My Two Daughters Are So Much Alike

Sisters caught being alike.

I love my daughters.  They are very close to each other.  They do a lot together.  They share a room.  They do their school work in their room.  Even when one of them is working on one project, the other one might be in there doing something else.

Now, you can see that they eat together, too.  They like eating chile with saltine crackers.  It's something easy to throw together for lunch.  They are very independent. 

I came out the other day and saw this scene.  I just had to capture it.  I loved it!  They were doing yet another thing together.

This is why I love home schooling my kids.  My kids get to spur each other to positive habits, like reading.  Okay, I know they shouldn't be reading at the table while eating a meal, but I am overjoyed they love reading.  By the way, they don't read at the dining table during dinner.  It's a big no no because that's our family time.

I am very proud of my little gals for being able to read.  Look at the youngest reading a comic book about Donald Duck.  She's reading at six years-old.  Just look at what the teen is now reading: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (which I recently bought at a thrift store).  This is a book that my sixth grade teacher had wanted me to read, and I never did.  I guess you could say it's part of my bucket list to read it after my daughter is done with it.

Thanks so much for reading this entry about my two daughters being so much alike.

If you enjoyed this entry, please share it with others.
I would appreciate that very much.

How about you, my readers?  Have you seen your daughters doing something positive?  If so, do your praise them for it? I would encourage you parents to praise your girls when you catch them doing something like getting their own meals and/or reading.  It's important that they know we are proud of them.  It's a great way to boost their self-esteem.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry is part of the Family Fun Fridays series.

Free Christmas Coloring Pages

Every contribution helps the holiday to be a jolly one.

I thought it would be fun to look for some Christmas coloring pages.  My six year-old had requested some pages.  The occasional candy cane and stocking picture is fun to color.  This is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn about Jesus and why he was born.  I hope this list proves to be useful during the holiday season. 

Here are some websites which offer free Christmas coloring pages:


Free Coloring Pages


Christmas Coloring Pages


Papa Jan.com Coloring Pages


Crayola


thekidspage


kaboose


freechristmascoloring


coloring-page


ministry-to-children


dltk Christmas Story Advent Coloring Book



This entry is part of Thorough Thursdays.

Living With An Open Mind: My Contemplation of Verse 52 of the Tao Te Ching

Dr. Dyer's book is Change your Thoughts--Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao.


Today, I am focusing on verse 52 of the Tao Te Ching, particularly these portions:

 ...Keep your mouth shut,

guard the senses,

and life is ever full.

Open your mouth,

always be busy,

and life is beyond hope.

Seeing the small is called clarity;

keeping flexible is called strength.

Using the shining radiance,

you return again to the light

and save yourself misfortune.

This is called

the practice of eternal light.

I've been known to hold my anger in.  I've also been know to blow up.  Sometimes, I can control my anger; lately, it's been getting harder.  One important fact, though, is that I don't want to take it out on my kids and husband.

This verse of the Tao Te Ching suggests keeping the mouth shut.  When adversities come, and they undoubtedly do, we should minimalize how much we say.  I already heard this twice since I read this verse.  It was two older men who advised this.

What happens when we open our mouths?  Have you ever heard of the phrase: Lose lips sink ships?  Yeah, our words can get us into trouble.  In the Bible, it has been mentioned that there are times for peace and times for war.  There are times that call for silence.  Then there are times in which we must speak up about injustices.

Can we truly keep our mouths shut?

The difficulty comes when we are confronted with difficult people and situations.  It is best to be assertive.  I'm not calling for aggressiveness.  I'm not saying we should be passive and allow people to step all over us.  I'm not even saying we should be passive aggressive and whisper under our breaths when someone angers us.

I'm saying that there is permission to address a difficult situation with calm.  There is no sense getting into a huff and a puff, like the Big Bad Wolf.  It's okay to call a truce and say, "Let's agree to disagree," if there is no common road.  If an intelligent conversation cannot be had, then it's best to table it.  There are those times, though, in which we encounter someone who won't ever see our point of view; in that case, it is best to move on to another topic of conversation.

