A New Chapter

My silence for the last two years as a blogger was because my husband of 35 years had  become very ill and moved to heaven in January. I served as his caregiver and blogging was the last thing on my agenda.  Because I haven’t posted for a very long time, I lost the rights to joyousbells.com.  

Welcome back to Encore Now.  You can also follow me on Joyjourney.co.  I trust that our time together will be filled with love and joy.  This post is adapted from the Joy Journey post.

I have watched as Joe’s illness caused me concern,turning into stress and frustration.  I attended my sweet husband as he failed.  I tried to give him healthy food, vitamins, herbs and anything else that he would allow.  I prayed and I became desperate.  I would get unhappy with God and He would remind me that He had given us both everything that we needed for life and godliness.  Joe also  knew that but he was so deep in the flow of the disease that it had a firm grip on him.  I watched helpless with a broken heart.

During this time, I was blessed with a church family that came alongside.  One of my sisters in Christ became a care-giver with me.  She taught me so much.  My pastor and the men in the church encouraged me and when the final days came, they took the night watches for me as Joe struggled to let go of this life and move into the amazing heavenly realm.

Joe had Parkinson’s Disease for seven years and in September he fell and broke his hip.  As with so many people who have failing health, this was the beginning of the end.  He was in the hospitall for surgery, then to rehab and home health care; ultimately moving into a nursing home with hospice.

His home going was wonderful.  The atmosphere in the room was filled with the sweet aroma of heaven and stayed with me as I lay in bed with him for the last time.  It was the sweet assurance that all was okay.  The atmosphere shifted some but it never completely left the room until Joe stepped over.

I miss him but I would not wish him back.  He is free and in the loving arms of His heavenly family.  I will  join him one day.  Until then, I have work to do.  I have the joy of spending time intimately with my heavenly Father and my Big Brother, Jesus and being grateful to the Holy Spirit as He navigates me through each day.

I am beginning my new life doing what I love.  I am writing again.  Stay tuned as I will be an active blogger.  Thank you for following me in the past.  I hope that you stay with me in this Encore phase of my new life.

Announcing! Join Me in Making Changes and Becoming Financially Free and Healthier in 2013!

It has happened!! I am fully set up and working on my home-based business.  It is truly a joy!  It took a bit longer than I had anticipated, but any time there are major changes, you want it all to be in good working order before you begin and invite others to join you.

If you opt in, you will learn all about the amazing company and products that I represent as well as the amazing business opportunity.  Every product has been thoughtfully crafted and produced.  They support your body systems enabling you to be healthier and have more energy.   I am part of a very large team that has over 60 medical professionals.

I would so enjoy working with my blogging friends.  We are in 18 countries and adding more so even it if we are not in your country yet, we may be soon .  We have many tools to help you as you begin this life changing course and a great team with many resources and all the training you could ever desire!

I commit my cause to God anew and pray that you will become successful, healthy and inspired in 2013!

Here is the link:  http://successwithkathleen.com/invite/ivmedia   Depending on your server, you may need to copy and paste this link.  I will get this fixed.

See you at the top!!

Kathleen

Committing my Cause to God in 2013

When I got the review from WordPress and found out that people in 94 countries have been reading my stories, I was totally blown away.  I want to thank each of you for looking at this blog.  Happy New Year.  I wonder where we will be 2014.  I know for sure, if we don’t start now, we will be looking back and wishing we had.

I found a wonderful Scripture in Job 5:8.  It says “I would seek God and unto God I would commit my cause.”  This year, I am starting a new business venture and it is set to kick off today.  Seeking God, I commit this new venture to Him.

I have spent a lot of money (for me) to develop web pages that will help me and those I select to become successful!!  There are many wonderful tools that I can share with others.

I must confess, I have butterflies, but as with any business, you have to spend money to make money.  Very soon I will post a blog that tells you how you can apply, if you are interested.  While I don’t promise that you will make $1 million, those who will be serious can develop a nice income as a result of their effort.  The amazing tools and support makes success not only possible but highly probable.

I am also part of a group of friends that are committing to live wiser lives this year by eating healthy and normalizing our weight once and for all.  We are starting after New Year’s Day.  Stay tuned for my progress!

Watch for my announcement!!

