Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 17

Thankful Thursday

"Life is not made up of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, but of moments." Sarah Ban Breathnach
The month has been crazy busy. Every day something special is going on as the countdown to school is coming to an end. Prom, grad parties, trips, award nights, exams and all the prep stuff for the new academic year in the Fall.  
As soon as school is done, we're heading out - going on a road trip - whale watching, spending time together, having fun. No work, no set goals, just taking it one day at a time and taking whatever comes. 
Moments! It used to be so hard for me to live in the moment, but now all these moments pump me with gratitude. Grateful for.... -all the busy....running around, picking up dropping off, watching the faces of my kids light up with every new experience.-the email I received from a woman I met in the prison. She asked for a copy of my book. She needs hope. Grateful I have something that can give her hope. -A woman I know who struggles with some destructive habits, called and asked me how she can forgive herself. We had a long talk about God and faith and hope and peace. She wanted to know how I did it. Grateful I could share the hope in me with her.  -giving back - helped out with on a community project. Met some incredible people. Loved being a part of them and working together for a cause. -Mostly that He's there, always. never leaves. a constant. That's what I am most grateful for. Things can change, but He never does. Have an amazing Thursday, Guys!  

Hope

Thankful Thursday

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” Ben Okri

The news is full of heart wrenching stories - terrible accidents, horrible sicknesses, natural disasters, horrors of war. And yet in those stories are the people...people who will somehow manage to pull their lives together....to rise above the awful.....to grasp onto hope and eventually shine incredible courage. 

I wish there was no brokenness, no pain, no devastation in anyone's life....but I think Okri is right....we really are greater than our suffering.  Grateful for.....

-people like Maya Angelou, Eli Weisel, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman and so many others who show me that suffering can be overcome, and so never give up. 
-a family member who fought and overcame cancer is now living with greater courage and joy. 
-friends fighting eating disorders, who refuse to give up, but chose to stay in the fight, showing amazing courage. 
-everyone of us who struggle and fight to overcome painful stuff in our lives....
-and for Him being an anchor, something rock solid to hold onto. 

Blogger Sandie Holland had a double mastectomy yesterday. Please pray for her. 

Happy Thursday Guys....stay safe out there.

Thankful Thursday

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” Oprah Winfrey

I used to be afraid to touch life, to enjoy any of its good, big or small. For me, it was all about survival, fighting to get through one day to the next. 

Not anymore. Now I wake happy and eager to get out and experience whatever the day holds. I never imagined life could be this great. And it's not b/c anything major is happening, but just that I'm alive, I've been given a second chance and I finally understand that life is meant to be lived, not endured. Thankful for..... 

-the laughter and smiles of my children. They're the best things that ever happened to me. I want to be happy for them so they can be happy in life.
-chatting with strangers - I love when people just come up to me out of the blue and start talking as if we were old friends.
-drives in the country. One of my favorite things to do. The peace, sights, smells, sounds - it's so life affirming. I always return home happier. 
-Animals. There's something fun about seeing a groundhog scurry across a field, or a family of deer grazing nearby, or the myriad of birds flying around - I love it. Best entertainment there is.  
-Mostly, for the gentleness of His touch. It's what really pumps me with gratitude, peace and joy. Joy - that was the farthest thing I'd ever thought I'd have. 

Happy Thursday, Guys!!!!

 

Thankful Thursday

In China, we don't consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time and we know what's underneath the skin.   Ziyi Zhang
Beautiful  people - For me, they're the ones who have an incredible beauty on the inside. They're consistently kind. And they care, really care about people. They have a grace, a passion, a positive spirit.
Beautiful people - so many have come into my life and deposited a sweetness that has changed me for the better. Grateful for.....
-My girls...without a doubt, they have made the biggest impact on helping me live free and kind. -L.O. - taught me that everyone deserves dignity, regardless of income, race or life position. I am forever grateful to L.O. who is definitely one of the beautiful people. -Mr. R. - gave a street kid money, no questions asked, not once but again and again and again. His kindness and compassion to me has never left and has taught me to do the same for others. -G.A. Her gentle spirit touched mine in such a powerful way that although she lost her battle with cancer, she lives in me......reminding me to live strong, live kind, live with compassion. -Mostly that He loves me no matter what. He hangs in, forgives, is always in my corner routing for me. He's my anchor, something to hold onto when life hurts or when I'm afraid. 
Beautiful people - all of you also fit in that catagory!!!! Happy Thursday, Guys.


 

Thankful Thursday

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” Viktor Emil Frankl
Just finished reading Michelle Knight's story, Finding Me. It reminds me of the power in each of us to make a choice to live kind, forgiving, empowered and free. It doesn't matter how awful life has been or cruel. It's our choice to live happy. 
It's the way I choose to live my own life. Awful things happened...terrible things, but I won't ever let the bad define me. Instead, I make a choice everyday to look at the good, and there's always lots of good. Today, grateful for.....
-Took friends on a hike to a place we hike that they've never been. They loved it and we loved that they loved it. Sharing that 'special' place and seeing how happy they were afterward, made us really happy.-Nature - love that it's all around the world, in every place, every country so that everyone can enjoy it's incredible peace and awe. -Friends - connections with kindred spirits are the best and they're everywhere.-Books - they remind me I'm not alone and inspire me to reach for my best. -Mostly that He really is my best friend. He's always there and even when I run off without Him and come back, He's still there, still loving, still accepting and still gentle. 
Happy Thursday, Guys! 

