Today's Bliss: Fellowship

Tonight N and I had dinner with some friends from our church. We've known each other for a long time but have not spent a lot of time together socially (outside of the church walls, anyway). We had a really nice chat about our church, about life, about many things. I was reminded about the sacred presence of Fellowship throughout the Bible. Jesus spent quite a bit of time in fellowship with his disciples and his followers. This often gets overlooked.

Our church is pretty good about offering fellowship opportunities, but it is not often enough that N and I reach out to people to spend time really getting to know them in a different setting. It is beneficial to everyone to have a new set of ears to listen to your opinions, to ask questions of someone who has a different point of view than you do, to share a thought with someone who truly wants to hear it. I am grateful that I have people in my life to fellowship with. And I am even more grateful that I am accepted, just as I am, no questions asked. I can be myself; I can be me. Opinionated, blunt, realist...caring, insightful, thoughtful. The not-so-good traits and the good traits all rolled into one. What bliss!

Spend some time in fellowship with someone new; you never know what blessings will blossom from the time you invest.

Today's Bliss: Messes

My mother, J, forwarded me a daily devotional email today that I really liked: 

I find my best art work has come from creative solving of accidents: running short on a supplies forces me toward a refreshing innovation;  rain splashing on my canvas leads to a new vision for the scene. It is through the unexpected, the unplanned, even the disappointing events that I am opened to a greater level of awareness, care, and creativity. What a blessing, then, if my own failures and shortcomings allow the Divine to work a beauty that was before not even imaginable! -Bronwen Henry  

What a great reminder that life's imperfections, challenges, and surprises can lead to inspiration, positive occurrences, and blessings. Every single day something does not go as planned in my life. Many times I am frustrated when this happens, but almost every time, I can see that things turned out for the best...different maybe, but better than they would if I had planned them. I see that the best-made plans sometimes are not God's plans for me and I am thankful that He is in control and I am not.
 

Tomorrow, look at the messes that you may have throughout your day. Where do you see a pile of shambles awaiting your wiling hands to rebuild them into something beautiful? What plans change from a simple item on your "to do list" to something more substantial, something that can bless you and others in your life?

Today's Bliss: Health

I have had a cold for a week now and I have had no energy. It has been frustrating, but it made me realize how blessed I am with good health. I rarely am sick, and when I am it is a minor illness. Daily, I hear about people who are extremely ill, struggling to survive. My life is bliss because I am able to enjoy it. A little cold now and then will not hinder my lifestyle. Every day, I can get up, go to work, enjoy time with my family, and LIVE! What a blessing.

Take a moment to pray for all people who are suffering and struggling to live a fulfilling life due to illness.

Today's Bliss: Friends

Looking back at my life, I see how many people have moved in and out of it. From elementary school to now, I have had a lot of different friends. Many of them are not in my day-to-day life at all anymore, but this does not make me depressed or sad. Rather, I am so grateful for the role that people played in my life while they were there. And, more importantly, I hope that the role I played for them was positive and helpful.

I think that God gives us relationships that we need just as he gives us the food, water, and shelter that we need. Some relationships we'll need forever; others we will need for a shorter time. I don't mean to sound like I think people are disposable...I just mean that as all of us continually grow and change, walking along the pathways of our life. As we walk, our paths will cross with others, or sometimes we completely join with them and we'll walk side by side.

I have had a few friendships end throughout the years, sometimes through a misunderstanding that just cannot be cleared up, or sometimes because life circumstances pulled us in very different directions. While I feel regretful for some of these occurrences, deep down I know that just as there was a reason to have that friendship, there is also a reason that it ended. Whether I understand it or not. This is where Faith comes in!

I am so blessed to have a great group of friends in my life that are diverse, supportive, fun, and steadfast. Nothing is better than chatting with an old friend, even if our busy schedules have not allowed us to talk in a long time. The relationships that I have with the people in my life truly help me to remember that my life is bliss.

