Collateral Blessings of Covid19 by (me!) sandra, tvgp
* while we pray for, and help as we can, those adversely affected; we also pray with gratitude for some equally unprecedented collateral blessings
***
for time off work
for time off the road/a break from long, taxing, dangerous commutes
for time to organize and spring clean
for the return home of children in college
for online visits with friends
for time to watch movies, read books, eat popcorn, play in the yard
for long walks on beautiful days
for the meeting of neighbors, as they walk, -many introducing themselves for the first time (from a safe social distance of course)
for stimulus and unemployment help
for life at our own pace
for time to create, cook, plan, dream, imagine
-and, I have found.. with nowhere to go really, that has also ='d nowhere to spend.. and I have saved more money during this crisis.. and paid more on bills... collateral blessing!
there is more... but, we are, most of us, familiar with the term
collateral damage..
there is such thing as
collateral blessings too. -count them..
in Jesus Name, amen.
Dear 2020 Graduates, from (me!) sandra, tvgp AKA WriteousMom
oh! i sure feel for these seniors, these graduates, missing out on all the events/celebrations/parties, due to covid19, and our shelter in place.. part of me is inclined to point out:
well, all that time, you've been hittin' the books, and learning this, and learning that..
that's only half of what you need to know to thrive in life... "not all storms are in the forecast" as joyce meyer likes to say. much of life..
or, i pray, not 'much', but a % of life.. adversity. I say, with a lighthearted spirit, 'I feel like my whole life has been one long adversity training class'
so, here you are in highly adverse circumstances; no warning, no direct training; *
unprecedented
all plans must change
-how you handle this... what is going on write now;
it is a different type of grade you will receive; a different lesson and different reward for navigating this crisis successfully..
graduating with honors from this real world adversity training course; that is your new goal.
and, if I got to hand pick the commencement speech all graduates would view online, it would be this one
-because sometimes, someone does such a stellar job of it.. you don't need a new and different person, at different schools, each giving a new speech every year
you just "
encore! encore! encore!" the best ones.
***
Carry On Seniors! You've made it this far.... xoxo I love you! WriteousMom
R.O.I. as seen by (me!) sandra, tvgp
it is not the first time i'm sharing that R.O.I. is my all time favorite business term!
Return On Investment.
in business, where financial profit is the singular objective; and the return is always communicated in dollars and cents; it is vital to any investor to learn in advance
if I invest this much $$$, what will I get in return? and then of course, to learn, how long it will take, etc., etc.
***
but I use r.o.i. for many of lifes experiences
time.
energy.
sacrifice.
beauty.
love, joy, peace.. all fruits of the spirit..
***
and above is an excellent example. AWESOME R.O.I. when it comes to poppies!
I mean to tell you,
last year I purchased just a couple packets of seeds, and those packets probably cost $1.49, or $2 something at the most..
and LOOK! at the yield.. hundreds last year; and with no additional seed spread.. hundreds again this year! can we quantify their beauty? the impact on our spirit through our eyes?
PLUS! the poppies attract the bees/butterflies.. pollinators..
can we quantify the value? it is enormous!
we do have the cost of occasional waterings...
but, when you do the spiritual math $2 to $4 dollars for all that?!?!?
it is the equivalent of a home-made family video generating Disney/Pixar block buster ticket sales.
****
speaking of... one day, I wish to have the family video I made for my dad's birthday available to the whole wide world for viewing.. it is all heart; with very little to no technical/movie making resources.
***
and technology will continue to change/evolve.. but it is always being used, at any given time/era, to communicate the same heart issues.
***
IJNA
Public "Thank You!" to (Kim!) from (me!) sandra, tvgp
and "Thank you!" to Doug! -consistently wonderful photographs.
im so grateful to everyone who helps spread this healthy idea.
Happy Arbor Day!
***
and "thank you!" to erica! it made my day to see/read this:
and, public "thank you!" to our neighbors eric and gopi/gokula/raayan
no one wanted to take down their trees signs after arbor day came and went.. so we are keeping them up for as long as they will stay.
awesome! and now, it turns out most people do not know, and have not been curious enough to find out the name of, or even a little about the trees in front of their homes, in their neighborhoods, places of work or study...
and, they dont know where to begin..
when i asked my daughter and her bff to look up and down our current neighborhood and identify as many trees as they could..
in humorous synchronicity they looked this way and that, and said/pointed in unison,
"palm trees!" and that was the only tree they knew by name.
i only know 4 out of what seems to be 20 different.. and it is only thank you to working at alden lane nursery and my direct exposure to..
and so, how wonderful, in my imagination, to have 100 different individual families each name/share about one tree
vs. one person trying to name/identify/share about 100 different trees -write.
and I do hold the vision of trees everywhere with id tags...
****
one of our neighbors, when I asked if he knew the name of his tree.. he confessed he had no idea and also had no idea how to look it up..
the tree is gorgeous! its been in front of his home for countless years.. enjoyed visually, i'm certain.. but never identified
I took a picture of it to alden lane, and inquired with a couple people
turns out, -everyone's best guess; and everyone seem to be mostly sure; but never 100% confident
that it is a Norfolk island pine; in that family.
what a looker! -anyway..
I like to imagine on our walks through neighborhoods, parks.. labels! name tags..
we all connect better to things/people when we know their name(s).
/and for the record... I much prefer what the nursery industry calls 'common names' vs. botanical
but, you'll find people in both camps. also, in addition to knowing the
type of tree by name; it's just fun to name them also, with pet or nicknames; terms of endearment..
and for some of us, who speak tree... they introduce themselves.
