My Abundant Life 5-21-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant Life2 Comments

May 21st, 2026

A Nest of Comforts

“Ah! There’s nothing like staying home for real comfort.”

Jane Austin (Writer; December 16th, 1775 to July 18th, 1817)

“—the essential spiritual grace of our homes should possess is the solace of comfort. As we discover and express our authenticity through our surroundings, comfort becomes our priority.”

“I simply love a cozy home.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 169 to 170 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Musical Life 5-20-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

May 20th, 2026

#36 A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Thank you
Well, my daddy left home when I was three
Didn’t leave very much to my mom and me
Except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze
Now I don’t blame him ’cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that my daddy ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me Sue🪄
Well, he must’ve thought that it was quite a joke
And I got a lot of laughs from a lots of folk
Seems I had to fight my whole life through
Some gal would giggle and I’d turn red
And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head
I tell you, life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue🪄
But I grew up quick and I grew up mean
My fist got hard and my wits got keener
Roam from town to town to hide my shame
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
I’d search the honky tonks and bars
And kill that man that gave me that awful name🪄
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry
Thought I’d stop and have myself a brew
At an old saloon on a street of mud
There at a table, dealing stud
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue🪄
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn out picture that my mother had
Knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye
He was big and bent and gray and old
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said, “My name is Sue, how do you do?
Now you gonna die”, that’s what I told him🪄
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear
Then I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the walls and into the street
Kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer🪄
Well, I tell you, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile
Well, I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss
And he reached for his gun but I pulled mine first
He stood there lookin’ at me and I saw him smile🪄
And he said, “Son, this world is rough
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
I knew I wouldn’t be there to help you along
So I give you that name, and I said goodbye
And I knew you’d have to get tough or die
It’s that name that helped to make you strong”🪄
He said, “Now you just fought one heck of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right to kill me now
And I wouldn’t blame you if you do
But you ought to thank me, before I die
For the gravel in ya gut and the spit in ya eye
‘Cause I’m the son of a bitch that named you Sue”
What could I do?🪄
Well, I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
I called him my pa, and he called me his son
Come away with a different point of view
And I think about him, now and then
Every time I try and every time I win, and if I ever have a-🪄
Well, if I ever have a boy, I’ll name him
Frank or George or Bill or Tom, anything but Sue
I don’t want him go around, man call him Sue all his life
That’s a horrible thing to do to a boy trying to get a hold in the world
Named a boy a Sue

My Abundant Life 5-20-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 20th, 2026

The Art of Puttering

“Puttering is really a time to be alone, to dream and to get in touch with yourself…To putter is to discover.”

Alexandria Stoddard (Author & Interior Designer; November 8th, 1941)

“…puttering is a solitary pursuit, to be appreciated with an unhurried pace for maximum metaphysical benefits. The essence of puttering is rearranging…”

“Part of the pleasure of puttering is free association. Think of puttering as a domestic Rorschach test. Instead of interpreting inkblots, we muse on the hidden meaning of personal possessions until we flow on to dreams, choices, risks, pleasures, authentic preferences.”

“‘Creative puttering’ is actually one of my favorite things to do at home. It helps us to become aware of what’s still important to us, what continues to have meaning. This quiet, private act can…bring the different aspects of your life into sharp focus—and identify your needs.”

Alexandria Stoddard (Author & Interior Designer; November 8th, 1941)

“I pretty much putter every season change.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 167 to 169 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Musical Life 5-19-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

May 19th, 2026

#35 In the Ghetto (Elvis Presley) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his mama cries
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way🪄
Well, the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car
Tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries🪄
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And as her young man dies
(In the ghetto)
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his mama cries
(In the ghetto)
(In the ghetto)
(Ah)

My Abundant Life 5-19-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 19th, 2026

Order Within

“What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within and from it create some semblance of order.”

Katherine Peterson (American Writer; October 31st, 1932)

“Spring cleaning can also be psychological, a time-out to confront the emotional clutter that has accumulated in your mental closet. It’s a pause for introspection—a midcourse correction for ordinary people in ordinarily stressful lives.”

Abigail Trafford (Journalist)

“One way to begin seeking order within is to come to grips with what drives you crazy but what you’ve been too distracted to do anything about.”

“There is a better way to live. It begins when we establish order within so that order will become a visible reality in our daily round. Start seeking order within by book-ending your day with reflection first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This quietude will remind you that you can make the choice every morning to live in the world but not be caught up in the frenzy of it, especially a frenzy of your own devising.”

“Quiet your mind, lift up your heart, muse, mull over, make discoveries. Consider, conceive, create, connect, concede that it all starts within.”

“Think about the day ahead and how it might unfold more smoothly. Invoke Divine Order, asking Spirit to take charge of your life today and every day. Visualize yourself at the end of a happy, stress-free, productive day, relaxing and enjoying the well-deserved leisure of the evening.”

“Book-ending your day by nurturing your Spirit means rousing your body earlier when you’re so exhausted from yesterday that you can barely crawl out of bed, or spending an extra moment with yourself at night when you’re ready to fall asleep like a stone.”

“Today, seek order within, so that Divine Order may be manifest outwardly in your daily round.”

“Today will be reviewing what I need and want in my life. My homework with my therapist was to create a list of 5 each. WOW, much harder than I expected.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 166 to 167 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.