* Sprint or Crawl?

“We need to sprint towards compassion and crawl towards judgment.”

I can’t remember where I heard this quote or who said it but it resonated with me. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us get this idea all mixed up and sprint towards judgment when we should be taking a step back and crawling instead. The point is, we need to take our time before jumping to conclusions about a situation or a person.

I’ve written a lot about this topic recently. I’m not sure why other than I have been giving it a lot of thought and wondering how I treat others. I find I am losing my patience more often with people who judge and I am working hard not to be one of them. It could be that in the past I know I have been the sprinter and I want to change that. The older I get, the more my heart hurts for those who just need a little kindness and patience. It could be that as I age, I find I need for others to show me that same courtesy from time to time.

Or maybe it’s because I finally am understanding how much God cares for me and wants me to follow His example by caring for others who need a little compassion. All I know is that I’m learning to crawl again and I’m the one receiving the blessings.

Blessings, Cindy J

* Community

What is community? Google says it is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” Don’t laugh but in the past year I have just started going to our local senior center for exercise classes. The other day at class during a water break, I noticed how people were connecting with each other, laughing and talking together, and just having a bit of social time. They’ve found community with people their own age who are doing their best to stay in shape and age gracefully.

Another class I like to attend is yoga. The whole concept of yoga is about creating community and drawing strength from the energy of others. Yoga has taught me to let go of myself and just be in the moment. It’s in the letting go that you learn how to connect with others.

We all have other places and ways we find community whether it’s the neighborhood where we live, the church where we attend and worship with others or the friends we connect with for life. I just recently returned from a bucket list trip to Greece with two of my college friends who’ve known me for over 40 years. They’re my people, my community, and they know me and love me anyway. Community is a blessing; I pray you find yours.

Blessings, Cindy J

* Perspective

Have you ever seen one of those pictures where when you look at it one way it’s an old woman and then look at it another way and it is a young girl? It’s kind of cool how they both seem to exist in the same picture and it really boils down to your perspective when viewing the picture. I am notorious for dropping my medicine on our hardwood kitchen floor and the pill is hard to find because it blends in with the wood. If I only look from the perspective of where I’m standing when I drop the pill, I rarely find it. But if I turn a different way and look, I will typically find it right away. Again, it’s all a matter of perspective and in the case of trying to locate the pill, I have to change mine.

Aren’t major life events like that as well? When we hear the word cancer, death, divorce, or any word most of us feel comes with a negative connotation, we automatically want it to change or go away because we think only bad things will happen. And it’s true, many times bad things do happen when we experience life changing events. But not always. What if we changed our perspective and looked at the things these adverse events can teach us? Here’s a warning though, it’s not always easy.

Cancer has been one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced in my life but it’s taught me to cherish EVERY day, to love with all my heart, to give to others who need my time & resources, to say yes more to make plans with friends and family and to speak up about what’s right for me. These are all positive changes because I decided to change my perspective. Yes, it is hard sometimes, but it’s oh so worth it!

Changing your perspective is hard because we all want to view things as we see them in our own little world. Guess what? It’s a big world out there with lots of things to see and learn. God can use our pain and heartbreak to help others. He can use it to change our heart… for good.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Blessings, Cindy J

* Misunderstood

As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word misunderstood means wrongly or improperly understood. Boy what a powerful word that is! So many times, we get upset with people because of how we perceive their actions. We find them to be rude, possibly offensive or just plain uncaring. I have found many times that people I didn’t think I like usually have a story that makes them act that way. I admit that even when I know their story, I still may not like them but I do have more patience and tolerance for them. My reaction to them was based on the fact that I misunderstood them.

As an elementary school librarian, I learned that the worst behaving kids were often the ones with the most dramatic stories. You can’t excuse their behavior but you can have more compassion when you understand the why of the behavior. We can all do a better job of being tolerant of those who are misunderstood. That will help us get through the times when we ourselves are misunderstood.

Compassion, Tolerance, Patience…. these words are the key to change in our society.

Blessings, Cindy J

* Only Leave Footprints

One day as I was leaving the beach, I saw a sign that read only leave footprints. The purpose of the message was to remind you to take everything back with you that you brought out to the beach. It should remain clean and beautiful for the next people who come to visit and safe for the wildlife that lives there. Your footprints should be the only reminder that you were there.

As you walk along the beach, you can look back to see your footprints in the sand and know where you’ve been. You can see the footprints of others as you walk knowing that you are not alone in the world. Take comfort in that knowledge and understand others will pass along in your footprints.

What if we made a point to leave things as we find them in this world? To respect the Earth and its’ beauty. Sometimes we have to fix the mess that others left behind but that’s okay, too. It shows we care and that we’re responsible. Go spend time in nature whether it be the beach, mountain or trail. Enjoy the beauty God has given us and then, only leave footprints.

Blessings, Cindy J

* Who Am I?

I have always loved to read biographies. When I was a child, I think I read every single one in our elementary school library. The lives of other people fascinated me, especially when I learned about many of the issues they had to overcome in order to accomplish great things in life.

In Viola Davis’s autobiography Finding Me, she tells the story of actor Will Smith asking her who she was? She answered by telling him he knew her work as an actor but he persisted and asked again, “But who are you?” That’s when she realized she was still that scared little kid who grew up in poverty. Reading that brought me to tears with my own realization of who I really am. When things scare me and I don’t know what to do, I’m still the little chubby girl in elementary school who no one wanted on their kickball team. That’s where I go when I am unsure of myself. That little girl still lives inside me and until I accept her and deal with her fears, I’ll always go back there.

I need to let that little girl know that she is okay and that she’s a lot stronger than she thinks! She may not have been one of the popular kids, but she was smart and she was a survivor for enduring all that hurt. That survivor instinct has helped her become a cancer thriver who pushes on in spite of the pain and hurt.

As we begin a new year today, stop and ask yourself, who am I? Don’t focus on who you were, decide who you are and go be that person for today and the future.

Happy New Year! Cindy J

* Christmas Joy

One of my sweet “daughters-in-love” gifted me a book of devotions to ponder this Christmas season and told me that she also had a copy she would be reading. The title is Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always by Ruth Chou Simons. The funny part of this story is that unbeknownst to her, my other “daughter-in-love” asked for this book for her birthday. So, all three of us are reading the same devotions each day which I think is a very neat thing for our families. (*Note- I call my daughter-in-law’s “in-loves” because I want them to know just how deeply loved they are as my son’s wives.) Already, the daily ponderings have been such a blessing to me.

My expectations for Christmas can sometimes disappoint me when they don’t come to fruition but I am already learning through this book that what I think is not important. It’s what I do and give to others that matters. I need to focus more on “the good portion” which is loving Jesus than worrying about the busyness of Christmas. Being generous with my time and resources is the best way I can honor God’s generosity to us. I can also honor him through prayer and thanksgiving for the joy of God’s gift through his only Son, Jesus.

I pray this holiday season that you can indeed find your Christmas joy and focus on the beauty of our Savior’s birth. God made us on purpose for His purpose.

Merry Christmas! Cindy J.

“No man ever errs on the side of giving too much honor to God the Son.” -J.C. Ryle

* Beach Music

Beach Music

One day last summer while sitting on the beach and doing a little journaling, I decided to write down words associated with the beach that started with the letter B. I looked, I listened and then I closed my eyes and felt. Here’s my list….

Blissful Besties Bathing Beauties

Breakers Beautiful Boats

Books Blue Beneficial

Breeze Beach Bags Bounty

Blankets Basking Birds

Breathtaking

This list might not mean a lot to you but when I read these words I am taken to a place, an oasis of sorts, where I let everything go and focus on the here and now. In our busy lives these days, that’s not something that happens very often.

So, I have a very important assignment for you. Go to your place where you let go with journal in hand. Yes, it has to be a journal because once you do this, you’re going to want to do it again! Look. Listen. Feel. Write it all down and come back to it when you need to feel grounded. Learning to just be is the greatest gift you can give yourself. It also helps you to be a better person for those around you. Today, I’ll just listen to my beach music.

Blessings, Cindy J

* The Cottage

Refreshed. That’s how I feel after spending time at what I like to call my cottage. It’s actually just a small house in a neighborhood that’s about 15 minutes from the beach. It reminds me of the first home Eddie and I owned in the town of Edenton. It too was near the water, the Albemarle Sound, and I loved that little house.

The house originally belonged to my youngest son. He bought it when he first got out of college and needed a place to live near the high school where he would be teaching in the small coastal town of Southport. When he needed extra space for his growing family, Eddie and I bought it as our getaway place and as a plus, we could visit more with his family. I have since renamed it “The Cottage”.

When I drive into the driveway it’s like I leave my real life behind and focus more on simplicity. We only have the things we need here. It’s sparsely decorated with older furniture and the upkeep is minimal. Don’t misunderstand me, I love my fulltime home and it is a beautiful place but here I seem to be able to let go of my worries. It’s quiet and I focus more on my writing because there’s no TV! I find comfort when I spend a day at the beach. I talk more to God and listen to Him more.

I love being able to share this cottage with my family. It gives them a place to refresh as well. That brings me joy. I know I am blessed to be able to have “The Cottage” for this season in my life. I hope you can find a place even if it’s in your own backyard that you can go to and let go of what troubles you for a while. I pray that you come home refreshed.

Blessings, Cindy J

* A Sweet Baby Boy

In January of 2021, a sweet baby boy came into our lives. He is my grandson Phillip Henry, named for two of his great grandpas. As with both of my other grandchildren, two very special little girls, the love was instantaneous and what a gift they have been in my life. Phillip is a happy, affectionate little boy who is full of personality and loves to laugh. This baby boy wants for nothing and has been showered with gifts from the moment he was born. He has a crib to sleep in and many beautiful handmade blankets to wrap up in for warmth.

On a cold December night over 2,000 years ago, another sweet baby boy was born. His parents had no place to stay because all the rooms in the inn were full. There wasn’t even a crib to place the newborn baby in, only a simple manger. No blankets either, only cloth to swaddle him in. However, the baby was celebrated just like our Phillip and continues to be celebrated to this very day. Angels sang to announce his birth to shepherds who immediately went to see the Christ child. Wise men came from afar to bring him expensive gifts. His name was Jesus and his Mama pondered all these happenings in her heart.

Baby Jesus was a gift that changed the world just like Walker, Margot and Phillip changed my world by filling it with more love than I could ever imagine. As we begin this new year, let us not forget to celebrate the birth of this sweet baby boy; the gift God gave us of eternal life through his one and only Son Jesus. We are truly blessed.

Blessings, Cindy J