Ashley Grey

Category Archives: living

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excursions, living

Nelly’s dad was quite fond of saying, “don’t drive a willing horse to death.” Huh!? It didn’t make much sense to her. It did however, the older and wiser she got. At one time or another, we might have seen a horse handler breaking a horse or putting it under saddle. At first, it is tough. Eventually, the animal is ready and serves the owner on a farm or on the field. With a saddle safely in place, one can ride safely on the horse. But I digress. Now, the horse is malleable and willing, but you want to watch that you don’t ride it to exhaustion and death. There’s such a thing as a good thing being too much. That’s what Nelly’s dad meant by the expression. horse Like we see in the story of the prophet and a donkey, even a beast of burden has its breaking point.…

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living

A good story is engaging and I tell you about Naboth and Araunah, two men with different temperaments. Maybe, we will glean a thing or two from their tales. So let’s dive in, shall we? Naboth’s story Naboth had a vineyard beside the castle of a certain king named Ahab. The king needed the land to grow a vegetable garden (which had to be near his palace) and sought to meet Naboth. “I will give you a better vineyard or its value in money”, he promised. A generous offer, no? Naboth refused. God forbid, he gives the king the inheritance of his fathers, he said. In my head, I am thinking… “Really! Naboth, are you sure your fathers would not have wanted you to make the deal?” Long story short, King Ahab goes home to sulk. His wife learns why. We learn that Naboth is set up and killed. To…

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living, nurture

Really this post should be about food, thoughts about food, but it is not. Instead it is about things to chew on and think about.  More a mental nourishment. Okay, maybe I can find a way to chip in something about food at the end. We’ll see! Sarah is one of a kind. Just give her a date and she can tell you what she was wearing, what she ate or did on that day. Genius! Blessed with a photographic memory. These are details we tend to forget because nothing eventful happened to trigger our brains to store and resuscitate such specifics. Have you met anyone like this? Hopefully, people like Sarah should inspire us to make an effort to recall names of people we have met, right? I mean, it’s the least we can do. Oh, the loud silence when we run into them and can’t make introductions! Experts,…

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winning

We all want to know who’s winning at a game we find interesting. We all have our battles. Whether we win or lose may largely be due to activities behind the scenes. The story of Israel in 1 Samuel chapters 4 and 5 comes to mind. They had won battles, conquered armies and had quite a reputation as a result. So reading the account about their resounding defeat from the Philistine army was tough. Thousands lay dead. When one suffers, do we not all suffer since we are all connected in the great circle of life? What had gone wrong then? Had Israel taken victory for granted or is this just a case of “bad” stuff happening to “good” people? There didn’t seem to be any apparent reason for the loss. So, it may be in what is not easily seen. Had God deserted them? Reading further, we discover that…

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am i my brother's keeper

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” was the comeback from Cain after God asked him about his brother Abel in the Genesis Chapter 4 Bible story. Maybe Cain didn’t understand just how connected we all are in the circle of life. yellow rose So, it is nice to know that we have today to celebrate people all over the world that are living with disabilities, a subject that is still taboo in some circles.  This post has more details on the sensitive subject of disability. By the way, some are not easily discernible. Mental illness, chronic pain/fatigue, diabetes, brain injury and sight/hearing impairment are just a few. Justin has a business degree and has experience in business. At some point in his life, he feared he might be going deaf. He also suffered from ADHD and remembers being cruelly mocked for this condition. The taunts increased the chance of losing his…

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fly a kite

You have either flown a kite or watched someone fly a kite at some point. It can be a delightful experience on bright, sunny days when the wind is just right. Other times, the weather isn’t so friendly and we simply are unable to well, fly the kite. Photo by Zonda from Pexels Makes me think that we can’t always think or say “I have a plan and I am sticking to it” because life is a lot like sailing. You plan to sail to an exotic island but the winds are contrary. Sailing in the planned course is dangerous or impossible. You may have to make a detour or return at another time. That can really hurt. Calm seas, choppy seas, summer, winter, autumn, spring, I believe God made them all. He lets us in on His thoughts too and will not laugh at us if we ask Him.…

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living, people

Gratitude makes us happier and life is a gift, now it may not always feel that way sometimes, but why trust these feelings as they can be fleeting, right? So I had a weekend of pause about things that I am thankful for. No explanations needed here. I am thankful for blue skies, birds and time spent by the seaside. Oceans and rivers hold such deep secrets. I am thankful for the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Amazing how one can find beauty in the unexpected if you look. I am thankful for love, health, laughter, bath oils, oysters and fancy cuisine. What would life be without these? There are two ways to live. “One as though, nothing is a miracle. The other, as though everything is a miracle.” We have a choice? I think yes. Lastly, I am thankful for books and quotes like “God only takes…

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living, people, tongue twisters

  When asked what makes us unique, we typically highlight our strengths, hoping to impress. Nothing wrong with showing off our strengths, however, we can be endearing and connect as humans when we are vulnerable. A boxing glove is ineffective and without a hand in it, it is weak!Put a hand in it, make a fist and punch the air. Now we see what difference the hands made to the power of the glove. Do you relate with the struggles of the boxing glove? It is vulnerable and has to find the right fit AKA the right human or be doomed, maybe.  The hand -in- glove idiom making better sense yet? No man is an island! We connect when we dare to be vulnerable and given time make formidable teams. But it takes getting past the limiting fears.Yours truly struggles with the fear of rejection sometimes. Maybe you can relate and…

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Everything answers to a name
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living, people

Few things identify someone as much as a name does and sometimes we get to hear a sweet story behind the designation. After several miscarriages and a hard time getting pregnant, a man takes his wife on a much needed vacation to the Italian Riviera. On this particular night, there is a full moon and he asks his wife to make a wish. Nine months later, they have a child and call her Luna, after the full moon.   Luna’s story inspires. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other…would smell as sweet…”  William Shakespeare. Call a rose by any other name, the flower smells just as sweet. So much beauty and sweetness, you could never tell just by looking at the thorns. Flower power! Jesus endured a crown of thorns. His name inspires, so He says “follow me and I will make you.” Be inspired!…

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