Love is all about giving and taking, ebbing and flowing. Love is innate. 
It drives us to become the people we are meant to be. Love encourages. It builds up. And, yes, even times, it causes pain. Loneliness. Separation. However so lonely, however so separate…deep down, love will prevail. It always does.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Artwork Credit: David Baruch Wolk
Title: Holy Alphabet
Affirmation and out with rejection.
Blessing and out with condemnation.
Calmness and out with turbulence.
Delight and out with discontent.
Endearment and out with alienation.
Friendship and out with aloofness.
Gratitude and out with thanklessness.
Harmony and out with discord.
Improvement and out with stagnation.
Justice and out with falsehood.
Kindness and out with selfishness.
Love and out with hatred.
Magnificent and out with ordinary.
Navigate and out with ignore.
Optimism and out with hopelessness.
Passion and out with indifference.
Quirky and out with conventional.
Relationship and out with estrangement.
Self-reflection and out with self-absorption
Tranquility and out with upheaval.
Understanding and out with unfeeling.
Value and out with worthlessness.
Warmth and out with coldness.
X-traordinary and out with the standard.
Yet and out with but.
Zip and out with inactivity.
Christmas season is a time of reflection and a time for hope. A time to b
e thankful for Christmas past. To be grateful for Christmas present and to hope for a new Christmas yet to come.
Christmas past is full of memories, good and bad. Ornaments. Electronic games. Church. Children’s Choir. Families hustling and bustling. Cooking, cleaning, and entertaining.
Christmas present is full of friendship, love, and reconciliation. Quietness. Instrumental music. Church. Stillness. Reflection. Sadness. Loss.
Christmas future is full of hope. Hope for a newfound family. Spouses. Children. A new generation. Accepting. Communicative. Trustworthy. Safe. A place to be yourself. No masks. No drama. Harmony. Peace.
Psalms 37:7-8
7Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Photo Credit: Marie Gale
Artwork by: Elsa Weib
Settling into a new environment takes time and patience. Acclimating to a new routine takes time and patience too! Whether you are beginning high school, college, or your first job, you will need to work hard and learn the ropes. Leaning on God helps alleviate anxiety when transitioning to a new situation. Keep your eyes on God, and let God worry about it. God wants you to do what you do. God wants you to transform you into the person you are meant to be. Be thankful and grateful for the people that God places in your life to encourage and support you on your journey. God wants to bless you. All you need to do is ask for blessings. Invite God to walk side by side, along the way, with you.
Mother’s Day is bittersweet if you have a good relationship with one child and a non-existent relationship with the other. How on earth can this happen? Well, today we are not going to try to figure this out. No one is to blame, and no one is to be sad.
Today is a day of celebration!
Celebrating love. 
Celebrating life.
Whether or not you are in good standing with your children, today is a day to celebrate Mothers; regardless of the emotional baggage that may or may not be there. Mother’s are rocks. Mother’s are saints. Mother’s are close to being divine. Whether your mother is alive or not, think of the nine-month gestation period which she carried you. She loved you from the moment she suspected she was pregnant. She delivered, fed, and nurtured YOU! And, that is worth celebrating!
God created all people. Over the years, people have scattered and lost sight of God. Many cultures rejected God and began to believe they were self-sufficient. They didn’t need God in their life. Many people today, still believe they don’t need God and worse, they think that people who do believe in God, are somehow weak or less than. It is the people who dare to stand up and say YES I believe in God, the one True
God, the God who made heaven and earth that is seen and unseen, who hear God’s voice. The Giver of Life. The Almighty God. God brought all goodness to the planet. It is the people and the work of Satan that destroyed so much of the goodness. In the end, God will reign. Forever and ever. The human mind doubts this, and it is tough to believe that there will be a forever and ever. Life will end as we know it; yet, our spirits will live. It will BE forever. Your soul will commune with God eternally. You will live in the light, and your physical aches and pains will disappear. You will have no more pain. No more sorrow. No more heartaches. You will be reunited with those who have passed onto the next life before you…spouses, parents, all of your loved ones and especially estranged children. Declare God’s divinity now! Stand up! Be accountable! Ask Forgiveness! Go and spread the Good News! God is alive! Every knee shall bow down to God. Be bold and worship! All are welcome and that means YOU…it is time…rejoice! God is alive!
You seem to be in a rush most of the time. You have a need to “get things done.” Sometimes you really don’t think; yet, you act. Does this sound like you? Perhaps you may need to slow down, think more and work less.
God wants you to be happy, secure and full of joy. And, for you to do this, you will need to slow down your pace and take time to be kind. Stop. Smell the roses. God will lead you to a tranquil place far removed from civilization as you know it, where you can grow and have the freedom to do 
what you need to do. God provides choices. Weigh them carefully. Ask for guidance.
Quiet your mind and receive God’s presence. Focus and create a space to commune with God where you can open your mind and heart. Ask God questions. God may not give you the answer that you are looking for, but God will answer. Because God hears. God hears everyone. Not many people understand God. It takes faith to feel God’s presence. Trust God. Slow down. Take time to experience joy. The joy of spring. The joy of chirping birds. The joy of butterflies. The joy of friendship. The joy of community. The joy of you. Go and be the joy!
Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You are about to begin a journey that God will take you on. It is the journey of faith, love, and grace. God is taking you from your toxic environment and taking you to a place where people respect, value and appreciate one another. God knows your reservations. The numbers do not add up. Trust God and know that it will all work. Follow your passion.
Purging is good for the soul. And, before you embark on your journey purging is a must! Have less clutter in your life. Less clutter means more focus. More focus on what really matters. After the purge, you will be all set to move. Moving is cleansing. Moving is growth. Moving can mean a new opportunity.
Whether you are moving literally or figurately, Spring is a great time to rethink your future. Reach out to your neighbors and friends. Connect with them. Show your new neighbors how God works in your life each day. Help them to see that life is in God’s hands no matter what you plan and or hope for. Love them. And, when you do, God will bless you!
Adults fed you falsehoods which made you feel unsafe; yet, you don’t understand why. You felt abandoned. Stalked. Unjustly crucified. Accused of something you did not do.
You severed a relationship without just cause.
Fear of abuse. Sexual abuse. Physical abuse. Financial abuse. Emotional abuse. Buried deep down within your soul the fear is there. Fear of the unknown. It is latent, and you don’t remember the specific events.
You severed a relationship without just cause.
Trusting is difficult. You readily accuse without facts. You wanted to control the situation; yet, you were helpless. God lit a path you did not take because you wanted to live on your own terms.
You severed a relationship without just cause.
Jesus. Sweet Jesus.
Here you are in the middle of God’s beautiful creation –
Relax as best
as you can. God is here to refresh. Keep God in your mind and thoughts and call upon God’s son, Jesus, Sweet Jesus. You are going to have some changes in your life. Here they come. God has prepared you your whole life for the transition ahead. This year, you will meet people – God’s people. People who call upon the name of Jesus, Lord, Savior. Rest in the knowledge that God is with you. God knows your heart, and God sees the heart of every person you will meet this year. Use your communication skills that you keep buried and try to remember what you can stay true to yourself. Embrace new people, new friends, new community. Change is good.
IandThouReflections 