Tag: walk by faith

Wait and See

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I schedule a haircut every 4 to 5 weeks, depending how quickly it grows. Looking online at my hairdressers availability she had several openings, but Tuesday at 10:00am felt right. I checked my schedule to see if that would work, but didn’t make the appointment immediately because the weather forecast was calling for a rainy weekend all the way through Tuesday.

My daughter has left the nest, but I still have her two dogs and they’re afraid of storms, so I was hesitant to leave the house for a haircut if that was the case. I decided to take a shower and start my day, but as I stepped out of the shower the thought, ‘Tuesday at 10’, came to mind. I decided to check and see if the haircut appointment was still available considering that’s the only ‘Tuesday at 10’ I’d thought about.

It’s difficult to have faith in meteorologists and I don’t coordinate my life around the forecast. Sometimes it’s best to take a look at the sky. It will tell you it’s story and always has one to tell. Storms are a stress factor for me. I don’t like thunder, lightning, high winds or torrential rains. My neighbor, Hercules sits on his front porch and enjoys watching the storm, while Barb is over here praying for God to calm it.

Texas has some mighty storms and I wasn’t excited over the possibility of more. I believe God knows my heart and knows how much I can handle. With all the changes that have occurred already this year, I was on edge toward anymore disruptions. I kept thanking Him for His plan which has a tendency to trump the forecast. I’ve seen it so many times before where no storm came even though it was in the forecast.

I scheduled the haircut appointment by faith. The salon is closed on Sunday and Monday, so I wouldn’t have adequate time to cancel the appointment if needed. On Monday it continued to rain, but it was gentle and I slept peacefully through Monday night. Tuesday morning I awoke to stillness and realized I’d be able to make my appointment because there was no storm. My hope for you is to put more faith in a greater plan. No matter what the world is predicting, faith overcomes fear and can weather any storm.

Trust and be willing to wait and see.

Sane and Sober

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The other day I told a friend, “The only thing keeping me sane right now is reading and writing.” I’m still utilizing the Morning Pages, but have stopped beating myself up for not filling up three pages. There’s so much going on with my jobs right now, I don’t have the luxury of spending time on three, but one page gets me grounded.

This time of year I always think about sobriety. My sober birthday is in November, but a couple of months before it arrives the mind starts playing tricks. The mind of an alcoholic will say, “After 23 years, surely you have this under control and can have one drink.” Fortunately, I’m stubborn enough to ignore those thoughts.

One thing I know about staying sane and sober is you need community, because it’s not a ‘go it alone’ lifestyle. I’m plugged into several online communities through work, but the one that holds my heart the most is my neighborhood. That simple habit of walking to the end of the street refreshes my soul.

I wouldn’t be living this life I love if I was still drinking. Not even certain I’d still be alive. If I was to have a similar conversation with my friend today I would elaborate with, “Walking, reading, writing and my relationship with God is keeping me sane and sober.

The Glorious Unfolding

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The light came into the room early this morning. It was overcast outside, but the house seemed to be filled with light. At 5:30 am, and cloudy, that could only be God.

It was time to take some time for me, and my soul. The verse, 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper, and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” My health is a priority, and with God’s guidance, and His healing hand, I will become whole. He is not done yet.

There were a couple of men fishing early this morning. I sat at my writing room window, and gazed at the peaceful scene. They know good things happen early in the morning.

calm

I sat down, and started responding to email that came in a few days ago. One that I responded to, was from the most amazing woman on this planet, in my opinion. She walked into my life, literally, to become my daughters Nanny, when she was an infant. She loved my daughter as her own, and changed my perspective on life in so many ways.

If you are reading this right now my lovely…This is for you.

Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold

Hold on tight. God is nowhere near done with you yet. Watch and wait for the glorious unfolding.

Here’s the video of Steven Curtis Chapman, The Glorious Unfolding.

You Are Here

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You gotta love the directory at a large shopping mall. You walk over to look up the store location of your choice, but first it helps to find the spot that says, “You Are Here.” I want one of those for my life.

accept

This quote is the mantra for my coaching career. I love the simplicity and have to remind myself of it frequently. It’s very simple to read and say, but much more difficult to do. We like being in control but, I can tell you from experience, it’s more productive to Let It Go.

Our body and mind love pleasure. It will gravitate toward pleasure faster than pain. Some think their life should have a certain amount of pain. That they are not supposed to walk in complete happiness. The saying, “No pain, no gain”, should be debunked. That is one of the many things my program does. It looks at those old beliefs and sayings we grew up hearing, and determines if we want to utilize them in our lives today.

To give up control means stepping into the unknown. That can sound like a scary place to be, but it’s not. I have done this so many times in the past two years alone, today I pretty much run toward the unknown. If you have read any of my blogs, you know I have a ginormous God. Learning to walk by faith, that He has a plan for me and my life, makes stepping into the unknown easier. You could do it with a positive mental state as well. To know that everything is going to turn out for good will get you moving.

bottom

I had allowed my life to become so miserable, anything would have been an improvement. This is called hitting bottom. God will allow us to do that. How miserable will we become before we are willing to make a change? This is a horrible place to be. Everything looks dismal and grey.

Let me encourage you today that life is meant to be beautiful! By going through the letting go process one day at a time, one lesson at a time, we chip away at the ugly and let the light shine through. For me, it felt like shedding layers of old skin, until I got down to the real me. The people that came into my life were people that added good, not chaos.

Stepping into the unknown is an invigorating place to be. If you are at your bottom there’s great news! The only way to go is up! Take my hand and let’s go.