If you're feeling small

Linking up with other writers today for Five Minute Friday. Find out the skinny on how to join in over at Kate Motaung's blog. And check out what others have written on the topic "build".


Dear You,

Have you been made to feel small this week? Less than? Unimportant. Even invisible?

Sometimes that happens when those around you are wounded themselves and they can't see past the pain, to see you.

This doesn't reflect on you at all, even though that's the ditch you often fall into. 

Time and time again, you think the way they treat you is all about you and your not-good-enoughness.

Think again.

It's when these feelings and thoughts of others come at us, and even from our own selves, (the wounded parts), that we must build ourselves up.

Our highest self must come to the rescue of the hurting, invisible, small version of ourselves and build ourselves up.

Our brains only listen to us.

That's right. Your brain will hear the words of others and try to make you think that you are the smallness that others say.

But, if your brain tells you the truth of who you are, that you are enough, those other voices will be silenced.

Good will win over bad.
Light always puts out the darkness.

It will always start with us, and it should end with us, too.

See, God created you. He loves you. He's always near you.

And, he's given you YOU!! 
Cherish the loved one that you are.
Cherish your gifts.
Accept them.

Tell yourself you are enough. Because you are.

People may come and go from your life and they will say what they will. But, you don't have to listen.
Instead, listen to the voice deep inside of you that is in tune with the voice of God.

You, my friend, are enough.


Blessings to you today, friend.

Anne

What is your "right now"?

Joining in late for last week's Five Minute Friday post over at Kate Motaung's blog. The prompt for last Friday was "lose". 



In 2012 I got accepted to a grad school in Seattle into their Counseling Psychology program. I would have been a non traditional student, for sure, but I have felt called to help others in this way since my college days.

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I was not able to move from Iowa out to Seattle, WA with my hubby to attend grad school. 

Four years later, I am now unsure if I even want to go to grad school.

What gives? What makes you lose your focus, the purpose that seemed like it was burning a hole in my heart and (soon to be burning a hole in my pocket)?

I don't understand it at all. 

I have no desire right now to look into local programs. 

I read something from the Tiny Buddha website yesterday that one of my Facebook friends posted about purpose.

That nothing has to be done in a hurry. And, just because we don't know what to do right now, doesn't mean that "right now" doesn't have meaning.

That, to look at what is "right now" beckoning me, or calling me, is what I could do, that the "right now" can be my purpose.

Right now, my intuition, my gut is calling me to paint. I've been experimenting with acrylics and mixed media for a little over a year. 

I love what I've learned both on and off the canvas as I take bold, brave, courageous steps to make something out of nothing.

I'm not sure where this is leading me, but this is my "right now".

What is your "right now"?

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Blessings to you!

Anne

a friendship beyond words

I've never felt I was good at dialogue, but in this post I tried it. Not perfect by any means, but a conversation with a new friend stuck with me this week. 

Joining in with a flash mob of writers for Five Minute Friday, where we write for five minutes straight. No fancy editing or rewording of text. Come on over to Kate Motaung's place to see what others have written on the prompt "grow", and to join in yourself!!

Setting the timer for five minutes.
GO.
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Elaheh, my new Iranian friend was at ESL group again Thursday night. She missed last week because she was so busy with work. Her English is very broken, but she's growing and learning. 

She had emailed me that she was sick. When I checked in Thursday night with her, she assured me she wasn't sick, just busy. 

Oh, the intricacies of language. Work and sick don't sound the same, but I think she got them mixed up. 

She invited me over to her house this next week for lunch. I said I would bring my own lunch this time (because I am gluten free). There were awkward silences and stares. I think she didn't understand "bring my own lunch." With a few more tries and hand gestures, I think she got it.

After group I asked her about her work. 
She said, "work is my habit."

Confused, I said, "habit? Not sure I understand. Is your work something you do because you have to? Not because you want to?

"No", She said. "A habit, like smoking or something."

