Category: Can We Talk?

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Nine

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

What is your favorite work of art? What do you love about it?

I’m not really into art. I appreciate art, but it’s not something I seek out or take an interest in.

The art that really captures my attention, are landscapes, or moments in time, or beauty, like a vase of flowers, something that evokes an emotion in me.

Which I get is the objective of art as a whole.

But something recognizable, a person, a place, something tangible and beautiful.

I can’t STAND abstract art. To me, it looks like something a child drew and it’s chaotic and mindless. No thanks.

I love the art of words. Or the art of photography. Or the art of creating something unique and different with your own hands.

For example, I love my aunt/uncle’s Etsy shop. I love the art he creates using steel. He’s a welder by trade and he figured how to utilize his unique gifts to offer something beautiful to people.

And my mom’s crafts. She’s been making beautiful things all her life.

The only “art” I feel I have is writing, and that might be debatable with some people.

My husband’s art is finding old/broken things and turning them into something functional and/or decorative. Kevin also painted this:

ArtKev.jpg

THIS, to me, is beauty.

This is also my favorite piece of art we have in our home:

 

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Eight

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?

Any day I’m not working is a lazy day. And speaking of lazy, I HAVE been lately. Well honestly, ever since the boys moved out three, almost four (!), years ago. I mean, Kevin and I don’t really mess anything up. Other than the weekly floors, laundry and bi-weekly bathroom cleans, what is there? We both clean up after ourselves in the kitchen and we’ll ignore the layer of dust all over my house.

It’s been quite the adjustment for me since the boys moved out. I’ve not only missed them, I’ve missed their presence. The background noise, the periodic invasion of my space as one of them walks by. The occasional sneeze/cough, the “clack-clack” of keys on a keyboard.

I’ve always been a slug – I’m not big on housekeeping so wait until we can’t ignore it anymore to DO it, but now? It’s worse. All I want to do is zone out in front of the computer and/or staring at my Kindle and that’s the extent of my energy.

I’ve lived the past few years on automatic and you know? I’m sort of done with that. Life HAS to be more than just go to work, eat, sleep, poop and do it all over again the next day.

Right?

OF COURSE my favorite way to spend a lazy (i.e. every day) is to read. I need to find a way to get paid to read, THAT would be my dream job. It wouldn’t be very challenging and I’m not sure it would be very satisfying, which my current job is, but I WOULD LOVE IT.

(And out of curiosity, I just Googled “how to get paid to read books” and this site popped up. You know, I should legit try this. In fact, that was on my bucket list of things to do this year – write book reviews. I could write my reviews them submit them to one of these sites and see what happens ………………….. hhmm ……………………………….)

Another lazy day / fun thing for me is to people watch. If I’m forced to go anywhere and I’m not on a mission to get in/out of wherever I’m going, I like to sit and just … watch. (Sounds sort of creepy when I write it out like that). People are fascinating to me. I like to pretend I know what is going on in their lives by judging their body language and facial expressions. I’m hard up for entertainment, I guess.

Or, if we want to get really crazy, I love sitting on the beach alternating between watching the waves and reading a book. Filling my lungs with salty, fresh air.

Paradise.

Every day is a lazy day for me. But I feel like I appreciate life a bit more living like that. I’m forcing myself to take the time to ENJOY the little things in life.

 

Abundant Life, Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Seven

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

Prayer

How the Devil Derailed Prayer

For many Christians, prayer is not as important as it should be. Many Christians only pray before meals, before bed (when they are children), or in emergency situations. The concept of “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17 – ESV) is not a part of the lives of most Christians. How did the average Christian lifestyle drift so far from what the Bible says to do? The short answer is that most Christians are taught that everything that happens is God’s will, or “God is in control,” and that even Satan (if the Christian believes in Satan), has to ask God’s permission before he can act.

We all hate meaningless work, and that includes meaningless prayer. Good, solid, powerful, focused prayer takes a lot of work, a lot of time and mental energy. No one wants to make that effort if his or her prayer does not really make a difference. Unfortunately, that is what the teaching that “God is in control” does; it teaches that our prayers really do not make much, if any difference.

