Category: choices

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in actions, choices, sacrifice

April 18 2025

Good Friday

Psalm 22 Verses 14-15

 14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

Jesus was poured out like water, bones broken and he thirsted. I’s as if the Psalmist knew what was coming. He went willingly to his death. There were other options. He could hae made other choices…. but he chose this way. He choose to die.

Now we need to show that it matters… . we understand the sacrifice. We know what it means. AMEN

Prayer: Loving God, you understood our need to see you in human terms. Thank you for his gift to us. AMEN

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in choices, God, waste

March 28 2025

Psalm 49 Verses 10,13,15-17,20

10 For all can see that the wise die,
    that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
    leaving their wealth to others.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
    and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[d]
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
    he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
    their splendor will not descend with them.

20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
    are like the beasts that perish.

We all die. It is inevitable. A s the Psalm says “the wise die,
 that the foolish and the senseless also perish,” No one is exempt. Yet look at how much we spend on trying to live forever. We have face lifts and tummy tucks, hair pieces, expensive herbal treatments….anything that might work. We will die but death does not win. It is our connection and experience with God that will live on. If we spent as much time and money on our connection with God we would be deeply spiritual people. We would be spending billions on charities and doing God’s work on earth. What an idea!

Prayer: God of creation, you made us in your image. Help us to understand that aging is a part of that image. Teach us to spend time with you and follow your spirit instead of wasting time and money on efforts to look young.

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in accountable, choices, peace, peacemakers

March 19 2025

Psalm 33 Verse 12

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.

These are tough time for our nation. We know that leaders don’t work from the purest of motives. Everyone seems to have an agenda. We all think we now the best thing for everyone. Yet I doubt that ay of us would make al the right choices. After all the only way that is perfect is God’s way. Even those who say that they are speaking God’s will aren’t “pure in heart.”

So what do we do? Only what we can. Each day, in each situation we try our best to follow the example given to us by the life of Jesus. Even in politics…especially in politics.

Prayer: Lord, keep our nation in your care. Guide our leaders to make right decisions. Encourage us to speak out against wrongful actions and harmful choices. Show us your way to pring peace to the world. Each of us is but one but one voice is better than none.

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in choices, regret, sadness

March 11 2025

Psalm 12 Verses 1-3

Help me, Lord for there is no godly one left; the faithful have vanished from among us. Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor; with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart. Oh, that the Lord would cur off all smooth tongues, and close the lips that utter proud boasts

The psalmist must have written this yesterday. The very same problems are still around.

How often do we say the wrong thing?…something that really hurts someone. We gossip about others and don’t think about how gossip can damage lives.

People in the publics eye lie and cheat and no one thinks anything about it. I guess it was the same in the psalmist’s day. Why else would he have asked God to “cut off all the smooth tongues and close the lips that utter proud boasts.” Nothing has changed. That is really sad.

The only way to change things is one person at a time. Begin with yourself!

Prayer: Lord of wisdom, help u us to learn new habits of speaking. Remind us how much the spoken word can hurt. Help us learn to curb our tongues and speak only words of love and healing. AMEN

Who are our enemies

by worrylessjourney, posted in chaos, choices, common sense, divided world, frustration, perspective

With the elections going on in the US we are all bombarded with all sorts of rhetoric, promises and just stuff. I am so tired of it and will be glad when the election is over.

I recently watched a documentary on cults and found this quote. “To create fear you must create an enemy.” I had never thought about that but I think it is true. We have to have someone to be against and they can so easily become the enemy. The people running for office enjoy telling us bad things about their opponents. They waste little time talking about things that matter. It seems that maligning others is the method of today.

I am old enough to remember when this was only a marginal problem. The two parties did not seem to consider each other enemies. Compromises were made to get important bills passed. Now everyone follows party lines and nothing gets done.

Will we ever get past the anger and vituperation and do what is best for the country? Also, what happened to the moderates? I am one and feel very alone. If only dogs could vote.

Help us find Hope

by worrylessjourney, posted in accountable, choices, community, consequences, frustration, hope, problems

Well, here I am again trying to get back into a routine. I need it. I have not been giving my voice a chance to be heard nor have I destressed by sharing frustrations and thoughts. For my own well being I need to get back to writing. I haven’t even written anything else. I have sunk into a low and it is time to move on.

There are so manhy things going on in this country for the first time in my life I am frightened for us. Our leaders and the press spread fire and dissent. We grow further apart. My grandson who is 21 does not expect to live past thirty. He reflects the views of many of our young adults. They have lost their hope and sense of safety. The suicide rate is rising exponentially. Japan has seen a decline in births. We may begin to see the same thing since there is no concept of permanence among those in their twneties and thirties.

I have no objection to those who want to just live together except that it has less sense of committment and it is the children who suffer when someone decides to just step away.

Arnold Toynbee, a history phiilosipher, says that when a nation’s morality, culttural norms, and governement dissolves into chaos that nation is on the way out. I consider us there.

My greatest wish is that we can recover from this but the signs are not favorable. I want my grandchildren and great grandchildren to have hope for the future.

Connections Still

by worrylessjourney, posted in choices, communication, community, connections

I continue to ponder on the connection between how cells cooperate and connect to each other in order to work I am working on a poem but strangely it just doesn’t work yet. Hope abounds and I will continue to work on it.

For some reason the connections between Brene Brown and Mukerjee continue to resonate with me. If only we could learn to put aside our differences for our similarities.I can visualize a world in which connections are always there. If only!!

Indulge yourself

by worrylessjourney, posted in acceptance, appreciate, choices

Sometimes the simplest things help us more than anything. Last week I did something that made me feel happy. I had my nails done. A very small thing but I haven’t done this in several years. I didn’t have to do it but it made me feel spoiled and happy. This is not something that I will do all the time but this simple thing was important. My mood lightened and I felt so good about it.

There are many times where doing something just for ourselves can make a big difference. Take the time to recognize when you need to treat yourself…whether is it a bubble bath, a walk in the woods, or visiting a friend. It can make a huge difference!

Thoughts for today

by worrylessjourney, posted in balance, choices

I was supposed to take a train trip across Canada with my daughter and her family starting July 19th. After taking my husband’s ashes to Savannah for burial in the middle of June I was so emotionally drained that I couldn’t go. I was also battling IBSD and didn’t They are now home and all of them got covid on the trip. Obviously I made the right choice. I am sorry to have missed the vacation but I was certainly better off to not go. Fortunately none of them were very sick.

I have found a new counselor who is really wonderful and a great match for me. She is holding me accountable for doing the things I need to do to stay well and grounded. That is what I need.

Life goes on here with covid coming and going. We all need to learn how to live in this new world.

NOT an old folks home

by worrylessjourney, posted in aging, anxiety, choices

Today I have managed to pull myself away from the TV and tamp down my anxiety. The weather is beautiful and I intend to sit on my balcony and enjoy the fresh air. Life is always challenging and I am not the only one to freak out at times.

I have been asked to sit on a committee for Health and Wellness and I will soon find out how much importance is placed on the input of the committee and if it is worth being on. It’s like living in a very strict HOA (community with rules) and takes some time to understand how things work and how to get possible things done. The trick is to not expect the impossible. After all, funds for things are not limitless.

This is why living in a retirement community is like living in a dorm in college (bad side) or being on a cruise ship (good side). There are benefits and losses. We just have to decide what matter the most.