Month: February 2019

Don’t Miss The Small Stuff

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in The Small Stuff

As we wrap up this blog week on the “small stuff’, I just want to encourage you all to be mindful of the blessings around you. I realize that the days are filled with obligations that need to be met, but don’t miss the blessings along the way. From the smile on a child’s face, to a simple flower on your path, keep your eyes and ears open. The Lord is all around. Not only is he making his presence known, but he his filling each day with such hope and love through the people and things that you encounter. Strive to be present in each moment, and don’t forgo the opportunity to experience him in the pursuit of your agenda. I guarantee that by doing so, your days will be much more rich and satisfying.

I love you guys! Have a great weekend. I’ll see you back here on Monday. Take care!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

 

Finding Beauty In The Small Stuff

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in The Small Stuff

While in the process of taking the picture above, my husband asked me why I had chosen to do so. From the tone in his voice, he obviously didn’t think there was anything special about it.  At first glance, most people would likely agree. After all, it was ordinary. Or, was it?

When I initially noticed the bird from a distance, there were at least 20 others  surrounding it. The closer I walked towards them, they began to fly away. But, not this one. It sat there peacefully portraying such confidence without being bothered by me in the slightest bit. It was the peace and confidence that drew me in. You know, the “small stuff”.

Living in a culture that tends to focus on outward beauty, I think we often miss the beauty that can only come from within. That is, the beauty of the Lord within each one of us. I, for one, do not believe that there is anything more beautiful than peace, confidence, kindness, gentleness and love when expressed by another. These attributes far out weight beauty that is skin deep.

With that said, lets strive to be the people that recognize the beauty within others. Let’s be on the look out for the “small stuff” within the people that we encounter each day. I think that as we do this, we will find much more deep and meaningful relationships. And we will begin to see the Lord in a new and beautiful way.

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

Look Out For The Small Stuff

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in The Small Stuff

Sunday as John and I were walking across this bridge, I noticed that it felt as though it was moving. There were times when I had to hold on to the ledge because of it. The subtle movement made me a little dizzy, nervous and very uncomfortable . To be honest, I couldn’t wait to get to the other side to hop off.

Once we did,  I took a quick look back and thought about how much our lives resemble the bridge. We are constantly walking across “bridges”  into unknown territories in our daily lives. The experience can sometimes leave us feeling nervous, uncomfortable, and scared. But, we eventually get there.  And when we do, we build a little courage…a little confidence for the next time.

What amazes me about this is that the Lord uses things like bridges to illustrate this to us in our day to day. The “small stuff” is hidden in the ordinary. However, we are often too busy to recognize it. We are so focused on our own agendas that we miss what the Lord is trying to show us.

With that said, I am going to challenge you this week to keep your eyes and ears open. Be on the look out for the “small stuff”. When you walk into a room, pay close attention to the things around you.  When you’re in conversation with someone else, be present. Be attentive. Look for opportunities to spot the blessing in all things. I assure you that they are there. And once you spot a couple, he’ll show you more. I guarantee it!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

Noticing the Small Stuff

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in The Small Stuff, Uncategorized

Good Monday morning, everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. It was a beautiful one here in North Texas. The favorable temperatures combined with the sunny skies had the Watson’s out and about a bit. Saturday we spent a good portion of my husbands birthday at the Dallas RV Show, and Sunday, he & I enjoyed a 9 mile walk around White Rock Lake. Needless to say, it was a much needed weekend for us all.

With that said, this week I wanted to touch on enjoying the small stuff. Living in this place in time, we are all so busy. Life seems to be going at a record speed. From the time that we awake each morning until we lie down each night, it seems as though our days are filled with the many things that we have to do. At least, this seems to be the case in our home.

The problem with this is that if we do not practice being mindful of the things that are going on around us in the process of checking things off of our “To-Do” list, we will miss the small stuff. By “small stuff”, I mean blessings. See, as we are going about our day, there are blessing all around us. I call them “hidden gems”. They are everywhere. From the conversations that we have with people, to the little things that are going on in the back ground, blessing can be found in them all.

