April 28, 2009
There isn’t one person that can live and flourish in this life without relationships with another person. Some people try to isolate themselves but the end result is a strange sight. There is a reason that one of the worst prison sentences handed down is solitary confinement. We are made to interact with other people. Some relationships are strictly business. The checker at the grocery store or the gasoline attendant. Other relationships are on a deeper level – those people that you see more regularly and interact with. Then there are others that are considered ‘friends’. These are people that we choose to become closer to. They see our good and our bad. Good friends cover our flaws and love us beyond them. Good friends also see our positive traits and love us for them.
Friendships can be painful and full of drama. Don’t give up on friendship just yet. Take a minute and a deep breath. Consider who would be a worthy risk and try again. Be the kind of friend that you desire. Base your actions on what you would like to have from your friends. Allow yourself to open up and connect. After all, relationships are there to make you a better person.
April 17, 2009
Hope is such a vital part of life. I think we can survive anything if we have hope. Hope for a better time, hope that there is a purpose for what we are going through, hope that our dreams will come to pass.
Hope requires us to believe in something bigger than ourselves. That when we come to the end of what we can do, there is someone to pick up the slack. I know that I am not enough to complete all that is required of me. I am not enough for my kids, my work, my husband. I believe that God is there to fill in the blanks.
Hope gives me the strength to continue on when I am at the end of myself. I know that God will be there when I am out on a limb and there is no limb left. I am never ‘all by myself’. He is always there to help finish the job.
Hope gives me joy when everything is down. Just the word hope has a tendency to put that smile on my face. I know that what is in my hand is not the last word. I have a belief and a hope in all that God can bring forth.
Hope is the opposite of discouragement. Discouragement is being without courage. Hope is the thing that puts courage back into your heart.
Hope is courage, joy, future and strength. So come on, fill your mind and heart with hope. Because, Life’s Better Here!
April 4, 2009
Life is not a bed of roses or a box of chocolates! All day, everyday we are faced with hard things. Some are just small little disappointments all the way to very huge difficulties as well as everything in between. All of it can make or break us. The biggest thing to know and understand is that regardless of what goes on around us, our reaction is just that – OUR reaction.
I have been raising kids now for 20 years. If I have learned anything during this time, it is to not make a mountain out of a mole hill. If only I could get back the time I spent ‘stressed out’ about the messy house, or the huge ‘to do’ list. Looking back, we all survived but I lost out on those opportunities to hug and love and laugh.
I have also come to realize that my attitude directs the attitude of those around me…I am contagious! I was watching a home video a while back. Jasmine is about 2 ½. She is sitting at the kitchen table coloring and singing and having a great time. My husband is videotaping her. I happened to come home and walked into the kitchen. I am obviously NOT happy. I have no recollection of what the big deal was but apparently it was a BIG deal. My husband talks all cute to Jasmine and then asks me about my day. I grunt and vent a little frustration. The camera never moves from Jasmine. When she hears my irritated voice, she looks up from her picture and watches me with a concerned look on her face. After a few moments you can watch her face cloud over. She quits singing and starts to color with a bit more emphasis. Within a few more moments she is acting out and visibly upset. The camera then turns off. My stress and frustration transferred directly to her without any direct interaction. A wonderful moment in her little life turned sour and she had no comprehension of the reason why.
Stress keeps us motivated, moving and changing. It is not meant to overwhelm or dictate our present emotions or our future life. Don’t give away your joy, you can survive this thing, it’s going to be OK. You can more than survive, you can overcome, you can rise above and come out smiling.
Life is long and this current situation is very short. Keep everything in perspective. Your joy and those you love that are around you are far more important than anything that may be frustrating you.
Come on Girlfriend, keep stress in its right place – under your control because…life’s Better Here!
March 15, 2009
It’s all about perspective.
How many times have you heard that one?
