Living Simply
Sometimes there are people who go away and we don’t see them for awhile. We wonder what happened to them, if they’re still alive. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to reach out and bring them back into our arms.
Listening to a spiritual podcast by Joyce Meyer, I was reminded of my humanness as she talked about anger.
Sometimes we get angry at people and we hold onto it as if our anger is going to somehow make them change. Yet it doesn’t. It only changes us by filling us with resentment and sometimes hate.
A phrase that Joyce Meyer used to describe it is “we’re still eating poison hoping they will die.” The poison is the anger. And instead of them dying it is us who slowly die by hanging on to things that should have been let go of long ago.
The Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your…
And here’s a blog from my friend William on how Christ responded to his persecutors when crucified. Instead of anger, love and forgiveness. I pray that will be the way I respond to the “little” things in my life that I get angry about.
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| Trader Joe’s Peppermint Hot Chocolate |
Went into a Trader Joe’s store and found this peppermint hot chocolate. It definitely tops the ones served at Starbucks.
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| Lake Elmo, MN sunrise |
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| Lake Elmo, MN sunrise |
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| Starbucks in Woodbury |
The sun is barely up on crisp mornings in Minnesota that lead me to start the day with a hot chocolate at Starbucks.
Although they don’t serve the best or near best hot chocolate, Minnesota has yet to produce such a place – perhaps yet undiscovered by me.
Many are the old-fashioned machines that spew out a cup of what I was  accustomed to growing up called hot chocolate.
The Starbucks cocoa leaves a taste of bitterness in your mouth.
Still, it’s better than nothing and the ambiance is perfect for starting the day in a calm environment.
House hunting has become a little wearisome. And decisions that States make don’t make things easier.
When we first moved to Minnesota, we thought living in either Minnesota or Wisconsin were equal options with Wisconsin being right across the St Croix River.
Now we need to learn more of tax rules as it may be more expensive to live in Wisconsin. The home values are less but the property taxes are more. In addition, if you work in Minnesota, you may still have to pay Wisconsin tax on part of your earnings.
Still checking into all of the ramifications of living across the “border.”
What a bother!
First there are 4000-5000 birds that fall from the sky, read story here, and now we have 80,000 to 100,000 fish that wash up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River.
Something is happening in Arkansas.
Read the full story here.
One of my favorite speakers is Joyce Meyer. She reminds me of myself in so many ways. She always talks about things that happen in her life and about being practical. Her moods used to sway back and forth just like mine.
Recently she spoke about being upset with her husband and when they went to bed she lay way on the other side of the bed so as not to touch him. Lying in bed, she was cold but felt too much pride to reach for the blanket. Meanwhile, her husband slept peacefully on the other side. Which made her even madder.
I laugh at this shared experience but remember an identical one in my own life. Quite stubborn and proud.
I’ll bet as humans we all share similar experiences but are afraid to talk about them for fear other people may think we’re not normal. I have yet to figure out what normal is.
But I do know that the more I’ve trusted in God, the less proud and selfish I’ve become.
Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind
Recently an article was shared with me about thousands of birds falling from the sky in Arkansas. Officials are not sure why the birds fell dead from the sky late on New Year’s Eve and into the next day. The full article can be read here.
Since moving to Minnesota, I have had the opportunity to visit different restaurants. I have to say that I am not overly impressed yet with the selection here.
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| Burrito Bowl |
