Month: April 2012

zippity-do-dah

zippity-do-dah

by Kathleen Moulton

When you sing while all is not well,  it’s because you most likely have come to a place of understanding how joy and sorrow can exist together.  For the Christian, it is understood that Jesus endured suffering for the joy set before Him.  Another who comes to mind is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who lived daily with suffering all around her.

Most of us have experienced it really is better to give than receive – a remedy for a heavy heart. Another remedy is simply enjoying life despite our circumstances. I’m not talking about faking it. I’m talking about realizing all of humanity suffers in some degree or another, concluding it is what it is, and tapping into joy.

It’s one thing to enjoy life when all is well, and by all means, do so! It’s another thing to enjoy life when all is not well. Do so anyway. You will find your emotions lining up!

yearning.

yearning.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 6 Comments

We all yearn for something to fulfill us.

yearn: have an intense feeling of loss or lack and longing for something.

You know what? We’re all in the same boat. We live in a world that is broken, yet, full of wonderful glimpses of Heaven. You say you are not sure there is a Heaven? Well then, how is it that there is such beauty all around us? From the intricate, invisible structure of the DNA strand to the spectacular, resplendent Milky Way Galaxy, our earthly home speaks of something beyond our understanding.

But is it beyond our understanding? Not really. Because the Creator wired humanity to yearn for him. We can’t help it.

It is really the yearning that is beyond our understanding.  What is this inner desire that coaxes me to look for something or someone to accept me and give me purpose? We may try many experiences to numb the pain,  make us forget, or bring happiness – if just for a moment.

But there is truly only one way to feel complete. And that is open your arms to God.

I’m not talking about religion. I’m talking about you and God.  He is waiting for you. Tell Him you’re ready to meet Him. He’ll take care of the rest.

eXciting!

eXciting!

by Kathleen Moulton

Life is exciting! There are adventures all around us waiting to be discovered.

Even when you’re blue, it’s okay to do something you’ve always wanted to do. It may be the very thing that will help you.

I have found when the last thing I wanted was to be with people or do something fun, it ended up being wonderful.

There are times of solace but we can forget what it’s like to live again. Find something you’ve always wanted to do and dare to do something exciting!

Start a book club

Go to a concert

Go to a super fancy restaurant

Go to a comedy club

Take belly dancing lessons

Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends

Swim with a dolphin

Skydive

Run a marathon

Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich

Be someone’s mentor

Shower in a waterfall

Learn to speak a foreign language

The possibilities are endless!

worry.

worry.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 3 Comments

There’s a lot going on in the world today. There’s plenty to worry about. We worry because we are fearful of the unknown – of what might happen to us or the ones we love.

I used to worry. But after I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I feared no evil. It was gone.

Whatever you are facing, you have to do something with it. If you carry it alone, you will naturally worry.

” … casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 1:7

God tells us to give him all our worries. Do it.

universe.

universe.

by Kathleen Moulton

I want you to understand how much bigger things are than you.  Check this out full screen.

Every once and awhile we have to get a grip on reality. It’s so easy to forget how very small we are in comparison to the universe. Our disappointments, losses, and pain can overshadow our life if we allow it. One glimpse of the vastness of life beyond us, takes our breath away. We are energized.

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

I know it feels like there isn’t a God but that doesn’t mean there isn’t. Pain makes some of us withdraw; especially from the one who we think could have done something about it.

But life hits us all hard in many ways. None of us are immune from pain. Some surely face more than others. But God promises to comfort and help us. This is a wonderful promise!

triggers and tears.

triggers and tears.

by Kathleen Moulton

Yesterday, some triggers made my eyes fill with tears – remembering and reliving the pain of my son’s death. It will be 7 years this September.

Is this you? A song, a smell, a taste, a feeling, or a sight, brings it all back? That’s what a trigger is.

For me, it comes like a wave washing upon the shore. Not a crashing wave since I’m numb and cannot feel it. And not a wave that knocks me off my feet because nothing surprises me anymore. It just advances and retreats back where it came from. But it leaves something, as waves often do. It leaves memories. And then I wonder. And then I miss him. And then I want to remove myself from the source of those triggers.

It’s amazing how God has made us to endure pain. The best way to describe it is we are hard wired that way. It’s just that it can be a lonely place sometimes. We live smile, we laugh, we work, we play, and always beneath the surface of our smile is sorrow. No one else is aware of it but us. We want others to be okay so we take even more upon ourselves to make that happen.

People who live this way are okay. Really. Something or someone is missing in our lives and we walk with a limp. We’ve come to accept it. Will you?

singing.

singing.

by Kathleen Moulton

I was thinking about a word for “s” and the word “sing” just kept coming to mind. Have you thought about singing? I have. Just how someone, somewhere, discovered singing.

Singing is good. It is strangely healing for the soul. Sometimes, the simplest thing can have great power. Don’t underestimate the power of singing!

Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect I’m afraid.

While shivering in my shoes, I try to tell each toe
To whistle a happy tune and no one ever knows I’m afraid.

The result of this deception is very strange to tell,
For when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well.

I whistle a happy tune, and every single time,
The happiness in the tune convinces me that I’m not afraid.

Make believe you’re brave, that’s the trick to take you far,
You may as brave as you make believe you are

You may as brave as you make believe you are.
The result of this deception is very strange to tell,

For when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well.
I whistle a happy tune, and every single time,

The happiness in the tune convinces me that I’m not afraid.
Make believe you’re brave, that’s the trick to take you far,
You may as brave as you make believe you are!

redeem.

redeem.

by Kathleen Moulton

I love working outside in the flower gardens. Every spring I am always amazed to see the tender shoots breaking through the soil once again. If we’re paying attention, the cycles in nature teach us so much. Do you think this is exactly what God had in mind?

The earth is capable of replenishing after catastrophic events – wildfires, floods, ice storms, fierce winds, and even oil spills. It speaks of God’s redeeming ability. Pain can be likened to such things. Yet, the deepest sorrow can be redeemed.

redeemed: to buy back; to free from what distresses or harms; to offset the bad effect of.

It doesn’t mean life will be the same. It does mean life will go on.  And there is  joy in finding the pleasures and treasures along the way that are given by a good God who cares that you are hurting.

Not only that, but you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  When something bad happens suddenly – something good can happen just as suddenly!

questioning.

questioning.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 4 Comments

It’s normal to ask why when we’re facing pain.

Why did my friend die in the car accident and the drunk driver lived?  Why didn’t my father love me? Why did my child get leukemia? Why did I lose my job? I think what causes us to question is we compare ourselves with others. There’s nothing more discouraging than to work really hard at something, only to have it end in disappointment, failure, or heartache.

I’ve asked why many times – only to have it exhaust me. Most of the time there are no answers and we have to find resolve in that. I’ve often found myself saying, “it is what it is” and the practicality of that statement somehow made me feel better.  Since I have found peace in trusting God, I am able to say it and accept it.

Ask why. But don’t keep asking when you know there is not an answer. It will destroy you. Life has plenty of sadness but it also has plenty of happiness.  Think about those good things that happened and you don’t know why!

purpose.

purpose.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

Everything has purpose. When you consider nature and how everything fits and operates with value and purpose, how much more is your life valuable and purposeful?

There is struggle in nature. Chicks must peck their way through the egg. Delicate plants push their way through heavy soil. Without bees there are no flowers or food. Without an irritant there are  no pearls.

God would not order nature and not order human life.

He gives purpose to pain – not because God purposes pain for us, but because He knows how to bring purpose from pain.