Category: Blog

When the door closes, don’t’ keep going back expecting things to change. God created us to look forward with anticipation, to travel lightly through life, and to love along the way. Sometimes that love will be returned and sometimes it won’t. The enemy likes to keep us looking back, carrying extra baggage and being afraid to love. Never be afraid to love, it’s one of God’s greatest gifts.

When you have a heart full of love, thankfulness is a by-product of that love. As you look around the table, have food to spare, laugh with friends, enjoy a walk in a country that’s free or simply sit with your pet, thankfulness gives your eyes a chance to see the blessings that surround you. A thankful spirit makes your heart happy!!

Friendships that last through the years are called golden. What a treasure they are! I have a dear friend that I met in college about 45 years ago. She was fresh off the farm and I was not! Town girl all the way! We made quite the odd “couple”. Rose and I ended up being room mates. We laughed together, did crazy things together…but most of all, we just loved each other in spite of our differences. Through all these years, we’ve stayed in touch. Ellen was also a good friend to both of us and it’s amazing how many phone calls, texts and visits you can work in over the course of 45 years. I stayed in Illinois, Ellen in Ohio and Rose Ann went back home to Pennsylvania. Spread across hundreds of miles but together in our hearts. I just received news that Rose’s dad has passed away and so Jerry and I are starting our journey north. You see, when you have a good friend, the added bonus is that you know their whole family! Rose’s dad was a quiet, hard-working farmer who loved the land and loved his family. So prayers for this family would be…

Negative thoughts and words will never produce a positive life. Guard your thoughts. If they take you down emotionally, make you feel terrible about yourself or bring fear to the surface, you have been set up by the enemy! Pay attention to those negative thoughts. It’s a trap!!

Years ago, I remember my Dad telling me to take time to smell the roses. Maybe he used that illustration because our family was in the floral business! Maybe he said it because it was truth. Either way, I understood it. I remember him saying: Melissa, don’t get to the end of your life and look back and wish you had done this or that. I think the older I get, the more I understand that concept. As the years pass, I feel like time is slipping through my fingers and there’s so much left to do. No, I don’t want to climb a mountain or jump out of an airplane!! But I do want to take more time with family, read more books, laugh with friends, let people know how much I appreciate them. Most of all, I want to be all that Jesus wanted me to be and I want to do all the things He’s called me to do. What are the things you don’t want to miss in life? Take time to smell the roses…start today.

If you build a bridge that forgives the worst, forgets the bad and never judges others, you will find people are constantly walking towards you. Sometimes we forget that we’ve made mistakes ourselves! Everybody needs somebody who will just love and accept them in the middle of their mess. Are you that person?