joy | Carmela Snelbaker

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Love is What We Are Born With Find your Inner Truth

Posted at 7:58 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Apr 27th

We are not held back by the Love that we didn’t receive in our past, but by the Love that we are not extending in the present. ~Marianne Williams~

Do you mask your emotions? Do you get up and go through your day living as a character in a play? Fulfilling obligations, taking care of responsibilities and making every attempt to live a reputable life? When you fall short of perfection and life’s unavoidable annoyances get in the way of your achieving your goals how do you respond? Are you truthful with others when you explain an unmet deadline? Are you honest with yourself, or angry, annoyed and stressed?

Individuals often allow their true identity to be masked in ways that may not be obvious to themselves or others. It is possible for an individual to be living and functioning as only a “character” of their true self. When you live each day attempting to survive at a superficial level, depending only on limited human wisdom, you may never reach your greatest potential.

It is not easy to search deep within oneself to uncover who we are and what has made us this way.

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.” ~ Marianne Williamson Quote

It is not until we surrender our hearts and minds to a power greater than ourselves that enables us to witness a level of wisdom and truth that surpasses all understanding.

Genuine inner truth is a Divine Whisper from God. A truth that envelops us in Divine Love and changes us forever.

The Unconditional Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control that you are both comforted by and you acquire from Divine Love, will fill your life and be impossible to keep to yourself.

There are many different explanations or interpretations of Divine Love. There are also many different levels of maturity or understanding. In our journey through life we will meet many people who will influence our lives in many different ways.

Each time we experience a whisper from God and share that experience with another individual it can provide an amazing chance for God to touch someone with “His Love” by reaching out through you.

“We are not held back by the Love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the Love we are not extending in the present.” ~ Marianne Williamson Quote

Invite Divine Love into your heart. Live your Life in His Love. Reach out to others and follow Divine Guidance. It is not until you experience Divine Love that you can truly share complete empathy, compassion and understanding with others and begin living in Love and not Fear.

With Respect, Joy, Peace, and Love. Carmela

Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, B4Peace, Carmela Snelbaker, Christian, compassion, confronting Fear, daily post challenge, Divine Love, emotions, Fear, God, Honesty, Inner Truth, inspiration, joy, kindness, Live in Love, Living in Love, love, Mask, peace, positivity, respect

Offer Whispers of Truth and Love

Posted at 4:08 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Apr 25th
Have you ever been in a situation where you are among a group of individuals that you have never met before and you feel drawn to a certain individual? As time passes and you have the ability to talk with them you discover that you share something in common with them. There would have been no way of knowing this through simple eye contact and a smile, but it was intuition that I like to refer to as a Whisper From God.

More times then not the truest and most beautiful messages come to us as a whisper.

During a lifetime, individuals will experience very deep hurts. Painful experiences that we carry within our hearts that we will never get over. Emotional heartbreak is not a wound that will ever really heal. You will always miss the loved ones that are no longer with you. We will always feel loss from tragedy. It lives beneath our skin as a secret message written on our hearts. This secret heart message acts like a magnet when God introduces us to someone who has a similar secret message written on their hearts.

I have found that in the most difficult times of my life God has introduced me to the most beautiful and helpful people. It is as if God has an Intensive Care Unit. I am protected completely from adversity and I am introduced to the most loving people who share wisdom that I need, and it is the magnetic ability of the secret heart messages that we carry that connects us with others living with major painful experiences on there hearts as well. This can only be explained as a result of Living in Love and allowing Divine Guidance to lead you.

Please pray that those who live in fear, turn off the noise of everyday life, stop reciting memorized prayers long enough to simply be in quiet and peace, open their hearts and lives to Divine Love and Guidance and listen for the Whispers of God.

With Respect, Joy, Hope and Love, Carmela
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, Carmela Snelbaker, courage, divine guidance, DPchallenge, family, gratitude, hope, inspiration, joy, kindness, Live in Love, love, madebycarmela, peace, respect, whisper
Love Joy and Peace on Earth

Posted at 9:49 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Apr 22nd
As we celebrate Earth Day today we must keep in mind that in order to continue to exist here on earth we must search deep within our hearts to access a Love and understanding greater than our human selves. We must reach past the fear and allow our eyes and hearts to be open to Love, Respect, Hope and Joy. Human wisdom is limited by fear. Divine wisdom surpasses all understanding and is only attainable by reaching beyond your human ego and allowing the Divine Love of God to lead our hearts to Live in Love.

