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!

It’s so easy to say that we trust the Lord when things are going wonderfully in our lives. It’s great to recite scriptures and have words of encouragement flowing from us when times are good! It is when times are tough that we are really tested. When we trust God even in the tough times, that is when we know that our faith in Him is real and true.

Just recently my family watched as I went for the ride of my life. One minute all was well, and the next minute, the little horse I was riding on decided to bolt. I tried several times to get the horse to stop, but the horse was more determined than ever to show me who was in charge. My family watched in absolute horror as I held on for dear life. I was literally clutching the horn of the saddle with such force with my left hand as I tried to hold on to the reins with my right hand. The horse went as fast as she possibly could, and then rounded the corner going toward the fence. I felt my feet coming out of the stirrups on the saddle, and my husband later told me that as I flew through the air when the horse threw me off, my last words were, “Oh Lord …” as I called out to Him in those final moments before I hit the ground.

Dazed and confused, with everything black before me, I faded in and out. Although my husband told me that I never officially lost consciousness, all I could see was black, and I have little memory of what occurred moments after the horse bolted. Although he said my eyes were wide open and I attempted several times to get the horse to stop, I have no recollection of anything other than what I’ve written above. My husband filled me in on how impressed he was with the length of time I managed to stay on that horse. He said I did everything within my power, yet the horse would not listen. I know that in those moments when everything was black before me, my God was protecting me from the traumatic events that were taking place. I know that the moment I felt my feet leaving the stirrups, that my God was protecting me even still as He cushioned my fall. I could have gotten seriously injured, and yet I was able to get up, with the help of my husband and daughter, and walk into the house to rest in my recliner. I remember being frightened by seeing black, then the inside of my house, and everything fading to black once more as I said, “I need to get checked out …”

We made our way to the emergency room, and my children did not leave my side. They rolled me into the emergency room with a wheelchair because there was no way that I could walk at that point. Fearing the worst, my children held my hand and reassured me with their love.

Moments later, I was in x-ray, and then I heard the tech call for the doctor “Stat.” I feared that was certainly not the best of news, but I knew that it was all out of my hands at that point. I did not cry. I did not really have any emotion at all. I just sat quietly in the wheelchair as I waited. The tech immediately took me to a room, and shortly thereafter, a nice doctor appeared. I cannot say enough good things about this man. Instead of insisting that I lay in the hospital bed, he, instead, allowed me to stay seated in the wheel chair as long as possible. The nice nurse gave me pain meds right away, and finally I was able to shift over into the bed as the pills were starting to ease the pain. The nurse began wrapping my hand in a splint and placed it in a sling to hold it closer to my body as a reminder that it was injured so I would not be tempted to use it. Although my pinky finger was turning purple at this point, the pain I was focused on was my hip and certainly not my hand.

The nice doctor returned to tell me that they were concerned about the findings on my hip x-ray. He asked if I had any pain in my right side, but I did not. He said he had called in another doctor to review the x-rays because of the findings on the right side, although the impact was on the left.

My daughters waited with me, and they said silent prayers to themselves as they held my hand. I prayed silently as well, trusting God the entire time. My human side wanted to be fearful of what I did not know, but there was no point. God was in control. I, clearly, was not. My fate was in His hands and that of the capable hospital staff.

The doctor returned to say that after further examination, I must have had some type of deformity on my right side. Even in my foggy state thanks to the wonderful pain meds, I asked him to repeat himself. I had to laugh about this “deformity” as it was news to me, and it was odd even to my children that I found humor in this. Hey, we’ve known for quite some time that I was far from your average every day person … and most definitely not normal, as that is way too boring! So, my “deformity” just added a little spice to life at that moment in time. This “deformity” hadn’t caused me any problems up to this point in life, and I am thankful to God … yes, even after hearing of said “deformity.”

The results were all in, and the kind and gentle doctor stated that I had a fractured hand and a fractured hip, all on my left side. I was free to go home with pain meds in tow, but I was to see an orthopedic doctor immediately for a follow up visit. I thanked the kind doctor for all that he did for me that evening, and the nurses came back in to make sure I was comfortable before my ride home. They wheeled me out to the vehicle in a wheelchair, just as I had entered the emergency room earlier that evening.

In the days after the accident, I have been shown quite a few things. One being that the people you thought would care, didn’t show it as much as you had thought they would. Meanwhile, others that you really did not expect to care are the ones that ended up showing way more kindness, love and compassion than anyone.

People are strange creatures … even harder to figure out than the horse that bolted on me.

As to what happened to the horse, we knew that we could not keep her as she was originally purchased for my children. We called the lady we bought her from to tell her of the accident, and her very first words to my husband were, “I sold you a green broke horse.” That was the first time we had ever heard those words. This lady knew that the horse was purchased for my daughters, and she knew that they would be the ones riding the horse. She told me on several occasions when we visited that the horse would be good to just “throw the kids on in the back yard and let them play all day … they’ll be fine.” Thankfully, I had my hesitations about them getting on this horse, thus the reason I was the one riding her. I had been on her three times … the first two times, she was great. The third time, however, is when she bolted resulting in my injuries.