The squirrel in the picture above in an example of this. I had no idea that John had taken it while we were at the lake. I was too busy doing other things that I missed it. It wasn’t until we got home and I started looking through the pictures that I stumbled across it. How in the world did this little creature notice John in the midst of all that was going on at the lake?  More importantly, how did John notice it? It was as though time had stopped for only a minute for the two of them to get a glance at one another. It’s so beautiful.

My point? There are blessings amongst us, but we must be willing to slow down long enough to notice them. Otherwise, we will miss the opportunity to seize them. I believe that each one of these blessings are a smile from God letting us know that he not only sees us, but that he is with us.

My prayer for you today, is that you will be more aware of the ” small stuff”. That you will not take them for granted. Keep your eyes and ears open, my friends. As you do this, you will become more and more aware of the Lords presence in your life. He is all around you and making his presence known!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

A Heavy Load

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Transparent

Good Tuesday morning, everyone. I hope you all had a good night’s rest and that you are refreshed for the day ahead. Me, well I am currently sitting in my husbands recliner wrapped up in a blanket in our dimly lit living room. It is a cold winters day here in north Texas. The only sound that can be heard throughout our home is that of the heater turning off and on, as everyone is resting comfortably in their beds.

As I sit typing this to you all, my mind is racing back and forth between the words of this blog post and our agenda for the day. See today, John, Morgan and I will be consulting with a physician in regards to a possible bone marrow transplant for Morgan. Although we are just meeting with the physician to educate ourselves and to ask questions,  I am a little saddened by the thought of it, to be honest.

See, our daughter, Morgan went through 3.5 years of treatment for Philadelphia (+) ALL, followed by 5 years of being in remission to be told that she relapsed in June 2018. She then restarted chemotherapy and underwent immunotherapy to be told last month that it did not work. Finally,  3 weeks ago she started a new chemo regimen that requires daily oral chemotherapy and weekly IV chemotherapy 3 weeks per month x 6 months. If this treatment plan is not effective, a bone marrow transplant would be the next step. That is, if a physician is willing to do it on her given her history of side effects, and if she is consenting.

That said, there is a lot up in the air for the Watson’s right now, and it is weighing heavy on this mom’s shoulders. Although I know the Lord is in control of it all, I just can’t help but be a little concerned. Please pray for clarity, direction, peace and comfort for us all.

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

Being Transparent

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Transparent

Good Monday morning, everyone! Welcome back. I hope you all had a great weekend with your friends & family and that you managed to get some rest.  The Watson’s didn’t have a whole lot going on as our daughter, Morgan was not feeling well Saturday and Sunday. With the exception of a short walk around the neighborhood early yesterday afternoon, we were indoors for the majority of the weekend.

On that note, I honestly do not have a blog post ready for you today. I am typically prepared a week in advance, but not this week. Although I had a topic in mind, I just could not sit down at my computer long enough to write. It’s as though every bit of energy that I had was depleted. I debated sharing this with you guys today, but I wanted to be transparent with you all.

See, for the past several years I have noticed a pattern in myself where twice a year, I just hit bottom. Its as though I run out of gas. I go from going 100mph starting at 4:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. to zero. That said, since our daughters relapse in June, this has happened twice now. I suppose the stress of that combined with the day to day just takes over my body, and it does so without notice.

With that said, I’m not sure how this blog week will go. But, I will do my best. I hope you guys have a wonderful day and an even better week. Take care.

 

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

Loving Yourself

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Well, here we are the final day of the blog week, and it is Valentine’s Day. I don’t know what it is about this day that I thoroughly enjoy, but I certainly do. I love the colors, the chocolates and even the flowers. I’m not much of a flower type girl, but there is something about flowers on Valentine’s Day that I kind of like. Perhaps it’s just the fact that people take on a childlike approach of expressing their love for one another openly that I love so much. I know that we don’t need a day like today to give us the green light to show love to one another, but it’s just fun to see.

