Category: #christian

Writing Your Life Objective

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
flat lay photography of person holding cookie and pen near hello board
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I feel we should be able to describe in a few sentences our Life’s Objective.  When the Dust Settles Over our Finished Lives, what will our Lives Accomplished?  The Ripple Effect of our Lives we Cannot Deny.  Whether it has been One of Good or Not So Good is the Only Variable in Our Control.

So Here’s Mine…

The First Draft Anyway…

I want to Walk Gently.  Love Fiercely.  Be a Lifelong Learner.   Open Minded.  Not Bitter.  Always Grateful.  Ever Hopeful.  To Smile Always.  Cry when Necessary. Embrace Change. Pure in My Thoughts Towards Others. Courageous.

Most of these Characteristics are States of Being.  Because if we aren’t these things, our Accomplishments Don’t Matter.

Accomplishments come to those who first have learned….

To Be.

Here’s To Being!

Let me know your Life Objective!  Can’t Wait to Hear!!

xo

 

Those Dreaded Uninvited Guests Are Here….

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
architecture door entrance exit
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

They Make Tears Run Down My Face Like Rivers.  The Wind as I walk Charlie Whisks them Away.  The Stain Still Smeared on my Cheeks.  Sometimes, they just Show up Unannounced.  Demanding Entry.  Smashing Down my Bolted Heart’s Door.

Shame.  Regret.  Grief.  Longing.  Fear.  Pain.

Gosh What a Family.

 Obnoxious.

They Rip the Living Room Carpet Up Every Time.  Exposing the Elephants in the Room.  There’s a lot of Elephant Excrement too under that Dang Rug.

They Demand my Attention.  That they be Acknowledged.  Their Needs Attended to.  Which Always Includes that Dumb Elephant.

When they Show their Ugly Heads Around, I know my Dream Day is Gone.  That I will now be Engrossed in this Flipping Family Fraught with Failures.  Feelings.  I will Cry Inconsolably.  I will Wish.  I will Repeat “I’m So Sorry” to No One and Everyone Inparticular.

But You Know What, Each Time They Come, They Lay Claim to an Elephant.  They Drag its Lumbering Behind Out the Door with them.  Like they’re taking Some Treasure.  If They Only Knew.

I Feel Lighter.  The Living Room Rug is One Less Elephant Lumpy.  And A lot Less Smelly. I Got More Heart Leg Room.  Room to Stretch.  Room for Good Guests.

And hey, Look Who’s At the Door….

Humility.  Forgiveness.  Gratitude.  Love.  Joy.

Come In, I’ve Missed You.

xo

The Ruins of Rushing

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

 

focus photo of a ripe lemon fruit
Photo by samer daboul on Pexels.com

 

Sometimes we have an Urge to Utilize Force.   We see Waiting and Patience as the Enemy to Fruition.  Not understanding the Actual Word.

Fruit.ion.  

Fruit starts as a Tiny Little Bud.  Then Passersby enjoy the Beauty of the Bud, then the Fragrance of the Flower.  We Find Hope in the Unripened Fruit, and Love the Memories of the Taste of It.  We enjoy the Wonderful Butterflies of Anticipation.  We Dream of the Possibilities of the Fruit.  It Gives Hope for the Future.  Of Sustenance.  Of Enjoyment.

Everything in Life is a Process.  Whether it Be Personal Growth.  Our Careers.  Our Relationships.  Every Stage is Beautiful.  Culminating in Gorgeous Fruit if all Stages are Embraced.  With Patience.

We are a Society of Rushers.  Instant Gratification.  We are those who Cut Down Trees of Possibility because of our Own Impatience.

Let’s Enjoy the Processes of Life.  In Ourselves and In Others.

Our Dreams will Come to Fruition.  Let’s Create an Environment Conducive to Growth.

No Rushing.

Just Diligence. Warmth. Faith.

 

A Silent Lesson…

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
green apple
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Yesterday on my walk, I passed a Little Tree.  It Stands Up to My Chin.  Indescript.  Almost Fragile.  It could be said Almost Sickly.  But Yesterday, I Almost Cried.  I stood there Silently Staring at Little Twiggy Tree.

