Greetings All! I pray your Holidays are bringing many Blessings. Mine sure did. Like many of you prior to Christmas I was struggling a bit. So today I want to share two of those.

First was the issue of Missing my family and many friends. It wasn’t really Christmas bringing the longing to see them but, it was drawing attention to how long it has been since I have seen them. It had not been my plan when I moved across the country for more than a year to go by and not see them. You see I stayed in last winter planning to take a workcation for a month or so in spring. After all, I was already working remote. My struggle was how hard it is to travel in/out of New York not to mention the question, “should I even be considering travel to California in these crazy times?” I wasn’t concerned with my getting covid, I was concerned I might pick it up and carry it into my family and friends homes. I wasn’t very concerned as I have the good sense God gave me and I do wear my mask, gloves even, & I do respect the social distancing requirements. My concern was that somehow I could unknowingly carry this weird virus to the homes of family and friends. You see many of my friends are older and/or have high risk health issues. So of course I began praying, asking the Holy Spirit to guide me & give me clear signs. It wasn’t long I got my answers. The travel requirements became even more stringent & I could hear nervousness in some friends voices at my flying in. There were some other signs too but the point is, I would not be flying Southwest after all. Then I thought well I can drive to my grandson’s at least, it’s an 8 hr drive but, I wouldn’t be so exposed and he’s only 25 and was fine with the idea. Well, God said, “Nope, you are staying home” The weather forecast shifted 2 days before I planned to leave and it wouldn’t be a safe drive. I was so bummed.

Second struggle was Christmas itself. Should I even be celebrating it? It is not Yeshua birthday & it’s become so commercial and so stressful for many. Especially this year since so many have lost their jobs, fallen ill, and so on. The fact is the majority of it’s traditions stem from pagan holidays. While it is referred to as a Christian Holiday, it is not Biblical at all. However, for me and many, it is a time of sharing Love, time together, and yes Gifts. It is a time of year many donate and show Love to perfect strangers. For many it is a set time to express Joy, Jesus (Yeshua) was born and whether it was his actual Birthday is not the point. And then there is this fact: While the holidays are synonymous with peace, love and joy for many Americans who celebrate, the holiday season is actually filled with physical and emotional discomfort. In fact, 88 percent feel stressed when celebrating the holidays and the average couple will have seven arguments throughout the season, according to new research. Are you seeing the struggle? I know I am not the only one experiencing these struggles. Then pile on top of these, COVID ruining so many family gatherings! Augh! So, as usual I began to Pray asking, “is this a sign I shouldn’t be celebrating this Holiday anyway? Is that part of the point in all the 2020 chaos, our disobedience and being so far off track from your design plan?” Pretty quick, that still small voice within said, ” you have a lot of Christmas cards and photos from days gone by, send them” I thought well if I shouldn’t be celebrating Christmas this is how to use up those cards. So I went thru my tons of pictures pulling out fond memories to send and hopefully bring smiles with the memories. I am a picture nut, real photos, not discs/etc, and for this it really paid off. Then 3 days before Christmas I felt compelled to go by small gifts for each of my immediate neighbors (7 total) . The fact there were Seven brought thoughts, seven often symbolizes completion or perfection, so maybe I was right 2020 is the end of my celebrating Christmas. Is that my answer? The next day, I kept hearing His Word: “my 2nd most important commandment is “Love thy Neighbor as thyself.” This made me look at myself and I realized I love getting cards & little personal gifts at Christmas (anytime actually) so maybe my perception of signs is not correct. So off I went picking out items I thought they would enjoy. While I speak to my neighbors, we don’t really hang out, (well except one my friend Gwen) & 2020 we, the neighbors and I, have barely seen one another. And there was one other issue in this mix, my one neighbor and I had tensions due to his playing his music so loud it rocks my house. Yes, I did ask him to turn it down and no he didn’t respond well but, he did turn it down. I had been praying on how to resolve the tension as I don’t like not getting along with my neighbors. Then on Christmas Eve I went around and handed out my gifts and if not home I left them on the porch or hung them on the door. (I always use gift bags so that was easy). Much to my surprise several of my neighbors had gifts for me too! Even my newest Muslim neighbors had bought me a gift and Islam does not believe in or celebrate Christmas. He said they really appreciated how friendly & welcoming I have been & wanted to share a gift in my faiths season. I went to bed feeling confident it wasn’t about whether I celebrate Christmas Tradition it was about the attitude/intentions of my heart. Then the Very best gift, Blessing actually, was the definitive answer to my struggle which came at 7 AM Christmas morning. The neighbor that I had tensions with, he rang my bell to give me a gift with a beautiful apology for being so disrespectful and rude earlier in the fall. It took all I had not to break down and cry. I of course forgave him, we shook hands (yes, shook hands) & it hit me just how much God had answered my prayers including waking up to a White Christmas, which made the visit from the neighbor even more special, he had come over thru the 3 inches of snow and cold to give me the gift. I closed my door giving thanks and praise and yes cried tears of Joy on this Christmas 2020!

