TGIF

So how much can a Friday hold? Let me see….

It started with bloggin, then meeting 2  new clients who are young and ready to do the work (a life coach’s dream), lunch with a much loved sister, found a lost, very loved dog that brought joy to a young man who’s heart was hurting (biggest high of the day!), a client who might be rubbing his eyes and waking up to the fact that taking ownership of his life is his only option, emails…emails…emails, phone tag with my Mom, smiling kids with report cards in hand (always nice), phone calls, A bath for Sunshine, one last client who I love and have not connected with a while…lots of laughter and energy, a call letting me know someone I love is facing a huge challenge in their life, then a favorite dinner of Outback and a bowling challenge. “G-Dog” and “Do Getter Done” against “Wildcat” and “Jack-Attack”! Losers treat winners to Tutti Fruiti….”Wildcat” and “Jack-Attack” prevailed and had the biggest helping of yogurt they could fit into their cup, YUM! (did I really eat all that? isn’t my word for 2011 Health???) Finally to text with a new friend, tuck in the “littles” and PLOP into bed. Whew, what a Friday.

Full day, yes. Productive day, yes. Highlights and Lowlights, yes. It always amazes me how much we can fit in to 24 hours, and how many places God touches with his goodness. Everyday is a gift, different and new. We never know what it holds even if we work a calendar well.  As we unwrap it may we appreciate all that is tucked in to that gift. It breathes in and out the joys and sorrows that give life it’s meaning.

Unwrapping Saturday with coffee, writing and time with the one who gives me what I need within each 24 hours….”J-Dog” (as my oldest has called him)

Wonder if he would be a good bowling partner? He did walk on water…..

I hear a “little” stirring….Hello Saturday, what have you got in store for me today?

This week I read something that JUMPED OUT AT ME like nothing has in a long time. I read…..

“Your problem is not that you don’t love God enough. It’s that you don’t understand how much He loves YOU.”

WOW! I loved this so much I felt like shouting it from the roof tops, sharing it with strangers, or at least the “line buddies” I make each week. This is definitely one of the biggest problems I face with the wonderful people I work with day in and day out, and in my life too. We struggle and still have not grasped how much God loves us, or we get so busy that we tend to forget and make it about us again.  We find ourselves trying to do or say the right thing and be the right/good person that we lose sight in the fact the it all starts with His great love for us. Nothing we do or say or don’t do or say will change this love.

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Yep, that is where it starts. Acknowledging, accepting and living in His amazing and unconditional love for us! Today take a note card and write I LOVE YOU, then place it somewhere you will see frequently…And as you glance at it throughout the day may you remember that those are God’s gentle true loving words spoken to you. Then lift up your faces in acceptance and say “Thanks God for your AMAZING LOVE for me!”

It always brings a smile to my face to know he loves me just for good ole quirky, silly, tend to make mistakes, say the wrong thing, messy wonderfully made by You….. ME!

May you know His great LOVE for you too!

I love my girls group and this season we have so many new interesting girls to bring real, honest challenging discussion to the hour we meet. Today we were discussing the book, One Month To Live, Thirty Days to a No-Regret Life by Kerry and Chris Shook. We talked about risk and the areas in our life that we tend to “Play it Safe”. Yes, even me the cannon-baller has an area where I choose to stay on the dock and play it safe. We winced at the thought of the pruning process stages of our lives. OUCH! We also talked about dreams, what stands in our way of pursuing them and how God is able to do far more that we could ever dare to ask for or dream of….infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.

But what happens when it is not in our timing, God doesn’t immediately respond. You know he is not a vending machine….Say a prayer and out pops the answer. Sometimes His timing differs from our expectations. It is then we find ourselves in the WAITING ROOM of life. UGH!

All of a sudden one of my favorites in the group (because she is the eldest and cutest) piped up and said, “We have all heard the saying “When one door closes, another will open.” But the difficult part is the HALLWAY OF HELL and how long we are stuck in there until another door actually opens!” We all just broke up into laughter because we know what she was talking about. At one point in my life I thought that hallway was my new home!

