MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY - Amaze Yourself

WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS

Mama never said it would be easy.  When life throws us a curve ball, we often react to the unbalance in different ways.  It's not easy to instantly ignore the elephant in the room because  past experiences dictated that worry, stress and fear must follow.  Our brain remembers when a similar situation happened that could have resulted in a traumatic state of unrest.  We associate this trauma with the past but if we break through that habit and instead regard the situation as if it was a true test which God allowed into our otherwise peaceful existence, we would be able to immediately identify it as such and offer it to God for resolution.  

God said in His word to lay our burdens onto Him and He will give us rest.  We know for a fact that God is perfect, and is not a liar.  So given these facts, if He said so, then there should not be any arguments on our part.  So lay your burdens onto Him, just do as He says with total surrender and trust and amazing things will manifest from it.  I can say this with so much conviction because He has done this for me in my life.  I'm sold!

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it!

Comments are welcomed but most of all encouraged.  Just click on the words, "No Comments" or the pencil and the comment box will pop up.  Thanks!

NEW ABSTRACT ART - This week on My Happy Cocoon Studio

Sharing with you my new abstract to inspirational music.  What do you think?  

Till my next art... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it!

Have an awesome weekend!  

Comments are encouraged.  If you don't see the comment box, please click the "No Comments" link.

THROWBACK THURSDAY -- Mural for a boy's bedroom

These are the paintings I did for a doctor in San Jose.  It was for his son's bedroom who was into sports.  Sharing with you.  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Till my next post... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Love you, mean it!

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY - RISE ABOVE THE JUNK

Today is Monday, make a decision to have a great week!  Let the bad comments slide by.  Remember, nasty people WANT you to react.  Don't give them the satisfaction, instead, give it to God.  Simply say, "God, this person is yours."  Watch something magical happen.  Trust me, it works!

Until my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!! Love you, mean it!

LOVE AND FORGIVENESS - SYNCHRONICITY

An unscheduled trip to Las Vegas, and not for fun in sin city, was prompted due to my father's dire condition who is inflicted with a devastating disease called Leukemia, cancer of the blood, which triggered a myriad of complications.  Las Vegas isn't one of my favorite cities anyway.  So if all my brother, sister and I do while here is to be in the hospital with my Dad would not faze me either way.

The history between he and I go way back.  Majority of the time it was unfavorable for reasons I would not want to bore you with, although those reasons got in the way of trust, understanding and patience for each other.  I spent all my life affected by them and to date realized that I had wasted my entire life resenting someone while my actions hinged toward the negative instead of moving on from it.  Perhaps I needed counseling but I tried to heal myself the best that I could to be able to function in this already messed up world.

All in all I could say that my children took the focus off that wound for most of the years because my love for them became the proverbial band aid.  Although the ill feelings came back later on after becoming an empty nester and my father's decision to migrate to the U.S., I thought I could handle it like a pro.  And I did.  Until lately when another falling out flooded all the bad memories back. But this time there would be no second chapter or re-birthing of children to take my mind off of it.  The resentment came pouring back. 

God became my only rock to lean on.  Somehow and gradually, He began to hold me accountable for those negative feelings I held and couldn't shake.  I pretended that God thought it was okay for me to shun somebody who did me wrong and who was not walking the Christian walk.  There was a point in the not so distant past where I was questioning whether it really was "OK."  The reason why it was bugging me was because it wasn't ok.  So I asked God sincerely what He thought.  For that I prayed and asked Him to impress it in my heart somehow, someway, which only He knew how.  

He never disappoints.  I was listening to an Adrian Rogers message.  A message I've heard before I'm sure as he has since passed and what was shown on tv were reruns.  He said that God didn't joke when He included it in the 10 Commandments that we shall honor our fathers and our mothers.  He said that we should take care of them and love them unconditionally because who are we to not forgive their shortcomings when we are human just like them.  I'm pretty sure that in my children's eyes I was far from perfect and I will be the first to admit this.  God was right again.  Who are we not to forgive and love our parents unconditionally when we ourselves are not perfect.

It took me awhile to gather up the courage to call my father.  I spoke with him a few months ago.  He was already stricken with Leukemia but I treated that fact in a nonchalant way, becoming self-righteous in my pathetic little mind.  I was still unsympathetic actually after I spoke with him.  I did my part, I called him, and reasoned with myself that surely was enough.

Until last week when my sister told me that his condition worsened because of an ulcer that is causing the blood transfusion to leak out and he is bleeding internally.  He was rushed to the hospital.  We thought he would not recover from it.  When I spoke to him I could not control the tears, tears I never even thought I could shed for him given the negativity I held in all my life.  I never understood how people could bring themselves to closure with a parent until I experienced it myself.  It was because I realized that when he passes on, the mere presence of one that has wronged you would be gone and then nothing would matter after that.  That person can no longer hurt me.  So it didn't really matter anymore.  That was when I realized that I was humbling myself to God because that was His will.  I came to a conclusion that it was about God, it's not about me or my dad.  I don't know about you but that was the best feeling ever.  To see my father so happy to see us all perhaps the last time before he goes, or even if his cancer goes on remission, it didn't matter.  All that matters is that the unconditional forgiveness I experienced was not even an aota of God's forgiveness for our sins.  I can slowly but surely start to understand God and why He hates pride.  My father was released last Monday to go home.  His ulcers are healed, and his low dose of chemo has been successfully doing its thing for him.  He and I have resolved our conflict, never to look back and it seems to be the case with my brothers and sister as well.  God is awesome when He works in our hearts.  I give HIM the glory always.  Now I can say He is smiling down at me, and that my friends, is PRICELESS!

Until my next rant...  LOVE ONE ANOTHER!! I Love you, and I mean it!   :)

FOODIE FRIDAY - FROM VEGGIE STEW TO CHICKEN STEW

This is my cool idea.  My daughter is vegan and I'm not.  But I wanted to make a low cal, low salt chicken stew today and did not want meat to touch her food. SOOO..... Here's a two in one recipe!  Always giving God the glory! Hope you like.

This is the finished product - the Chicken Stew part.  I planned for making 8 servings

5 Chicken breasts
1 large onion
3 tbsp garlic chopped
3 small tomatoes
2 large potatoes (cubed)
5 medium sized carrots (1/2 in slices)
5 stalk of celery (sliced)
1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef gravy
2 tbsp soysauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
4 bay leaves
pepper
garlic powder

1. Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes for about 2 minutes.  Add the bay leaves and season with pepper and garlic powder.

2.  Add in the tomato sauce and stir.  

3.  Add the soysauce then add the carrots and potatoes.

4.  Add the oyster sauce and the cream of mushroom soup.  Stir and let boil for about 5 minutes before adding the rest of the veggies

5.  After stirring, lower the heat to medium low and just let the hard veggies get halfway tender.

6.  Remove the portion you'd like to stay vegan into a smaller pot.  Turn off the heat from the large pot but continue to cook the vegan portion until potatoes and carrots are tender.  You're done with the vegan side.

7.  Cut up the chicken breast to large cubes and season with garlic powder.  In a frying pan, heat up enough oil to cover the pan.  Let it sit for about 30 seconds and put in the chicken. 

8.  Remove from pan and add into the large pot.  Stir.  Turn the heat back on.

9.  Add in the gravy, using water to dissolve leftover from the can and pour that into the pot.

10.  Stir and add more soysauce if needed.  I use lite soysauce for a lower sodium version.

I hope you enjoy and let me know if you like it.  This is perfect with steamed, basmati, or brown rice.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Love you, mean it!!