June 5, 2015

Ten things I've learned in my 48 years on this earth....

Here are some things I've learned while being on this earth for the last 48 years:

1) Sometimes you just HAVE to learn to let things go. No matter how hard it is, no matter how painful, no matter how much you don't want to....sometimes it's crucial and in the end sometimes it's even better in the end. I know sometimes in my life I have held onto things WAYYYYY longer than I should have. So just take that deep breath....put all the bad things and things you need to say goodbye to in that breath....and let it go.

2) People will inevitably hurt you. We are human...it's inevitable that others will hurt us and that we will hurt others. Some people are brought into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Discern which area they belong in...acquire the lesson if need be. Learn from it and move on. Then cherish those that are there forever.

3) Do things yourself!! Don't be that wounded sparrow waiting for someone to save you or rescue you. Don't wait for someone else to fix it. Don't wait for someone else to do it. If it needs done...get in there and do it. And try to do it without complaining or throwing it in someone's face.....nobody likes that.

4) I'm going to share one of my favorite quotes here for this one...."Don't make someone a priority who only makes you their option." Great words to live by....and if you can follow this one, it'll be a lot less painful in the end.

5) Face your fears. Hard one, and scary too...but once you've stared it in the face and conquered it, it's amazing how other fears seems less daunting.

6) Sometimes you just have to put YOU first. I know as a woman this is sometimes a really tough one to do because we are so sacrificing...especially when it comes to kids. We put everyone else first and we end up with not much left in the tank at the end. Sometimes you need to call a time out, lock the door, hide in your car if even for 5 minutes and just take a moment for YOU! If you can...I advice taking time out for yourself every single day. Even if it is only those 5 minutes. You deserve it :)

7) Here's another quote..."If it's important to you you'll make it a priority. If it's not important you'll make an excuse." So true...if you want something bad enough...make it a priority in your life. Want to lose those 10 pounds...it ain't going to happen sitting on the couch....if you really want it to happen YOU need to put forth the effort and make it a priority. Put it on your calendar...your phone...your iPod...if that's what you need to do. If you really want to go out on a date with your spouse...make it a PRIORITY!! If you want to do something fun with your kids...put it on the calendar!! If there is one thing I've really come to find is if I put it on the calendar or on a To Do list...it has more of a chance of getting done. Quit making excuses as to why you can't....make a plan to say you CAN!!

8) Kind of goes with the one above, but MAKE A PLAN. If you want to see your life at a certain point in 10 years, 5 years...next year....MAKE A PLAN ON HOW TO GET THERE!! You can't just get in a car and drive willy nilly from here to the Grand Canyon unless you have a map showing you the correct way to get there. Make a plan, dream list, whatever you want to call it and brainstorm ways on how to get to that goal. You'll have far better success getting there if you have a plan!

9) Not everyone belongs in your heart. Now hear me out on this one. I took a class several years ago that taught me this and let me tell you it was the best class I've ever taken! Just because someone may be close to you (parents, siblings, relatives, spouse, friends) it doesn't give them free access to your heart. YOU get to choose who lives there....it's not an open door...or at least it shouldn't be, to just allow anyone just to walk in and take up residence. It is an earned place...and rightfully so...because it's a special place, that only those who truly care about you, who are willing to look out for you, those who have your back...those who can handle living there in that tender place and treat it as such. So if you need to, clean out that heart space and only allow those who deserve to be in there, in there. The others, you may have to kick out to the front porch...or the yard...or in the city.....or a different continent...or some honestly are just toxic and belong on the moon. Take the time to take inventory and clean house...trust me, you'll be glad you did. ;)

10) Sometimes it just is what it is. Some things, and some people, you can't change. Change what you can, accept what you can't change and just enjoy the journey and learn from it. We aren't here that long anyway. Glean the lessons God puts your way. Ask Him to help you through the hard stuff and praise Him for the good, the bad and the ugly. Anyone can praise God when things are good, but praising Him when things are tough is another story. Do it anyway. God will bless you for it.

OK...off my philosophical soap box now. :)

January 15, 2015

Life Truly Is Precious

In God's Word it tells us that we are like vapor...that our time here is 'here and then gone in an instant'. Yet we walk around...at least I do, taking for granted each breath that we take, getting caught up in everyday mundane things. This week is one of those weeks where life hit us, our community, and a very dear family square in the face...and honestly it was somewhat of a sucker punch.

A very dear friend and fellow scout parent had an incident last week where his heart stopped and he was life-flighted to Grant Hospital in Columbus. My husband and I went to visit him this past Saturday. It was hard to see this relatively healthy man lay there in a bed hooked to machines...this man that we had a meeting with the day before...and now here he was lying there clinging to life. If ever there was a time in my life that I "prayed without ceasing"...this was the time. We prayed as a family, I prayed on my own, so many people everywhere praying just for God to grant a miracle and allow Bob to come home and be OK. Sadly, God chose not to answer the way we wanted and sadly he went home to be with Jesus....and though the thought of Bob going to be with Jesus is comforting, honestly we all want him to be here...and it's hard....very hard...accepting God's will, yet watching his wife and three children suffer through all of this. It just doesn't seem fair. I think what is also making this so hard is the fact that he is so young...he's only a few months older than my hubby and I. His family and ours are very similar. They have three kids, so do we. They've only been married a year longer than us. Two of our kids are the same age as theirs. We've been neighbors for years. This all just hits way too close to home and it's truly just not fair...and it's just plain hard. I've been asking a lot of the "Why" questions to God this week. Why take Bob?? Then I was thinking if I was God....Bob would be one of those people I would definitely want on my team.

Bob was one of the good ones. He truly was. A very kind, gentle, welcoming and Godly man...a bit quirky, yet so very smart. Humble, hard working and very much a family man. You could tell how much he loved his wife and kids. He was one of those guys you wanted on your team because He would not only get things done but He truly would do it with excellence. Bob was an expert at "crossing the t's and dotting the i's". Bob was one of those people you just wished you could be like. I don't think I have ever heard anyone speak an ill word about Bob. He was just that kind of guy...a true gem. And one now that I wish I would have gotten to know even more. He was very instrumental in our scout troop. It's truly not going to be the same without him. After all, who's going to walk into the meeting and say, "Hey gang" like he did?? He and his wife were also very instrumental in introducing us to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course and our lives are forever changed because of him and his wife facilitating that. Other than a house payment, our family is pretty much debt free...and it's all because of Bob and Mindy giving us the tools to do so. Thank you Bob and Mindy!

But like I said we aren't even guaranteed our next breath...and this week has truly proven that. So as you go about your "everyday" please take the time to tell those around you how much they mean to you, how much you appreciate them...because the next moment they could be gone, and sadly that is reality.  

As I finish this post, please pray for Bob's family if you will...pray for peace and comfort for Mindy, Emma, Ellie and John as they travel through this dark valley. Also pray for Bob's parents and extended family and for the the many, many lives that he touched. Bob is truly going to be missed very deeply.

And as Bob would say....Peace.