Wednesday Hodgepodge #4

It's Wednesday once more and time to join the Independence Day celebration at Wednesday Hodgepodge.  

1. What's one simple small pleasure on your summer 'to-do' list? 
To read as much as possible.

2. Do you have strong feelings or opinions regarding the immigration debate in your home country? Feel free to share your thoughts, but please play nice.
The U.S.A. is a country filled with immigrants, which I think makes our country special, so I am in favor of immigration - as long as people come to our country legally.

3.  What's something in your home or wardrobe that could be described as 'star spangled'? 
I can't think of anything I have that is star spangled.

4.  Is your house set up for a party? 
No, my house is in an upheaval as we work on painting, decluttering and reorganizing.

5. What one never-before-visited city in America, would you most like to see?
Honolulu.

6. Your favorite red food? White food? Blue food?
Red - cherries, White - mashed potatoes, Blue - blueberries.

7. What freedom do you value the most, and why?
Freedom of religion because so many people in this world do not have that right and privilege. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
Freedom comes at a cost; as a country, would we still be willing to fight for our freedom?

Learning to Let Go

Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits 

to the one who forgives.

Lawana Blackwell

I think one of the healthiest mental and emotional changes we can make is to learn to let go. Letting go of anger, hurt, old grievances and the past is difficult and sometimes even feels impossible, but can be the start of a new approach to life.

For me, prayer has been the only means of throwing off the load of stuff I've carried along the way.

It is even possible to arrive at the place where not only can I forgive, but can happily see the good things that resulted, not in spite of, but because of the hurts.

It is exciting to discover the joy and emotional release that can accompany learning to let go.


Welcome to the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge 2013. I'm aiming for short, entertaining and occasionally insightful posts. Topics addressing transitions are the goal . . . but we'll see.

Image: victorhabbick/freedigitalphotos

Live Out Loud, Again

If you're a regular reader of Transitional-Woman, I hope you'll forgive a re-run.  I wrote this post a few weeks ago and wanted to replay it for the Blogging A to Z Challenge because I liked it so much.   Also, it has two L's, so that counts for something, right?

One of my favorite contemporary Christian songs was performed by Steven Curtis Chapman and is called Live Out Loud.  If you're not familiar with it, he sings about being more aware of the bigger, greater life around us and how we should, "Crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout."

As a woman who lives with a great deal of caution, I find this song inspiring, thought-provoking and empowering.  It makes me want to forget the "what ifs" of life and just .... live out loud.

It makes me want to throw off fear - fear of what could happen, fear of looking foolish and fear the unknown and just ... live out loud.

All that just from a song.  I feel excited just thinking about it.  Who knows what wonderful, exciting, unexpected things the Lord will do next?

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline, 2Timothy 1:7.

I want to really live my life before it is over, embrace the fun, challenges and changes around every corner.

I want to live out loud.

Blogging A to Z Challenge, the letter L, which stands for lots of great words.

Ache

5 Minute Friday - sometimes it doesn't happen until Sunday

Ache is what you feel when you don't feel loved, or feel rejected, or unwanted, or ignored or unimportant, or insignificant, or like nothing.  That deep down empty feeling in the pit of your stomach and even deeper, when you feel like who you are and what you think and feel don't matter.

But we don't have to live in a permanent state of ache.  There is healing.  It comes in the form of God's love.  In God's eyes we are loved, accepted, wanted, listened to, important and significant.

We don't have to accept the lies of the world and the evil one who walks on the earth.  We don't have to live with the ache of lies.

We are loved.  We are victorious. We can live in peace and joy and acceptance.  All we have to do is accept it.  God offers us all of those things.  They are free for the taking.  They can wipe out the ache that lives deep inside and replace it with joy, pure and clean.

5 Minute Friday
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

Image source