On it were Big Fat Apples.  Beautiful Soft Green Orbs of Gorgeousness.  More Apples Than Branches.  Dear Little Thing.

Small But Mighty.

It Fed My Heart looking at That Little Thing.  I Learned a Giant Lesson.  Gods Quiet Voice Said…” Fruit is Never For the Tree.  But For Others.”

That Sweet Little Flimsy Tree spent Its Energy Nurturing Sweet Fruit for the Nurturing of Any who Desired.  It wasn’t Building Its Branches.  Making Its Leaves Glorious and Full.

There it Was.  Silently Offering to This Hungry World its Essence.  Filling its Precious Purpose. So Quietly Offering its Precious Fruit.

Speechless  by this Silent Lesson I Walked On.

Changed.

Humbled.

Even this Morning as I turned my Fireplace On for the First Time in the Chill of the Oncoming Autumn.  I thought of Autumn Joys.  Fires.  Lamplight.  Trees Shining Golden.  Apple Pie.

A..pple…Pie.

And I thought of Blessed Little Tree.

My Heart…

xoxo

We all need a T.R.I.B.E.

~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment
sunset hands love woman
Photo by Stokpic on Pexels.com

There’s Nothing Like a Girl Tribe.

 Mine Began with My Mother.  My Matriarch of Many Musterings.  Mostly My Courage.

 There were my Dear Sisters.  We Rarely Fought and Fiercely Loved Each Other.

 There was Sandi.  My Beautiful Brunette Childhood Bestie.  Her Tinkly Laugh and Freckles Bestrewn on her Darling Face.  We never had a Fight.

 There was Miss Brown, my Grade 7 teacher.  She Loved me and Believed in Me.  I Flourished in her class.  I Learned I Loved Public Speaking.  Speech Writing.  Essays.

There was my Guidance Counsellor in High School.  She loved me enough to Phone Home Personally if I Skipped Class.  Deep Down I was Grateful.

There was also the Woman of Grace I lived with the First Year of Adulthood.  Three Thousand Miles from Home.  A Desperate Lonely Girl Found Solace Under Her Gentle Wings.  I owe her My Life.

There was Rita.  My First Female Coworker at My First Real Job out of College.  She RODE my *ss.  I had one case of stress induced hives after the other that first three months.  I thank her.  She taught me things.  I knew she Loved Me enough to Make Me Reach For My Best Work.

That’s My Life to Twenty.  It would take Too Long to Expound on More.  Or to even state all the women who made a difference in my formative years.  That’ll Be Another Blog Someday.

Thank You to All My Helpers and Missy Helper Helpertons.  I love you all

I’m Living The Dream

~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment
balance business cobblestone conceptual
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

These words are Echoing in my Heart this Saturday Morning.  They were said by a man a Decade Younger Than Me.

 A Nobleman.

Wise and Rich Beyond His Years.

He Labours for His Lord.  He is a Minister For Christ.  An American Transplanted to A Foreign Land.  He is Poor, but He is Rich.  A Moment in his presence is Healing.  His Joy Contagious.

How can a young man who has Forsaken All for His Lord say “I’m Living The Dream” and His Spirit echoing and witnessing to his True Joy in it?

He Trusts His God Ordained Purpose.  Unfeigned Faith in Our Calling produces a Joy Unsurpassing.

 It causes us to Embrace.

 Soar.

 Explore.

Within the Confines of His Holy Will.  We Understand wherever we have been Called, is where the Richness will be Found for us Individually.

So Today, My Soul says “I”m Living the Dream”

Here’s to Soaring.  Here’s to Embracing.  Here’s to Exploring the Beauties of His Will.

Morning Serenades

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
adult amplifier band bass guitar
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Pexels.com

I awoke to the electric guitar floating over the morning airwaves.  Two houses down is a garage band.  It’s an odd time to be practising your chords, and if it didn’t Stir My Belly maybe I would’ve been a little annoyed.  After all, the electric guitar is rather ear piercing more than it’s melodic.  But it Stirred Me.

When I pondered why it awoke  Butterflies Of Excitement in my stomach I realized it made me Grateful….

