How do you deal with pain

Grandma, how do you deal with pain?

" With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more."

“With your hands, grandma?"

" Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking it into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your soul calms down.

This way she doesn't have to send pain anymore to show it.

" Are hands really that important?"

" Yes, my girl. Thinking of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touches. When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body. Everything that is made by hand, so is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected. Masseuses know this: When they touch another person's body with their hands, they create a deep connection. Thinking of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way."

" My hand's grandma... how long haven't I used them like that!"

" Move them, my girl, start creating with them and everything in you will move. The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won't hurt anymore. Because you managed to embroider your essence."

~ Elena Barnabé

Art by Beatriz Maciel

Focaccia Bread

 Fresh Focaccia Bread right out of the oven

2 1/2 c. Flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1 put. Yeast

1 c. Plus a tablespoon or 2 of water

Drizzle of olive oil

[ grated cheese & oregano, olive oil ]

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in water, add sugar and salt, add some olive oil, then add flour... add more water if needed slowly. Shape in ball, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 1 hour

Now spray 8 x 12 Pyrex with non-stick spray.

Mix dough and place in Pyrex dish. With fingers spread across bottom of Pyrex dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano, and cover with grated cheese. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 1/2 hour

Preheat oven for 350 degrees. Bake 30 - 35 min... Oh Yummy

Candlelight

 

MY GRANDMOTHER ONCE TOLD ME that each of us has a candle inside us just bursting to come out and light up the room. "Just imagine," she told me, "if everyone's candle burst out at the same time! "

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I TRIED TO WRAP my mind around the idea that there was a candle inside me, a lit candle ... "Oh, what a wonderful day that would be!!!" she said.

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"Why grandma?"

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"Why? ... because there'd be no more darkness, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more violence, no more killing ... the world would be bathed in light and happiness and joy and love ... "

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I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT for a bit. How difficult it might be to get everybody's light to shine at once. I told grandma that.

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SHE CHUCKLED, then said: "You just make sure your light is shinin' bright ... "

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AND FOR many decades now, I've been tryin' ...

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I've been tryin', grandma ... I've been tryin' ... 🌺🌸💓

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~ author Michael Traveler, author/poet

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What is holodomor

 Thank you Joe  Becigneul for sharing

At the entrance to the memorial park in Kyiv, there is a sculpture of an extremely thin girl with a very sad look holding a handful of wheat ears in her hands.  Behind her back is the Candle of Remembrance, a monument with details reminiscent of authentic embroidery that can be found on traditional Ukrainian costumes.  This is a monument that commemorates a historical event known as the Holodomor.

 What is the Holodomor?

After the end of the First World War, Ukraine was an independent state, but in 1919 the Soviet Union "sucked" it into the community of Soviet states.  The Ukrainians, who even then considered themselves a Central European people like the Poles and not an Eastern European like the Russians, tried to restore Ukraine's independence.

In 1932, not wanting to lose control of Europe's main granary, Stalin resorted to one of the most heinous forms of terror against one nation.  In the process of nationalization, he took away the grain-producing land from the Ukrainian peasants, but also all its offerings, thus creating an artificial famine.  The goal was to "teach Ukrainians to be smart" so that they would no longer oppose official Moscow.  Thus the people who produced the most grain in Europe were left without a crumb of bread.  The peak of the Holodomor was in the spring of 1933. In Ukraine at that time, 17 people died of hunger every minute, more than 1,000 every hour, and almost 24,500 every day!  People were literally starving to death in the streets.

Stalin settled the Russian population in the emptied Ukrainian villages.  During the next census, there was a large shortage of population.  Therefore, the Soviet government annulled the census, destroyed the census documents, and the enumerators were shot or sent to the gulag, in order to completely hide the truth. 

World War.  Their poison gas was hunger.  Their Hitler was Stalin.  Their Holocaust was the Holodomor.  For them, fascist Berlin was Soviet Moscow, and their concentration camp was the Soviet Union.  Today, 28 countries around the world present the Holodomor as genocide against Ukrainians, which you could not learn about in school, because almost all evidence was destroyed and victims were covered up for decades, survivors were forcibly silenced by not having the right to vote until recently.

The Holodomor at that time broke the Ukrainian resistance, but it made the desire for Ukraine's independence from Russia eternal.

Camels Are On The Horizon!

