Living Abundantly

I posted just over a month ago about my “I Want List” and my Mac computer. Sadly, at the time, my Mac dreams were put on hold (till February) what with Christmas shopping and life. But, I’ve learned a great lesson on blessings and such this week because – I HAVE A NEW MAC! Woo Hoo. So, to celebrate, herein lies my Top Ten Things I Love About My Mac.

1. I have a Mac!
2. All the funky animations (minimizing, changing users)
3. The Dock with Magnification turned on!
4. The simple think and click functions
5. A Right-brained computer for a Right-brained me
6. The funky animations
7. All the graphics are rounder and smoother
8. The fun programs (Can you say iComics? Dashboard?)
9. It’s brand new, fast and sleek
10. Remote control for the computer!

I’m so excited… And, as a bonus, so far my WordPress post isn’t given me any of the problems I was having in my other browsers.

I think I might be a Mac snob!

Last night as I was bouncing up and down because I only have one more pair of Pjs to wear before Christmas (note the lovely pair I was wearing at the time), my loving husband looked at me askew and asked, “Is that how you are counting down to Christmas – with pajamas?”

Why, yes, as a matter of fact I am!  And honestly, is there a better way to count down to Christmas than a fuzzy new pair of PJs every night for a week?  Really, I think this may need to be a new family tradition.  PJ Advent.

Ooooo…. We’d need a really big calander to stash the pair of PJs in.  What are the chances this will catch on, you think?

I love Christmas. 

Ok, I know I’m being contradictory.  But now that all the shopping and rushing around is done and all there is to do but watch Christmas movies and open gifts – I can’t wait!  I love opening gifts.  I love getting gifts and I love giving gifts.  I can hardly contain myself!

Tonight, I pick my sister up from work and she and The Master will decorate the Christmas tree (they love that).  We’ll have hot chocolate (and probably popcorn) and watch A Christmas Carol (the old version with Alastair Sim) – that’s a Wakizashi family tradition.  This year Wakizashi is dying to give me a gift early so everyone will get to open one tonight.  Then it’s off to bed and CHRISTMAS!

What sucks is that I have to make it all the way through the day just to get to tonight. 

Just one more sleep till Christmas.  (I much prefer the Muppet Christmas Carol myself…)

(These are my Alaska PJs – note the moose – only two more pairs to go!)

I’m terrible when it comes to sleep.  I can probably count on one hand the number of nights I have a truly good and full night’s sleep in any given month.  I occassionally suffer from insomnia and feel like I’m tossing and turning forever.  Most nights, I simply don’t make it through the night; I wake up, toss and turn for a bit, sleep, and then wake up again.  It makes for a terrible feeling in the morning.  (I’m starting to wonder if a new mattress will help with this.)

But the truth is, it’s not my natural sleep patterns (or lack of them) that are the real problem – the real problem is me.  I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to sleep.  It’s my goal to go to bed by 11pm every night; and yet I find myself making excuses and putting it off over and over.  Night after night I sit up in front of the TV, the laptop (sometimes both), or a painting.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be in bed soon,” only to discover three hours later it’s past midnight and I’m exhausted!

 Why, may I ask, do I keep doing this to myself?  The truth is, I can’t handle it.  I really do need my sleep.  I’ve discovered that this 11pm bed time can make or break me for a week and more.  So, why then, was I up till after 6am this morning?  Why?  I am going to be so worn out on Christmas day!  (And somehow, I think Wakizashi will have little to no pity for me.)  Why, oh why?

Well, maybe this time that will teach me and I’ll actually stick to my bedtime for a bit.

Have you taken up my challange to be a Blessing over the next month?  I hope so!  Whether you are planning on taking part or just considering it, I thought I’d make a couple of lists that might inspire you.

8 Ways to Be a Blessing 

1. Say Something Nice - It should be an honest and heartfelt compliment.  Make sure you look them right in the eye when you say it, and watch the joy that washes over them at a simple compliment.  You’d be surprised how powerful a small, heartfelt compliment is.  (For more compliment fun visit the Friday Felicitations Movement!)

2. Send a Card – It’s really a shame that email is taking over the art of letter writing, because, honestly, who doesn’t love to get mail?  But hey, that’s on your side now, the fact that no one sends letters any more makes the few they do get all that much more special.  Card writing is a really powerful way to reach out and touch someone.  I once had a woman I knew tell me that for months she packed up the card I’d sent her everyday and brought it to work and then brought it back home with her.  Pick a card that really makes you think of the recipient, and write a few words of encouragement or praise in it, pray over, and send it out.  No snail mail?  There’s always e-cards.

