slow-down – Long walks and dark chocolate

Cherish the moment you’re in

May 23, 2018 2 Comments

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What if we woke up thankful for the beauty of a new morning filled with mercy? If we relished the fresh, cool running water we splashed on our face? if we savored every warm sip of our morning coffee or tea?

If you are like me, you too often have your mind set on the “next thing” to enjoy the now. We look forward to lunchtime, Friday, summer. There is nothing wrong with living hopeful and expectant. The pity is in letting the desire for what is to come, rob any pleasure from the current moment.

If you’ve had children, you know how fast they grow. You might have even said, “I can’t wait until she walks, talks, starts school, graduates…” When those milestones and moments pass, you quickly find yourself wanting to reverse them, often aware that you wasted precious time.

When I am living in the moment, that’s when I am the happiest. When I slow down and allow myself to fully tune in and participate, I thrive.

The added benefit is to others. When I am living in the moment, slowing down and taking notice, this is when I find myself really pouring into others or at least listening to them. When I am fully engaged, I catch things like the sadness lurking behind a smile, the worry underneath the nervous laughter or the need for a hug.

When I make it a habit to be intentional about living fully in every God given moment, I am a better person. I find more peace and more good.

In my spiritual life, it means I’m not clicking off scriptures or praying words of repetition with no heart behind them. It means I can bask in His presence, taking time to enjoy my heavenly Father.

This is just yet another reminder of something we already know. Slow down and truly live in the moment. Be present. If we truly love our fellow man, we owe it to them and we certainly owe it to our families.

Blessings,

Lisa

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Inspirational, Uncategorized Tagged With: cherish, mercy, slow-down, thankful, tulips

Enjoying God’s gifts

November 23, 2015 6 Comments

Saturday sunset

I woke up to the realization that perhaps, if the weatherman’s forecast hit the mark, I could finally open the windows and enjoy some late arriving fall weather. When I was firing up my Keurig around 5:45, I decided to take a walk outside and see if it really was cooler. Those of us in SW FL have been hoping for a little cool down and we’ve just been getting let down. Well I guess I should say some are hoping for a cool down. Personally, I would love a snow miracle, or at least a good freeze to kill off all of the bugs. Walking around in the dark, the stars were still brilliant. They were set against a dark canvas, seemingly within arm’s reach.

I had to stand there for a few moments, in awe once again of the beauty of God’s creation. In the midst of turmoil and chaos, those stars still shine, the sun will still rise and it will still set. I reflected on my thankfulness for the un-changing things. The things that remain predictable, even in times of great uncertainty.

I love to recognize and reflect upon the gifts God gave us that we sometimes take for granted. There are those gifts that are obscured from our vision if we fail to take the time to really look. We take so much for granted because we don’t take the time to slow down and let things sink in. We tend to rush through things and only let our minds light on a topic for a moment, before we flutter away in our impatient quest to find another one.

If I may give thanks this morning for the firm realization that I must be alone sometimes, I must take time to tarry, that it is more than okay if I slow down and bask in the sunlight of moments and memories. In recent years, this realization has afforded me much happiness.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content
Philippians 4:11

Filed Under: Inspirational, Uncategorized Tagged With: beauty of creation, god's gifts, reflections, slow-down

Just pick one

January 11, 2014 2 Comments

I just walked in the door from a nice long, gorgeous walk.

This morning, I found myself mulling over one thing after the other that I wanted to get accomplished today. Knowing that my almost daily walks help me to clear my head and listen for God’s will in the foggy areas, I decided it was time to change clothes, lace up and get out.

If you read my post from a couple of days ago, The Everyday Things, you will know that earlier in the week I received a poignant reminder to slow down. That continues to resonate in my soul.

It is easy to imagine that the faster we go, the more things we check off that list (you know, the one that never has an ending and is never going to?), the better our lives will be. So, the outcome from that type of thinking is we hurry to do more. Wouldn’t you agree? However, do we do it as well? Do we focus all of our energy and attention in to one thing and give it our best?

Let me illustrate. Say, for example, that I feel led to go and visit some of the elderly folks in my community, just to check in and let them know they are loved and appreciated. If I do something akin to a drive-by, pop in, hello, pop out, goodbye, it’s better than not having done anything. But, what if I really focus on that person for say, an hour? What if I look into their eyes, sincerely desirous to see and know their heartfelt needs? I’m taking the time to discover how I might be of the most help to them, and at the same time, letting them know I really do care about them.

We don’t want to do things just so we can say “I did something”, or feel like I we checked an item off the list, or just “did my good deed for the day”. The second example involves more sacrifice; it’s more of a heart thing.

Today, as I put one of my new Christmas sneakers in front of the other, I contemplated on this and I knew that I needed to “pick one”. Pick one thing today, pour myself out and into it. If there is time left, move on to another, but not at the expense of the first. This is difficult, especially for women who are so adept at multi-tasking. That’s a great talent to have in many areas of our lives, but not when it comes to relationships with other human beings. I continue to pray that I will learn this, let it sink in and make it a habit of my own.

May we all continue to slow down, really listen and love deeply.