Judy

While I was at work today I met a woman named Judy. For work I stand in a wholesale club store and demo certain products for the members shopping. A part of my job description is literally to talk to EVERYONE. I hit a point in my day when all I was thinking about was how much my foot was hurting and how badly I wanted to just sit down and rest for five minutes. I waited for a moment when my section of the store was empty - it was a busy day, and this hadn't happened so far, so as soon as it did, I was ready to just go sit down for a few minutes. As I was about to remove the uniform top I was wearing (yes, I had another shirt underneath) I saw this woman approaching me and something made me stop in my tracks, I left my uniform top on, picked up my demo bottle of pain relief cream, walked over to her and began my spiel...

..."just rub this over the area you get the most aches and pains..."
Judy looked up at me at, pointed to her left thumb and said, "I'm in pain all over my body, but this spot hurts the most. Can you just put some on my thumb?"

There was something about the way she said that, I had no doubt her body hurt, she walked straight, bur somehow I just knew she wasn't exaggerating about how much pain she was in. I noticed her right hand was a little shaky, so when she reached over to rub the cream into her left thumb, I offered to do it for her. I massaged the pain cream into her trembling hand and I could feel her muscles relax a little bit as I began to chat with her.

There was something in her expression I couldn't exactly read at first, she closed her eyes for a few seconds then looked at me and gave me one of the most beautiful and genuine smiles I have ever received. "That feels great! You have no idea how much I was hurting before you did that, and now I feel like I can move my thumb a little." I smiled back and caught myself thinking of how silly I must be to have suddenly shot up to a ten on the excitement scale because Judy could move her thumb "a little." Just as I was getting ready to move on with my product information, she looked told me she could feel the stuff working and how she didn't believe it would at first. Before I could respond, she told me she had just finished her first round of chemo and she would love to have this pain cream to put on after her next session... I wanted to cry all of a sudden. I'd only known Judy for about a minute and a half at this point and I already hated the fact that she had to have cancer.

Judy confided in me that she and her husband hadn't started telling people about her cancer yet, and she wasn't sure why she'd told me. I'm glad she did. I can't do anything more than pray for her, and ask all of you reading this to join me in adding Judy to your own prayers, but something in me just swelled with love for this woman, I could feel her strength radiate and I felt something even more, from this women than hadn't even known me for five minutes I felt love. She saw something in me that made her feel love, and the fact that I could reciprocate love without even realizing it, was amazing!

Her husband walked up to us at this point, he was wearing a blue shirt with American flag suspenders, on the back of the suspenders was the word JUDY, so I exclaimed "MR JUDY! I'm glad you could join us!"

Judy held up her left hand, moved her thumb and with one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen said, "I can move my thumb!!!"

At this point Mr Judy leaned over and gave me a HUGE hug, and whispered "I saw you helping her, I didn't think I'd see her smile today. Thank you" I took everything in me not to cry right then and there, because the reality of it is that I may have rubbed cream into her hand, but Judy did more for me in under five minutes than I could possibly have done for her. She saw past her own pain and showed me love in a way I don't really know how to put into words.

So, send a prayer up for Judy, and remember, we can show love in ways we don't expect, but most of all, God will always send us love in moments He knows we need it - even if we don't know it ourselves.

A few books to read in 2015

Some of these novels will release this year, others have been published in previous year, but are excellent! Happy reading and dreaming this year!

If you’d like to keep up with what books I’m reading throughout the year, check out my good reads page https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23586455-pearl-denault and follow me through my library.

Crochet Mystery Series by Betty Hechtman

This series is fun, easy to read and will definitely make you giggle despite the murders happening in the books. Betty Hechtman has definitely created some fun characters and takes the reader on mini adventures with each novel. I have read all the books in the series, and I will continue to collect them as long as they are published! Did I mention each book includes a crochet pattern?? I must admit, the patterns are a huge treat when you get to the end of the book! The first book in the series is called Hooked on Murder and you’ll get a kick out of Molly Pink’s antics as she is thrown into her first murder investigation with her bestie serving as her Watson and her “crime solving for dummies” book.

