What Does All This Mean?

Today. Always. We owe our sincere Thank You to all the men and women of every single war who fought and sacrificed their lives in one way or another for our freedom! Some of us remember firsthand the stories that have been told because we personally know friends and family members who have our deepest gratitude.

"There are approximately only 325,574 veterans remaining of the 16 million who served our nation in World War II. [US Dept of Veteran’s Affairs]. The oldest living WWII veteran today is 110 years old!"

"9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (Aug. 5, 1964-May 7, 1975)." [Veterans Administration]

"2.77 million service members have been to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, and over half of them have deployed more than once or twice. Many times, that number of Americans have borne the costs of war as spouses, parents, children, and friends cope with their loved one's absence, mourn their deaths, or greet the changed person who often returns." [Watson-Brown University]

These are only three of the most recent in our memories. In 245 years on our own U.S. soil, veterans have fought over 25 wars for our freedom [Our Country published by Silver Burdett Ginn, Inc.; and Wikipedia].

Taking Our Heads Out of the Sand

Please understand, no one likes war. No one. Obviously, we would not be enjoying American freedom if it were not for our military. Remember, freedom is not free! Military spouses and children should not be forgotten either. It takes great courage to "hang in" when the unknown must be faced every single day. Never knowing where or when they will need to pack up and go live somewhere else. Spending years waiting while their spouse is overseas. Children who never learn to make permanent friends because it takes time and time is elusive in the military. Today, stop and thank a military family you know or see. Just do it. They deserve the respect and honor!

Living in the military sometimes takes its toll on women with devastating results. "The divorce rate among both officer and enlisted men and women over 2014 was 3.1 percent, only slightly higher than the 2005 rate of 3 percent. The newly released statistics show that the rate has steadily declined since 2011 when it reached a high-water mark of 3.7 percent." [The Pentagon, U.S. Dept of Defense]

Where is the Good News?

"In a world filled with evil people, sometimes war is necessary to prevent an even greater evil. If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer as slaves?

"It is an error to say that God never supports a war. Jesus is not a pacifist. The most important thing we can be doing in a time of war is to be praying for Godly wisdom for our leaders, praying for the safety of our military, praying for a quick resolution to conflicts and praying for a minimum of casualties among civilians on both sides."

For further study, click on this Link from GotQs.com:

WHY WAR?

 “For everything there is a season. . . A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8 NLT).

How Do We Get What We Want Now?

“However, if I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential. It's so easy to spend your whole time being preoccupied with urgent matters and never starting to live, really live.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Dutch Catholic Priest, and Professor at University of Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard Divinity schools)  

In our ultra-busy, keyboard world, how do we find enough hours to get anything done? Do we make time for what is important? Seems our ringtones and touch sounds would successfully remind us what to do and when since they are so “smart.” 

That Was Then, This is Now 

Many of us grew up under a firm hand that required perfection. Things had to be done exactly right at the exact time. This taught us to expect the world, our world, to never fall under a human mistake of any kind. We may have even lived with a spouse that expected the same thing in his wife. It created a lot of guilt and turned us into stressed-out women. 

Our lives may still feel like a whirlwind, but feelings cannot really be trusted. They change from moment to moment. What is true is that we are smart women and that does not change! We have been through enough to know what we want now. We may not know quite how to get it just yet, but we have ideas running around in our heads.

First, let us sit down and start a notebook. We can get those what-do-I-do-now thoughts out of our heads and onto paper. They will become real goals and the strain and pressure will stop giving us headaches. Get some colorful dividers for different categories important to us. Suggestions: Dreams, Designs, and Drawings. Plans, Patterns, and Projects. Keep going. Have fun with it! 

If we are naturally visual people, why not cut out photos from magazines that represent our goals and paste them into our notebooks? On the other hand, if we are more comfortable with being a tactile person, try painting and create mixed-media pages. By the way, if there are still children at home, show them they can start their own Dream Notebook. This will help them get excited about life too and they will be way ahead of the game of life!    

Meet the Creator of Dreams

God did not mean for us to be so weary and worried all the time. He has plans for us and a lot to say about our needs (hint: being discontent with life is not one of them). 

