You may have noticed some of your social media friends posting pictures with the hashtag "100HappyDays" attached. The picture was cool, the comment was interesting and so you "like" the posting and go about your day. I've done it lots of times. Oddly enough, I "liked" one girl's post almost every day through her 100 days without even looking up WHY she was doing it. It wasn't until I noticed someone else posting under that hashtag before I decided to see what this was all about.
Here's the deal: it's simple. Find one thing every day that makes you happy and post the picture. We all post anyway, right? Why not make it something worthwhile sharing? Something that lets others know what makes you smile rather than what makes you mad? The other amazing thing? 71% of people do not even finish the challenge. Why? They're too busy. I get that. Some weeks I don't have time to breathe. But taking 35 seconds to post a random picture to uplift and enlighten a social media audience? Eh - I should have the time to do that. Here's to #100HappyDays!
www.100happydays.com
Monday, September 1, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
But I'm Meant For More Than This....
Do you ever feel like you have been called to some great life? Or some achievement that will put you in the history books or cause some artist to cast your likeness in stone for posterity to admire? Your hopes and dreams might not be this crazy, but let's be honest - we all secretly wish to do some great thing in our lives that rises above. That singles us out. Don't get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with living and leaving a legacy. I know people who have done so (see the Legacy of Grace blog about Mom Mom) and would love to be able to leave just a bit of that in my lifetime.
But here's the deal: we get so caught up in waiting around for that "big dream" or "awesome calling" that God has in store for us that we completely miss stepping out to begin the journey. Instead of taking a small, single step to start, we want to leap across a chasm 100 feet wide. We need something that is worthy. That is big and awesome. Why? Why can't we see the small needs in front of us and start with them? Usually we feel those things are too small or insignificant - that they won't make a difference anyway. So why mess with the small stuff?
I remember walking home from school one day with my brother and discussing what I wanted to be when I grew up. It didn't really matter what industry I was going to be in, I was going to have the corner office with a view. I was gonna be be important. I was a little lofty in my aspirations, but when it came down to it, my desire was to make a difference somehow in the business world. Guess what I learned? You don't need a corner office to do that. You can influence anyone, anywhere, in any position by just being a team player. By helping them out or just speaking to them everyday. I don't need to be in the C-suite to be important or influential, you just need to respect others and treat them as you would like to be treated.
But I digress....
Then the summer of 2005 came around and (I still am amazed it happened) God called me to Ireland for a short-term missions trip. Ten days in Ireland on that mission and I just knew it. I was done. I had found my great calling. Ireland was it - I came home from that trip and was trying to figure out how to move there, freight my car over, and just start a completely new life. I was just going to up and go and the rest would figure itself out. God did definitely call me and I still have a heart for that beautiful country but guess what? I'm still living in Pennsylvania. I'm still pursuing my career. In ministry? Nope. The forklift industry. (Whaaaattttt???? yep) There is still involvement with the church in Ireland and I have not given up on my dreams, but God is still teaching me that He works on His time. Not mine. And He is slowing teaching me to be okay with that. I have been blessed beyond compare in my life and career here, so I am where He wants me to be.
This is the thing - when God calls us or gives us a vision for another country, we seem to think He is just going to hand us a care package and a plane ticket and send us there without any effort or care on our own part. A book I was reading said "God doesn't plant grand visions within us for our own entertainment. He does it to provoke us to grow up." As I look over the past few years, He has been showing me a lot about growing up. Three years ago I was moving forward with Ireland, I was researching work visas when He flipped the switch on me yet again. I was offered a promotion at work and I wasn't going to take it - I was going to go serve Jesus in Ireland and that was that. But He said no. Stay here. I have something else. And boy did He ever. I am still learning and working through just what He wants me to do here, but I do not regret the decision at all.
The moral of the story? Pay attention to the small things you are lead to do. The grand vision for your future is not as important as being obedient in the here and now. You just never know what other paths you will be lead down - because most of the time they reveal a vision greater than we could even have imagine. We just have to take the first steps to get there.
But here's the deal: we get so caught up in waiting around for that "big dream" or "awesome calling" that God has in store for us that we completely miss stepping out to begin the journey. Instead of taking a small, single step to start, we want to leap across a chasm 100 feet wide. We need something that is worthy. That is big and awesome. Why? Why can't we see the small needs in front of us and start with them? Usually we feel those things are too small or insignificant - that they won't make a difference anyway. So why mess with the small stuff?
I remember walking home from school one day with my brother and discussing what I wanted to be when I grew up. It didn't really matter what industry I was going to be in, I was going to have the corner office with a view. I was gonna be be important. I was a little lofty in my aspirations, but when it came down to it, my desire was to make a difference somehow in the business world. Guess what I learned? You don't need a corner office to do that. You can influence anyone, anywhere, in any position by just being a team player. By helping them out or just speaking to them everyday. I don't need to be in the C-suite to be important or influential, you just need to respect others and treat them as you would like to be treated.
But I digress....
Then the summer of 2005 came around and (I still am amazed it happened) God called me to Ireland for a short-term missions trip. Ten days in Ireland on that mission and I just knew it. I was done. I had found my great calling. Ireland was it - I came home from that trip and was trying to figure out how to move there, freight my car over, and just start a completely new life. I was just going to up and go and the rest would figure itself out. God did definitely call me and I still have a heart for that beautiful country but guess what? I'm still living in Pennsylvania. I'm still pursuing my career. In ministry? Nope. The forklift industry. (Whaaaattttt???? yep) There is still involvement with the church in Ireland and I have not given up on my dreams, but God is still teaching me that He works on His time. Not mine. And He is slowing teaching me to be okay with that. I have been blessed beyond compare in my life and career here, so I am where He wants me to be.
This is the thing - when God calls us or gives us a vision for another country, we seem to think He is just going to hand us a care package and a plane ticket and send us there without any effort or care on our own part. A book I was reading said "God doesn't plant grand visions within us for our own entertainment. He does it to provoke us to grow up." As I look over the past few years, He has been showing me a lot about growing up. Three years ago I was moving forward with Ireland, I was researching work visas when He flipped the switch on me yet again. I was offered a promotion at work and I wasn't going to take it - I was going to go serve Jesus in Ireland and that was that. But He said no. Stay here. I have something else. And boy did He ever. I am still learning and working through just what He wants me to do here, but I do not regret the decision at all.
The moral of the story? Pay attention to the small things you are lead to do. The grand vision for your future is not as important as being obedient in the here and now. You just never know what other paths you will be lead down - because most of the time they reveal a vision greater than we could even have imagine. We just have to take the first steps to get there.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Experience Is The Best Teacher
A book I was reading recently had this little nugget inside - " Wisdom and learning come not from experience, but from our reactions to it". "Wow", I thought. "That's a great quote!" I'm a quote person, so naturally, I was a fan. There's a funny thing about quotes, though. Sometimes we repeat so many witty lines that we lose the brilliance of the quote in the first place. (Anyone who has had to live through my "bad joke of week" knows this is entirely possible.) In this case, quality, not quantity, makes a big difference. This is one of those quotes I actually read and then thought about.
As we get older, we tend to "treasure" our experiences more. Whether they were pleasant to live through or not, experience can be our best teacher. Key words? Can be. Do you know what the most amazing part of this is? We have a choice. A choice. To learn from the experience, or to merely survive it. To apply it to future circumstance, or to lose the lesson entirely. The pure elements of the experience become irrelevant in time. It is actually the attitude of our hearts that determines how our lives are impacted by our experiences. Are we too proud to admit we were wrong? Ashamed of how we handled our situation? Or do we chalk it up to experience and find a way to implement differently and do it better? Much better.
So, the next time after life throws you for a loop, remember the experience. Remember how you reacted, how you felt and more importantly, how you made others feel. Then decide if you handled it well and how you would like to handle it in the future. If you are not sure of the answers to these questions, ask someone who shared the experience with you. They are usually more than happy to share.
But the most important part? Live. Live your life. Gain experiences. Learn from them. You will screw up sometimes. Newsflash - that's part of life. But kick life in the pants by taking what she throws at you and hit that curve ball out of the park next time. How? Because you saw that pitch before. You experienced it.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Me, Impress You?
Doesn't it always seem that we wait until something is bothering us that we tend to write about it? I often wondered why I didn't write in my journal when something good happens. Then I read an interview on Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20, where the interviewer asked him why all of his songs were about heartache and misery. He laughed and said, when good things are happening he was out enjoying life, not writing it down. I have always related to the depth of emotion in his writing, so that was something that always stuck with me. And it makes total sense, like right now.
I have been going through an interesting season of my life for the past year where I have literally and mentally have felt like I am growing up all over again. Or maybe just coming into my own. Whatever. The fact of the matter is, it is often painful to grow and to learn things about yourself that are not necessarily pretty or what you yourself were even aware existed. I do not regret the things I have learned, because they are molding me into a better person, but they can be painful just the same.
The past few weeks have been interesting in themselves and I seemed to be constantly trying to prove myself to others. I recently heard someone say they were treating their job like they were running for office instead of actually doing the job they already won. Unbelievably, I heard that story about six times before I had the grand epiphany that I was doing the exact same thing. I have been trying to prove to people I can do my job when I already am. I just need to go about doing it to the best of my ability and let them think what they will think.
This morning, I turned on the TV to watch the closing ceremonies for the Sochi Olympics and couldn't seem to find them anywhere. What I did find was Charles Stanley so I watched him for a few minutes. What happened was an open-heart surgery on me that I did not see coming. He was speaking about how we often act in ways that try and gain the approval of others. Whether it is how we dress, speak, act, or talk, we are always trying to make others like us. He pointed out that many people often are in our lives for short periods of time and we waste valuable time trying to please those who will not even be around in a few years. Most times they are the ones who really don't even care who we are or how we act. As he was speaking, I realized most of what I have been worrying about and beating myself up about (in regards to work drama) is mainly to gain approval or respect of those who really do not even care about me anyway. Why? What would it change in the grand scheme of things?
As Dr. Stanley then went on to say, we already have the approval of God. Not only does He love me, but He likes me. He delights in me. Especially when I am not ignoring Him (as I too often do) and actually aiming to spend time with Him. So, if I already have the approval and the eye of the Creator of the Universe, who am I to dwell in the fear of non-approval of those around me? Why shouldn't I go about my business as if I belong there? Because, the fact is, I do. I have worked my butt off to get where I am and to continue my education in my job to become better at it. If someone is trying to slander me and bring me down, who am I to fear them when I have the Protector of the ages on my side?
I have definitely grown up a lot and become a much more secure person in the last few years, but these past few months have shown that I have some more refining in store. Does it hurt? Sure. Is it mentally draining? You bet. But just think about what is in store - God always has a purpose for putting us through the paces. I am looking forward to seeing what is around the bend and not as scared to think what it is going to take to get there. Because I know I don't need to gain the approval of every last person to do so. I already have the one I need - and that is the only one that really matters anyway.
I have been going through an interesting season of my life for the past year where I have literally and mentally have felt like I am growing up all over again. Or maybe just coming into my own. Whatever. The fact of the matter is, it is often painful to grow and to learn things about yourself that are not necessarily pretty or what you yourself were even aware existed. I do not regret the things I have learned, because they are molding me into a better person, but they can be painful just the same.
The past few weeks have been interesting in themselves and I seemed to be constantly trying to prove myself to others. I recently heard someone say they were treating their job like they were running for office instead of actually doing the job they already won. Unbelievably, I heard that story about six times before I had the grand epiphany that I was doing the exact same thing. I have been trying to prove to people I can do my job when I already am. I just need to go about doing it to the best of my ability and let them think what they will think.
This morning, I turned on the TV to watch the closing ceremonies for the Sochi Olympics and couldn't seem to find them anywhere. What I did find was Charles Stanley so I watched him for a few minutes. What happened was an open-heart surgery on me that I did not see coming. He was speaking about how we often act in ways that try and gain the approval of others. Whether it is how we dress, speak, act, or talk, we are always trying to make others like us. He pointed out that many people often are in our lives for short periods of time and we waste valuable time trying to please those who will not even be around in a few years. Most times they are the ones who really don't even care who we are or how we act. As he was speaking, I realized most of what I have been worrying about and beating myself up about (in regards to work drama) is mainly to gain approval or respect of those who really do not even care about me anyway. Why? What would it change in the grand scheme of things?
As Dr. Stanley then went on to say, we already have the approval of God. Not only does He love me, but He likes me. He delights in me. Especially when I am not ignoring Him (as I too often do) and actually aiming to spend time with Him. So, if I already have the approval and the eye of the Creator of the Universe, who am I to dwell in the fear of non-approval of those around me? Why shouldn't I go about my business as if I belong there? Because, the fact is, I do. I have worked my butt off to get where I am and to continue my education in my job to become better at it. If someone is trying to slander me and bring me down, who am I to fear them when I have the Protector of the ages on my side?
I have definitely grown up a lot and become a much more secure person in the last few years, but these past few months have shown that I have some more refining in store. Does it hurt? Sure. Is it mentally draining? You bet. But just think about what is in store - God always has a purpose for putting us through the paces. I am looking forward to seeing what is around the bend and not as scared to think what it is going to take to get there. Because I know I don't need to gain the approval of every last person to do so. I already have the one I need - and that is the only one that really matters anyway.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)