I Can Choose
Image
1
Tag Archives: Karen Molenaar Terrell
“O weary pilgrim, lift your head: for joy cometh in the morning!”
– Mary M. Weinland
You’ve Got This
My dear Humoristian hooligans –
Fill your hearts up with kindness and courage. Be alert. Be aware. Be vigilant. We are entering challenging times, but you have everything you need to face them. You have an armor of love, a shield of humor, and a community of fellow Humoristians who care as you do about the world. You are not alone out there. The world needs you – it needs your hearts and humor and kindness. Go out there and bring laughter to those living in a desert of gloom and doom. Bring hope to those desperate for a kind word. Find the beauty. Live in love. You’ve got this. Amen.
Karen
And now for a moment of joy…
“Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
This morning Scotty and I went up to Bellingham for a walk on the boardwalk with Sam the Wonder Dog, and then breakfast at the Harris Avenue Cafe. It was like this little piece of Heaven. We stepped out of the stresses and pressures for a couple hours – took a little break together – I told Scott it felt “luxurious.” It was fun sitting in the cafe, surrounded by happy people sounds.
I’m thinking we ALL need a little break right now – time to fill our beings’ up with the things that don’t rust, depreciate, or decompose: Love, joy, integrity, kindness, wisdom – these are things that never lose value.
“Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy!”
– Anne Frank
“Stop complaining about the management of the universe. Look around for a place to sow a few seeds of happiness.”
– Henry Van Dyke
“I believe we’re on earth to delight each other, make each other laugh, and to infuse one another with His joy. Why not? What’ve we got better to do?”
– Burt Rosenberg
(all photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Clara and her tail.
Happy Girl
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
Snow geese in Skagit County, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
An alpine butterfly flits among the flowers on Table Mountain. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
Sunrise on the Way to Work Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Shuksan Reflection
Sunset from Clayton Beach
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Windowsill (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Mama Robin and babies on our porch. (Karen Molenaar Terrell)
The sons at Lincoln City.
This bird settled on my hand while I was tromping around Mount Baker, and let me snap his picture…
Tartan
Mount Shuksan
sunflower and bee
Trumpeter Swans and Snow Geese in Bow
Otters in Bellingham
Dancing in Boulevard Park
An Ode to Black Friday
Ode to Black Friday
I do not like Black Friday, sir
I do not like the brrr, grrr, whirrr
I do not like to fight over socks,
I do not like to get crammed in a box
store, you will not see me at the Mall
I do not like it, no, not at all.
The crazy, scrambling, hunter’s race
doesn’t fit my ambling, gatherer’s pace
I like to feel, I like to sniff
I like to take my time and if
I take more time than Sally and Sam
it’s the way I shop, and it works for me, ma’am.
So you will not find me camped outside the store
You will not find me standing at dawn at the door
You will not find me wedged in the mall’s lot
or crammed in traffic, with wares newly-bought.
For I do not like Black Friday, friend.
Well, except online shopping maybe – they’ll send.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
And on that note… 🙂 perhaps you’d like to see some of the really awesome books (written by an extraordinary thinker… I mean… well… often there are moments of clarity… or… okay, it’s kind of hit and miss, but I’m pretty sure there’s something I’ve written that’s worth reading… maybe) you can buy online at Amazon.
Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist – the first in the Madcap Christian Scientist trilogy. I wrote this one to address some of the “feargnorance” surrounding Christian Science, and to share my own experiences with this way of life. Blessings has 31 reviews and five stars on Amazon now! (It’s available in print book, as a Kindle book, and as an audiobook, too.)
The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Middle Book is the second book in the trilogy. This one shares my experiences with severe depression during my Year of Insanity.
The Madcap Christian Scientist: All Things New is the final book in the Madcap Christian Scientist trilogy. In this book I share my adventures as I leave behind a career of 20 years and launch out into The Great Unknown. (Spoiler alert: It has a happy ending. 🙂 )
The poem you read above can be found in my book of poetry, A Poem Lives on My Windowsill.
Stories about the holiday season can be found in The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Christmas Book.
And my most recent book is Finding the Rainbows: Lessons from Dad and Mom – in this book I share the life lessons I learned from my parents during my dad’s 98th year.
So there you go!
Ahem. I feel I have now done my part to help you in your holiday purchases. Do what you feel you must do to get those Christmas gifts. And if you feel you must participate in Black Friday sales at your local strip mall, my heart (though not my body) goes with you.
– Karen
Movement of Good
Spoiler alert: These are the final sentences in my book, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist. I wrote these words back in 2005, but I felt the need to share them on this morning in 2016:
There is a movement of good at work in our world, and we all have an incredible opportunity to be part of this movement. As Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil.” I thank God for every occasion we have to prove His goodness and love. I thank Him, too, for the sense of community we find when we gather with like-minded people to work for the cause of Love. That’s one investment of time that I’m willing to make.
You, dear reader, are now a part of my community, too. God bless you richly with infinite blessings!
Go out there and find the beauty, spread the love, and be part of the magic, dear friends!
Step by Step
In Christian Science there is never a retrograde step, never a return to positions outgrown.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Every step towards goodness is a departure from materiality, and is a tendency towards God, Spirit.
– Mary Baker Eddy
An improved belief is one step out of error, and aids in taking the next step and in understanding the situation in Christian Science.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Step by step will those who trust Him find that God is our “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Sunrise on the Way to Work
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
– Emily Dickinson
Sunrise on the Way to Work Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Great Opportunity
Image
“All _____ are…”
When someone says something like, “All Republicans are…” or “All Democrats are…” or “All Christians are…” or “All Muslims are…” or “All Mexicans are…” or “All atheists are…” – when whole groups of people are lumped together as if they all feel, think, and believe the exactly same things just because they share the same label – that is called stereotyping. Stereotyping is a sign of bigotry. I really, really hate bigotry.
“It’s a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.” – Pete Seeger
I remember on Election Day when I was a little girl my mom and dad would go off in a car together to vote. My Dad supported one political party, and my mom supported another – but they cheerfully got in the car together and went to the polls to cancel out each others’ votes. They weren’t angry with each other because they disagreed about politics. They didn’t yell at each other, call each other names, cuss each other out, or think the other person was somehow an inferior human being – lacking in intelligence, reason, logic, and good sense. Nope. They loved each other. They respected each other. Although they’ve since then become members of the same party, at that time, they totally disagreed with each other about American politics – and it was alright.
They were a wonderful example to me.
Although one of my parents was, then, a Republican, and the other was a Democrat, although one was religious, and the other not – they shared the same values. Both my parents valued honesty, integrity, kindness, generosity, fair play, compassion, the beauties of Nature, and having a good sense of humor about oneself. They brought their children up to value those things, also.
Here are some useful things I learned about the exchange of ideas and opinions from watching my parents interact with each other:
– Be kind.
– Play fair.
-Laugh at your own nonsense, before you laugh at someone else’s.
-Sometimes saying you’re sorry is the most important thing you can contribute to a conversation.
-Avoid hearsay.
-Don’t assume that a person is lacking in intelligence or reason just because he or she disagrees with you.
-Listen.
-I’m really grateful I grew up with the parents I did. I think it would be a marvelous thing if everyone treated each other with the same respect my parents gave to each other as they drove off to the polls on election day.
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 