You Are Never Too Wise To learn From The Younger Generation

I have found that the younger generation have wisdom. Wisdom is not just for the older generation. Do not be too stuffy or proud to learn from them. I did the other day and I am always looking to advance my knowledge. About a week or so ago a middle school aged young lady and her friend came into the business establishment in which I work, and you know me by now right? I love to strike up conversations and that is just what I did that day. A lot of families frequent the establishment in which I work so there is always plenty of opportunities to have conversations with mom's, kids, grandparents, and business owners too. On this particular day I loved the shade of nail polish she was wearing so we talked about nail polish. In the course of the conversation she told me about painting polka dots on nail polish as nail art. I asked her how to do this. She said she does it using a tooth pick. All I needed was the idea and I was then on a search to figure this out and do it. I thought to myself a middle school aged child has the patience to work with a tooth pick I was on the search to find a tool that would do the same thing.
When I am on a mission I let Holy Spirit direct me. First stop, a cosmetic shop and the clerk directed me to the nail art department to only be surprised that they no longer carry those tools at that store. She then suggested Sally's Beauty Supply, that they carry tools for nail art. Sure enough they had a double sided nail art brush. I am going to give you the name so you can then go out and have fun and be creative at the same time. "So Easy Double Up Nail Art Brushes Detailing Brush #698250. On one end there is a dotting tool. It is so simple to use. You polish your nails with one color, when it is completely dried you then select another color to create the dots on top of it.
This is the color combo I chose, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jumpin' Jade as the base coat and then the dots were created with Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Bright On! The color base is a deep forest green with polka dots of lime green. Let me encourage you to go out and try this it is fun and there is no wrong way of doing it, in reference to the patterns you can create. I would suggest practicing first so you can get the feel of the dotting tool and to know how much pressure you need to apply when adding the dots. Have fun. Today may be a great day to create.
Holy Spirit knows when I need creativity in my life. He gives me opportunities to strike up conversations with just the right person to exchange ideas and then I am on a mission to create from that simple conversation I had with someone. When I am working on projects that allow creativity to flow I then find myself alive. Does that make sense to you? I do not know what it is about me I just know that when I am in the creative realm and creativity is flowing then I am refreshed. I am also in this same status when problems are presented to me and I am allowed to work on solutions. I am also in this realm when I am able to organize, I like things in order and love to create order. If you have caios (not sure of the spelling) in your life I am the perfect one to come into your life and create order and peace. It is a true gift that God gives to me. The projects that others see as 'I do not want to go there' I find intriguing and God allows me to see the calm, peace in the situation and gives me a plan of action on how to bring this about. It amazes me every time He does this through me. You can give me the most troubled child and for some reason God allows me to see beyond the exterior wall of that child and He shows me the heart of this child and how to bring out this goodness that is already inside of this child. The children that society says are no good, He gives me empathy for them and to be encouraging to them so they can fulfill what God's destiny is for them in their very life. So, when you come across children like that do not throw them to the curb. Ask Holy Spirit to show you beyond their outward appearance to see the heart of that child and ask Holy Spirit what is the destiny of this child. Do not be like the others that may label them go a step beyond that and see what greatness will come forth in this child's life.
See what happens when Holy Spirit directs me to write, I start out with one topic and then it just blossoms from that point. I had no idea I would be writing about encouraging children today, I just knew I would share with you about learning from children today. I learned about Shabbat yesterday from a pre-schooler and her mom. Where I work it truly is a family atmosphere and families do frequent this establishment quite often. It seems to be the place they gather for a celebration or treat after school or as a family gathering to enjoy themselves. I heard a mom asking her daughter what she did at school the other day and then she answered it for her as she said you did Shabbat. They enjoyed their visit and I felt Holy Spirit prompt me to ask what Shabbat was. I was gracious and I asked if I may ask her a question and she replied yes. I told her I heard her asking her daughter about Shabbat at school and what is Shabbat. She explained it to me and I thanked her for the explanation. Later that afternoon I also heard another mom make mention that they had to get going for Shabbat.
