Dear Younger Self
Posted by tjalexander in chrisitanity, Christian Living, Just Sayin', Just Think..., Life Lessons, Relationships, Uncategorized on August 25, 2015
Dear Younger Self,
I wanted to write to you today to give you some advice. I remember some of the feelings you are feeling, the fears you hide and the Dreams you hold. I know that sometimes you struggle emotionally, spiritually and socially. I wish I could tell you that it gets easier, the truth is there will always be struggles.
I am making a list of life lessons that may help you and your friends. I wish I could have learned these things earlier.
1. I want to encourage you to dream, dream big and reach for those dreams. Don’t ever let fear or the word of others stop you from reaching for what you want in life. Sometimes fear sets in, but if you push that fear aside and go for it anyway you won’t regret it. I can’t promise it will be easy, but I can promise that it will be worth it.
2. Always remember to be yourself. You should never have to pretend to be someone or something you’re not to “fit in” with anyone, guys included! Relax and be yourself, find those you automatically “fit” with.
3. When it comes to guys, relax! When you find someone you are interested in just be yourself. Don’t be something you’re not, don’t get extra giggly, don’t show off and for the love of all that is good don’t be so obvious! Don’t follow the guy around and don’t be at his beck and call. Don’t lose your identity for the sake love. If you are there every time he turns around giggling you’re going to freak him out. Just be yourself and he will see how wonderful you are. When a guy is interested in you, you will know it because he won’t let you get away. It’s okay to tell him you’re interested but just be real when you do it.
4. No one expects you to know everything, don’t act like you do. It really is okay to say “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure”. No one likes a know it all.
5. Respect everyone. Respect your peers and more importantly respect your elders. If someone does something differently than you do, it’s okay. Not everyone does things the way you do, you don’t do things their way. That makes you on even ground. Don’t be in the habit of correcting people unless you’re a teacher correcting your students, especially your elders.
———–
Dear current self,
- Be patient with those who have not yet learned these life lessons.
Annoyed at being Annoyed.
Posted by tjalexander in Blessings, Center of my Purpose, chrisitanity, Christian Living, Family, Friends, God is Good, Just Sayin', Just Think..., Life Lessons, Relationships on June 15, 2015
Normally I am not a person who is easily annoyed, in fact I am known for my patience. So when I get to a point where every little thing annoys me, something is wrong.
Lately my annoyance level has been on the rise and I don’t know why. So many things get under my skin causing me to roll my eyes and grit my teeth. When I get to this state of mind it’s time to take an internal inventory. What is going on inside of me that is eating away at the love and patience I usually have for others?
INTERNAL INVENTORY QUESTIONS
1. How is your prayer life?
2. Have you been reading the Bible?
3. Is there anyone you need to forgive?
4. Have you been getting enough sleep at night?
5. Are you focused on your purpose or are you distracted?
6. Is there any relationships having issues that need to be dealt with?
All of the above can and has caused my annoyance levels to rise. I know from past experience when my spiritual life is not in order my life tends to get messy and stressful. I get impatient and annoyed easily, this is not okay. If there is relationship issues or unforgiveness, bitterness can take root and effect everything else in life. The lack of sleep can lower my patience considerably also, which if I’m not careful can become a normal state of living. When I get to this point I also often find that I have allowed something or someone to distract me from focusing on what my life is about.
Keeping my eyes, heart and mind on Christ is the best way I know to keep my annoyance down and my patience up. Spending time with Him makes me able to see people through His eyes. Helps me to love people through His heart and to react to situations in a manner pleasing to Him.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” -Luke 6:45
Living in a Foreign Land
Posted by tjalexander in Blessings, Center of my Purpose, Family, Food, Friends, Just Think..., Life Lessons, Relationships on January 17, 2015
Three months ago I moved to a new country. I grew up in small town Iowa, population of 5000 people. I now live in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with a population of more than 9,000,000 people.
A place where the weather is sizzling hot, the traffic is crazy scary and the food is a choice of rice or rice noodles in many different varieties.
A place where I feel the sun on my face and my shoulders in January instead of bundling up to survive against the harsh Iowa winter. A place where motorbikes are the main form of transportation and there are millions of them, everywhere! A place that has mastered what they know, rice. They have found so many things to do with rice, it blows my mind. Sometimes you are eating rice and you don’t know it! They are just that creative.
I miss home, but at the same time I love it here. I love living in a city that literally never sleeps. I love walking out of my apartment and stopping at the smoothie stand on the corner and ordering my favorite, Mango+Banana+Passion Fruit. The results are amazing! Did I mention they use sweetened condensed milk in their smoothies? Yeah, they know how to do it right.
In the short time I’ve been here I have quickly moved away from the tiny purse I flung across my shoulders to carrying a backpack and my helmet everywhere I go. I never know when I will end up on the back of a motorbike zooming off toward some new adventure.
When I sit back and pay attention to my surrounding I’m amazed. This city is so diverse in the fact that everyone just coexists. You will see a brand new beautiful House with a privacy gate but right next door is a small house made out of Metal panels. A house that to a foreigner would look like a tool shed but yet a family lives there. Everything is just what it is, no matter where it is. There is brand new businesses next to store fronts that are rather run down and scary. There is not a high-class part of town and a poor part of town, they all seem to just be in this great big crazy life together. It’s beautiful.
The Vietnamese people I’ve met have all welcomed me with open arms. I have formed so many relationships in the short time that I’ve been here, It will be difficult to go home to America when my stay here is done.
So as for living in a foreign land, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Damaged goods no more!
Posted by tjalexander in Uncategorized on March 21, 2014
We have all made bad choices in life and all too often as a result we don’t end up where we imagine. Sometimes we look back over our lives and focus on the dips and curves in our journey and feel like a failure.
I’ve been reading A Confident Heart Devotional by Renee Swope. In one of her devotions she used the term “Damaged goods”, that term really stuck with me. Why do we allow the dips and the curves to define us? We have a God who sent his son to die for our sins so that we may be freely forgiven. When we come to the cross and lay our sins at his feet and ask for forgiveness He wipes our slate clean. Why is it then we pick the slate up and write those sins down again?
Look back at your Journey and focus on the beauty along the way because when you knelt at the cross Jesus removed all the dips and curves. Your slate is clean, you are not “damaged goods”
You’ve made mistakes, we all have.
Jesus loves you and when you kneel at His feet and give it all to him He washes you white as snow. You deserve the best out of life, don’t sell yourself short just because of a past that has been forgiven and wiped clean. God has a plan for you, to use you and to bless you. Embrace it.
Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!
It’s Time for a Photo Hunt!
Posted by tjalexander in Hobbies, Just Sayin', Photography on March 25, 2012
I was thinking tonight, it’s been quite awhile now since I took my camera and went on a photo hunt! Maybe I should take this sunday afternoon and just wander with my camera. Sounds perfect to take the time away from chaos and go on a photo hunt to see what I can see! 🙂 Hope it doesn’t rain! It’s been too long since I bonded with my camera, nature and creativity!
Me on my favorite side of the camera 😉
The more I think about it, the more I’m liking the idea! I’ll keep you posted. If I get any good shots perhaps I could be persuaded to share! 🙂
What is your personality?
Posted by tjalexander in Just Sayin', Just Think..., Relationships on March 23, 2012
My friend was working on homework today and was doing a study on personalities for her Human Relations class. She was talking about the Myers-Briggs personality test. I decided to take the test and found out I’m an ISFP.
Which means I’m
Introvert
Sensing
Feeling
perceiving
Have you ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality test? What are you?
If you would like to take the test follow this link: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp, but don’t forget to come back and tell me what your personality is!
Doing this test made me think of another personality test I did a few years ago. Here is another WordPress blog that talks about the animal personalities. http://weirdblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/personality-types-lion-beaver-otter-and-golden-retriever/
I have the golden retriever personality according to this method. What are you? 
At one of my old places of employment my boss was a lion. If you look at the differences of the two you will see how difficult this would be. I do not work there anymore. 😉 It was time for change.
Can you see yourself in one of these animal personalities?
I don’t think that one is better than any of the others, it takes all kinds to make the world go around.
Forgive me, for it’s been 6 days since my last blog session
Posted by tjalexander in Uncategorized on March 22, 2012
Sorry for neglecting you, it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. Did you miss me? I’ve missed my blogging time that’s for sure! I have managed to keep up with reading the blogs I subscribe to but even that has been a struggle. Life has been a little hectic, valid excuse?? … ok, maybe not but it’s all I’ve got. 😉
I’m in the process of moving which is always a chore in itself. At the same time I’m packing and moving out, my friend’s daughter who is taking over my apartment is moving in. So we have things coming and going at almost an organize chaotic rate.
Now, my main focus in moving is to help this wonderful lady out who is 100 years old and wishes to stay in her home as long as possible. Even though that is the why of me moving, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a woman. I like things to match and look lovely. 
Where I am moving I will have two rooms upstairs. I want to be able to decorate and work with what is already there so there will be no painting and such. The smaller room I will use as my bedroom and has wallpaper of yellow and green flowers as seen in the picture. Being the Pinterest fan that I am I went looking for different DIY craft ideas to work with these colors. I made a flower from my scrapbook paper in greens and yellows in a shadow box to hang on the wall. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of it before it got moved over there. Maybe I will be able to post a picture of it at a later time.
As for the bigger room, it has light blue walls and bright blue carpet. I want to make this into a den, my current living room is red and black. I would like to incorporate my black and red in with the blue so once again I turn to pinterest.com.
