Unexpected Delights!

Today I was feeling a little sad. A little lonely. I thought maybe I would send myself some flowers at work so I could enjoy them all week. I've never done that before but thought it would be nice. After some thought, the practical side of me won out - I can't really afford it. It's frivolous and unnecessary. And that was that.

Just now I received a bright bouquet of flowers from my sister! She had no idea I was wanting flowers today but she sent them as a thank you for helping her with a project!

What's the best unexpected delight you've received?

Remembering What's Important

This topic is a little bit removed from what I usually post about, but these stories are so poignant and touching that I wanted to share them with you. It's lives such as these that remind me to wake up and pay attention to what's really important; to savor my relationships and grow my faith while I'm blessed to walk on this earth. These women are true heroes, living courageously and joyfully in the face of their illnesses.

A friend recently shared this with me, she and her husband having known Amy's husband during college:http://www.kare11.com/news/investigative/extras/extra_article.aspx?storyid=519872&catid=26

This story has inspired and spoken to many in the Orthodox Christian Church during the last few years, as well as to many others:

http://www.conciliarpress.com/products/Lynette_s_Hope_The_Witness_of_Lynette_Katherine_Hoppe_s-478-0.html

May they inspire us to pray for them and their families, as well as awaken our commitment to lives well-lived.

A Personal Message

This weekend I felt discouraged because of some unfulfilled desires and longtime prayers that still haven’t been answered yet. I do believe that God will answer this prayer and I am usually fine with handing this matter over to Him but sometimes … sometimes frustration just takes over. So when I went to church on Sunday morning I wasn’t really in the mood for it. I couldn’t even join in the first song. But when worship time started I made a decision to praise God even though I absolutely didn’t feel like it.
And then, in the third song, I got a personal message from God. I’ve sung this particular song many times before but now it hit me. There is a line which translates something like this: Whatever you give to me, whatever you take from me, you are and will be my God.
I can’t really explain why but this put everything back in order for me. It was just what I needed to hear from God that morning. This experience was overwhelming and brought me close to tears. I didn’t even pray for this and yet I received exactly what I desired. What a great God we have who cares about me and who makes sure I get the message that everything will be fine!

For my friend, Evis

To me giving hope to someone it can be as easy and simple as doing something nice for that person. It might give hope that kindness still exists, that friendships can be real, that nice gestures can be done just because...

What I am doing for a friend of mine this weekend is throwing a bitter-sweet farewell party. She was in the States for a year as a visiting scholar and at the end of the month, her time will arrive to return back to her home country, Albania. It's sad in one hand because we developed such a strong friendship and got so used to seeing each other once a week at least, chat, encourage each other, confess to each other, pray and share joys and sorrows. On the other hand, it's exciting to see what the future holds for her and how God will use her either in her country, or back here, or somewhere in Europe...

What makes me think this is a occasion to give hope and show Christ's love and kindness is the fact that there will be a fairly big crowd coming to this farewell party, people my friend Evis came in contact with throughout the year here, colleagues, older friends from Albania even who are here at the moment, co-workers, some friends from our church etc. It's a diverse, very international and fascinating group and just thinking how blessed I am to host all these wonderful people, reminds me of that verse in the Bible: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2)

Celebration of Hope

This is long overdue but life got in the way of blogging. Back in April I had the opportunity to attend the Celebration of Hope in Belfast. And it truely was a celebration of hope! So many new beginnings, so many eager to find true meaning in life, so many forgiven and made whole again.
The Odyssey Arena was packed every night and there were lots of awesome musicians (29th Chapter, Robin Mark, Tree63, Keith & Kristyn Getty, the New Irish Orchestra) and inspiring life stories and interviews. It was so moving to see the audience embracing hope and a new life in Christ!

Safe Travel

A lot of prayer goes into our road trips because I tend to worry much when traveling; I am thankful for safe travels on our 1350-mile drive north over the last few days. The weather was beautiful, we had time to do a bit of sightseeing, the roads were empty, and we saw many lovely birds. Now a blizzard warning is in effect, so I'm especially thankful that we've arrived!

Home

I am tremendously thankful for the chance to go home again as well as for the awesome celebration of Orthodox Easter. (Sorry to just provide links - I'm in too much of a rush packing for our big drive to re-post all the photos again!)

No Allergies!!

This morning I went for a jogg outside and the fresh smell of spring, flowers, trees and grass was delighting my olfactory senses. I was thanking God as I was running that when this amazing season comes around bringing life everywhere, I don't have to hide inside scared that allergies might trigger. I am very greatful for being allergy-free!

For having someone there when I need to look up

Art Lessons

I am thankful for art lessons!

Waves on My Feet

The Gulf Coast isn't terribly far away, and although it's not the world's prettiest beach by any stretch of the imagination, it does fit the bill when one has had a long week and just wants to relax along the shore for a few hours. This photo is from last November. It is too easy to forget the simple things that restore us - after an hour walking on the sand, getting my cropped pants wet up to the knee from the waves, enjoying the sun's warmth (even though my fair skin typically keeps me out of the sun) - I was thoroughly refreshed. What a blissful day!
What simple things refresh you?

April 7th, 2004

I just got a call from my mother. All my family is back in Romania where I am from and I know that if my cell phone rings and I see "Ioan Ciupe" as caller ID (my dad's name), there is something serious going on and I must pick up. It was my mother and she just wanted to hear my voice and to tell me that she loved me, thought of me the whole day and prayed for me. It took me a few moments to realize what she meant by all these.

