2018 New Year Resolution

Making a new year resolution is something I usually never did because no sooner would I make a resolution and puff, it was broken!   But I'm going to begin anew!  I'll share what that is this year. 

It never fails that whenever I write the first few checks of a new year I don't remember that it is a new year and end up writing the old year.  So, I'm keeping it simple: my resolution is to be attentive that it now is 2018 and that is what I'll write, not 2017!  How about you? 

Seriously, with the passing of several friends, acquaintances and others this past year I really plan to cherish those close to my heart, reach out more and let them know what they mean to me.  This last year seemed like about 14 days, not 365 days long and the days rush by all too quickly, especially when illness creeps in and death takes over.

I want to thank each of you who took the time to read, "like" and "share" my blog posts. Hopefully I have had some "pearls" in the posts that have inspired you in some small way. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

So, from my heart and house to yours, may 2018 be healthy and blessed and abundant with love from friends and family. Happy New Year to you and yours!  May God, our Creator, bless and keep you near to His heart!  

I am a spiritual director and am able to see clients in either Two Rivers or Crivitz, WI.  If you are interested in doing spiritual direction with me, contact me at: 920.793.3530. To subscribe to my blog and posts see: MollyLaFond.com or scroll all the way down and insert your email address. Consider gifting yourself with engaging in spiritual direction this new year!  

Ho Ho Ho!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, whether we are ready or not! There is enough snow on the ground for the white Christmas most hope for and no blizzard in sight. It's cold though at +5 zero. To those who will be home for the holidays, may your time with loved ones be merry and peace filled. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

A bright note just showed up on Facebook from a friend of mine, "Spring is in the air.  Today we will have 10 seconds more daylight than we had on December 21, 2017."  Doesn't that put a smile on our face?  

So, from our house and hearts to yours, Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night! God bless each and every one of you!  

Christmas

The other day one of my good friends asked me if I was all ready for Christmas.  Well, nearly everyone asks that question, however, am I the only one who is NOT ready for Christmas; the clutter is enough to make me want to run and everything is coming faster than I am keeping up.  And then there are more dishes, more errands...and don't forget the snow.  I have stopped listening to weather channels!

I am very blessed to have the husband I do because it really doesn't matter to him what the day brings, whether or not the house looks like "Good Housekeeping" or not.  As long as he can get out the door to go through the park, check for deer and sit and watch the lake while he says his rosary, he's happy!  Also, his gourmet meal is a peanut butter and banana sandwich!  Tonight I fixed tomato soup and buttered toast; he smacked his lips!  

So, why am I fretting?  Why am I doing this to myself? It's only me putting these expectations on myself! Of course, I was gone most of the day and I'm feeling overwhelmed seeing everything to be done in the house.  Maybe now that I have the shopping all completed I can sit and take some quiet time to really reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, the coming of the Christ child. That really is what it's all about. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

This season is not about when the days begin to get lighter, but to know Who the One is who dispels that darkness and radiates truth and the love of God.  It's Jesus, the real reason for this season. Only 5 days are left but it's never too late to get the inside of our own "house" ready! 

Horse Shoes

Oh boy!  Bet you looked at this title and wondered "what is Molly up to with this one!" Yep, horse shoes.  Ever watch a horseshoe be made: A good hot fire, pounding at the anvil, more firing, more hammering, shaping, then cooling in a bucket of water..quite a process.  But afterward, a wonderfully, strong, supportive shoe for a horse to support its walking and running. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

Pondering over various friends' posts on Facebook and then looking back over "life" of others as well as myself, not one of us has not been in a "hot fire, pounding, hammering and shaping."  Each story is different, the details really don't matter.  When we're in the middle of this process don't we want to run, scream, avoid and complain? I know I do. 

But then something marvelous happens and we may not even realize it for some time afterward. I have seen hearts open up with understanding, ears "hear" a whole lot better, and one's vision can see a much broader picture of life. Judgementalism decreases, tolerance increases and peace and harmony grow. 

This in return can have a ripple effect on those around us, especially when we can relate to their struggles.  Yes, we each know what meanness and cruelty feel like, we know what bullying feels like...in some way or other, we have been there probably.  But the bigger picture questions how that has made each of us a better person, able to minister to a suffering person who is in the middle of the heat. That might be in the form of a comment, encouragement or an action on our part.

It takes courage and bravery to speak up, speak out, say "stop" knowing it is the next right thing to do.  Peace at all costs is not real peace.  Our past, as challenging as it may have been, can be a real gift in the present. 

Have you ever just sat and looked back on your past, the good times and the bad.  Some times we'd like to erase those awful times, the trying, frustrating, shame-filled times but what conclusion do we come to?  Have those times shaped us into the truly wonderful person we are, the strong, understanding person we are?  Are we grateful for the better person we have become or in the process of becoming? 

That's why I thought of horse shoes!  The fire, pounding and heat can make us a stronger and a very brave and courageous individual, if we let it! Let us not regret the past, nor with to shut the door on it. It's the past that has made me the person I am. How about you? Think about it!  

If you would like to discuss how life has put you in a place, like pounding of a horse shoe, I can be reached at 920.793.3530. If you would like to subscribe to my web, see: MollyLaFond.com and go to the "Contact" section, or scroll all the way to the bottom here and enter your email address.  I can see clients in either Two Rivers or Crivits, WI. 

Abigail

Abigail just came and went, dumping 10" of white, fluffy snow here in Two Rivers.  It didn't pay to try and get a jump on shoveling because of the wind. However, a neighbor came through last evening with his snowblower which helped for a little while. 

A snowy day!

My husband and I were waiting for our "snow guy" who told us he will be here at 0430 today to take care of shoveling.  At 0530, no one!  The sidewalks looked as snow covered as ever and the plow had just been through, making a packed affair at the end of the driveway!  Now what?!