On that note, let’s finish the week out by talking about love as it relates to ourselves. This is something that I have really struggled with since I was a young child. Although I grew up in a good home, I never felt like I quite measured up. It seemed like every time I turned around, I was being told things like… “Why are you wearing that?”  “Don’t talk that way.” “That doesn’t look good on you.” “You’ve gained weight.”  “You’ve lost weight.” For a young girl, these comments made a huge impression on me. And for many years, they kept me from loving myself. Not only did they keep me from loving myself, but they kept me from showing love to others. Honestly, this is something that I continue to struggle with; although, I have come along way. That said, I now know that the things that were said to me then, had nothing to do with me, yet everything to do with the ones who said it. Although, I know that they were not trying to hurt me in anyway. They only knew what they knew at the time.

See, we can’t show or give love to others, if we don’t have love for ourselves. We are a reflection of our own hearts. If we are inpatient , unkind, envious, proud, self-seeking, etc., than we need to look within. This takes work. At least, it did/does for me. There are some days when I cannot even look at myself in the mirror, because of what I see looking back at me. But, what I have begun doing is reminding myself of what the Lord says about me when I do. Yes, I talk to myself. And if someone overheard me, they may think that I have lost my mind. But, I assure you that I haven’t.  I just practice saying these things with the hope that I will someday believe what I am saying.

My point? We can’t give what we don’t have. If we are having a hard time giving love to others, than we need to look within ourselves. This is a signal that there is work to be done. Is this something that we should be ashamed of? Of course not! We are all a work in progress. Otherwise, there would not be a need for us to occupy this beautiful planet.

So, how do you feel like you are doing when it comes to self-love? Do you believe all of the beautiful things that the Lord says about you? If so, please share. I, personally, would like to know . I need as much help with this that I can get, and I am not afraid to admit it. Leave me a comment below, email me or PM at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/ . Otherwise, I will plan on seeing you there between now and Sunday, and right back here early Monday morning. Have a fabulous weekend, my friends!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

 

 

 

Love Your Neighbor

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

Mark 12:30-31 -” Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these,”

For the past couple of days we’ve talked about love. We know that God is love, and that he expressed the depth of that love by sacrificing his life for us. We also know that he has instructed us to love those that are less than kind to us. But, what about the people that look different? The ones that talk different? What about the ones who believe differently than we do? Are we called to love them, too? If so, how?

Yes, my friends. The answer is yes. We are called to love our neighbors and by neighbors, he is speaking of everyone. This was not a suggestion but rather a command. See,  he created us all; therefore, we are to love each other without exception. There are no borders. That is, nothing should keep us from showing love and compassion to everyone. This includes skin color, dialect, religious/spiritual beliefs or lack there of, etc.

So, how can we begin to show love for others? This can be a tough one, I know. For me, I began by reminding myself of 2 things. First, he created EVERYONE. Second, he lives in us all. By doing this, I began to see that we are each a unique expression of him. This led me to appreciate the differences in us all and to actually find joy in that. I mean, can you imagine the world being a place where we all looked the same, talked the same, and believed the same? It would be so bland…so boring. Variation is a beautiful thing and something, I believe, that we should all embrace! Don’t you?

Do you struggle with showing love to others that are different than you? Or, have you been the recipient of such? How did it make you feel? What did you do to work through it? Please consider sharing your experience with me, if you feel led to do so. You can send me an email, leave a comment below or PM me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/. Otherwise, I’ll plan on seeing you there this afternoon and right back here tomorrow. Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

 

 

 

Love Your Enemies

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

Luke 6:27- “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.

Yesterday we were reminded of the greatest example of love that has been shown to each of us, and that was through the death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Not only did he show us love by laying down his own life for us, but also by enduring a horrific beating leading up to his death. I can only imagine what he must have felt as the whole scene was unfolding before his eyes.

