Deep Thoughts (or not so much).

It's been a great summer for us - one of the best so far. There is a peace and a calmness that has settled over our little nest, it just keeps getting better and I am grateful, abundantly grateful.

Some of our adventures have included spending a week in Destin on family vacation, many sleepovers for Audrey (@ Aunt Beka's, Hannah's, Josie's and Blair's) climbing Stone Mountain as a family, celebrating my Mom's 70 great years, many play dates with our buddies, 2 weeks of swim lessons and multiple trips to the pool. And at the top of my personal list, finally finding my niche on the pavement. (With a lot of guidance and encouragement.) Ahhh, life is good.

In the middle of all of this I've been surprised by a few things but one in particular tops the list. People. They can surprise me and I find that my view of "normal" is not exactly normal because of course I'm not normal myself (are you with me?) Puzzled, I'm trying to make sense of these situations with little or no luck. A dear friend recently gave me some wisdom to apply in this area.

"Mary, they just interpret life differently than you do."

Oh, that's it. Why do I even waste my time toiling?

It really helped and now I can (more quickly) dismiss many a (needless) wondering thought by simply letting that wisdom roll through my head.

I've also been thinking about my Mom and all of the truths that she speaks (all the time) that are really good nuggets of wisdom. How much knowledge could we stand to gain if we just sat at the feet of our Mothers or Grandmothers. They've already been around the mountain a time or two, haven't they? . . .So calm and collected because they know that life shouldn't be taken so dang seriously. Here are a few of my favorites from my Mom, see if they aren't helpful in your own life application.

Gloria-isms:

• There are no blessings for loving the one's who are easy to love. God rewards us for loving the unlovely.
• Forgive and release judgment on the person you are hurt with - be thankful that you aren't the judge.
• Don't dredge up painful memories. If you stir trash, it will stink every time.
• You've got to believe the best.
• Don't say anything unkind, no personal remarks, please.
• Choose to fill in the blank with something positive, not something negative.
• You can say, "no" - try it.

These have all been such important life rules, although I'm sure I blow it and fail to apply them on a regular basis. Good thing that Mom doesn't miss an opportunity to gently remind me.

Nevertheless, I hope that I am a better person with these truths. Of course there is a whole book of Proverbs for us, too. Mom's life rules definitely have a biblical foundation. I'll post more of them as they come to me, there are many.

Here's a great verse, too:

1 Thes. 4:11 (NLT)
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands.

Doesn't that sound way more simple than trying to figure out everyone and everything? I'd rather live here than there.

You probably have the same running list of maternal wisdom. If so, please add to mine.