THE JOY OF GIVING BACK...

As a Professional Organizer and owner of my own business "Organizing Angels," I love helping people let go of their clutter, stress and what no longer serves them. I love helping them organize their homes, businesses and lives, enabling them to move forward in their lives to a place of peace, order and freedom. So, my dear friend Rachel (who also owns her own Professional Organizing business) and I decided to team up as we often do, to donate our time to help someone in need. We created a contest, published it in a local paper that went out to thousands of people, asking potential winners to submit their stories and photos telling us why they thought they should be chosen as the winner of the room makeover. Wow...the letters we received were so touching, heartwarming and heartbreaking... We wished we could have chosen them all!

 This is the story of the courageous woman we chose:

 IN DESPERATE NEED!

 "Having my small home office organized would be such a blessing. It’s not only wanted – it’s desperately needed! I am closely reaching the point of not being able to comfortably do my work. Being that I spend most of my life in this room, I need it to be functional. I do accounting at home full-time and work some pretty long and strenuous hours sometimes starting at 6:30 am and quitting at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. The reason for these long hours is not so much because I am a workaholic (although sometimes I wonder) it is because my life is so hectic and busy. You see 7 years ago my aging mother came to live with my husband and me. She has Alzheimer’s Disease. At first it wasn’t as difficult but the disease has progressed and she requires help with almost everything now. She has very little income so we must struggle with this disease at home. This disease is heartbreaking and is difficult on everyone involved. It requires a lot of my time.

 As if that were not enough to deal with, my husband was in a terrible motorcycle accident in October 2011. He almost lost his life as someone hit him, he went down and a semi-truck ran over him. He was in intensive care for over two weeks and in the hospital almost 2 months. His injuries were very serious including a shattered pelvis, broken back in five places and multiple other injuries. His recovery will be a long and painful one. Although he is the best patient in the world and seldom if ever complains, he still requires help with even simple everyday tasks. Although he tries to help and be as independent as possible, most of his hours are spent in bed because of his pain. If he does get up and do things, he pays the price and has to be in bed for the next several days. He is also facing future surgeries, medical procedures and physical therapy so this won’t be over soon.

 I used to be a fairly organized person but these events have sent me for a loop (as you can see from the attached pictures). Between my job which I have to keep being the main source of support for our family now, mounting bills and medical claims, paper is everywhere! I feel I just need some help and tips on how to keep track of it all. I have tried bins and in-boxes but they seem to be filled quickly and paper is just piled up. I have even resorted to throwing things in plastic garbage bags! Unbelievable! The closest is just as disorganized. It makes me sick. I am embarrassed for anyone to see it and keep the door closed most of the time. Do you think you could help me get organized and stay organized somehow? I would so appreciate it because this situation won’t be over soon. My mess will be an ongoing problem. I also think having my office organized would reduce the stress I feel. I have tried to get my office under control several times and it all just seems to spring up again. Now the task seems overwhelming and every time I look at it I just stress in our home. I would feel better, be more productive at work and be better able to cheerfully take care of the people I love.

 Please consider this project in your contest. I hope you realize how extremely helpful this would be and what a difference this project could make in our lives.

 Stella"

Well, Stella's story touched our hearts in a big way! Rachel and I felt so grateful that Spirit brought us all together so we could help Stella and her family move through this challenging and painful time to create some well-needed order in their lives. We all talked and worked together in the office and closet and created systems that worked well for her, and yes, we even prayed with her when she asked for prayer support. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We happily donated many more hours than we agreed to. When we left, we were all crying.

 Here is Stella's letter of gratitude:

 "Dear Rachel and Jenny,

 I have been meaning to write to you so I am so glad to hear from you! As you could tell I was so thrilled and touched with my new organized office! You both were just amazing! You both worked so hard. It is so encouraging to see that there are still people like you who are dedicated and hard-working. You not only gave me a wonderful gift of a comfortable place to work in again but you encouraged me and lifted my spirits. Thank you is just too little to say to express how grateful I am for your help. I am intent on keeping my office organized by implementing some of the techniques and tips you shared with me. I am taking your advice and going through a small pile of paperwork each evening. I could just sense how much you truly cared. The time you spent and all your effort did not go unnoticed. I thank God for people like you both who give back and help people. My husband and I wish you both every continued success. As you said in the article, I feel truly blessed to be chosen the winner but I also feel blessed that we got to meet such wonderful people like you both!