                                     Thank you Chad Perry for sharing

Be Yourself

 “She sat at the back and they said she was shy,

She led from the front and they hated her pride,

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,

They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,

They told her they'd listen, then covered their ears,

And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,

But one day she asked what was best for herself,

Instead of trying to please everyone else,

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,

She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,

And she told them what she'd been told time after time,

She told them she felt she was never enough,

She was either too little or far far too much,

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,

And she stopped...and she heard what the trees said to her,

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe"

Unknown

Resonating

Chicken Croquettes Pa Dutch Recips

 

INGREDIENTS

  2 c. cooked chicken, ground leftover chicken works great

2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. flour

1 c. half and half you can substitute with regular milk

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. minced onion flakes

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 c. panko or regular bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS 

To make the sauce, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Slowly pour in the half and half, whisking as you are pouring.

Cook, and stir constantly until a smooth paste is formed. Remove from the heat and add the seasonings. Cool.

Mix the chopped chicken with the creamy sauce. Form into 9 - 12 balls and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Dip the balls into beaten eggs, then roll into bread crumbs.

Deep fat fry several croquettes at a time, with your oil between 325° and 350°, for several minutes until they are golden brown.

Remove the croquettes with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Croquettes are delicious served with chicken gravy and mashed potatoes.

NOTES

If you are in a hurry to make the croquettes, you do not have to chill the sauce or the croquettes. You can mix, dip, and fry them right away. They are just messier to work with when they are warm.

If you prefer, you can pan-fry your croquettes instead of deep-frying them.

Rosemarry

 Thank You Michelle Gantt Davis for sharing this.

A little long but wanted to share my rosemary / migraine story.  I have shared before but was reminded again this week how life changing it has been for me. Most of my life I have had chronic migraines, 4 or 5 a week sometimes lasting for several days at a time.  I couldn’t even tell you how many medications, both prescription and over the counter that I tried.  Some helped, most didn’t , nothing got rid of these headaches. The ones that helped made me so sleepy I felt like I wasn’t able to function like I should.   I even joined trial medication migraine studies at the recommendation of my doctor, kinda scary to think about now. One day while cooking  I nibbled  on some fresh rosemary.  Within 30 minutes my migraine was gone.  At first I thought just a coincidence but decided to try it again with my next migraine and it worked!  I was eventually able to stop all migraine medications and as long as I nibble a little rosemary every few days I seldom got a migraine.  But then my rosemary plant died, busy with work and the holidays I kept forgetting to buy another.   Had a few headaches but nothing major and debilitating until yesterday.   I ended up taking something over the counter for the first time in years, didn’t help at all.   Hubby offered to go buy a rosemary plant while I tried to sleep it off.  Just that little nibble of my new plant and my headache eased up tremendously!  I had let it get too bad to work in one dose but after using the rosemary several times it was gone!!  Thankful God provides us with his natural remedies!! Thankful that hubby went out in the weather to come to my rescue!!   

(I chew 2 or 3 of the little leaves if at the onset of a migraine.  If that doesn’t help, I wait 30 minutes and chew a few more.  1st usually works,  if I wait too long I need 2 doses)

****Just a reminder if you choose to try, rosemary, it can interfere with some medications and shouldn’t be used if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant so research before you try.

Jesus Pray’s

                 JESUS PRAYS 

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Allow me to be transparent, find this very convicting.

Rarely pray more than 20-30’minutes at a stretch.

Yet the One who was closest to the Father, always led by the Spirit, who knew exactly what to do, prayed.

Can we do less?

Father forgive us for our lack of prayer may 

Your Spirit take our prayers & intercede for us 

& for those we love make us prayer warriors 

in Jesus’ name 

Amen

Picture from:  

Muscotah United Church

Muscotah KS

Momma

 

YOUR MOM IS YOUR MOM...Nobody can replace her...Nobody should replace her...Nobody can do half the things  she does, or has done,for you...Nobody can compare to her...Only God can love you more than  she does...She’s only one person...But she’s the person that matters the most...DO YOU LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOUR MOM? No matter where she is ...In Heaven...Or here on earth! There is nothing like a mother’s love!

Mourning

In the Lakota-Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered most wakan, most holy. There's a sense that when someone is struck by the sudden lightning of loss, he or she stands on the threshold of the spirit world. The prayers of those who grieve are considered especially strong, and it is proper to ask them for their help.

You might recall what it's like to be with someone who has grieved deeply. The person has no layer of protection, nothing left to defend. The mystery is looking out through that person's eyes. For the time being, he or she has accepted the reality of loss and has stopped clinging to the past or grasping at the future. In the groundless openness of sorrow, there is a wholeness of presence and a deep natural wisdom.

~ Tara Brach

Art by Frank Howell

Babies cells

 

“When pregnant, the cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby, it’s called “fetal-maternal microchimerism”.⁠

For 41 weeks, the cells circulate and merge backwards and forwards, and after the baby is born, many of these cells stay in the mother’s body, leaving a permanent imprint in the mothers tissues, bones, brain, and skin, and often stay there for decades. Every single child a mother has afterwards will leave a similar imprint on her body, too.