You have no wisdom because you ask not. Do not be afraid to ask questions for knowledge is a good thing. Yesterday the girl came in and asked me if I did the dot nail polish and I was able to tell her that I did not think I was patient enough to use a tooth pick so I went on a search to find the tool to do the same thing. I then shared with her where I found it and how much fun it was and thanked her again for the suggestion and how to do it. We were talking some more and I suggested that a nail polish party would be a great birthday party idea. I went about my work and I could hear them talking about what they could do for that type of party.
The other day a mom came in and she had her hands full with four children that were young. I helped her out and talked with them while they were there. She looked at me and said to me 'You missed your calling' I asked her what she meant by that and she said I would have been great working with children. She was in there once before and she remembered how helpful I was with her then and that I have patience with children. I responded to her that I love helping people. You see, God can bring people to your very place of work just for you to bless them. It really does help that I work at an establishment that people enjoy coming to, it really is a happy place and people gather there and enjoy themselves.
One day I struck up a conversation with a child maybe 9 or 10 years old or somewhere around that and I found out that she was just in a play and that they were there celebrating after the performance. I had the pleasure of meeting the star of the play. She was in a local production and I asked her what was her favorite song she sang. I then re-worded it to what was the song she thought she sang the best in the play. I asked her if she would like to sing it for us. She didn't think so so I said OK. At this point they enjoyed their treat as a family then the mom came up to me as they were about to leave and said her daughter would sing a song for us. At that point only family members of the establishment were there so I made an announcement that we would be hearing a performance of .......... by ......... Sure enough she stood before them and sang her song. Now, that will be a child that will do something with her life because she overcame her fear to sing in front of a small crowd and she did. Do you see what I mean about being around the younger generation, it keeps us young at heart. There is so much to learn from them. Do not think they cannot teach you anything because of their age for that is just not so.
Guess what happened the other day at church? As you know by now I am a worshiper and I love to worship. I was seated and then the person in front of me moved their seat to allow a couple to sit there. It was in the greeting portion of the service that the gentleman turned to shake my hand, he is a well know worship person that has a CD. A CD that I am listening to right now. This was a special service, Pastor and staff ministers had the children and teachers come through a line for them to pray over them for the school year. There were a lot of children so while they were being prayed for the worship team led worship. Tears began to stream down my face during the worship. Not only do I get a smile on my face when a word being preached is truth, there are times when the presence of God is strong and tears flow from my eyes. I do believe that that was due in part to not only the worship team and the songs we sang but also that I was in close proximity to a true worshiper/worship leader and when worshipers gather together how can you not experience the presence of God? A worshiper will connect with other worshipers that have a heart for God. That is how it works, I cannot explain it I can only tell you how it works for me.
When you are around someone that thinks like you do does not the  conversation just flow easy for you? When you are around worshipers that love the Lord the same thing happens except it is the presence of God that flows when sincere hearts come together to worship Him. Surely, He has done something special in your life that you can thank Him and give Him your heart for the day or all of the days you have left on earth. Did you not wake up today? That alone is something to be thankful for, another day you can be alive. I love God will all my heart and and as I write this tears form in my eyes just because I had opportunities to share kindness with people. It costs you nothing but your time and sincerity to be kind to others. Who will you reach out to today with sincere kindness?

