Living Irresistibly

A quote by Coco Chanel came across my Facebook feed this week:  "You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life" .  Since I am no longer thirty or forty, being irresistible for the rest of my life is rather appealing and encouraging!  And it seems from the liked responses, I am not alone.
What do I mean by "living irresistibly" and what does this have to do with Spiritual Living?  
First of all, being irresistible, especially past forty, goes beyond physical appearance, youth, or the absence of wrinkles.  And that's good news for those of who would like to age gracefully...and slowly, very slowly.
For a woman to be irresistible, I think she must first feel irresistible. She must embrace that she can indeed be irresistible in spite of her age, her weight, the wrinkles, or the sags.  It is the view on life that is the game-changer!
And who says any woman has to relinquish the fun and delight of getting her hair highlighted or her nails done.  Of wearing her favorite colors or fashions.  Of walking with a lilt in her step, even if her "high" heels must be lower than two inches.  
What is most important, though, is that this mindset emphasizes the beauty of a woman's character.  Those crow's feet were planted there by smiles.  And those forehead furrows...by deep concerns and thoughts.  The twinkle in her eyes is more irresistible than jewelry.  A woman's beauty comes from within.

The Scriptures shared that wisdom centuries ago:  

Proverbs 31:10 (AMP)
A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.

1 Peter 3:3-4New International Version (NIV)

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Grandmothers and their grandchildren know this irresistible beauty.  Grandkids are not put off by graying hair or wrinkled hands.  They love the petal soft skin of Grandma's face and her soft pillowy hugs.  Her beauty comes from within, and everyone is warmed by the glow of her joy.

Now, some of us are not grandmothers yet.  And that's okay.  But like a fine wine, let's hope we mellow with time and become more exquisite....irresistible.  

Turning 50 and other reflections

It's taken me nine months to say it "out loud," but yes, I am fifty now. And one of the most obvious ways I can tell a difference is in how quickly five years of your life can fly by and it seem like two, at best. Which is one way of explaining why it has been five years since I have written anything on my blog!

No, nothing is wrong. And I didn't fall into a writing coma of a sorts. Nothing like that. Really, I wish I had a more dramatic story to share. But the truth is, that I wrote for publication mostly in 2009 and 2010, then got a full-time job teaching English at a local community college which started off with an overload (six classes) and a full summer load as well. All while my children were finishing high school, entering college, graduating college, and (one) got married.

Current status: one graduated (UAB Go Blazers!), married, and  is gainfully employed; one is graduating (BAMA- Roll Tide!) next year with a year of work (engineering) experience, and the last one just successfully completed her first year of pre-nursing at UAB. All good!

It would sound overly pious to say that "spiritually living" in those everyday dramas meant I had to choose family over writing, but that would imply that I was always living spiritually...which I always strive to do, but often fall short of. So, I'll be honest and admit the following...

 I just got busy. I did read more. I read a helpful book about creating margins in my life to keep my sanity and hopefully my piety as well (the book is called Margins by Richard Swenson, if you are interested).

So, I did purposefully sit quietly on the porch and listen to the birds while my dogs searched for chipmunk holes and tried to stir up the neighborhood dogs. More importantly, I made myself available for my nearly grown children who pop in unexpectedly and give (or expect) your sole attention for the ten or thirty minutes they are in the mood to talk to you. ;)

But I also advanced a whole new level of wasting time by getting hooked on several television series: NCIS, NCIS -Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Covert Affair (a spy series on USA, not as juicy as it sounds), The Good Wife (don't judge!), and nearly every fixer upper show HGTV has to offer, not to mention House Hunters, House Hunters International,..

Now that I am fifty, an empty nester (sort of), and my job is less frenzied than it was, my desire to write has reawakened. So, I am back. It has been far too long for anyone to have missed me/my blog. But I hope that you will find a something of interest here and will share a passion with me to take all these everyday dramas of life and live more spiritually through them, or at least as a result of them. Because His grace is always more than sufficient.

