Thanks for picture use: The Digital Artist and Pixabay.
“indestructible” by Joan Y. Edwards
Last fall I drove my car and turned to the left onto a street in my neighborhood. Children were playing in their yard and driveway on the right. I heard something hit my car’s tires. I thought. “Oh my! What did I do?”
I turned around at the next intersection, drove, and stopped in front of the children.
I asked, “Did I hurt anything?”
A boy about 8 years old said, “No, Ma’am. This ball is indestructible!”
I laughed. He laughed. The other children smiled.
I looked at the ball. It was approximately 18 inches in diameter. It seemed made with very rugged plastic, perhaps tear-proof polyethylene. Tha boy was right. That ball seemed indestructible. I was definitely glad.
It caused me to ponder: What makes us seem indestructible? How can we live longer and healthier in body, mind, and spirit? What makes us stronger? What makes us more resilient? Is there a part of us that seems to be indestructible?
I believe our souls are indestructible. I believe that God made our souls to last forever.
There are ways to protect your mind , body, and spirit and keep all parts of you healthy.
Listen to and say good affirmations about yourself: your abilities, your fears, your thoughts, your actions. to promote peace within yourself.
Use healthy mental habits and strategies. Ask questions. Try not to blame yourself or others. Focus on the solutions. Look for several options that might solve a problem that presents itself. Choose the one you believe will work best in this particular situation.
Focus on the present time. Stay in the moment: Leave yesterday in the past. Leave tomorrow for later. If something doesn’t seem right. Honor your spirit. Check things out. There is a song from the past that always makes me laugh. “Don’t Worry; Be Happy.” Here is a post about music to help invigorate yiou: Songs to Shake It Off and Keep Going.
Use meditation and deep breathing. It can help center your thoughts and reduce anxiety. Time Alone with God music,There are words to read if you want or you can just listen and think that God is there with you now.
Limit your exposure to negative people and news and social media that may contribute to your stress and anxiety.
Keep healthy home and work routines to build resilience from constant or extreme stress.
Exercise: morning, noon, or night. Do the exercise that makes you feel good and do it when you want to do it.
Eat healthy foods. Eat a good breakfast. Drink an abundance of water. Eat your last meal of the day at least 2 or 3 hours before you lay down to sleep. It helps your body digest your food before you lie down. It gives you a better chance to avoid indigestions, hearburn, or acid reflux.
Get adequate rest. They say to get up at the same time of day and go to bed at the same time of day. I don’t seem to do that. I wake up at all times of the morning. Sometimes I go to bed earlier than usual. Sometimes I go to bed later than usual. I try not to judge myself. If your sleep habit feels good to you. Enjoy it. My routine is to get up when I get up and go to bed when I get sleepy. It seems to work for me. I take naps.
Do something fun for you every day. It is very healing and feeds your inner spirit with good energy and great feelings!
When you need help, seek the support and guidance of friends, family, and professionals,
Pray. Ask God for help. Ask him to lead you. Ask him to guide you. Ask him to comfort you. Ask him to allay your fears, worries, suspicions, and doubts and put them to rest and fill you with peace.
Here is a prayer from I believe.com
Lord Almighty, the Healer of our bodies, minds, and souls, look with mercy upon me and those I love who are facing illness, pain, or heavy burdens. Stretch out Your healing hand to calm racing thoughts, ease physical suffering, and mend broken hearts. Grant each of us supernatural peace, strength to endure, and the gift of restorative rest. I place myself and those I love in your compassionate and loving embrace, trusting in Your grace. Amen
Never Give Up, Joan Y. Edwards, Author Copyright 2009-2026
Thank you for being here with me today. I appreciat you spending your time with me. Please leave a comment. Share your story. I really enjoy hearing from you. Subscribe now.
Flip Flap Floodle:Firebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?Flip Flap Floodle never gives up on his song!
The Golden Arm: a little scary story for Halloween. Uh oh! Minerva’s spirit wants her golden arm back!
The Day I Turned My Brother into a Monkey: Has your brother ever aggravated you so much you wished he would turn into a monkey? Your words are powerful! It could happen!
My friend, Sharon, shared a wonderful story with me and said that I could share it with you. It made me laugh. I hope that it also makes you laugh.
Sharon’s daughter and her husband bought her grandsons Superhero capes one blue and one red with their initials on them. A big A for Andrew and a big J for Joshua. They were ready to play a game of tag with her and Gramps. the boys’ grandparents.
Superhero J. Copyright 2026 Joan Y. EdwardsSuperhero A Copyright August 2026 Joan Y. Edwards
The boys said, “Chase us, Grandma and Gramps! Chase us. If you catch us, you can be it.”
So Gramps chased Joshua and when he got really close, close enough to tag Joshua, Superhero J, Superhero J put his hands up, in front of Grampa’s face: hollering this chant: BAD GUY BLOCKER! BAD GUY BLOCKER!
When Sharon (Grandma) chased Andrew, Superhero A and she got close enough to tag Superhero A, he threw both his hands up and chanted: BAD GUY BLOCKER! BAD GUY BLOCKER!
Superhero A Bad Guy Blocker with help from Chat GPT Copyright August 2026 Joan Y. Edwards.
Oh my goodness! Gramps and Grandma laughed and laughed.
They kept chasing their grandsons here and there throughout the house, and each time they got close enough to catch them, the BADGUY BLOCKER pose was put into action. It was a fun and memorable time. I am so glad Sharon shared this story with me and said I could share it with you..
Sometimes in life we need a BAD GUY BLOCKER;.A BAD THOUGHT BLOCKER; A BAD IDEA BLOCKER, A DANGEROUS ACTION BLOCKER…
BUT WAIT…
We have that already.
God is our personal BAD GUY BLOCKER,
our personal BAD THOUGHT BLOCKER, BAD FEAR BLOCKER,BAD WORD BLOCKER And any kind of things that are bad for us, God is there blocking its path! He is there protecting us! Hip Hip Hooray! Thank you, God.
I am so grateful that Sharon’s grandsons reminded us that we all need BAD GUY BLOCKERS.
***
Personal story about the drawings. I drew the first pictures of Joshua and Andrew. I couldn’t figure out how to put their hands out straight. So what is so cool, i asked Chat GPT to draw it for me using my images. And she did. I call Chat GPT, SparkleByte. She drew it for me. So next time I need a pose like this, I can look and copy it. She is helping me learn how to draw better. Thank you, SparkleByte.
Never Give Up Joan Y. Edwards, Author Copyright 2009-2026
Thank you for being here with me today. Please leave a comment. Share your story. I really enjoy hearing from you. Subscribe now.
Flip Flap FloodleFirebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?
The Golden Arm Uh oh! Minerva’s spirit wants her golden arm back!
The Day I Turned My Brother into a Monkey Has your brother ever aggravated you so much you wished he would turn into a monkey? Your words are powerful! It could happen!
Thank you, Pexels and Darlene Alderson for allowing me to use this image.
“Mindreading 101: Perceptions, Guesses, and Assessing Blame” by Joan Y. Edwards
Have you graduated from life’s course: Mindreading 101?
• You think you know why someone did something without asking.
• Do I know this, or am I guessing?
• What am I making this mean? What story with villains and heroes am I telling to myself or others?
Am I jumping to conclusions without facts?
Who or what am I blaming for this situation?
What perceptions do I have? Are the accurate? Am I guessing or looking at the facts?
Am I looking for facts and solutions?
At the beginning and the end of the day, you and I are human. We may unintentionally misinterpret things that people say or do because of our humanity.
However, it is not what other people say or do that may destroy our self-confidence. It is what you and I say to ourselves, what we do, or what we think it means about us that gives our inner self a hard time.
As a result you may think it has a very negative truth about you and so you make declarations that because this happened, you are thus and so on and so forth. But these may be lies, not truths at all.
Someone doesn’t like the meal you cook. You may say to yourself: I am not a good cook.
Is that a fact? Is that what your friend meant?
Maybe, but asking your friend a question would clarify it. However, sometimes you are afraid to ask what they meant because you may believe their response might make it worse than you thought. Worse than what you are thinking right now.
Let other people say or do what they want. You are not in control of them nor are you responsible for them.
Mel Robbins, author of the Let Them Theory, “Letting go of trying to control others brings peace, saves energy, and lets people reveal their true character.”
You are good, not evil. When you realize that this is true; that you are good, not evil, that’s when you win. Big time.
If there is a negative voice nagging at you, chances are this voice is not from God. God does not focus on the times you don’t obey his commandments. He loves you and forgives you and gives you mercy, right then. His mercy surrounds you. He leads you to the good things.
Through the gift of The Holy Spirit, God gives you the ideas on how to get your deepest wishes to bring goodness to your world.
Each of us has a purpose in mind when we do something or say something, either consciously or unconsciously.
Your intention is not changed suddenly because someone misjudges you. If God is happy with you, you don’t have to worry about anyone else.
