Author Archives: Patricia Ann

Do You Believe It?

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In Soul Stories, a book by Gary Zuvak, he wrote, among other things, “Believe that when you ask a question you always get an answer.” I don’t know why, but the question I asked was, “Where am I from?”

I was led to a meditation site online from a note I had taken on a television program a few nights earlier. The meditation that day was titled “Home”. It suggested that I am from another dimension, one of peace, and light, and silence. This explains my love of silence…I bask in it when stillness seems to envelop me from time to time.

At different times in prior years I had written poems, one titled,” A New Dimension” where becoming aware of the things we usually ignore opens our eyes to what’s around us. “The Journey” depicts a life of love and serenity.

To my mind, heaven is another dimension and perfectly fits the description above…love and serenity.

If I had ignored the prompting to take a note from a television program, I would not have been aware of the online meditation that gave me a fairly apt description of “where I am from”.

I attribute the inspiration for “The Journey” to a surgeon who many years ago released me from hospital with these words, “Live, love, and be happy.” And this is precisely my life today.

Do you believe it?

Dressed to the Nines

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I am not a fan of fashion simply because shopping for clothes is one of my least favorite pastimes. Mind you, seeing someone else dressed to the nines in the latest trends tends to inspire me to at least scout out a mannequin or two in a couple of “tailored to oldies” windows in a nearby plaza or mall.

However, finding the perfect tailor like the One who outfitted this charming creature would be an answer to my aversion to clothes shopping.

Again, scripture says it beautifully: Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Matthew 6:29 NIV

(The scripture actually refers to lilies of the fields but I’m leaning on poetic license here.)

Wishes Fulfilled

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“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true.” This is a quote by Richard Bach, author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull, a great weekend read. May all your weekend wishes come true. Happy Saturday.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - eBook - By: Richard Bach

 

When the Past has Passed

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Yesterday I wrote of something from the past, “A Rainbow Apology”. It was cathartic to do so whether or not the person ever sees the post. And now that episode has passed never again to be relived.

The trouble with living in the past is that it can affect our present by draining some of its happiness.

There are some who dwell on negative past history to the point where it robs their life of the fullness of joy that can be experienced by living in the present and doing what can be done to make it better.

In Canada, we are about to haul down the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada who was hailed as the “father of confederation”. He had a political career which spanned almost half a century.

Yes, along with his many achievements, Sir John made mistakes but the monument was erected to honor the man of accomplishment not the man of error.

When the past has passed would it not be better to learn from it and move on without making present life a victim to it? Once again ancient scripture speaks to today’s issues.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Philippians 3:13 NIV

A Rainbow Apology

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It is evening time on August 13th and I am looking at a beautiful rainbow as I write this. It reminds me of a time when I gave a book of children’s Bible stories to a little girl many years ago.

The child saw the story of Noah’s Ark and the accompanying picture of people, including children, drowning in the great flood of Genesis 7. This story had a devastating effect on the little girl and I’m sure turned her mind totally away from anything to do with God.

Unfortunately, the story was never satisfactorily explained to her nor the meaning of the rainbow that followed in Genesis 9:13, I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 

This was God’s promise to Noah, and all of us, that He would never again do such a destructive thing to His people.

I’ve never been sure whether the flood story is allegory or not, but one thing I am sure of is that it’s effect on one little girl has haunted me since the day I was made aware of her great fear and apprehension.

Just as the rainbow of thousands of years ago was meant to be an apology from God to His people, this evening’s rainbow reminds me that because of a cruelly depicted story, a young child may have grown up to be an unbeliever…and for this I am truly sorry.

I pray that there has been enough evidence over the years of a God who loves her unconditionally and will continue to do so for the rest of her life.

This is my rainbow apology to that little girl.

Rainbow over a small sunlit island, Masuria district, Poland Stock Photo - 16198246

 

I’m Wondering

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There are things going on in our world today that could cause us the nervousness of a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

I’m wondering why leaders of our powerful and respected countries take to “twitter and tweets” to draw attention to the undesired policies of their world counterparts instead of going through diplomatic channels. I’m wondering what is the world coming to.

More and more we are seeing and hearing of governments trying to clean up their counterparts’ policies by “tweeting” it out for all the world to see, before concentrating on their own homeland issues.

I’m wondering why they are eager to see another’s faults without addressing the fact that there may be something lacking in their own agendas. It’s a good thing to defend human rights and all the other issues that assail us on a daily basis, no matter what part of the world we inhabit, but I wonder if there is not a proper way to address them.

Perhaps all leaders might want to look to their own infallibility and consider the course of action that would be beneficial to all concerned, and process it through proper channels, after some sincere soul searching.

Scripture speaks of this beautifully:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  Matthew 7:3,4 NIV

Just wondering…

I Love Spending Time With You

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I know a lady whose husband often spoke those words to her, “I love spending time with you.”

It made me think of how God longs to hear those words from us.

Can we bring ourselves to not only say those words to Him and mean them, but also spend some time with Him every day? Happy Sunday.

Isaiah 30:18 New Living Translation (NLT)

Blessings for the Lord’s People

18 So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
    so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
    Blessed are those who wait for his help.

 

 

A Piece of Cake

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We’ve all heard or spoken the phrase, “It’s a piece of cake!” or “It was a piece of cake!” or “It will be a piece of cake!”

This well known idiom is a way of saying something was very easy to accomplish. Sometimes our days are not so easy to get through and we need someone to encourage us with this lovely message that I received in my inbox last week. Happy Saturday.

 

Pick and Choose

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This is about memories and how we pick and choose them.  I choose to think of the good things in life worth remembering, whether it was in childhood, teen years, young adult, and even advancing years.

Remembering childhood, there were not so many good memories but they can be ferreted out and cherished for what they are, leaving the not-so-good to remain unbidden.

Teen and young adult years again bring a mix of good and not so good memories but the good far outweigh the latter.

What I am getting at here is we all have memories of many kinds and it is up to us to pick and choose the ones that add to today’s happiness….and the ones that don’t…well it is best to let them go unless they have some merit in our lives today.

The lesson to be learned is that everything we have ever endured whether good or bad has been to enhance our progress through life. If we choose to focus on the unpleasant memories then, of course, they could impact our lives in a way that could be detrimental to today’s happiness.

If we choose to pick the pleasant memories to focus on, then today’s happiness quotient goes up a notch or two.

To me, it is most obvious that anything pleasant is good for the soul, and anything that stirs up angst is best left forgotten…unless it can be used therapeutically. It’s up to us to pick and choose.