My Life in Glamour Magazine

My Life in Glamour Magazine

Submitted by Merry Bruton on Tue, 03/30/2010 - 12:30pm

I dreamed that I discovered an article in Glamour Magazine--about me!  I had labored intently to author much of the storyline, but someone else had 'mastered' the finished, published product. The words and accompanying photos stunned my mind as they portrayed me as 'glamorous'--apparently I had achieved much status as a 'beautiful' person who not only made impact on society with my accomplishments, but also with integrity and solid character.  

 

During the dream I also spotted similarly glowing articles about friends and acquaintances, regarding the glamorous aspects of their lives.  With great delight, I sought those friends out to tell them what had been written about their lives . . . displayed for the world to see and admire.

 

In reality, I would by no means describe my life as 'glamorous'.  Glamour Magazine represents the world's defined and photoshopped ideals regarding beauty, fashion, sex, love, health, and shopping. Few people would feel their lives would match up to the popular perfect notions as depicted in Glamour. 

 

"Glamour" actually means "the attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem appealing or special." 

 

If we consider this definition and take away the popular Hollywood expectation of people's EXTERNALS, we see that glamour may also reflect dazzling INTERNALS.  

 

Isn't what is INSIDE of a person most often that which captivates our eyes and our hearts the most?  

 

If a person has a good heart, loves deeply, is solid in character, and can be trusted, isn't that what makes them truly beautiful? The outside packaging doesn't really matter much, does it?  

 

Rather than caving to the pressure to look fit and pretty on the outside, it makes sense for us to do what it takes to beautify the inside--our thoughts, emotions, issues, our beliefs which cause outward behavior. We get glamorized as we allow God and others to shape and release what is within.

 

Not only that, but what a joy it becomes to get out of 'self-mode' and discover the hidden jewels in our friends' lives--so that we can call attention to those treasures and encourage them in their destinies. 

 

A good friend hears the song in our heart and sings it back to us when we have trouble remembering. The Creator does this for us too.  We are fashioned by a master whose greatest desire is for us to reach our full potential.  

 

We live a glamorous life after all.  

 

(photo from www.Glamour.com) 

Detours of Life

Detours of Life

Submitted by Merry Bruton on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 4:42pm

How often do you juggle difficult and unanticipated circumstances in your life while asking yourself, “When did I sign up for THIS?" 

 

Years ago my husband and I painstakingly planned a little family vacation, something we didn’t really have funding for, but we were always up for a challenge—which usually meant . . . CAMPING.

 

Having very little money for a ‘vacation’ meant ‘roughing it’ in a tent, which, for me, is no picnic.  We like to joke about my un-extensive knowledge of the Hebrew language—I know of only one word:  the word for ‘tent’ is ‘OH-HELL’.  Easy for me to remember. 

 

Anyway, we planned our trip from Colorado to the Black Hills of South Dakota, a place we had never explored. We even called ahead to a reportedly nice campground and paid for reservations, so we would not have to hunt for a spot when we arrived after a long drive. 

 

Car loaded with kids and gear, we were halfway to our destination when we realized we had a potential problem.  The highways were swarming with massive packs of Harley Davidson motorcyclists—on their way to Sturgis for their 51^st annual national gathering. Unsuspecting, clueless family propels smack dab into Motorcycle mayhem.

 

My husband, at the time, sported an attitude about bikers on highways. It intensified when we wearily arrived at our campground in Sturgis--in our family station wagon—to find every inch of camping turf covered with tents, bikes, drinking bikers, and biker babes! We inquired about our campground ‘reservation’ and were told we could set up anywhere we could find a spot among the thousands of ‘Harley Huts’. All other campgrounds nearby were similarly filled…no vacancy.  

 

We had planned for a quiet family vacation, didn't have money to change plans, and we had to wonder if we could possibly enjoy our week with 400,000 (no joke) black leather-clad strangers on their very noisy motorcycles. What to do?

 

Get angry and fuss, or adjust and turn it into an adventure.  We ended up discovering the most beautiful, secluded, large campground, a little further drive away…with tall pine trees and a creek and only one biker, a drunk, angry one, but he left after only a day.  We bought Harley Davidson T-shirts and bandanas so we would better ‘fit in’ (ha), and tried to make the best of it.  We even made some friends, and discovered that most of the scary-looking people were actually quite friendly.  My husband changed his attitude and we enjoyed one of the best cheap trips ever. 

 

Life is full of the unexpected—you never know what is just around the corner.  Sometimes the things we try to control in life get out of control.  Usually these things can turn into priceless treasures, if we take it all in stride and use the opportunity to stretch, learn, and change.  We get to discover beautiful ‘back road scenery’, build strong bonds with our loved ones, and make new friends and memories that bring smiles and laughs for years to come.

 

*************

 

Question:  What situation/s  in your life are you trying to make the best of right now?  What steps can you take to embrace the change and enjoy the detour, instead of letting it devastate your preferred plans?

