rung up separately which they did.  I had a  friend that couldn’t be at the book signing so she wanted me to have one signed for her aunt.  I figured it would be easier if I kept her purchase separate.

Once you made your purchase then you moved through the restaurant to another counter where you presented your receipt for your band.  Well I was distracted as this cute elderly lady came over to talk to me about my haircut and when I turned to pick up my receipt and my band I found two bands!  I looked up to ask if I was supposed to have two bands and the staff handing them out was busy with others and I couldn’t get their attention.  I guess they thought this amazing little lady was supposed to receive one of the bands.

Now you may wonder why I am so excited to get two bands. I will tell you it was because my daughter wanted to come and stand in line but she has a three-month old baby.  The weather wasn’t ideal for him to be outside and she didn’t have anyone to watch him since her husband was working at that time.  The second band was a blessing!  Lexie would be able to meet Paula Deen too!

The book signing did not begin until 4 pm with lineup beginning at 3 pm.  I had already scheduled to do my podcasts from 11-1 so I headed over to the studio to knock those out and I would go back around 1 pm to eat lunch and get prepared to get back into line and wait again.

As I headed back to Paula Deen’s I called my daughter to see if she and the baby wanted to meet me and my friend for lunch and then have our items signed.  She said she would but it would be 30 minutes before she got there.  I told her that was fine I would eat with my friend and have coffee and dessert with her and Levi.

We were seated quickly and placed our order when my friend said, “Paula Deen is behind you in the dining room.”  I glanced over my shoulder and she was in the dining room.  She looked beautiful in a royal blue blouse and bright yellow pants.  I could hear her famous laugh behind me.  “Oh my gosh I told my friend, try to get a picture of me and Paula in the background!”  I contorted my body in all different position to try to accommodate this feat.  “Here she comes,” said my friend, “Here’s your chance to tell her your story.”  She was coming!  As I turned and made eye contact with her I said, “May I tell you a quick story?”  She smiled at me and said, “Tell me a quick story” in her sweet southern voice.

I proceeded to tell her about Aaron choking and Edward saving his life and how impressed I was with her team’s response to the situation.  She responded to me, “Please tell me the name of the waiter.”  I spoke, “Edward.”

Paula then told me a story of the same thing happening in Savannah and also when her husband, Michael saved someone who was choking.  This was such a special moment for me and I appreciated how kind and caring she really was.  Her live feed crew pulled her away to keep her moving throughout the restaurant.

I sat mesmerized by what a gracious lady Paula is.  She truly cared about my friend and finding out who the angel was that saved Aaron.

Now fast forward 2 1/2 hours when my daughter is next up to have her books signed and she is carrying my beautiful grandson to the marble counter where Michael and Paula are signing.  Paula said to my daughter, “Oh give me that sweet baby!” and took Levi from Lexie.  Levi squalled and Paula made the cutest pouty face back at Levi.  This was such an awesome moment for us.  Paula gave Levi a big kiss and left lipstick on his face.

I was next, I clutched in the palm of my hand a mini gratitude stone I was going to give Paula.  I moved up between Michael and Paula and as Michael signed my items I said to Paula, ” I have a small gift for you.  It is a gratitude stone.  I am so grateful for what to you have added to our community and for placing that angel in our lives that I want you to have this and think of us.”  She smiled, stood up and gave me the warmest hug.  If you look at the picture on Facebook, you will see the little pink heart next to her Sharpie cup.

Paula Deen, you are a remarkable woman.  Patient, kind and so special.  I have been blessed to have you touch my life.

I am so grateful I got up and visualized talking to Paula.  The more I thought about it and the more detailed the movie ran through my mind the more it actually came to life.  Thoughts become things and my gratitude for my first experience at Paula Deen’s restaurant made me even more grateful for the second visit.

I am living proof that the American dream still exists. It is still alive and well. There is only one trick, you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work very, very hard.                                                                     Paula Deen

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”  Imagination is a magical thing.  It allows you to think or dream anything.  Your goals, your dream and your prayers all come from your imagination.

In order to have a dream or goal, it has to first appear in your mind.  What do you want to do with your life?  What would be your ideal life?  Would it be to regain your health?  What about being financially free?  Want a special companion to spend your life with?  Well in order to accomplish your dreams and goals, you must imagine them and believe they can come true. When we imagine our dreams we need to have an “all in” mentality.  A positive mentality. A loving mentality.  A mentality of believing in ourselves.

Think back to when you were a child.  You played all day long and used only your imagination to fill your days.  You could take a cardboard box and turn it into a spectacular pirate’s ship.  You would climb inside the box and pretend you were sailing on the high seas, landing on an island and then exploring for hours.  You visually created the ship, the island and how you explored. It was like a movie running in your mind.  The best thing is that it only took your imagination.

Now you are an adult and you can use that creativity and visualization in your current life to be happy and find your purpose.  What is that one thing you have always dreamed about doing?  Is it traveling?  Writing a book? Taking a mission trip?  God has planted a dream in your heart that you may have put on hold at one point in your life.  You may have thought it was too big to pull off or you didn’t have the time to do it.  Maybe you just couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.

I am telling you today that God planted that dream in you for a specific reason.  He gave you this dream to serve others and be happy.

I have always wanted to write children’s books.  I wrote a series of stories after my divorce to help occupy my time while I was healing.  I used my imagination and pretended I was one of the characters in my stories, Rissie the rabbit.  I would sit down to write and hours would go by.  I felt better and my mind was refreshed after writing.  All I was doing was using my imagination.  Seeing the story in my mind and transferring it to paper.

When I became Rissie the rabbit I lived a carefree life.  I lived in a meadow in Scotland and the sun always was shining.  I had many friends including George the bushy-tailed squirrel, Seth the snake and Mert the mouse.  I was so immersed in my writing that I could feel the breeze on my face and smell the heather and lavender growing around me.  My mind escaped all my problems and issues and my life became clearer.  All I did was use my imagination and visualized being Rissie.

To this day I have not published those stories because God took my dream in a different direction.  It was the direction of this blog.

You see, God showed me how to feel better through letting go and immersing myself in to writing this blog.  When I write I find clarity and focus and can more clearly hear God.  He allows me to write from my heart.

I use my imagination to see what I want to write and to feel it inside of me.  I sit in silence and let me mind free itself of all stress and worry.  By freeing my mind I can more easily communicate what I feel God is putting in my heart.   I can say the words I am feeling through him.

Writing is very therapeutic as well as using your imagination.  When God put me at a keyboard writing a blog I turned to my imagination to visualize who this blog would touch and where I could be in a year’s time.  I saw myself continuing to blog, doing podcasts, receiving my coaching certification and being an inspirational speaker.  You see I want to help others and touch others daily.  I feel everyone is a beautiful person and an exquisite gift from God.  Every one of us was put here to serve others and to live an abundant life.

I have been fortunate to be able to visualize my life for the next year and set goals I know I can attain through God’s plan for me.  Watch me grow.  Watch me serve.  Watch me be spectacular with God’s grace and love.  Come along for the journey because you are spectacular and I need you in my tribe.

All my love-LoLo

 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Mahatma Gandhi