The end of the year is a crazy, busy and often stressful time. It is a hard time for lots of us. I remember well my own long string of difficult years….where each of them ended with the holidays, and all of the mixed emotions attached to them. Something that has always always always been wonderful…year after year, no matter how hard the year had been….was to really and truly look the last year over. Look it over, up and down, side to side, in and out. Look for the miracles that made it so that I was and am still breathing in and out…still having the opportunity of another day. Still learning, still growing, still here. Sometimes we forget all of crazy things that happened to help us along….all of the “coincidences”, all of the things that just somehow worked out, all of the people who showed up just in time. All of the friendships made and the changes made and the progress made. Our days are filled with these kinds of miracles. The end of the year is a great time to reflect on all of that. I would like to share some of mine with you, and I hope you will share too. Our stories are so much more healing to each other than we could ever know….so please open your heart, your mind and your memory bank in the coming month as we seek out and share the each other’s miracles…….
mir-a-cle
–noun
/ˈmɪr
əkəl/
3.
a wonder; marvel.
Here’s the miracle I’m thankful for today:….THE POWER OF WRITING THINGS DOWN.
I am constantly in awe at the power of putting ink to paper and having faith in what we’ve written down. It is as if an army of miracle makers is sitting on each of our shoulders, waiting to put circumstances together that bring our deepest goals and desires to fruition. We are suddenly called to action by the deepest voices of our gut…and when we keep the faith in the words that we wrote…miracles happen. Miracles don’t always happen fast…..but they always happen exactly when they are supposed to, and always just in time. I just found a journal that is a few years old….and it reminded me that I really need to know what I want out of life or life will just keep happening. We’ve got to write stuff down. I typed out an entry at the end of this post.
What have you written down lately?
Ready for a miracle? Start writing down your goals…your dreams….your ideas.
I will tell you SO MUCH MORE about this as the month progresses. For today….we will start with something little….so much more to come.
sending so much holiday love to you!
xoxo
melody
An example? I’m sharing this because I want you to know that I know what it feels like to be in a place where you just want to be ok. I have been there….so much of the reason we started BGC. Because I know what it’s like to be there…I know I needed to know that I could get out of that state of mind. I felt so lost…felt so much like my best years were over….Here’s an exerpt from one of my journals not so long ago….while trying to work my way out of a very difficult years-long funk…..trying to figure out how to clean up all of my life’s messes, how to be happy again, how to dream again, how to hope again, how to trust again…..it all started with I WANT TO MAKE ROOM FOR:…and guess what? Over the months…it has happened. I got there. I wrote it down first.
I want to make room for happiness, bliss, joy, light. – I want all of that to take up so much rom that there is room for nothing else. I want to make room for fun & adventure & new experiences & friends. I want to make room for forgiveness & trust & healing. I want to make room for more goodness, which means I must de-clutter, remove and eliminate everything…every feeling everything limitation that is no longer necessary or constructive in my life. I want to make room for new ideas & beauty & appreciation & creativity. I want to make room for fun outings & projects. I want to make room for making my home beautiful & homey. I want to make room for security, and trust that the security is real and not fleeting. I want to make room for love, absolute unconditional love. I want to make SO much room to be able to give love to others, especially my children. I want to make huge amounts of room for the truth, so that nothing but the truth fits. I want to make room for God, a room that is always open, a special room where nothing else can come in, a room where He dwells, always, where I can always find Him and He can always find me. I want to make room for writing, and understanding why it has been so very difficult and scary to write. I want to make room for carefree, happy days, for happiness, for fun and for new memories. Yes, I want to make room for NEW memories instead of holding on to the old memories. I want to make room for serving others, and sharing what I know and have with others – and I want to make room for letting others teach, share & even serve me. I want to make room for new definitions of success, happiness and wealth. I want to make room for new opportunities that I never thought existed, or maybe never even knew existed. I want to make room to see the miracles and blessings all around me. I want ot make room for peace – safety. I want to choose solitude out of choice rather than fear and desperations. I want to make room for whatever I was born on this earth to do or be. I want to make room for experiencing more foods, more art, more places – but even more, I want to make room for doing this every day at home with the people that I love. I want to make room for my spirit, every hour of every day.