-you do you.
***
In Jesus name, amen.
The Winn-Dixie Memory Test Experiment by (me!) sandra, tvgp
For those of you who are game:
1. If you have ever seen the movie, or read the book, Winn-Dixie, -exclusively from your own personal memory, without doing any research, write what you remember about the movie or book.
2. If you have yet to see or read it... do that this week, and write down, in bullet point fashion, about what you saw or read.
****
I will return here at some unknown, but near future time to check in and explain more.
***
I will share this much: a number of months ago I happened across the opportunity to watch 'because of winn-dixie with my sexy. To see it now.. age 54, and compare what I saw this time vs
my memory of it decades ago..
And, once again, Christian writers will understand immediately:
I said to God,
I dont want to write about it.. it will take too much time and energy.. I dont know if I can say/add anything not obvious.
And within the next several weeks, a series of Winn-Dixie related internal naggings..
-no-
I'm not taking the bait... (of the enemy?)
I dont want to write about it..
And.. eventually the naggings subsided and I was living free of, and clear -for a good stretch of time!
moving happily forward...
And then TODAY! while I was continuing the miraculous work of organizing/decluttering, thank you in large part to the collateral blessing of time our shelter in place has provided..
Well,
I was sorting through this, then that.. my son's school work, my daughter's school work.. here a paper, there a paper, everywhere a lot of paper..
And I scanned this one writing portfolio and I was like..
Fine. Fine then. You WINn- Dixie
because my interpretation at this point is..
-all Christian writers know and understand and agree..
you just somehow know when to surrender.
***
and I'm not going to write about it now, write this minute
But very soon.
***
in Jesus name, amen.
Arbor Day is April 24th!
I thought instead of... (or, in addition to) planting a tree; perhaps we could each just identify and share about the trees write in front of our own homes, and in our neighborhoods. The diversity in my neighborhood is impressive. I do not know the names of 80% of trees I walk past. We could help each other out... make our walks even more interesting and fun. "Thank you!"
Public "Thank You!" to our government from (me!) sandra, tvgp
I am in receipt of stimulus check and unemployment benefits. very helpful. "Thank you!"
Ginkgo & Poppies in April
Sidewalk flowers selection
I would never remember on my own.. the names, what month, when..
so created this flower photo with the plant inserts
our garden in April
Ground Cover selection for mosaic
we know when we know.
I looked at all kinds of ground cover... something low and slow growing... and then, "perfect!" it had to do with the cute size of the flowers, but primarily the color.. how it would look next to our stepping stone mosaic. it is our first time for all/any of this, so.. we plant; we pray.. we play.. we'll see.
Secular Music for Spiritual Leaders by (me!) sandra, tvgp
k, remember how when I heard "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall, I write away thought about Dr Maya Angelou.. and it ended up being a featured song in Kissin' The Chocolate Blues
well,
that kind of thing keeps happening to me when I listen to secular music -like write away, I will see a certain TV minister
so, here are my secular music/spiritual leader match-ups:
Joel Osteen = Happy by Pharrell Williams
Bishop T.D. Jakes = Killing Me Softly, by Fugees
Joyce Meyer = /still haven't heard the one song that makes me leap to her...
but remember how, when we were all inspired to find
our essence word, after reading eat, love, pray, by Elisabeth gilbert... and how all my friends seem to know on the spot, or within a few minutes, what their word was...
and I had to wait, and wait.. but with this internal knowing that once I heard it or read it.. or thought of it.. I WILL KNOW IT; I will recognize..
and how much time passed? and then I read, and looked up the word, VERVE, and my heart knew write away "that's my word!"
-the point is; sometimes patience is required...
so like my word... I will not make one up, or force a fit for the perfect Joyce Meyer secular song..
I will just be patient
and when I hear it; I WILL KNOW IT.. and i'll report back when I do.
my personal song -secular, but which I project my spirituality on is:
under the influence, by James morrison.
yes.. I see Jesus face in my imagination, and/or the Bible.. and sing with those images in heart and mind
"... whatever I do, I am under the influence of yoo
oooouuuuuuuu…
amen.
CH = golf clubs for (me!) sandra, tvgp
as I have mentioned once, or three thousand times.. I must bypass/ignore/over ride several cerebral hyperlinks every. single. day.
but when I passed this one by... I couldn't just pass
THIS ONE bye.
/SHE says with a smile...
BRINGIN' THE BIBLE TO LIFE! (BISHOP, T.D. JAKES!)
Robert and I both LOVE this message/service for Easter. We watched it again this very morning. But here is what you need to do to fully appreciate the anointing of Bishop T.D. Jakes:
Before you watch this, Read John 19:24. That's it. I mean you might be inspired to read a little before, and a little after; maybe even an entire page, but..
just that one passage alone; John 19:24. Read it, and then watch...
THIS
***
When I pray for you.. I am praying to Jesus. /and I am praying some covid 19 inspired prayers...
When I pray with gratitude; it is to Jesus.
When I pray for help; I am asking Jesus
When I experience peace; I credit Jesus
to the extent I can love; I credit Jesus
for my rescue & restoration "Thank You Jesus!"
Conquered Death - (that is LOVE conquering ALL); PAID in advance for our sins;
and is omnipresent via the Holy Spirit in each believer... those who love Jesus... JOHN 14:26
Holy Spirit guidance for each and everyone, in every battle; every glory to glory
Having God to turn to, and to praise makes this a very happy Easter -AMEN!
The Nature of our walks. (Sexy! & Tops!)