I smiled. "okay." I said.

She then said "I don't think about my family in Iran as much."

"oh", I said. "Going to work helps you not to miss them so much."

"yes."

Understood, my new friend. Understood.


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Thanks for joining me today!
Blessings to you,

Anne

What I learned in April

So, for the past few months, I've either been delinquent here, or not shown up at all for the What I Learned post. Oh, I know it doesn't really matter if I write these silly or not so silly things I learned in April. But, I really WANT to, so here goes. Even though it is already a fourth of the way into May.



Things I learned in April.

1.  I've realized that I've done a "180" with mugs in my cupboard. I remember not too long ago, I bemoaned the fact that none of my mugs matched and I had a cupboard full of unmatched mugs. 

Yorkshire Fog tea in York, England

Funny. Now, I seem to be collecting ones that I love. See, I am addicted to tea, whether in tea cups and saucers or in mugs. I bought two mugs in England. A Kath Kidston mug which is floral and I adore, and a London mug with little red busses and Buckinham Palace guards on it.  I even have a thrifted mug with cowboy boots. I've become a mug-aholic.

2.  I've declared that I love immigration movies. Hubby was on a trip to Europe in April and I rented Brooklyn on redbox. Loved, loved it! I wonder if my fascination with immigrant movies has to do with the fact that my dad immigrated from Sweden when he was 16. Yes, most likely.

3.  A hair straightener does more than straighten hair. At my April hair appt. I told my stylist I'd really like a perm, like soon. She said they didn't offer them, but she said I could get more texture in my very straight hair using a straightener to put some "bend" in, and maybe even get some curl. 

What? I went out right away and bought a low expense straightener from Target and wallah, I had textured and slightly curly hair. Took ten minutes and I'm hooked.

4.  I also watched Room while hubby was in Germany. It was intense, but great great acting. I realized only after watching, that Brie Larson, the main character won best actress for her role. SO WELL DESERVED!

5.  Typing the word "cross" in my phone makes an actual cross icon show up. I had no idea.


Well, folks, I know I learned a ton more, but I'll share more in the May post, because, you know. I just keep learning stuff! Isn't that the beauty?

Blessings to you,
Anne

Linking up over at Emily P. Freeman's blog for the What I learned link up.

The sacredness of paying attention

How many times do I pass by things without giving them a notice at all? Just the other day, I was heading home from an errand on a commonly used road and missed my turn. Why? I was lost in my thoughts. I wasn't paying attention.

Last month, my husband and I toured Buchenwald Concentration Camp near Weimar, Germany. This was on a weekend between business meetings and we went here at my request.

When I passed through these grounds on foot, where thousands of people once suffered and many died, I was paying attention. I wasn't just passing through nonchalantly. 

standing in a concentration camp barrack space I looked down and saw 2 hearts

Everywhere I stepped foot in this place, though many of the original buildings were long gone replaced by rubble, I felt I was walking on sacred ground.

There was a peace there that is hard to describe to someone who hasn't been to a place like this. A place of suffering, and yet there was an eerie peacefulness there, a hush. A holiness that I can only describe as God's presence there. 

God in his grace and infinite mercy, present there to honor the memories of those who suffered. Those who were tortured and killed just because of who they were. They hadn't done anything wrong.

Before we left the grounds, we took a meandering path that led to an "ash grave". Supposedly where ashes from the ovens were buried.

The birds were singing the most beautiful songs in this place I've ever heard. I stood in my silence and looked up at the treetops. I saw no birds flying, or sitting on branches. Yet there was loud singing.

Could God have sent heavenly birds there to sing as an everlasting memorial to those who had gone?

I believe so.

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Blessings to you, 

~Anne


Thanks for stopping by today, friends! It's been awhile since I posted for Five Minute Friday. I'm happy to be back! Joining a flash mob of writers over at katemotaung.com for five minutes of free writing. No fancy edits. Head over there to see what everyone wrote on the prompt, "pass". 