(typed out from a handwritten journal, 2 years ago.)
fabulous dear Melody! Love it.. I’m a writer just like u… I hv countless journals like this…. love re reading what I hv wrote and to see how far I have come.. fr the days of complete desolation.. xo Love you. xo
i admire your ability to express your thoughts through your pen and paper. so many times i set out to keep a journal faithfully then fall short. thank you for the inspiration.
looks like you DID IT! so many things you listed you have accomplished. xoxoxo forever melody.
This could have been written by me. I cried as I read it, as I need to make room for things in my life that have slowly been squeezed out. Thank you for always sharing your heart, not only where you are now, but where you have been.
Wow, my post on my blog yesterday is similar to this… words are so very amazing.
I did some writing. One thing I added to my writing was what I LIKE about now. I tend to focus on the negative, but it’s not all negative. It felt good to think about good things!
Great stuff, Melody!!! I’m doing a lot of writing right now, doing Step work – and Step 4 is all about taking personal inventory… a lot of soul searching and writing – so perfect timing as usual! <3
I read. I cried. I have lost ME. Been looking everywhere for ME. I am full of blessings and I recognize that, but I still feel empty at times. I printed this and put it into my journal as a pattern for my own discussion with the universe. Been so busy dealing with everyone elses wants and needs, it feels almost wrong to actually recognize and address my own.
Thank you
Thanks, Melody. And, congratulations to you and your family on the arrival of baby Riggin! What a way to start your month of miracles, indeed!
Thanks for sharing your journal entry, and for reminding us how we can all learn and find ourselves through our own creative outlet, whatever form it takes.
It is truly a wonderful gift you are sharing. It is so nice to take a moment and spend it here. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Amazing stuff!
Thanks Melody!!!, you have no idea how useful your words are to me!. I feel like that, I want to make room for happiness either. I wish I could find it. I read and I cried.
Your words always touch me and give me cause to pause. I stopped writting a journal years ago as it was “used against me” by a roommate and I swore I would never again give someone the power to use my own words to hurt me. After reading your post, I’m open to re-thinking that. Scary? YES but certainly worth looking at. TFS!
thanks again mel. i needed to be reminded of the power of the PEN and PAPER. being able to sit and write things down and being able to read them and understand them is, in itself…a miracle that i need to be grateful for.
love you
hugging you in 2
c
<3
I have been lost for a long time, or so I thought. I realize that I was not lost only hiding behind a cloud of negativity and anger. Not sure exactly what I was angry at, maybe myself for not becoming….I saw myself in another’s actions and WOW what a revelation. I have made a choice to have a glass half full and to be happy at the success of others , to be cheerful and to make others feel important and worthwhile. I have faltered however, that was a minute ago and now is a new minute to start fresh and carry on. I am giving out your affirmation slips and having a blast. My concern is not how I feel but how god I can make someone else feel. I’m back! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
XXOO
Melody, I cannot even express what your sharing this journal entry has meant to me. I’ve been feeling for a while now that I need to change something, that the way things are going isn’t working for me. I’ve come to some hard realizations that what needs to change isn’t my situation but HOW I look at the world. So, as I sit here willing change to come, I read your blog and it was the exact post I needed at the exact time. And that IS a miracle. So, thank you for all you do.
Melody, this is so beautiful. I know you wrote this a couple of years ago, but I could have written it today. I am going to sit down and write for myself. There is so much that I need to make room for, but I’m just letting my life speed by without any intention. Thanks for your constant inspiration.
