by Sharon O | May 17, 2018 | Uncategorized
The other day our Pastor started a six week series called, “The time is now.”
I love to write in a series, it keeps me focused and structured in topic so I am not bouncing around not making sense of anything.
It keeps the message clear and straight forward too.
He started out with the word OP-POR-TU-NI-TY which is a set of circumstances that make it possible to achieve something as in a goal.
Something – is a key word, and circumstance is the other key word.
He said to make the most of every opportunity, asking yourself, what am I doing that will leave the greatest impact on others?
I pray my blog writing does that in some way or other.
He said, opportunity also means time. In the root of the word Chronos refers to time, clock, minutes and hours.
Kairos refers to substance, richness, experiences that have great meaning and quality.
Time can be our biggest enemy if we allow it to be or it can also become our greatest friend.
He said the time is NOW… Never Omit Wonders.
N ever
O mit
W onders
I honestly think this can be also used as a life goal.
Do you want to lose weight and be more physically fit? then eat better and exercise.
If you want learn how to publish articles and be more mature in your writing? then take time to practice.
If you want to change a habit and move forward to a new one? then you must do what needs to be done.
They say it takes six weeks to change a habit.
Six weeks in a series, to reinforce the movement towards growth and maturity.
I read about a guy who was a severe diabetic who had neuropathy so bad he burned his feet and didn’t even know it.
He got a wake up call, to change and to do a 180 turn and learn better life skills and with new ways of eating.
He lost a lot of weight, got healthy and has no more diabetes.
The time is NOW … Never omit wonders… the amazing can happen. If you believe.
The new awareness can be a lifestyle you have wanted for a long time.
It takes effort and decision making to change the something and the circumstance.
Are you ready to start?
The crossing over from what was then and what is becoming is NOW, it’s time to begin to never omit wonders.
Do you believe in yourself enough?
by Sharon O | May 15, 2018 | Uncategorized
Yesterday my daughter lost her cat temporarily. She has two cats and they are indoors only.
It was scary and hard to think about as the temp outside was 90 and very hot.
It moved me back into a memory when we lived in a different city.
At the time our children were pretty little and we had an assortment of dogs and cats at the house.
One of ours was named Moses and he was a yellow striped cat and one day he went missing.
I worried and fretted and didn’t know how to find him.
I walked the neighborhood calling out, “Moses”… wondering if the neighbors were concerned about me.
My husband saw my distress and went for a drive. He came back with a very angry hissing cat.
When you think about the experience it had to have been pretty comical. Here he was fighting this cat.
He was scratched and showing signs of war, the reality was; he had removed someone’s beloved pet off their property and kidnapped it. Poor kitty.
I had the terrible task of telling him it was not my cat and he needed to take it back.
To this day I am not sure what ever happened to old Moses and I chuckle at the thought of the other cat.
The story he could tell if he could talk human language.
The second funny event was in the same house when our black cat went missing for a day.
His name was Spook. Again we were sad and worried and my husband found a black cat on the road.
He for sure said it was Spook and even though I wanted to see him, he didn’t want me to be disturbed.
So we told our children he was killed and they carried on and cried, as we all did.
We planned a time for burial and had a service in a prime spot in the back yard.
We sang songs and discussed with the children how life is sad sometimes and death happens.
A few hours later our friend was outside in the driveway when a ‘black cat’ rubbed against his leg.
Looking down we realized it was OUR cat, our beloved Spook and we obviously buried the wrong cat.
Then we had to explain to the children that ONLY Jesus resurrects from the dead, NOT cats too.
It was a pretty sad but funny time in our home.
Life sure has it’s moments, and my husband is pretty funny too, in his great love for us he would do just about anything.
by Sharon O | May 12, 2018 | Uncategorized
This Sunday is another Mother’s day. It’s a day for Hallmark cards and flowers and words that say, “Thank you.”
My mother is gone now, and my husband’s mother is too, neither of us have grandmother’s and it’s ok.
We all know mom’s who we can encourage in this journey of motherhood.
It is hard and sometimes weary. If they are married or single it is still a road to walk of sacrifice and giving.
I remember being a young mom and how many times I asked the question, “will I ever rest again?”
Looking back I can say, Yes rest comes, and as we release the burdens we put on ourselves it comes much easier.
If I were to talk to a young mom today I would first say, “chill out.”
“The to do list will always be there, the work is in front of you when you see little smiles, hear little giggles and listen to endless questions, it does get easier and it also gets more difficult. Both are true.
When they are tiny you worry about teething and sleep, then they start to walk and you worry about safety. Then they move into the years before preschool and you wonder if they will ever get out of diapers.
