Sunday, February 27, 2011

Shake It Off....

You know those phrases...."Shake it off" or "Let it roll off your back"?
We should let "it" be like water on a ducks back and let it just roll off.....
Don't let it stay with you....

"It" being something that is bothering you, something someone has said that hurt you, something you did wrong a mistake you made...etc.

I struggle with doing this. I realize it when I find myself crippled by the effects of the things that trouble me. I think I have always done this. I think many of us do.
Do you??

I watched a word picture. a lesson of sorts, play out before me last weekend when I went to watch my teenage grand-daughter at Cheer Competition.

There were many well practiced, skilled, incredible girls doing their cheers, dances and stunts. Not many mistakes were made (errr...noticed!).
I saw one girl make a little fumble in her flip, she briefly fell to the ground, but she was UP on her feet with her smile just as big as it was before. I kept on watching her to see if she was gonna be "off" from this little falter. She was NOT. She kept on going like nothing ever happened! I was so impressed. I am sure deep inside she was feeling like "bummer! I fell" but NOTHING showed on her face! She was definitely letting it roll off her back, she definitely shook it off immediately, and carried on.

Later I saw an opposite episode take place. Once again there was a falter, a fall...but this time the cute little cheerleader did not seem unaffected. In fact her face wore the episode all over it. She looked fretful and her smile was completely gone. She seemed to be shaken and off one beat the rest of the routine, as if she just could not make up for that one mis-step. It completely consumed her and affected her every move.

I sat there thinking what a great visual that was for this issue I have been dealing with; NOT shaking it off, not letting it roll off my back. Instead I tend to keep on falling all over myself for the ONE mistake I made, or the ONE problem I am having, for the ONE time someone hurt me.
Instead of it owning ONLY that ONE moment it happened, I am allowing it to own SO MUCH MORE!

I have mentioned before that I am taking a Soul Restoration Course (see side bar for more info..they are offering more classes coming up and I HIGHLY recommend them!!!). In this class we are referred to as "Brave Girls" (that is the name of the group that puts these classes on). So I have begun telling myself "You are BRAVE...you CAN do this!" You are not that one thing, that one moment, that one infraction.
Move on.
Carry on.
Put that smile back on your face.

If you let it roll off your back right away it will not bottle up and build up and become something far more than it should be in your heart and life. Otherwise it can fester and build up and become a deep infection within you causing you more pain and suffering than necessary.

Let me be your reminder today to; Let it roll off your back.
Shake it off and carry on!

Here's to shaking it off, even when we fall before HUNDREDS of spectators, and carrying on in God's strength!!!
When you find yourself falling this week, I pray you remember to pick yourself up and carry on. Take it to God and be released from the stronghold it can keep on you.
Remind yourself that YOU ARE BRAVE!!!

Have a happy and blessed week full of BRAVE moments!
XO

Thursday, February 17, 2011

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Don't you just love it when several things come together to reveal to you a message!?

Over this past weekend while I was visiting my son and his precious little girls I was teaching them the Sunday school song "This little light of Mine".
Do you know it?
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine"
Then the little ditty seemed to stick in my head and I found myself humming it to myself on my seven hour drive home.