I do have black furniture, a red chair and a few red bookshelves. I would like to avoid it looking like a little boys room decorated with legos so I needed to get crafty. I bought some photo albums (that I needed anyway) in red, blue and black. I also have my dad’s memorial veteran’s flag in a black flag shadow box. Those two things will help along with the crafts that I made. One of the crafts was monograms made with buttons in a 
shadow box. I figured this would be a great way to get in all the colors I wanted. So I bought two smaller shadow boxes at the local dollar store and got busy. I had to paint the frame red and black and decided to use a background of blue. I went to the second-hand store and bought some buttons to make my initials. I was happy with how they turned out and think they will looked good up against the blue walls. The next project was a tree…of sorts. I started with the clear red vase I had and then went and picked up sticks and stuck them in the vase. I used scrapbook paper 
to make leaves and flower wire to connect them to the branches. Sounds weird but the finished product looks awesome! I also found two small glass jars that are blue and will sit on either side of the vase and will complement it very nicely! The next thing I did was I bought a piece of scrapbook paper that was black starry night design and a stencil. I painted a variegated design that changed gradually from blue to red. I bought this picture at the dollar store that had an awesome black frame and took the picture out and put my painting in its place. It looks awesome if I do say so myself. 😉 Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the painting before it got packed away so that will have to be a p.s. blog at a later date also.
I love Pinterest and all the ideas that I’ve gotten from there. I am really looking forward to getting moved and putting this room together!
Have you found any Pinterest DIY’s that you’ve done or want to do? I am surely not the only Pinterest addict around.
Hopefully I will be able to keep up with my blog now even though I’m still in the midst of moving. Have I mentioned moving is a lot of work?
Each Day Has Enough Trouble Of It’s Own
Posted by tjalexander in Center of my Purpose, chrisitanity, Christian Living, God is Good, Just Sayin', Just Think..., Life Lessons on March 15, 2012
As I get ready to embark on my exciting new life I notice my brain going into overdrive. I am in the process of packing up my world and moving in with an elderly woman to be her companion/caregiver. There is two bedrooms upstairs, so I am going through everything trying to figure out what to keep, what to throw, what to give away and what to sell.
Thinking about what to keep is boggling in its self trying to figure out what I’m going to just store away. Then there’s the rooms, where am I going to put everything? How am I going to decorate it and make it home?
Some things I don’t want to get rid of, but I really hate to just stick it in a tote and have it sit in a garage for however long. Someone might just as well get use out of it.
I am trying to take it one day at a time. I have until the end of the month, so I don’t have to have everything figured out today. I keep telling myself, “slow down, take a deep breath and pace yourself.”
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~Matthew 6:34~
Day 54 of 365
Epic Fail!
Posted by tjalexander in Food, healthy on March 14, 2012
Remember that one time when I said I was trying to eat better? I said I wanted to add protein and fiber. I wanted to exercise more and eat less.
Remember?
Well, today was a total flop! Epic FAIL!
I had lunch at subway which sounds good, but I had stuff that is NOT on my diet. As if that was not bad enough, tonight I willingly jumped into the passenger seat and rode straight to Pizza Ranch.
That’s right, Pizza Ranch. Home of the pizza buffet with a big side of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fries… the list goes on and on!
Now, they do have the saving grace of a great salad bar and soup that is not horrible for you. Of course… I didn’t touch it. But, they have it!
So, all the indigestion and any other way my body decides to fight back.
I deserve it.
I am determined to get back into the swing of this healthy way of life.
I need to stop falling into all my bad habits just because some emotion swings my way.
Any suggestions to keep me from teetering over the edge?
I quit smoking, why can’t I get my eating under control?
Day 53 of 365
My New Exciting Life!
Posted by tjalexander in Blessings, Friends, God is Good, Relationships, Work on March 13, 2012
Lately I have been having an issue with my back which you may remember from a post called Spondylolisthesis. After hours of therapy and much debate I have decided that my back is not going to let me go back to the factory where I stand for 10 hours in one place.
That means it was time to go on a job search!
God led me to the job I was supposed to have, I can now see his hand working in it every step of the way.
I will be moving…
I am going to be a live in companion/caregiver. I kind of feel like I’m stepping back in time because this doesn’t happen all that often anymore.
When I decided it was time to leave the factory and find something new I said “I want my next job to mean something, I want to make a difference in other people’s lives”
I am happy to say that I found that job!
I am packing up my stuff and at the end of the month I will be moving approximately two blocks from where I currently live. I had been toying with the idea of finding work somewhere and moving away, starting some new exciting life. Several of my friends knew of this consideration and because of that today my Facebook status was:
“Well, I found a new job. It does involve me moving though…”
All because I’m ornery and I think I’m funny!
So, no I’m not moving away, I’m just moving.
I’m moving in with a very precious lady who needs a little help and a little company.
I believe this IS my new exciting life that I was looking for!
Day 52 of 365
Learning to Deal 