I will end this post with something my fabulous boss says, “Life is 10% of what you make it and 90% of how you take it” . I could have stayed in my bummer state of being, frustrated and confused OR I could pray & trust God/Jesus/Holy Spirit would come show the The Way. Once again it was revealed: The Answer to it all is as Yeshua (Jesus) said in Matt 22:36-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”. It was made clear to me, It’s not about man’s perceptions or traditions, it’s about walking in Love and that my friends is the answer to all things!

I love theology, even though it did make me struggle a little this year, so for those that might be interested this video provides the history of Christmas. (1) The Christmas Question: Full Documentary – YouTube

I pray your Holidays and this post bring a bit of Joy and Love as we wind down 2020! Shalom

PS: Know I am not trying to sway your views, what I share is my experiences & knowledge I’ve come across. After that your choices are between you and God, just as my choice & the path I take is between me & God.

Yes, sometimes I repeat myself in my posts especially if they “bear repeating”: to be important enough to state more than once : There are actually a few reasons: 1.) I posted so long ago, I forgot I posted something about that subject before. Nope, I don’t go back checking before I post again. 2.) The same issue is still repeating itself so why shouldn’t I? 3.) All forms of media and even people’s conversations are repeated over and over so again, so clearly some things need repeated. 4.) Most of all, there are new readers that come to my site and they aren’t rolling back thru all my posts either, well most aren’t. So if the subject is still relevant, I may Repeat.

On that note, as we step into the Flu season, a yearly repeater, remember there are some natural things to help your body out. While I was a bit surprised to see this on Fox news, I was happy to see their list of helpful natural tips. Then there is WebMD tips. My Fav is the 19 remedies listed on https://simplyhealth.today with #1 on the list: Stay Hydrated- One of the very best things you can do to speed up recovery no matter what ails you is to drink more fluids. Did you know: drinking apple juice will also provide you with vitamin C – a powerful antioxidant and immune-system booster that can help you to feel better. And my very Fav is #3 Have some nice hot soup. And yes, I mean that literally. While Chicken soup is Great! some spices in the soup recipes help break up congestion and get things movin’. I can testify! So here are some good ones you may enjoy.

https://www.brit.co/spicy-soup-recipes/

https://www.foodandwine.com/soup/spicy-soup-recipes

https://www.foxnews.com/health/8-natural-remedies-for-cold-and-flu-season

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/12-tips-prevent-colds-flu-1#1

Well, that’s my sharing today. BTW: The soups are great whether well or feeling under the weather. So try a few, I know I am!

Shalom!

Yesterday a dear friend sent the nicest card and in it she shared Mother Teresa’s Poem “the Final Analysis”. I had never read it and I just love it. They are words I plan to take to heart & read daily. That said, my post today is to pass on her poem & pray it takes deep root in the garden of your heart.

The Final Analysis

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.”

Shalom

Why am I trying to define work? I am observing Rosh Hashanah & the beginning and end, Yom Kippur God said we must observe “complete rest” no work/servitude, as it is a sacred occasion. That got me thinking, what exactly classifies as work? Below are dictionary definitions:

a. activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result. b. a task or tasks to be undertaken and completed.

In the Bible it refers to it being much the same as the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, Saturday. A day of Rest, time with God, family, and to give your mind, body and spirit a rest. Did you notice however, in this occasion it says must observe complete rest. I am going to dig deeper into what that is exactly so more to come on this subject. For now though I can assure you resting from work includes house cleaning, yard work, and so on. So I decided to do just that. Focus totally on my time with God in His Word, watching Faith based programs, Praying, and RESTING! I ended up laughing at myself as it was much more difficult than I expected. I realized I fit in all sorts of “tasks” normally during my Sabbath day of rest. I had to really pay attention to not throw in a load of laundry, step outside to sweep the driveway, pull weeds, & etc. I had to ask myself, “Why haven’t you thought of those things as work before now?” The only answer I came up with was: since it is not “working for my employer”, I wasn’t really thinking of it as work. Shame on me! cause the more I thought about it, I remembered saying in the past, “Housewives don’t get the credit they deserve and should be paid as all the things they do to maintain the house and Family are work for sure and they do exhaust you by the end of the day. I guess somehow I didn’t include myself into that comment. Also, I am pretty hyper so when even on my Sabbath day, I find all sorts of “small tasks” just walking around in my own home. Like, oh maybe I should clean out the fridge, wash the baseboards, trim the hedges, and so on.

