Another View Of Relationships

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time..., this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Lessons from the animals.

There are great lesson that my pets...Hector and Miss Fuzz teach me...

1. "What's your hurry?"
2. Take naps and do it without any guilt.
3. Smell things.
4. Study small things intently like a bug or a blade of grass.
5. Be very quiet and still.
6. Show love and affection often.
7. Get close to your people and stay close.
8. Enjoy your food!
9. Be a very good listener.
10. Bark but don't bite!
www.makeachoicenow.com

Carolyn, I miss you!

Rev. Diannia Baty
Carolyn, I miss you!
This is about my dear cousin. I love her dearly. She has since passed over into the light. Breast cancer took her away from me. I taught her how to play and be silly again. Okay, I am going to tell on myself. We would drink carbonated soda and have burping contests on long trips. She would giggle like a girl and so would... I.
We took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway one day and at one of the stops there was a gentle rolling hill that had been freshly mowed. I dared her to roll down the hill with me We rolled down the hill at least a dozen times laughing all the time. We were out of breath and happy. She looked into my eyes and told me once again she loved me and there were tears in her eyes. The threat of death was not present at these moments. She was dying and we both knew it. We played until she could not play.
I was determined to squeeze all the moments of joy and happiness that I could during her final months. It is all about the living and not being somber and morose. Those silly happy times sustain me now and bring a smile to my face.
If you know someone who is going through something like this...celebrate life with them and find some joy. It is always there. Watch a three stooges movie with them. Play with the dog together. Blow some bubbles in the park. This is the only way to go as far as I am concerned.
She told me that she never though dying could be so much fun! I will never forget that statement or forget her.
www.makeachoicenow.com

Getting a Failing Grade In Home Economics

When I was a young teenager there was a class for girls called Home Economics where we were taught how to bake, sew, set a table etc. I hated this class because I was already doing these things and had been doing it for years and my great ability to do these things very well made the other girls shun me. I cooked, cleaned, mended and took care of my four siblings because I was the oldest. I was willingly and not so willingly my mothers helper.
All the responsibility chaffed at me and I felt bound to eternal chores. I felt that I would excel at this class but this was not the case. The problem was I could have taught the class. Everything was easy for me. My class mates were envious and since I was the new kid in school as was often the case, this was reason enough to bully and pick on me.
After a while I would turn in sloppy work or burn the cookies, thinking this would turn things around. It didn't. I failed the class. The other girls still did not accept me. My teacher sat me down and asked me why I was doing so well at the beginning and then was unproductive as she put it.
I told her I was already doing all these things at home and had been for years and the class was a mistake for me. I said that there was nothing she could teach me that I didn't already know. She got huffy and told me that I would receive a failing grade for her class and I did.
Not too long after that my family moved again. I have thought back to that class and realize now that I should have allowed myself to do well at that class and get the well-deserved A. Because of other peoples opinions and my desire to be accepted. I bowed under peer pressure and did the opposite and got an F in the process.
So this begs the question, "how many times do we show ourselves as less than we are simply to fit in?" No matter what the circumstances are we must do our best and shine
even if it makes someone else uncomfortable. Maybe if I had fit in with these girls I may have found a bunch of girls that may have led me down the wrong path. I have learned through the years that accepting and loving myself is one of the things I had to do to come to a sense of peace in this world.
God has given me so many gifts and I am going to unwrap all of them before this physical life is over. www.makeachoicenow.com

My Rainy Day Potato Soup Recipe

You may wonder why a recipe is on a spiritual blog. The answer is simple. Cooking with love is a zen like practice and when someone eats something you cooked it sends a little something extra to them.

MY RAINY DAY OLD FASHIONED POTATO SOUP RECIPE
by Rev. Diannia Baty

After I posted something about making potato soup on a rainy day some of you have asked for the recipe. I do not measure anything

so bear that in mind. The nice thing about not measuring is you can improvise when needed. This will feed a large family of about 4 to 6 depending on how large a bowl they want and there will be some left over for heating up again. It also doesn't take all day to make this. From beginning to end it takes about two hours from chopping to eating. It is real easy to make for something that tastes so good.



5 large stalks of celery...chopped coarsely

I large sweet onion...chopped coarsely

A lot of fresh garlic to taste...chopped coarsely

4 tablespoons or so of real butter

3 boxes of chicken broth

8 chicken bullion cubes

3 or 4 tablespoons fresh parsley

10 to 12 peeled and coarsely chopped medium size red potatoes or a 5 pound bag (it is not a much as you think) *

sea salt and pepper to taste



In your favorite soup pot melt the butter until it just starts to sizzle over low heat. You do not want to burn the butter. Toss in the celery, garlic, parsley and onion, stir and put a lid on it over a low flame. Keep stirring the mixture up every minute or so until the onions are transparent. Pour in all 3 boxes of chicken broth plus 8 chicken bullion cubes...turn up heat slightly. When this starts to bubble add potatoes. Put on lid and stir frequently keeping heat low to medium. Every now and then after about 45 minutes test a potato cube for softness. When it is soft take a potato masher and mash some of the potato cubes right in the pot to thicken the broth. Let it cook on low heat for another 20 to 30 minutes and serve with a crusty bread or biscuits.



All you have to do after this is listen to the compliments and request for seconds.

It will stick to your ribs and you will get requests for it over and over.

I don't mind if you share the recipe.

Let me know how it works out!

Blessings and happy eating!

Quotes I love...Inspiring!

There is a stage with people we love when we are no longer separate from them, but so close in sympathy that we live through them as directly as through ourselves...We push back our hair because theirs is in their eyes.
Nan Fairbrother

MASTERY JESUS

Rev. Diannia Baty © 2009


To fully understand the message that Jesus taught
you must remember that it was all about love
and forgiveness.
Remember his words,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
It is not your job to leap into the mind and heart of another and judge their actions,
words and impulses. This is not in your job description.
For as hard as you strive to do this, you will never know what lies there.

His whole life was dedicated to teach us to forgive and to love.
As you walk through the day see Jesus in everyone, see the mind of God
set forth in the creation of another.
Do this silently and reverently remembering that everyone has
a place and purpose on this earth.

Until you finally understand the message that Jesus set forth
you will not know true peace and contentment.
When you do understand and put into practice and awareness
that loving and forgiving is the message
you will be free…
beyond anything you could have dreamed of.
Mastery is understanding that you must learn to forgive
in order to really love.