Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 26

Thankful Thursday

"Love has within it a redemptive power....a power that eventually transforms individuals." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Someone asked me the other day, what made the difference in turning my life around. I didn't have to hesitate. I knew. It was the touch of His gentleness.....the touch of His love. 

Love made the difference...love that waited....love that never forced me to be or do anything. Accepting...gentle love that met me right where I was...in the dark...in the pain...in the shame. And that love gave me courage to walk out of the darkness. 

On the first thankful thursday of 2013....I remember and I'm grateful for.....

-Grace...undeserved...unearned....it turned my life around. 
-Love...so strong and powerful....I couldn't resist it. It did what nothing else could do. It softened the hardness of my heart. 
-Peace...it replaced the angst....it calmed that inner restlessness....the wild...out of control....the relentless living on the edge. 
-Joy....it lifted the despair...the hopelessness that coloured everything and filled me inside with this crazy hard to explain happy.
-Him.....His friendship always there...never leaving...always running with me through the good stuff and not so good. And more than that....He gave me purpose....a reason for being. More than anything else....I'm thankful for Him!

New Year 2013

Linking with  Charlotte at Spiritual Sunday and Laura at Faith Filled Friday

"I believe every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” Oprah Winfrey 

Sometimes I'm struck with how many people there are in the world. There's so many of us in every corner of the Globe.....

And yet what totally amazes me is that each one of us matters. Everyone of us has incredible value and a unique purpose. That blows my mind. 

2012....a good year for some....a tough one for others....devastating for a few. Praying He orchestrates 2013 to only be an awesome one for all of us....
   
Happy New Year Guys!!!!
I pray You'll be our eyes....and watch us where we go...and help us to be wise...in times when we don't know.....

Thankful Thursday

"Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers" Kahlil Gibran.
Woke up to gobs of snow....everything's white....everything looks magical...It's a beautiful winter wonderland outside. And on the news...there's been story after story of people stopping to help a friend...a neighbour....a stranger. Today I'm grateful for.....

-the beauty of snow and the kindness of strangers.....
-my niece who was recently diagosed with aggressive breast cancer...that she's feeling strong and hopeful. Please pray for her guys...She's got a little boy....and we all need her to be okay.
-Snowball fights with my girls...
-for the amazing connection with the man in my story...a real life hero. I'm flattered that he bought my first book....and open to my staying in touch with him.
-Most of all....that He touched me and coloured my world with incredible love. I see that love everywhere now...in the gently falling snow....in strangers who happen by to offer their help and support...in my family and home and community.  His love....it's what I'm most grateful for...

Merry Christmas!

"It's Christmas every time you let God love others through you. It's Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand" Mother Teresa  I like the spirit of Christmas. I like the kindness and the way people go the extra mile to be nice. I like how people band together to raise money and gifts so that no one has to feel left out....alone....and empty. 

I like all of it and I don't want it to be for just one month...or a few weeks or even one particular day. I want it to last...always...and I want it to outweigh the dark....the sad...the lonely and the hard times for all of us. 

Christmas has this amazing feeling that seems to make us nicer. Christmas....it's all b/c of Him. I never could've imaged this kind of joy....or peace. Sometimes I shake my head to see if it'll disappear.....it never does. Instead...every day gets a bit more brighter. And I've learned...

"I'm not alone at all I thought. I was never alone. And that is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent" Taylor Caldwell


Merry Christmas Guys!

And so this is Christmas.....I hope you have fun......

Kindness

Linking with Charlotte at Spiritual Sunday and Laura at Faith Filled Friday

"Three things in human life are important: the first to be kind, the second to be kind and the third to be kind." Henry James.  

I don't think there's anything in this world that can trump kindness. I went to get my hair cut the other day. There was a new lady...she wasn't the best in cutting hair but she had something...a way about her.....an incredible kindness. 

I left there feeling that she had given me something so special. In the twenty or thirty minutes I spent with her....she made me feel as if I were the most important person that had walked in the door that day. Her kindness overwhelmed me....made me want to get out there and do the same to everyone I came across. 

Kindness...it's real...it's tangible. I want to show that kind of kindness to people in my world. I want to.....

Set the world on fire...

