Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

Joy is gratitude.  It is looking at your life and every aspect of it and thanking the Lord for every simple thing He has given you.  Sometimes it is others you need to give a simple “thank you”.  God works through other people all the time.  Don’t take any gift you have for granted.  As well as all the simple pleasures that come your way.  Joy is gratitude and thanking the Lord for the simplest gifts He has given you.  He has given your life.  And every morning you wake up you need to thank Him for every breath you take.  Get in the habit of thanking others and the Almighty for every single gift.  Life is composed of myriad details.  And prayerfully thank someone for every detail of your life–every pleasure-every thing.  He does not owe you anything.  And He usually gives us abundance.  Don’t be an ungrateful taker.  Thank Him for every detail of your life.  Joy will always follow gratitude.

Tags: abundance, be grateful, every breath, gifts, God, gratutude, joy, joy is gratitude, Lord, prayer, simple gifts, take for granted, thank Him, thank the Lord, thank-you, thanking others, The Almighty, your life
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It was a small discovery but it gave me some joy:  my rubber tree in the office started sprouting new leaves.  It responded to my giving it more water.  It is a warm room and I was tickled pink to see the new growth.  Each day now I check it and can see the discernible growth.  Life is composed of many small pleasures.  This was just one.

Tags: joy, life, new growth, new leaves, office, plants, rubber tree, small discovery, small pleasures, watering plants
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The love we share of music is only by serendipity.  My wife and I both intensely love music.  We grew up listening to the same artists and groups.  She is also a musician, which I am not.  The only area she knows better than me is R&B, which I never went out of my way to listen to.

She is the recipient of my DJing every day.  And to me there is no greater joy than to share a beautiful piece of music, especially something she never heard.  Both of our tastes in music are eclectic:  we listen to a broad range of music.

I was responsible for her falling in love again with Peter, Paul & Mary.  She listened to the ninety minutes I put together of them on cassette repeatedly.

I have put together dozens of anthologies on cassette culled from my extensive music collection.  I must do a good job.  The cuts usually blend pretty well and she can’t tell always tell when they have come from different albums.

I have always gone deeply in particular groups and individual performers I have loved.  I sometimes surprise her with the material I have recorded of performers she knew well.

I turned her on to British folk rock–a world she had no idea of–Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.  And performers from England like Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and John Tams for starters.

She was the third woman I turned on to Richard Thompson.  The second one divorced me.  The first one was a friend.  And we have gone to several of his concerts.  She has fallen in love with his songwriting and guitar playing.  We never get tired of him.

To be able to share my deep love of music with my wife is a gift.  And I never forget that.  It is a real treat.  When I am home, the stereo usually is on although I have to admit when I go out, silence reigns.  I never take that love we share for granted.  It is a real gift.

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What are we really afraid of when it comes to death?  I will try to explore some of my fears.  I am afraid of dying alone.  Most people want to be surrounded by their loved ones when that moment occurs.  People often die alone in hospital beds.

One fear I have as I become older, I become afraid of losing my independence–of becoming dependent on others to take care of all my needs.  No one wants to suffer.

There is always the fear my life has been in vain, that I have squandered my most precious resource–my time.  I read obituaries and feel that person’s life has been summed up in a few paragraphs.  And that is it.

I have to remind myself that it a gift we have received to enjoy the life God gave us.  I am always afraid that I have become the cantankerous man I have often seen in passing.

Someone who hobbles around and the only joy this person gets is to complain about his ailments.  I do not want to become that person and my constant prayer is that as I age I want to grow old with grace.  That thought has been more in my consciousness lately.

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I was doing something this morning I was not looking forward to:  Replacing the urine stained newspaper and then getting rid of the poop in the dining room.  I simply did not want to this morning.  One of my dogs (we have four) still uses this room as a bathroom.

A little voice told me to thank God for doing that.  Most of my life I did not have pets.  I always wanted them although growing up my mother was simply too fastidious to even consider having them so I do not remember even asking her permission to have a pet.

The last twenty-two years I have had pets.  My two wives both loved dogs and cats.  So I decided to thank God for the task of picking up poop and handling soiled newspaper.

That is a small price to pay for the joy of having four dogs and eight cats.  Each pet has a different personality and are a joy to have.  All that is only by grace.  And cleaning up the dining room reminded me it is a privilege to have pets.  So thank you God for that!

Tags: cats, dogs, each pet has different personality, eight cats, everything-is-by-grace, four dogs, God, joy, joy to have pets, my mother, pets, poop, privilege to have pets, thank God, urine
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Life without joy is a life of despair.

Rejoice.  Again I say rejoice.  It is a commandment of the Bible.  There is much to rejoice about.  If your blood is pulsating through your veins.  That is no small thing.

Life is, in deed, very precious.  And so is your health.  Take good care of your self.  We have that in control.  There is a correlation between health and joy although sometimes you have to override that and determine to seek joy.

Men live lives of quiet desperation.  Words by Thoreau.  Very much quoted.  Accept the bounties God has given you.  And find joy in them.  Rejoice.  Again I say rejoice.

Tags: accept God's bounties, again I say rejoice, Bible, bounty, commandment, despair, God, God has given you bounties, health, health and joy, joy, life, life is precious, quiet desperation, rejoice, take care of yourself, Thoreau
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I love the rain. I am going to spend most of today indoors. I love hearing the pitter patter of the raindrops coming down and hitting the earth. It is so peaceful.

I know I am going to have to find ways to entertain myself. I will not be consumed with what I can not do for it is raining. I will enjoy a good book, a superb conversation with my wife.

A good rainy day gives me much joy. I will enjoy the earth being replenished. There is something soothing about raindrops. I will center on what I can do, not what I can’t do.

Who am I to complain? Rainy days are there to snuggle up to your beloved, make quiet but passionate love. I love rainy days.

Tags: earth being replenished, God, good book, joy, love the rain, make love, my wife, peaceful, rain, raindrops, raindrops are soothing, rainy day, snuggle up
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If you want to truly like yourself, it always starts off with self-respect.  And you can not do that if you consistently do not enjoy yourself.  When in your own heart you do not do the things that you know you ought to do you lose self respect.

I have been there.  I know what that is like.  I have not always liked me.  Not that you can all the time.  If you want others to like you, first you have to like yourself.

And that starts by obeying that tiny voice only you can hear.  When you do the things that have to be done, then you gain greater respect of yourself.

At the same time we are creatures of pleasure.  We have to find joy in our lives, we have to every day do things that give us pleasure.  I can not tell you what they are but you know.

Life is one of balance.  Yes, each of us has obligations to our loved ones.  And our life can not be just that although you always have to fulfill the most important obligations in your life.

But still you have to find pleasure in what you do and that means doing at least a few things every day you enjoy.

All this produces self respect.  And like.  Violate your deepest self consistently and you will dislike yourself.  Respect who you are and you are more apt to like yourself and in turn others will like you more.  It always starts with you.

Tags: balance, do things you enjoy, find joy in our lives, it always starts with you, joy, like yourself, obeying your tiny voice, obligations, pleasure, self-respect
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