Border-dwelling

"Betwixt and between" - living on that "shimmering line between old thinking and new understanding, always in a state of learning" --this is how Elizabeth Gilbert describes a border-dweller in her book Eat, Pray, Love, as she searches for a word that defines her existence. It is an identity that sits with me as well.

Gilbert goes on to say that the border is always moving, so you have to "stay mobile, movable, supple" since as a border-dweller, you are neither entrenched in the everyday nor fully transcended into the spiritual.

Border-dwelling. It's like...

Dancing on the edge of the divine...without leaving the kitchen.

Emploring the heavenlies for the earthbound.

Opening the heart's receptors to the unseen intangibles that are life and breath to the soul: faith, hope, love
......while the mind is battered by fear, disappointments, betrayals, pain.

This is the journey of any spiritually minded person, I suppose. The Apostle Paul described a Christian as a clay pot that houses the life of Christ: a flawed, fleshly vessel that is inhabited by the deity that reigns sovereignly over all. How mind-blowing is that!?!

Right inside my person, I live on the border of earth and heaven. The temporal and the eternal. The corrupted and the incorruptible. As long as I have an earthly mortal existence, I do not choose between the two. I must somehow learn to live the heavenly and eternal within this temporal domain. Live as a citizen of heaven, God's Kingdom while still in this one. Border-dwelling.

New post - finally!

Well, I entered the world of Facebook and completely lost my blogging time!!! The great thing is that I have reconnected to many old friends and found a new, fun way to share photos, thoughts, and life with folks I care about. And probably some I really don't - but that's Facebook. :/
I still have three dachshunds, a loving husband, and three children. However, the oldest is about to turn 20, so no longer a teenager. Our son will be 18 in a few months - no longer a boy. And our baby is 14 - not really a baby anymore.
Geoff and I are getting practice runs on being Empty Nesters b/c our kids have such active lives. Tonight is one of those nights. So much for reconnecting over the summer! One is working, another is at math team practice, and the third is spending the night with friends.

All the best for a New Year!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Make a Smilebox greeting

Whose life is it anyway?

My journey of late has been clouded with emotion, distracted by concerns, and challenged by the typical twists and turns that accompany letting go of a child who is legally an adult but still lives at home, attending college locally.

With the help of a spiritual guide/mentor, I have unpeeled the layers of circumstances and feelings to discover the core issue creating most of my inner turmoil:

I have been caught between trying to live my life according to the scripts that others write for me and the one I try to write for myself.

Trapped might be a better description of how I have felt lately.

But I have come to a refreshing conclusion: That if I have not succeeded in satisfying people’s expectations by now, I never will. There is nothing else I can do that I have not already attempted to do. There is no end to what others might think I should do or not do.

Pleasing people is just not supposed to define my journey.

I have tried to resist these pressures by designing my own path. It has succeeded in confusing some and alienating others. Lately, I have been frustrated that this self-constructed path has not achieved its desired destination.

So, as I pause to contemplate…what next? I have come to this: It is time to discern what God’s script is for me. Apart from the defining attributes of my community. Apart from the self-constructed strategies I plan. Just apart.

A time of cultivating personal discipleship as a way of life. A time of reducing spiritual activity with the purpose of being still…so I may hear from God and God alone. A spiritual resting. A personal spiritual sabbatical.

The Jewish word Shalom comes to mind: peace. Christ said, My peace I give to you. My peace I leave with you, not the peace of the world, but my personal peace. (John 14:27 – my paraphrase).

In the same setting, the Last Supper, Christ closed his last message to the disciples with these remarks:

“In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer- I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

So, my journey has taken a detour. Seeking oasis where I may nourish my soul. Still waters. Lush pastures of God's own choosing, as He shepherds this sabbath to restore my soul.

If I get to write, I'll keep you posted. ;)