Be Still...

My best time of the day is mornings… the quiet, the nothingness, the peace, innocence, tranquility, but more than anything, its stillness.

Mornings are new beginnings. Mornings are diamonds in the rough. Mornings are the nothingness that can become something big. Mornings are like untouched clay you can mold and make into whatever you want it to be.

If you’re anything like me, you rise up early, just to have that cup of coffee, time alone, read the Word, write or muse. Your 'you' time. The rest of the family and the world are still asleep and don’t seem to exist. Your thoughts are not bogged down with the worries of what’s going to happen next, because your morning is tranquil; the sunrise and stillness. You have that time to meditate or even create.

Imagine this for a minute. Just before God created heaven and earth, there was nothingness.

Genesis 1: 1 states “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…”

This biblical depiction goes way beyond actuality of what our mornings look like. But the similarity is there for those who can take themselves to that place of the imagination, in the mornings. It’s clean. It's pure. It's uninhabited.

And then in verse 3, “and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from darkness…" Thus, our day and night!

But before daybreak, if we were to take just a moment - or maybe you're not a morning person, whatever your preference of day or night, just meditate on some things. I truly think it would make for a purer, clearer picture and outlook on life. Just try to find your ‘before creation’ time and Be Still.

Blessings

FIXED

Reflecting back on life, it seems times really have not changed so much. I remember when my mom used to say, "Don't worry about what's going on now, it will come back full circle". Never would I have dreamt that furnishings, cars, music, styles of clothing, shoes, jewelry, even hairdos would evolve. We see this all the time in our children's choices; trends on tv and social media. The change may be that a style has a different name or different hue in color, but in essence, the same. Somebody just revamped an old style!

Think about it. What will styles be like in twenty years? Who knows? But what we do have are memories... they won't leave and sometimes we can vividly go back. They are etched and fixed! 

 

Deep-Seated Memories

When I was younger, I used to stay in the mirror.  A flip here. A curl there. Couldn’t get enough of trying to find a superior look, to the other look of my hair that I had already done in the mirror.

I was hoping to wear uniquely, a style never worn; never to have it said that I was ever outdone... setting the trend with classiness, not a gimmick, but a leader on my own that others dreamed to mimic.

And now, the mirror I try to avoid. Reflecting back and my recollection of that age, only annoys me; Lol! That hair, my flair, flairs up, no where. But!  If I look a little closer, I know I’ll find it there. Ahhh, fixed memories...

When I was younger, I used to stay in the mirror!  :-)

GOD CAN

Who do you depend on when it seems everything you touch and do goes wrong? What do you do to keep motivated? When do you realize you need help or a backup plan? Where do you find hope and inspiration? Why would you say enough is enough… I GIVE UP?

Some of you may remember the five W’s …Who,  What, When, Where, Why and then there is How. Usually they apply to writing and journalism, but this application is about life!

In many aspects of our lives, at some point, we hit brick walls, get knocked off our feet, dumbfound and have no obvious explanation or answer for the delimma in which we find ourselves. Is that when we throw our hands up in despair? “Uh, Yea, we’re human”.  But just when you think you have no answer, you relinquish, release and let go and find the HOW.  

HE is the how in your life! He knows how to relieve the pain. He knows how to give you strength. He knows how to take your burdens.  He knows how to put the right words in your mouth when you’re face with what you consider unanswerable questions.  He knows how you will get that next meal, how you will get to work, how you will fare on that pending court date, how you will mend fences in your marriage, relationship, family dissension... So don't give up! He knows how and He Can!

Life reminds me how sweet it is to know that ‘God can’-

God can pick you up

When you’re lower than low

God can fight your battles

In struggles against the foe

God can renew that hope

When the little you had diminishes

God can complete the order and flow

from start to finish

God can allow you to exhale

when exhaustion overtakes you

God can mend the pieces

When disappointment tears apart and breaks you

He replenishes and renews your spirit

when you’ve fallen and cannot stand

This brings back to remembrance and

“It’s good to know, God can.”

Fresh Air

Children. Their innocence should be cherished. Children. We should not let innocence perish. 

How refreshing it is to hold a newborn baby... so tiny, so fragile, so delicate and soft to the touch. They are so innocent to the goings-on of horrific things in the world and sometimes in their immediate world. They did not come into your space by their choosing. Like an innocent bystander, they are the victims of their environment. As newborns, they are as fresh as the air we chose to inhale.

On a personal note, children are one of my weaknesses. I've always striven to uplift them, to uncover and expose their hidden talents, to encourage them to be even more than what they think they can be; yet, keep them in a box, a safe-haven whereas they wouldn't be subjected to the harsh reality of this world- kinda contradictory, huh? Lol

And as my own kids have grown beyond me immediately telling them how or what to do, I believe they respect the ideas I may still throw out for the grasping. Children are an extension of us. What do you see in the "little you's and little me's"? Don't we want to display OUR very best? Even when a child grows, I would still love to believe deeply embedded is their innocence and fresh take on life...  