Thankful Thursday

Everybody says women are like water. I think it's because water is the source of life, and it adapts itself to its environment. Like women, water also gives of itself wherever it goes to nurture life...." Xinran 
Woke up this morning.....thinking...it's thankful thursday...I wasn't sure what to write even though I feel huge gratitude for so many things, Then it hit me.....something so simple...something in my everyday world...something that always gives me life and hope and peace.....something that I never want to take for granted......I'm thankful for....
-Water.....its free and incredibly satisfying...I"m not a fan of soda or juice. For me...water is the best drink to quench my thirst. 
-Water.....walking down by the lake and watching its calm with the geese and swans and ducks gives me tremendous peace inside. Not sure why but it always does.
-Water....when I'm feeling wiped...spent....exhausted...there's nothing better for me than jumping in a warm shower. It invigorates better than anything else. 
-Water.....I love swimming and feeling that freedom in letting go and letting the water hold me up
-Water....it blows me away that He created it as part of the world.... 

Happy Thursday Guys!!!

Senseless

Linking with Charlotte at Spiritual Sunday and Laura at Faith Filled Fridays

"We live in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed....when people are showing their worst side and don't know whether to believe in truth and right and God.  

Deep down, the young are lonelier than the old. I wonder if anyone can ever succeed in making their children content. Daddy's words were right when he said...parents can only give good advice, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

It's difficult in times like these...ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." Anne Frank

I fell asleep last night....heartsick over the school shooting. Why would anyone would want to hurt the innocent? I woke up thinking about the pain of those who lost their children and family members in such a brutal and senseless act. Praying that somehow God brings them comfort.
God must need another angel around the throne tonight....

Thankful Thursday

"Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.” Stephan King

Hope...just a four letter word.....but packed with incredible power. Fear is the same...and also packed with incredible power. 
One gives life....the other destroys it. 

Something I noticed about hope.....when I grab onto it....it always trumps fear. And the thing about it....the longer I hang on to hope...it somehow becomes a rock solid faith...that whatever it is I need will happen. Not could or might anymore....but a strong solid WILL happen. It seems to me that hope is a first step.....faith the next..... Grateful this week for....

-the little things....cuddling with my kids...and chatting about everything and nothing.   
-the freedom in this country to say and do and be whatever I want....so many around the globe don't have that. 
-the holidays.....there's something magical about Christmas and Hannukah. I love the music...the sights...the lights...the friendliness of people at this time and mostly...the excitement of the kids. 
-nature...it's beauty overwhelms me....and gives this incredible calm and peace. I go into the woods or down by the lake often b/c it's there I hear His gentle whisper...it's there I find courage...and hope...It's there I'm reminded....everything okay.....so no fears. 

-Mostly for faith. It's the thing that grounds me....gives me something solid to stand on. It always helps me hang onto hope and push away fear. Faith....it's the thing I'm most grateful for. 

Happy Hannukah Guys!

Wise

Linking with Charlotte at Spiritual Sunday and Laura at Faith Filled Friday

"I hope you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously....and that you’ll be loved and liked, and that you’ll have people to love and like in return. And, most importantly that you'll be wise, and always kind." Neil Gaiman 

Being wise and strong and kind.....it's hard sometimes.... especially when things are falling apart and life just feels too lonely.....too tough.....too heavy. 

A friend of mine just learned her oldest has cancer. And another friend just mustered courage to walk away from an abusive relationship.. Other people I know are dealing with job loss,  family breakups, kids out of control, health stuff......You couldn't tell by looking at them that they're living with some awful stuff right now. 

It makes me think.....be kind. Be kind to everyone. I have no idea what the grocery clerk is dealing with....or that angry driver who cut me off on the road.....or my kid's teacher who seems uncaring to her students.....

Be kind b/c people usually don't look any different on the outside when they're fighting awful battles on the inside. 

Be wise enough to just be kind.


The power to be wise...and the wisdom to be strong....

Thankful Thursday

"Truth allows you to live with integrity. Everything you do and say shows the world who you really are. Let it be the Truth."  Oprah Winfrey

Truth....sometimes...it's hard to swallow and sometimes it doesn't feel as good as its distortion.

A man in leadership position in a church told me his story. It was sensational....incredible..... unbelievable. But I listened and accepted what he said. So did many others. And then I found out the truth.

I met a man who grew up with 'this church man.' He told me what really happened. He told me the truth. His version made more sense and filled in the holes of  the other man's story.

Truth....it trumps lies every time.
Truth....it always shines Light in dark corners.
This week thankful for........

-connection to that man who told me the truth. He has nothing to gain from distorting the truth whereas the other man has a lot to lose....mostly fame and money.
-my dgt is finally over the worse from having her wisdom teeth pulled. Hardest thing for a parent....to see their kid in pain.
-a local university is displaying my book, Dancing Softly for sale in their store. 
-went to a party last night. Met a women who read both my books. She told me she wants to promote and sell them for me. She's a psychotherapist and works in health care. 
-Mostly that He has a plan for all our lives. When I think of where I was and where I am now....I'm humbled. He truly is for real. He truly is absolute truth.