The thing to remember is, when we find ourselves in that hallway with all doors closed, we need to have friends to giggle, cry and just be with. We need to acknowledge a God who is present in the hallway with us, providing all we need, never leaving us or forsaking us. We are in the waiting room (or hallway as Amelia would call it) because God wants us to rely on him and trust in his plan for our life. Once we do then He can open a new door! I can hear him saying…..”Get up, let’s go have I got an adventure for you!” Just remember even Jesus, the Savior of the world, waited 30 years before he began his ministry, so what am I fussing over?

A lot can happen in the hallway if we use our time there well and are open to view it in a different way!

Last night I asked a group in my workshop, “Do you really trust God’s will for your life?” I had a very smart (and a bit sassy) girl respond with, “I am too willful to let His will be done. My own self-will gets in the way of letting him lead the way in a “no thanks, I’ve got it from here, God” kind of dialogue.”

Honesty, something I love. I love her too.

How many times do we say, “Okay God lead the way, I will follow”, only to find ourselves totally at the wheel again thinking we are in full control….”Hey scoot over big guy, I got it from here. I know where I am going and the best (easiest, fastest, painless….) way to get there.” What are we so afraid of? Letting go of control?  Not being in charge? That maybe he really doesn’t know what’s best for us?

I had another friend say today that she struggled with the idea of allowing God to be the Co-pilot, much less take over the reins in full control. Yes, we (me included) are a control freak people who struggle with not having a say. We live in a Burger King world….”Have it YOUR Way”. But, what if we did a one week faith challenge giving up control daily. Laying it at His feet and here’s the tricky part….NOT PICKING IT BACK UP! Saying, Not MY way but YOUR way. Trusting in his good, pleasing and perfect will for our life. (You know he has one)

Faith grows when you use it, it’s like a muscle. You work it out and it gets bigger, at least that’s what they tell me. Well that is how faith works too, the more we use it the stronger it becomes. I can tell you that God wants to “Pump us Up” so that we can trust him and feel safe not just on the known familiar paths we travel, but on the treacherous and difficult paths we must take too.

So, what’s a week? Wouldn’t it be nice for someone else to take the wheel for a change? Especially one who knows you so well and loves you more than you can comprehend. Who knows, maybe you will get use to not being the leader and find more peace on your paths. So, hop in the backseat, turn up the tunes and may our new jingle be….” I’ll Have it HIS WAY!”

What a week! I have had to really be intentional about finding “Fill Up” time. The funny thing is that each day as I head out and think “How will I get it all done?”, there is this grace that carries me throughout the day. So, even though it has been very busy I am still feeling like I am right in the flow of God’s plan for my day. He is with me, providing just what I need and sustaining me with each step.

Last night, after one of these days, I came home after a speaking event and jumped into my jammies. I plopped into bed with Grace for our reading time. Nothing better after a long day and on a cold night. When I asked her about her book she explained it was a mystery and that at school today her teacher had them stop before she knew how it was going to turn out. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Mom it is a Hang Nail!” I giggled and said, “You mean a cliff hanger?  She said, “No a Hang nail!” I laughed so hard, then she started giggling….again, nothing better! Filled up…NEXT!

Can’t our lives feel, as Gracie says, like a  Hang Nail? What is next? I love the verse that speaks of God providing a lamp unto our feet. Notice he doesn’t give us a high-beam. And would we really want one? No, he gives us just what we need. Enough light to take the next step in faith….Trusting he will provide all the grace we need to make it though another day and all it holds. Yes, His grace is with us and  I am so blessed to have my own Grace to fill me up each day!

Ugh, is the only word I can think of thank goodness. I have come to find that no matter if you are the one breaking up or the one broken up with, it’s tough. It’s especially tough if you care deeply for one another. That just makes the cutting of the ties between the two of you that much more difficult. Letting go, moving forward and not looking back at the what if’s, someday or maybe’s. Staying too long at the break-up scene is like driving too  slow by an accident on the highway….do we really want or need to stop and take in all the mess? Analyze the crash and who’s at fault? The pain and suffering? The wounded? The decision has been made, “Everyone, keep moving forward!”  I can hear the officer shouting.

Then there is the whole theory of “Being Friends”.  Seriously? Can you go from a dating relationship one day and the next say “We’re Friends’? Maybe if the emotions didn’t run too deep, but who knows? I believe this stirs things up and creates mucky waters where clarity cannot be found, at least for a while. Friendships are born down the road and are found on a different highway than the one you have been traveling on together. So get off at the next exit and head in a new direction.

