My original intention for this blog was to use it as a tool for the self-discipline of writing on a regular basis. My thought was that writing regularly might eventually lead to the dream I've always had of writing a book someday. Yet, you can see by the dates of this post and the last one that I've let almost a month go by without writing. In the spirit of all the other things I've said on this blog, I won't let a lapse in my own self-discipline cause me to quit altogether.
Given that - on to the subject of the day - change! I seem to be addicted to it. My husband and I have changed residences many times since our marriage almost 25 years ago. My aunt Glenda says we have "itchy feet". The reasons have really been many - moving to a nicer rental when our income improved, moving out of rentals that turned out to have problems the landlord wouldn't address, moving to a new part of the state to live life in the country, moving to a new state for another perspective, etc.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
One Step
I love to sleep.
Well, actually I love that time in the morning when I wake up before the alarm goes off and realize that I have the luxury of lying there in my warm, cozy bed for another hour or more, that I can go back to sleep, that the lovely dream I was having might come back. It's the absolute comfort of being under the covers with a soft pillow under my head - with no demands on my time yet - with no outside world crashing in.
So, when I decided that getting up early in the morning to exercise was something I needed to do, I wasn't sure if I could give up that lovely morning comfort. When the first morning came, and the alarm buzzed its irritating buzz, I hesitated (after slamming the snooze button first). Did I really want to get up at this ungodly hour, on purpose, to put on tennis shoes, turn on the DVR and sweat before breakfast?
Then I discovered something very surprising.
Well, actually I love that time in the morning when I wake up before the alarm goes off and realize that I have the luxury of lying there in my warm, cozy bed for another hour or more, that I can go back to sleep, that the lovely dream I was having might come back. It's the absolute comfort of being under the covers with a soft pillow under my head - with no demands on my time yet - with no outside world crashing in.
So, when I decided that getting up early in the morning to exercise was something I needed to do, I wasn't sure if I could give up that lovely morning comfort. When the first morning came, and the alarm buzzed its irritating buzz, I hesitated (after slamming the snooze button first). Did I really want to get up at this ungodly hour, on purpose, to put on tennis shoes, turn on the DVR and sweat before breakfast?
Then I discovered something very surprising.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Who the Heck is Melchizedek?
If optimism does not come naturally in your world, you might view me as someone who is in denial about the realities of life. You might consider me simple, naive, or deluded. " How can she think positively all the time? That's just crazy!"
Well - here's the big revelation. I'm not positive every minute of every day. (Sorry to disappoint you!) There are times that circumstances start stacking up in my life, just like they do in everyone's life. I feel twinges of anxiety and then negative thoughts start flooding my brain. I guess the difference is that I don't allow myself to stay in that mind-set. I decide to believe what God says about me instead of what the circumstances say about me.
One of the most common worries people have is about money - and boy, oh, boy - do I know about money worries! I was a single mother for 8 years, putting myself through college working weekends at a hospital and relying on grants and loans to take care of my tuition and many of my living expenses. Once I started teaching, I was only making $2000 a year more than I would have if I had stayed at the hospital doing secretarial work, plus there were student loans to pay. After my husband and I were married and added another child to the mix, the two incomes didn't seem to make that much of a difference. Everything I did to try to improve my financial situation seemed to be like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it. No matter how much money came in - more went out
Well - here's the big revelation. I'm not positive every minute of every day. (Sorry to disappoint you!) There are times that circumstances start stacking up in my life, just like they do in everyone's life. I feel twinges of anxiety and then negative thoughts start flooding my brain. I guess the difference is that I don't allow myself to stay in that mind-set. I decide to believe what God says about me instead of what the circumstances say about me.
One of the most common worries people have is about money - and boy, oh, boy - do I know about money worries! I was a single mother for 8 years, putting myself through college working weekends at a hospital and relying on grants and loans to take care of my tuition and many of my living expenses. Once I started teaching, I was only making $2000 a year more than I would have if I had stayed at the hospital doing secretarial work, plus there were student loans to pay. After my husband and I were married and added another child to the mix, the two incomes didn't seem to make that much of a difference. Everything I did to try to improve my financial situation seemed to be like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it. No matter how much money came in - more went out
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"Un"reality Television
With all this time off for the holidays, I've been watching more television than usual and I've seen many previews of the various "reality shows". I know these are not a new genre in television, but the longer these types of shows continue to be popular, the less I understand why. There is no such thing as "reality" in a reality show. The minute you turn on a camera around a group of people, they cease to be themselves. If you don't believe that - think about your childhood home movies with you and your siblings showing off - competing for air-time.
The theme of most of these so-called reality shows is how beastly people can be to each other. The fighting, back-stabbing, scheming, hissy fits, name-calling, hysterics, and high drama is so over the top that I refuse to believe that this is the reality in which most people exist.
The theme of most of these so-called reality shows is how beastly people can be to each other. The fighting, back-stabbing, scheming, hissy fits, name-calling, hysterics, and high drama is so over the top that I refuse to believe that this is the reality in which most people exist.
Monday, January 2, 2012
God is an Optimist!
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
If that's not an optimistic outlook, I don't know what is! If we have a relationship with God, how can we ever be the voice of gloom and doom? If we are His children, then we should think and talk as He does!
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