Today's significance totally slipped my mind although it's one of the BIGGEST, GREATEST, AMAZING reasons I am full of hope, faith and optimism. It was a date when back in 2004 I had a surgery performed in Romania. It was an operation to remove my left salivary gland because it was contaminated with cancerous cells. The surgery was successful and a few weeks after I recovered, I continued with six weeks of radiation treatment. The entire experience happened so fast that I personally didn't even have time to realize what I had, the not so pleasant outcome that I could have had and finally the amazing miracle God performed on me. I am alive today, cancer free and full of gratitude for this amazing gift God gave me for the third time: LIFE!!

(I say third time because the first time was when I was just first born, 29 years ago, then secondly was when I received the eternal life, and thirdly when God extended my earthly existence... my words are too poor to describe this special gift).

Cardinals

As simple as it may sound, I find great fun in watching the many bird varieties that populate our neighborhood and region. It's been exciting because there are more varieties here than anywhere else I've lived, including beautiful cardinals. This week, the pair of cardinals that have apparently lived in our yard ever since we've been here have been busy constructing a new nest, right outside our kitchen window. The female cardinal began with sturdy twigs that she broke off of a bush, and then worked her way up to finer twigs, grass, and leaves. The male cardinal helps occasionally and also spends a lot of time chasing off grackles and blue jays. I can't help but smile when I see them working away outside my window.

Photo from wiki.

I will praise You in this storm!

I am just beginning to learn how to really praise God and trust Him in "storms." I am thankful for music that helps inspire and encourage me in this endeavor!!!

It's in my name!

First of all I want to say how honored I am to join this amazing ‘experiment’. I feel so privileged to be involved with these talented artists and women whom I’m looking forward to know and be inspired by.

Who am I? My name is Felicia Ciupe Oland and I am 29 years old. My name, Felicia comes from Latin and it means ‘happy, happiness.’ Most of the people who know me would say the name fits me perfectly. I am indeed a happy person, optimistic and with a positive outlook in life. I do appreciate my name now more than I did when I was little and I would ask my parents why didn’t they give me a more ordinary name… Felicia was too unique and different for me at the time. Funny enough, as I grew up and matured, those words: unique, different and other synonyms like original, creative, unusual were my favorite in everything I did: from clothes, to taste in art, culture, movies, to hobbies, friends, lifestyle in general.

I feel that hope is in my name. And happiness is something that goes hand in hand with hope, it’s like a deal I get, one for two. If I am happy, I am hopeful and if I have hope, I am happy.
Thanks for my name, “Mami” and “Tati” (Romanian for mom and dad).

Quote

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
~ G.K. Chesterton

I immediately thought of The Hope Experiment when I read this quote. Have a wonderful day, dear friends!

Building altars

I have been reading a lot from the Old Testament in the last ... year. There are a few things that really strike me and have spoken to me. One of them is building altars for God in things where He has come through.

As I understand, altars are a reminder of the good things that God has done.

I have one by my entrance door. Every time I look at it, I remember the couple of months where I was fighting every day to keep my self-esteem up and not let the "no's" from rejection letters while looking for a job, get me down. It's a verse from Jeremiah 29:11 -

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

It was a dark period but I got through it. Somehow. I felt like I was in a battle inside my mind every day. I felt attacked from all kinds of angles but I got through it and it didn't break me. Not because I was strong but because I was holding on to my faith in God with all my might. And it got me through and brought me to a place where I am today - with a great job and so many dreams fulfilled and re-assurance that He is worth trusting in.

Arts & Crafts

All of us here at the Hope Experiment love arts and crafts in some form or another. It's such a great way to express how you're feeling.

I can get really down sometimes, wishing I had more talent, wishing I was more like this or that artist.

I often wish I had more time or money to invest in arts and crafts.

But when I stop and think about it, I am SO BLESSED! I have sooo many art supplies! I have as much time as everyone else - 24 hours every day! I have books and other resources to teach and inspire me!

I'm so thankful for what I've been given and hopeful that I will keep growing as an artist!

This painting is something I did a year or so ago. I was just goofing around but was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I've always loved to draw/paint trees, especially old, withered ones. I added the new leaves as a symbol of growth, calm after the storm, and also thought about the quote, "the walking wounded become the wounded healers."

I've really been into quotes lately. I've found much peace, hope and inspiration in them. I added the Hemingway quote to this painting. The quote has been very comforting to me and I thought it matched the painting perfectly!

Peace of Late Afternoon

Like Esther, I adore the cheering effects of the sun. There are only two south facing windows in our house, but I try to remember to catch the late afternoon sun when its calming rays make their appearance behind these windows. The light is so beautiful at this time of day; its effects so perfectly luminous. It also brings a small bit of peace when I see it, and adds even more layers to my decades' worth of memories of admiring the beauty of the late day sun.

Prayer

Prayer is one thing I am always thankful for. Even when I am at the lowest points of my life, even when I feel emotionally and physically drained, prayer never fails to lift me up and to comfort me. Just to know my heavenly father is just a few words away, to know there's nothing too big or too little for him to handle, to know he cares about me, soothes my soul. Sometimes a desperate prayer is the most optimistic thought I can manage - but I know that I'm never worse off after I prayed.
And one other thing I love about prayer: It connects you with others on such a profound deep level. To become one before God is simply amazing!