My thoughts are, if you know that it isn’t going to work, for whatever reason and they are valid if you are feeling them (trust them).  Make a Clean Cut. Then know you need space, time and prayer for things to settled. To heal and to look at what God has to teach you within this break up, yes there is always wisdom to gain tucked in if you dare to take a peek.  You need to be prepared for the next chance at bat, because it might come quicker than you think.

“I’m listening God!” My foot is on the pedal, we are leaving the break up scene behind! Thank’s for taking the wheel, all I see are open exciting roads ahead and another chance at bat!

One of the challenging things I that I deal with in a few of my clients is the fact that somewhere along the way they stopped showing up for their life. Everyday we have to SHOW UP. Show up for our families, our jobs, our friends, the things we love, the things that are important. Just SHOW UP. I love the quote…..

“Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.”  Alan Sachs. Isn’t that the truth! All I can say is I want to LIVE my LIFE and live it well!

One of the things that I decided a while back was to say yes and show up when asked. To see what God had in store when I did show up. Today I had a meeting with someone I connected with on Facebook. He asked and I showed up. We had a great time taking about growing up here and the people we had in common. Then he asked me speak at two exciting upcoming events. What a wonderful unexpected surprise….I showed up and God had great blessings tucked in.

One last thing to ponder this first week in the New Year….I have suggested that instead of “To-Do” lists that we make “Ta-Da” lists. Then every time we get a check mark we can yell…”Ta-Da!”

This was not an original idea, but one from a long time love named Jason Mraz. He was my first crush after I was newly single 5 years ago. He is a great singer, a musician and oh he is famous. I thought if I could only catch his eye at the many concerts I attended that he would surely see the love connection too. Wishful thinking (hehehe) but boy is he great with words. A true wordsmith in music or in blogging, he uses words well. Which for this girl is an aphrodisiac! He suggested the “Ta-Da” and I decided if I couldn’t have him I would take his words!

SORRY I know, silly tangent…..But this week was FULL of “Ta-Da’s” and Mr. Mraz’s music…. with the last one today being a Ta-Ta “Ta-Da!” My yearly Mamo, and I have to say it was much easier thanks to a sweet (and gentle) Lab Tech who helped me relax through the whole squashing and mushing process. It also helped that my friend called me on the way to tell me she had to have a root canal! I’ll take the Mamo all day long. Sorry Janet!

May you SHOW UP and get ‘Ta-Da’s all year long!”

If you have had any contact with me the last 2 weeks you know what “ONE WORD” means. I have been pushing the ONE WORD theme to help others define what 2011 will look like for them. It has been so exciting to hear what they come up with. There was a DO, because this person had not done anything much for years due to an accident. There was a FINISH, they had a lot of undone things in their life. There was a DISCOVER, PLAY, CRUISE, POSITIVE, SERVE, HARVEST, THRIVE, MOVE, WHOLE, SINCERITY, PASSIONATE, PEACE, BREATHE, OPPORTUNITY, RELEASE, NO, GENESIS, POWER, SATISFIED, ADVENTURE, JOY…..the list goes on and on. I was so impressed at how many came up with great ONE WORDS to take them into the new year and allow that word define what 2011 will birth for each of them!

I was meeting with one of my young adult clients who I gave the ONE WORD challenge to. He struggled with having to put it into just one word. Then at some point in the session a smile came over his face. He said “Could I use my name for the one word?”

This was my favorite ONE WORD moment. This amazing young adult knew that discovering who he was away from parents, the past, judgements, self doubt, fears and untruths about who he thought he was or had been told he was or wasn’t….was the beginning of creating the life he desires and deserves. It was this moment that took my breath away. Perfect. There was not a better word for him. He is starting out a New Year that will be filled with discovery, wonder, and the growing pains of taking ownership of who he is. I am incredibly blessed to be a part of his journey.

I love life coaching all ages, it allows me to see things from so many different vantage points. How many of us have allowed others opinions, beliefs and expectations define us? Restrict us, hold us back and box us in? Keeping us from living out who we were created to be. Maybe we should all take a look at our name and see with fresh open eyes who that person authenticlly is behind the name. Then own it and be the best “your name here” we can be.

Thanks to my amazing client for being deep and real enough to come up with my favorite ONE WORD this year!