Live, laugh, love, pray- all in a day’s work.

See the beauty in everything and you will find it everywhere.

A recent coincidence has me intrigued. As I started this blog I wondered how I would have time to contribute often, and today I discovered that the small business I had recently become a part of has had to close its doors. Maybe not such a coincidence you say, yet beginning this blog was going to be the first step I took to return to writing. And to figuring out where I wanted to go next. The job I held was a good job but not as fulfilling as I had hoped. I yearned for more. And I was planning on looking for more while employed but this recent occurrence has given credence to what I already felt. I am now able to commit myself to focusing on my next step.

Life, as of late, has had quite a lot of changes. And with each one has come a sense of peace and patient purpose. For instance, this new unemployment delivered with it an excitement to look at my life and begin to shed whatever is not necessary or wasteful. I am looking forward to making my own cleaning products! And I am open to the opportunity that this change will no doubt, bring. I am thankful for my faith, that tells me that God knows I need clothes, food, and shelter and so this I will not have to worry about. I will open my heart to what is now calling me, and trust that I will be led through the doors. At the very least for those of you who don’t understand faith, know it as this truth from the Sunscreen song, “Do not worry, worrying is like trying to solve an algebra equation with chewing gum.”

In this time of economic upheaval I can’t help but feel an exploding sense of hope and opportunity. Can we now look at our past and learn from our mistakes? Can we begin to see the economy for the machine it is? See people instead of money? I am not expecting the world to change over night, but all it needs is one idea that won’t go away, and the people to stand behind it.

I pray that at this time, when one or more people that you know personally, may be going through the loss of a job, the threat of poverty, that we remember to give to those who are in need, so that when we are in need, it will be given to us. Give and it will be given to you until it spills from your cup. From the standard of your measure, so will it be measured to you. God bless.

This is my first official blog post and I’m not too sure where to start. Hmmmm… I suppose defining the theme of my blog and introducing myself might be a good place. Well, as you might guess from the title, this is a life blog- a place to chronicle my trials and tribulations, triumphs and joys. Of these there are many, for all of us of that I am sure, and definitely for me! It is my hope that others will be able to connect with the experiences I share and that I will get to share in theirs as well. I promise they will be often dramatic, angry, exuberant, opinionated, pain-filled, anxious and all-around emotional, as anyone who knows me will attest that that is fundamentally what I am.

I am by far not perfect, but I love deeply, laugh muchly, cry often, BELIEVE with all my heart, and pack as much LIFE as I can into every day. I enjoy most the beauty found in the simplest of things, a flower, a sunset, the pattern of leaves on the asphalt, my daughter. For me, beauty can take my breath away and break my heart. I believe, like laughter, beauty comes in all languages and to unite us through the barriers and is infinitely more valuable than money. Why else would we want to live? We were given the incredible abilities to taste, touch, smell, see and hear the inspiring beauty that surrounds us still. What gifts.

I am a single mother to a 5 year old precocious little girl. The pain and joy that I have experienced through her entrance into my life has shaped me into the person I am today, filled with love and deeply soulful. My faith, although recently rejuvenated, is at the center of my being. I take the teachings of Christ and apply them as much as I humanly can to my life. It is a simple teaching, yet one I continue to learn every day, it is a doctrine of love. Love yourself, love all of those who share in this world as you would wish love for yourself, and love something bigger than all of that combined, love a divine mystery, love God.

All of these things equal me. A mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, a believer, and a fighter. Who are you?

Some things just put everything into perspective...