BEAUTIFUL WORDS OF LOVE

I want to share with you some words of a poem that I have loved since I was a teenager. The poem is a sonnet written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning called How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways.

Here is the first line:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Have you ever taken the time to think about love...the love for your spouse, mother, father, etc.? We so often can find fault with one another and we dwell on that.

Try thinking about why you love that person....don't dwell on the negative but only the positive. Example: I love him or her because they make me laugh. I love him or her because they love animals like I do. You can go on and on. You will be surprised about your "list" of counting the ways you love them.

The next line goes:

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.......

Oh how I love this line and feel the intensity of the pure love. It runs deep, solid, pure and majestically. In reading those words your own soul feels the strength, the swelling of your heart and the power.

Does your love for others match those words? A pure, beautiful love means you are putting that person or persons ahead of yourself. You make sure they know you care about them and so you are giving of yourself to them and their needs. You are there with praise, comfort, sharing, giving without expecting anything in return.

Another line:

I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!

That is what it is all about...we go through so much together with our husbands, wives, parents, siblings, etc. We have shared with them the good and the difficult times of our lives. Too many of us are throwing our relationships aside when something goes wrong. Many marriages break up, children leave home as they think their parents are 'mean'.or old-fashioned...etc.

I could not feel the love a parent had for a child until I became a parent myself. It is a love that is indescribable. It is a love that Elizabeth Barrett Browning speaks of in her sonnet...I love thee freely...I love thee purely. When I tell my children that I love them unconditionally they see and feel that love...a free and pure love. Most parents do have that for their children. Why don't we have that for our husband or wife or for others. I have heard tongues wag and find fault with others. How sad.

After Elizabeth spoke of loving with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life.....she then said.....

And, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

How beautiful. Isn't that what we all want....to be together one day in our heavenly home where pure love is. Where there is no bickering, fault-finding, anger, malice, hatred, etc., but only a better love.

Why can't we show now that we love them better? Is it because of the world we live in? Is it because of our selfishness?

Also this line of Elizabeth's showed me that she too believed that love continues, relationships continue after we die. Her words have influenced me for so long. No my love has not been perfect...I let life get in the way many times and when I have done that I have not only hurt others but myself as well.

My challenge is to look at each person and love them as Jesus Christ would. To count their wonderful positive ways, to lift them, to love them with the depth, breadth and height that my soul can reach.

It will feel so good.

Mimi's Thought For The Day: You lift me and I'll lift thee and we'll both ascend together.
(author unknown) Put him/her first. Lift by praising, touching, loving. Hopefully they will do the same for you so you can ascend in your relationships and in your future.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY?

Here it is after 3:00 in the morning. Lots on my mind as I think about the "moments" that are happening daily around here. When bad news hits your heart, how do you react? Sick to your stomach, a jab in the heart, tears, feel crushed? When good news comes your way, how do you react? Joy, tears, laughter, smiles. It certainly is much easier to experience with the latter...we feel so grateful for the good times. But in every life there are cloudy skies that can come once in a while or for some, every day.

Why do we have to be hurt, get hurt or hear hurtful things? Why does life have to be so tough at times and with our family it seems constant.

I have heard the phrases, "Oh God is just testing you" or "He wants to see what you are made of".

Well my belief is that God is not testing me...he lets things happen. He could stop it if He wanted to, but where would I learn? I also believe that God knows me better than I know myself and I need to find out what I am made of. He already knows me. I need to know me.

Sure it is not fun to go through life traveling over many bumpy roads while you see your neighbors and friends just going smoothly along........or are they? Have they learned to lift their heads high and look up to God? Have their learned to bow their heads and get on their calloused knees and praise Him for the good, the bad and the ugly we go through at times? I have many friends who are just this way. They never blame God. They never turn from Him. They just keep on keeping on.

I know we have a Father in Heaven who loves us. He will always be with us especially through our darkest times. It is hard to see your children and grandchildren go over the bumpy road, but there is a promise that one day all will be smooth and well and no more jabs of the heart or knots in the stomach and tears of sorrow and burdens on the back that we carry.

I think of an electrical storm where the lightning and thunder are all around...it can be very frightening. Suddenly you hear nothing. It is quiet, peaceful and calm. Life is like that. Trials come and they go. Some with just a few bolts of lightning and other times it is violently producing the terrifying light and noise of its power. A person wonders how they are going to get through it. Then comes that sweet quietness, that feeling that all will be well. Just trust God and believe in His power.

I have much to learn in this life and my schooling is about over according to my age. I just hope and pray that I can weather any stormy clouds that come my way and that the rainbows will give me a promise of a better tomorrow.

Mimi's Thought for the Day: Look up! He sees you, knows you and wants to hold you. Look down! Get on your knees, then lower your head . He is listening. Let go....let God!

Home Sweet Home

Are these thoughts and feelings expressed by you:

Pray that all arrive HOME safely.
It is time for them to be HOME
Family HOME Evening
I just want to go HOME
I can hardly wait to get back HOME
Sure hope my mom is HOME
Bless our HOME

I could go on and on with this beautiful word of HOME. What comes into your heart as you say this word? I get warm fuzzy feelings. I get weepy, happy, excited, peaceful, etc. So many feelings.

My son Brad and I have been trying to determine the colors of paint for our HOME. What an ordeal that is. No I don't want the common beige/tan color that I see all over Moses Lake. Do I think my house cares? Of course it does. It is a living thing. You can hear laughter, talking, all kinds of noises coming from our HOME. It wants to look as happy on the outside as it is in the inside.

My HOME has an empty nest but every day there is some member of that nest or their own nests who walk through the doors with a "Hi Mom or Hi Mimi" , just like the days of yesterday. This HOME is full of memories. What do I feel when I think of HOME. I first feel safe. I feel love swelling in my heart. I feel peace and contentment. I have tried to make it a place where my family knows they are welcome any time. I want them to feel what I feel. Of course we have had some hard times, but it is the HOME that has brought us back and kept us strong and committed. Our HOME is a reflection of us. The HOME is more than wood, glass, materials. It is a place of our refuge. It is a holy place. It is where we prepared our children for life...the good and the bad...and is our little bit of heaven on earth.

My son Mark was recently released from the hospital....his flu turned into pneumonia. In talking with him briefly he said that he was going to get to go HOME. I said, "It would have been nice if the doctors would have kept you another day." He replied, "I just want to go HOME. I want to be in my own bed, be around my own things." I knew what he was saying...his place of peace, rest and comfort was where he wants to be. I am sure his "HOME" will be smiling when he arrives there.

HOME...our comfort zone, our place where we can take shelter from the world, a place we can be when the storms of life toss us to and fro. A place of refuge, beauty, love.

Oh yes, when you see our newly painted home, I think you will be able to see it looks like a "HAPPY FACE"....it will be reflecting the lives of those who dwell or visit there. Right now I am content, but one day I will want to go HOME...to the HOME I first knew...the HOME where my Father in Heaven, my dear loving brother and Savior Jesus Christ and also all those in my family who came and left before I did. I will be like Mark and others who say, "I can hardly wait to get HOME".
____________________
MIMI'S Thought for the Day: Let your HOME, inside and out, be a reflection of those that dwell there. Make it a place of beauty, peace and joy. Make it smile.

Deanna/Mimi

WHAT KIND OF FRIEND AM I?

My mind can be a million miles "away" and all of a sudden a key word pops into my head. It did it twice on Wednesday. First word was in the afternoon and it was "Eagle Scout". I immediately got excited and was wondering how my grandson Josh is doing on his merit badges. The other grandsons are not old enough to participate in this endeavor. Of course I had to call and find out..so great to know he is making it a part of his life.
In the evening another word came into my mind and that word was "Friends". I only could close my eyes and put my head back in a resting position and then a smile filled my face.
Friends. Dear sweet wonderful friends. They are the wind beneath my wings...that is for sure. I love it when I get a surprise visit, phone call, card or an email out of the blue from these fantastic friends. They bring love, send love, speak love and all of a sudden I feel very loved. The stress is lifted, the dark skies are replaced by sunshine, the head lifts a little higher and a frowning face is now a smiling one. I am so thankful they took time out of their lives to lift me, inspire me and showered me with praises.
But now I am thinking....what kind of friend am I? Do I take the time to send a "thinking of you" card or get well soon card, etc. Do I take the time to call them on the phone and just say "hi"? Do I go and see them? Friendship is like marriage. To bond, grow and sustain it has to be fed by both parties.
I have one friend who always surprises me with coming unannounced. I love it. It isn't planned on her part. She just lives close to the spirit and when she feels the prompting to stop and see how I am doing, she is right on. We hug. We talk. We giggle. I am alive again. I have two other friends who send me beautiful greeting cards with words of love and wisdom.
Today I am going to start being a better friend. I have been so wrapped up in my health problems that I have just put aside the needs of my friends.
YOU may be one of those I call or send off a card to. Listen for the phone and watch your mailbox....I am full of love for my friends and they are going to know it.