What I learned in March

This is going to be the fastest "what I learned" post in the history of my "what I learned in a month" posts. Emily's link up closes in about 20 minutes and I desperately want to join in because, well, I learned a lot in March.



Joining in a bit late for Emily Freeman's "What I Learned" link up at emilypfreeman.com

It's going to be a bulleted list, and who knows, maybe I'll elaborate on some of them in future blog posts.


On March 14th, hubby and I left for Europe and we were gone for 20 days. We traveled to Denmark and Germany for his work, toured a bit in Germany over a weekend, spent a day and a half in Paris, and then went on to England to visit our daughter who's on a Gap Year there doing youth work.



Here are some things I learned on our travels throughout Europe in 20 days.

1.  I have more stamina than I thought.

I didn't prepare near enough in the walking department. I barely squeaked out a mile or so every other day (if that) in preparing for walking to sites. My hubby's iPhone app told us we averaged 7 miles a day of walking and 20 flights of stairs/day on our travels!! What?? I did that??!! (p.s. I could feel it)

2.  I like London better than Paris.  I'll explain more in a future blog post.

3. Paris was still awesome. Arch de Triumph was breathtaking coming up on the escalator from the subway. O.M.G.

And, the Eiffel Tower. I need say no more. Astonishing and beautiful.  Seeing it at night was icing on the cake.

4. Our Paris Hotel was very old and very Parisian. (lol) The gal at the desk said, "we upgraded you to a suite, but it's on the 6th floor and the elevator only goes to the 5th floor. Are you okay with going the extra floor with stairs?"  

Huh? Before I could protest, hubby said sure. He carried our bags. And, the stairs were crooked. Oh, but it was the cutest place.

5.  Europe knows how to do gluten free bread. Oh my gosh. I was in roll and bread heaven. Too bad I couldn't bring any back with me.

6. Seeing my daughter's smile in person after 6 months of just seeing it on video chat was priceless.

7. Our son met us in London on our England visit to see his sister. Seeing our son and daughter interact again was pure bliss.

8. I love Yorkshire tea. Anytime of day. And, I'll take it with milk, or half and half please.

9. First ever double decker bus ride that I can remember (in London). We sat on the top and even at my old age, it was a thrill. 

10.  We traveled in Denmark, Germany and France and England and met friendly people in every place. People that spoke English well, and People that struggled with English. 

Our world got smaller.


Well, this is all I have time for right now, but I feel I could write a book. Maybe Emily could give me tips on how to get started.

"Out of Shape Iowa girl goes to Europe for 20 days and Survives", or some title like that.


Thanks for joining me today.

I have so much more to say. Talk about an inspiring month.

Anne

How to handle bad news

There's no doubt about it, it stinks to get bad news. Whether your child got a low grade on a paper, or the ink ran out of your pen, or you got a diagnosis you weren't expecting, bad news is disappointing at the very least.

What do you do with disappointment? It's inevitable, and I've found that the quicker I am to accept the disappointment and acknowledge it, the better off I am. 

Acknowledging negative feelings and sharing them either on paper, or better yet, with a trusted person, helps those negative feelings to shrink. It helps to gain perspective.

I've gone through many disappointments in life.

Little ones and big ones. 

Some take longer to process.

Some need a friend to help you.

Some just take minor attitude adjustments and then you're on your way.

Where do you find yourself? What do you do when you face disappointment of any kind?

Find healthy ways to express your disappointment. 

1. Stop. take a perspective check and breathe.

2. Listen to your inner wisdom, your intuition, and breathe.

3. Take action. 

Even one small step can make a huge difference in your attitude and in your day.

What one thing can you do today to face your disappointment head on, and walk yourself through it?

Blessings to you, friend!

Anne

Linking up today with other writers for Five Minute Friday. All the details are over at katemotaung.com. Come on over and see what others are writing on the prompt "news".