Making ourselves frantic if the pillowcases never got white enough in the laundry will rob us of our joy. This is why it is so important to get in touch with God daily. First thing in the morning while the coffee, tea, or hot chocolate is brewing is the perfect time to ask what plans He has for each of us today. He has a perfect answer and is delighted with the kind of women we are! 

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT).

 

Small Steps on the Road to Wholeness

It is a must. We have to take care of ourselves now more than ever. That is if we do not want to see a "hag" in the mirror one morning and scare ourselves half to death. It is especially important if we have children at home yet to take care of. Otherwise, we may find them eating from the family pet's food bowl! 

Here are some of the questions: how do we gain the strength we lost while dealing with a devastating event? How do we re-invent our lives? Being physically exhausted and emotionally fatigued prevents us from living to our fullest capacity. In the long run, it only empties our bank accounts as we seek medical services and try to get well.

Not feeling our absolute best blocks us from doing what we need and want to do to survive. Surely, we have some new and exciting plans now for ourselves. We do not want to repeat what we went through in the past, do we? Of course not. All the dreams we had while still married can now be fulfilled to perfection--no one is holding us back. Yes, world! We can do this.    

Feeling down all the time and not caring if we get back up also keeps us from creating the abundant joy we crave and is available to us. We are not saying all the possible solutions need to be done at once. Being drained requires that we take small and specific, but consistent, steps on the road to recovery. 

The truth is, we can help no one else until we take care of our physical and mental selves. This is not a selfish thing! We need the energy to move forward into tomorrow. We have heard it before--participate in a good nutrition plan, regular exercise, and balance that with some fun thrown in and exciting ways to pamper ourselves and we are on our way to a new adventure. Those are the first building blocks to physical and emotional health. The way in which we do it, or not (anyone hate exercise but love the pampering?) will be different for each one of us and at a different pace. Whatever we feel we can do at the moment is the right step for us. It does not matter what anyone else thinks. Just keep the momentum going!  

How Solid Is Our Home?

Our spiritual well-being is an even more important connection to wholeness. Without this type of support from God, nothing else in our lives will work properly. No worries, though, because He provides the necessary solid rock solutions to grab onto when we feel we will fall. He is always there to catch us! God is the Rock, solid as can be. Remember that a home built on sand will not stand. Eventually, it will sink. We need a solid foundation that will stand the test of time.  

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:2

 

 

Are We Ready to Make the Hard Choices?

When someone is smart, we call them “wise as an owl.” But when referring to a person in that manner, we could make an enemy really quick. That is because owls--according to those who work with them--know the owl cannot be trained to do even the simplest of tasks. Unlike parrots, hawks, pigeons, or even our parakeets, who all can be taught to do a variety of amazing feats, owls are what we might lovingly refer to as simple-minded, as in unable to be trained or to learn anything.

Without even knowing, we have often used this common phrase solely based on how the owl species look. It is all in their extremely large eyes compared to the size of their much smaller head. They just look like they are focusing and paying attention to us, so we equate that with intelligence. Especially when they have to turn their entire head to look at something!

Using 100 Percent

There are many, many things we do not know about a lot of things. Most of us can readily admit to that concept, even though there has always been a myth that we only use ten percent of our brains. Actually, numerous scientists have proved otherwise. Recently, John Henley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, stated, "Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain". It is just that at any one time during the day, we may only use ten percent!

Why Should We Care?

Nothing is more distasteful than a person who constantly tries to point out his/her knowledge on every single subject. It seems they lack perhaps not intelligence, but a sense of humility in all things. They seem to have lost the ability to judge their own importance.

We may have experienced this type of person in our last relationship. Nothing we did or said made any difference to him at all. Our values and opinions were unimportant, and we were made to feel small. This may not have just happened in our home; it may have happened at the place where we worked or with friends and even family.

The truth is that cleverness and what we call “smarts” are considered the most attractive in the world. We see it in the news, sitcoms, and movies all the time. It makes for superb entertainment ratings. Now do not misunderstand. We are definitely not talking about authentic education and earning well-deserved degrees with accolades. That is certainly to be rewarded!

