MINDFUL MOMENTS

JULY, most Americans love the month of July. It's the month to celebrate Independence Day (4th of July), a time for fireworks, family vacations and picnics at the beach. July, the month when days are long and days carefree. July, when kids are off from school and everything gets crowded from the amusement parks to the restaurants. For some people JULY is extraordinary. There are those that have summer homes on lakes, oceans, or in the mountains. There are those that own yachts and sail the waters. Some people just have a jolly good time in JULY.  How was your July? Did you do anything exciting and fun? As I reflect on summer being half way over, I must admit I'm envious of the people that get to have a thrilling summer full of adventures and good times. I so much wanted to spend my summer away from home, someplace different where it wasn't same old, same old. As we get older, the responsibilities pile up and taking off for several months to work in another country or state ...

TUESDAY, not a day most people yearn for as a day off. Usually it's Saturdays and Sundays that are the preferred days off. But the reason I like getting Tuesdays off is because there's a group of women who meet at the church around the corner from where I live to have bible study. It's such a wonderful two plus hours of worshiping the Lord, reading the Bible and other spiritual books. We sip on cups of coffee during study and afterwards there's always a homemade meal made by Mary who leads the study. Not since late May have I been able to attend this weekly Bible Study. It just doesn't seem to work out to have Tuesday off. What's today? Tuesday of course. So once again I have to miss out on something that is so special to me. Things don't always work out the way we want them to and that's just part of life. As I write this a wonderful thing has just happened, the manager on duty where I work just texted me to tell me I can have today off. GOD has opened ...

  SOMETIMES all you need is some ICE CREAM! Work is called work for a reason. It's not all fun and games and has its moments of frustration, pressure, and stress. That's how my day felt on Saturday when no matter what I tried to do, it wasn't good enough. I wanted to quit and leave the whole place behind. When my 8 hours were finished I was so happy. When I returned home I made myself a sandwich and went outdoors to sit near the lake. My stress began to melt away but what I yearned for to really cheer me up was some ice cream. Ice Cream....it's summer and almost everyone wants ice cream. I needed ice cream so I got on my bicycle and just rode and rode the trail until I made it to the Dairy Queen. The place was packed, a long line of ice cream enthusiasts wanting their dessert. I just couldn't wait that long, oh if only I had just got an ice cream cone at the market near my condo BUT they didn't have much flavors. No worries, my final stop was CULVER'S fast f...

"It's when we don't have expectations that life brings us a pleasant surprise" Last 4th of July was hard to top. Even though it was the peak of a horrible pandemic of covid-19, I was invited to a gorgeous home on Torch Lake belonging to a rich family. (The only reason I was invited was because an acquaintance of mine whose a realtor said he could bring a guest to the party and he chose me as his guest). To my surprise everyone at the party was friendly and gregarious. I brought some homemade brownies to the party (which was a great idea since nobody brought dessert). What a grand time we had despite the Covid precautions. We drank craft beer, ate delicious food, and took a boat ride on majestic Torch Lake to see the famous sandbar, and went swimming.  Lou, the man who owned the gorgeous home and hosted the 4th of July gathering with his wife and daughter was so pleasant. He worked hard to become a successful business owner and he deserves owning four homes, (one of th...

                                               This is the church garden that feeds the poor! On Sunday, the 4th of July I rode my bicycle through the countryside up a steep road to Archangel Greek Orthodox Church. By vehicle the church is close but by bicycle it takes longer. I was already off to a late start and knew I was going to enter the church late. On that humid Sunday morning wearing my flowered dress and hat I walked inside the church and was immediately greeted by Anya. "So glad you're here dear," said Anya to which I replied "But I'm so late and I'm so sorry about arriving late." Anya didn't judge me at all for my lateness. Instead she gave me a warm welcome hug, and handed me a liturgical book. "We're glad you're here and please don't have any guilty feelings for being late. All that matters is that you've made it to the liturgy service,"said Anya. Rather ...