Grateful for Music.  For Passion.  For Those Who Dream.

It made me grateful for another day to Ignite My Own Passion.  To work towards my dreams.  To embrace this beautiful land of promise.  To allow Hope to blow its soft gentle wind into my sails again.

I Inhale and listen to his Happy Although Screechy Chords, and I Smile.

Thank you Garage Band Electric Guitar Player.  Thanks for the Inspiration.

I’ll Sketch My Dreams Today.  Because of You.

 

It’s Like Riding A Bike

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

We’ve heard this saying forever.  It basically means whatever we are trying for the first time, once we figure it out we will never forget.  Sometimes this can be a problem.

Maybe we learned a dysfunctional way to pedal the Life Bike.  Generations of dyfunctional pedalling.  Someone told you to go a full rotation backwards before going forwards.  Resulting in a lot of stop and starting and poor forward motion.

Sometimes in life, we need to learn how to ride the Life Bike again.  Relearn a more efficient way.  Sometimes our teachers didn’t know the best way forward.  Sometimes the only Life Bike we had to get us through the early years was rusty and missing gears.  We learned to pedal the bike, but it was no small achievement.

So, Huge Kudos to those who learned to ride on rusty gears.  You’re the coolest freestyle riders I know.  You’ve developed muscles so many “New Life Bike Every Year” people didn’t.  But maybe, it’s time to really relook at “Learning to Ride Again”.

Find your own way forward.  The way of easy riding.  Just think of the distance you can go with all the grit and determination you learned from those rusty gears.

Here’s to Freestylin…

xoxo

person riding road bike on the road
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

 

Smoky Hazy Days

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
green grass field during sunset
Photo by David Jakab on Pexels.com

Somewhere there’s a forest fire.  A little deer has lost its home.  The familiar tree where a little squirrel hides his nuts has gone up in flames.  A pretty wildflower who worked so hard to unfurl its leaves towards the sun is withered and scorched.  The smoke rises in dark clouds over a landscape that once held life and serenity to so many creeping things.  A bolt of unfortunate lightning.  A cigarette butt.  A too bright ray of sun on a piece of errant glass.  And a landscape is changed forever.

Slowly life will be restored, but it will be different than it was.  For a while, there will be nothing appealing to the eye.  But to the ants first, there will be signs.  Signs of Restoration.  A little blade of grass.  A small fir tree will sprout.  A brave little wildflower will birth its lime green head through the parched earth.

There’s always Rebirth.  It’s a Beautiful Thing.

Feeling Grateful.

xoxo

 

Sipping Citrus on Sleeping Streets

~ blacklilymusings ~ 5 Comments
bridge brooklyn bridge buildings city
Photo by Kai Pilger on Pexels.com

Not having lemonade in this house is akin to a crime being committed.  I awoke last night at around 130 and am desperately thirsty for some of that wonderful summer time elixir.  So i threw on my satin cargoes,  a chunky knit sweater and flip flops.  Opening my front door and stepping onto my verandah, the delightful summer night air made my heart so happy.  The street so quiet and had an air of gentleness to it.   I love my happy city.  The dash board lights and the hum of the engine starting was kinda exciting at this hour.  I made my way to the McDonalds down the street where the sweetest filipino lady sounded like she was living her dream as she took my order.  I love non complainers.  I decided on a mango smoothie and I decided to not go home.

I meandered the downtown core, along with the street sweepers and the commercial cleaning companies.  The marble foyers of the sky scrapers gleamed in the incandesent light.  The gleaming and  beautifully designed security desks so architecturally perfect.  The furniture in the foyers so classically modern.  I felt like I was driving through a movie set.  Where the characters are all still in their trailers.  Like a pretend land of dreams.

Calgary is a land of dreams.  I’ve come to adore my city.  So clean and safe.  Truly a city of promise and one where with hard work and dedication, even the wildest dreams are achieved.

Last night, the city of the Wild West was quiet and serene.  Finishing the last sip of my smoothie I pulled into my drive and felt so full of gratitude for our lovely city.  And climbed back into my bed, nestled in the heart of my gentle city.  Happy and content.

I love my fellow Calgarians.

xoxo