Positively Beautiful

  Second Life Same Wife by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog 4/21/22       I may be one of the only people who watch a movie and fast forward through the boring parts to get to the important parts. Watching movies by myself I could see several in a couple of hours. It’s no big deal for me to miss the dialogue. I get the idea of the show and oh well if I miss boring chatter. Usually, it’s a simple show. I’m never missing much. And should you put that into action to fast forward past the bad stuff, soon your life is over. Life is fleeting .  “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: … a time to plant and a time to uproot,” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2       Often, I’d love to have that option as a do-over. Take the rewind button and fix the broken in a different manner, live that moment in an exciting way, or show gratefulness with abundance. Second chances will not present themselves in th...

    35 And Counting by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog         Selfish and self-centered actions become a lifetime of revelations. It seemed like the right thing to do that morning 35 years ago on December 30 th . My grandmother was going in for colon surgery and she was expected to be fine even though she was 85 years old. There was no need for me to sit next to my mom in the waiting room. All was going to be fine. So, we eloped.       Two become one. Genesis 2:24- “ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” I’d no idea the extent of challenges that being married was going to produce. Yes, the idea of being with this man, Mickey, was kinda fun to think about. "For the rest of my life", was not an idea connecting in my 23-year-old brain. I’d seen both my sisters go through the rigmarole of weddings and it looked like a lot of work and money fo...

    We All Can by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog 1/11/22   Being goal oriented I’m not happy unless I have a set focus. Spontaneous and winging it makes me a wreck! Lists I never finish, projects that are nearly accomplished and short-term plans that are endless would be my mode of operation.  We’re all wired differently.  You know that, but yet we think we’re all alone in our frustrations.  Humans are sinners.     I listen to a lot of podcasts geared toward Christian women’s teaching. Somehow, we’re alike. Yes, when I begin to understand the reality of humanity, I’m comforted. This aging process allows me to understand this death thing. I heard my mom say she was tired of life and ready to go. She’d been struggling with cancer for over a month. Her death came quick.  A diagnosis and in 30 days she was dancing with Jesus. I’m 58 and Lord willing I have another 30 years or so. Thinking a finite time frame puts a bigger jump...

  Night Ride by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog   No lights. No air conditioning. (It was broken) No kidding! Saturday is one of my favorite fitness days. I teach back-to-back CRAZY!  At 9:30 it’s Zumba, followed by the next hour of indoor cycling. Yeah, it’s a rush but it’s a hobby I get paid for…win/win! This past Saturday was a near bust. In a full mask of Covid, no air and a tiny breeze from a cracked opened door… Zumba. I’m cool, I got this. But then it came down to no air, no lights, no music and a crew ready to ride. There sat Walter,  “I look forward to this day all week long, “ he said with his head hanging down in discouragement. I think God was giggling at what He was doing to do.     The bikes have a red light at the bottom of the bike when you peddle…some light?  I had my boom box and mic in the car. Each person popped their camera light on and set their bikes. Let’s RIDE. For the next hour we biked in the darkness and h...

  Crayon Ready by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog     Moving is always a chore. What do you keep and what do you pitch and what do you give away. We’re set to move in the next 2 years and I’m already beginning the transition. Oh, so much is collected over time. God pushes us. My heart is tender thinking how God has orchestrated my children’s homes.   “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”-Mathew 19:5       Our son Charley recently moved to Tampa, Florida. Cool! He’s on a path to a new career and not too far away that he can’t come home to visit. Then less than two weeks after his move, we find our son-in-law Allan has been offered a dream job in Tampa! He’ll be designing million-dollar homes in the modern architecture designs he excels at doing! Wait for it, there’s more. Rosey and Desmond are wedded on March 12 and are looking to move up north ...

  The End Is Near by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog In the past two years we’ve ALL watched way more TV series than we care to admit. And if you’re not a fan of television, but I suspect you are, you’ve read books with very interesting characters. Our hearts begin to connect to these fictional people. One season or chapter after the next and suddenly it’s over. Over? What’s happening? We want more. When it’s done it’s done, then you must move on. Chapters in our lives end. Each person has a story. The lives of some individuals seem to be perfect and colorful with one adventure after another. Then others seem to drag through one hardship after another. The lives of people are as individual as our fingerprints. How does it make you think when you want to know the outcome quickly? If I’m watching a show by myself, I simply fast forward. Yes, I do miss some of the dialogue, but I also miss the waiting. Often, I miss the sadness and tragedies, but I see what happens immediate...

  Knowing Your Friend  By Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog 4/3/22       As you most likely know my house is filled with emptiness. Seriously, I'm living in the kid-free zone. Are you the one counting the days till you’re free from the parenting life? Spoiler alert, you’re never finished being a parent. A parenting chapter is closed. It takes all my courage to not call my kids every day! But I will not cease from praying for them every day. Despite the distance, I don’t want to lose touch with them. And as the days pass, I think back on my own departure from my parents. I feel their heavy sighs.       No matter where your children land, they’re still your children. We never give up on our kiddos. At times we must sit back and simply watch. I think about how the Lord looks at me. I’m his kid. He gives me direction and sometimes I push forward with my own way believing I’m out thinking the Almighty. You too? Yes, the only way ...

  Two Words and One Finger by Deena McDaniel Positively Beautiful Blog 3/19/22   This is one of the most difficult and joyous subjects I’ve ever written about. The Lord gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. She was born Oct 17 th,  2001, right after the 911 event. The world was a mess, but the USA became united as a nation again. Now, March 2022 war is in full swing in Ukraine, and she’s flown the nest. March 12, 2022, was a glorious day! Welcome to the world, Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Collins.      Ephesians 5:31 -“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”      Quite frankly the wedding day is a blur! I’d like to go back in time and be that fly on the wall watching the glorious event. Yes, we have hundreds of photos, however after months of planning in a few hours it was over, and we were back home.  A month ago during planning, Rosey was overw...