If everything that happens is God’s will, then God’s will gets done whether or not anyone prays. If prayer does not change anything, then what purpose does it serve? We have been told it demonstrates a person’s humility and obedience to God’s command to pray. Also, it has been used as a punishment for sinning (such as in the Roman Catholic Church when prayers are assigned as a penance for sin). Also, it has been said to be therapeutic because confession and prayer are “good for the soul.” It has also been taught that we pray to help align our own thinking with what God is doing, and to humbly accept the will of God.

The teaching that “God is in control” has, knowingly or unknowingly, adversely affected the prayer lives of millions of Christians. Many people are not motivated to pray because they have been told that God’s will comes to pass whether they pray or do not pray, while many others do not pray throughout the day simply because they have never seen that modeled for them by other Christians. Prayer changes things dramatically, and God needs us to ask in prayer, so He tells us again and again to pray. God is willing to do His part if we will do ours. Let’s not sit around complaining about how bad the world is; let’s do something about it! God wants us to do something, and a powerful thing we can do is to pray [Source]

Do you believe in prayer? Do YOU pray? What is the purpose of prayer? Does it help? Is God even listening?

I suppose, if you’re not a Christian, or believe in a higher being, this post is not for you. But if you’re grappling, reaching for something you can’t quite put your finger on but know it’s juuuust out of reach, let me see if I can help with that.

I’ve been a Christian for a very long time. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was in middle school.

However, I haven’t always understood what Christianity is/was. And a large part of that reason is due to the chaos and confusion that Satan has bestowed on our civilization over the many 1000’s of years. The more confused people are, the further they will get from Christ and the closer they get to Satan and his evil ways.

I don’t think people purposefully set out to live evil lives, I think everyone, on some level, either consciously, or subconsciously, wants to lead a good, wholesome life. But outside influences are sometimes too hard to resist.

The media is a huge one. Everyone takes everything they read/hear as gospel truth. Oh, so-and-so said it so it MUST be true. But, this big news site wrote it so it MUST be accurate.

That’s not even close to being true. Which is why I HIGHLY recommend that people stop and ask questions. THINK for yourselves. Do not be led around by the nose like a bunch of sheeple.

But that’s a post for another day.

Loved ones, friends, “successful” people who appear to have it all together and make unwise decisions but always seem to come out on top anyway – it’s just too tempting to mirror that person’s decisions in the hopes of obtaining the same things, are outside influences. Trying to emulate these people often leads to disappointment and resentment, which only leads us down yet another wrong path.

Prayer is necessary in that it helps guides us, it helps purge our souls and cleanse our consciousness. Prayer is a line to God – He’s someone to talk to, to vent to, to ask for guidance. But just like when we’re in a crowded room, with a ton of people, all talking at once, it’s hard to hear one individual voice. So we have to continuously pray and make our voice heard.

This crowded room could be unholy decisions you’ve made, or being around someone who is influencing you and directly you down an ungodly path. It could be evil spirits purposefully blocking your voice from being heard.

The more you live outside God’s commands, the further you get from God and the less God can protect you.

I  know that sounds all “hocus-pocus” but we ARE in a spiritual battle, every day. It’s real.

Are you lost? Do you feel hopeless? Is no one listening? Do you need help? Then pray to God. There is no right or wrong way to do it, you’re having a conversation with God. Unload on God, allow him to guide you and comfort you. Pray continuously. He may not hear you right away because of all the spiritual noise surrounding you, but don’t give up, He will hear and He will answer.

I hope this post blessed you in some way.

 

 

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Six

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

Do you believe in soul mates?

Yes.

But first, let’s define what a soulmate is. I feel like many people have a misconception of soulmate:

Merriam Webster defines soulmate as:

1 : a person who is perfectly suited to another in temperament
2 : a person who strongly resembles another in attitudes or beliefs

I feel like that is a bit misleading. A soulmate is not PERFECT, I feel a soulmate is a missing piece to your soul. Someone who completes you, someone who GETS you.