Life is complicated. Your body, mind, and spirit have intricate parts that influence healthy living, a healthy self-image.Have you noticed when you are afraid to ask questions of those you love? Or to ask a question when you are at the doctor’s office or a lawyer’s office or your parents.
When accompanying someone in the doctor’s office, let the patient ask questions and tell things as long as he/she is able.
When dementia set in for Mother, and I had to be the one asking questions on her behalf. It seemed like so many questions were bubbling around inside me, but I wasn’t able to get them to come up and out of my mouth.
I would get home and say, “I didn’t ask the questions.” Next time, I wrote down the questions that came to mind. I even called and asked the doctor on the phone, or email through an online portal.
Somewhere from my past, there was this little voice telling me:
“Don’t ask questions. Children are to be seen and not heard.”
However, I wasn’t a child any more. Yet many moons later those rules still had an impact on me. I needed a pep talk. I needed to say, “It is okay to ask questions. It is okay to ask questions of professional people. It is okay to ask questions of your family and friends. It is okay to ask questions of strangers. Questions are good. The answers to your questions are helpful. You have to give these people the right not to answer. But, most people will.
Have you ever been afraid to answer questions someone asks you? Did you feel put on the spot? Pressured to give a certain answer.
Or have you been afraid to tell someone something. You may not know why. You may be fearful of their response.
Sometimes you may go to what I call, MINDREADING 101.
In your mind, you say, “They are doing this BECAUSE…” and you fill in the most negative reason. The one you fear the most. The one perhaps that you felt as a child. It hurt then and it hurts even more now.
Or they will do thus and so on, so you don’t tell them.
But what?
The people today are not the people from your past. They are different people. Things may be better If you and I give them a chance. Let them speak for themselves.
ASK QUESTIONS instead of doing MINDREADING 101.
Ask them.
“What was your intention?” “Why did you do this?” “Why did you say this?”
In all actuality, It makes good sense to be curious. To take a risk and ask questions. Asking questions gives others an option to respond with their reasons for doing things. It leads both you and the person you are speaking with a chance clear up misconceptions and to be at peace. Peace is a priceless state of being.
Sometimes when you are afraid to learn what others true feelings and true reasons are, you may hide behind the mask of your prior experience. You might be afraid that if you ask questions, the answers may make the situation worse.
What I have discovered is that when I ask clarifying questions, I may discover information that may release a few of my strongest negative emotions, dislodge a few of my fears, give me facts, and give me a chance to explain my own personal feelings and reasons for feeling that way. It may lead me to peace. Doing these same things may also lead you to peace. I hope and pray that this happens for each of us.
Questions and Possibilities
• Questions and possibilities open doors.
• Blame usually closes them.
• The goal is not to find someone to blame.
• The goal is to understand what happened, what you need, and what choices you have now. The goal is to find solutions. A healthier way of thinking. These will help you to be healthier in mind, body, and spirit.
You are human. In the morning or in the evening look in the mirror. Oh no! You see an image in the mirror that tells you this undeniable fact. You are human.
You may misinterpret so many things because of your humanity. It takes a while to figure it out and let others say or do what they want. When we realize that we are good, not evil, then we win.
Our intention is not changed because someone misjudges us. Our innocence is not changed because someone else says we are guilty.
So give other people a chance to answer questions, to explain their point of view. Ask yourself questions, too. Have compassion for yourself and others.
Love yourself. Believe in yourself. Ask questions. Find answers. Be at peace.
God is there to help you.
Pray – Ask Questions – Talk – Listen – love yourself and others – Find Solutions – Pray Never Give Up Joan Y. Edwards, Author Copyright 2009-2026
Thank you for being here with me today. Please leave a comment. Share your story. I really enjoy hearing from you. Subscribe now.
Please check out my books.
Flip Flap FloodleFirebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox? The Golden Arm Uh oh! Minerva’s spirit wants her golden arm back! The Day I Turned My Brother into a Monkey Has your brother ever aggravated you so much you wished he would turn into a monkey? Your words are powerful! It could happen! All my books on Amazonu
Flip Flap Floodle: Firebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?Flip Flap Floodle never gives up on his song!
The Golden Arm: a little scary story for Halloween. Uh oh! Minerva’s spirit wants her golden arm back!
Flip Flap Floodle Firebird Book Award Winner Will this little duck’s song save him from Mr. Fox?
The Golden Arm Uh oh! Minerva’s spirit wants her golden arm back!