 “What are you seeking and what cause do you have in 2013?”  Let me know.

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,900 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 5 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

2012 is Moving into 2013

We are facing many changes in our lives in 2013.  How we meet them will determine what this year brings to each of us personally.

A review of 2012 is breathtaking.   We have seen devastating weather including Hurricane Sandy, horrendous school shooting, the endless presidential debates resulting in an amazing presidential election, the Arab Spring, the London Olympics, several loved public figures died including Andy Williams, Andy Griffith and Whitney Houston, a guy jumped out of an airplane 128,000 feet, the United States stopped investing space and retired the last space shuttle.  Young Gabby Douglas took the gold in gymnastics in the Olympics with energy and enthusiasm.

In the midst of tragedy, there is always triumph!

The Mayans thought the world would end on December 21, 2012, which proves how wrong all the people who predict the future can be.  Of course, there is three days to go until we know for sure if they were right or wrong – but I’m sure they were wrong.  Which brings me to the subject of 2013.  What will happen in the coming year??

For sure there will be tragedy.  I am thankful that we don’t yet know what that will look like.  Without doubt there will be wonderful events of victory, triumph and overcoming tremendous odds.  The question is, ‘How will we respond to each event?’

What do you want for the New Year?  A new car?  To change eating habits resulting in lost weight?  To save money?  To give more to your church or favorite charity?  To write the great American novel or a hit song?  To find a spouse?  To improve your marriage?  To  travel on a long awaited vacation?  To get a new job?

Already many people are saving more money than ever before.  Many have quit buying stuff and are sharing their finances with those less fortunate.  Many are traveling to areas that encountered devastating weather and are giving their time and finances to help them recover.  A great number are planning on starting a new diet after the first of the year.

What do you want?  Really want?  Don’t be afraid to succeed.  Share it with us and go for it!!

Cyber Shopping, Cyber Talking, Cyber Learning, and Cyber Burnout!

After frantic Black Friday in the stores, buying boots that looked great in ad and returning them the next day when sanity also returned, I turned to the Internet.  I found what I was looking for, but I had trouble with the purchase and had to go to the chat room for assistance.  They helped me – and then I didn’t know for certain if the ‘buy’ had gone through.  After sending them a customer support ticket, I finally decided to go ahead and re-enter the credit card and – viola!! I received the e-mail confirmation.  While I didn’t have to fight crowds to get the products, I did experience frustration none-the-less.

The last internet purchase I made was a refurbished lap-top.  It has sound problems with the microphone providing a banshee like wail whenever I lay my hand on the front of the keyboard or try to talk to someone.  I called the provider and they put me through to tech support.  He told me to turn off the microphone, which I did.  The wailing stopped.

To add insult to injury, this morning when I opened my computer, I had a cyber class on blogging that I had forgotten about.  I went to the JoinMe sight and Skype and turned on the microphone and the screaming began again.  I tried to fix it – but to no avail.  I am now on the second computer but, it too, has a mind of its own.  The Office application has a glitch.  As I am typing, the letters decide they have a better place to be than in the word that I am typing.  They jump to the new sight and when I look up; I realize that I have made unfamiliar words inserted into an entirely different thought.

So, now I am in my blogging class and the topic is Cyber Monday.  Help me, Lord!  I remember a kinder, gentler time when I had a Rolodex (not to be confused with Rolex)  and a file cabinet, a phone and a car.  My own mind was the computer and things worked amazingly well.  I didn’t have access to all the things I do today, but truly, it was less stressful.

So, here I am, after a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, struggling to be thankful for cyber-anything.   Thinking back longingly to a time when Christmas Shopping was fun and didn’t start until December.

Cyber-burnout is really just a state of mind.  I have to know that if I didn’t have the internet I wouldn’t have blogging class with friends in Rockford, Illinois, or a Skype friend in South Africa.  I wouldn’t be able to see my grandchild in Madison, Wisconsin, or write to an audience of people I don’t even know and will, most likely, never meet!

After reconsidering, I am thankful for the Internet and the amazing way it allows me to communicate with the world.

Thanks, Al Gore!!!  (lol)

Are you thankful for the Internet???????????????????????????????????????????????

