As I was walking here to Jody's house, with the sky going up forever into bright blue and the sun shining so near that it's screaming that spring and summer are so, so close, with mountains of snow along the streets blazing white in the shining, and snow on the pavement vaporizing into a dry-ice fog because it's decided to join the sun rather than endure the bitter cold...
I came to know that I can't just pray and talk to God when things seem difficult and I am in pain. I have to do it every day, all the time, and always give my thanks. And not just use the times of hurt to open my heart and get closer to God (when there is no other choice), but to do that every moment.
I'm reading the Course in Miracles, and I'll tell you, it's exactly what I needed to do. Jody happened to have the books, and I am so thankful. I've been waiting for them to come to me since I went to the discussion group in NOLA in Oct./Nov./Dec. The learning I've had in the past week is the biggest gift. We're moving toward the sun; it's getting a little more awesome all the time and misperceptions are falling away. The perfection is there waiting, if you're ready to claim it.
I finally made it over to visit Steve & Jody last Tuesday (2/27/07), and it was great to catch up. I've been back here for 2 months now. Some things happen slowly, but the season comes eventually. Thank God life is starting to stir again, and things are quickening. I stopped over again last night (Sunday, 3/4/07), and they were so kind and gave me a dinner of salad with Annie's raspberry dressing and brussels sprouts. They had salmon patties which smelled so good and I was so tempted to at least try one, but I did not. It's been since summer 2005 when I ate fish, so I really hesitate to break that. These cravings for McDonald's fish sandwiches lately have been pretty bizarre. Several times I almost did it. I sure used to love those. The flavor was a little piece of heaven. I think the only reason I've been thinking so much about trying fish again is because I'm going to do the big detox real soon, the first big and serious one I will ever have done, because I know I need it now, especially after all the environmental influences and trials of the last 2 years. After the detox I will strive for great purity and constant cleansing, so it feels like I should do something crazy now and get it out of my system. If it's going to be meat, it's going to be fish, and if it's going to be fish, it's can only be a Filet-O-Fish, the most novel breaded fish square with cheese and pepper in the world!! I guess it's the urge to fulfill the Mardi Gras/Lenten ritual. My mouth is watering as I speak. Maybe a couple Chicken McNuggets with the fabulous BBQ sauce wouldn't hurt either; there's probably not much actual chicken in there anyway. Maybe I should be strong and fight these obviously sinful urges...or maybe being in New Orleans so long got the best of me. It feels like my duty to have my own personal Mardi Gras and Lent.
So last night I finally made the changes on my father's website like he's wanted me to do since I got back to Ashland, and now today I'm working on my digital picture project. So, so many. Lots of organizing and archiving to do. And get prints made of a whole bunch of them since I'm here in Ashland and Northern Photographics are who I can trust. If it weren't for Dale Thomas and his photography, I would never have discovered Ashland, WI. I just gotta do a lot of work on this computer in general, to get my files organized, since I'm probably going to send it back to Kansas this spring for my father to use to replace our 1999 Compaq. So I'm very thankful Jody called at 11:00 to get me up and see if I wanted to come over. This is a BIG beautiful day!!! I didn't get 8 hours of sleep, but I'm glad I'm awake and enjoying this right now. Last night was beautiful, when Bob took a break from the schoolwork and visited me and the talk we had. We're both getting on track, one day at a time. I can smell spring in the wind.
I came to know that I can't just pray and talk to God when things seem difficult and I am in pain. I have to do it every day, all the time, and always give my thanks. And not just use the times of hurt to open my heart and get closer to God (when there is no other choice), but to do that every moment.
I'm reading the Course in Miracles, and I'll tell you, it's exactly what I needed to do. Jody happened to have the books, and I am so thankful. I've been waiting for them to come to me since I went to the discussion group in NOLA in Oct./Nov./Dec. The learning I've had in the past week is the biggest gift. We're moving toward the sun; it's getting a little more awesome all the time and misperceptions are falling away. The perfection is there waiting, if you're ready to claim it.
I finally made it over to visit Steve & Jody last Tuesday (2/27/07), and it was great to catch up. I've been back here for 2 months now. Some things happen slowly, but the season comes eventually. Thank God life is starting to stir again, and things are quickening. I stopped over again last night (Sunday, 3/4/07), and they were so kind and gave me a dinner of salad with Annie's raspberry dressing and brussels sprouts. They had salmon patties which smelled so good and I was so tempted to at least try one, but I did not. It's been since summer 2005 when I ate fish, so I really hesitate to break that. These cravings for McDonald's fish sandwiches lately have been pretty bizarre. Several times I almost did it. I sure used to love those. The flavor was a little piece of heaven. I think the only reason I've been thinking so much about trying fish again is because I'm going to do the big detox real soon, the first big and serious one I will ever have done, because I know I need it now, especially after all the environmental influences and trials of the last 2 years. After the detox I will strive for great purity and constant cleansing, so it feels like I should do something crazy now and get it out of my system. If it's going to be meat, it's going to be fish, and if it's going to be fish, it's can only be a Filet-O-Fish, the most novel breaded fish square with cheese and pepper in the world!! I guess it's the urge to fulfill the Mardi Gras/Lenten ritual. My mouth is watering as I speak. Maybe a couple Chicken McNuggets with the fabulous BBQ sauce wouldn't hurt either; there's probably not much actual chicken in there anyway. Maybe I should be strong and fight these obviously sinful urges...or maybe being in New Orleans so long got the best of me. It feels like my duty to have my own personal Mardi Gras and Lent.
So last night I finally made the changes on my father's website like he's wanted me to do since I got back to Ashland, and now today I'm working on my digital picture project. So, so many. Lots of organizing and archiving to do. And get prints made of a whole bunch of them since I'm here in Ashland and Northern Photographics are who I can trust. If it weren't for Dale Thomas and his photography, I would never have discovered Ashland, WI. I just gotta do a lot of work on this computer in general, to get my files organized, since I'm probably going to send it back to Kansas this spring for my father to use to replace our 1999 Compaq. So I'm very thankful Jody called at 11:00 to get me up and see if I wanted to come over. This is a BIG beautiful day!!! I didn't get 8 hours of sleep, but I'm glad I'm awake and enjoying this right now. Last night was beautiful, when Bob took a break from the schoolwork and visited me and the talk we had. We're both getting on track, one day at a time. I can smell spring in the wind.
The Puppet Church, shining right across the street as I'm sitting here.
Well, that sounds great Krystal. I am glad that you do get around to updating yourself every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteNice picture of the church.
Steve and Jody... sniffle. I always considered them friends.