50 year Bliss?

As I woke up this morning, in a quiet house preparing cookies for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary party this afternoon, I was reminded of how precious life is. While I reflected on all of the things that they have provided for me in the last 19 years that I have know their son... it has been an amazing journey. They have accepted me as a daughter even though they already have one, they have support us as a couple and have given us a helping hand when we needed not only their help but their wisdom and knowledge. They are awesome grandparents to Paxton and have really been there to show us in many ways how to love. As a 38 year old woman who has lost both parents, they have done a great job of making me feel not only welcome and included but truly loved by them. I am grateful for their son, although sometimes he drives me crazy... both in good and irritating ways... but it reminds me of why I fell in love with him in the first place, how happy he makes me, supports me, loves me and makes me laugh. Not everyone gets the chance to celebrate 50 years, whether death comes before or they just drift apart. It truly is a blessing to say you still love someone after 50 years of marriage. What is the ingredient that maintains that love, that bond, that security of having that person by your side? I truly believe that it is never a one person effort. You have to both want to be there and one person sometimes has to want it more than the other to hold it together. You have to from time to time stop and reflect on what that person really brings to the table and the why you said YES in the first place. Being married really is not about being perfectly happy or always getting along being married is about 2 very different individuals who can't live without each another. But can survive life changes, job changes, births and raising children, stress, down times, moodiness, happy times, health issues, moves, busy schedules and supporting one another to be themselves and choosing to collectively agree to like and share similar interests but also to have the ability to pursue their own thing separately and for that to be ok with their partner. We are not always going to think like our partner, we will not always agree with their decisions or ideas- we may not always feel the support our expectations want them to give. Which I am positively certain we as their partner also don't always meet every expectation they have of us and that is ok... if everyone always agreed with one another, life sure would be pretty boring! We have joined their attributes as well as their faults when we committed in the first place. It is concentrating on their attributes and what joy they give us that initially ignited and continues to spark why we chose them and why we continue to chose them. When you are mad as hell, let down or disappointed remember that spark... cherish it, reignite it! Savor life's joys, count life's blessings and continue to nurture your relationship, don't take the other person for granted and continue to ignite that spark as often as you need. Don't dwell on the wrongs, the mistakes or the disappointments, we all have them and we all do them. Play with passion, don't do anything with less than your whole heart when it comes to your partner, put them first before your children, as they were (in most cases) in the picture first. Continue to engineer harmony, you don't have to always be right or get in the last word. Let it be easy and with choice and appreciation, respect and most of all LOVE. -Be completely humble and gentle, be patient bearing with one another in LOVE. - Ephesians 4:2

Good Friday Relfection Change your Happiness Level

For years I have said to my son, adjust your attitude. I am a rather positive person and when he talks to me in a whiny or negative attitude voice it makes my skin crawl. Nothing can get Momma more upset that this. His crappy demeanor can change my attitude on a dime! Should it? Absolutely not, do I have control over anyone else's attitude but me? Nope... however, as a mom, and I human you better believe I can make suggestions! How people act and react to their situation that are around me, does often play into my attitude as well...I strive not to let my circumstances get me down, but sometimes they just do. Do I forgive, forget and move on quickly? You bet I do it is my nature, but sometimes I allow my reactions to take control of me! I AM the creator of my experience. I can choose inner peace at anytime. I should harness my energy to my advantage and to make a positive impact on others. In the midst of any horrible circumstances, challenging days and upsetting occurrences... I am always looking to find a positive spin on things. In the last few days when I have went to tell my son to "adjust his attitude" I have caught myself and stated, "Change your Happiness Level" for me this has a more positive connotation then what I was previously saying to him, and I believe his reaction to it is less negative. The same may be said for today, "Good Friday"- how would it be viewed if it was called "death friday" or "tragic friday" or something of that nature... what would our attitudes reflect about the day? It is called Good Friday for a reason... As I reflect on today being Good Friday, a sacred Holy Day people probably ask themselves... Why in the heck, if Jesus died do they call it "Good" Friday? What could possibly be good about the death of someone? The term "Good" as applied to Good Friday is an Old English expression meaning holy. It's also often called Holy Friday. From another aspect, Good Friday is always tied to Easter Sunday, which is a joyful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. He could not have been resurrected if he had not died first. Sometimes we just need to change our perspective and change our happiness level to balance out our negative interpretation of something. Luke 23:44-47 NIV The Death of Jesus 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”