Blessings Beyond Imagination

WARNING: Spiritual Content

What an amazing week in my household! Our youngest daughter (let’s call her PJ) started her perfect job. She has an awesome office, awesome co-workers, awesome responsibility … did I say everything was awesome? She came home pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. (BTW, JP worked very hard to get this job and she totally deserves it so I want to make sure I am not taking that away from her.) Below is a video of the place where she is working:

She’s insanely blessed.

This may look like bragging but that’s not my intent. I share this to make you aware that God (who blesses my family) wants to bless your life as well (whether you like it or not) and He loves you more than you will ever understand.

I truly believe that God, the creator of the universe, is the same God of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel and all the other prophets. We don’t understand why God has blessed PJ (blessed us really) so much. Sure PJ worked hard to get here this far but we still don’t deserve it. I feel like someone handed me a golden ticket that I didn’t even purchase.

I remember 2 verses in the Bible:

“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.” — Jeremiah 29:11

and

“For we are his masterpiece created anew in Christ Jesus so the good that God PLANNED for us a long time ago should be our way of life.” — Ephesians 2:9

Imagine that? All these blessings He has given PJ was what He planned to give her a long time ago.

The plan was already in place when PJ was struggling to fit in Film School and the quiet work she did in the background was credited to someone else; when she worked as a barista in Starbucks (even though she hated coffee) dreaming that she would get a real job; when my little girl drove a truck on weekends to set up a display booth for Califia and stood greeting customers for hours causing her feet to swell and needing a massage at home; when her tender heart was broken because the people she trusted treated her so callously. Yes, in all of these life struggles, God knew PJ would be blessed today.

Tears fall off my cheeks as I think of all the pain and now, all the joy. Sad tears. Happy tears. What kind of god does that? A loving, generous … the one true God does that! We may not know it nor acknowledge it but He’s doing the same to the rest of us.

I’m sure struggles will follow (after all, we still live in this imperfect world), but wherever else life takes us, seeing the proof of His love and abundant blessings (like this one), we should have the confidence that we are safe in His care.

At the end of the movie, after young Charlie had passed all the tests and proving to be worthy to inherit the legendary Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka asked Charlie: “Remember what happened to the man who got everything he ever wanted?”

“What happened?” asked Charlie bracing for a disappointing unexpected warning.

“He lived happily ever after,” replied Wonka with an assuring smile.

Thanks for sharing my joy. Praise to God from whom all blessings flow.

With God on our side, everything will be okay my friend … everything!

TGIF people!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA

Video of the week

FUNNY: An alternate ending to the Willy Wonka Movie
WARNING: Not for the sensitive

FUNNY: Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA for this comedian with ADHD.
Pretty long but he’s really good — especially near the end.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba, B.C.

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Efren of Caloocan City, Philippines

The post What It’s All About appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Last Weekend of May

It’s been a very busy day. I’m worn out. I wish I had a spark of creativity left to send with this email but alas, this is all I have left.

I think I’ve communicated with more people on a deeper level this week than many past months. I feel like I wear a different hat for different occasions/situations and this week has left me with so many hats on the floor. No wonder I’m tired. I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend.

Keep safe and hold on to your faith. TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena for sharing this joke.

Video: Honesty at the Golf Course

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA.

Video: Irish Wedding Photographer

Thanks to John of Connecticut for this video. I might have posted it already but it’s still funny.

Video: Office Musical Chairs

Thanks to Mario of Manila who shared this video. Funny but not that funny — because it may actually happen.

Don’s Puns

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.who loves puns. This may take a while to sink in.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA. Drinking is on the rise. Be sure to heed this warning.

Finally, here’s one from Naomi of N Hollywood, CA. If only….

The post Bad Memory appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Endearing Friendship

During the heyday of cigarette advertising, one of the famous slogans was “I’d walk a mile for a camel.” My question to you is: “how far would you walk for a friend?”

When I went to the East Coast for a special wedding early this month, I invited my closest friends to join me. These were my college buddies who I’ve kept in touch with over the years. We were all part of a singing group. Somehow our paths crossed during an impressionable phase of all our lives and we needed each other to make sense of the world. Our friendship was so strong that even if the world came apart it wouldn’t have mattered because we had each other. This was our “Hangover” movie in real life. Our careers came, wives came, our children came but we never forgot those special years. Three of them have passed away and just a handful of us are left.

When I was given permission to invite people to the wedding, they were the only ones who I really wanted to invite. I didn’t know the details of the wedding — when and where it was going to be held. It was only later that I discovered that it was to be at upstate New York which is about 2 hours above New York City. What that meant was that guests had to drive 2 hours from the closest commercial airport. When I knew what my friends signed up for, I gave them permission to back out. But to my surprise they were determined to go. “No one pointed a gun at us when we accepted the invitation” was what one of them said. I was speechless.

During the wedding, I was getting anxious because my daughter and I were to sing a requested song. I never heard it before. I changed the words to make it more personal and I practiced everyday for 2 months. My friends kept on staring at me during dinner. Through their eyes, I knew they were there to support me. Despite all the good intentions, I still managed to mess things up. But the crowd loved it. Here’s a video of my moment with my daughter under the spotlight. Watch the video below.

One of the things I hate most in life is driving … in fact, I am allergic to city traffic. I avoid it like the plague. To be an Uber driver would be my worst nightmare. One of my friends traveled 10 hours from Michigan to Virginia. Then they and their wives carpooled for about 7 hours from Virginia to New York City and then another 2 hours upstate New York. That’s almost 20 hours on the road. Who would do a thing like that? Thinking about it even more, I realized my buddies were not doing it for the bride and the groom but for me. For the wedding couple, every single guest had to travel at least 2 hours to get there. Many of the guests flew in from the West coast. I guess the couple also have amazing friends.

Do you have friends who would walk a mile for you? If not, maybe you should take the first step. I am blessed I have friends who would. You know what makes this doubly hard to swallow? My friends had to travel the same way back. God bless my friends.

TGIF people!

“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it.”
— Anonymous

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA for sending this joke.

Video of the Week

SNL: What Was Silly 9 Years Ago
Sent by Tom of Pasadena, CA

WARNING: This video is political in nature. Proceed with caution.

Not really into Saturday Night Live anymore. But this clip reminded me of real life in America 2019. Do you see what I see?

WATCH VIDEO

Don’s Puns

From Don’s collection of puns

Heavy Thought of the Week

Sent by Charlie of New Jersey

Parting Shot

Thanks to Charlie of New Jersey who shared this.

The post Office Romance appeared first on Traveling Archive.