3. Treat Someone – Pick up a coffee on your way in to the office.  Call up an overworked mom and offer to treat her to lunch.  Bake cookies for your neighbors.  Spontaneously say, “This time’s on me.” when out with a friend.  Surprise someone (sick, new baby, overwhelmed) with a hot, prepared dinner at their door.

4. Lend an (unasked for) Hand – Some people have a hard time asking for help; they don’t want to impose or ask too much.  If you know someone is overwhelmed then it’s the perfect time to insist on helping out (don’t take no for an answer).  A few Christmases ago Wakizashi was away on business and I was sick the whole time he was gone.  I had no car, no wrapping paper, no tape, my house was a disaster (of course, with mom too sick to clean up), and Wakizashi was going to be home that night with a gift exchange the next day.  Imagine my surprise when two of my friends drove 30 mins to get to my house laden with dinner supplies, tape, wrapping paper, and cleaning supplies.  They folded my laundry, washed my dishes, put my dinner on, and then slipped away.  I would never have asked, but couldn’t have been more blessed. 

5. Organize a Union of Blessers – Know something too big for you to take on alone?  It’s not as hard as you think to get others on board to help someone.  Everyone wants to be a blessing, they often just don’t know how or where to begin.  Start sharing your vision and I’m sure you’ll find all the help you need.  With online groups and forums, church, and friends you’ll have no shortage of people willing to give a little towards giving a lot.

6. Give a Gift – Know someone who can’t afford winter boots for their daughter?  Someone who loves Flannel PJs, but never buys them?  See a perfect gift you think would be a blessing to your neighbor up the road?  Money isn’t always an object with gift giving; in this case it truly is the thought that counts.  Besides, sometimes giving up Starbucks for a month is a good reminder of how much of a blessing it is to us to have it.

7. Try a Random Act of Kindness – Keep your eyes out for people who look down, stressed, worried, or struggling.  Be randomly kind to them.  Hold doors.  Entertain children.  Pay for their groceries (thanks Jana), or their meal.

8. Give Money or Necessities - You can give it to a collection, or directly to people who you know are in need.  Buy gift cards, give cash anonymously.  Leave groceries on their front step. 

Money can sometimes seem like a hinderance to giving, but it’s possible to be an even bigger blessing by giving only a little.  Happiness comes from know someone else cares, saw you, was even willing to help.  Think about if it was you, what would bless you?  Now, go out and do it for someone else.

4 People to Bless

1. Someone you admire or look up to – tell them how you feel about them, or what they do that you appreciate so much.

2. Someone in a menial job that you see all the time – you never realize how thankless being a grocery or coner store cashier is until you are one yourself.  Spread a little cheer to someone in a dreary service job.

3. Someone you know to be in need – whether you know them or not.

4. Random Strangers – the guy behind you in line or the lady in toy aisle with the crying baby.  You never know, you could be reaching angels unaware.

There ya go, a Dozen inspiring possibilities for spreading the Blessings beyond the Christmas season.  (And, two pairs of pajamas because I’m a day behind in photo posting.)

On Flaming Renaissance: In the Center of Purpose   Friday Felicitations

Don’t you think that the words bless and blessings are the kinds of words that we really take for granted?  They are the kind of words that I think to myself, “But what does that really mean?”  I mean, how can you go out and do it if you don’t really know what “it” is?  (I wonder this same thing about words like worship and pray too…)

So, I decided to do a little hunting and track down a bit on the word and it’s origin.

Mirriam-Webster Online said:

Main Entry: bless
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): blessed  /’blest /; also blest  /’blest/; bless·ing
1 : to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word
2 : to hallow with the sign of the cross
3 : to invoke divine care for <bless your heart> — used in the phrase bless you to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed
4 a : PRAISE, GLORIFY <bless his holy name> b : to speak well of : APPROVE
5 : to confer prosperity or happiness upon
6 archaic : PROTECT, PRESERVE
7 : ENDOW, FAVOR <blessed with athletic ability>

Ok.  No offense to Mirriam or Webster, but that’s not really clearing things up for me.  Although, number five seems useful (and spawns a discussion on what Happiness really is, which we’ll probably save for later).