Many humans live their entire lives relying on their own wisdom. Believing that they know all and are wise enough to control their lives’ journey and in doing so their actions and attempts at survival trespass the boundaries of others they meet along the way.

Living in this human survival mode you are unable to see how your actions effect those around you. You will only be able to see what you feel you need to do to survive. When you are living in the state of survival you are living in fear. You will have a heightened sensitivity. You may react to situations as if you need to defend yourself. Often times when you are in this heightened state of fear you will react aggressively to situations that never even included any hostility or unfavorable criticism. Your mind is simply so heightened and ready to respond that you begin to identify any response as a threat.

This manner of living will bring only negative results. Can all of the hate and conflict that is going on in the world today be caused by human beings Living in fear and relying on human wisdom alone?

The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.
Gandhi

Weather it is one individual in a destructive relationship, or a leader of a country, allowing another human to cause conflict, abuse, and intimidation and trespass upon other humans’ rights and boundaries is wrong and must be confronted and stopped. The only way to stand up against fear is with the power of Divine Love.

It is only after we allow our hearts to be open to Divine Love that we will be able to live and act in love, have empathy toward others and move beyond simple tolerance and embrace and celebrate the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each of us.

God provides us with the strength to keep going and opens our eyes to reveal awesome beauty and fills our hearts with Joy, peace, love, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, and self control.

With Respect, Joy, Hope, and Love, Carmela
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, Carmela Snelbaker, courage, DPchallenge, Earth, Earth day, family, gratitude, hope, inspiration, joy, kindness, love, peace, positivity, respect
Seeking Clarity Amongst the Fog

Posted at 3:08 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Apr 20th
There will be many times in a persons’ life when they will find themselves in a state of mental confusion or fog. Survivors will often be in a fog or mental daze for days after a catastrophe.

Tapping into a positive vein of emotions and strength after an emotional or physical crisis is not always easy.

Fear, sadness and devastation are very big hurdles to overcome. Attempting to take on the challenge alone can be overwhelming. Depending on the events that we find ourselves battling back from, accepting and trusting another human being with our fragile, vulnerable emotional state of confusion takes a tremendous amount of strength and trust. The alternative of keeping calm and carrying on as if nothing happened and everything is ok, leaves you dealing with very big problems with only weak human wisdom as your defense. Sort of like a very naïve citizen attempting to defend themselves in a courtroom against a relentless attorney. Even though it may be possible it also may leave you to living with angry resentful and negative feeling for years to come.

Trusting in Divine Guidance and choosing to Live in Love gives you a power that is super natural and greater than all understanding. God’s wisdom will provide you with safety, clarity, strength and a wealth of support around each and every corner! The beauty of God’s loving kindness will fill you with unexplainable levels of Peace, Love, Joy, Contentment, Wisdom, Understanding and Hope.

Please pray for those in need, so they may look to the heavens for truth and wisdom to begin living in Love and not fear. It is not until you are honest with yourself that your life will be open to a Divine Love and Protection that surpasses all understanding.

With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, Carmela Snelbaker, Christianity, clarity, courage, daily post challenge, DPchallenge, emotional health, Fog, God, gratitude, help, hope, inspiration, Jesus, joy, kindness, Life challenges, love, peace, positivity, respect, self help, wisdom
Open Letter to Political Leaders and individuals who spew hate toward anyone who may vote differently then themselves

Posted at 2:19 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Mar 17th
Unconditional love that comes from God is that which can forgive harshness, criticism, and disparaging words. It is only in Hope from the Love that we can draw enough strength to endure. As individuals if we look first to God for direction, strength and wisdom before speaking, acting and retaliating to a tongue lashing, our response may change significantly.

Could the major problem behind all the political difference of opinion, disparaging words and often childlike attacks be that we respond quickly, without contemplation with reasonable cognitive thinking? Does it make sense to respond to someone’s harsh unreasonable words with even harsher and more unreasonable words and blame?

I once read a bit of “drive by wisdom” at a time in my life that involved many major life changes. Because I had been tormented with grief and praying for help with anger and unrest, looking for wisdom, and attempting so desperately to find Hope, it wasn’t until I read this statement that I was able to see clearly that I was also an active part in all of the wrong that I felt was going on around me. The statement said very simply…. “When arguing with a STUPID person, make sure he is not doing the same thing.”

