When You Believe.

Whitney Houston - The Preacher's Wife

One of the most amazing voices in the music world is gone.

A tragic legacy left in her wake.

It amazes me somewhat, how very sad I am at her passing and, quite frankly, how ticked off I am at her as well. She had the resources and the support to get the help she so desperately needed these last few years. But, she didn’t. My mom summed it up best tonight when she said, “The heart loves who it loves” and, as saddened as I am, I see the truth in that statement.

Whitney Houston

There have been times in the past when I’ve wished I could be a person’s conscience. That voice of reasoning telling them right from wrong, and then consequently “forcing” that the correct choice be made. But I’m not. I’m no one’s conscience but my own. However, that thought gave me a distinct perspective.

Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard

God’s view.

God created us with free choice. He made us in His image but has allowed us to choose whether we follow the path He has marked out for us or a different path, made of more spontaneous, in-the-moment choices. I wonder sometimes if He sits there wishing, just like I have in the past, that He could “force” people into the right choices. But then the choice would not be freely made, and let’s face it, forcing people into worshiping something they didn’t choose is not the best way to get followers.

Whitney Houston

That is one of the best ways to make sure people resent you, forcing them to do something against their will.

Whitney Houston

I’ve also wondered at the heartbreak that would ensue with knowing beforehand the choices people will make, knowing their destinies could be changed at any moment.

Whitney Houston - The Artist

As much as I would like to be the one helping others choose the right choices, the fact of the matter is that none of us know what we would do in any given situation until we are actually staring it in the face. We all say, “I’d choose xxx decision” but reality is that we just don’t know.

Whitney Houston

Just like we don’t know the people we’ll touch.

Whitney Houston - The Artist

Just like we don’t know the days we’re allowed.

Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard

* * *

There are so many songs lyrics I could post that would be fitting for these circumstances but I believe these are the best. Whitney, you came into this world singing “Jesus Loves Me” almost from the time you could speak and you left his world singing “Jesus Loves Me”. I truly hope you are resting in Jesus’ loving arms.

Whitney Houston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfhb4S2tc1I

When You Believe

Many nights we’ve prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear
When prayer so often proves in vain
Hope seemed like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I’m standing here
My heart’s so full I can’t explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I’d say

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

They don’t always happen when you ask
And it’s easy to give in to your fear
But when you’re blinded by your pain
Can’t see your way safe through the rain
Thought of a still resilient voice
Says love is very near

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
Now you will
You will when you believe

You will when you believe
Just believe
Gotta believe
You will when you believe

(All images and lyrics found via internet searches utilizing the Google.)

A Thankful Heart | Day 7.

I know I’ve said family already but for today I want to focus on my children:

Eman & ZigZag

There are no words to express all of the emotions that go along with Mommyhood. It’s a whole new world that is constantly changing. If you have more than one child, the milestones reached with the oldest are not necessarily how things will happen when the youngest reaches those same milestones. It is amazing to me how incredibly dissimilar yet alike my boys are. They both have fairly happy dispositions most of the time. Yet, even when they’re happy there’s such a difference of expression from one to the other.

I have learned more about myself in the last seven {and a half!} years than I’ve probably learned in the last thirty combined. New ways of teaching, giving, receiving. There just aren’t words enough to express how much I love these little dudes and how drastically they’ve changed my life {for the better!}.

ZigZag will make up little songs that say, “I love you Mommy” in them.

Eman will come up as though he has something very serious to say and then wink at me before giving me the biggest hug.

To quote the movie Something’s Gotta Give ”They make me want to be a better person”.

I just love them!

A Thankful Heart | Day 5.

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Today I am thankful for technology.

We use technology for so many things – life saving equipment, photography sharing, communications, etc. So often we use it that we don’t even realize it anymore. The word technology contrives images of computers and smart phones but there’s so much more than that.

With the use of technology I’m able to snap pictures of my boys, load them to my computer, and either upload them to Facebook or email them globally. With a few clicks of the mouse images are sent around the word. Literally. It still kind of blows my mind how fast things travel in today’s society.

Families who are rarely in the same state {or even country} can communicate easier today than ever before – phones, online chat services {think Skype, Facetime, & other such companies}, and of course there’s Facebook.

It amazes me the advances made in technology just during my lifetime. Computers have gone from being these ugly monstrosities to these handheld devices about the size of a magazine. Mobile phones have gone from these massive blocks that plug into the car to these slim-lined, smaller than your palm, fits in your pocket size gadget that most parents now use to appease their children.

Oh and then there’s GPS in nearly everything – cars, computers, phones. Nice little tracking devices that not only give you directions when you’re lost but help people find you if necessary.

A Thankful Heart | Day 2.

Today I am thankful for a couple of things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for many things daily but I’m putting my focus on two things for tonight’s post.

Knowledge & Family

Family.

I know, family sounds like a given, right?!

Without my family right now my life would be crazy, upside-down. My parents have been amazing; over the last four years especially. How many 30 year old adults with children can say that living with family has been a great experience? It is because of them I am able to attend school full-time, finish my degree, and not have to struggle financially because of bills, etc. It’s not always peaches and cream but we are there for each other in any way possible and that is what matters the most.

My brother and his wife recently moved out of state so now we have a new place to visit. I do feel some regret that I did not reach out to my sister-in-law more while they lived close by but I am determined to remedy that.

And then there’s the boys. My two, not-so-little, rambunctious, little dudes. I love them to pieces and I know there are days when my wish for perfection overshadows just how much I love them but I’m getting there. Lots of hugs and giggles and winks from those two totally make any day better, regardless whether it’s good or bad. My days are exponentially better because of them.

Knowledge.

Not on the typical list of things to be thankful for. In my case, I’m grateful for the ability to not only learn but the capacity to retain and recall the information gained. With my school schedule I am always learning something but it does not stop there. I learn from my peers: different perspectives, views on various life experiences, opinions on how certain child rearing techniques have worked. There is a plethora of knowledge out there that is not in some fancy schmancy book!

Back to family for a second – and here’s how family and knowledge tie together.

I have learned so many things from my family. My mother is a college graduate and my father is not yet I venture to say I have learned the same amount of knowledge from the two of them over the years. Knowledge isn’t about taking a class, reading a book, or taking a test. It’s about gaining wisdom from those around you, whatever capacity they may be, and learning to apply that wisdom to your everyday life.

 

 

 

A Thankful Heart.

I determined a while ago that I would post on what I am thankful for. It layer dawned on me that I could do that daily during the month of November. Then I discovered National Blog Posting Month and knew I wanted to accept the challenge of blogging daily, something I’ve not done in ages.

I started to tell you all of the normal things; I’m thankful for my family, friends, home, etc. and it isn’t that I’m not so very grateful I have those people and things in my life it’s that there’s something more pressing on my heart as I write this.

Today has been a day full of tragedy to an unimaginable extent for people I am acquainted with in one form or another. Everything from homes and material possessions up in flames to not knowing if a child’s voice will ever be heard to the loss of one lived so deeply. Today has been an emotional day on many accounts and while not directly affected there has been a sharp reminder that the life I live is not my own but His.

Today I am most thankful for life.

Life that can and will be lived to the fullest. Life that allows me the opportunity to hug and hold my children. Life that is full of laughter and joy even during the hardest times.

Even beyond that I am thankful for the life, willingly placed upon a cross so long ago, given in my place so that I might have life eternal.