Related articles

• Talkcast 10pm ET: Thankful review, Cyber Monday preview (tuaw.com)
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A Tale of Heartbreak and Ingenuity

When I was a girl, I would visit my grandparents at the farm in the summers.  There are so many things about it that are stamped on my memory and I want to share the story of the house and its origins.

The farm-house was old even then.  There is a romantic story of how it came to be.

The homesteader built a small two room house into the side of a tall hill.  It was snug and large enough for his needs with a dug out room in the back for storage.  He put a porch on the front, but most of his building skill went into the barn.  It was a magnificent building.  It had a set up for milking the cows and an ample haymow for storage in the winter.  The rest of the barn was set up with mangers for the horses and pens for the calves that he fed when he separated them from their mothers.  He had a separator that he set up and automated with greyhounds.  He would put the milk in and the hounds would go round and round so that the cream would be available to sell at market.  Eventually, he sold the homestead to an enterprising young man named Oscar.

In another location, a man busied himself building a wonderful two-story house.  He was preparing it for his mail-order bride.  He spent hours on the Victorian style building and had completed the basic part of the house.  He was decorating the eaves with intricate cut-outs and was nearly finished when the word came that his bride was arriving that week.  In order to have the surprise complete, he sent his brother on the anticipated day to fetch her.  He worked feverishly.  Night fall came and his brother had not returned with his bride, indeed, he never did return.  He took her for himself.  Broken, the man abandoned the house and became a hermit living in a cave.  Oscar also purchased this property.

With ingenuity that we no longer see, Oscar took the Victorian and moved it.  He used a team of oxen to manuever it to the top of the hill and carefully located it on the other house. As I looked at the property, I was in awe that it could have been accomplished.   He connected the two buildings with stairs, added a side porch and moved in.  Later he moved to town with his family.

First my parents and then my grandparents rented the farm.  This is where I spent many wonderful hours of my childhood.  There is a creek and seven cold springs on the place.  A deep canyon had been cut by one of the springs.  A log had fallen across the happy little  stream.  When I visited, I would go there and sit by the hour on that log, singing, dreaming, and talking to God.

In the house, my grandmother was a true homemaker.  Her tall  cabinets always shone with varnish and polish. The beautiful African rosewood clock sat atop them, faithfully chiming the hour.  The old oak table was often heavy with homemade food and fresh vegetables.  At night, after the dishes were done, we would all sit at the table and listen to the radio and play canasta.

Although it is long ago abandoned as a home, my grandparents still live there in my heart .  My dog, Stubby, waits outside the old screen door for us to come.  The chickens and other animals populate the landscape with the sounds of peace broken only by the guinea hens who don’t know how to be peaceful.  In here, in my heart, it is still alive and beautiful.

There is much more to tell, but I will cherish it in my heart until the time is right to share.

Being Successful in the Face of Fear 101

She came into work early with her heart in her throat.  She had talked to one of her clients last night and things were falling apart.  Anna wanted to put that phone call off.  Her fear must have shown because when her boss walked by, he paused and sat down at her desk.  “What’s up?” he asked.  She grimaced.  “I think that the deal I have been working on is unraveling.”  He looked at her and smiled.  “I know that’s hard.  You have worked hard, but my rule is this, ‘if you have to eat a frog, do it first thing in the morning.’  Then the rest of the day will not have a cloud hanging over it and you can be productive!”  Anna laughed.  She turned to the phone and as she picked it up, she asked her boss for some salt and pepper.

Anna had learned an important lesson.  When we face our fears and do the hard things early in the day, things improve quickly.  The relief of having the difficult call behind her gave her the release to have a day that was highly productive.

Does fear freeze you?  Are you afraid of making cold calls?  Are you afraid that someone is going to tell you no?  Do you have unrealistic expectations?

Truth is that only 5% to 20% of the new activity actually sign up, so a ‘ no’ is just one step closer to the yes that you are seeking.  And here is more good news, all the people you meet and develop a relationship with today are the people who may say ‘yes’ tomorrow or refer someone to you that will rock your world.  ‘

Anyone for frog legs?

What are you afraid to do???  Let’s talk.

Related articles

• What am I so afraid of? (randomnesshappens.wordpress.com)
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Blue Moon 101 or Why Do We Call It Blue? and Other Trivia

August 2012 we will have two full moons in one month.  We like to name the moons such as the Harvest Moon, the planting moon.  Now you and I know that it would be a rare occurence for the second moon in the month to actually be blue, but it is a romantic notion nonetheless.

