Category Archives: healing thoughts

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Posted on by

Have you ever looked at someone and wondered just what was going through his mind? More importantly, have you ever talked to your kids and wondered just what made them tick? What were they thinking when they escaped from the house in the middle of the night and rode their bikes ten miles into town? What were they thinking when they lit a match to see if the carpet would really burn? What was going on in their minds when they decided to take off their clothes, climb on the hot shingled roof and suntan their bare bottoms? WOW! I’d love to have had a penny for their thoughts back then!

In reflecting back over my own life, I’m sure people have said that about me, too. What was she thinking when she drove her little VW bug all the way to Oklahoma from New Jersey without knowing where she’d stay, without a job, and without a friend in the entire state? What was going on in her mind when she allowed her ten-year-old daughter to watch the other 7 kids “for just a few minutes” while she drove uptown to pick up some medicine for the sick kids? What in the world was she thinking when she allowed her 16-year-old and 15-year-old to drive three fourths of the way across the country just a few weeks after getting a driver’s license? I probably would have made people quite wealthy if they had had a penny for my thoughts during those times in my life!

Most of the time, we don’t have a clue what is really going on in the minds of others. Oh, we think we do! We take psychology courses that teach us how to analyze. We can study human behavior and think we know the next step a person is going to take based on previous thoughts and actions. But, do we really, really know? No way! Our thoughts are often a million miles away from what others think goes on in our minds.

Except. Except when we become a true follower and believer in God. “His ways are my ways. His thoughts are my thoughts.” We can place that penny on the dime knowing that a believer in God has mostly pure and godly thoughts. We can flip that coin and know that it’s going to be “heaven up” when that person is filled with the Spirit of God. We can be certain that a penny is a penny and it remains true to that when we are talking to a mature child of the Father. There is no mistaken thought identity when a person is feasting on the words of God.

Why do we do what we do when we’re kids? Why do we make strange and odd choices? Why does our brain seem to malfunction when we’re still experiencing growing pains? Why do we go kind of bonkers in our thinking when under stress? We know those answers! When we’re young our thinking needs time and experiences in order to mature. We can’t reason things out, so we make crazy and wild choices at times based on our childish thoughts. But, as we mature and learn that our thoughts turn into actions and we desire our actions to be good, wise, and godly, then we can channel our thoughts through the brain and sift out the dirt and keep the gold. Ahh…..now it’s beginning to make sense!

Don’t get all bent out of shape trying to figure out what people are thinking about all of the time because you’re never, ever going to get it all right. Only God knows the contents of the heart and mind. But, I’ll bet you a penny or two that we can know that the overall thoughts of a person who knows God are kind and loving. Peaceful and gentle. Patient and kind. And, above all full of love! How do I know? Because our actions are a direct result of our thoughts! What we think about we become, and that’s a godly teaching!

What am I thinking right now? Do you really want to know? Okay. Alright. I won’t keep you guessing any longer! I’m thinking I’m hungry and some pizza would taste mighty fine right about now!

Love,
Clara
PS You’re right on the money about what I wrote. All of the examples I used in this blog are true. And, I can tell you from experience, raising eleven (11) kids, very seldom was I right about their thoughts when they were little, but I sure can see the fruits of their thoughts now that they’re older. I can see the beauty of God interwoven in their thoughts and actions and it’s a beautiful, awesome sight! I’m continueally stacking those pennies up every day!

When It Rains, It Pours

Posted on by

Life can often throw things at us in fast succession! Sick kids, a broken washing machine, the toilet gets stopped up, a flat tire on the car, and a phone call complaining about the dog’s barking all in one day! Times like those make us feel like sitting in a heap on the floor and hiding until the clouds disappear and the sun is shining again. Unfortunately, we don’t have that option.

Instead, we take the kids to the doctor, we call the repairman for the washing machine, we call the plumber to unclog the toilet, we fix the tire (or call for help), and we bake the neighbor a pie and apologzie for the noise and promise we’ll keep our dog quiet. By then, we’re STILL ready to fall on the floor in a heap from physical and mental exhaustion!!!

How do we find replenishment during times like that when the rain won’t stop and it just keeps on pouring? For me, I’ve had to learn the art of visualization. I find a secluded place (most often that’s in my bedroom), lock the door, play some very soft, calming music, and close my eyes allowing only peaceful scenes to run through my mind. I visualize a meadow of soft grass, a field of lovely flowers, or a secluded beach with only the ocean waves softly rolling onto shore and lovely palm trees swaying in the breeze. I call this my “take fifteen” where I allow only positive healing thoughts, sights, and sounds to enter my mind. By the end of the fifteen minutes, I’m far more composed, feel more in control, and have the energy to tackle the problems that are waiting for me.

A good reminder is this: nothing lasts forever — and this is especially true of the rain. Sooner than we think the sun will be shining again!

I hope you can find your “healing place” and visit that place often. Share with others, too, so that we can all learn and grow from each other!!!

It’s the weekend…..now what?

Posted on by

I used to love the weekends, until…….until grief entered my life. Then, the weekends became a time of drudgery, and a time of more sadness and sorrow…….a time when the hours just seemed to linger on and on and time seemed to stand still. At least during the week I was kept busy!

That is the cry of many people who find themselves in need of “a healing place”….. a place that is a reprieve from pain and sadness and reminders of what has been lost. We generally associate the weekends with “time off”, “family time”, “sleeping in”, “taking mini one-day vacations”, or just “hanging out around the house killing time.” For the griever, none of these things are appealing, nor do they help!

What does help? What can I do on the weekend that will help me to heal and not hurt? First of all, have a plan. Not having a plan is planning to fail. Be sure to have something in mind: taking a walk, watching a movie, taking a drive in the car……..it’s always good to “do something” no matter how little that something is.

Secondly, be sure to surround yourself with lots of positives……positive photos, positive readings, postive music……things that will give you a healing message. The more we think about pain, the more the pain will intensify. And, on a better note, the more we think about positive things, the more positive we will feel. We can have a choice in this matter, and for the grieving person, this bit of “control” is significantly important!

Thirdly, remember that “this, too, shall pass.” The weekends will always be here, but the loneliness from loss won’t last forever. There will come a day when you will not feel so alone or so empty. If you have to, write that thought down on paper, and put that reminder in key places throughout the house where you can see it, read it, and hold that thought deep within your subconscious mind.

Finding a healing place is a task that every grieving person faces, and that place will be different for everyone. Do what is best for “you” and by doing so, your grief will not overtake you. By having a weekend plan, you also have a weekend place of healing!

What am I doing this weekend? What else……working in my flower beds. That is my weekend plan for a healing place!