Watch “Christina Aguilera & Blake Shelton – Just A Fool (Unofficial Music Video)” on YouTube

So, this song has been on my mind lately. The thing is that when you accumulate some years during “maturity”, you reminisce in quiet moments. You regret some. You appreciate others. You wonder at your own sanity or insanity when the opposite would have been called for at different times. You get why you are largely alone now, preferring the stability of a few close friends to popularity from the world of strangers and denegration. And it hits you that although the past may hold most of your ambitions and loves and passionate pursuits and hard times and incredibly amazing and perfect moments, all of it accumulated to get you to the most important moment of our life… the NOW. And you may have left some love out there floating around, rejected for a while but you know remembered by them now and again, and you may have left some pretty harsh treatment being forgiven beyond deserving, that God brought you to this place to forgive now and love who you can now. Better. Bigger. With maybe less ambition but much more wise fervor. And maybe, now, as He has blessed you with survival and presence, you can give God back some love He gave you through it all. He has been your constant, precious friend. He is the Lover our souls all wanted and still want. And treasure your precious gift that everything else has led to… NOW. ❤❤❤

Just Like a Musician

In true musician style, while everyone is preparing for the hurricane, my husband is subbing for a guitarist in our old band at a gig. Some people worry and some make music. Lol. Love it. Puts things into perspective. Music is the very best therapy for any occasion. Kinda glad they didn’t need a keyboardist, though. I took the kids and wind-proofed mom’s house and spent some time reassuring her, played some games, and walked her dog. Glad we had that time with her. And then after getting home and getting the kids to bed, I went outside and looked up at the stars, which thankfully were out. And I just felt this wave of appreciation flood over me. How great is our God! He is so precious and loving, detailing even a boring night sky with beautiful diamonds twinkling down to reassure us He is paying attention and is enormous and perfect. And I thought that God must be a musician too. What a beautiful moment. ❤❤❤

Precious Moments

Lately, I have laid to rest two very dear friends and my Daddy I love is fading fast. And it occurred to me just exactly how precious every single good thing is in reality. It is so very easy to see things as mundane and take them for granted and tomorrow they may not be here at all. Things happen just that fast sometimes. It is heartbreaking and devastating if you focus on the badness of all of that, the heaviness, the weight of it on your head and heart. However, one thing is I know I am so prayed for and that God has answered prayers of my loved ones still with me and has given me this perspective… be thankful for every moment, every second, every kiss, every touch, every dinner together, every cup of hot cocoa curled up in front of a movie together, every hand holding yours, every shared song, every time your band plays together, even for crappy practices, everything good. Value it. Cherish it. Take pictures. Be very thankful. Then, when bad things happen as they are bound to, we can have amazing memories and moments in time and prayers of appreciation for these things to lift us from the mire. And a life of appreciation brings about positive from an otherwise negative experience. Fortunately, my friends and soon my Daddy went to heaven and I will see them again and they are happy and whole and pain free right now. That is a positive. The positive, happy things HAVE to be the focus. Too much focus on the pain of loss or sadness or moments you will miss or regrets will destroy anyone. Appreciating the now moments, every single one, prevents regrets and keeps one positive and hopeful and in love with life. We have to do this to self preserve and to be amazing and strong people amidst hardship. Otherwise, what was the point? If we are destroyed with the first bad, how high can we hold our heads? How can we represent our Maker God that way? We are saying He is not enough for us. And He is. Really if all we had is ourselves and Him, we’re still good. Because He can make a whole other way, a new life, a new journey, a new journey partner. God can do anything He pleases, so let us thank Him for what treasures He gives us all the time and appreciate all this and we let His goodness, strength and creativity flow through us. Every moment. Pay attention to them. Love them. Live in them. 

For Love

We do things for love we would never do for any other reason. I don’t mean stalking or applying tattoos to our poor skin or anything. 🙂 I mean that love in its pure form empowers us to see beyond the ugly duties face with to the soul of the person we are doing it for. Love sees with different eyes. For love, we can tolerate many discomforts. For love, we can support the unsupported and care for the uncared for. For love, we can sing the right song at the right time and for love, we can sit quietly and hold the needy soul. For love, we hope and we commit. We all need love and we all need to be loved. There are so many people needing love that you need only find one that needs what you have to offer and a soul connection is made. God fills you with His love and it pour out onto others in a deeply beautiful way. Our soul does not rest easy without the giving and getting of love. Guard it well. When you experience such an exchange, value it and treasure and remember that perfect moment. And with God’s blessing, you will have many such treasures stored in your mind in the years ahead of you. And smiles will prevail over scowls and contentment will follow your steps.