THEN....Once I came home it was time for Soul Restoration class.
What an amazing thing to discover Melody was talking about
how our lights shine and make a huge difference in the world.
How even one light can make a difference in the darkness.
About how amazing it is that we can light another's light
without taking anything from our own.
I was touched by the message,
the video and the very thought of how
each one of us women in the world
are a light
and when we allow ourselves to shine before men
we make an amazing difference in the world we are a part of.
Okay...THEN........
I opened up my art journal to do some of the art part of the lesson (a few days later)
and found that I had written something in there a couple of weeks prior.
"Dear Brave Girl, Don't ever doubt your strength, the power within. It is God IN you. With HIM all things are possible and He wants to shine through you!!!"
Apparently God is sending me (and others) an important message..........
and I wanted to share it with you!
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
I believe God wants you to know too that
YOU ARE A LIGHT!!!!!!!!
That He made you wonderfully, perfectly and that you
have a specific light that you are to SHINE!!!!
What is it that God put in your heart?
He put it there for a reason...for a purpose.
It is up to you, a responsibility,
to use it and to be a LIGHT for others to see.
It is our light that will lead others to HIM!
So, my question to you is this...
Are you letting your light shine?
I have to tell you something..........
I have found myself with my own light buried so deep
that no one could ever see it if they wanted to!
No one would even know it was there,
because it was buried under the mess of life.
I would allow the issues and overwhelm of life to darken the light.
Are you doing the same???
Let me encourage you to release the junk of life
to the only one capable...GOD Himself.
To trust HIM with your troubles and trials
and in the process your light shall SHINE
I hope the little ditty is ringing in your heart now
and you will go around singing the song to yourself as a reminder to
LET YOUR LITTLE LIGHT SHINE!!!!!
Lots of love and blessings to you!
XO

Monday, February 14, 2011

In Honor of VALENTINES day....

I hope that you are able to celebrate LOVE in some way today.
It is different for each of us and it is even different for us in the various seasons of life.
There once was a time when this day would have been filled with class parties,
homemade goodies, love notes left on pillows for my kiddos,
there has even been Valentines days when I did not feel like celebrating...
but I always did,
because I KNOW that LOVE is always worth celebrating!
No matter where you are in your life, in your walk, in your heart....
you must know that there shall ALWAYS be LOVE!!
God loves you and that is a love that is unconditional and comes no matter what
you have or have not done!!
It just IS!!
It is such a powerful love that God GAVE us the ultimate gift of all.
HIS SON!
I hope you KNOW that love today and that it fills your heart!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I also want to share about love and marriage!
You see today is the day I fell in love with the love of my life
and we have been on this journey now for 34 years!!
It is a journey like anyone else's,
it has not been without troubles,
sacrifices, trials, JOYS, hopes and misery alike.
We are no different than any other couple.
I want to talk about the things
I believe have helped us to get this far in life and in our marriage!
I want more than anything to encourage any of you wherever you are in your life.
If you are married and miserable or married and blissful!
First of all....
you must know, and remember....
marriage does NOT come without great effort!
It is a lifetime of give and take.
One of the greatest realizations for me is that
it is NEVER a 50/50 endeavor.
NOPE.
It is ALWAYS a 100/100!!!!
If you figure that out, you have made great strides towards marital happiness!!
Another thing I KNOW has been beneficial is that
"IF YOU TREAT HIM LIKE A KING, HE WILL TREAT YOU LIKE A QUEEN!"
Oh how I have loved this one!!!
Nothing melts my heart more than to hear my husband call me "his queen"...
I mean, really, who does not want to be the Queen of their life/marriage?!?!?!
My husband and I happen to be in the "empty nest" season of our lives.
The focus has shifted from pouring out on our little ones who are now all grown up...
to being able to focus once again on one another
(oh and of course our precious grand-angels).
It is a fabulous time of life!!!