Three Great Songs By Big Daddy Weave

I Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Today. Did I Ever Tell You About The Time A Training Session Start Time Was Delayed For A Bit? What Do You Think I Did With The Extra Time On My Hands? I Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookies & I Felt Like June Cleaver Baking With My Pearls On. Do You Remember Leave It To Beaver, It Was His Mom.

This is a true story. Whenever I bake oatmeal raisin cookies it brings a silent chuckle to me. I was scheduled to attend a training session and just before I was heading out the door I received a phone call letting me know the session was going to start later that day. What is one to do with extra time on her hands? I was already dressed and ready to go out the door. I thought to myself...bake some oatmeal raisin cookies and that is just what I did. I do not think I ever baked cookies before or even a meal all dressed up with pearls around my neck too. What does one then do with the cookies you just baked. Make a gift pack with  some of them and take them with you to bless the person you were meeting with that day. I do not even know if they liked oatmeal raisin cookies but I do remember they so graciously accepted them. That is a gracious person with wonderful manners too.
I like to think about things as you can see by my writing. I wonder what that person must have thought at the end of our training session when I presented baked cookies to them. I may never know the answer to that and that is OK because I did not sit around and waste the time. I was in my "happy element" baking and then sharing with others.
I was in a cooking mood today. I also made beef strogonoff. I let it cook on a slow simmer and the meat was fork tender. That is when it is best. I think I will make salmon patties this week too. Cooked fresh beets today and they were not as sweet as the prior batch. Beets are really good for you. My birthday will be this week and red velvet cake is the request. I make a great butter cream frosting and it will make the cake yummy. My mom will bake the cake and then I will frost it. Red velvet cake is best when it is moist and not a dry cake. Do you agree? This sure is a twist from the norm of my writing isn't it? I guess someone out there wanted to know if I can cook and what sort of things I cook.
Last week when I was visiting back home I made Dijon chicken for my son, meatloaf for another meal and then breaded chicken (white meat) cutlets. I also made fresh corn. I like to cut it off of the cob and then saute it with butter in a frying pan instead of having to deal with the mess of eating it off of the cob. I made salads also with dinner. I had fresh garden tomatoes and they sure do make a difference. The dressing I use when making a salad is made like this... season it with salt, pepper and garlic salt then pour a little oil on the salad then vinegar. Then toss it all together. I prefer apple cider vinegar, but I also use white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar too I have even used rice vinegar.  I will also let you know that I do not like the dark meat of chicken or turkey just the thought of it is most unappealing to me so I will probably never cook any dish that calls for that. Along with lamb, I just cannot eat lamb and the smell of it makes me want to get sick. I trust you needed to know this information this day or else I would not be writing about it. Have a blessed day ahead of you and peace to your heart I speak to you today.

Never Forget The Place(s) God Has Blessed You OK

I wrote yesterday about the place where Jesus healed me in my car. Remember I showed a picture of the approximate place where it happened. I also stated that I asked God to never let me forget that event/moment in my life. That is why I try to fly out of a certain airport because I know I usually have to drive past this location from the airport heading to my destination. When I was a young in the Lord Christian (meaning recently born again) I would seek God's direction by closing my bible and letting my fingers go and rustle the edges of the pages of the bible to where I felt it was time to open it and hear from God. Every time He was right on target with an answer of direction for me. Of course he would be on target does that surprise you, He is God and He created me and He knows the destiny for my life. I then went along in my walk with the Lord and He would guide me to a certain book in the bible, chapter and even a verse too. Sometimes it would be that very verse and other times it was for me to search further and read the whole chapter or the surrounding chapters and sure enough the answer/direction was there just waiting for me to seek Him and ask and He is oh so faithful.
At times, I like to go back to those simple days of trusting in Him with the rustling of the pages. Today was one of those days and sure enough He was faithful again. Today, I opened to Genesis 30 about the encounter Jacob had with God. Even though you rustle the page edges it is important to hear the direction of God through Holy Spirit because if you open at the not appointed time or place you are not hearing from God and you do not want that to happen right. It is always about God's timing in your life. Do not jump ahead or lag behind. When He tells you to wait upon Him then do it. When He tells you to leap forward then also do that. Genesis 30:29-31 "Jacob said, "please tell me your name." The man answered, "Why do you ask for my name?" then he blessed Jacob there. So Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said, "I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved."
Only God knows the importance of my heart to never forget where Jesus healed me in my car when I cried out His name, I really did cry out the name of Jesus in my pain and He did heal me. As soon as I cried out his name the pain broke and I was fine and able to drive home over an hour's distance away from where I was at. You see, when God touches your heart and even your body you cannot ever forget that and it is OK to remember and drive past the places of where heaven touched earth just for your sake. Doesn't that tend to humble you a bit? He cares so much for His children that His glory permeates the earth, WOW. Think of that a bit and you will agree. I love the Lord and I love to share with others the stories of how He touches my life. Do you think that part of my destiny is to write and share with you all to encourage you to seek Him more and trust Him more and allow Him to bless your life even more than He has to this point in your life? Yes, it is part of my destiny, to encourage others with my testimony to show you that God is awesome and He gets all the praise. Keep stepping out in faith for you never know when the day and time will be when that step in faith will leap you into God' destiny/timeline for your very life. Have fun today and seek out the giver of life in the bible today. You just may be surprised at what He longs to share with you through the word of God. Enjoy life today for it will come and go when the sun sets and we enter into a new day dawning for tomorrow, enjoy today it will not pass your way again.

Eileen Fisher: The Lord Said, "Open Your Hands Wide"

Eileen Fisher: The Lord Said, "Open Your Hands Wide"