your own somebodiness

This post is to pay tribute to an amazing man that spoke words of wisdon that were way ahead of his time.... A man that died far too young.....when I read this speech this morning, I was astounded at the similarity of Martin Luther King's words and my life message....I hope you read this all the way to the end..and that you appreciate the contribution that this man made to our country especially the South where we live...He spoke words to us that people absolutely did NOT want to hear but he was BRAVE..and man did not stop his words..they continue to live on today....take a second look at this courageous man's life...and stop to reflect on what he said..and be thankful for what he gave to help set people FREE!!! freedom is always a good message !


What Is Your Life's Blueprint?

On October 26, 1967, six months before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia.

I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint. Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you fell that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school.    
 ( and I would add here,stay in LIFE..don't drop out of LIFE no matter what your reasons are)


And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.


To me, this is just an amazing speech...so I encourage you to find your calling.....then 
Live it to the best of your ability!!!     get on that trail of discovery and search like your life depended on it...because it does......

Thank you for stopping by today..... 
Happy Martin Luther King Day.........

I hope to see you again soon...
Mona   

Not the right place

Sometimes we find ourselves in just the wrong place.  No amount of juggling or fixing or rationalizing will 'fix it'...it is simply the WRONG PLACE.....


One of my most favorite verses in the whole Bible talks about this....
And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes),  Acts 17:26

This beautiful cedar tree near our ponds was in just that situation.  there was nothing wrong with the tree..in fact, the more I pondered cutting it down, the more beautiful it became...like it was trying it's best to talk me out of what I had decided to do...BUT  it had been planted in the WRONG PLACE....by the former home owners..so it was not my choice either....and it had become the perfect place for a little grandson of mine to hide behind so he could throw sticks and rocks into the pond...well, boys will be boys.  LOL  so the time had come......CUT it down...

so what does that verse have to do with anything??

I believe there is a certain place where we are to be that will be the most benefit for us and our destiny..if we are in that place, then all the things of our life kinda take care of themselves...one example is our workplace.....
..I NEVER in a million years EVER thought I would go to work in a poultry plant...YUK!!  YUK!!! YUK!!!!!

But

God had different plans than I did....it was the right place for me to be at that time...and several months later I met and married the most wonderful man imaginable....a sure benefit for being in that place that had been chosen for me to be...if I had been in a different place, there is a chance my destiny would have not been fulfilled or at least short circuited for a time.....this is just one example but I could give you many, many.....
.
As you can see, this tree is a real standout..it did nothing wrong here...but I am the Master Gardener in this garden and it is MY CHOICE whether it stays or goes.....do you hear me?  not whether it did a good job or not...????
I know the big picture for this garden and it was simply in the WRONG PLACE.  so we cut it down this weekend...there is only a stump where it use to stand..the roots are probably pretty deep so it will take a bit of digging to make it completely let go and move on...

cedar in wrong place

But the BENEFIT...here is the view that was opened up.....

only a stump

I have never been able to see this view of the ponds...it was blocked by the tree....with the tree out of the way, I am once again in love with the ponds..they are easily seen from all over the yard....I have lots of plans for freshening up this area and the FIRST thing that had to be done was to cut down the tree...

a brand new view

My hope is that you can glean a few life lessons from this tree story...there is a fixed place we are to live this life that we have been alloted....wouldn't it be absolutely wonderful if EVERYONE, or at least a good portion of the people would search for and find the place that has been chosen for them ?  and then to do whatever it takes to get there??  I think that a lot of people would be so much more content if they would do that....life would go better for them...simply ask and He will direct your paths...I did and I KNOW I live in the place that was chosen for me...the house, the town, the county, the state.....even the road I live on...  this is my place in this world..just dare to ponder and ask about this......there is no place like home...the right one, that is....this life we live is not a haphazard thing..we have a purpose and where we live is an integral part of that purpose....

Well, we now have a new view just because we removed something that was blocking it..that was not in it's proper place and it is a good thing......

thank you for reading along with me this morning....

A DAY TO CELEBRATE

First, you make a roux...a yummy base for gumbo that is made from one part oil and two parts flour....then you stir and watch for a long time...maybe 30 minutes..and this is the base for a wonderful meal to celebrate a milestone in my life..

Then add some flowers, yes,of course...ALWAYS, ALWAYS FLOWERS!!!! even if it is freezing and the wind is blowing fiercely outside..you still go out and pick flowers. :-)

Then come and sit with us as I tell you what today is all about...and have a bowl of gumbo with wonderful sourdough bread from Earthfare..it'll warm your heart...Cajun food always reminds me of celebrations....it is our HAPPY food....

One year ago today, I started a journey..one word at a time.  I started my blog...WHOO HOOO!  it is my anniversary...I am so excited that I am here...Thinking back across this past year, there have been so many things I have learned and pushed myself to do...I have thought of all those quotations about a journey starts with one step, etc....

But the one that speaks the loudest is don't despise small beginnings.....and indeed it was a small beginning.  I have received so many kind words of encouragement from you and I appreciate every one..they have fed my spirit...and yes, there have been the absolutely horrendous few that almost bowled me over..but they did not...

this has been one of the most rewarding years of my life....I have learned to write.  a secret dream I have had for as long as I can remember....I just never did much with it.until last March..then I dared to write that first word...the key was to begin.........things never happen if we never begin...so there I sat one year ago today.....right smack dab at the beginning......and lo and behold, here I am......hundreds of posts later.....I can hardly believe it....  I really did something to start fulfilling my dream....I have loved writing this and taking pictures to share....there are so many more stories to tell and so many more blogland things to learn......