Even if a pregnancy doesn't go to full term or if you have an abortion, these cells still migrate into your bloodstream.

Research has shown that if a mother's heart is injured, fetal cells will rush to the site of the injury and change into different types of cells that specialize in mending the heart.

The baby helps repair the mother, while the mother builds the baby.

How cool is that?

This is often why certain illnesses vanish while pregnant.

It’s incredible how mothers bodies protect the baby at all costs, and the baby protects & rebuilds the mother back - so that the baby can develop safely and survive.

Think about crazy cravings for a moment. What was the mother deficient in that the baby made them crave?

Studies have also shown cells from a fetus in a mothers brain 18 years after she gave birth. How amazing is that?” 

If you’re a mom you know how you can intuitively feel your child even when they are not there….Well, now there is scientific proof that moms carry them for years and years even after they have given birth to them.

I find this to be so very beautiful.

The Stranger within our gates

To Our Guests 

In Ancient times there was a prayer for 
"the stranger within our gates." 

Because this hotel is a human institution to serve people, and not solely a money-making organization, we hope that you will be granted peace and rest while you are under our roof.  

May this room and hotel be your "second home." May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams. 

 Even though we may not get to know you, we hope that you will be comfortable and happy as if you were in your own home. 

May the business that brought you our way prosper.  

May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy.  When you leave, may your journey be safe.

We are all travelers.  From "birth till death" we travel 
between the eternities.  May these days be pleasant for you, 
profitable for society, helpful for those you meet, 
and a joy to those who know and love you best..

To Our Guests

In Ancient times there was a prayer for 

"the stranger within our gates."

Because this hotel is a human institution to serve people, and not solely a money-making organization, we hope that you will be granted peace and rest while you are under our roof. 

May this room and hotel be your "second home." May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams.  Even though we may not get to know you, we hope that you will be comfortable and happy as if you were in your own home. "Or even happier, and happier still to return at last to your own bed."

May the business that brought you our way prosper.  May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy.  When you leave, may your journey be safe.

We are all travelers.  From "birth till death" we travel  between the eternities.  May these days be pleasant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet, and a joy to those who know and love you best. 

I must say, there is nothing like returning home and sleeping in my own bed.  But when I travel, it's nice to see this prayer as something to provide a little bit of comfort on the road.

What do you do when you travel to provide yourself some comfort when away from home?

Expected Death

✨Expected Death ~ When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment. 

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!" 

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic. 

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now. 

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breadth away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Credit for the beautiful words ~ Sarah Kerr,  Ritual Healing Practitioner and Death Doula , Death doula

Her original video link is here ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mG0ZAym0w

Beautiful art by Columbus Community Deathcare 

#alwayswithlove #dying #death

 

Saying Goodbye To Your Parents

 When You Say Goodbye To A Parent

You are suddenly living in a whole new world.

You are no longer ‘the child’ and regardless of how long you have officially been ‘grown up’ for, you realise you actually never were until this moment. The shock of this adjustment will shake your very core.

When you have finally said goodbye to both your parents, assuming you were lucky enough to have had two. You are an orphan on this earth and that never, ever gets easier to take no matter how old and grey you are yourself and no matter how many children of your own you have.

You see, a part of your body is physically connected to the people that made it and also a part of your soul. When they no longer live, it is as if you are missing something practical that you need – like a finger or an arm. Because really, you are. You are missing your parent and that is something far more necessary than any limb.

And yet the connection is so strong it carries on somehow, no-one knows how exactly. But they are there. In some way, shape or form they are still guiding you if you listen closely enough. You can hear the words they would choose to say to you.

You can feel the warmth of their approval, their smile when a goal is achieved, their all-consuming love filling the air around you when a baby is born they haven’t met.

If you watch your children very closely you will see that they too have a connection with your parents long after they are gone. They will say things that resonate with you because it brings so many memories of the parent you are missing. They will carry on traits, thoughts and sometimes they will even see them in their dreams.

This is not something we can explain.

Love is a very mystical and wondrous entity.

It is far better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all and grief, grief is the price of that love. The deeper the love the stronger the grief.

When you say goodbye to a parent, do not forget to connect with that little girl who still lives inside you somewhere.

Take very good care of her, for she, she will be alone and scared.

When you say goodbye to your parents, you lose an identity, a place in the world. When the people who put you on this earth are no longer here, it changes everything.

Look after yourself the way they looked after you and listen out for them when you need it the most.

They never really leave.

by Donna Ashworth