For more information on the Crochet Mystery series, visit Betty Hechtmans webpage http://bettyhechtman.com/

Knitting Mystery Series by Maggie Sefton

In keeping with my own love for yarn working this series brings you into the world of Kelly Flynn and her friends at the Lambspun Yarn Shop. These books allow you to escape into Kelly’s world as she is a CPA by day and amateur sleuth by night (sometimes on the weekend). The characters in this series are very relatable and make you feel like you’re hanging out with old friends each time you open one of the books in the series. The first book is called Knit One, Kill Two and does a fantastic job of introducing you to Fort Collins, Colorado.

For more information on the Knitting Mystery series, visit Maggie Seftons webpage http://www.maggiesefton.com/index-knitting.php

Bibliophile Mystery Series by Kate Carlisle

The Bibliophile Mystery series introduces us to the modern world of bookbinding and repairing, the first book in the series, Homicide in Hardcover, introduces you to Brooklyn Wainwright and the wacky and one of a kind people surrounding her. The way Carlisle describes the beautiful antique books makes any book lover swoon – which is one of the reasons I am recommending this series.

For more information on the Bibliophile Mystery Series, visit Kate Carlisles webpage http://www.katecarlisle.com/

why are new years resolutions so difficult to keep?!?!

Most people seem to have a difficult time with New Year's resolutions. It seems every one starts off strong and motivated and about a month into the new year it's back to old habits. I shared two of my most difficult resolutions with you in my last post, and I must admit, I've really set the bar high for myself this year!
My "don't take is personally" resolution is especially troublesome for me, as the people I take things personally from are the ones I love the most. It seems like everything to do with certain people in my life is personal whether I like it or not.

 For me, I was doing alright, reminding myself that other peoples opinions are not necessarily directed at me, and those that are, are in fact only another persons opinion. My husband is wonderful at not caring what other people have to say and simply enjoying life on his terms. I greatly admire that, and I find myself inspired by his attitude. Only I can change the amount of strength I give another persons thoughts, and I guess I just have to keep on truckin' and with lots of prayer and patience, I may be able to keep my resolution alive through the end of the year!

In the meantime, I have found some icons online, I hope will provide just a tiny reminder when I feel myself taking things just a little to personally.

Happy 2015!

Happy 2015!

It’s a brand new year and many of us view it as an opportunity to set new goals, strive for new achievements, and to find redemption and renewal. There are so many different ways a new year can bring hope, and yet, sometimes we start off setting the bar so high, we can never realistically hope to achieve our goals. I happen to be one of those people who set the bar so high I can never find a ladder tall enough to reach the dang bar in the first place! So here are some of my resolutions for this year. If I am actually learning from my past mistakes, these will make meeting my goals fun and exciting this year, and if I haven’t learned anything, then the first blog post for next January ought to be a real hoot!

Resolution 1: don’t take it personally

Every week, I am left feeling hurt by encounters with people. There are opinions and comments that, although not directed at me personally, leave me feeling as though I have been personally attacked by people. For example, last night someone told me they never saw the point of reading a book. For them it was a waste of time that could be used to actually accomplish something, and I was devastated. The person actually said they didn’t mean to put me down, but for them to imply that I was among those who “waste” their lives in pages of books left me feeling angry, hurt, and not just a little betrayed. This person meant no personal implications, but I couldn’t help but find them, and I know this will not be the last time, but I resolve to remind myself to step back before I take personal offense to something and to determine if a comment is meant as a personal jab, or just a general opinion.

Resolution 2: try to forgive

This year I realized there are many things I’ve told myself I have forgiven people for, but when I really sat down and thought about it, I haven’t. Once someone has hurt you it is very difficult to trust that person again, and in the cases where multiple hurt has been inflicted by one person, there are very strong walls, and a very deeply rooted mistrust. I am not sure what this journey will look like for me, but this year I resolve to begin forgiving. This does not mean I will accept mistreatment, this does not mean I will trust certain people, nor will I allow them to return to my life, this only means, I am choosing not to punish myself by holding on to the hurt. I will love myself enough to learn how to forgive, and I will grow stronger for it.

I’m going to stop my list here for now. Knowing myself, new resolutions will spring up as I progress through these two and I can’t wait to share this year with you! Thank you faithful readers, I truly appreciate your dedication to my blog and I look forward to writing more for you this year!