In my years as care giver to people with cognitive and behavioral disabilities, I experienced many disagreements daily. Often times even the smallest difference of opinion can unleash a massive war of words, accusations and aggressive actions. This is where another phrase of wisdom comes to mind, ”Hind sight is always 20X20”. How many times have we quickly responded to something only to later find out that we now feel differently, and wish we hadn’t said that?

As I write this I am humbly not claiming to have any solutions that will bring world peace or even at the very least an amicable election year. But what I do hope is, that everyone will remember, before they react or respond, this very simple bit of wisdom …. “When arguing with a stupid person, make sure he or she is not doing the same thing!”

In conclusion please don’t forget as human beings we improve ourselves by continuing to search for wisdom and enlightenment. We all may not go about it in the very same manner. The important thing is that we act with Love and not hate, and disagreeing with someone does not automatically mean they are stupid. Spend some time contemplating before reacting. We teach respect by acting respectful to others.
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, courage, democrat, election year, hope, inspiration, joy, kindness, peace, political, political election, political leaders, politics, positivity, republican, respect
Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace

Posted at 1:02 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Jul 15th
Someone shared this with me a few days ago and I am feeling the need to share it with you.

With Respect,Hope,Joy and Love, Carmela

We may not always see eye to eye but we can walk hand in hand and promote peace
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, B4Peace, beauty, Blessing, Carmela Snelbaker, childhood bullying, joy, love, peace
Peace

Posted at 10:00 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Aug 23rd
Proverbs12:20 There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil, but joy for those who promote peace.

Click to find out more about bloggers for peace

“We may not always see eye to eye but we can walk hand in hand and promote peace”

Photo is from morguefile.com
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged #blog4peace, Christian, hope, joy, love, peace, peacemakers
Turning a Meltdown into Songfest :)

Posted at 4:20 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Aug 9th
This post is written in response to the Daily Post challenge

Yesterday I wrote a post about a position I held years ago. Residential group homes have several individuals who need varied levels of support to assist them in leading an ordinary life in the community. The job responsibilities are usually similar to that of a mom, dad or legal guardian to a child or young adult. The abilities of the people living in the home can vary greatly. Some individuals may need assistance with physical mobility issues only and some may require supports with behavioral issues. I was taking care of a very active 6 foot man who generally had a very jovial and kind spirit. He however, had a diagnosis of explosive disorder and very short fuse when it came to hearing the word no. This seemed to trigger something inside that usually sent him running off with his pointer finger in the air making shooting sounds, pshhhhh, pshhhhh, pshhhhh. If his “traveling road show” happened to interfere with a housemate’s peace and quiet and they spoke up in a negative way things could quickly escalate into and out of control situation.

As a caregiver or parent when we are in charge of a group of individuals there are usually many times in a day when you use the word no. You don’t realize this until every time you say it someone gets agitated and rushes of saying “Why you, pshhhhh, pshhhh, pshhhhh”. The Behavior Plan was to react with positive redirection. I quickly found that using the fewest words worked well for me. Simply saying the name of an activity that he liked could redirect his thought. “Ghostbusters” and then proceed to putting the movie on worked. There were time however that this wouldn’t be interesting to him. If he asked for “orange juice” and we didn’t have it in the house “buy some at the store” worked well. “Put it on a list” or “dinner first” were also workable solutions.

There were times when his agitation would escalate to grabbing others, pinching and scratching and even grabbing in a choke hold manner. He was very capable of major property damage as well. Knocking over large TV sets breaking glass and tearing down curtains. After getting to know him well and building up a friendship and trust my favorite and most successful go to method of calming him down was to quickly position myself between him and the person or object he was going toward and taking his hands or wrists and holding them while looking him in the eyes and singing the song “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. He liked going to church. He loved singing this song, and he liked it when you placed his name into a verse. “He’s got _____ ______ in his hands”.