Melody, I too feel like this was my journal entry. I remember exactly where I was (on the beach August 2001) when I felt like I lost something and had to get it back. I was sitting on a beach chair, looking at the water with my journal in my hand when this feeling of loss, just overcame me. It has been a long journey, gaining back, what I feel was squeezed out of me….I am almost there. Your journal entry sounded oh so familiar. Thank you, we truly are not alone…Love, Angel
Thanks for sharing this! Great inspiration! I also know the power of writing things down…
Seven and a half years ago I sat in a rehab center with my son as he recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumor (95% of the tumor was removed). Through a flood of years I wrote down in my journal that I knew one day the nightmare would just be a distant memory, that he would recover and go on to do amazing things with his life. At the time he could not walk on his own, could not take care of his personal needs, and had severe double vision. His journey included lots of frustration and several more surgeries but he’s never let that stop him from doing the things he wants to do. These days he is living in Chicago (walking all over the city!) and attending film school. He shows me every day what it’s like to be BRAVE and rise above your circumstances. This past August his MRI was COMPLETELY clear. The remaining part of the tumor had disappeared. It took a while, but everything I hoped for and wrote down that day as come true for him.
Keep pushing us, Melody & Kathy, to trust our power! 🙂
Judy
I have many miracles I could share and it sounds like our history is similar – being in a dark place so overwhelmed by everything that was happening could hardly see my way out of that place….but thank God those days are gone! If you need any miracle sharers, I’d love to be one! Hugs! For anyone who doesn’t believe in writing things down, all they’ll have to do is try it. I wrote out a complete list of everything I wanted in a future husband (after I was divorced)…I was hopeful I’d meet someone one day. It took a while, but he had everything on the list in face I just wrote about him on my blog today. http://myheartartbygeri.blogspot.com/2010/12/30-days-of-gratitude-day-29-my-husband.html
Mel,
I love this! We just did a post about a music video that my husband and I had the opportunity to participate in….it was talking about making room for the important things and the song is called “Do You Have Room” It talks about making room for the Savior and it is incredible…you can listen here: http://www.blessings-inabasket.blogspot.com
I am so excited to start putting pen to paper…I know it will be a great help once our Soul Restoration classes get started!!!
We love you so much!!!!!!
Thank you for everything that you do!!!
I read a great book lately entitled, When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair by Geneen Roth that changed the fog I was living in. Although the book is about eating..or taking the time to enjoy what you are eating; it is more about taking care of yourself. I made an art journal (putting pen to paper) about the book and wrote down all the wonderful things that helped me become the person I was trying to be. Just as an example, one thing Geneen said that made the most sense was, “When you say yes and mean no, you abandon yourself.” I got BRAVE and said no to a stressful commitment in my life and it felt SO good to be in control. It set me free to take care of myself. Geneen also said to wear your best clothes everyday, wear your best party frock to town. I loved that….so now I wear my pretty clothes any place I want. To conclude…sorry to ramble on; Geneen said, “You are capable of SO much more greatness that you ever imagined.” Thanks Melody for sharing your personal writtings, it makes me feel much braver!
So very beautifully written….even through the pain. Thanks so much for BRAVELY sharing!
This was the perfect post for me to start my day. It gives me much to think about as to what I will reflect on and what I need to make room for. Thank you so much for sharing.
Holiday Blessings,
Seanora
I have often looked back over my old journals, or bits of journals I’ve lost and found again. I am sometimes amazed at my own words! I mean that so often I ‘hit the nail on the head’ so to speak. How did I know that… How did I get through that…whey did I think that, or feel that… and sundry other questions. But the most important thing in those writings, is the truth of them. Just like your writing here. Thanks for the truths in your words.
Hugs to y’all, and all the Brave Girls out there!
