Pick your hard

 

I was recently on IG, mindlessly scrolling and came across this video that stopped me in my tracks and caused me to think. The video was simple, about taking charge of your health now so you can be healthy and live longer. He said the average woman lives to age 79 and if you put in the time to work out and exercise your body, you can extend your life. I think we all know that, and the problem, at least with me, is that I don't want to work out! (insert the whiny voice). I have to make myself do my walks and workouts. I do have someone that helps hold me accountable....Riley my boxer. She thinks that we must go for a walk EVERY DAY! Well, I guess she knows best, haha.

But....This isn't what caused me stop and think. What did was what he said. He said, pick you hard. Hmmm. Do I want to have a hard life as I get older with decreased mobility, strength and flexibility or do I do the hard work now, so that I can continue to do the things I want to do as I age.  I want to live to a old age, to enjoy life, experience things that I can't do now, and to be old to aggravate my kids, like my g.ma did!

This is good food for thought and it can be applied to other aspects of my life. I need to "Pick my hard" now. The choices I make now, will have long lasting effects in my life. I think when we are younger, we do not think that life will be hard and that our choices can have an affect on us. Like, what we eat, drink, lack of physical activity.  This also can affect how we feel and think, how we see ourselves. The mind is powerful! I was letting life pick the hard times for me instead of me managing the stress of life. It just took some time for me to realize what I was doing and weed out the craziness. 

When I am talking with others that I may not agree with, I think, is this a fight or battle I want to have. Pick your hard. 

When I have decisions to make that may affect others, or affect me in the future, I Pick my hard.

Is it worth losing a friend or family over a difference of opinion? Is it worth not being healthy just to have that donut? Is it worth killing yourself to work a job that you dread going to? Is is worth to not live a healthy life, just to have to take a bunch of medications as you get older because of the choices you made when you were younger? PICK YOUR HARD. 

The start is simple, start small. This will take time. I choose first to have a daily walk with God. Get in his word everyday. Have a relationship with Him and he will never fail you. When life gets hard, He will be there to help you through those times when you have to Pick your hard. 

I choose to exercise, yes I will! At least 3-4 times a week so that I can keep off the weight that I lost. I do not want to gain it back.

I choose to lay off the sweets, and yes, those delicious donuts! It is hard, but I know the reward I will have if I choose to lay off of them!

I need to be better and stay off IG and FB. I am aware that I am on it way too much, but that is a work in progress. I have started reading and now have opened the kindle app with books to enrich my mind. Guess what I am starting with.... the Harry Potter series!

We all know what we have to do, it is just a decision we have to make to get it started and stay with it. Surround yourself with a community, with people who support you and are a positive impact on your life.  We all will have different battles, different "hard" times. We all must "pick our hard" in life and make choices. I wish many blessing to you all as you work through your "hard". 

Hebrews 13:5; Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 reads, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Love to all, 

Kind words

 

Never underestimate the power of a kind word. I was the recipient of just those kind words this week.  A coworker told me how they appreciate my positivity and that I was a "breath of fresh air". Another coworker said I was "a ray of sunshine". When I heard those simple, small compliments, I felt such joy in my heart. I am glad I was able to overcome my sleepiness today to be that ray of sunshine! The hubs was up most of the night coughing out a lung! Those words drove away any grumpiness I had starting today. 

You would never think that something simple would make such an impact. But yet some people only complain and say hurtful things to bring others down. I never understood why some people just enjoy hurting others. Well, I can say I have been on the other side of both, receiving hurtful words and receiving kind words. I have to say that the kind words do make a difference in how you feel. I had also been that person that complained a lot. In the past, when stressed at work, I would complain. It wasn't pretty and I am not proud of that. I complained mostly because I didn't have a lot of control of certain situations. I learned that if you do not have any positivity growing in your life, it is difficult to give to others. It just took awhile for me to realize this and make the changes I needed. 

What changes did I make? Well, I started with taking it to God in prayer. Fully trusting him to guide me in my decisions. The BIG scary decision to change positions at work was the start. That giant leap of faith and trust that God will support me and guide me, was the foundation of my new joy. I now look for joy and happiness in everything I do. I find myself loving myself more and the person I am. I no longer hate who I was becoming, but changing who I am...my mind, my spirit. I now have found a way to start liking and loving the person I am.  

So when you see someone complaining or a little grumpy, they may just need a kind word to turn it all around. You never know what someone is going through and they may not want to let anyone know, but the stress of it may be shown through anger or complaining. The "it" they may be going through may be from work, family trauma, health concerns.

 Scatter those compliments like confetti. Just the small things that are noticed make a big difference. Not only will you build up others, but you will also be on the receiving end of lifting up someone. And nothing feels better than being a part of helping others. 

Ephesians 4:32 instructs, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." 

Romans 12:10: "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." 

Love to all, 

Things we do

 

I'm going to tell you all something you may not want to hear. But it is a hard realization. WE are all turning into our parents! I know I have talked about this before, but it is TRUE! You know, it's funny, you see it more as you get older. You may not want to acknowledge it, but the sooner you do, the more you can accept your fate!

I have noticed that I relate to things that my parents have said to me or done. The saying is true, Just wait until you get older, or, just wait til you have kids. And the really hard part is knowing that your parents were right! But I will never tell them that!

