I am fond of saying I “lived life backwards” simply because I had my son at age 25, then went to college at age 28 and after rearing my son to adulthood (and with two children of his own!), I married the kindest, sweetest man I know at the age of 52.  It truly does not matter the order in which your life runs, it only matters that one stay present and willing to grow along their own personal journey.  I write today with hope that someone may read these words and find themselves willing to open up for perhaps the first time.  The time for hiding is over.

What I failed to mention in the first installment is there is an inherent sadness that comes from seeing the glass half-empty; of living life from a negative place constantly worrying when the next “thing” will come along that throws everything out of whack…again.  I am sorry to say I lived with just that attitude.  Thankfully, I have discovered along my life’s journey that our vision can always be adjusted and we can change and become the people we were meant to be – optimistic, satisfied, fulfilled – and the shine on the glass becomes more apparent and the beginnings of a glass half-full view of life becomes clearer and clearer.
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I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, but here … today … I feel lead to do so.

Life is precious and fragile … just like the ones that you have with you on this path.

These dear ones and their lives can be changed in the matter of mere minutes, seconds even. 

Every life is precious … every single one.

And everyone matters … even when you feel like you don’t.

Just, please, be careful what you wish for.

Your best-laid, well-meaning plans can easily go astray.

Your desires can get the best of you in the moment, and everything else will come crashing down around your feet … so be careful what you wish for.

Be careful what you ask of others … and what you expect them to do to fulfill you or your requests in return.  It has the potential to enhance or destroy.

Make wise choices, yet realize that ultimately, you are not in control.  Not one of us truly ever is.  Sure, we try to be, and thus, a lot of our anger comes from the inability to control another human being.

And yet … why should we ever desire to do so?

God has equipped us all with free will.

Choose wisely.

We didn’t have much as a family while I was growing up. When my parents divorced things got worse. We were poor. I went to work to help out when I was fourteen. I didn’t see the money from any of my paychecks until I turned sixteen when thing got a bit better. There is one incident that has stuck in my mind through all these years. This “RAK” or “random act of kindness” influenced me to become a better person and to try to return in kind what we received one evening.

It was during Christmas time when I was fifteen. It was the Saturday before the second Sunday of Advent. My mom, sister and I had accepted the task of created banner to be hung in church each Sunday during Advent that year. We were sitting around the dining room table reading through Bible passages to get ideas for the banner. I can still see everything in my mind that night. The Christmas lights were lit. We had a fire going in the fireplace to help chase the chill away in the house since we kept the temperature below what most consider comfortable during the cold winters here in Illinois to save on the heating bill. There were classic Christmas songs playing on the stereo; Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and so on.

Mom had explained to us while we worked that there was not enough money to “have” a Christmas that year. There would just be enough for a small Christmas dinner and to pay the bills. My sister and I knew things weren’t good financially with mom. Neither one of us said anything or complained about the situation. We just sat as a family and continued to work on coming up with a wonderful banner to celebrate the coming of Christ’s birth.

Out of the blue, there was a knock on the front door. We weren’t expecting anyone. As we all had our hands full, it took mom a minute to stop cutting felt and get to the door. When she opened the door, there was no one there. In that short two minutes to get to the door, who ever had knocked had disappeared. Just as she was about to close the front door, mom noticed an envelope stuck in the screen door. She brought the envelope in and opened it. She started to have tears stream down her face. In the envelope was three hundred dollars. There was no note. There was nothing to give us a clue as to who this angel of Christmas was. Because of this “angel” we had a very special Christmas. We never found who was responsible for this wonderful gift.

This person had a tremendous effect on my life. Since that cold December evening, I told myself that I wanted and I would become just like that person. I would randomly give of myself without expectation or the need for recognition.

I have done this to my best ability over the years and I will continue to do thing like this until my time here is done. Random acts of kindness don’t have to be about giving large sums of money. It could be just a simple compliment you give someone or lending them a hand to help them out. It is about doing a little something for someone to bring a smile to their face. Many of the thing I do I never get to see the reaction of the receiving person. I don’t need that to happen. It is satisfying for me to know that I have done a little something that sparked a little joy in someone’s life.