I mean, his own people sentenced him to death for a crime that he did not commit. He was innocent, without blemish.  Not only did they sentence him to death, but they were the ones who placed him on the cross. And what was it that he said prior to taking his  last breath? As it is recorded in Luke 13:34-  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Wow! There he was nearing the end of his earthly life as a result of the actions of others, and he begs for them to be forgiven for it all. Guys, I can’t even begin to fathom this. Can you? How can one be in a place in which he found himself being and ask for his people to be forgiven of such a senseless act? Love, my friends. The answer is love.

The love that he showed his people that day is the same love that he instructs each of us to give to each other. Man, that is one hard pill to swallow, isn’t? I mean sure it’s easy to love someone who loves us and is nice to us, but what about those that are the complete opposite of that? You know, the ones that have hurt us in some way.  Or, what about the ones that look different than us, believe different than we do, and maybe even say things that we do not agree with? How in the heck are we supposed to show love to them?

As hard as it can be to show love to someone that has hurt us &/or has said something that we do not agree with, I believe that it can be done. Now, I don’t want you to think that I have mastered this, because I have not in any way,  shape or form. However, I have definitely worked on it and have made great strides in that direction.

What I have learned overtime is that although someone maybe unkind to me or may say something that I do not agree with, that reflects their  heart…not mine. Likewise, my response to them is a reflection of my heart. If I choose to respond to them in a less than kind and loving way, that is on me. There is obviously some work that I need to do within myself. Do you see what I am saying here? I sure hope so.  The point is, we have to quickly evaluate situations as such when they occur, and recognize that there is something going on within the other person that has nothing to do with us. By doing so, we will likely be able to show love to them. Now, this isn’t something that will happen overnight, but with time and practice, it can and it should.

Well, let’s stop there for today. Tomorrow we will talk about showing love to others that are different than us. But before we go, has there been a time when it was difficult for you to show love to someone that was unloving towards you? What did you do? How did you handle the situation? Was there something that you learned from it that has helped you to approach similar situations in a different way? I would really like to know. Please comment, email or PM on Facebook.  In the meantime, I’ll see you on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/ this afternoon and here in the morning.

Make it a great day!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

Sacrificial Love

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Good morning, everyone! I hope this Monday morning finds all of you doing well. I, for one, certainly am. Starting a new week with all of you helps to put me in the right direction from the get go. I always look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you guys, but I also look forward to hearing back from you. Listening to you as you share your perspective on things helps me to broaden my own. So, thank you for that!

This week we are going to talk about love.  Being that Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday, I thought it would be a good topic for the week.  But before we get started, I have a question for you. Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also referred to as the Feast of Saint Valentine or Saint Valentine’s Day, and that it originated from a Christian feast day? Its true! You should look it up. I mean, you couldn’t possibly have anything else to do with your time, right?!

Anyway, love…let’s focus our attention to love, shall we?  Merriam- Webster. com defines love as a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Is there someone in your life that fits that description? For me, there are quite a few, but my family definitely leads the list. In fact, I love them so much that I would do just about anything for them. That is, anything that is morally & ethically correct. Can you relate? I don’t know what it is about love that has this effect on us, but it certainly has the potential of causing us to do somethings that we likely would not do, otherwise.

I believe the Lord was/is the perfect example of this. In fact, by sacrificing his life for you & I on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven is the ultimate act of love. But not only did he die on the cross for us over 2000 years ago, he continues to show love to us today by extending grace & mercy to us, despite our faults. If this isn’t love, my friends, I just don’t know what love is.

With that, we are going to continue our talk on love each day through Thursday this week. I hope that you will stick around and contribute your thoughts & ideas. Perhaps you will even share this blog with your friends and family. At least, I hope you will. And, while you’re at it, please consider sharing your Valentine Day plans with me. Although John and I don’t really do anything on February 14th, I just love it and would equally love to hear what you guys will be doing. Until tomorrow, I’ll see you guys on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/ . Take care!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson