Transitional Friday: Home is where Heart is

home where heart isFor years I was unhappy with where I was living.  I did not want to be there.  I was fighting a spiritual battle, between what I wanted and what God wanted for my life.

There were times when the situation weighted so heavily on my heart that it gnawed away at me and I became angry.

Then a few months ago, God opened amazing doors for a new job in a new city an hour away.

I realized during this time that the place I’d been fighting living, had become more of a home than I ever expected or anticipated.give thanks

Only once I had left, did I realize how much this town and place had become home.

Often we don’t realize how important a place or person is until they are gone.

We are told to be “thankful in all things.”

This isn’t always easy, especially in trying circumstance.  I’ve really struggled with this lesson at times.

However, that is exactly what God wants for us.

What have you been thankful in?

Transitional Friday: When God Answers Prayers

answers

 

 

 

 

I’ve discussed discouragement and waiting for God, but eventually He will answer?

However, what happens once you finally have prayers answered?

I’ve had prayers answered that showed me this was not God’s will for my life and took me down a dark path.  I’ve also had prayers answered that only God could orchestrate and proved this was God’s will for my life.

God answeres prayers

  1. Thank God for answered prayers
  2. Ask God if this is His will for my life
  3. Understand the lessons God has been teaching along the path
  4. Praise God for His blessings and provision
  5. Remember that God likes to show off to show what He can do
  6. The lesson in the wait is Faith, but we can’t abandon it once our prayers are answered
  7. Sometimes we have to get out of the boat and take the first step in faith

Transitional Friday: Facing Your Fears

We all have fears!  I don’t like heights!

I’ve also overcome some fears, such as flying.

So, how do we face and overcome our fears?fear

  1. Make a list of your fears—make a list of all of your fears.  Which one is the easiest to cross of your list?
  2. Challenge your thoughts and the reason behind it—ask ourselves why this is a fear, what has caused this to be a fear and why you are fearful of this event.
  3. Make a list of steps to overcome this fear—make a list of steps that need to be taken in order to overcome this fear.
  4. Ask yourself what is the worst case scenario—then ask what the worst case scenario is.  With my fear of heights, that would be falling and breaking bones.
  5. Relax and visualize yourself going through the motions of what you are afraid offear2
  6. Revisit past victories—what fears have you overcome in the past?  How did you do this?
  7. Ask your family and friends for encouragement—we all need encouragement to keep moving forward and reach our goals.
  8. Take deep breaths—often deep breathing calms us and helps us to have perspective on the matter at hand.
  9. Face your fear head on—you may want a friend with you to lend emotional support

How do you overcome your fears?

Tweetables:

Facing Your Fears in Life Transitions

Transitional Friday: Thinking Positively Through the Transition

When life gets us down, it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The devil pounces on the darkness and insecurities to bring us down.  In order to see the good and move forward, we need to see the positive.

This has often been a personal struggle for me, but each day I work to have a better attitude and move forward.

  1. Write your goalsgoal
  2. Write stepping stones towards your goals—what steps are necessary to reach the goals made.
  3. Reward yourself—find a way to reward ourselves for each small accomplishment we’ve made.  This could be a book or CD, massage, favorite restaurant, etc.
  4. Write positive affirmations and repeat them—I find that writing and repeating positive affirmations helps me to begin to believe them in time.  I heard one speaker {I wish I could remember who at the moment} state that they state these right before bedtime every night.
  5. Reflect on your situation, what brought you here and how far you’ve already come—I find it difficult at times not to dwell on how far I still have to go, but I have to look at how far I’ve come.
  6. Replace negative thoughts—don’t allow the dark places to crowd in and bring me down to where I’m useless.  The positive affirmations really help. prayer
  7. Pray and ask for God’s guidance and peace
  8. Listen to uplifting music and watch heartwarming movies—these lift the mind and help me to change perspective.  I have to remind myself I deserve this also.
  9. Find a peaceful place {ex. Lake, mountains, meadow, etc.} and remind yourself this too shall pass

What do you do to think positively?

 

Tweetables:

Thinking Positively Through the Transition

Transitional Friday: Ecclesiastes 3: 18-22, The Purpose of Life

We are wrapping up our look at Ecclesiastes 3 and a season for all times.

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals—God tests us to show us that we have the beastly quality of animals and will prey upon others.

 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals—man is frail     ashes and dust

the same fate awaits them both—their existence is temporary

As one dies, so dies the other—all living, breathing animals {whether human or not} will died one day

All have the same breath—we all breath the same air

humans have no advantage over animals—we do not have long to live in righteousness and honor before God

Everything is meaningless—if we’re not living for God then it is all meaningless
 All go to the same place—life is fleeting and we all go to the same place

all come from dust—we came from dust ; Abraham asked in Genesis 18:27, “who am I but ashes and dust”  return to earth

and to dust all return—one day we will all return to dust; think about the burial ceremony, we say “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”
 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?—only God knows if the human spirit goes up and the animal spirit goes down.  Some may say if the saved goes to heaven and the unsaved goes into the earth.

So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work—God wants us to enjoy our work and to work hard

because that is their lot—because that is why He made us.  He has a purpose for ALL of our lives.
For who can bring them to see what will happen after them—only God knows the purpose for our lives, how we will touch others and what will happen in the afterlife.  He also knows the rewards this life will bring into the afterlife.

What is your purpose in life?

 

Tweetables:

The Purpose of Life

Caregiving: A Blessing or a Curse

plate of food    “Let me finish this,” I snapped in exasperation.  I was setting down my drink, but GG* was not willing to wait on me to put it down.  I could tell from the way she grabbed for her lunch there would be a spill to clean up.  I had no desire to see her food all over the kitchen floor, and knew that she didn’t either.

“Be thankful,” a small voice whispered inside my soul.   Just three days earlier, I’d been reminded of how much I had to be thankful for with GG.

We’d left early Thursday morning to drive to a neighboring town for the funeral of her first cousin.   GG and the sibling to the cousin were the only grandchildren that remained of fifty-five grandchildren to her maternal grandparents.

Following the funeral we stopped to check in on another dear cousin {on another side of the family}, only a month older than GG.  My heart broke to see our once vibrant and composed loved one, living in a body that was a shell of the woman we remembered and loved.

By the time we returned home, GG was exhausted and needed to rest, but just the fact that at two months shy of 90 years old, she could make this trip, I knew how blessed we were.

GG is far from perfect and has had her own string of health issues over the years, but she’s been an amazing fighter in bouncing back.  Then moments after tucking GG to bed on Thursday evening, the fire truck and ambulance pull up.  I look out the window, to discover they are there for a neighbor that fell.  Once again, as the day closes, I am reminded of what a blessing GG is and to cherish this time that I have with her.   Caregiving hands

I know that inevitably the day will come when things change and she is no longer here.  So I take a deep breath, pick her plate of food up and follow her to her chair.  “Thank you for GG and this time together,” I remind myself in a silent prayer.

Are you taking time to see the blessing in caring for your loved one?

*Name altered

 

Tweetables:

Caregiving, is it a blessing or a curse?

The joys and frustrations of caregiving

Why care giving is both a blessing and a curse 

Writing a Gratitude Journal

I’ve struggled at times with being grateful for things in my life.  This has been especially true when things were not going my way.  I had a friend suggest that I start a gratitude journal.  Each morning I would list three things for which I am grateful.  I decided that I would not list anything on my list more than once a month.   greatful

I discovered that the more I wrote in my gratitude journal the better my outlook and attitude became.  I’m more grateful for the small things around me.   When my outlook begins to look bleak, I’ll ask myself if I wrote in my gratitude journal that morning.  Often I’ll discover that I did not and will take the time to sit down and write in my journal.

I’ve also discovered that I will write in anticipation of something for that day.  Regardless of the outcome of that event, my attitude is much more positive.

Have you ever thought about keeping a gratitude journal?  What positive insights did you find?

gratitude