From Pity to Praise

The experience that has helped me grow the most was my a death.

Grief changes people. I went through all the emotions of depression, anger, and wondering why God took him.

I took care of my father for 10 years. So we became very close. There’s something special about sitting down and having a beer with a parent.

My father’s death taught me not to take the little things for granted. I strive to savor every moment I spend with my loved ones because I never know when it will be the last time I see them. Disagreements no longer upset me. I have learned that holding a grudge is useless, and only steals time away from us.

It’s been 11 years since my father’s death. And I still feel like it was yesterday. I don’t think we ever get over the death of a loved one. We only learn to live with it.

The void I feel stimulates a need to fill it. I have filled the void with God, and helping others.

I believe that my destiny is determined by my decisions. One of the most powerful things that we have on earth is free will or choice.

Life is full of choices. And every day God gives us the freedom to make choices about what we think is going to be good. That success and failure of our life is made up of those little choices make every day in our lives.

For every action there is a reaction, and for every choice there is a consequence. John C Maxwell said “It is our decisions not our conditions that determine our quality of life.

The power to choose is in our hands. We can choose wisely or unwisely as we are confronted with decisions, temptations, and choices every day.

Our choices determine our values, character, direction, and destiny. When we need wisdom it is important to remember that God is the source of wisdom.

Satan may be able to attack us through our past and present, but it is up to us to choose our destiny.

Moses prayed a humble prayer in Psalm 90:12,

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.“

Moses wasn’t asking God how to use his time more wisely, but for wisdom on how to invest his life in alignment with God’s season and purpose for him.

My job is to work for the Lord. It doesn’t matter what Job I have done in my life. It matters how to represent yourself. People watch our lives to see how we conduct ourselves.

I have worked at a job where I didn’t like it. But I always conducted myself as if the Lord was my boss. He was who I was representing.

Whatever I do or say I do it as if I represent the Lord. Even if it was a job I hated and had to get money to pay bills.

Whatever job we work at work as though the boss is watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. And the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward.

Followers of Jesus are called to serve people – no matter who they are willingly and sincerely as though they are serving the Lord. How we live affects our testimony. We set a good example at work, doing our work heartily we are able to show others Jesus’s message without even speaking about it.

A phase that was difficult in my life was when my children were raised.

Their father and I raised them to be successful adults. We wanted to raise independent adults. With that we realized that success is not just a measure of outward production or achievement.

We wanted them to be about to navigate the challenges and the ups and downs of life. We wanted them to be people who could ask for help when they needed it. And be self advocates when it was appropriate and needed, but be comfortable pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and to have the confidence to apply all of that in their future learning, and growth.

Both of my children are successful adults. Not only in their Careers. But are respectful adults.

But after teaching them to be successful and kind adults. There came a time that I would have to let them go and see them spread their wings. That was a difficult phase in my life. While I wanted to make wise choices in the world. I had a difficult time letting them leave.

I definitely had empty nest syndrome. I grieved when my children moved out of our home. It took me along time to adjust.

I would not want to be anyone else for a day because it’s not real, someone else life often looks easier. But we only see a small part. Some people seem to have a cool life, but do they really?

I think of Robin Williams He was an amazing comic and actor. But the side we didn’t see was the depression he had. Which caused him to commit suicide.

Being myself, I know the issues I have and have insight into how to become a better person as time goes by.

God created us to be unique. Each with our own gifts and trials. Society teaches us to compare ourselves to others and to think the grass is always greener on the other side. When in reality it’s not. It’s just a whole different set of issues.

I don’t delve into many do-it-yourself projects. But usually around the holidays I bake and make gift baskets for gifts. During the fall I make elderberry wine. To share with family and close friends.

With inflation going through the roof, last year this sure helped my budget. Once I learned how to make gift baskets and saw how easy they are to make I will never buy a gift basket again. With a few practice tries I was able to shrink the wrap like a professional.

All it takes is time to make gift baskets, and wine. Something I have anyway. With the world becoming so expensive it is imperative that we come up with a few things to save money.

Recently I been trying my hand at making my own coffee creamer and a few other things that are extremely expensive in the stores.