The extension of my genes- grand children, is minute in number (only one), but gigantic in character! 

G-Whiz

My G-Baby n me

A fine combination, you see

I connect to him

he’s connected to me

An incognizant attachment

au-to-ma-tic-ally

Doesn't matter the distance

short, long, spo-ra-dic-ally

My G-baby n me

As a matter 'o fact you will see

that as time goes on

and as his growth responds

there will always reside

     a deep bond inside

No matter how many miles we are apart

we are deeply connected; undeniable

For when we get together

after being apart

for what seems like forever,

to a drum our two hearts will beat

To a love that will keep--

My G-baby with me

 My G-baby always n me

-PJ Payne

Pocket Change

Remember when 'one cent' was once spent! Nowadays a penny is barely used, unless as a last resort to make up the difference in a purchase. Usually a person uses it as TAX- that's what it's good for now.

As a child, can you remember when your daddy would give you his pocket-change, or when you were outside playing and you'd find a penny on the ground?  If you found a few of those, you'd think you were rich! Those were the 'simpler times.'  In today's fast-paced society, people actually just step over that lucky penny.
As times change, so does 'change' change. My own kids didn't like pocket change! "Too much trouble" states one of my sons, "too heavy in my pocket"! Therefore if I didn't find his change on the floor and pick it up, it would be lost. Oh, but as they've grown into young adults and are earning their living, they've changed their tune. Now that son can easily say "I got the tax"! Lol. They may still throw change aside, but eventually gather it in one place or container for those 'rainy days'.

Pondering over pocket change, I think about the penny, over the years that little copper coin has been referenced in may ways- mostly to describe something inexpensive or small. Here are a few Penny cliches I've heard:

A penny saved is a penny earned refers to the idea that saving money is just as important as earning it. According to thrifty savers, a penny saved will grow (when invested properly).
A penny pincher is someone who uses coupons and other saving tactics religiously — to the point of being fanatical about reducing costs, as with pinching your pennies which implies that the person is watching their spending; bargain hunting. 

If you’re experiencing a bad turn of events, then you might find yourself without two pennies to rub together. A common phrase muttered by those who tend to spend their money as soon as they get it.

On a different note. a pretty penny is used to explain how much something cost you, especially when that item was expensive or extravagant. 

And now I can say 'a penny for your thoughts' on all of this.What's your pocket change worth? I will quote the famous radio/television personality, Howard Stern, by saying "I am worth every penny"!

No Bartering

I wasn’t supposed to know. I wasn’t supposed to find out until now. I wasn’t supposed to know. This was about His timing and how-

He wanted me to grasp

He wanted me to ask

He wanted me to depend

He wanted me to defend

what HE stood for in my life

and when it was all said and done

He wanted me to know that

He was the One!

Not because ‘I’ did anything great,

so He would make life easier-

NO, He wanted me to be tried and tested.

He wanted me to know,

He was the One

who allowed me to evolve 

through these experiences

While being tossed to and fro

And learn lessons

in the midst of the strain,

but not in vain.

And as I come out of it and gain, 

I would grow

And just pay it forward,

as I go

God doesn’t make a deal. “God is the REAL DEAL”!

"I AM"

To know me is to love me for who I AM.

I AM a self-starter, but not a self-motivator, if that makes sense. I can start something new- "I mean just kick it off with a Big Bang", but I require outside motivation to keep it going. I'm like a cup of coffee, I start off quite hot, then as I cool off, I need to be refreshed and "stirred up" to keep me moving. I AM a lover of all, especially children, as I love their innocence, honesty and purity.  I AM naturally excitable and giggly anyway, so with my Cup 'o Joe, the sky is literally the limit!! Lol.

When an epiphany hits, I am fired up and in production mode. But when I get to a cooling off or stopping point, I can get stuck. The ideas stop flowing; the passion subsides; yes, the cause for which I am doing what I’m doing gets vague; like “and why am I doing this”?  That cause needs to be resurrected or revisited. Usually my initial intention is on target, I just get lost in transition. There is not always someone around to bounce my ideas off of or get me back on track. 

That’s when I exhale with my brew. In  an aura of serenity, surrounded by the things I love, making sure there is always a pen nearby… I write.

I AM blessed!

And I guess I realized it

but never said it 

with such credence before

I  AM blessed!

When I relax

I open my mind to

opened doors.

When I enter in

no telling what’s coming out.

There I can figure

What I am all about

And in retrospect

Let it all

Pour out

I AM blessed!

Got ideas to spare

When stirred up

and when used

I know I’m going somewhere

And yield blessings 

to someone else

I may require a little 'stirring' sometimes, 

but to know me is to love me for who I AM.