We need to be tolerant of each other's differences.

Then again, what do we do about people who cross their arms and are adamant in their viewpoint?  Well, I say that there is close-mindedness involved.  That person will not listen to what we have to say because they are not receptive, as their body language suggests.  They are not willing to see our point of view.  These people merely want to "put us in our place" even though they might or might not be wrong.  I would not engage in conversation with those type of people because they don't want to learn with and from us.  In fact, I've simply walked away from people like that.

I firmly believe that for me being a Latina, who has a university diploma, it is difficult to hold conversations.  I'm not saying that I'm a better conversationalist than anyone else.  It has never been my intention, you know, to show somebody up.  That isn't my style.  No.  It is difficult, rather, in that there are individuals who would like to trip me up.  If I don't know something, these very persons have said to me, "And you go to college?  You should know that!"

I'm trying to be flexible with difficult people and circumstances.

I don't think it's fair for me to be mistreated just because I am learned.  What does God really want me to do about that?  Am I supposed to turn the other cheek?  What lesson am I teaching my children, when I allow people to treat me like a doormat?  Should I stand up for my right to happiness in my own home?

I'm standing my ground!

These are the questions that run through me, ever the soul-searcher, as I try to keep an open mind.  I don't know all the answers, and I don't want to lead anyone astray.  I am simply venting and explaining the plight that I suffer through every day.  One day, I think I'll just blow up with anger.  The next day, I decided to be nice.  On yet another day, I decide I will feign indifference.  One thing I won't be doing anymore is walking away because I deserve to inhabit all the rooms of my own home with peace in my heart. 

In reading the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, I am seeking clarity.  I want to know what to do when the dilemmas in life come along.  I pray that God, the Father, gives me the answers I need.  Ultimately, I want to do as God wants.  I want to please Him, and I want to treat those who trespass against me with the same mercy I seek from God.

Thanks for reading this entry about my living open-minded.  

I appreciate you taking the time to read it.  

My dear readers, I'd like for y'all to answer the above questions and these: Are you treating your family and friends with respect?  Are you willing to keep quiet when it's most appropriate?  Are you willing to seek the truth of a given situation?  Do you want to know the truth for what it really is?  Are you willing to consider another person's point of view?  I'm not talking about sacrificing your religious views.  I would never ask anyone to do that.  Rather, I'm asking for people to respect one another without bashing and belittling. An intelligent conversation can be had if all parties are willing to be open-minded about different topics.

I pray that we all would seek wisdom from the Source of everything--Our Heavenly Father, God.  I pray that we would ask God for His help to experience a deep, loving relationship with Him.

May God bless you, my beloveds, with His wisdom and peace, in Jesus' name.  Amen!

This has been an entry for Wisdom Wednesdays.

I am currently drawing inspiration from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's book and the 81 verses of the Chinese wisdom book the Tao Te Ching.

Family Move Night With Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2

I had been waiting patiently to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.  Ever since my hubby had taken the kids to watch the movie, they have counted the days until I could watch it.  They were excited for me to see it because they loved it.  I had been informed that it would be available for rent today (Tuesday) through Redbox.  

I was already in bed, when I shot up.  It was minutes until midnight.  I felt like I was going to bid for something.  I went to the website and saw that it wasn't available yet.  A few minutes later, it became available.  I snatched it up and in it went into my shopping cart.  Then, I had to run our debit card several times until the transaction went through.

One scene of Kung Fu Panda 2

My hubby picked up the movie, Kung Fu Panda 2, from the kiosk just before heading to work.  I let my kids know.  They were so excited.  My younger son had kept wanting to tell me about the movie, but I insisted that he not ruin it for me.  I didn't want him to spill the beans about the movie.  Guess what...he doesn't want me to spill the beans for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Wonderful ambiance for movie night

This evening, we ate our delicious dinner and settled down to watch the movie.  We had a warm and loving environment with the glow of the Christmas tree and lights.  My living room area is so tiny we were crowded, but I loved it.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by my loving family.  We became very emotional during some of the scenes, and we laughed at other ones.