We should all put some thought into how often we respond with a quick no and think of possible ways that we can answer or respond without using it at all. Toddler years when they are exploring their surroundings are a perfect example. Although it is necessary to redirect them from harm at the end a day of many “NO’S” they often fall to the floor into a major meltdown kicking and screaming. Offering positive options instead of simply a NO can be much more enjoyable for parent/caregiver and child. Be sure to try it and pass it on to promote peace. 🙂

With respect, hope, joy and love, Carmela
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged behavior, Carmela Snelbaker, Child, daily post challenge, daily prompt, joy, love, meltdown, parents, peace, possitive reinforcement, respect, toddler
Divine Gifts of Understanding and Compassion

Posted at 2:08 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Jul 31st
-What the Caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly- Richard Bach

When we are experiencing emotional pain we almost always feel we are alone, feeling great sadness, regret, shame, embarrassment. Our mind will tell us that we are the only one in the world who has ever had reason to feel this ashamed, embarrassed, or sad.. We feel as though everyone is against us. Although the real truth is that in our small corner of the world we are not the only one who ever feels these negative emotions! The opposite is usually true.
These emotions are very common however because they are negative and make us feel inferior we keep them hidden from others, and by doing this we give them power and allow them to pull our self-esteem even lower.
Many human beings that appear to be very confident, out spoken, social and happy, boldly being a comic, shaming, blaming or laughing at others, often times beneath the surface they are insecure people who are attempting to cover up the negative feelings of unworthiness, guilt or shame.
Human beings have many more likenesses than differences. Every human has vulnerabilities.
My heart goes out to those in pain, and I truly wish that no one had to experience pain and negative situations ever. If you have or are experiencing difficulties and negative situation, and have ever felt hopeless. Please take a moment to try to look at the situation in a completely different manner.
Step back from our individual pain and examine the situation as though it were happening to someone else. Negative emotions are universal and every living being is vulnerable to them. What if the uncomfortable experiences that we endure were a divine gift of understanding and compassion that we could use to help the many others who are feeling hopeless? When we use our experiences to reach out and help others, we can open our hearts and minds to become the pathway through which Divine Guidance can lead others toward hope. Blessings to you and all those who are in pain. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Open your heart and allow Divine Guidance to lead.

With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela

Please take a moment to listen. Many times songs will contain very important messages……. Please listen and share with others!

overcomer-Mandisa Gold-Britt Nicole I gave up-Mark Schultz

https://carmelasnelbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/01-gold.mp3
[audio
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged children, Christianity, courage, dignity, divine guidance, Gold, gratitude, heaven, hope, inspiration, joy, love, overcomer, positivity, respect, suicide
If Courage Is A Flower Desire Is The Water That Helps It Grow

Posted at 11:08 PM by carmelasnelbaker

Mar 14th
“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle

Courage

Being courageous is not allowing our limiting beliefs stop us from accomplishing what we want. It’s about following through with difficult procedures, tasks or dreams when everyone and everything around us says it’s impossible to do.

If Courage is a flower desire is the water that helps it to grow.

One cannot have courage apart from desire. The fire fighter rushes into the building to rescue someone with great courage only because he has the desire to help others. The desire to help is the very thing that gives him such great courage. The teenager that tries out for a role in the high school musical has the desire to entertain others. The student that studies medicine has the desire to heal people. Might this be an example of the awesome universal connection that is available to every living being? One apart from the other will fail.

Is the humble willingness of a person to open their heart to accept and ask for assistance from God what gives a Hero the amazing sometimes super human strength and desire to both endure and react heroically?

There are many places within the Bible that state “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

What if a very simple silent prayer for Divine help is all we need to fill our heart with both desire and courage.

The Immenseness of our universe is both unimaginable and magical. Simply take a moment to admire the stars on a clear night. Quiet your thoughts and simply be still in the moment. One persons’ physical presence seems so incredibly small and insignificant under the vast sky.

However if a person opens their heart and mind and asks for wisdom and guidance from the very maker of the stars the significance and potential increase immensely as a beautiful Divine light of desire and courage will glow from within. Might it be this connection, the companionship of human and divine that leads us to an unimaginable coexistence filled with joy, love, wisdom and peace?

Every day we are faced with situations that require courage. Some may be mild and others can be devastatingly harsh. Planning ahead and thinking through how we can possibly respond may be helpful in reducing stress and increasing courage, but most importantly always keeping your heart and mind open to and listening for the whisper of Divine guidance from within will give us the courage we need to stand up for what is right and just and possess the confidence to respond in a brave and compassionate manner.

With respect, hope, joy, and love,

Carmela

Join together for Peace
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Posted in Meditative Writings | Tagged B4Peace, blogs for peace, Carmela Snelbaker, courage, God, hope, If Courage is a Flower, inspiration, inspiring, joy, love, teaching respect

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