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Quiet Moment Revelation

Quiet Moment Revelation

Submitted by Merry Bruton on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:16pm

We live in a busy world.  Endless necessities compete for our time—work, school, family, friends, guests, mealtime, housework, meetings, phone, bills to pay.  We find it difficult to keep up with it all, much less to fight against the distractions that whittle away at our focus ability.  Constant TV, computer chatter, mail/email onslaught suck energy and time. We often go to bed exhausted but sleep restlessly because our brains continually exist in overload mode.

 

As the pressures increase, it becomes critical for us to make wise choices regarding which things to say, “yes” to, and which ones to deny, from long-term decisions, like which career to choose—to snap decisions like “do I watch a movie, or work on my assignment that is due tomorrow?”

 

How often, during times of chaos and storms in our lives, do we inwardly cry out, “Help, I need direction!”?  But we find it difficult or impossible to turn off the noisy turmoil, be still for a period of time, and release the tension and agendas of the day to seek deeper revelation for the big picture of life.

 

It is in the still, quiet moments of reflection where we receive a deep, centering peace.  The saying goes, “Peace is the potting soil of revelation.” When we slow down our thoughts, Spirit can alight, plant seeds in our minds and hearts, nurture them, and then activate BLOOM. 

 

As we still ourselves and silence the pressures of the world, we discover WHO we are, WHAT we should do, HOW to respond, WHERE to put our time and energies, WHEN to make a move or speak up about something, and WHY we are here.  We discover our purpose in life—for the moment, the day, the decade. 

 

It all becomes more clear.  We let go of the ‘trivials’ and re-commit to the ‘most importants’.  Who doesn’t want that? 

 

A competition exists for our attention—we must deliberately choose peace, or chaos will win by default.  As we choose to welcome Spirit’s wisdom, we can embrace a better quality of life and long-term joy amongst the hustle.  So, go ahead and plan that lunch-time walk or schedule an electronic-less evening for a change. The more often we seek that place of tranquility, the easier it becomes to return to it.  

 

We might even discover that Spirit’s calming presence is way more addictive and soul-satisfying than the TV or computer.  It’s even commercial-free. 

Five Things NOT to do in Dream Interpretation

Five Things NOT to do in Dream Interpretation

Submitted by Merry Bruton on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 3:33pm

If you are reading this blog, you are probably a dreamer or hold an interest in dreams. Dreams are often quite weird or puzzling.  Dream interpretation can be a confusing process, something that many people don’t try because they don’t know how.

 

Help is available!  Find a class, read a book, check out a website, get help in interpreting your dreams…your life will be richer for the effort, I promise! 

 

As you work your way through learning how to interpret, keep in mind these common mistakes that can keep a dreamer from arriving at the best interpretation. 

 

Do not: 

 

1.  Dismiss your dreams as being insignificant. Dreams that seem ‘out there’ still have meaning. Journal them so that you don’t forget them.  Often in writing them down and giving them a title, the interpretation comes to you.  Dreamers have told me hundreds of times, ‘My dream is so weird, it can’t possibly have any meaning.”  Wrong! 

 

2.  Interpret literally.  Sometimes dreams may have literal meaning, as in ‘I dreamed my house is messy.”  However, a messy house dream probably indicates an area of my life that needs some organization.  That way, I will know to focus on clearing up my schedule instead of hiring a maid.  Always think symbolically first!

 

3. Get lost in the details.  Many dreamers have epic dreams that could take hours to journal each day, with hundreds of details to include.  Not necessary!  It takes practice, but a dreamer can learn to identify the most important 3-7 elements in a dream and arrive at the right interpretation. Details will support and add depth to the main theme—but it is crucial to sift through and prioritize.  Simplify as much as possible. 

 

4.  Fail to discern the purpose and focus.  Most dreams are about the dreamer, not about someone else.  If I dream my house is messy, I cannot make the assumption that the dream is about my messy husband--I would miss the point! The focus is on me and my own situation, and possibly how I would need to respond.

 

5.  Forget to pray about it.  All dreams are not from God, but many of them are, and if he is the giver of dreams, is he not also the giver of interpretations?  If we ask, we will receive the keys to unlock our nighttime dream messages. 

 

For further help with your dreams, see our Resource links, peruse the Destiny Dreamz Dream FAQ’s, schedule a mentoring session, submit your dream for an interpretation, orcontact us—we LOVE to help! 

Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody

Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody

Submitted by Merry Bruton on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 10:58am

Everybody said that Anybody could do

The important things Somebody should do.

Everybody knows that Anybody could do

All the good things that Nobody did.

 

Somebody tells me, “Here is something I don’t have time to do, so I better give it to you.” 

 

Why me? 

 

No, I’m not going to do it, don’t look at me!

 

I’m too busy, so I tell Everybody it could be done by Anybody.

 

The work’s got to get done by Somebody...

 

But Nobody, Nobody, Nobody did….

 

Consider all the good things in this world that Anybody could do, that Somebody should do, but Nobody DID.

 

A Nobody can make a difference!

 

 

--adapted from “Everybody Said” by Acapella