Regardless of the source or the amount of repetition, it’s true. I believe that how you look at your situation has more bearing on where you will end up than the difficulty itself.
Have you ever found yourself frustrated over certain people or events, and rightly so? ‘If they would just…things would be so much better.’ Given enough time with this line of thought and I will have run myself into a pit of irritation and even anger. Along with that comes pity, righteous indignation and the temptation to quit. None of which really benefit me or help me overcome the original situation.
Just when I’m thinking that life is so hard and unfair, I hear of someone up against something worse. There they are, sharing their tragedy and yet still smiling and victorious. All of a sudden my issues are minuscule and I am acutely aware that my complaining sounds like a whining two year old.
My daughter and I traveled to Uganda a few years back. It was during a particularly difficult time in our relationship as well as facing some emotional challenges here at home. I really felt I had permission to be in the dumps. While in Uganda, we had the privilege of meeting a young man in his 20’s attending Bible College. He was so full of smiles and infectious energy. This delightful person had every right to be bitter and angry. He was born with deformed legs. He had a pair of rubber boots that he would wear on his hands and drag himself everywhere he wanted to go, including the muddy one mile trek to school and back every day. Anything he needed or wanted, down and off he went. Never asking for help or requiring sympathy. Nothing stopped him physically, mentally or emotionally.
Struggle is normal in this life. Pressure is the very thing that strengthens muscle. You are going to have challenges. The question is, will you allow God to give you peace and life or will you see it as insurmountable. Are you the victim or the victor?
Come on Girlfriend, you can smile! Tough times are short and your God is bigger than anything in your way…Let’s do this thing with good perspective because, Life’s Better Here!
March 5, 2009
My husband woke me up yesterday out of a horrible dream. I actually thanked him for waking me up! I was dreaming that I was traveling with 3 of my friends. We HAD to get to a Seattle for an important meeting. We all had piles of luggage and I had my purse and my laptop. Somehow we were dumped off on a street corner and couldn’t seem to get any help. It started to rain and we were chasing after busses with all our luggage and I kept losing my laptop and my purse. The busses wouldn’t let us on. Of course it was my responsibility to get us there and I was desperately trying to succeed. I woke up EXHAUSTED and UNSUCCESSFUL!
NO ONE WOULD HELP ME!!
This is how REAL life can be – We need God’s help to get us through. Try as I might, I can’t seem to hold everything together! I can’t keep my kids from doing stupid stuff, I can’t keep my husband ‘on-task’ and I can’t fix the economic crisis (if they would just listen to ME)!
No, this kind of stuff calls for someone bigger than me. I have to get God’s attention.
First I call on him for relationship. It’s kind of hard to get someone’s help if we don’t even know them. Check out the ‘Getting to Know God’ tab on the home page. Watch my short video called ‘Getting to know God’ and see how easy it can be. This could be the most important thing you ever do.
Secondly, come to Him from right where you are at. I love it when my kids come to me all banged up and dirty – in the midst of a situation and asking for help. I don’t despise their problems. In fact I actually love it when they are failing – at least they are DOING something!
Thirdly we need to DO what He says. It’s a sad thing when I ‘know’ what to do but don’t do it. It’s all about realizing that He is a bit smarter than me….(could it really be?)… that He has a bit more control over the situation…(I can do this thing!)… and that He has a little bit more power to work that miracle than me….(not that I haven’t tried!).
The Word of God is very clear that if we turn from doing things our own way, He will listen and help. He will take notice of our ‘insignificance’ as we attempt to interact with the God of the Universe. The crazy thing here is that we are NOT insignificant and unimportant to God. Instead we are incredibly SIGNIFICANT and IMPORTANT to Him. Just like a father would stop all that he is doing to bend down and respond to a little tug on a pant leg by a very small child – God will stop and take notice of you because you are His ‘favorite’ one, He is especially fond of you!
So come on girlfriend, Take a minute, Get God’s attention because…
….Lifes Better Here!
