Month: July 2014

Prayers of Black Women: Lord Teach Me How to Write

The Little Red Writing BookAll week-long I have asked God to teach me how to write.  Writing well is such an essential part of communicating effectively.  And I wish to communicate without feeling less than.

Well-any-who-how, a couple of days ago I felt guilty, again, for spending too much time on Facebook.  So, today I prayed for the Lord to help me make better use of my time.  He quickly answered my prayer!  But what I didn’t know is that He was going to make this a treasure trove day full of blessings.

What seemed as meaningless chores became nothing but inspirational moments.

As I pulled weeds and grass from flowerbeds God was spiritually blessing me.  He was giving me answers to questions I had long forgotten.  I wanted to stop my gardening chores and run in the house to grab pen and paper to write what I had learned.  But something within said, “Don’t stop!  Keep going!  Because if you stop you will not return.  Set a goal and complete that goal.”

I did everything that was shouting from within and found my hour of gardening more refreshing for my soul than the long days I have worked in my yard.

But the motivational and inspirational blessings kept coming as I entered my home and proceeded to do housework.  I would venture to write the greatest blessing for today was finding a little red book.  I would have never found it had I not been rearranging books on the bookshelves.  It was tucked underneath books I have meant to read for a year now.  The titled “The Little Red Writing Book.”

I can only assume it was a college text for one of my sons.  They seem to throw their books here and there once they’ve passed whatever class.  I, however, seem to cherish books.  So, I walk behind them picking up their discarded books and place them on my bookshelves.

I was happy to discover such a fine.  I feel like the book was indeed sent to me by God.  And He used one of my son’s to deliver it to me.  His actions answered a prayer that lay deep within my subconscious for decades; as my wish was finally whispered a few days ago.

— Prayer —

Lord, thank you for my little red book.  Please help me to understand its content.  I will cherish it always.

Your Loving Daughter,
Annette

What! Who Doesn’t Want to Go to Disney World?

This video is priceless (totally not what I expected)!  Laughter!  What person doesn’t want to go to Disney World?!!!  They must be insane or something [laughing hysterically].  But after seeing this video your heart will break.  It will have total compassion for the little person that doesn’t feel the same as most of the world when it comes to visiting the most famous place of all.  Disney World!

 

The Prayers of Black Women: Please Bless Us With Common Sense

Artist: Henry Lee Battle
Artist: Henry Lee Battle

Lord, I have read and heard a lot this week.  Many of those stories made me feel like I was traveling through a portal of stupidity.  Often I found myself asking the following questions:  Lord, is my thinking off track?  Or are people now enjoying conflict?  And why are they enjoying being hoodwinked?  What is making them so gullible?  And why can’t they see they are being invalidated?

Lord, as I sat in bewilderment over the troubles of the world, I asked, yet, another question, “Where is common sense?”  Has it left the world?  Has it found a hiding place?  Is it sad because humankind no longer has a need for it?  Lord, where is common sense?  Because as I see things, who would enjoy heartaches, trials and tribulations?

Nothing I read or heard this week made any sense at all except for:  “Something that sounds correct could be incorrect.” 

— Prayer —

Lord, please bless the world with common sense.  For without it mankind will become void in all their ways.  So, again, please Lord bless the world with common sense.  Amen

 

Native Getaways: Boyd Lake State Park

Boyd_Lake_121Native getaways are the best!  They are vacations taken within a person’s town, city, state, or country.  It’s where local people blend in with the tourist and become vacationers.  It’s where excitement over seeing something new and wonderful is displayed.  It’s when good and interesting conversations are born and sometimes lasting friendships are made.  It’s where people learn something new about their surroundings and appreciate things close to home. Native getaways are when people discover life outside of what they know! Have you ever had a native getaway?  If not, you must try it sometime.

— My Vacation Experience —

This week my family and I went camping at Boyd Lake State Park for five days. The campsite was $20 per night with a daily $8 vehicle pass fee.  However, it is more cost-effective to buy the $70 annual pass if you camp regularly at Colorado State Parks.  The cost seems a bit steep but it will save you money over the camping season; especially if you and or your family like to camp often at Colorado State Parks.

The day scheduled for camping started stressful.  And by the time we arrived at the campsite we discovered the trailer had major issues.  The toilet was leaking, the gray water valve was leaking, and the air conditioner wasn’t cooling off the trailer.

With all that was going on with the trailer my family and I could not attend the Greeley Stampede.  Major disappointment!  Major!  It would have been the first for us to attend the event.  But my hubby and I had to stay behind and try to fix some of our trailer problems.

We could not fix the toilet because the RV parts store was closed, but we went to a localFamily Travel Trailer Wal-Mart and purchased a small storage tub.  We placed the tub under the leak and called the situation good!  The air conditioner started working better on its own!  Thank!  God!

And by the time things started turning around I was in tears!  I was so disappointed!  Each year we use our Jayco trailer I am in tears of regret.  Another story I will share somewhere down the road is how to buy a recreational vehicle.

But to make our situation worse I left the battery chargers for all of our cameras sitting on the kitchen counter.  After discovering I had left the batteries I had a poor attitude!  And as I saw things then:  to make matters worse I even forgot to pack SD cards.  Laughter!

Let’s just say I wasn’t ready for the trip as much as I would have loved to have been.  But the most important thing is we got a chance to have a mini-vacation within the state we live.  Colorado!

While staying at Boyd Lake we took advantage of sightseeing some of the neighboring tourist attractions.  We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, and shopped at one of Colorado Cherry Company country stores.

Well by the end of our vacation I was okay with what all had gone wrong.

Inspirational Fridays: Trouble Getting Going?

Family Travel TrailerI just got back from a five-day camping trip.  My family and I decided to join a friend and her family at a local state park.  I knew preparing for the mini-vacation would be a chore; since, I have been emotionally and physically tired for years.  But a vacation of some sort was a high priority.  So, when my friend told me that she and her family was going camping at Boyd Lake State Park, I reserved a camping spot for my family and me to join her and her family.

My friend was too excited to have us come with.  She had made plans for us as a group to do this and that.  She had made her trailer as the command central.  She had even planned several of our meals (without consulting me).  Her efforts were those of a true friend but her services were not totally needed.  As you can see, my dearest and sweetest friend took it upon herself to make plans for everyone without consulting with anybody.  And had the women of both families checked with each other about the trip perhaps hurt feelings could have been avoided.

My friend had failed to see I wanted some me time.  I wanted to escape the demands of my demanding life.  I wanted to sit and or lay in the comforts of cleanliness.  I wanted to enjoy my trailer that has been for years a BIG source of disappointment in some mental capacity.  But, nevertheless [sigh], the trailer belongs to me and mine and we love it despite of all the headaches it has given us.  And we are always overjoyed to use it when it is not in the shop for months at a time because it was poorly made.

However, with all that was going on mentally, I had very little time to freely think about the direction of my life until now.

I got the below YouTube video from a fellow blogger and I thought I would share the powerful message with you: