Happy Thanksgiving - Reasons to be thankful

I know I've been awfully remiss in not only blogging, but reading blogs, but please know that I haven't forgotten about any of you. I think of each of you often and pray that you are all well.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to say how thankful I am for each of you that have become friends as well as loyal readers. You've touched my life in so many ways and I appreciate the love, support, inspiration, and encouragement you've given me.

I'm thankful for having a close-knit and crazy family who no matter what will have my back. Distance never erases the closeness we share in heart and mind.

I'm thankful for my beautiful, smart, kind, compassionate, and wonderful daughter who brings so much joy and laughter to my life.

I'm thankful for my church family who make church feel like a second home.

I'm thankful for health, strength, and daily bread.

I'm thankful that I remain in good health even when my hormones and my chemically induced menopause make me absolutely crazy.

I'm thankful for lessons learned.

I'm thankful for the power of forgiveness.

I'm thankful for not only stepping out of the box, but stepping away from it. Going out on the limb; though sometimes scary is a step worth taking.

I'm thankful for love in its multi-faceted splendor and the many experiences I've had with it.

I'm thankful for the extension of God's grace, mercy, and favour.

I'm thankful that I have reasons to be thankful.

Have a happy, safe, and beautiful Thanksgiving and may God bless and keep you all.

Love to live; live to love!

love to live; live to love

I was reading my Daily Bread this morning and this part of the reading really jumped out at me and I had to post it...

"...We sometimes need a reminder that acquiring “things” is not nearly as important as appreciating the people God has placed in our lives..."

Love is never afraid of giving too much.

In light of the recent deaths whether they've been by natural cause or otherwise; we have to recognize the fragility of life and people. We must always be thankful for what; but moreso whom with have in our lives and give full appreciation to first our heavenly father and then to those he has blessed us with.

Today, take some time out of your day to call someone and tell them how much you love them and how thankful you are for not just having them in your life; but what their presence means to you.

To those who are both new and old to Is It Just Me, I thank you for showing an interest in my humble blog and I do truly appreciate each of you for giving feedback, for your encouragement, inspiration, and even those who've challenged my words. Each of you have given me something and I humbly and fully appreciate that.

Have a blessed and fruitful day.

Love to live; live to love!

Open Letter...Thanks!

Yesterday I was txting with New, Old Friend and he said something that really touched my heart. He said, "I like the way you mother ur baby". Wow! Those few simple words touched my heart because we've only been back in touch for a couple of months now, but he can see/hear that in me when it comes to Lil Lady. He once commented that he likes how we talk to each other when he heard us on the phone, but this means so much more than that. To me, it shows that he's really paying attention and he knows how much my being a mother to her means to me. He doesn't try to continue a conversation with me if he knows we're together and says, spend your time with her and we'll talk later. That level of care and respect is important and shows compassion and maturity on his part. Even though Lil Lady is almost 17, she's still my baby and I put my all into her and the time we spend together. He's been good about not asking to see me when she's on my dime and doesn't mind waiting until she's with her dad to get some time in with me.

So, thanks New, Old Friend for being the kind, sensitive, and understanding person you are. It means so much that you respect my position as a parent as well as apreciating me as a woman.

Love to live; live to love!

Reasons to be thankful...

I have God in my life

The ability to see the light in spite of the darkness

Being someone folk can turn to and/or lean on

Knowing how to make a $1 of out 15 cents

I have a fantastic daughter who never fails to bring me love, happiness, and amazing moments of entertainment.

Having the ability to know when to hold or and when to let go

I have some awesome friends who are ride or die and I'm infinitely blessed for their presense in my life

Although I'm far from my immediate family, I know there's mad love there and we simply pick up where we left off

My health! Praise God for modern medicine, technology, and the will to stay strong

For the amazing experiences I'm having and knowing that life truly is for living

For Facebook for bringing some people back into my life

For having talent and using it instead of squandering it

I'm still gainfully employed with excellent health benefits

My Lil Lady's dad who just got her a brand new car. We may not always see eye to eye, but he's good to his daughter

For a president who truly does want to do good for his constituents

For love and it's radiating presense

For not allowing pride to get the best of me when I needed help; I asked for it

For being appreciated at work, home, and amongst my friends

For my first trip of 2009

Being able to recognize that I have much to be thankful for

Love to live; live to love!

what i've learned so far

This post was "stolen" from jus.b.fli who's been known to "lift" a few ideas and such from me. *smile*

In recent weeks, I've been doing some soul-searching, pruning, and the like as I near my new year. I needed to see where I've been and where I'm heading and in order to do that I had to look as some lessons learned and I thought I'd share some of them with you. You know I'm one for encouraging and inspiring people to be the best they can be and sometimes in order to do that, we must show ourselves as the catalyst; so here goes...

i've learned...
my happiness is exactly that; mine. i can not allow others to define my happiness and what i should be happy about. i'm the only me and no one knows me better than me. what makes me happy is what makes ME happy.

i've learned...
that how you feel about someone isn't necessarily how they feel about you. their actions are indicative of where you stand and how you rate in their lives. i can't feel bad for their inability to adequately be what i'd like them to be. i have to accept them for who they are and decide what position they'll be allowed to have in my life.

i've learned...
that my moral compass must lead north at all times. taking the southern route to get to know someone is an ineffective way of going through the "getting to know you process". as hard and tempting as it may be, i know i have to remain loyal and true to myself and what i hold valuable.

i've learned...
that family is one of the most valuable things in life. i've been estranged from mine for a long time by no fault of my own and experienced a great loss and sadness in my life. i've been blessed to have been reunited with my family and i celebrate and nurture the relationships. i also know that family isn't just through blood and i thank those who have become and been family for me over the years.

i've learned...
without my faith i would be absolutely a mess! in spite of the choas and some of the dumb things that i've done, i've never forgotten that the Divine is there for me. i know that i can call on Him day or night to listen, to heal, to love, and to support me. i know that without my spiritual growth that i would be so lost. no matter what, i will always remain faithful and put my trust in Him.

i've learned...
that making a bad choice/decision doesn't make me a bad person. i know that i'm not perfect and i can/will make mistakes but i can't allow myself to be held hostage by what i've done. it's how i try to rectify the problem that counts. owning up to my shortfalls means a lot to me and i will strive to be the best person i can be.

i've learned...
that i love hard and play for keeps. i won't compromise on how i love someone, so i know i won't settle for anything less than what i deserve in a relationship. i'd truly rather be single and happy (and even horny...lol) than involved and unhappy with myself and/or him just to say i'm with someone.

i've learned...
from experience that life truly is short and we must and i repeat must LIVE it. we can't live to work, but instead work to live. i plan to make the dash between my sunrise and sunset count.

i've learned...
after reading Miz's post Stepping out of DARKNESS...Stepping into GREATNESS! That i truly am ready. i know it's my time to shine and that i must not quit and make sure that my dream becomes my reality. i've worked hard to nurture my talents and abilities and it's time to shine.

i've learned...
frienships need work and even if it falls apart i must do what it takes to rebuild it if it can be rebuilt. i must do my part to nuture and make it grow. friendships are God's gift to us in order for us not to be lonely.

i've learend...
a man will treat you as you allow him to. i've been the rounds with one or two that i thought would be worth the effort i put in, but i realized that he wasn't able to appreciate the woman i was so i had to let him go. i wasn't going to allow him to be a revolving door in my life by letting him go and come as he pleased while i remained in position.

i've learned...
that there is a thin line between love and hate and i have to know which side of the emotion i'm on. i learned that while i loved the man, i hated his actions, his inabilities, his shortcomings and i shouldn't allow the negative to outweigh the blessing of love i had with him.

i've learned...
letting go is sometimes the best course of action as it will allow room for what i need in my life and not what i think i want. letting go means taking a leap of faith and allowing myself the opportunity to spread my wings and fly.

i've learned...
each day is a gift. i must embrace it, love it, hold it near, and never think for one second that it isn't something worth living. suicide in any form is never an option.

i've learned...
the simple pleasures are and will always be the best.

i've learned...
being whole is one of the best feelings in the world. yes, it makes me feel plenty vulnerable at times, but at least i know where my emotions/actions come from. being a fractured person is not a good thing as it allows too much negativity to ease in through the cracks in my being.

i've learned...
that learning is an incredible and invaluable experience.

Love!

With thanks & giving

Thanks to...

To my Lord and Savior because without Him, there'd be no me
For the faith that keeps me going
Those who've trusted me as Auntie to their children
A mother whom I'm now close to again
For those who are or die
Those who know how to keep it REAL
To all of you who come by, read, and leave comments. You all inspire me
For the blogs I read regularly and those I happen upon
For bad dates to keep me assertive

To whom I gave...
Those lives I've touched in a positive way
The many area families who'll have a Thanksgiving meal
The children I'm Godmother to
The a-holes who thought they could break me...ya didn't!
I'm in your life for a reason
Knowledge is power

A quick note

Since my "dimming the lights" post, so much has happened that i feel like my life has been on the Autobahn (German highway). Thinking back to just a week ago is almost a hard task, but I'm well. My transitioning has gone well so far, but the road ahead is still on "take it one day at a time".

Prayer, faith, and inspiration keeps me going and I thank those of you who've continued to drop by and leave notes or send email. I love you all for that.

Great things are in the works for me and I can feel my gem light powering up for it's reentry into the world both virtual and literal.

Looking forward to having you all there to share in in.

Love!

Thankful

I know many bloggers who post a weekly Grattitude List and I find them very encouraging and in many ways inspirational. I, on the other hand rarely post such a list. No, it's not because I'm ungrateful or have nothing to be thankful for, I just simply rarely post one. Well, today, I'm going to post one, but it'll be more in paragraph form instead of a list. Either way, my grattitude will be known.

For everything I've been through in life good or bad, I've always been grateful to my heavenly father for His divine presense in my life. Even when I wanted to call it quits and say the hell with it all, I never let my faith falter and I held on regardless. My Hope is Built is one of my favorite hymns and trust me when I say, it's literally saved me and others from being hurt. When I was in basic training many moons again, it stopped me from being discharged after I wanted to smash another trainees face in with the butt of an M16. My faith has prevented me from failing peril to the temptations of drugs, alchohol, promiscuity, and suicide. How Great Thou Art, is another great hymn that has also brought me strength and comfort during my trying times. My daddy is a great singer and I remember how well he sang that hymn and it stuck with me. Blessed Assurance is another hymn that comes to mind and it too always restores my soul and gives me reason to hold on and rest on my faith. I've been blessed to have some friends/family in my life that are God-fearing people and whom are ready, willing, and able to have some church whenever; wherever the need calls for it. I have friends/family whom will go from vernacular to prayer as the need arises. I'm blessed and fortunate for them as I am blessed and fortunate to have the faith it takes to believe in what I can not see, feel, or sometimes hear. Without the grace and mercy of God, I know I would not be where I am today and I am eternally grateful and thankful that I have God in my life.

From my teens to my mid 20's, I decided I didn't want children. I had a decent childhood, lived in a two-parent home, really didn't want for much, but I still had no real inspiration or desire to have a child. For whatever reason, that changed and I had lil lady when I was 24. I'd already graduated college, so I wasn't interupting that. I hadn't gotten into a career field yet, so that wasn't going to be intertupted either. I was fortunate that I had a pretty easy pregnancy (save for the car accident at 5 months), and my labor and delivery was 3hrs, 43 mins start to finish, which by all counts is great for a first delivery. Lil lady was an easy going baby and was an incredible joy to be around and I was blessed to be able to stay home with her for the first 18 months of her life; and missed none of her milestones. She's grown into a smart, beautiful, and talented young lady who is still a joy to be around and is by far, one of my biggest and best accomplishments in life. She inspires me, moves me, and is my lil hero. She's a teen now and has her moments, but she's not filled with angst and drama; and all the things that drive most mothers insane. Again, I'm blessed.

Friends have come and gone in my life for a variety of reasons, but I'm blessed to have some that are truly ride or die. I have some that I don't need to check in with daily, but they know I love them and would be there for them at a moments notice. I have them of all ages, races, male, and female. Most of my friends are more like family to me as I have no blood relatives within my state. Hell, if my family had to come for an emergency, they's have the airlines clogged *lol* because that's the distance they've have to travel. My friends and I have gone through good times, bad times, and just times together. We've shared secrets, anger, births, deaths, and whatnot and while a few have had to be cut off, I have held on to those who remain ever true and ever there. I don't need quantity; simply quality of friendships. Age and wisdom helps to define that; leaving little room for doubt.

My family is a strange entity. I have some that I know, some that I don't know, and some that I'm just getting to know. I've always wanted to be a part of a large and for the most part functional family. My immediate family lacks a certain level of functionality, but that's simply how it is and I tend not to focus on that too much. I have cousins, aunts, and a few siblings that are the greatest ever. I've reconnected with my daddy and I have to say it's one of the most emotionally fulfilling experiences ever. He's a nut, but he's my nut and I love him. My stepdad is a good guy and he's worthy of his shout out. My mother and I, well that's a another story. However, I'll give credit where credit is due and say, she's given me some great reasons to be able to take care of myself, to work hard, and to make a way out of no way. Things aren't great between us and that bothers me as it also affects lil lady and I hope that one day we can change that. Bottom line though, I've had my parents in my life my entire life and good or bad relationship aside, I'm happy and blessed for it as it's help to shape the woman I am today.

And finally to life. Wow! Sometimes I wonder how I ever made it this far. For all the ups and downs, and bumps and bruises, I really don't know how I did it. Well, I guess it's as easy as reading back over the previous paragraphs. Without God and my faith; without my daughter, my friends and family, I wouldn't have made it. Actually, I have to make an addition. I've had a few good Pastors in my life too who've been exceptional in aiding in my faith walk and giving me the spiritual guidance I've needed. I have a wonderful church home and family in Christ too and I'm grateful for that.

In closing, I just want to say that no matter what happens or where life leads you, there is ALWAYS something or someone to be thankful for. Each day is a new day, but each breath is a dying breath, so we must all do what we can, when we can, for as long as we can to be grateful for everything good or bad and give thanks to the most high and those in our lives.

Love!