Lesson(s) Learned

Quite a few years ago, I wrote a list of "things I'm learning…" It contained advice, quotes, and sheer observations about the life I was living and the life that was carrying on all around me. Well, today, I thought about that list for the first time (in a very, very long time) and thought perhaps I should re-create it, in a sense, based on where I find myself in life right now. at this very moment. Nothing came from quote websites or the like… it's all fresh from my little Rosemary brain. Hope you enjoy it, and it brings some encouragement and comfort and COURAGE your way - no matter where you find yourself along life's journey today. :) Things I'm learning... 1. Assume that everything has nothing to do with you, until directly told otherwise. Even then, know that you can't possibly know the full story. There's always something going on behind the scenes. 2. Don't try to please people. Please God. He'll deal with the people. 3. Sometimes k...

Dollar Stores, Deals, and a Deeper Understanding of Resiliency Today, I went into the dollar store to pick up some toys for my kids' treasure box at school. And the sights I saw are probably much of the same you experience when you visit the dollar store. Let's see if our lists can compare: Half-homeless-looking man sitting shirtless out front? Check. Stressed-out mom with a handful of barefooted kids screaming at the top of their little lungs for lollipops that she simply can't afford? Check. Store clerk who looks like they've never given a smile in their lives and (if they were to receive one) absolutely wouldn't know what to do with one? Check. As you can see, all of the regularities about a dollar store experience were ever-present  for me today. Though today's dollar store experience was much the same as ones before it, it was also quite different. Today, as I walked down the toy aisle, I began to understand a part about life that I'd never qui...

Love makes black and white go color, Love doesn't make things dim. Whitewash makes picket fences look whiter, but what's underneath all the trim? Some things aren't alway surface-level. Real things in life go deep. Remember this in the valleys low. Remember this on the steppes. Some days you'll wake up wondering, what else you could have done. Ah, but one day, Oh, one day you'll wake up knowing, Knowing if it's "the One." Don't go looking for perfection In the end, it can't be found. Look for a man who loves Jesus More than anything else around. Sometimes "these things take time," So be patient. Take heart. Within the time you're waiting, Don't get lost in games of the heart. Rather, become the girl, woman, lady Whose life simply can't be the same. You know His heart, you see His face, you know more than just His name. God's plan for you is all-consuming He's the end, the su...