A quick fill-in-the-blank for you.
I’d really like to _______________, but I ________________.
I think we all have something sitting on the backburner of our life. Let’s talk about it.
Just type your completed sentence in the comments section below. I’ll start it off by adding the first comment.
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Possessions are fun. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s fun to buy stuff, play with it, drive it, watch it, talk on it, whatever. But…
Experiences are memorable. I wouldn’t trade some of my experiences, like my trips to Ireland, even for a new Mac.
Some people can afford both, but most of us can’t. We ultimately end up choosing one over the other, even if we’re not aware that we’ve made that choice.
So how about you? Are you a possession person or an experience person? Post your answer in the comments section (There’s no right or wrong answer). Thanks so much!
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The other day, my two youngest boys decided to eat a can of spinach. They really believed that eating it would make them stronger, just like Popeye. Check it out…
Hudson’s reaction to the soggy canned spinach was priceless!
I love the fact that children believe the impossible and, at times, I wish it was easier for me to believe the impossible too (I AM working on it!)
When I was a kid I believed that, if I tied a towel around my neck for a cape and concentrated hard enough, I’d be able to fly.
What’s something crazy you believed when you were a kid?
It’s official. I’m exhausted.
The past several months have pushed me harder and brought on fatigue like I’ve never experience before. Between ministry, launching a business, going back to school, moving, and mega high levels of stress, I’m tuckered out!
I’m not talking about just being tired. Tired, I can handle. But this is a whole ‘nother ballgame.
If you’re not careful, exhaustion can make you drop your guard, say and do stupid things. It can tempt you to pray less and rely on your own abilities more. Exhaustion makes you impatient, messes up your priorities, and influences you to neglect what’s important in order to get it all done.
So what do you do when you’re exhausted like this? Here are some things I’m doing to help minimize the effects of exhaustion.
Dinner with the fam. I’m keeping this one sacred. It’s far too easy to neglect the wife and kids when the load is great. When it comes to the family, you have to have non-negotiables.
Prayer. Prayer and scripture reading seem to be the first things to get shelved when schedules are busy. But it really does help renew a tired mind, body, and spirit. Psalm 23 tells us that God refreshes our soul. Sometimes, when you have a million things to do, the most productive thing you can do is pray.
Stillness. Who has time to sit and be still for a couple minutes? You’ll just have to make time. Listen to a relaxing song, close your eyes, put down your phone, and just unplug for a minute. I like to listen to a little Ralph Vaughan Williams and close my eyes for a minute. There’s nothing like spending a couple minutes in your Happy Place.
Fun. Take the kids for ice cream, watch a comedy, play a game, read the comics. Do something fun! Sometimes we take so little time to do something genuinely fun that we forget how refreshing it can be.
Those are ways I’m learning to deal with exhaustion. How about you? How does exhaustion effect you and how do you deal with it?
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This is my friend Shelby. She frequently visits the shelter I help at. I met her there last Christmas when my family and I went to go help serve Christmas dinner. She usually wears sunglasses and a cute hat. I’ll join her towards the end of lunch and she’ll tell me what the squirrels say when she drinks her coffee in the park. She also shares about her daughter in New Mexico, her kittens, and the life she once knew a long time ago.
Yesterday, she approached me and asked if I would pray for her. She said she was on day 5 of her “new life”. She couldn’t tell me what her new life was all about or what it entailed but she knew that she needed a new life and that she couldn’t live it without a little help. I was honored to sit next to her and say a prayer.
I have to admit, I wonder why she asked me. We’ve never really talked about faith before. Most of the time I just sit and listen. When I’m not sitting with her, I’m usually helping participants fill out assistance forms or hauling bags of dog food for our pet assistance program. It’s not like I wear a t-shirt that says “Licensed Minister” and I know she’s never read my blog.
The only conclusion I can make is that maybe all that sitting, listening, smiling, and serving has made an impression that no amount of preaching, shoulder patting, scripture quoting, or advice giving could ever make.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad she asked me to pray and I’m still praying that her “new life” continues on to day 6, day 7, 8, 9, 10 and keeps on going.
This is a picture of my writing teacher. Her name is Ms. Hoeltzner. It’s not a very good picture because we’re not supposed to have our phones out in class.
The thing about Ms. Hoeltzner is that she doesn’t teach writing. She PREACHES it! She’s passionate about the subject and I love it. There’s just something about passionate people that draws me in and stirs up interest in whatever it is they’re talking about.
I remember the first time I ever watched Steve Irwin on television. Previously I had no interest in wildlife, but I soon wanted to adopt every animal in the zoo.
That’s the power of passion. It moves people, compels them, and awakens something inside them they didn’t know was there. Passion is vital to anyone who desires to lead, inspire, or effectively communicate.
So do me a favor. Why don’t you tell me about one person who’s passion has motivated you. Just tell me about them in the comments section below.
Oh, by the way, Ms. Hoeltzner told me today that she thinks I’m a really good writer. It really meant a lot to me 🙂