Then I saw a beautiful yellow lab running in the yard, not knowing who's dog it was but shortly a man was in the back speaking to my husband...and he was shoveling our driveway.  I opened the front door when he was on the porch to speak to him.  He was the next door neighbor's dad!

Have you ever encountered an obstacle you thought you had all figured out or something that you had no answer for?  This little act of kindness of shoveling our snow just this once gave me such a sense of hope that today will be OK!  I don't have to worry about tomorrow, it's only today!

What small act of kindness can each of us pass along today?  Shoveling, a phone call, a word of encouragement, a "care package," it could be anything.  This in itself can bring a sense of hope to anyone anywhere.  I'm going to try it.  I know how it feels, how about you?  

So, when the next "snowstorm" named Abigail or any other name comes into our life, where will a sense of hope be for us?  A better question, what can we do to pass along this hope to another? 

I am a spiritual director and am able to take appointments in either Two Rivers, or Crivitz, WI.  If you have had "snowstorms" in your life and have wondered how to get them shoveled, call for an appointment at: 920.793.3530.  To subscribe to my blog, scroll all the way down to insert your email or see: MollyLaFond.com

Dreams

I have sure have had some interesting dreams lately, which isn't new.  A good friend of mine readily tells me no one has "weirder" dreams than me. I often get out of bed to then inform my husband where I was last night!  Good thing he is hard of hearing, which, by the time he sort of hears me, he knows I didn't go anywhere through the night!  

So, I just ramble and tell him my often disconnected dreams that, in the end, just make for a good chuckle with which to start the day! Often, I'm real glad I woke up because the dream itself was goofy, even to me.

Do you listen to what your dreams may be trying to tell you?  I think there really is something in them that might be worth listening to.  My former spiritual director was very helpful when we processed my dreams, especially when I was going though some challenging times.  When defenses are so high during the day, dreams allow circumstances to come up using imagery that can speak to us, if we take the time to try and sort it all out. Some bring real hope, which this season preparing for Christmas is all about. 

Some folks find real peace especially when they encounter loved ones or pets who have died that come to them in a dream.  However, these encounters are much, much different than a dream because most of the time what is experienced can easily be remembered, whereas, a dream usually can't be. Once you have an encounter of a loved one, you know it. Often a message or feeling is communicated, which seems to be one of peace or reassurance. 

Maybe I bring this up at this time of year because of the holidays and how so many of my friends and acquaintances have lost someone to death in the recent weeks. Hearts have been torn open by death and it comes at a time of year when that loss will be acutely felt. 

It's amazing the number of people who have shared these situations with me over the years and talk freely about their experience.  They are very real experiences that simply need to be heard and validated. They are heartwarming to the person experiencing them. 

Courtesy of Pixabay

So, if by chance you have a dream that doesn't make sense to you, and by noon you can't remember it, well, join me in a most ordinary night of dreams.  But, if you do remember it and had a most wonderful encounter with someone you have loved and miss and remember every detail of this encounter, you are blessed especially if it brings a sense of hope that one day you will be with that person again.  Hold it close to your heart and treasure it.  That encounter may be a gift you will treasure for a lifetime!

If you experience an encounter you would like to share with a spiritual director, I have offices in Two Rivers and Crivitz, WI and can be reached at 920.793.3530. You may also subscribe to my posts but scrolling all the way down or see my web at MollyLaFond.com

Gifts

Today I received a gift: a former co-worker messaged me informing me her dad had entered hospice, which means his life expectancy is weeks to months. She said if I was in the neighborhood to stop in to visit that he would love to see me.  I have known her dad for many years and was thrilled beyond belief to be informed and asked to visit. Amazingly, I have thought of him many times over the past months just never pausing long enough to go visit until now.  

There have been times that I have thought of a person "promising" myself that I would call and visit.  Then procrastination set in only to see that person's obituary in the paper.  I don't know why I don't honor my thoughts at the time; maybe it's only human, too. 

Yes, I can claim that time is precious but really, it may be something deeper. Is it my need to visit, to receive accolades? Or am I doing it out of love?  Lately, I have been trying to honor that small, still voice inside me when the urge to call or visit prompts me.  I really believe it is a higher power speaking to me. 

There are times when I really don't know what I should do.  Some times even a phone call is difficult because I am tempted to ask questions, which can become probing.  But, I am slowly beginning to realize there is a "gift" that has seemed to hit the mark in a very positive way. 

Recently I had the opportunity, after a lot of soul searching, to go to a visitation and funeral out of state, not informing the son, until I was an hour away.  He didn't know I was coming until a couple hours before I arrived but that whole weekend there, I never doubted for a minute that I had done the "next right thing."  With no extended family, friends held them up in support. Three of us classmates were "family" for him and his brother since there was no extended family at all. 

I had wanted to call another friend earlier, too, but didn't know how to even begin the conversation because her husband was deteriorating and expected to die.  All I said when she answered was "I have been thinking of you so thought I'd call."  And then I shut up!  She proceeded to do all the talking about what she wanted to tell me...a very simple thing.  When I'm quiet, others talk...amazing! Easy!

Courtesy of Pixabay

Our gifts of time, presence and silence may be huge for those who have everything material but they may wonder if they matter or if they are loved. Wrapping these gifts with unhurried time is all the wrapping that's necessary. Hug 'em, hang around and hush is all we need to do. With the gift-giving season upon us, maybe this little post will offer some assistance to you when you wonder, "What gift shall I give?" 

If you would like to discuss various "gifts" in your life with a spiritual director, I can be reached at 920.793.3530 for an appointment. If you would like to visit my website, see: MollyLaFond.com