On the internet, I found different reasons for it to be called the Blue Moon.

At Green Answers, they said:

A blue moon, the second full moon in the span of a month, originally was called blue around 1883. This was right after Krakatoa erupted, sending ash into the air. There was enough that the moon looked blue through all the dust. This is how we got “once in a blue moon,” whose name was later switched with harvest moon, to get what we now call a blue moon.

The Answer Bag  (http://www.answerbag.com) contradicts with this:

My dictionary of idioms says this:

“The allusion to the moon being blue goes back at least to a 1528 rhyme:
Yf they say the mone is blewe,
We must beleve that it is true.”

Etymonline gives:
“Blue moon emblematic of ‘very rarely’ suggests something that, in fact, never happens (cf. at the Greek calends), as in this couplet from 1528:

Yf they say the mone is blewe,
We must beleve that it is true.”

So now that we have that out of the way, I looked to see what else is called Blue Moon and there is quite a list.

There is beer, roses, wisteria, cup cakes, quilts, ways to apply nail polish, lamps, pumpkins, goddesses, bread, margaritas, cakes, perfume, glass, foliage, candles, hibiscus, cocktail, phlox, and a book called ‘Blue Moon Rising’ by Simon Green.

But for those of us in the Encore Generation, we remember the blue moon through a wonderful old song written by Richard Hart in 1934.  It was later used in the musical ‘Grease.’

Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own, Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for, You heard me saying a prayer for, Someone I could care for,And then there suddenly appeared before me, Someone my arms could really hold, I heard you whisper “Darling please adore me,” And when I looked to the moon it had turned to gold, Blue moon, now I’m no longer alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own. And then there suddenly appeared before me The only one my arms will ever hold heard somebody whisper please adore me And when I looked the Moon had turned to gold Blue moon Now I’m no longer alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own Blue moon Now I’m no longer alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own

 

For me, it comes down to something rare and unexpected as in ‘once in a Blue Moon.’  There is some nostalgia in and longing.  It indicates things rare and precious.  “I only get to see my good friend once in a Blue Moon.’

What does Blue Moon mean to you?

The Top Reason to Grow Old

Growing old makes no sense.  It is unreasonable.  I still feel like I am a happy, healthy thirty year old on the inside – so ‘whatsup’ with the change in the outside?  I look in the mirror and sometimes I see my Mother.  Sometimes, I see just an older version of me.  Sometimes I am shocked by the reflection and step outside of myself and consider the stranger that stares back at me.

Apart from the exterior, there are many things I like about being in my ‘encore’ time of life!  I like the freedom of relationships.  You don’t have to like me.  I know that I will survive your rejection.  I can tell a man of most any age that I love him and it just says, “I love you too.”  There are no innuendos and no concerns that he will suddenly want more than I meant.

I am thankful as I advance in years as not all people grow old and I believe that it affords us wonderful perspective.  .

I have time.  Time to reflect and play.  Time to sit and watch the clouds and feel the heat from the sun on my skin.  Time to listen to nature and to other people.  Time to write – love that!

My grandchildren amaze me with their abilities and thoughts.  My grown children are a source of pride in their accomplishments and character.  They live too far away – or I do.

My true friends are few but I value them and they value me.  We have walked past the ones that were for a season and those who are users.

I can travel if I want, but mostly I love being home and enjoying the peace and quiet companionship of my dear husband.

Everything is more intense.  The things that I have little or no control over seem to be moving at a more rapid pace including political divides, corporations like Monsanto that have high-jacked our food supply and led to the genetic modification of so many things, the patent office that made GMO possible, and so much more.  Our grandchildren have much to deal with and I fear our legacy isn’t a pretty one.  .  I still have a desire to impact things for good.

My husband of thirty-two years is more precious to me every day.  He doesn’t say much but the silence is filled with love.

But the top reason for growing older is the closeness that I feel to my Creator and the love that I feel for everyone I meet.  I used to look at others and judge their clothes, their financial condition and their failures – now I feel an overwhelming love for them and find myself praying for complete strangers.

I am truly free and I love living!