The Silver Lining

Someone once told me that you don't drive a car looking in the rear-view mirror, you've got to keep LOOKING FORWARD! I am most definitely looking forward to starting a new year -- this past one has been a long strange ride. Do you prepare New Year's Resolutions?  I remember doing them as a child, writing on blue-lined notebook paper things like "Be kind," or "Be nicer to my sister."  I suppose I managed to keep those as well as a child could.  Hmm.  I will have to ask my sister.... As I grew older, the resolutions became more specific, I guess you'd say... like "Lose weight" and "Get more exercise" and "Get control of spending."  I can tell you for sure, they lasted usually about two weeks before I'd give up on them. Since "Resolutions" seemed like an instant recipe for failure, I eventually decided to ditch making them. Then a few years ago, I re-invented the process for myself. I recently ha...

It's no secret that 2018 has been a really tough year for us.  I am totally ready to say "BYE FELICIA" to this year! (I so love Robin Roberts and her reaction to Omarosa!) As I look back over this year, however, I realize there have been quite a few things I have learned. Ultimately, the value I can pull from a rough and tumble year comes from these "life lessons." 1.  A simple DNA test to trace ancestry can present some unexpected surprises.  These surprises can often be quite shocking -- which was something my husband had to deal with this year.  Quite a shake-up to start the year, but we've moved forward. MG 2.  Don't blow off strange symptoms, even when you think they are minor. 3.  I increased my vocabulary.  I learned many new words like Myasthenia Gravis, Autoimmune, Chronic, plasmapheresis, infusion, seronegative. 4.  I learned several new abbreviations, such as: **MG -- Myasthenia Gravis **IVIG --  ...

It's Christmas Eve, and I am feeling blessed and happy. I hope you are feeling the same.  I envision you with a smile on your face,  and joy in your heart.   From BibleGateway.com  -- the story of Christmas:    Luke 2   New International Version (NIV) The Birth of Jesus 2  In those days Caesar Augustus  issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.   2  (This was the first census that took place while [ a ]  Quirinius was governor of Syria.)   3  And everyone went to their own town to register. 4  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem  the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.   5  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him  and was expecting a child.   6  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,   7...

I don't get really "preachy" on my blog; I have many friends and readers of different faiths.  I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I was brought up going to Sunday School and church.  I've had some "aha moments" that confirmed my beliefs for me, and I've had many MANY times when I leaned on the promises of the Scriptures.   There are several verses that have always stuck with me.  One of those is Hebrews 12:1, which says:   “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses , let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” The phrase "cloud of witnesses" sticks in my mind.  My interpretation of that "cloud" are the people that encourage us and lift us up throughout our lives. They set examples, show us the way that we ought to go.  That "cloud" has been with me my entire life, whether I realized it or not. M...

--- No, I haven't fallen off of the planet or vanished into the Ether.  I've tried to keep up with the Holiday Season!  Only so much time in a day, and only so many spoons in my energy reserve! Every year since I was "grown" I've spent the day after Thanksgiving taking down fall decorations and replacing it with Christmas!  It would take ALL DAY for me to get it done, but I'd put on Christmas music and have a blast! At our current home, I have blue lights and "odds and ends" on top of the kitchen cabinets year round -- things like a couple of ceramic figures my mom gave me, a picnic basket that belonged to my grandparents, an old bread bowl and rolling pin. But at Christmas, all that comes down and I put up greenery, more lights, and some holiday plates and dishes. I usually put up two trees -- one really tall one in the den, and a smaller one in the upstairs bedroom, in front of the window.  Other holiday items are scattered here and ther...