I would like to challenge everyone reading this to do one RAK in the next few days. A few simple things I have done are:

At times, I drop the change I get back at the Supermarket in the parking lot. I think of the wonder and joy a child would get finding a nickel, dime or quarter.

I love to shop for cards. So when I know that no one is looking, I will slip a dollar bill in a card and place it back in the rack.

Even something simple as holding a door open for someone can make their day.

Sharing love and kindness toward others is what Jesus taught over and over. Yet, in our modern times we get so wrapped up in just trying to survive that at times we tend to forget that. So think about sharing a little of God’s love and kindness through a random act of kindness and you will also share in the joy of the gift that you gave.

~ The Quiet Computer Guy

Just recently, my friend, Susan, told us all about her beautiful trip to Europe.  She shared pictures, quotes, and how God was speaking to her throughout her entire time there and even when she returned home.   (If you missed it, please see Susan’s post here on The Trip That Was Never Supposed To Happen.)

I hope Susan won’t mind, but there is a part in her post that truly reached out and touched my heart.  I’ve thought of this quote since she shared it.  She probably never even realized that we had something else in common:  the interest and love of Anne Frank’s writings.

Susan shared:

I have to agree with Anne as she writes on March 15, 1944:    “Yet, what’s nicest of all is that at least I can still write down my thoughts and feelings, otherwise I’d just totally suffocate.”

That’s what this website is all about.  I have encouraged several to write … to share their beautiful words with the world.  While our situations pale in comparison with what Anne went through, there is still such power in the written word.

Think of how you feel when you’re listening to a song, and that song moves something inside of you.  Then, you search for the lyrics to make sure you had them all just right and to see the ones you may have missed as you were captured completely, entranced with the song.  How powerful were those words when you heard them and then when you saw them in print?

Now, think of the actual written words whether it’s in the form of a poem, a letter, or a card you receive in the mail.  Someone took the time to actually write their thoughts down, pouring them out on paper, to give to you.

That is powerful!

In the day we’re living in today with all of the technology that surrounds us, the written word has just about gotten lost.  Everyone emails, sends text messages, or they bypass that completely and go to video chats like Skype, Facetime, and Google “meet ups”.  Yes, it is wonderful to see someone, to look into their eyes, even if only with the aid of technology.

BUT … 

After that moment is lost, there’s nothing to hold on to.

With the written word, you can hold it in your hands.  You can feel the wrinkle of the paper, the very paper that they held in their hand.  The paper that they placed delicately on the desk as they reached for their pen to share their heart with you.

I can imagine them sitting there in deep thought with this ever so serious look on their face.  Gripping the pen tightly, they begin to pour out the contents of their heart onto that paper.

For some, it flows beautifully like a river.

For others, it is a painful task to put their thoughts into words as there just aren’t enough words in the human language to describe how they’re feeling.  They labor over their hand written letter to you or their poetry that is offered to your heart straight from the very soul of their being.

The written word IS powerful.

Recently I was given a piece of paper with words reflecting the very heart of the giver.  Those words spoke life over me and love into me.

Oh the power of the written word and a few strokes of the pen.

Keep writing, dear one.  Keep writing and sharing yourself with the world.

I know the topic on the blog today isn’t one that we would normally discuss as this is not a cosmetologist site.  However, if you stay with me long enough, I promise to throw some inspiration in as I love to do.

What girl, lady, or woman doesn’t love being pampered.  Whether it is by going to get a massage at the spa or having a manicure and pedicure, as women, we like to treat ourselves every once in a while.

One day many years ago, I stopped in at a shop to have some “me time.”   It wasn’t something that I did too often.  Actually, I rarely gave myself the luxury of such a gift.   This time was different, though.