 Gratefully,
Stella and Bill"

 Rachel and I will continue to share our gifts to help others. We are on the planet at this time to help create positive change in our world. If we can uplift someone of offer a helping hand, let's do it! SO many people need support right now. What are you willing to do to help create more peace in the lives of others and our world?

 MAY PEACE PREVAIL within our own hearts, within our own homes and in our world...

 Jenny LeBel
Organizing Angels
www.organizingangels.com

Rachel Sparks
Sparks Organizing
www.sparksorganizing.com

BLESSED BE...

I spent the last two days alone, completely on purpose - no phones, no people. I could have gone flying or to my spiritual center or out with friends, but my heart chose to enjoy quiet solitude instead - meditation, prayer, reading, (well, yes, some fb too :) eating healthy food and watching recorded episodes of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. Watching & listening to Dr. Jill Bolte Tayor and Michael Singer impacted me deeply and was life-changing for me in so many ways. Wow! There are no mistakes... I think this weekend of peaceful bliss came about in part, thanks to the amazing, full, Blue Moon Friday night. It just captured my soul as I walked with a friend on the beach, under the moonlight, having our little ceremony of releasing all that we have no control over and that which no longer serves us. The tide was high, the surf was wild and I was in my element! Of course the beautiful sunset I witnessed earlier filled me with love and gratitude for life. I was listening big, time - STOP AND JUST BE. Not always easy with the busyness of life, seeming painful challenges and everything else going on... But love, miracles and blessings are always around us...I walked outside in the cooler air to sit under the trees for a few minutes when just then I saw two beautiful butterflies flying together, and land on the leaves for at least 5 minutes. I watched for a bit, then ran inside to get my camera, hoping they would still be there upon my return and they were! I felt so much joy watching them, content with life and each other. They flew again, landed again and I was reminded how bountiful and blessed all of life is, if we just stop, breathe, look, listen, feel, smell the roses and be in not just our 5 senses, but our 6th intuitive sense as well, that guides us in all ways, always. Today, I am truly grateful to feel refreshed, replenished, and ready to move on at a deeper level, at a pace that doesn't zap my energy or drain me. All is unfolding beautifully if I stay out of my own way and allow Divine Spirit and life to flow through me. BLESSED BE...

LET GO OR BE DRAGGED!

I've had such amazing and powerful shifts in my life these last few months...after embracing Marianne Williamson's powerful and sacred Enchanted Love Workshop right before my glorious month-long trip in Australia, my incredible bio-sync session gifted to me by my daughter & an unconditional love / hug from Azim Khamisa that rocked me to my core (an incredible man who forgave his son's killer and started the Tariq Khamisa Foundation,) so many things have come up to be healed, especially these last few weeks - things that I thought were done and buried! It sometimes seems as if it all hits at once, but the truth of the matter is, is that everything that needs to come up will, and after our initial freaking out, screaming, OMG, how can this happen!!!...we find the courage to face it, embrace it, work through it, heal it and then we can let it go and move on! Everything is shifting...we have the choice to move or stay stuck! Sometimes, scary nightmares show up out of the blue and fear-based thoughts or emotions want to suck the life out of us! The old story is front and center once again. But we know the truth - that God / Goddess / Spirit / The Universe, is bigger than any problem we could ever have. The Universe is self-orchestrating, self-correcting - always working in our favor for our highest good if we would just get out of our own way, stop trying to control everything and allow it to just be. We signed on to be here in this lifetime to do our part to help heal our world. There is much to do and all that is not in integrity, holding us back and no longer serving us is falling by the wayside. It is being taken away, brought up to be healed or being reinvented in a new and healthier way. Beautiful new avenues of creativity are emerging as we continue taking those deep breaths, step out in nature, poke our toes in the sandy ocean, hug our beloved trees, children or grandchildren. Taking time out to rest, play, exercise, eat healthy food, laugh, feel joy, excitement and gratitude will bring us back to center and to a place of peace and calm. I had to laugh when I saw this photo fly through the facebook newsfeed: "LET GO OR BE DRAGGED!" So true! When we remember that the Universe's expert organizational skills reign in perfection, and we can surrender our sometimes obnoxious control, miracles will surely abound. In spite of my latest seeming chaos and other life's challenges, I feel as if "I dwell in a field of miracles" most of the time. Blessings and joy embody my heart, my soul and my life. I am enriched and enlightenend by my beautiful friends and family who share their love and lives with me. External circumstances are just that... because ONLY LOVE IS REAL. www.marianne.com www.azimkhamisa.com