We have learned a few things in the “horse business.” Unfortunately, you will meet all kinds of people. The majority are good, honest, people with the best of intentions. Others, however, are shady characters that will not tell you the truth. Being trusting individuals, it is hard to understand why people chose to be deceiving, especially where children are concerned. However, this has opened our eyes completely.

The lady has since taken the horse back and has refunded our money. She hesitated on this several times and almost backed out of the deal before my husband could return the horse. Thankfully, though, she was true to her word on this deal when he arrived with the horse trailer, and she did refund the money to get this problem horse away from our family!

My daughters are now afraid of horses, which is the last thing I wanted to happen. They were so excited up to this point, and now this.

Something good has happened in all of this, though. During these tough times, my oldest daughter told me just last night that she saw God in action. She said that she believed in Him before, but she prayed to him, really clinging to Him and trusting Him with me, and He answered her prayer. She said she witnessed God in action with how He took care of me … how He cushioned my fall, preventing me from breaking any bones. She said that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that God is the reason I was able to walk away from this accident as I have.

While I am sorry that any of this happened and sorry that my children witnessed their mother in pain after the accident, words cannot begin to express how it feels to hear your children talk of how they trusted God and how God saw us all through this tough time.

What I would like you to take away from all of this is to just know that God is in control. Things happened that we did not plan and certainly wouldn’t wish on anyone, but even in the final moments before I hit the ground, I called out to God … and He met me there!

Be careful who you trust in this world, as not everyone is trustworthy, as we’ve found out the hard way. However, I still try to see the good in people, as that is just who I am and how God made me.

People will fail you, people will not be there for you as you’ve been there for them in the past. People will desert you in your hour of need while others will not hesitant to swoop in and be there no matter what, holding your hand through it all, offering words of comfort and grace, being as gentle with your heart as if it were their own.

Through it all, no matter what you face in this life, trust in God. Let your words before the storm be, “Oh Lord …” as you cling to Him.

Several weeks ago your hostess asked me to help keep the site fresh with posts. Alas, I haven’t until now tried to sit down to write something. I know I have disappointed her. It is just that I don’t share very much about myself anymore.

So writing does not come easy for me. The odd thing is that years ago I used to do a lot of writing and sharing things about myself. Reading and writing were a big part of my life in high school. I even started trying to write a cheesy novel as a freshman in high school. I had no problem sharing it with others and some of the people I worked with actually couldn’t wait for the next chapter. But now, I barely say a word about things going on with myself.

Why the change? I went through several situations where I discovered it was in my best interests to keep things to myself so as to not endanger certain friendships. There were decisions I was making that were not the most popular with certain people. I realize that these friends had my best interests at heart even though they went against what I felt was the best things to do. So I made the choice to clam up and keep things to myself.

So now I share very little with anyone. I keep all of it inside. There are a lot of people that say that is not a good thing to do. They say you have to let it out to deal with things. What they do not know is that each day I take the time to meditate with God. That is where my strength and comfort lies. When you are alone and feel left out in the cold, you need to realize that God is with you at all time in your heart. You just have to take a little time each day to sit, relax and open your heart to let him in to help wash away those doubts and fears. So take a few minutes today. Sit down and relax. Take a few deep breathes and open yourself to God’s love and comfort.

~ The Peanut Gallery ~

You know how you plan and prepare, yet things seem to fall apart at the most critical moment? We stress about it, worry over it, and thoughts consume us. At times, you may even lose sleep over it and feel physically sick when things do not work out as you had hoped and dreamed.

As things fall apart at the seams and may not have been what you wanted, God had a hand in this. He hasn’t left you. He will never desert you. He’s been right there this entire time, even when you failed to acknowledge Him. While this may have been a surprise to you, it wasn’t to Him. He knew this day would come. He knew what would take place. He was there watching as it all unfolded, ready to sweep you into His loving arms to offer comfort that only He can provide.

Dear sweet child of God, please know that when things don’t go as planned, God has a perfect plan that is much greater than anything you could ever imagine. He has it all under control, and He promised in His word that ALL things work together for the good of those that love Him.

So, you see, He has crafted His Perfect Plan for your life.

God tells us numerous times in His word:

Do not fear.

All of that worrying you’ve been doing, it’s time to stop. Have faith and trust in HIM!

All of the stress that has you up at night, it’s time to let it go. Give it to God. Let Him handle it for you.

All of the thoughts that consume you, ask God to help you turn to more positive thoughts. He will!

Do not fear, dear child of God. He has crafted a perfect plan for your life.

Let His love surround you as His will unfolds and God’s Perfect Plan is revealed.