The subjects here are the antics and nonsense that go on with someone who is trying to convince others of how much they know. Making sure we understand that they are right and there is no discussion of the matter. They get the last word above all. Those of us who have been through such a petulant relationship, know we have to make the hard choices.

God’s WORD is Our Truth

The only One who truly knows our value is Jesus. He is the Humble One who loves us beyond all imagination. Be assured He was right there when we were being beaten down, cheated on, and tossed out. He got us to where we are now--standing on our own two feet ready to have Him as our only Master.

Know that we are not owls. . .we are God’s W.O.R.D.: Women of Renewed Devotion (c)!

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, ‘He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness’ ” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NLT).

 

 

 

Has Your Life Ever Surprised You?

Decades travel at the speed of a “don’t blink, you’ll miss it” kind of rush. When we were teens or young adults, we thought we would never, ever see the time when we were called “senior citizens.” But, sure enough, every single one of us arrives blinking our eyes in surprise and wonder! Of course, when we finally do get to our mountaintop, our minds play tricks on us and we still think we are twenty years younger than reality.

Life is Still Good if We Give It a Chance

Every season of our lives has its pros and cons. In our college years, life started happening all at once. Joyfully or not, we were separating from our parents and envisioning a lifetime of great success, the “I can’t live without you” type of perfect relationships, and happily doing things our way.

Between our 30s and 40s, life started revealing its true nature. Things were different than we originally imagined but still manageable. Our energies slowed a bit and then took off again, as we adjusted our goals to fit our lifestyles. Here we learned the difference between “Me, Me, Me” and “We, We, We.” Life was good as long as we were willing to open our hearts and minds to the world.

Midlife comes onto the scene with a vengeance! For some, it is a shock to look in the mirror and discover a new landscape or an entirely new life. Now we remember all those things we wanted to do thirty years prior before interruptions and distractions took over. We start making plans, realizing time is beginning to speed up.

The good news is that we can look around and see new possibilities we never knew we had. According to the aarp.org blog, currently, 108.7 million people in the U. S. are over age fifty and growing, and 53.5 percent are women. We are not alone by any means. Amazingly, there are 36.02 million single households. If we genuinely want to do something with the next twenty-five, forty, or fifty years, we need to be willing to get out of the house and meet others in our “tribe.”

Blocks, Books, and Bricks

Think about it: our experiences pile one on top of the other for our entire lives like building blocks. They create for us an entire “library” of knowledgeable events (how to do things), good and bad. We cannot actually go back in history and re-do our lives. But we can go forward, call on our learning episodes and make things new and different. Ready? Start here:

• Lifelong Learning - always beneficial and fun, we can choose something to learn or participate in doing. Local colleges provide a regular schedule of one-time classes.
• Travel Groups – now that the pandemic is slowing and travel reservations are opening again (get fully vaccinated to make things safer), how many of the fifty U. S. states have we seen? How about that foreign country we dreamed of stepping foot on? Day trips are also a great way to see sites and meet others without a big commitment.
• Community Events – in every hometown, there are plenty of occasions to use our skills, learn new ones, or volunteer and make our neighborhoods better.
• Church Groups - just ask and get involved at church. They can always use our help and it is a great way to meet others and feel useful.
• Dating - please note dating clubs, organizations, and especially online dating, are not recommended by this author. They rarely result in any worthwhile or permanent relationship, are sometimes costly, and can actually be dangerous for the novice. However, if a one-on-one connection with another human being sounds good, get out and join with others in some of the above groups. They may lead to meeting someone with similar interests. And that is a particularly good beginning!

We Are Never Alone

No matter our circumstances and lifestyle at the moment, there is a way to make a difference with our days and use the gifts and talents God has given us. He provides what we need when we need it if we just ask Him. God is always ready to help and will never, ever leave us alone. Just finding the determination to do something with our lives that is worthwhile and beneficial is Step Two. Step One is placing our faith and trust in the One True God. He has our backs!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV).