Tag: #writing

Once is Enough

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Last week, I deleted my Facebook account.

It’s been on my heart to do so all year. One of those last things to ‘let go’ of. The key to doing something like this, and be filled with peace afterwards, is to do it a non emotional state. Sitting calmly in front of my laptop, staring at the number of followers, I let go, and clicked deactivate.

Two weeks ago, I almost got myself fired from my job.

One of my virtual assistant employers asked if I would receive their incoming calls, and I agreed. They were forwarded to a cell phone, and it took a couple of weeks to discover why they wanted them forwarded. It was like politely fencing with a sales person every time the phone would ring. By week three I was done taking those calls.

My salary might decrease, but my joy will increase!

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It’s okay to let go of things that are no longer fulfilling.

What do I want to do to bring in income? I’m not sure, but I’m staying open to whatever God has in store. He’s good at signs, and sometimes he has them printed out on neon paper, and hangs it on a door. That occurred last week.

There was a ‘help wanted’ sign on the door of a local drugstore I walked into. I’ve never thought about working at a drugstore before, but it makes sense. The people coming in there want to feel better. Maybe they are going through a Cancer journey of their own, and I can relate.

I don’t know the reason, but I responded to the sign.

I filled out an application, and they called the next day for an interview. The only real experience I have is customer service, and I care about people. It’s been 30 years since I ran a cash register, and they look a tad bit different today!

I’m excited about doing a job I’ve never done, and plugging into community! The application process has been lengthy, but God keeps nudging me along. I’m encouraged that it hasn’t been easy, but it’s moving quick. I’m just waiting for the papers to go through, and they will give me a start date.

I told my daughter this morning, “Here I am again, living in the unknown.” The unknown is beginning to feel normal.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

Blog Title Prompts

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I used to struggle with a title for every Blog.

My thinking was, it had to be catchy, and grab the attention of the reader, so they were hugely long! Then God challenged me to use, “Just three words.”, so that’s what I’ve done.

I keep finding notes around the house of just three words.

They are Blog titles that I haven’t taken the time to write about, so if one resonates with you, please use it! Here are a few I came across today.

Distraction Free Living

Lead Not Follow

Lucky or Blessed

More Than Enough

Give It Away

The Right Heart

You Deserve It

I know what came to mind when these titles were revealed, but I believe they will mean something different to you. Let me know if you use one, so I can read your take on it.

Much love to you. xxx

Be the Love

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My daughter left Saturday for Boston, and will not be home until Wednesday. Her father took her to see Harry Styles in concert. If you don’t know who Harry Styles is, he was the member of One Direction with the massive head of hair. If you don’t know who One D is, I don’t know what to say.

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Harry!

Here are some things I learned while she’s been gone.

*Kick up the self-care a notch. Take the Yoga class already!

*Buy the t-shirt you fell in love with the minute you saw it.

*Go to the coffee shop that re-opened, and encourage the owner.

*Start a Google search, and follow the trail. It leads to a book you wish to read during this quiet time. Call the local bookstore to see if they have it. They have ONE. Drive.

*On the way to the bookstore, stop at places you haven’t stopped in forever. Encourage the owners of the business, and the people working there. Tell them, “I appreciate you.”

*Smile at people. Be kind, and leave them with a smile.

*Hug someone when they least expect it.

*If you invite chaos into your life, take it back, and leave it.

*Use your voice if your heart is not happy. It may begin an avalanche, and your world may fall apart for a bit, but it will fall back together even better than before. Trust me.

*Clear off the giant coffee table, and use it to work a puzzle.

*Just be what you want to see. If it’s love, then be the love.

Feel the Music

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Walking outside, and looking up at the sky, I said….

“I don’t know what I did to be so abundantly blessed by You, but I’m grateful. I don’t know why I get to be used by you, but I’m grateful. I don’t know God, I’m just grateful.”

Stepping back inside the house, this was playing over the radio. The volume was turned down so low, I could barely hear it, so somebody here must need to hear it too. xx

Feel the Music

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Driving home last night, this song came on the radio.

The one thing that can change my mood rapidly is, hopping in my truck, and driving somewhere, even if it’s just down the road 10 minutes away. It doesn’t have to be a long drive, just long enough to hear the right song.

There is something about being in my faithful truck, on a road, and hearing a good song that feeds my soul.

As I listened to the words in this song, it reminded me of why I write. To give hope. I’m not sure I’ve written anything to save someones life, but God will work through our writing to help change people’s lives. It’s His job to save.

I will tell you what you need to hear, and that you’re not forgotten. My hope is you can see a God who is more than all you ever wanted. We all need hope, and if you’re here, you’re not alone. Maybe God has called you to this Blog, and you will read something that will change your perspective, which is a good step toward changing your life.

Fill Yourself Up

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I’ve been a Virtual Assistant for a friend in California for 5 years. I take care of one of his businesses online every weekend. It’s not a hard job, but I do it because I value him as a friend. I’ve known him for 20 years, and this job allows me to stay home with my daughter, and earn income. He was my mentor years ago, and taught me phone skills.

The job I do for him doesn’t require phone skills. It’s all online. This new job is because of my phone skills, which haven’t been used in 10 years. It’s fun dusting them off.

Everything we do, if we do it long enough, gives us a skill.

I mentioned in yesterday’s Blog post finding the unopened motivational CD in my briefcase. It has since been opened, and listened to, and I’m listening to one as I type. If you’re young, we listened to inspirational CD’s before podcasts.

You see, if you are a leader, you have to feed yourself.

My daughter mentioned she doesn’t have a lot of friends who encourage her, but they look to her for encouragement. She is learning about being a leader. I told her about the CD’s, and said, “Encouragement is widely available, but sometimes you need to go find it.”

Read a book, listen to a podcast, or just tell one of your peeps, you need some love! People don’t think the leader needs encouragement, but we do. We don’t expect it, and we’re not the best at receiving compliments, but the encourager can run low on encouragement. If you feel like you’re running on empty, take time to go fill yourself up.

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Feel the Music

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Years ago, my Mom came to visit us in Texas.

After a few days of showing her around, she asked, “Where are all the cowboys?!” Her comment still brings a smile to my face. I responded, “They are here Mama, just hidden.” She watched way too many westerns.

Yesterday morning, a young cowboy was walking in front of me into a restaurant, and I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw him. He was wearing jeans, boots, and a plaid shirt tucked into his jeans. Yes! In this Texas heat!

He saw me approaching from behind, reached for the door handle of the restaurant, pulled the door open and stood there waiting for me to walk in first. It’s how he was raised.

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Standing in line at the restaurant, he stood out, and I could tell the waiting was making him uncomfortable.

There was a young man about his age standing nearby dressed normally. He was also staring at his phone, which I didn’t see the young cowboy with a phone. It was 10:00 am, and he was trying to order lunch. The lady behind the counter modified the menu to make him lunch.

I felt sad for the young cowboy, feeling out of place in Texas of all places! He probably received his first pocket knife at the age of five, and was taught how to use it for work on the farm, and whittling wood for fun. Not for protection.

Maybe he felt like he was standing out in the crowd, but I saw him as standing above it.

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Thank you Mama’s for continuing to raise young cowboy’s.

May they always stand out in the crowd, and open doors.

Plug Into Life

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I’m really trying to plug into this little community.

That means leaving the house, and making myself visible.

After moving here, my daughter announced, “Hey Mom. You can always go hang out with the bikers on the weekends!”

Now, it’s one of my favorite things to do. A restaurant called Rolling Thunder Roadhouse is less than a mile from my home, and I go there often to sit and read, or engage in conversation. The owner’s Roger and Donna have pretty much adopted me. Roger is a French Chef, and his wife Donna has done a little bit of everything. We had an instant connection, plus, they make the best cold brew coffee!

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Cold brew and Chocolate Biscotti. On my way!

When my daughter and I moved here in January, I was pondering what should come with me. Do I really want to continue doing everything this year, in this new chapter, that I had been doing last year? Was it a fruitful path?

I had a job offer last week. It would still be working from home, but the company would have their calls forwarded for me to answer the calls. The owner knows I have phone skills, and will pay good money for them. A friend of mine busted out laughing when I told her my initial response.

I don’t know. I think I want to harvest seeds from the Hydrangea flower, and grow them to sell to my neighbors.

The company didn’t really have a response to that. Haha

Don’t sweat it lovelies. I’m going to go speak with them in person today. For me it really is about face to face. When I typed the first sentence of this post, is sounded like I was referring to the WordPress community, but I continued on.

I love this community, but over time I find myself letting go of virtual community. My phone still has no social media apps on it, and I’ve closed all my accounts except Facebook. I came across a Blog this morning that explains the technology addiction perfectly. You can read it here.

Do I want to continue Blogging? That has been the big question this year. I’ve posted more this week, than I posted the entire month of April. January through April, I posted one a week, and that used to be daily, so there’s progress.

Maybe I will go see Roger and Donna this morning, and take a book I’ve been reading with me. It’s a gorgeous day outside, and I just want to be out there, instead of in here.

It’s time to unplug from the computer, and plug into life.

“Technology is an option, not a lifeline.” The Robot Rebel

My Kinda Midlife

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I was spending way too much time sitting at my desk.

Now, I’m pondering selling my desk. What changed? I did.

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Today, I attended a class about Ayurveda. Yesterday, I attended an ‘Adult Children of Alcoholics‘ meeting, and Saturday I’m learning how to make a smudge stick.

How did I get to where I am today? I began months ago.

Since moving out of the country, and into civilization, there are endless opportunities to plug-in. I saw signs that God had me right where He wanted me, but oh, this little prayer!

“”What do I want to do?’ can be, “Dear God, what would you have me do?”

One thing leads to another. One conversation with the right person leads to another conversation with another person.

Stepping away from social media has me stepping out of my house each day.

This is my kinda midlife. Marianne Williamson writes,

“At midlife, you suddenly see an endgame where you used to see an endless stretch. You know now on a visceral level that this lifetime will not go on forever. There’s no more time for five-year detours. No more time for getting it wrong. No more time for relationships that don’t serve, or for staying in situations that aren’t authentically you.”

How do you want to spend the rest of your life?

(Feel free to respond in the comment section below)

Feel the Music

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I woke up this morning pondering the men that have passed through my life. I’ve loved them all, and still do on a certain level. As I began making changes last year, the tagline to this Blog changed, and I’m still standing firm in these words. “Let it all go, and see what stays.” God stayed.

Hoping in my truck earlier today, this song began playing on the radio. Maybe it doesn’t pertain to only the men, but everything I have let go of to bring me to this space today.

I know my heart will never be the same
But I’m telling myself I’ll be okay
Even on my weakest days,
I get a little bit stronger.

Thank you God for pulling me through, and making me stronger.