I think my children enjoyed our family night.  In fact, the time went by too quickly.  I look forward to more movie nights.  I loved hanging with our family.  It was a great time of bonding and discussing the moral implications of the movie; this one seemed to say that we are not shaped just by our past and we must rise above it.

Well, thanks for reading this entry about our family movie night with Kung Fu Panda 2.  I appreciate it.

How about you, my readers?  Have you ever seen either of the Kung Fu Panda movies?  If so, did your children enjoy learning about the morals of the stories?  Does your family enjoy movie nights?  I think movie nights are a wonderful way to bond and discuss a movie together.

I pray that God gives us all His wisdom and peace.

This has been an entry for the Technology Tuesdays series.  Please visit my Technology Tuesdays webpage for a list of my previous entries.

Determining to Be Jolly

My jolly environment--a Christmas scene

How do you deal with anger?

Have you ever been so angry that your body started to pulsate?  Have you ever been so mad that you couldn't think about anything else but what angered you?  Have you ever felt that you couldn't move beyond anger but knew you had to?  What helped you get through to the other side of the anger?

Last night, I could not sleep.  I kept playing scenarios in my mind.  I kept thinking about how I should react to the next rush of rudeness aimed at me.  What should I do?  How should I react?  What should I say?

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.  --Proverbs 15: 1 NLT

I spent too many hours thinking, thinking, thinking.  I thought about doing the crazy bit; you know, pretend I'm crazy and go lethal with my metal bat.  Hey, I'm just being honest.  Walking away hasn't worked so I came up with respectfully verbalizing my grievances.  Yeah, sure; that's the best idea I've got so far.

I'll tell you what happened next.  I pictured my youngest daughter.  You see, a while back, I was having problems with who is now an ex-friend.  My older, wise daughter, Iris (who was a tween back then) gave me some wonderful advise.  She told me to think of Kaelyn (who makes me feel happy), when I was dealing with difficult people; needless to say, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Since I've been in such a funk lately, I've had to be proactive.  One thing I've done is to take my Valerian Root.  It usually helps some.  What isn't helping my situation is the gloominess of the weather.  It's been overcast for too many days in a row.

I resorted to asking my hubby to put a few strings of white lights on the walls of my living/dining area.  It is so bright now at night time when we turns those lights on.  It's beautiful, cheery, andwhimsical.  I love creating a dreamy scene.  It is something we love doing for our children.

It is difficult at times to remain cheerful.  It's easy to keep harping about all the problems we have.  That's easier.  It's challenging to be jolly when the economy is down and some loved ones are no longer with us. 

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.  --Proverbs 15:13 KJV  Choosing to be happy, on this holiday season is just that--a choice.  We can choose to be sourpusses or happy, jolly people.  The choice is ours; however, I reserve the right to call you out on it, especially if you come to my house.    
Here's what I'm planning to post on my front door:  Ho ho ho!Be prepared to be jolly or...turn around and leave.

Thanks for reading about my decision to be jolly.  I hope this blog encourages someone to improve their own attitude during the holidays.

How about you, my readers?  Is your mental health poor?  Do you have any new mental health goals for December?  How have you handled setbacks to your mental health?  I encourage you to assess your current mental health.  It's a great opportunity to adjust your life to improve it.   

If you need to improve your health, in any form, please ask God to help you; He will, if you pray for His guidance.

This is an entry for Medical Mondays.  For past entries, click here.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints that I discussed here are just my opinions.  Please consult your physician before altering anything relating to your health.  I am only suggesting here to take charge of your health.  Don't just leave your health in the hands of your doctors; become your own advocate.  You know best how your body is doing.