As I sat there with my feet soaking in the bubbling water, I could feel the stress leaving my body as if the drain at the very bottom would surely suck all of the stress down with the water when they pulled the plug.   I tried to tame my thoughts and not allow them to run wild but to, instead, try really hard not to think about anything at all.  Ladies, you know how that goes, though.  In moments like this, you try and you try, but you end up going over a list a mile long in your head of things you need to do … like the laundry, cleaning the house, washing drapes, etc.

Then my thoughts were interrupted right about the same time as my toes still soaking in the water started to look like little prunes!

“Ma’am … what color ma’am?”

I was snatched from my “to do list” in my head and brought back to the reality of a little Chinese person standing in front of me asking what color I would like my nails painted.

I replied with a simple:

“Red”

The little Chinese person immediately began shaking their head as they said:

“Red … no.  Red not your color, ma’am.”

I sat there for a second wondering if they really said those words to me or if my mind was playing tricks on me.  Then I heard it again:

“Red not your color!”

Um, okay.

I have never been told that before in all of my life.  Red … is not my color?   But, I love red!

I sat there slowly withdrawing my feet from the soapy water as they pulled the drain to let the water out.  I watched as the suds all but disappeared as they were washed away, like my desire to wear red and actually look good in it.

As they dried my feet and began their usual routine of clipping, trimming, and scrubbing, I sat there thinking about what they said.

How many times have you had your heart set on something only to have someone dash your hopes and dreams with their mere words?

It seems so small, the words that red just was not my color.  However, it was their opinion, too, not necessarily the truth of the matter.   Just because they did not think I would look good in red or that red was simply not my color in their eyes, their words did not have the power to stop me.  Only I had that power.  I had to decide at that moment in time whether I was going to allow a nay-sayer to take away my desire to wear red confidently ever again, or if I was going to go full steam ahead and insist on the red.

Can you guess which I chose?

The red, of course!

As they put their clippers away, then massaged my calves and heels, drying off my nails to prepare for the polish, they asked again:

“Ma’am, what color?”

With a smile forming at the corners of my lips, I simply replied with one word:

“Red!”

There it was!   There was the voice of confidence that had gotten pushed aside momentarily by the negative words spoken over me.  There was the voice that chose to rise above!  There was the voice with great determination that she would not only insist on red but look good and feel confident wearing it.

And guess what?  With their head shaking in disapproval, they did, in fact, paint my nails red.  A firey red.  A deep flame red, even.  But red … my heart’s desire!

The point in this entire post tonight is not to let any one else’s opinion trump your own!   Don’t let any one steal your joy either!   Just like I started out on this journey to have some “me time” and enjoy myself to the fullest, this had the potential to very easily steal my joy if I had allowed it to.  But you know what?  I didn’t.

And you shouldn’t either!

While we wish that every one we come into contact with would have encouraging words for and about us or that they would choose to speak life over us, not every one will.   The thing is NOT to allow someone else’s words to injure you.

Choose your red!  Choose whatever your heart’s desire is in this life.  Don’t let anyone change your mind.  If you change it later on, that is fine, but be sure that it is because you had a change of heart and NOT because someone spoke negatively over you.

Hold your head up high and live YOUR dream.   Be yourself.  Do your own thing. Don’t let any one else influence your decisions in a negative way.

Fast forward many, many years later, and guess what my signature color has been since that day?   You got it – RED!

With such determination, with such confidence, with my head held high, I wear my red polish proudly!   The majority of the time you will find me with perfectly polished red toenails and fingernails, and loving every minute of it!

Wear your red.

 
Join us every Wednesday for inspirational and encouraging messages straight from the heart here … and at Holley Gerth‘s site as well!

Thank you for joining us today as my very dear friend, Tamela, shares her heart and thoughts on this past Easter weekend. It’s sure to inspire you.

Meet Tamela!