Being as it’s primarily a religious term I’ve decided to also consult a Lexicon for Biblical definitions:

Old Testament (Hebrew)
0833  ’ashar  {aw-shar’}  blessed, lead, go, guide, happy, leaders, relieve
0835  ’esher  {eh’-sher}  blessed, happy
01288  barak  {baw-rak’}  bless, salute, curse, blaspheme, blessing, praised, kneel down, congratulate, kneel, make to kneel, misc
01289  b@rak (Aramaic)  {ber-ak’}  bless, kneel
01293  B@rakah  {ber-aw-kaw’}  blessing, blessed, present, liberal, pools
New Testament (Greek)
1757  eneulogeo  {en-yoo-log-eh’-o}  bless
2127  eulogeo  {yoo-log-eh’-o}  bless, praise
2128  eulogetos  {yoo-log-ay-tos’}  blessed (said of God)
2129  eulogia  {yoo-log-ee’-ah}  blessing, bounty, bountifully, fair speech
3106  makarizo  {mak-ar-id’-zo}  call blessed, count happy
3107  makarios  {mak-ar’-ee-os}  blessed, happy, happier
3108  makarismos  {mak-ar-is-mos’}  blessedness

See how lazy I am?  This chart looked nice and easy, but for more details you can go to Blue Letter Bible yourself and look up the individual numbers.  I’m not a Biblical scholar or anything but it sure does look like the idea of blessing is closely tied to either praising someone or making them happy.  (Hmmm…  there are a lot of theological issues to delve into in that aren’t there!)

One more reference:

bless
O.E. bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian “to consecrate, make holy,” from P.Gmc. *blothisojan “mark with blood,” from *blotham “blood” (see blood). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars. This word was chosen in O.E. bibles to translate L. benedicere and Gk. eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of “to speak well of, to praise,” but were used in Scripture to translate Heb. brk “to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings.” Meaning shifted in late O.E. toward “to confer happiness, well-being,” by resemblance to unrelated bliss. No cognates in other languages. Blessing is O.E. bledsung.

Taken from: Online Etymology Dictionary

Interesting….

In summary, Megan’s definition (for practical purposes) is: To Bless – to in some way offer happiness to another, to praise them, or to speak the Divine over them.

Happy Blessing!

Oh my!  I’m so excited!  I got a package in the mail this week from an online friend; I had to open it early (I swear, she wanted me to) which is why I already know that I got blessed.

I don’t mean that I feel blessed because my friend sent me a special gift (although that was true when I thought that’s all it was).  What I mean is that, people actually conspired to bless me, and packed that box full of a lot more than things.  Not just things actually, pajamas – flannel pajamas.  Six pairs of flannel pajamas! (There’s a story you know, I’ve never owned a pair of flannel pjs.  I look at them, and even touch them in stores, but I never spend money on them.  My mom makes them every year for tons of people but has yet to make me a pair.  Flannel pjs mean something to me.)

There were nine or ten names accredited for including anything from a pair of pjs to a christmas card; ten women who only know me to varying degrees online who spent months planning and coordinating so I could be blessed this year.  Opening the box, reading the cards, just thinking about it made me cry.

I suppose I’m an unconventional person to bless.  I’m not actually needy; in fact, Wakizashi and I normally give to someone less well off during Christmas.  But you know, there are all kinds of blessings and al kinds of need – I assure you, I needed this blessing.  (Everyone needs a little encouragement or a reminder of their worth every now and then, you know.)  I wish there was someway I could repay it so that they could know how much I truly appreciate it.

But they don’t want me to repay it.  Their gift, they say, was in the giving (which I believe because I love giving).  Still, that left me a little dissatisfied.  So I’ve come up with a plan!

My Plan (Your Challange):

To bless 10 people (that’s how many blessed me) in small to large ways over the next month.

The Rules:

- give anything from a card (for encouragement) to a gift (decide based on the needs of the people)
- Ask (and take) nothing in return
- Don’t give to those you normally would, take a risk with who you bless
- Give something needed (conventionally or unconventionally) that they would or could not get for themselves (encouragement counts)

It’s not too late to be a Secret Santa, or give for Christmas

I figure, the biggest gift I got wasn’t pjs, but it was a blessing, a box that reminded me I’m not forgotten, that people see and care about what I do and who I am.  How can you, in honesty, repay that?  Except maybe, to give the same in return to another.  So, I’ll be watching for those I can bless and thank over the next month or so.  I hope you’ll join me, I’d love to see the small effort of ten woman multiplied and paid out by 100 fold (hmm… if just ten of you blessed 10 people that would be 100!!).

Oh yes, by the way, that’s my self-portrait in pajama pair #1.  I have one pair for each night till Christmas, so I’ll post a new pair each morning for you all to see.  Happy Blessing!

On Flaming Renaissance: In the Spirit of the Season