But, for today  ...........

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really took the first step to begin fulfilling a dream of mine and here I am , already a year into it....


I took a risk..I started a journey without knowing where it would lead and where I would end up...I still do not know that....but it is ok with me..I am learning to enjoy the journey...it is the journey that is important....one step at a time....one day at a time...that is all we have...

So, I encourage you to make the most of the time you have..what is your dream and what can you do TODAY to start you on that journey?

I will leave you with this question because it is the one that got me going.        


IF NOT TODAY, THEN WHEN????????




put that foot out there and begin that journey..it doesn't matter if it is messy or you don't know all about how to do it perfectly....just START...life is lived one step at a time..I am living proof of that...I dared to start a blog without knowing how to do it....and I have done it for a whole year now and I know a lot more than I did when I started it..
Enjoy the journey....and the learning of something new....

here is my first post.....


"This is my first attempt at blogging. Since I love homemaking and I have been doing it for more than 35 years, I want to share my experiences with women(and men)that are aspiring to make their home all that it can possibly be. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, gardener, seamstress, cook,thrift store shopper.. I love all that is involved in making a home a good place to be ..and a place that the family wants to be. a safe haven...Maybe there will be some of you that are interested in joining me on this journey as I learn how to blog.. :-) we will see..I know it is something that I will enjoy even if it only for me and my family...."


and that is how I started this journey...leave me a comment...I love to read them...and as always, I appreciate your reading along....for many, many blogs to come...and for celebrating this milestone with me...

Finding My Path

 
As this year starts, it feels like we are like this picture...looking into a vast area of mountains and valleys and pondering and seeking and waiting to see where our path is.  where we should put our foot to take that first step for right now....for us...
 

and seeing THE PATH or ROAD that we are to be on..KNOWING which direction to choose....being certain that it is the one custom tailored for us so that we make an impact on the world through this life we are living..I am pondering...is there only one road that is meant for us?  and we can only find it as we seek the ONE that knows the end from the beginning....He will direct our steps...but it is so hard sometimes to make the next step when it is not popular..to be different from public opinion...to really be a person that leaves their mark..but when thinking about Churchill, Edison, George Washington, Mother Teresa, Sarah Palin.....they all suffered ridicule but dared to live their convictions...even if we don't agree with them, we know their names...
 
 
There are tunnels in this path and we can only see the light at the end...not the road after we get through the tunnel
 
There are bends in the road and if we don't make the turn, we will hit a rock wall or fall off into a cavern...some are coming as we are going...mostly we have to go against the flow...and keep our eyes on the road ahead..not looking back to what might have been or to the side to see if it is better over there.....yes sir, this is my question at the moment...Is there only one BEST road for me in this life?  and do I have the courage to travel it???  no matter if others don't see what I see and think I should be doing it their way.....

When I get to the end of my life, I do not want to look back and say wow, look what all I missed and all that I could have done...no, no...I want to say I lived all that I could live and I emptied the jar...my life is done..I accomplished ALL that I was put here to accomplish...mainly I learned to LOVE myself and others.....

Simply that....be who you are and walk the path that is yours...after all, that is really the only way to be successful in this life....our time is NOW...our tools are authenticity.....

thank you so much for reading and traveling along this road with me....

FANTASTIC...NESS

You know some days you just have a day that can only be described as fantastic...Yesterday was one of those days..the day started out by spending time with awesome, awesome folks and then I got to spend lots of time with Betsy and my grandsons..there is not much better than having a little boy throw his arms around your neck and hang on tight hugging you..and to have 2 of them doing it is just more than I ever imagined.and another one waiting in the wings to hug me too...cause his smile tells it all..  :-) to be loved like this and to love back is what life is all about....
the weather was wonderful, lunch was very good, and the time spent sharing with my daughter was near perfection..I have a life to absolutely be thankful for....
and then as I looked through the pictures, this picture just jumped out..a life story right here..so here goes...

 Sometimes a loud squawking goose runs up to you and gets right in your space...just making noise for the sake of scaring you back...trying to make you back up.....we all have this in our life at times......

 But if you are fearless and stand your ground and run towards the loud  squawking, that bird will turn tail and RUN....and then if you just laugh as you are doing it..it might spread it's wings and try to show you how powerful it is, but you just keep on running towards it...

It becomes hilarious as it flaps and squawks and tries to make it think you can't beat it....and the people running with you or watching, get a big laugh too....even when someone comes into the picture and tries to warn you that the goose might bite you....just keep on laughing..and having fun with life....

KEEP GOING

But don't back down...get it off your territory..off of your space...out of your boundaries....but remember to do it with kindness..some joy...and most of all with love.....
today these boys showed me something about life...after all, they have my blood in their veins..they are fearless in the face of adversity..I saw a little bit of me in them..wow...that goose didn't have a chance and I laughed so hard ..it felt good....but they were determined even when a strange woman was warning them it would bite...IT DIDN'T.....maybe she was working for the goose.....

All of this little story to encourage you to live by your own convictions..even when a mean, squawking goose tries to get you to run....no need to run away....as you can see from these pictures....it was all mouth!   and that goose went back to the pond and joined all the other squawking geese while they compared notes about these fearless little boys that wouldn't go away......

I hope you all get a little bit of encouragement from this...and then BE COURAGEOUS in your life...our children and grandchildren are watching us and they need to see us be loving but firm..maybe steel magnolias would fit here.  :-)

I so appreciate you my readers..all of you that send me such loving and kind words and even the others too....this is my life and and it is a good one....