Soul Runnings

Perhaps this should read: "Peace is possible. It starts with you, Zita!" :) So...I guess when you ask God to give you a sign, He delivers! It didn't dawn on me until after my friend "J, the Sign Ninja" messaged me this picture!   I believe that God is telling me to look at my behavior, my thoughts my actions.   Especially my thoughts. I admit, they are not always peaceful. I tend to dwell on hurtful words received from others. And, ehem sometimes think of possible even more hurtful words to hurl back! Quite often peppered with choice curse words too foul to write in this here blog! My bad. My friend "J", aka the Sign Ninja is still healing from a bad bicycle accident. He still walks on a cane. He is our sign volunteer. He comes every Monday, takes down the old letters, retrieves the new message from our pastor and puts up the new letters.  But since his injury, I have taken over. It is a brutal job! The letters do not come out o...

I smell rain! The skies are gray and clouder. It is chilly enough that I needed a sweater for my morning hoop. The air is heavy and tense. I feel anxious.  I just want the skies to open and pour down that sweet water. Should be any moment. I feel like the whole city will sigh with relief when the rain finally comes. I felt quite ill from smoke inhalation yesterday. I spent the day teaching piano in a large church. One of the pastors usually comes in early on Saturdays and opens all the doors to air the place out and attempt to keep it cool. No A.C. in that church. The temperature was quite pleasant all day. But towards the end, I felt ill.  The smoke had permeated the sanctuary and filled my lungs. I was wheezing and coughing. I cancelled my early evening one mile walk home that I look forward to each evening. Instead I ordered Lyft on my phone. I justified the expense by telling myself I was saving my lungs. I slept like a log last night.  I felt like I...

I think I am getting used to surviving on about 3 hours of sleep. I made it through a 6 hour teaching day without a nap! Much caffeine, but no nap. No bee sting either! But I did get two sessions of hooping in! One early this morning at my daughter's house, while my mom rocked the baby burrito. And one on a break between students  at the church where I teach on Saturdays. The narthex is the perfect space. The floors are shiny and even. I did check for bees before I took off my shoes, however. I even got a short but focused piano practice in. I am working on pieces for an upcoming solo piano concert I am doing in November. I am exhausted, but in a good way. I accomplished a lot today, including much needed bonding with the Baby Burrito!   But I can hardly think, type, or even hold my head up now. Can someone just beam me home? I think in order to keep my sensitive emotions in check, I need to stay focused on the immediate task at hand. Tonight is m...

I had too much fun traveling with my hoop yesterday! A cashier at Walgreens looked at me quizzically and asked if that was a "very large steering wheel" on my shoulder! I had a fun conversation with one of my bus driver friends, and I did a little hoop demo for two of my piano blues boys and their parents!  It gave me a sense of accomplishment showing off my skill and passing on my advice to just practice five minutes, of focused practice every single day. You will improve! This holds true for learning a musical instrument too. Consistent focused practice, even five minutes a day will yield results! Of course, longer practice will yield more results, but it must be daily and focussed! Speaking of which, today is day 90 of my daily hoop experiment! I hopped at my daughter and son-in-law's place in Vancouver, Washington. Over the state line. And Honey Dog does a guest spot at the end! I am typing this with my grandaughter's precious head on my shoulder. Ther...

It is 3:55 a.m. I had a nightmare. I can't recall the details, but my heart is pounding. I was thinking about yesterday's events again. I took a deep breath. Said a prayer for everyone in my life. Even the ones who hurt me. It is tempting to curse them. But that is not how I roll.  Jesus tells me to love them. ALL of them. I thought about my granddaughter, my daughter, my son.I reminded myself to focus on the good and the love. I dozed back to sleep, feeling calmer. And grateful. It is now 2:55 p.m.. I have had a stellar day so far! I am having a Skinny Pumpkin Frappacino (low sugar, almond milk) at Starbucks before I go to teach a group of wonderful boys, all of whom are at various levels of piano blues improvisation! They are all on the same block, in fact they live right across the street from each other. Four boys, ages 7 through 14. Thursday is one of my favorite teaching days. Notice that I have my hoops amongst my bags. After I am done teaching, I am hopping...

Yes, I have a thorn! Read on... ...that I mentioned in yesterday's blog? Well, it is still digging into my side.  I spent part of today in tears.  Because of hurt and maybe quite a bit of grandbaby withdrawal! I am going to spend Thursday - Saturday morning with my daughter, son-in-law and the burrito. That should revive my spirits! The thorn I mentioned yesterday was in reference to a difficult person for me in the church office. Our encounter left me feeling sick to my stomach. Yes, I believe I handled it peacefully yet firmly. I needed to stand up to her and speak my mind. But it drained me. And brought up many issues. Some from childhood.  I kept reverting to a frightened child, seeing my father's angry face as he demeaned me for making mistakes on the piano, or just yelling at me for apparently no reason. I know. I am no longer a child. But in moments of crisis and conflict, I revert. I usually end up crying. And then angry. And then...

I wish I would have worn my "STRONG" t-shirt today! I stood up for myself, and others today. In a firm, but honest, clear and kind manner. I am now shaking like a leaf. And I would like to sit down and cry. It is hard for me to take a stand, but I will stand up for others, and for myself if I feel there is injustice. I cannot break down and cry. I will not!  I am at my church office job. I am an adult. I am a mother. I am a grandmother. I am a Christian. I am a child of God. I am a survivor. I will not go into details, but someone visited me in the office this morning as I was doing a rush copy job for my boss. She burst in. I said, "Good Morning". She did not look like she was having a good morning. I inhaled inside my head.  This person has been a thorn in my side.  I pray for her.  But she brings negativity. At least to me. I sense she does not approve of me. I asked her how she was and she blurted out, "Frustrated". I can...