Mimi's Thought for the Day: Scatter sunshine today from your house to the houses where your friends or neighbors live. The light will be so bright that it will lift the darkness that dwells in some of the hearts. Even you will be lifted. Listen to the Holy Spirit and you will know who and where and when you are needed. Have fun.

Mimi (Deanna)

MARK DESERVES THE BEST

Just from the title of my subject you can tell that I think my son Mark is a fantastic son. Every mother should be blessed with a son like him. He was always happy as a child, very obedient and just never caused any problems. He was the clown of our family with his "wa-sues" that he gave out to his brothers and sister any chance he got. Mark had a special spirit about him that made him the delight of the family....he was our family clown.
Then "life" came along and he has had some very hard knocks along the way. I know what he has been through and anyone else would have folded under the stress and the strain of big changes in his life...but he weathered those challenges and is making the best of the days ahead.
He has his two precious daughters living with him, plus his long time companion...his black lab named "Bo". He loves where he lives....a very beautiful home, a great job, his daughters and his son who lives in Utah with his wife.
I wish more of you could have known Mark when he lived here. He was the life of a party, the person who could make you laugh until your stomach hurt. A fantastic athelete from grade school through high school.
I have to tell you that he has always treated me with the highest respect and is very affection and not embarrassed or ashamed to give his dad and I hugs or tell us how he loves us. He has always been kind and upbeat about life. As I said, "life" came hard and fast and was very cruel to him. Hurtful people turned his life upside down, but he has come through it. Hopefully those that were so selfish and cruel will one day realize that their actions caused great anguish and sorrow to him, his children and parents and siblings and his friends.
When Mark was born I knew immediately that there was something very special about him. I told him about that feeling when he was about 16 or 17 years old. I just knew that a child such as he was would be an instrument in God's hands. He is the most compassionate person. He has a tough job in his career but he is still able to find some humor and turn ugly moments into funny ones. I have to say that I never had a more obedient child than he. So precious and good from day one....I know that Satan has tried to destroy him because he is so good...but Mark is a fighter and has won one round after another.
Why do I write about Mark today? Because this is his day...his birthday. I remember his birth as if it were yesterday. How very, very blessed I am to have had the honor of raising one of Heavenly Father's choice sons.
I called Mark today to wish him a happy birthday and I was greeted by the voice of a very sick man. Good old flu...he has been ill for four days. These are one of the times that I wish I could be there to give comfort, care and love. But I know that God will watch over him. I am praying that God will also send an angel of a woman one day so Mark can have an eternal companion to share life with...someone who will be good to him and recognize his beautiful qualities. Someone who will be true to him, share life, values, temple worship, laughter and all the things that make a sweetheart of a marriage.
Happy Birthday to a great guy with a wonderful future coming his way. Thank you God for giving me the opportunity to raise him and to recognize that I have raised a son who was already a choice child of God. He taught me much. I am humbled.

Mimi's Thought for the Day: "Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, let go of what you can't change, kiss slowly, play hard, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything, have no regrets. Life's too short to be anything but happy." ....Author Unknown

MY FRIEND KATHLEEN

I received an unwanted phone call around noon today. A sweetheart of a friend left this earth to go home. Right now I am numb, hurting and shocked. I want to try to capture the essence of Kathy...which I already know is going to be impossible.
We first got acquainted by me being assigned as her visiting teacher along with another wonderful woman, my companion, Grace.
We loved going to Kathleen/Kathy. Her home was new...she had moved here from Utah I believe to be near her two sons and their wives. Her home was absolutely immaculate. It always was. Wish I could say the same thing about mine. Good ole farm dirt.
How she loved life...especially her family and the church. Her sons were so good to her and saw to her needs day and night. They were always there for her. She had numerous hobbies and did them all so well. Excellence was a quality of hers.
I loved her laugh. I loved her sense of humor and last but not least I loved how she talked about the gospel and her Savior Jesus Christ.
She had been ill...some type of surgery that later caused her an internal infection. She went back into surgery after a couple of months of trying to get over the infection. Her second surgery was about 8-9 days ago and they had her in ICU. I did not go and see her because of some heart tests that made me mildly radioactive and I did not want to cause any problems for her.
I will miss this most pleasant beautiful daughter of God. My visiting teaching just won't be the same without her. I am most happy for her but there is a big void left in my life and the lives of her children and grandchildren. I have been honored to associate with such an angel.

Mimi's Thought for the Day--Cherish each moment and person from sunrise to sunset. Give out plenty of hugs and praises and smiles and laughter. Tomorrow is another day.

I Hope My Son Craig Never Finds Out

I have aged quite a bit today. I discovered that I am not the mother I used to be. Besides the physical difference from my early "mothering" days, I have found that my brain cells are dying quickly and that the signs are rapidly closing in that I am headed for the time when I forget WHO I AM!!!!!
I better explain. In the month of September we have many family birthdays. I know when they all are and I am always prepared with a gift and a personal rendition of "Happy Birthday" to them over the telephone.
Today is the first family member to start things off. Cherise, a granddaughter, turned 21 years old today. I thought of her all day long. I know that my only son-in-law has a birthday on Monday the 7th, my daughter-in-law Mindi has one on the 9th, my son Mark has one on the 14th, grandson Derek on the 15th, granddaughter Maren on the 26th. Hmmmm, seems like I have forgotten someone. Who could it be.
Craig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My 3rd child and 3rd son!!!!!!! How could a mother do this. No gift for him and his birthday is tomorrow (Sunday). What am I going to do. It is night...I have a migraine. I cannot go out. Oh precious Ned comes to the rescue. He is going to a wedding reception and he will stop by good old Wal-Mart and get Craig a new sports chair for all the ball games he will be attending. Ned found him a big man's chair that holds anyone up to 300 lbs. Now Craig is tall but he doesn't need to worry about the weight thing like his mother does. So now he can reside in comfort at the football games of his only son Derek and bring his chair to our family outings.
I felt terrible when I realized that I was remembering the birthdays of everyone else but had forgot about the one having a birthday tomorrow. When he was born he was born on Labor Day! You would think that Labor Day being said over and over again would ring a bell, but my bells in the belfry are cracked!!!!!!!!
Yes, I am laughing and I hope you are too. Isn't it fun being human? Love it.

Mimi's Thought For The Day: Each day find something lovely, something sweet and above all something funny. A sense of humor gets you through the thick and thin of life.

Ask God for a hug today. He will gladly give you one. Slow down, sit quietly so you can feel it.

The Circle of Life Goes On and On and On..........

September 1, 2009

Tomorrow is the first day of school. There is excitement in the air for both children and parents, but there is also a bit of sadness. There are moms who are sending off their firstborn and know they are opening a new door of life. Those mothers will go through some very big, emotional adjustments and so will the child who has only known his or her mother as the one who taught, who loved, who cared. Yes, the child is anxious, excited, curious but there are a zillion butterflies having a field day in that child's tummy. I will never forget having those feelings myself...the day the butterflies come out and dwell in your tummy...the day called the first day of school. The next day....no sweat. Piece of cake. But for mom she will take a little longer to adjust. There will be tears, a big void and yet at the same time she feels that all her hard work is coming to fruition seeing her child enter a new world. May our children and our grandchildren be watched over by their Father in Heaven as they venture out to explore books, figures, friends, games, rules, etc. Before we know it we will blink our eyes and those children will be sending off their own children with a heavy heart and tears glistening in their eyes. The circle of life goes on and on and on........