Today's Bliss: Faith

Having faith defines me. I have always deeply believed in God and honestly cannot remember a time when I questioned His very existence. I may question the "whys" of things that He does, but I never question that He is there, listening to me and blessing me...even in hard times. It troubles me when people claim to not have faith in anything. Sure, I see the challenge in putting faith in a governmental system, other human beings, or even yourself at some times, but having no faith in a higher power? That is hard for me to understand.

If I am ever having a day when I feel that I cannot see God at work, I stop and really look at nature. Animals, trees, grass, plants: all are intricately created and formed in a beautiful way that allows them to thrive in their native environment. If this much attention was given to grass as it was being created, I am positive that I had even more.

God is faithful to us at all times. I can only hope that I will always have strong faith in Him; because when I do, my life is bliss.

Today's Bliss: Summer

As summer ends today, I am happy looking back at what a great season it has been for us. N and I have had the opportunity to travel, spend time with family, enjoy a lot of quality time together, and relax. I have hope that the fall and winter will be just as blissful. I am looking forward to crisp morning air, carving pumpkins, turkey dinners, Christmas parties, and family get-togethers.

When a season changes, I am always surprised by how quickly time seems to pass me by. It seemed just yesterday that I pulled out my short-sleeved shirts and thankfully put away my jackets! But this is how life is: always moving forward, whether we are ready or not. I pray that I am ready to face whatever lies ahead of me as we finish 2011, taking time to stop and enjoy the life of bliss that I am blessed to have everyday.

Today's Bliss: Peace

Today is International Day of Peace. This is a hard thing to grasp on a big scale. From war-torn villages in far off lands to large American cities dealing with a population that is 10% homeless, our country is in conflict here at home and overseas. But whether or not we are actually in a declared time of peace, today is a day for everyone to stop and think about their lives. Are you creating peace in your life (for yourself and for those around you)?

Something that is very difficult for me to learn is how to fully be at peace. How to avoid conflict and let go of things, situations, relationships, etc. that cause disquiet in my life. But building a life of peace is something that I will always focus on. Life is too short to not embrace peacefulness; because for me, a life of peace means a life of happiness and bliss.

This summer N and I went to Europe for two weeks. It was a great trip and we got to see a lot of different places and monuments. One of the places that we visited was a memorial at the remnants of a WWII concentration camp called Amersfoort in the Netherlands. This site had been a place of so much hatred and suffering...everything that is the opposite of peace. But the memorial was beautiful, and I was very moved by the place of peace that had been created to remember the souls who had passed through this camp.

If something this beautiful and peaceful can be created at a place that had been filled with so much conflict and terror, then there is hope for all of us.

To celebrate this Day of Peace, pause for a moment to pray that people everywhere can find hope and peace in the midst of the chaos that may surround them.

Today's Bliss: Surprise

I felt sickly today: a combination of allergies, a sunburn, and the beginnings of a cold. I made it through the workday okay, and was focused on getting home to cook a good dinner for N before he had to leave for his Bible study. I wasn't looking forward to all of the effort that cooking and cleaning up would entail, but I was readying myself for the task.

I arrived home and headed straight for the kitchen. And then...Surprise! My father-in-law, D, had sent home chili with N for our dinner tonight. I was so happy and relieved! I am sure that D had no idea what a big thing this would be for my sick self, but what a blessing. It was such a small thing, but it really made my day. (And it was delicious, as D's cooking always is!)

Blessings like these are all around us. We just have to look. And next time you have a hunch to send food to someone, shoot them an email to say hello, or call them to see how their day has been, do it! You never know when that person may need a surprise and a little something to give them some bliss.

Today's Bliss: Fun

Today N and I went to the first Titans home game of the season. The weather was beautiful, the game was entertaining and victorious, and it capped off an already good weekend, making it a great weekend. Sometimes you just need to have some fun! Where else are you aloud to scream, wave a pom pom, and jump up and down? And of course wore my vintage 1999 AFC Champions t-shirt, my traditional garb for all of the Titans games that I've been to.