Tamela Hyatt Jasmann was born in Rhode Island and traveled the Eastern Seaboard extensively as the young child of a Naval Intelligence Pilot. From Rhode Island to Key West, FL with forays into the Mid-West and upstate-New York as her father served two tours in Vietnam, Tamela has been blessed to see much of the country to which she is deeply committed. Her father perished in a plane crash months prior to Tamela turning 13 and this pivotal memory has guided most of her life; making sure her father/guardian angel in heaven would be proud of the daughter he brought into this world. Tamela is now a very active volunteer with the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars; something she believes honors the memory of her beloved father. The cycle back to Dad is complete. Her devotion to veterans is so deep that she is her auxiliary’s president-elect for 2014-2015 and has been appointed to serve as the Legislative State Chairman for Arizona as well. Working with veterans, serving veterans – this is her life’s goal now; whether that be through promoting scholarships for our youth or working to pass veteran-beneficial legislation at the state and federal levels or bringing smiles to our veterans in the VA hospitals, treatment centers and homes, yes, home has been fully found again!

I awoke today feeling refreshed, renewed. For me, because of disabilities, waking with a “glass half full” attitude isn’t always possible and so today, especially, I found the ease and comfort of the morning more than enjoyable – it was heart-opening. It felt as if God said to me – or I finally was able to hear Him in the stillness – “It’s time to know the truth,” while handing me The Gift. I need to share my joy if you’ll permit me!

It is my habit upon waking to prepare a pot of coffee, grab the phone and head to my backyard where I am most often greeted by birdsong, blue skies and a sense of peace and quiet that, considering I live in a big city, is remarkable. The time it takes for the coffee to be made is usually spent in spiritual introspection and having my morning chat with God, asking for His guidance throughout the day and to beam bright white light on those I love for protection, love, safety and their well-being. For me, my God does not reside in any one church or religion, He is all around me if only I pay attention. I also talk with Him about me and helping me but none of the above makes me too very different that anyone else praying or talking with God.

This morning as I sat outside and began my meditations with God, I felt an ease and lightness I had not experienced before. What I was aware of this morning is how I seem to take my troubles to God but forget to thank Him for all He does and has done for me other than my standard opening of, “Thank for your another day of travel on this path called Life.” This is not to say that I do not thank God regularly for the many blessings in my life but rather an acknowledgement that during that morning time, I seem to come from a negative space instead of being positive about His love, His light, and all the many gifts, small and large, that God leads me to and through. What I have come to realize is that God is in my head and not so much my heart. I intellectualize God and His Love as something to be examined and taken apart like I know better than He how life should run. I question Him when I could be more loving and accepting of what simply is…His Love.

At the ripe age of 53 (yes, I can be a bit stubborn!), I saw this morning ever so clearly The Gift of today, The Gift of Easter! It is not a day of solitude and reflection but one of righteous joy for on this day His Son, who died so my sins would be forgiven, was resurrected so that I may have eternal life! I finally see His Gift!! It’s like the very words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting LIFE!,” have come alive in my heart and I sing from a place I’ve never known before! And that life is in the Kingdom of God and the pain and sorrow of being human will be shed and only love and forgiveness will surround me! It is God who gives me life and breathe and love…and ultimately forgiveness for someone like I who took so long to see. There truly are “none so blind as those who will not see.”

Today I am renewed, cleansed, thanking God for all HIs many Gifts, not the least of which is the gift of living long enough to finally see and feel The One True Light…beaming on me! “I was blind but now I see.” Today I know in my heart that each day is a gift to be celebrated, each moment a chance for gratitude and renewal, peace and forgiveness! It is not my job to seek out what is bad or wrong around me but to seek God and all the many ways He gives me life and ability. Today I know that I AM because HE IS!!

Enjoy the gift of today, the Gift of God’s Son in our lives, the joy of living each day basking in His Love. Seek love and gratitude. That is my hope and gift for today, I hope yours is equally as large and wondrous!

Thank you, Tamela, for these beautiful words! You ARE a world changer. I am proud to call you my friend and sister of the heart!