Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 11

Thankful Thursday - Becoming

"There is no place so AWAKE and ALIVE as the edge of becoming." Sue Monk Kidd.

I love the feeling of being on the verge...the verge of something wonderful about to take place. The threshold  from what's been to what's about to happen. 

I always feel it in my gut....something new is on its way.....a new adventure.

It's the way I feel now. Don't know what it is but the feeling is in me. Something I've learned in the past is to stay open and trust and let things unfold as they need. 

It always amazes me how all the right people incredibly start walking into my life, people that are part of the adventure and I met one of them this week.

So that's what I'm doing....living right now on the verge and loving it. 
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Purpose.

“Sometimes when you lose your way, you find YOURSELF.”  Mandy Hale
Sometimes things happen, not so pretty things, difficult things that make me crazy and throw my life into turmoil and leave me wondering why it even happened in the first place. What was the purpose. Why did God allow it. 
Everything had been going along great, then this wild storm hit, threw my life off kilter, and all I can do is struggle against the hardness and wish things would go back to the way they were. 
I have no choice but to go through that tough stuff. I do whatever I need to. I ride it. Then to my amazement something weird happens. 
Something amazing comes out of the struggle.....a truth I hadn't seen before.....a purpose I never realized......and I stand in awe, grateful for everything I just went through. The painful thing was for a higher purpose......to take me to a higher place....a more evolved one.....and more real.  
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Courage

"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear." Meg Cabot.

I used to think courage looked bold, confident, strong and fearless. But I don't believe that anymore.

For me, I feel the most courage when I know something is wrong or harmful to someone and I need to take a stand and have my voice.

I used to be afraid to speak up.....afraid to say what I really felt strongly about...afraid I'd look dumb, and maybe even be laughed at.

But there are some things that are too important....things I can't stay silent about, especially when I see a terrible injustice being done, not just to someone I love but also to strangers. If none of us says anything, that injustice will continue. 

Courage - it hits me when I know something is right that I need to do.

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Caring.

"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." Theodore Roosevelt. 


That's pretty true for me. When I know someone cares, really cares about me...I want to do my best and give my best.

When I know someone cares, really cares.....I sit up and listen to what they have to say.When I know they're  invested in my life...in what happens to me....in my happiness, it makes a huge difference.  

When I know someone cares, really cares, it changes everything.

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Freedom

“Freedom, I found is not only in the running, but in the heart, the mind, the hands.” Louise Erdrich

People fight and struggle to break out of all kinds of things and situations that hold them prisoner. And some amazingly make it to the freedom side. 

But over the years I've learned that standing on the freedom side isn't necessarily being free. 

Freedom has to take place in the heart, in the mind, and in the soul. I think freedom is inside a person long before they physically arrive on the freedom side. 

I'm grateful today for the freedom that got into my skin, into my bones and into my blood.
And for my faith that made it all happen.
   

Happy Thursday, Guys.    

Thankful Thursday - Happy

 
“I would always rather be happy than dignified.” Charlotte Brontë

There's a whole lot of 'proper' we're supposed to be and do, but I don't care about looking good. 

I care about being free, having fun and laughing a whole lot.

Kids don't think of much else than goofying around and enjoying themselves. I am so thankful I can still do that with my kids.....let loose, go nuts, crack each other up. 

When I'm working on my writing, or in the kitchen making supper, I sometimes hear them in the other room, singing, giggling, just feeling free and easy. I think that's the way we're all meant to be. 

Happy Thursday, Guys!

Thankful Thursday

“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” Elie Wiesel
I love hearing about people's life stories. We all have them....our own tales, things both sad and wonderful that's happened to us. 
The best for me are the ones in which people have managed to overcome not only the hard stuff, but the beliefs about them that someone else has held, beliefs that held them back from realizing their dreams....but one day, they just pull up their strength and walk into the things they wanted regardless. 
Stories, real life stories of ordinary people, always inspire me to reach for my best.  
Happy Thursday, Guys!!!

Thankful Thursday. Tikkum Olam

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” John Holmes
 תיקון עולם Tikkum Olam, a Hebrew saying which means a shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. 

I believe in Tikkum Olam. I believe in giving back and helping others make it. I'm grateful today for the opportunities to do that, through my writing, through running workshops and even through simply caring.

I love that I can share my story, tell what I've lived, the tough stuff, the things I never thought I'd overcome, and give hope to others who are still fighting the darkness. It's the thing that brings me incredible joy.

When I lived on life's edge, and contemplated ending my life, I never imagined that one day, I'd tell people how amazing life is, how great, and how thankful I am for all of it, even for the darkness. 

This morning heading out to share that hope with a group of women. Happy Thursday, Guys. 


What's your gift, what's your calling. What brings you incredible joy.

Thankful Thursday. Giving Hope.

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." Jack London
Sometimes life hands out crappy  things...things that stop me in my tracks and leave me questioning over and over, why'd this have to happen?

Those things that hurt....that come out of the blue. Unexpected. Like a dumb accident, or someone I thought was a friend taking advantage of me or not getting something I had my heart set on, or worse, the death of someone I adore.

But in the mess....in the not so pretty stuff, it's my faith that holds me no matter what happens. Faith that whispers, it'll be okay. He's shown me, that He's there, in the crazy, in the tough, in the heartbreak, in the hard to understand stuff. He's become my strength. 

So when life hands out a lousy hand, I know somewhere down the road, things will turn around. It always does. 
Happy Thursday, Guys.
 

"There are no ifs in God's world and no places safer than...

"There are no ifs in God's world and no places safer than other places. The centre of His will is our only safety." Corrie Ten Boom.  

Corrie Ten Boom lived at a time when life was very unsafe....a time when the world had gone  crazy. Corrie and her family were arrested and taken to a concentration camp. All of them except Corrie died. Their crime? Protecting Jewish people.

I used to live in awful fear. I had horrible images of the worst things happening. But Corrie lived the worst. Her life experience and her words are an example for me to trust and not be afraid. 

There is safety in Him....doesn't matter the situation. Doesn't matter how hopeless or awful things are.

Two years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Ten Boom home where Corrie grew up and where she learned to trust God in the big things and in the small. 

There is definite safety in Him. Always. No matter what!

Happy Thursday, Guys.