My answer is always yes. I have never seen an older child in them, it does work and they will graduate into the big boy or girl pants. I promise.
The school years you worry and fuss over them and you don’t know if they will grow right since they don’t eat their vegetables or drink their milk. Believe me they will be fine.
Grade school is rough and the kids can be harsh but hang in there and be involved.
After they graduate from junior high you worry and gasp at every ‘thought’ of them going to dances or dating.
Believe me I tell young mom’s it is so much easier when they are tiny ones at least you know who their friends are and where they sleep at night.
High school is whole other topic. They are growing into themselves, they are making choices on their own.
They must do that in order to develop and mature. Do not take that away from them.
You cannot make all decisions or do all things for them. They must grow and in that growing they will fail and make wrong choices.
Your job is not judging your job is encouraging and walking alongside them like a cheerleader.
They need a mom who believes in them with a knowing ‘deep in their heart’, “My mom will be here no matter what.”
The role of a mom is a difficult one. We are asked to give our selves on many levels for many years.
It is a great honor to watch your child develop and grow into a man or woman of character and maturity.
At the end of that road you can pat yourself on the back, put lotion on those praying knees, and thank God that it all worked out. Believe me mom’s your heart will stretch and stretch more when you become a mom.
I say, chill out, and enjoy these moments, from a mom who has grown children. This too will pass much more quickly then you can ever imagine, then it all starts over when you become a grandma.”
by Sharon O | May 9, 2018 | Uncategorized
In the middle of a stress filled week; I am listening.
Seeking the direction of my writing and searching the ways that I will continue to share.
There is power in the seeking.
There is also power in the waiting and resting.
I cannot always allow myself to feel overwhelmed or fatigued by ‘personal goals’.
This place of writing is a sacred place for me.
It is not only my outlet for others to share life with me but also a place of healing.
I have shared matters of my heart to those who read and choose to understand me.
I have also shared struggles and joys.
It is good to be open and vulnerable and also know that even in the word it says, “be still and know.”
Life has taken a little skip these last few weeks; as I have had dental appointments and vision appointments.
Growing old is not for the faint of heart.
I have had to push myself deep in order to do the testing or the correcting that was needed.
Both appointments pushed my comfort zone far into the ‘non’ wanting to be there zone.
I am strong and resilient and did survive.
It was not easy but who said life is? We are here to grow and I feel I did through these experiences.
I do not like doctor appointments or dental appointments. I really don’t like to be messed with.
Sometimes we must do what we don’t like in order to find out what is wrong.
I learned to breathe.
I learned to push myself into a place within me that is a ‘survive and it will be over soon’.
Have you ever had those moments where you just don’t want to be there?
WE all have those at some point in time.
The moral of the story is this, we will get through it and we will then have something to share.
It might be good or it could be not so good; but either way we will take our experience and learn something from it, I think it’s the only way to survive those uncomfortable ‘moments’ in this path of life.
by Sharon O | May 3, 2018 | Uncategorized
The hardest part of writing is coming to the terms of what it means for me and also to realize that I am learning to be better.
It is a journey of believing in myself and believing in the process as I move through it.
In the writers group that I am in they said the other day, “We already are and we are also becoming.”
That brings me hope and restores the vision for me.
They said for us to write for ourselves, not following a mold that someone else laid out.
“A good writer is comfortable with themselves and shares all that they are to the reader.”
I share a lot of who I am with the reader, and yet I also hold back some truths.
They told us, “The right people will get you – they are the ones you are sent to serve.”
That is another word of encouragement because those who have cheered me on in this process are those people who are family or good friends.
They know my heart and my desire to ‘tell the story’ in whatever way I need to.
Writing is a lonely process and so many times I find myself up here in my room, isolated from others.
In saying that it is also a powerful time of listening and leaning in towards the words that are forming.
The writers group told us, “you want your voice to come through and be heard.”
Yes that is very true. I tend to write the same way I talk in real life, it is from my heart.
My words need to paint a picture of hope and encouragement while telling whatever story at the time.
They told us this week; that this is about the journey not the destination.
It takes a lot of time and effort to write on a continual basis.
Just as in any other commitment it is daily and even sometimes hourly.
We ‘writers’ learn to carry paper with us in case a line or two comes to us in a store or wherever we may be at the time of ‘listening.’
The other thing we learned this week is to practice rest.
When our mind is rested and not cluttered with many things we can write more clear and more real.
So the goal this week is to rest, listen and to write.
I pray you stay with me as I move through this process.
