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I do get Mad but I Have Learnt to Forgive and Forget.

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I do hold grudges but after a while I choose to forgive and forget.

I get mad at times with those closest to me.

I was mad last night is fact.

Very often I go to bed angry with someone.  I toss and turn and can’t get to sleep.  I get up and watch a programme on TV.

Perhaps I write down what I am upset about.  By the time I have written down the problem I am happier and can go back to bed.  

It is better to talk things over to clear the air before bedtime.

Scripture says “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold.  Ephesians 4 v 26

But very often the other party is not aware there is a problem or is to tired to resolve the issue.  So the anger remains till the morning.

If the issue is not resolved I hold a grudge.  But sadly I am only harming myself.  The other person is often oblivious to the hurt done, so the anger grows.  The bitterness increases.  The devil has got a foothold.

This is what happened to me when I developed colon cancer.  I was upset with people and did not get issues resolved.  I became angry, unforgiving and bitter.

Forgiving is the key to life, health and happiness.  

I find it easy to accept God has forgiven me, but it is harder to forgive someone who has hurt.

I choose to forgive others.  It may not be easy.  I do not want to get sick again. 

 

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Outdoors on an Irish Spring Morning

OUTDOORS ON AN IRISH SPRING MORNING

In the early morning light,

Inspecting my plants,

Redeemed from the move,

Watering and feeding,

Placing and admiring,

The sun is shining,

The wind is blowing.

Doves are cooing.

Swallows are tweeting.

Lambs are bleating.

Sheep are responding.

Cattle are munching,

Horses are grinding,

The sea is roaring,

Creation inspiring.

Daily Prompt Express Yourself : Joy

Posted in Healing, My thoughts by

 

I express myself best when I am doing something that brings me joy.

I love to laugh.

It was my smile that attracted my husband to me.

I enjoy dancing.   We met at a dance.

When I watch a play, movie or comedy I laugh heartily and other people wonder what is so funny.

Life throws up many troubles that robs our joy.  Don’t stay there.   Overcome.

Sunshine comes after rain.

Be with people who have joy.  It will infect you.

Proverbs says “A merry heart is good medicine.”
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/daily-prompt-express-yourself/

Weekly Photo Challenge. Street Life. A View of the Street where I am Going to Live

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I am moving from the town to the country!

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From the noise of traffic, school children laughing on their way home, and people passing by, to the stillness of the countryside.
From a view of the houses and green rolling hills of Co Down to a Bella Vista of the Irish Sea and the Mourne Mountains.
From a four storey house with wide staircases to a single storey chalet bungalow with lots of rooms leading off one floor.
From tall trees and flowering shrubs here to trees and plants that are sculpted by the salt laiden winds from the sea.
From a night sky beyond roofs of close knit houses to an open sky full of bright stars.
From a house full of children and activity, to serenity and peace of only a few of us.
From lighting wood burning fires to heat from the flick of a switch.
I am going to be living where the sky, sea and mountains are big and bright.The reflection of light off the sea makes the mountains in the distance look white.

The future definitely looks bright.  Praise God he has prepared a place for us to live after I am healed of cancer.  God has kept me alive.

Brendan and I will enjoy our new home. Who could ask for anything more.

Days can be sunny
With never a sigh
Don’t need what money can buy
Birds in the trees sing
Their day full of song
Why shouldn’t we sing along?

I’m chipper all the day
Happy with my lot
How do I get that way?
Look at what I’ve got

I got rhythm
I got music
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
I’ve got daisies
In green pastures
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?

Old Man Trouble
I don’t mine him
You won’t find him
Round my door

I got starlight
I got sweet dreams
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?

I got rhythm
I got music
I got my man
Who could ak for anything more?
I got daisies
In green pastures
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?

Old Man Trouble
I don’t mind him
You won’t find him
Hangin’ round my front or back door

Who could ask for anything more?
Who could ask for anything more?

http://daily post.wordpress.com/2014/03/28 street-life/

 

Singing the Blues. The Time for Singing of Birds has Come

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A good night’s sleep is always helpful when I am down.  Lack of sunshine and warmth can give me the blues and cause me to scurry to the comfort of a warm bed.  Sufficient unto the day is the troubles thereof.  

When I awake and my worries, anxieties or depression are still heavy on my mind I have a quick prayer, Help Lord. 

Whatever time of the day if I am overcome with loneliness, despair or despondency I would get a cup of coffee and something sweet and relax.  I would listen to some uplifting music, or a worship song.  If there is one I really like I would play it over and over.  I would pray for someone else or pick up the phone and talk to a friend and encourage them. If that fails I would share with my husband.  He often sees things from a different perspective.

Having something to look forward to doing often gets me out of the blues.  The down time will come to pass.

It is springtime.  The time for singing of birds has come.   I will sing and be joyful as well.

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How I am adjusting to The New Technology

 

I do like using my i Pad.  What a great invention!  Initially I didn’t think I needed one, and said so when Brendan wanted to buy one for my birthday.  Many years ago when my children got their first mobile phones, they enjoyed texting their friends.  I thought I will never be using one of those.  I had to eat my words when I got my first mobile phone.  I find texting invaluable to be in touch with family and friends.

My children are now up graded to i Phones .  They are texting, taking photos, listening to music, playing games, talking and recording all on this little machine in their hands.

Again I thought to myself I do not need one of them.  Then came the day I could not get hold of a plain mobile that texts for free and phone calls are cheap. I had to give in and go for an upgrade. I can even take photos.  Now I have to pay a monthly bill and I don’t know what for?

I took some interesting photos of scenery recently.  I asked a friend to help me transfer them to my I pad.  It was not quite as simple as I thought.  They told me I needed a Dropbox.  What on earth is a Dropbox.   Maybe it is not on this earth.  It is probably up in the sky somewhere!

Another friend had some beautiful photographs of my garden.  I asked if he would send them to my e mail, so I could store them.   I have advanced to use the e mail and store photos.  He told  me to install What’s App on my phone.  I was only asking for a simple doable request.  I am not a whizz kid on information management.  I just wanted some one to help me.

I must admit I am guilty of avoiding explaining something to a child.  I was just too tired to answer and told him to “Google it”.

Why does the mobile phone sales assistant want to get extra commission by selling a pensioner a phone that runs up a big bill?  Why are the younger generation impatient to help someone who is older?  Were they not helped by us when they were young to learn their A B Cs and cross their Ts and dot their Is.

One cannot survive on one’s own.  Let’s not be independant.  Let’s share skills and help one another with doable requests.

Much knowledge separates the generations and the genders.  The more we are independant, we do not need others and do not receive help from others.  I am willing to see the situation from another’s perspective.  Maybe the person I asked to help me was under pressure to get to work or had other pressing things on his mind.   Maybe he will change his mind.

I think many of us get illnesses because we internalise our frustrations.  Perhaps we think others are too busy to listen or they may not understand one any way, so why bother.  People go to the doctor looking for help.  Very often they are offered a prescription of pills to numb the pain.   A wise doctor may be able to look beyond and offer a comforting word of encouragement.

A wise person said “A good night’s  sleep solves many problems.”  It is like balm to one’s soul.

Let us communicate, stop, listen and help one another.  That develops love and understanding.  We will be all the more healthy.  Then we will be obeying one of the commands Jesus gave us “Love one another.”

 

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How we got a Big House for our Big Tribe, our Promised Land

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Then The Lord  said to Moses, “Divide the land among the tribes, and distribute the land in proportion to the tribes’ populations, as indicated by the number of names on the list. Give the larger tribes more land and the smaller tribes less land, each group’s inheritance reflecting the size of ite population.  (Numbers 26:52-54 NLT)
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When our tribe became sixteen, we were outgrowing the house in which we lived.  Five  of our older children had left home.  Our home then was suitable enough for my children who were toddlers or under ten.  But I knew as my boys got bigger they were going to need more space.
I began to pray and ask God to for a bigger home.  His word promises “The Lord will supply all you needs.”  I needed a bigger house for my tribe.
 I was encouraged by the scripture I have mentioned above.  I was believing God would provide a big house for my big family.  He blessed me with my children so I believed God would help me rear them and provide a home for them.
 Many people believe one is crazy for having a big family.  In these times getting married is not popular and having children is even less popular.  “Where will you get the money for a big house.”  “It must be very expensive to feed and clothe your children.”  “How will you pay for their education.”  I had faith for each day and not worry about tomorrow.
Jesus said “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:31, 33, 34 NLT)
Having Faith in God takes off all the pressure.  God is not a liar.  When he promises to do something he will bring it about.  Our part is to believe, be patient and not doubt or give up hope.  The danger can be when one has to wait a long time for the fulfilment of a promise, the temptation is to give up hope.  Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”Proverbs 13 v 12.
 I tried to move to the country.  There is space in the country, my children could roam over fields, like I did as a child. I saw a large Presbyterian Manse for sale.  We showed our interest in buying it but were refused.  I found another big house to let in the country,  but again was rejected.  I kept looking.  We tried to move down to Kerry.  That did not work out and I was bitterly disappointed.  I had been hoping for five years for a bigger home.  I gave up.  My husband said he would do an extension in the house in which we lived.  I did not want to hear.  I fell out with God and stopped praying.  But he didn’t fall out with me.  He had his plans.
 A friend of mine, a single mum with four children was praying for a new home.  Her children got sick during the winter because of the cold house in which she lived.   She found this beautiful house to rent.  I thought “God has helped my friend.  He will help me.”  My faith was restored and I began to believe again that God would help us.
 A few months later my husband had a picture of a man he knew from the past.  He would see this picture every morning for three weeks.  At last he called this man up and talked to him about our interest in finding a bigger home.  He is an estate agent.  He lived in another part of the country, in County Down.  That is where I lived when I was young.  Would God bring me back to live there? Another scripture came to mind.
At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.. (Zephaniah 3:20 NIV)
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We waited another five months.  Our house sale completed.  We had to move in October.  We called up the man Brendan connected with many months earlier.  We went down to meet him and his wife and they welcomed us and were willing to help us. No more rejection.  We prayed together and asked God to guide us.  We need other members of the body of Christ.
Our new friend was able to find a house suitable for us.  It was owned by the nuns from the convent where I went to school when I was young.  We got favour because they remembered me and our family.   We lived there for a year.  It gave us time to settle in this new area and for our children to adapt to their new schools.
We met regularly with other people who prayed.  They were praying for us to have a permanent home.  We did find a house suitable for our needs.  We were welcomed in our new community.
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God gave us land according to the size of our tribe.  Thank you Lord.  He is faithful.  Our children grew tall and flourished in their new home and big garden.  They made new friends.  They could walk to school.  No stress.

 

Lingering at the End of our Holiday

At the end of a holiday is the time I love to linger and not want the day to end. Tomorrow it is back to reality, work and the challenges of life.
I met three of my four daughters at the weekend after their holiday in the sun. One of my daughters and her husband had booked to go on holiday but the company grew to five.  All of them work long hours and they badly needed a break.
There was not as much sun as they had hoped.  But they had plenty of sleep, wine, good food, and fun hanging out together.  They all seemed to me different after a week away; youthful looking, relaxed, joyful, peaceful.  They seemed aglow, transformed after their holiday.
I had been praying for them that God would make His Face, His Son, to shine on them after they called me to tell me there was no sun!  I know it is God’s will for our bodies to be refreshed.  Jesus took his disciples aside for meals and times to talk alone.  The Jews had festivals during their year when the people gathered together for times to relax and eat.  It is a need of the human condition.
This is exactly why I have always said ” A holiday is not a luxury but a necessity.”  Even though we are a big family we always made a point of going on holiday each summer.  It is time to chill, laugh, swim, make a barbecue etc.
So the time I remember lingering was on holiday the evening before we were due to travel home.  Back to work and cold weather.
The evening sun was going down behind the hill in the west.  The beach was empty.  The sun beds no longer held relaxed bodies.  Their work of healing was over for the day.  The bleached white sun umbrellas flapped in the gathering evening breeze.

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Brendan and I had just finished our meal in the beach cafe.  It was of fresh fish.  The abundance of the sea shall be added unto thee.  We were finishing the wine and reminiscing.  Totally relaxed now compared to irritating moments we had together at the beginning of our holiday.
We wanted this moment to last.  We lingered till the sun went down behind the hill and the chilly air blew in from the sea.
This article was inspired from Daily prompt
 

Happy St Patrick’s Day.

 HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY
 Did you know that St Patrick’s Day, is the second biggest festival celebrated in the world after Christmas?  Why?  Ireland, this small island on the edge of Europe has many diaspora all over the world.  And where ever the Irish are they remember the Irish Patron Saint, Patrick.  It is a day for the wearing of the green.
St Patrick’s Centre lit up with green lights.  St Patrick’s grave is situated in the graveyard of the Church behind this centre.
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Wherever you live in the world I am sure you have heard of St Patrick.  Maybe you have Irish ancestors.  We travel to Canada and we meet people there who love Ireland even though they have never been here.  Some of our friends there have some relative in their  family line that came from Ireland.
Many people come to visit Ireland wanting to see where their ancestors come from.  Even some presidents of America claim to have Irish ancestors.  Information on the Internet has helped people with their searches.  We have had American students visit Ireland and they break into tears when they see the homeland where their forebears lived.
The Irish are in different parts of the world for various reasons.  In the 1800s there was a terrible famine in Ireland.  The population dropped to 4 million, because of death and exile.  In the 1600s some Irish were sent into Europe and the East Indies as slaves by Cromwell.
Down through the years the young people left Ireland for work in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and America.
Patrick came and lived among the Irish and through his love, and example he brought the love of God to the people.  It is said he used the Shamrock a small plant with three small leaves to explain the Trinity, three persons in the Godhead.  The Irish wear the Shamrock on St Patrick’s day.
Early Christians travelled to Scotland and down into Europe as far as Slovakia.  Brendan was in  Switzerland in 2012 to celebrate six hundred years since St Gallian went there from Ireland.
With living on an Island the Irish became sea faring people.  They built small wooden curraghs. The Irish monks travelled by small curraghs up the rivers of Europe.  St Brendan travelled with others to the land we now know as Canada on a boat made of wood and sealskins.
At one time in the nineteenth century there were eight million people living here.  Many lived in small holdings but were able to grow oats and potatoes, kept a few chickens.  A cow would have been kept for milk. They were able to live off their produce.  Porridge was made from the oats and the women made their own bread.  Soda bread and potato bread can only be bought in Ireland.
I grew up on a farm.  My mother baked bread, we had chickens, we had milk from the cows.  We did not go hungry.  Only on a Sunday did we have a chicken, a stew or soup. We lived well and dad and mum reared ten children.  We did not go hungry.  We were content.
We have a Christian heritage that has come down the generations from the days of St Patrick.  In the twentieth century many missionarys went from Ireland again to the nations, especially into India and Africa and set up schools and hospitals.   My mother’s sister worked in Nigeria around the 1960s.
Ireland had become infamous in the 1970s because of the war in Northern Ireland.  Injustice, bitterness, hatred, division and poverty erupted into war between people from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds.  What a shame it has brought to the name of Jesus.  Nations have looked at us and said God is love.  How come Christians are fighting one another.   In Russia and India people heard of the bombs and bullets.
In Chronicles the Word of God says “If my people will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways I will heal their land.”  People began to pray.  I attended a woman’s prayer group.  We represented the different denominations in our country.  As we prayed we found the only One who brings forgiveness and reconciliation, Jesus.  Before he died on the cross he said about those who crucified him,  “Forgive them because they know not what they do”.  After thirty years the war ceased.  Thanks God for his mercy.
Ex President Clinton visited Derry recently and encouraged us that he is travelling all over the world to negotiate peace between warring groups.  He uses the example of the Northern Ireland as a place that lives in peace after thirty years of war.
May we travel again as missionaries of the Gospel, like St Patrick and bring the love of God, forgiveness  and reconciliation to the nations.

How I Learned to yield and not say “Never Surrender” Daily prompt

Posted in Ireland, My thoughts, Prayer by

Having lived in Northern Ireland during thirty years of war, it was quite common to drive into a village and see a banner with the words “No Surrender” printed on it.

These banners of protest were inspired by Ian Paisley, a leader of the DUP party at Stormont.  He was not willing to work with any Party that represented Nationalism, and encouraged his followers to do the same.

Many people across the world were praying for peace in our land.

He dug his heels in for thirty years.  But then through negotiations with mediators from America and Great Britain, he was willing to change his mind.  His wife said to him, “We don’t want more years of war”.   He listened to his wife.  The Impossible happened, he changed his mind.   God moved.

He was willing to work with the Leader of Sinn Fein in Stormont.  They became known as the Chuckle Brothers.

I have been known to be a stubborn person.  My husband will agree wholeheartedly in this.  I have been fiercely protective of my children and if they were mistreated I would not be afraid to address it with the offender.  I was many times unwilling to agree with my husband about decisions to be made in the home.  Then we had stalemate.

After many years off stalemate and pain, I myself have learned to yield and give up my stubbornness.  I am willing to change my mind and work with others.

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