Story Book Love

In the early morning hours as the smell of rain trickles down in my house the familiarity of the smell brings be back to my childhood years growing up in a small farming community. Each morning, rain or shine, during the summer, we were "blessed" with the chance to work. By work, we meant picking veggies, helping customers carry out purchased products from the fruit market, washing fruit, stacking boxes; anything but playing with our friends. Work is what taught me who I am today, but most importantly is who taught me to work. 

Recently I just lost of my closet most trusted and respected man I know, my grandfather. He was more than just a normal grandfather; he was a teacher, a leader, and most importantly the person that truly taught me how to make it in this life. His life story most would say is a storybook love. He married the girl he protected all of his childhood life, gave up being a basketball star, going into the navy, and being a lawyer just to be with the person.

 When he had nothing, he started something; just to show his love to her he worked. All his life, that something turned into a work of love, and a legacy that will be passed down to generations to come. He did what always said he would do, and that was to love & protect her till death does them apart. 

His love to her, and to his entire legacy was work. It was that in which was taught to all of us. 

I would not call his life a storybook love, but I would call it an eternal love. A man so willing to give all that he had to love, teach, and protect all those around him for years to come

NO REGRETS- PUSHING PAST IT

 I saw a t-shirt the other day while in the store that stated. No Regrets. How applicable to life. It’s been a couple of months now that I have written my last blog. So many thoughts racing in my mind I hope that I can collect them all, without leaving too much confusion. 

Fear. It’s embedded in all of us. The fear of the unknown, challenges, and most importantly our self worth. I have doubted myself in all of those aspects lately. I have tried to let go; only failing.I tried to take on challenges only to not challenge myself, but most importantly  ended beating myself up for my image. It's been a crazy tough road the last little while. I have had some great things come my way, only to pass them up and look for the greener grass. Not letting go, and not have any regrets. What I have learned is that I need to let go, challenge my fear of the unknown, and most importantly have trust in the decisions that I make, along with having self confidence. I need to let the past decisions not take control of me, but me take control of them. Random I know, confusing yes. But think about it. Do you have NO REGRETS 

Grateful for Evil...

It has been over 4 months sense the last posting of my blog. You would think that i would be able to keep on top of everything, but seems that life just starts to happen and before you know it months have passed. With that said, there have been some amazing discoveries the past 4 months about life's lesson. So 5am here are some of my deep thoughts....


Of evil comes good, and from good comes good. Ever notice that life when something bad happens, something good always comes as a result of it. We always state that it's in God's hands now, and that all will be well it happens for a reason. What is interesting about that reason is we never know, nor will we until we meet our maker and replay the movie of our life. The bottom line is Christ and god are in control of our lives. They have planned evil for all us, to humble us, and make us realize the good in it all. When we suffer from the evil, it should remind us the gift that Christ gave to us all. He took upon him every evil and good , so that we may understand the ultimate sacrifice , and "always remember him."
 I am grateful for the evil that has happened in the past 4 months, not only has it humbled me, but it has brought me back to the arms of Christ. I have realized, he is "always with me."

Protected

This very bright and early morning on my way to the gym i was listening to the tragedy of the recent shooting here in AZ. Instead of thinking what a horrible incident, my mind captured the word Protected from the following story. One of the victims, a older gentleman in his 70's was killed in the wake of the shooting. He was your typical citizen, raised a small family, served in the air force, and retired in sunny AZ. The morning of the shooting, he was taking his best friend to the local cafe for their traditional "early morning breakfast date." When the horrific shooting started to occur, the gentleman hunched over his best friend, and took the bullet that saved her life. In her own words she states " I met this man over 34 years ago. He vowed that he would love and protect me, but that he didn't need a ring to commit to me, his unconditional love would prove it. All I needed to know was that at anytime in my life, if I didn't feel loved or protected, I was allowed to leave. He died right on top of me, huddled over my body, he took the bullet that would've gone right through where my heart was. I know that this man loved me until the day I died, and he was true to his word; he loved and protected me to the end."
As think about the direction in which my life is heading, i wonder to myself, am I going to be able to not only protect, but be able to be protected by someone I love.

Giving- The fakeness of Christmas

So here it is the dawn of Christmas and i have locked myself in the coffee shop most of the morning hiding away from the one reason why I came here to visit. Each Christmas season I keep swearing to high heaven that i am NOT going to do this again this year. I procrastinate until the last day to do any shopping, and end up scrambling to get whatever I can. Every time I keep telling myself next year I am going to do something crafty, memorable, and long lasting; only to find failure each year. As my family comes together I feel obligated to get gifts for everyone, as my sister see's fit to flaunt her wealth to everyone. In her eyes i know that she is giving the gift of giving from the heart, but hardly does she know the pressure that it puts on someone to find something for everyone.
As I dive further in the corner of the coffee shop, i keep hearing the same things. Mom got me this, but I hate it. Dad never likes anything that i get. Why is it that each year, we keep giving the gifts not from the heart, but the fact that the "world" deems once a year. This next year i know what i am going to do. Each time I see a gift that I know reminds me of that person, i am going to buy it and stash it in a dark corner of my house. When I feel the need to send them a gift, I will. Christmas may come earlier for some, and may not come at all for others. So deal with it, next year instead of a dark coffee corner, i VOW to be on a warm sunny beach; at least i hope so.

Cleaning Messes

I was in Costco today grabbing a few items for the week, and as I turned the corner I noticed a younger couple with 2 kids yelling at each other in Costco as loud as they possibly could. One of the kids started crying, spilled the chocolate milk all over the cart while the couple was fighting. I wanted to rush in and help them, but i knew that it wasn't my place. Instead i hid behind the isle to see this whole drama unfold.

 What caught me next about blew me away, and taught me a great life lesson. It doesn't matter who stands corrected, fighting, in this case only made everything worse. The wife got mad at the kid, while the husband yelled at the wife, and the little boy started crying and hitting the sister. Instead of stopping to clean up the mess the mother grabbed the kids walked out;leaving the husband with the embarrassment of everyone around him.

How many times in our life do we have the mop up big messes. Do we have a valid reaction to react instead of think without thought behind the actions.As I reflected back on the week, and even the past month of all my messy situations, was i really justified for how i acted good or bad? Did I take time to truly think about what I was doing, and who would be affected by the actions & reactions that I caused?

The whole moral to the story is are you willing to clean up your mess, or just walk away. Sometimes taking the few moments to ponder, not solve, may help you with a less stickier situation for the future, and a lot lesser embarrassment for all. 

UNthankful

You would think that the this blog would be dedicated to the word THANKFUL.. as in Thanksgiving. However I thought it would be interesting to figure out what I was UNthankful for. After contemplating that thought in my mind, I couldn't really think of much (beyond the basic) items that I was UNthankful for. Driving this morning I was looking around for things that I would be UNthankful and noticed that I did actually come up with many things that would not like to battle with each day. Interesting enough, seeing all things that I wouldn't like to face, made me grateful for the things that I do have, even the small things. As life situations hit us each day are we prepared for the thankful for what we do have, and how maybe the  creator is humbling us for the battles that we face. Wither it be a flat tire, a empty bank account, a accident, sickness, a lost of a loved one, are we not grateful for the lesson that we are getting or being prepared for. Next time in your life when you have one of those "why me" days, stop and think.. what am i  UNgrateful for. Maybe your perspective will change.