N and I at the game (we sat in front of disgruntled Ravens fans):

Go Titans Go! :-)

Today's Bliss: Connections

This weekend has been busy, but in a pleasant way. N had a couple of events surrounding his 10 year high school reunion and tonight we attended a fundraiser with several members of our church. When I think about the different groups of people that make our life what it is, I am speechless. I am now in my late twenties and married, which means I have connections with people who I grew up with, people that I went to college with, people I work with, people I go to church with...and N has the same groups in his life, too. Our community is made of many people.

When I was younger, I wanted to move far away and start over from scratch, building a new life with new friends and contacts. But now, I am so grateful for the people I know from all of the different parts of my life. Whether I only see them on Facebook or I see them regularly at church, I am blessed to have community and connections with a diverse group of people.

Look around your life. The different people you know are uniquely your own community. No one else will have the exact same connections that you do...not even your spouse. So take a moment to give thanks for the connections that you have. God has placed people in your community for a purpose so that you can enrich their lives and that they can enrich yours.

Today's Bliss: Scooter

Coming home is always a wonderful feeling, but when this sweet face is waiting for you, life is bliss.

This photo was taken during a winter day and Scooter had snow caked in his beard! We couldn't get it out so we had to let it melt for a while. Scooter is 4 1/2 years old and he has been a faithful companion to me through thick and thin. His tail is always wagging, he's always happy to see me, and he is my sweet boy.

Animals are dedicated to their families, they are not judgemental, they forgive easily, and they are always ready to show love. We all could learn a little something from our furry friends.

Today's Bliss: Acceptance

I have been striving for perfection my entire life. I want to be perfect in everything I do, at all times. This is, of course, completely impossible, but I try anyway. Daily. Mostly without even realizing it.

I have made quite a few mistakes in the past 24 hours, ranging from burning last night's dinner to serving out a completely unnecessary sharp comment to someone who didn't deserve it. Tonight during dinner I made a verbal list of my missteps to my husband, N. His response was exactly what he always says to me: "Don't be so hard on yourself."

What an incredible blessing to have someone who forgives you and accepts everything about you. Someone in your corner who is ready to defend you, even if they are defending you from yourself. I honestly don't know how my self esteem survived before I had a full-time encourager, reminding me that I am not expected to be perfect at all times. Instead I am expected to be myself, a normal human being who is a mix of good and bad.

I will continue to strive for perfection in how I treat others; this is something that I will always focus on improving. But I will try to treat myself a with a bit more forgiveness, too. Because acceptance from N is important to me, but accepting myself is vital. And this acceptance definitely is bliss.

A Blissful Project

I have always tried to focus on the positive, and, alas...my realist personality always seems to win. But, I have recently been pondering on what happiness really is. What does it mean to be blissful? What do you "need" in your life to have bliss?

The world is in such a state of turmoil right now. People are starving, jobless, struggling, searching for a light at the end of their long, dark tunnel. I look at my life and realize that I am incredibly blessed: I have a wonderful husband, supportive family, a fun job, a healthy body. I definitely have some bad days, but overall...I got it pretty good. So when I have a moment of frustration, instead of letting myself give in to anger, I need to breathe, look around and realize: my life is bliss.

I am embarking on a journey to identify the little things in life that make me happy. By focusing on the positive things around me, I hope to cleanse my heart and mind of negativity, fear, frustration, and anger. I want to be a better person. I want to uplift people around me and live a life of service. I want to be like Jesus.

My Sunday School class has been reading a Rob Bell book and it has been one of my main inspirations for starting this blog. The great Rob makes a point that I find profound: we are the Eucharist. We are called to break ourselves open, pour ourselves out, and serve others. Whether this is not honking at a driver who is this close to hitting your car in a parking lot or it is giving your local Contributor newspaper vendor an extra couple of dollars that you can spare, we can all do a little more to reach out to those around us and share some happiness.

So, my journey begins. Finding happy, sharing it, and openly showing the world that I am in a state of bliss.