Thankful Thursday

 “There's no place like home.”  L. Frank Baum


Home....I hungered for it for a long time. It's what I wanted more than anything. A safe place to fall when life hurt. A familiar place where I could run and find comfort. A haven to go and recharge so I could return back out into the world stronger...braver.

I have that now.....that place called home. It's not a building. It's not brick and mortar, although I have that too. What it really is....is the love, the caring, the bonding I have with those who never stop loving me or I them. Grateful for......

-Love of my family that's a constant. It's always there... everyday.....in the hugs and kisses, in the laughter and even in the tears. 
-Love once hurt so much. I didn't understand when someone told me they loved me. I didn't feel worthy of love. But now it's what gets me through each day...it's what keeps the sun in my heart, the joy in my spirit. It's not just a word, but a powerful energy that pumps me to live free and happy. 
-Opportunities to give back a small bit of what I've been given makes my heart sing. To see someone else fly b/c of my caring is the best feeling in the world. 
-And mostly...for His incredible love that cut through the darkness, hatred, hurt, and loneliness. It was a powerful thing. And it still is. He touched me that day in the hospital and gave me the keys to finally come HOME. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. In spite of the rain, hope the day shines for everyone!!!! 

Thankful Thursday

"In my daughter's eyes I am a hero. 
I am strong and wise and I know no fear. 
But the truth is plain to see 
She was sent to rescue me. 
I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes." James T. Slater

I feel like the luckiest person in the world. It's 'cause of my kids. They're amazing. They've been my teachers on how to live my best life. This morning, I'm feeling puffed with gratitude that they're in my world.....that they're my kids.

My oldest has told me a few times, I'm her hero. But the truth is she's mine. Grateful for....

-just totally proud of my girls....they shine in my world. 
-my oldest received the community's honour youth award for her humanitarian efforts on helping others locally and internationally. 
-hiking in the woods again. Feels sooo good.
-started writing again. Playing with the story and doing it for me. Words are so fun. I love getting into the character's heads and seeing the world from their perspective.  
-Mostly that He's opened my world up in so many incredible ways. He's given me reasons galore to live with gratitude.

Happy Thursday Guys. Hope the day is amazing for all of you!!!!
 

Thankful Thursday

"Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Just keep swimming." Dory (Finding Nemo)

This morning I"m giving a workshop on hope. They asked that for part of it, I share my story. In thinking about about what I'm going to say, I remember that determination, that fight to not give up, even when everything screamed inside, 'there's no point.'
 
I realize now I'm like that in everything. If there's something I want  bad enough, I just keep swimming, keep trying, keep pushing forward. I'm grateful for, 

-that inner fight that keeps me in the ring, that won't let me give in to fears and doubts. I used to think I was just dumb and stubborn for holding on and fighting so long, but now, I realize it's a definite gift. 
-having survived the past with all it's awful stuff - I'm grateful that I came through it and can tell others to hold on, b/c things change. I'm proof. 
-the determination and fight in the many courgeous women I meet in the groups and workshops. They inspire me. They make my heart sing and give me even more fight to live freer.
-All you guys. Reading about your struggles, your battles, your determination to overcome the tough stuff, activates that fighter instinct in me even more.
-Mostly that He's fighting with me and He always wins. Because He's a winner, I'm a winner. I like that. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. Hope it shines for you.

Thankful Thursday

"Broken things can be made whole again, perhaps not as they were before, but maybe stronger this time." Carrie Ryan

I feel strong. Stronger than I've ever felt. I wish I could tell every broken person things change for the better. You just have to hold on and believe. Grateful for.....

1. They have started to translate my deception book into Russian and Ukraine. Their goal is to have it available there by Christmas. 
2. Running an empowerment workshop this morning for a group of amazing women. They tell me I inspire them but the truth is I always come home on a high. Their fight to be free, their courage to show up and share their pain and then reach for their best totally inspires me.
3.The donated deception books are moving. Besides the prisons, they're now in the U.K, Caribbean, and South Africa. I'm totally blown away that my story is helping others find hope. 
4.Asked to run a workshop on hope in May. In preparing for it, I remember the hopelessness that coloured my life...the despair that never left and then the touch of His gentleness. I love that I get to tell those who are where I was to never ever give up b/c life really does change. I'm proof.
5. And mostly that He showed me nothing is impossible to overcome. When He's on the scene, life gets better. Not all at once, but hope filters in and with that hope, faith that the bad will go and the good will come. 

Have an amazing Thursday, Guys.