I find it hilarious to watch my parents have conversations and argue over small stuff. It reminds me of when I would watch my grandparents talk. It was funny then too. For example, dad would ask mom if she salted the food at dinner. She would say yes. He would say, well doesn't taste like it. And she would say, well you watched me do it. Then he would say it wasn't enough. Just small funny everyday conversations, don't take for granted. There is so much comedy in everyday life, you just have to pay attention. And this becomes an awesome memory that will bring a smile to your face, like this does for me.

All joking aside, I have learned a lot from my parents and am a better person for their training me into an adult. Don't get me wrong, I have made many mistakes, and have taken the consequences for them. My parents did not spare the discipline! I was grounded a lot and had to face their disappointment too (which was the hardest). But I am loved unconditionally..I am forgiven....Just like Jesus. 

Well, now that I am a parent and my kids are adults, I love to remind them of this realization that I came to know. They will become their parents. They may want to live in denial like I did, but I know all too well, they will realize that I was right! I hope I have given them great memories, like I have with my parents. They have something to look forward too with me and their dad. Because I am turning into my mother and he is turning into his dad. It is going to be a wild ride!

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Love to all, 

The ring

It doesn't look like much. But it means alot to me. Please ignore my aging hand and wrinkly skin! I was gifted this from my memaw before she passed away. The diamonds are small, and it may not be a design that others may choose, but whenever I see this or wear it, I am reminded of my memaw and all the love she gave me. She didn't have to give it to me, but she did. Well, let me correct this. My mother gave me one of the rings and my aunt had the other. When my aunt saw that I had one of them, she said to me, "you may as well have this one to keep the set together". I am forever grateful to my aunt and mom for giving me this token of love from my memaw. 

Today, I picked this ring up from the jewlers. I got it sized and soldered to keep the rings together. He took care to inspect and clean them too. They are perfect (just like me haha). As I was driving home, a flood of memories came to my mind of her and all the time we had spent together over my life time. I will cherish those times.

Funny how this one came to my mind first. I must be needing a scolding or something! One time, I back talked her and she yanked me up, took me outside and took a switch off the tree and smacked me with it! I didn't know what happened. She did it so fast. I never crossed her again!

She would always have hugs for me and cookies when I came to visit, because papaw didn't like to share his ice cream! And oh the deep conversations we would have when I was a teenager. Things that are so important to a teen but looking back where nothing, but she made me feel so loved. Never looked down or told me that my feelings were not important. 

Make memories, one day at a time. Love on each other. Today, is a day I will make more memories with my family. We are going to Hubers Orchard! I love that place, great food and they have a winery! And you all know I like their wine. (Strawberry to be exact in case you are looking for a great Christmas gift for me!). I have both my kids together right now and feel so much joy...complete. So I will soak it up. 

John 13:34-35: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 

Love to all, 

Overflowing Joy

 I have a feeling of overflowing joy! My family is together for the next 2 weeks. My baby girl has come home to visit and I have both my kids together. It has been 6 months since I have been able to give her a hug and love on her! My son lives close and I am able to see him more, but when I have everyone close to me, it fills my heart. And yes, my kids are in their late 20's but they are still my babies! All the mommas out there know what I am talking about. 

During my morning devotional recently, I heard something that stuck with me from Joyce Meyer that I want to share. She said that everyone has the same amount of commodity of time. We all think that we are going to have enough time and keep procrastinating and putting things off. We get busy and think we don't have enough time to do everything we need to do. BUT, she goes on to say, that God gave us enough time. He gave us 24 hrs in a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It is up to us to balance our time and use it wisely. 

We decide what we are going to use our time for. What we are going to waste it on. Joyce Meyers taught me that time is a commodity, like money. What we spend it on, like money, we can't get it back. It is spent. So when you spend your time, spend it on what you find important. 

Example: I have been working on my spending and my budget. I have been trying (and I mean it is really hard!) to stay away from amazon. I think I have traded going to target and walmart to online amazon. But I have learned, put it in your cart then sign out. When you go back look at your cart and see if you really want or (erm...need it??). I find that when I go back and look at my basket I am saying to myself..WHAT WERE YOU THINKING PUTTING THAT IN YOUR CART? What I did last week, maybe you can relate! I saw some really pretty dresses, that were not very expensive and put a few in my cart. I went back a few days later and thought, why did I put that in my cart? I don't wear dresses!! And I have worn them in years. I wasn't going to start now!

What I need to work on is my screen time. (again maybe I am speaking to someone with the same problem as me!) My time that I am on my phone and computer. I am working on it and getting that under control. Let's take it once step at a time. But I am taking tips from my dad, and reaching out to family and friends to talk at least once a week and connect. I think it is so important to keep those connections. Just a quick text works, but a phone call is better to hear each others voice! and a visit is even better because you can see each other and even hug!

I am loving my family being together again and we have a lot of plans over the next few weeks. I am looking forward to the time I get to spend with my kids and being together as a family once again in one place! Enjoy the love, the sunshine, (or rain depending on where you live) and time you have left in this earthly body. 

Ecclesiastes 3:2 states, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die". 

Love to all,