So I can safely say in my 1st two days of Rosh Hashanah I learned what “Complete Rest” means & now I must repent for my lack of being observant and listening God. There is a reason He said to follow Him in this. We Need it! Think: God took a day of rest after working (creating) so how much more should it be necessary for us? I must say, it did make for an entirely different two days and I am so thankful. God revealed some new things in His Word, I had some time with a neighbor that ended up in discussion about Faith, and I got to feel what it feels like to really be Rested! I fully understand now how in God’s Plan it is so important to have times of REST.

Shalom!

In my opinion, this year’s Presidental race sure seems to raise the question, “Does my Vote really count?” Not to mention of the choices, including the Independent Runner, what if you don’t feel equally yoked with any of them? I don’t have answers to these questions. I am posting only to say, “this is truly a decision that is Yours and yours alone.”

Talk about rights to free choice, this is a big one. It is no one’s place to bully you, & try to make you feel guilty about whatever/whoever your choice is. As an individual, I can say my mind is unable to comprehend why some people are supporting the person they are supporting. While listening to & discussing many views and comments with some of my family and friends, I realized this is one of those areas that I really should listen to God and remember, ” it’s not my place to judge”. All elections result in passionate conversations however, this election it’s beyond passionate for many, it’s down right Heated! Not only about the candidates but, about the Right to Vote & believing we All Must vote. In one of those conversations, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “it is just like choosing to Believe in Me or Not, it’s personal. How about you choose better things to talk about & stay out of these conversations. hmmmm“ . That struck a cord for sure. I have always been a strong believer as an adult that “we should have the right to make our own choices in life.” After all, You are the one that has to live with Your decision. You are the one that should look at the big picture and the facts, to the best of your ability anyway, then make your decision. The Holy Spirit’s wisdom really hit me then & all I heard was my own voice saying, “practice what you preach, Renee“, listen to God & leave this subject out of your conversations. Yep, it’s just too personal, I now fully understand why in the actual act of voting, it is in a private booth or by mail. So you can go in your private “closet”, so to speak, and make your choice.

Bottom line: Your choices are Yours. And if you are a believer, your choices are between You & God.

So, as you are making your decisions in these two very important and personal areas of life ” Vote or Not to Vote, believe in God or Not” just remember:

Life is “all about choices” & those choices are yours & yours alone.

Be Blessed & be Safe.

Well, Covid brought new lifestyles in with a bang! Especially when it comes to remote work and school.

I personally have worked remote for years and often people say to me, “Oh, I wish I could work remote or how can I get a job like that?” I try to give a bit of insight advising them it is likely not how you imagine it would be. Remote or at the office, you are still on the Job, have the same commitments of productivity, and often you are monitored even more than at the office. Some companies even increase your volume. The outlook being, when working from home you shouldn’t have as many interruptions as when working at the office. Typically, that same person looks at me and says, “ya, I guess you could be right but, I can handle it.” So, in other words they don’t believe me. Funny thing, some of those same people are working from home now and are singing a new song, ” it is harder than I expected and I miss going to the office. My family can’t get it thru their heads I am at work! And you were right, my job gave me more responsibilities.” So, today I want to share some Life tips for working remote.