For all of you out there with children afoot...
KNOW that this is a season to look forward to and enjoy.
YET, let me warn you of something.
IF you do not nurture your relationship NOW,
you will have NOTHING when you find yourself home ALONE with this man you married. Looking across the table at the stranger that you fell in love with
but have failed to nurture a relationship with.
I want to urge you to take the time....
let me re-state that,
MAKE the time to spend and enjoy the love of your life.
I know it is not easy, I have been there...
BUT, once again......it is vitally important!!
It will make all the difference in the world, in your marriage!!!
One of the greatest gifts you can give your children.........
and this is a PRICELESS GIFT....
is to love one another and to be role models to them of what a loving relationship looks like.
No doubt, not every moment will be loving and easy to model
(that is when you postpone the discussion
til they are in bed and you can hash things out without them as an audience).
I am thankful...I KNOW that God brought my husband and I together
in a way that was divine.
(not that I knew that THEN!)
I am also acutely aware of the sad realities of broken and distressed relationships.
(our own little family has suffered it's fair share).
It all begins and ends with HIM!!!
HIS LOVE is amaZing!!!!
He will never leave you or let you down!
He is the only person you can fully rely on....
Until you figure that out and quit hoping your spouse will fill all those voids,
you will be disappointed and dismayed!
Truly...I know how easy it is to think that a PERSON
should and can fill all those empty places in your heart.
But it is not possible, for ONLY GOD can do that!!!!
So no matter where you are at today in the name of marriage/relationships,
I pray that it is a day filled and overflowing with great LOVE!!!!
For my love and I, in this empty nest season...
we are going to have a quiet dinner out tonite and celebrate our 34 years....
surely the conversation shall turn to our kiddos and our grand-angels...
and all that would have never come into existence
without the love we share with one another!!!
Here's to LOVE and wishing you a day filled with
amaZing LOVE!!
XO
Sherry

Sunday, February 6, 2011

What is YOUR DREAM???

DREAM: desire, wish, goal, hope, prospect, expectation, aspiration...
What is that something YOU wish for?
That thing that has been buried deep in your heart for as long as you can remember?
That illusive aspiration that you entertain in your mind only to tuck back into your heart thinking it is something that shall remain only as a dream.....
not really ever achieving it,
accomplishing,
realizing it.
It just feels too illusive, impossible even.
But it burns within you,
it is the thing that remains in you
no matter how many birthdays pass
or how many New Year's pass
when you "resolve" to FINALLY realize this DREAM!
What is it that one thing for you?
What is holding you back?
What are those things that you tell yourself that stops you dead in your tracks?
Are they legitimate or just excuses?
Do you know?
I have been pondering my dreams this week.
It has actually been a VERY busy week in my life,
but the question
has pulsed in my heart and mind as the days have gone by.
There is the one dream that I knew of for certain the minute I was given the challenge
to think about my dream (in the Soul Restoration Course I have been taking).
It is the goal to WRITE A BOOK.
I have had this dream for some time now.
In fact it has been almost 14 years now
since I began the outline and felt the Divine inspiration
for what I feel is the content of this book
about overcoming life's issues and becoming the woman God intends us to be.
It has been on my heart all along.
BUT I have failed to execute the plan,
to make my dream come to fruition.
Oh, I have not sat on my hands the entire time.
Once the outline was clear to me
(after an 18 mile walk on my 39th birthday)
I proceeded to take a 2 year writing course.
It was helpful, but in and of itself the dream was still un-achieved.
I have researched, listened, prayed, pondered and DREAMT all this time.
What am I going to do now?
This I know.
If I do not have a plan I will go no further with this dream.
For if we fail to plan our plans will fail.
You see, once we have made up our mind to pursue our dream
we have to literally create a "plan of attack"
Look at the dream and begin to decipher what you need to do to
MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Figure out what you need to do to make it a TOP PRIORITY
Remind yourself that God has created you for a plan and a purpose
BUT
it is up to YOU to make it happen,
to pursue it and put legs to the dream.
I want to encourage you today..........
Think about that thing that has been burning inside of your heart.
Pray about how you can go about realizing this dream.
Put together a plan of attack.
THEN go forth as God would have you to,
to BE all that HE has created you to be!!!
I would love to hear about YOUR DREAM
and how you feel you can best begin to realize it.
What steps are you going to take to "make it happen"?
OR
maybe you have already made it happen....HOW DID YOU DO IT!?
If you have any tips for me.......
What I should/could do to pursue my dream of writing this book that burns within me
I would love to hear them.
Here's to DREAMS and BEING all that GOD wants us to be!!!
Love & Blessings!
Sherry