Broke Down on Thanksgiving

The one day a year families from near and afar gather together for reflection, food and laughter!

Our plans were fully inteded to do so as we headed out early Thanksgiving morning, my husband one way and I another to spend time with each of our families. As our journey’s begun, my husband got broke down. A half hour to board my last flight, I couldn’t bear to leave my husband stranded so I turned around!

As  everyone was carving turkey’s and toasting in good spirit, we were scrambling to figure out how we were going to get through this. With no tow trucks in service on Thanksgiving day to tow 300 miles, we decided to call it a night and not drain our spirit.

The next day we arise and a tow truck was available that morning to our surprise! After 300 miles and the broke down ordeal, I reflect on the experience that was not at all ideal! Although it was stressful and dreadful to be stranded, we are thankful that we were not truly left empty handed. While we are grateful for all we needed to call upon, unfortunately a couple left us with a frown:(

First off, a HUGE THANKS to AAA for calming our fears with the first question on the phone call before anything else, “Are you safe?” We appreciated the sincere apology for the concerted effort to find a tow on Thanksgiving night!

Then to Delta, although the experience was not as smooth, I was able to get on a return flight without to much askew. Life lesson learned at the airport — all the Delta Help desks in the terminal with the staff behind the counter, are not all what I hoped for! I arrived at the counter and advised the agent that I needed to get on a flight back home to get to my husband who was broke down — ‘sorry can’t assist you, please use the phone to adjust your flight’ … so much for my initial plight!

Safely landed at my return destination and off I was to Hertz. Fortunately with my Tmobile account, I was able to get Delta inflight wifi at no cost and book a Hertz rental which is a partner with AAA that offered 30% off. It was Thanksgiving and the Gold counter at Hertz was closed so I got dropped at the main building. The agent looked up my rental and directed me to go outside and turn to the left and pick a car. At first it was excitement that I got a choice but after getting outside and turning left, which was opposite the Gold lot, my bubble quickly burst. I chose a car out of the three on the lot however being a Gold member I thought I would double check — the response was not so golden but at least I had wheels to press on. The short of the story with Hertz, the rental agreement did not include the AAA CDP discount that my confirmed itinerary clearly stated. After dealing with customer service and manager at the rental location, because I drove off the lot, it was basically my fault!

The silver lining, we made it through and gained a higher appreciation for our AAA roadside assistance and premier membership. And learned that no matter what your situation is, the big leaders in the service industry, Delta and Hertz don’t care — sorry honey, we just want your money!

Raw Truth

God is always present in our lives!  The raw and real truth, He is molding and shaping every fiber of our being into the ultimate destiny. Moments in life sometimes never make sense nor do we understand why unfortunate situations impact our lives. But keep in mind God has a master plan and everyone who comes and goes through our life are part of the overarching seasons that make-up our destiny.

We need to quit being discouraged and stop looking back — move forward and thank God for the good, bad and the ugly. Know that whatever changes in our life, it is for the greater good and when one door closes, another one opens but it is our choice to walk through it or remain paralyzed in the situation. Whether we experience the loss of a loved one or a job, it is human nature to feel knocked down but time will heal and the blessing of that door closing will start to shine through. Trust in God, keep the door to the past closed and focus on what is in the present.

And life may weigh heavy at times but we can’t let it bog us down, pause and give the madness to God — there’s no one or thing in life that can give us the strength or the courage to remain steadfast. Resting our souls in the nest of God will allow our wings to open up, fly and soar above and beyond greatness. Only with God are all things possible — know it, believe it and live it!

Matthew 19:26 … “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

New Normal

Yesterday is in the past and tomorrow is the present … the gift we are graciously blessed with each and everyday! But how often do we hold on to the past and not let the gift of tomorrow into our hearts? More often than not, especially when something tragic strikes, it is very hard to walk away and leave it behind. Those memories tend to “rewind” in our minds each and everyday of the blessed new day we awake into.

Harder said than done, but take the plunge into the new normal, stop playing rewind and remain in the moment with thoughts playing forward. Refrain from pause and looking back into the past — life will never be the same and the moments of yesterday can never come to be again. By resisting the acceptance of the “new normal” in life only causes the pain and suffering growing inside. Thus preventing from walking through the door that is now open to greater and bigger things because the door to the past has not been fully closed.

There’s no denying that there is good, bad and ugly  in this world but we need these journeys through the seasons to allow our soul to nurture and grow — God will never put in our path anything that we can not handle for it is with Him that we are able to transcend through life situations because He planted the power within us.

Luke 10: 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Take each golden day and live the new normal, never let the light dim when darkness gives way but turn to God who is most powerful and He will protect the path ahead each and everyday!

Disturbing

With the world chaos and bullying rampage in our backyard, there is no denying that there is a lack of God’s presence in the lives who are living in darkness.

When things get tough, only God can lift us up and out of the trenches that got us there. Everyone has a “free will” and God does not stand in the way of our path — yet it is disturbing when blame is pointed at God not at Satan.  Through adversity is when Satan strikes the most and when the cry for help is not directed at God to redirect the path out of the wilderness, then there is no one to blame than the unbeliever who does not have the faith in God but rather remain in destruction.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Never be discouraged when someone within your circle tries to rob you of your happiness and joy in this world. Their hateful remarks or actions run deep within their own conscious and have nothing to do with you or who you are. If you are found in a harmful situation, immediately call upon the Lord to rebuke the evilness within arms way. Remember at all times, God is with you!

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Time Share Vacation Hide Away Turns to Dismay

For the love of travel, it made sense to us to invest in a time share after meeting with a “Marriott Representative” who “sold” us a good story. We got all caught up in the “dream” of a hide away but that soon fizzled downward as our experience unfolded with Marriott.

Being a timeshare owner to us meant that we would get undivided attention as apposed to vacation “renters” because we officially paid the price for a piece of the property. Soon after becoming owners within the first couple of years we were given that undivided attention but the “honeymoon” phase of being a new owner quickly vanished. Our requests were no longer being entertained and each time there was a new line or excuse. Not only did we lose the undivided attention, our maintenance fees went up quicker than the inflation of renting a unit. In the beginning, $600 was not a bad yearly cost for the upkeep of a 2 bedroom 2 bath unit but now the yearly fee is hinging on $1000. What do we get for that now, merely nothing more than a “renter” would for staying a day or two on the property.

Why the dismay? Without going into detail as I am sure there are peeps out there who can vouch that the investment has wholeheartedly been to their advantage, but then there may be others out there who can resonate with our experience. Then there are those who are dreaming the dream that we envisioned before we bit into a piece of the Marriott pie. There are definitely pros and cons of timeshare ownership, a part of the buying process we failed to do, in particular researching the pro of a “big” entity as apposed to the benefit of a “smaller” entity. Just because Marriott is global and offers an array of benefits, they too have their pit falls as any other time share organization out there.

Time Share Interior

Time Share Villa Shower

Here’s a peek at one experience we had at one of the “luxury” properties.

This was truly disappointing, considering this is the property we own at wherein our maintenance fees are hinging $1000 a year.

Before you take hold of that time share dream, check out the property options out there. And definitely take the time to read through the rip off reports and tug2.net offers great reviews and resources to help make your “dream” hide away decision!