Thursday, May 5, 2016

Perfection..

Do you have a friend who seems to have it all together?  


Perfect life, perfect home, perfect car, perfect family............. they seem to have it all.

But do you find yourself trying to measure up, failing at it all, sizing your life up by another person's? It can be exhausting, spirit crushing and will make you feel down-right pitiful!  I admit, I have been there - and it made me a little nuts.  Sometimes it is even worse when you are doing everything you can to just hold it all together - including living out your faith in God and serving Him - and it might just be that person "living for themselves" that seems to be getting their socks blessed off!!!

What can we do when we find ourselves in that place where our reality looks so much less "lovely and perfect" than everyone else around us?

1.  Be thankful and realize your blessings.  Take a look around and see where your blessings come from.  Look for the small things, the large things, the blessings that only you may have.  Keep a journal and list something every day.  Your list may have the big things, like health, strong marriage, financial blessings.  Some day's it may be simple, lemonade on a hot day, the butterfly you saw, a mud pie left on the counter (forget the clean up)!  When we look at our blessings, we find peace.

2.  Never forget that you belong to the Father.  You are loved and adored. You belong to a good, good Father and He will never leg you go!  Know who you are, write scriptures down to remind you.  I often keep scriptures on my mirror (and in my kids bathroom mirror) that reminds me just who and Whose I am.

3.  Stay away from media.  We have the world at our fingertips.  Facebook, Instagram, etc is in our moment by moment lives.  We see all the lovely things (and not to lovely) people post.  Their Bahama vacation, new car, perfect child at dance, new house (clean house)... just perfect!  But if viewing these things all the time is hurting your ability to be THANKFUL for your blessings, however small they may be, shut off the media.

4.  Think about real life.  Many times what is on display is not the "real" life.  Perhaps their big new car, hides a rocky marriage.  Maybe their perfect portrait really isn't so perfect after all.  Reality is... no one has a perfect life.  No one.

Let's remember to be thankful for our blessings and gracious to others.  God loves each of us and wants good things for His children.  May we all keep our eyes on Him and count our true blessings, the ones that really make a difference - especially eternally.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Can it really be April?

It seems that time goes by so quickly these days.  Every moment is planned, or somehow becomes planned... it is crazy.  I tell myself every day, I need to blog, I need to journal.... yet it still somehow goes undone before I fall crashing into the bed each night.

When did life become one blur of "fast forward"?  I need to slow down.  I need to choose my "must do" and "need to do" and "want to do" and "no thank you's" better, but how exactly do I do that.  Maybe I'll find the answer this year, maybe I'll be a better mother, daughter, wife, teacher, worshiper....  maybe.

But for today, for this moment, I am sitting here in the quiet of my office, waiting for time to tick by, so I can go on to the next thing I need to do today... but I am soaking in just a few moments of worship, a few moments of Jesus.... I am so thankful that even in my hustle and bustle of life that seems to keep whirling around like a hamster wheel, He continues to draw me in, to draw me close, to welcome me at any moment in time.  He loves me - I love Him.

Enjoy the following worship video, one of my favorites right now.