1. Get up and get dressed! Just like going to the office. Well, maybe not just like you would for work. Staying in your PJ’s does not send message to your brain, it’s time to work! Take shower, get out of your PJ’s and put on casual work clothes, spend at least 20 mins. with God in some fashion, have a bite of breakfast and get your mind in work mode. Log in.
2. Take your 10 min. breaks to Stretch and step away from the computer. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Do Not do chores. Do a 5 min. breathing meditation, step outside and enjoy a quiet moment. Take at least a 30 min. lunch & eat Lunch! It helps if you prep what you want to have for lunch the day before or try some healthy shakes. I recently started again taking 5-10 mins. to do prayer at lunch to re-center myself. Yes, I had gotten off track and was doing chores and boy did I notice a difference in my day.
3. If you don’t have a room in your house you can make an actual office, pick a good quiet place where there is not a lot of family traffic. Put up a folding barrier or hang curtains from the ceiling you can close. Family needs to know when the cubicle is closed you are on company time. Do not set up where you can hear them watching TV etc. especially if you spend a lot of time on the phone or in webinars. The people you are interacting with can hear the background noise too. Even a rotating fan sounds like whirls of wind to the listener. It is very distracting and sometimes makes it hard for the hearer to hear you.
4. If you don’t have to interact much on the phone or webinars sometimes it is nice to listen to music, down low of course. If words distract your thinking there are a whole variety of instrumental music choices. My fav are violinist. My daughter turned me on to some of my fav songs and they do reduce my stress while I work. Check these out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5skSFHVJHk There are all forms of music including Hip Hop to violin. I Love what is being done by these artists. My absolute fav is Damien Escobar Purple Rain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAk1ncD5RmY
5. Homeschooling? Ask can you flex your schedule and work either a split day or a swing shift. This will give you focused time on school with the kiddies and focused time on work. If you are homeschooling and married Hubby needs to do his part too whether that be aid in teaching or in the housework. This is not a time Mom does it all. Everyone needs to remember; ” the only things that changed about the responsibilities of work and learning is the location & you don’t have to drive in.” The kids must still get an education and working parents must still provide, which means they need to focus and keep their job.
6. When you are Off, you are Off. Do not sit back down and start working cause your work is looking at you. That was one of my hardest things to adjust to. Which is another reason to have your work area separate from your day to day living space or at least make that cubby effect so you can close the office when your day is done.
7. This last one is whether working remote or at the office: I’ve started taking my PTO spread out over the year which is really paying off and along with the paid Holidays I am finding myself a lot less stressed. And actually have more quality time with loved ones. Example: take a Thursday, Friday with your weekend and you can take a get little vacation. I don’t know about you but, 4-5 days vacation is about all I can take financially or emotionally before it turns into a stressor instead of a relaxing get a way, which is what it should be for the whole family.

Ok folks, those are my tips on work and remote working, for now anyway. And No it is no cakewalk working and teaching remote. YOU Can Do It! Together with Love, communication, and endurance. Work out a schedule then work the plan…no slacking cause just like when raising a child in the way to go, consistency and keeping commitments is key.

Shalom!

In my journey of Life, I have come to know all to often things are misinterpreted (failure to understand or interpret something correctly) failure to understand or interpret something correctly.) These misinterpretations are sometimes intentional (for various reasons) and sometimes not. All too often it is from a lack of the individual seeking the full picture and just listening to what “someone” else said or taking a segment of something then when shared it is spoken out of context. Either way much “false” information is spread as ‘facts’.

Something that has received a bad rap in many circles is “Meditation”. More often that not, it is a given that this is referring to the Eastern art of Meditation and I hear people say no I am not into Ommmm. See how just one segment of something can be misinterpreted and spread incorrectly. It’s a shame as more and more mankind needs to embrace Meditations before we blow up from stress and anxiety. So dig deeper you will find it is more than just Eastern believers that have meditated for thousands of years and the word itself a has more than one meaning 1. A written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject 2. self contemplation or reflective thought for a long period of time 3. a spiritual introspection or religious contemplation as referred to in the book of Psalms & Joshua. Meditation here is meant to focus and submerge one’s heart and mind in His Word so you will grow and be transformed into the Living Word of God. Yep, 23 times in the Bible Meditation is referred to and that is not including the times mentioned of Yeshua (Jesus) pulling away to Pray and Meditate (spend time with God). Of those 23 times 19 are in the Book of Psalms. One of my favs is Psalms 48:9 “Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love” My interpretation of the temple is wherever you and God are in union. Another fav is Psalms 119:148 ” My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises” When I am wide awake and can’t sleep I turn on prayers and meditate on His Promises and before long I drift off into a blissful sleep. You can find this one on the Abide app too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OURgnbq3a-w

Here are a couple more I listen to on a regular basis. I thank God for those who have sought to Meditate and share those Meditations that others, like me and you, can cultivate His seeds of love within the gardens of the heart.

These are nice to relax and reduce your stress as well.

May you enjoy, relax, and find Peace and the Light of Love in your Meditations.

Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law (His word) always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Salads! Not really your fav you say. Well, I want to share some info. that I pray will add Salads to your list of Favs. Have you checked out how many types of Great salads there are? Thank God for creative chefs, Google, Pinterest, Chef shows, and You Tube. We actually have no excuse not to seek and find Salads that will aid in a healthier lifestyle choices. Need a cleanse, check out Greens…they are the way to cleanse. Yep salads are key to healthy dining, that is if you don’t load them down with unhealthy side choices. examples: Too much cheese, notice I didn’t say no cheese, too much creamy style salad dressings, meat, and Salty seasonings to name a few. I won’t go on and on about these side choices as, I know, You know in your mind and heart what takes away from the benefits of the greens. So I pray & encourage you to make Salads part of your weekly choice of dining. At least twice a week. smile Check out the website below for just a few good reasons.

One of my most Fav salads is the Chilled Summer Salad. It’s a quick and easy salad after a long days work. This is super Great when you grow your own veggies to make the salad however, whether you grew them or bought them fresh at market, this is a tasty, filling, and quick to fix salad. smile

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ears fresh corn, husks removed
• 4 medium Roma or plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 2 ounces feta cheese (about 1/2 cup), crumbled
• 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cut the kernels off the cobs into a large bowl. You should have about 3 cups kernels. (you can use frozen thawed of course) Add the tomatoes, onion, feta, basil, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. And even better is Leftovers will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Or Did you know you can even make a salad pizza style? This is one of my favs/ the Spinach Frittata: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/spinach-and-feta-frittata-recipe-2108113

Below is the site mentioned above that tells you some benefits of Greens!

Ya’ll have a Great Day and hope you enjoy the salad suggestions.

Shalom!

Hi ya’ll. Recently, I read a comment on my site that asked, “Did I have any suggestions for those who are new to having a blog/website?”

1st: Be True to You! Personally, those are the only sites that capture my attention. The people who are speaking from the heart, their passions, & personal experiences. Sales pitch posts turn me & many others off.

2nd: Consider your Words as they do have Power! Life and Death is in the Power of the tongue ya know. More than anything in my life God reveals that Truth to me almost Daily So, while we do learn from others in life & utilize that knowledge, we should always take a deep dive into the subject & test it out for ourselves before sharing our findings. In other words, Love your neighbor as yourself. It is not very loving to share info that you can’t say with confidence by your experience you are sharing these words because you found them beneficial seeds to share with others . That’s why you may see me add a website that “could” be useful in the cultivation of your inner/outer gardens. My website is called All About Choices because I am planting seeds thru my posts that I Pray bear good fruit for you too. Whether you choose to check it out for yourself Or Not is “your choice”. Please Do Not just follow me for the sake of following my ways or any of the ways of others I may mention. Again, Be True to YOU! If what you read resonates within you or is appealing, try it and then Listen to the spirit within that can and will advise you if it is a Fit for your life.

3rd: I always write everything down long hand BEFORE posting. OR at least handwrite an outline with brief notes. I find it helps me catch things that I may have missed in being clear, I find myself digging deeper into my subject before I post, and there is just something about writing it all down, erasing, and rewriting that plants the seeds God gives me in my deep dives deeper within me too. smile

4th: Be consistent in posting. Whether it is once a week or daily. This is an area I must confess I have not been the best at. I get caught up in “busy” and procrastinate. Which is NOT the way. If you feel led/called to post, people respond and like the seeds you are sharing, you must water and care for that “word garden” you have started. If you don’t it will not take deep roots and thrive.

I end this post with a Thank You to the person who asked for suggestions, your word seeds have beared fruit in my inner garden & now the gardens of those who read my post. When I read the comment almost immediately I heard that still small voice within say, ” You must tend to this garden just like you tend to your outer garden. With TLC. It is after all a garden I gave you to tend. Not only for others but, for yourself.” I know God called me to share the word seeds I share and nope, I have not been the best steward of this garden. Again, I thank you & pray you didn’t give up on my responding. Your comment and the words given to me for this post were a real “wake up call”. Now I stand before whoever is reading this post, confessing this sin, & committing to this calling of my “word garden” with a lot more TLC. I don’t want this garden to struggle along & ultimately die out. I too need to be True to ME.. the seeds planted are not only for the benefit of others, they are word seeds I need to cultivate regularly in my life too. smile Yep, I realize part of my inner gardens struggle has been: I have not been tending to my word gardens as I should be. It stops NOW.

So remember: Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 1 Peter 3:10 – For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. ¹¹They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.

Hugs and don’t forget to love your neighbor: wear your mask!