I love that you write, and I love that you share. I sit here, amazed that it was only two years ago for you to have felt so low, and now to have so much to give and share from your journey, it gives me renewed hope. My husband was sitting across from me with his laptop, writing down a list of actions he could do to change negative financial patterns in his life when I started reading your post. I read some of what you said here to him as an additional encouragement to him. You are such an inspiration. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you so very much for sharing your beautiful thoughts and words with us. It is som inspiring for me and you have inspired me to start journaling again. It’s such a poweful tool. Sending you lots of love and light today. 🙂
I’m so happy I found Brave Girls Club! xoxo Tracy
You are making me believe in the power of words. Your words touch so many of us who have never met you. You encourage, uplift, offer hope, and make us believe anything is possible. We’re really blessed that you are always reaching out through your words and your art in a way that really makes a difference! I believe in miracles, too 🙂
When I was at Brave Girls I was “the one writing in the journal”. Journal writing has always been important to me. When I went to Brave Girls I had 2 journals at home that were long lost, actually 3. We stopped at Walmart to get photos and the composition books were on sale for 25 cents. So off the deep end I went. I probably bought 30 extra because I could not go to camp without a journal.(Plus, I tend to get carried away sometimes.)I even passed on a few to ladies in our vehicle who liked the idea. Little did I know what was in store and what a beautiful new Journal I would be given. I am not even sure what happened to that original book.
I have always blamed my lack of journal writing on someone else. Well, now I don’t have that excuse. And I am still no better at it. For some reason, the desire has not overridded the “do it later”!
Melody, this past week when I missed going home for Thanksgiving because of the weather, I took stock in my life, what I like and what I don’t like. This past year I have been existing. Finding joy only when I was with another person, like I cannot be happy by myself.
Today I took a drive all by myself. I stopped at MickyD’s and got a Happy Meal and Coke, then just drove. I have not done that in about a year. This time last year we were not even certain I was going to survive for the new year, as I was scheduled for surgery. Then one day I decided that I had to survive cause there were too many people who would not make it without me. Funny how some choices change a lot of lives.
I am getting off track. I love that you are able to go back and see how you were doing a year ago. It is one of the things that I admire about you.
This past week when I re-evaluated my choices I made some definite plans. I am looking forward to a wonderful life with the daughter, my sisters, my brothers, and my Mom, plus all of the nieces and nephews. We are again planning a future together, places to see and wonderful things to do.
Most of all, I am once again setting up a craft room. I once had a wonderful room to craft. I had a big house with a big room with nothing in it. I could set something up and never move it. It was wonderful.
Life is good. The future is better. Find the thing that makes you **giggle** and go for it.
I have never been much of a write, my daughter inherited that gene, but belonging to brave girls club has made me realize that what has been missing in my life is the journaling. I have been a scrapper and a card maker for years, and I LOVE all things crafty, but i still felt like a piece of me was missing. Brave girls has given me the push with the daily reminders, and I have started keeping a journal of my thoughts, feelings, and the way my mind is working out some of the crazy stuff I am dealing with. Melody you are truly THE brave girl for sharing such an intimate part of your life. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. I have been a fan since Chatterbox and I always will be. you TRULY are an inspiration!
I now feel the need to reread some of my journals – I haven’t done that, afraid of what ‘silly’ ideas and thoughts I had put to paper. But now I realize, it was how I was feeling at the time, so how could they be silly. I have been feeling very grateful lately, not sure why. Life has been difficult, but I know it will not last. I will reread my journals tonight and see just how my life and my goals, priorties, dreams have changed! Thank you for suggesting I try to see things differently!
What a beautiful post. I love the idea of “making room for” and being intentional about it! Just what I needed to hear. Are you really an angel in disguise Melody? How else would you know exactly what my heart aches for and needs to hear?
♥Lee Ann
We are women and there is a commonality of thoughts and pain that runs through us. How wonderful it is to have that bond and the need for reflection.
this is beautiful…and very much needed. You say things so eloquently and it’s always relevant.
I think it is a miracle that I found your website – it has helped me find myself! Thank you so much.