I also don’t feel like a soulmate is necessarily a romantic interest, it could be a friend as well.

Here’s a cute little video that explains soulmate better than I can.

I’m pretty sure this video forgot #5, ha!

Anyway, I felt that way with Kevin. It’s hard to explain but the minute we met, we felt comfortable with each other. It felt “right.” Even though I was cautious given his recent breakup, I just … knew. I wish I could break it down even further, it frustrates me that I can’t find words to describe the feeling, but it’s a gut feeling, you just … know.

So. Do I believe there is a soulmate for every person? Yes. Do I think people recognize a soulmate when they come along? Not always.

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Five

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

What scares you?

The usual: snakes, spiders, large dogs, distracted drivers, icy roads.

But really, my biggest fear? Dying. Either me, the boys, my parents, Kevin.

I’m a Christian and I know that dying is not the end for me, or my family, but dying and just … missing out on stuff. Missing out on the boys growing old, missing the people I love, missing out on the little things, a beautiful sunrise/sunset, not seeing more of the world, the day-to-day of life itself.

Every year, the number of years I’ve been alive on this Earth gets higher and higher. Which, I know, duh, it happens for everyone. But my number is starting to concern me. I don’t FEEL as old as my number. I feel like I’m just getting started, not winding down.

True. I’m not THAT old, but I’m not THAT young, either. I guess I feel like I have some unfinished business ahead of me. And maybe that’s why I’m no longer watching TV but reading more (so many books, so little time!) and itching to get back to my writing, whether it’s on this journal or leaving a little bit of my creative writing behind. When we’re gone, WE’RE GONE, until Christ comes back to get us.

And then, will we know our families? Kevin and I plan on being buried side-by-side. When we rise from the dead, will we know each other? I don’t really know if the Bible says anything about recognizing each other in our new life. Kevin doesn’t think so, and that SCARES me.

And makes me incredibly sad.

It also scares me that not all of the people I care about will be around in the new life. Some people I care about are not believers and they won’t be around AT ALL.

Christ coming back and leading us into a new, much better life is exciting, but what scares me is … what then??

If you would like to know more about Christ and possibly accepting him as your Lord and Savior, please check this out.

Let’s plan on seeing each other in the new life, shall we?

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Four

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

Sleep: What things help you sleep at night? Or, are you a night owl? Do you get enough sleep or wish you could sleep more?

Out of curiosity, I searched “sleep” on YouTube and to my surprise, there were three different “live” videos playing relaxing music and videos of peaceful, beautiful landscapes to help you relax enough to fall asleep, I guess.

Random to tell you that, but interesting – a lot of people have trouble with sleep.

I wonder why, truly. Is it because people’s stress levels are too high? Unresolved life issues? Health problems? Busy brains that can’t shut off? All of the above?

I love to sleep and getting to sleep is not my problem, staying asleep is.

I’m a fish when I sleep. I flop around and change positions multiple times every night. It’s so disruptive, in fact, that Kevin and I don’t sleep together. We can’t. We just don’t sleep that well together. I flop around and snore, he sleeps with a Cpap (a sleep apnea machine because he actually stops breathing at times and the machine kicks in and makes him breathe again) and he sounds like Darth Vader.

Sexy.

But it works for us. We actually sleep. And Kevin, who has never been a good sleeper, is finally able to sleep.

The thing that helps me sleep at night – mindless activities. Whether that’s watching YouTube videos (though it’s not recommended that you stare at electronics before sleep), playing the Sims, (because I LOVE me some Sims), or reading, it works. I still my mind and my body follows shortly thereafter. I fall asleep fast, but since I’m so restless and have to get up and pee three times a night, I’m up, a lot. But again, I can fall back to sleep rather quickly, so that helps.

I wear a Garmin, which keeps track of my sleep patterns, (whether it’s accurate or not is still debatable) and if I can get four hours of deep sleep, it’s a good night for me. I think my record of deep sleep was six hours and that was largely because I took a Benedryl before bed.

I used to be a night owl, but now I guess you would call me a reluctant early bird. I trained myself to get up early shortly after marrying Kevin, who gets up at the ass crack of dawn every morning (though he’s not as bad as he used to be). Then we had children, so I had to get up with them. And now I’m up with the roosters every morning to get ready for work so I’m lucky if I stay up past 9:00 PM most nights.

I don’t necessarily wish I got MORE sleep, I just wish I got BETTER sleep. More deep sleep. I’m a very light sleeper so anything and everything wakes me up. I sleep with a fan on every night, even in the dead of winter, just for the consistent noise. Because anything other than absolute quiet will wake me up.

It’s so annoying.

I’m annoying.

Daily Prompts

My Life: Day Three

Karen

I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?

I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).

Today’s prompt(s):

The Unrequited love poem: How do you feel when you love someone who does not love you back?

I haven’t really been in very many relationships in my life. My first boyfriend just wasn’t that into me and it broke my heart. I gave him ALL of me and he discarded me like yesterday’s socks. To make matters worse, he started dating someone while he was still with me. I immediately broke up with him when I found out, which in hindsight, was what he wanted, I suppose. Then he wasn’t put in the awkward position of breaking it off with me.

Pussy.

But that experience taught me to harden my heart. It broke something in me. I remember holing myself off from civilization, for days, and analyzing every aspect of that relationship and coming to the conclusion, the only person I can ever truly count on, is me. I never again allowed anyone to get as close to me or to give myself as fully. It was just too painful. I’ve given all that I’m capable of giving to Kevin and no one else.

Ever.

I wish I could give more to Kevin, but there is a wall that no matter how hard I try to break down, remains to this day.

In some ways, I feel like that experience damaged me. It made me cold, uncaring in a lot of ways. I truly don’t care. I mean I care, but only to a point. It scares me sometimes how cold I can be.

But in other ways, I’m sort of glad it did happen. I don’t get that upset when someone pulls out of my life. I just shrug and  go on with my life. I’m not exactly proud of this trait, but it’s definitely protected me from getting hurt. And if people don’t want to make that much effort to be part of my life, I’m certainly not going to chase them down and MAKE them. Meh. Life goes on.

I had another “relationship” right before Kevin. I wouldn’t call him my boyfriend because I wasn’t naive enough to think it was going anywhere, he was separated from his wife. They were on the crux of getting divorced. He was someone I went to high school with and had a huge crush on, though he didn’t give me the time of day in high school because contrary to popular belief, I wasn’t part of the “cool” kids – I was one of those kids that was on the outskirts of many different groups of kids – I was friends with everyone and no one at the same time.

(Remember the cold heart trait?)

But it was an intense relationship. We had fun together. It was lighthearted and never serious. But I did like him. The night before his divorce was final, his wife called him and wanted to talk. He was torn. I didn’t want to let him go but I knew if he didn’t, he would always wonder “what if.” So, I encouraged him to go.

He never came back.

It was hard, and I cried for hours afterward. I remember my roommate stayed up with me and tried to console me. But that piece of walled heart? Protected me and though I was sad, I wasn’t devastated. It didn’t break me, I simply went on with life.

Six months later, I met Kevin.

But I was cautious. I tread very carefully because when I met Kevin, he was newly divorced (six months) and I didn’t want to become the “rebound girl.” (I feel like this blog post just took a turn into deep emotional territory, grab hold of something).

So, I kept him at arm’s distance, though we did move in together and lived together for two years until I thought, “Okay, I think it’s safe to say I’m more than a rebound girl” and pretty much forced him to propose because tick/tock! Life is too short for you to make up your mind, either we get married or we move on.

Yeah, I’m such a romantic.

And here we are, almost 29 years married.

But that’s my romantic story in a nutshell. Sure, there were other guys sprinkled throughout that history, but none lasted very long because I wasn’t interested in anything long term – we had fun, we moved on. So other than my first boyfriend, I’ve never felt love for someone that didn’t return it.

I don’t know if that is something to be proud or to feel sad about. I’ll let you decide.