A local friend called while I was weeding a flower bed tonight. In their opinion I was wasting my time. Frost is expected within the next week and the flowers will be dead soon.
Near these flowers is a sidewalk leading from the backdoor of my home to a detached garage. I travel this path, back-and-forth, several times a day passing this little flower bed each time. Their cheery colors bring me pleasure. So, caring for them will continue until the weather prevails.
We each have our perspective on life. What is valuable to one, seems like a waste of time to another. Both are right, neither is wrong. Value is in the eye of the beholder.
Hiking in the Beartooth Mountains has opened my eyes to the effort required to reach the top. Something I never really thought much about as a Florida Native.
There are some mountain tops my feet will never stand on, and that’s okay. I am very grateful for the heights my eyes have witnessed so far and look forward to seeing more.
I had been hiking for longer than planned when I passed the lake (shown in a previous video). I told myself to keep going, just five more minutes. Then I heard the water rushing a little faster down the mountain. When hiking through the mountains, in as little as five minutes, the scenery can dramatically change.
Often in life we get tired, feel like turning around, going home. But we will never really know where our journey might take us if we stop short.
Wherever you are in life, keep going, in a few minutes things can change and something spectacular may occur.
Last week was outstanding This week will be too I hope what is true for me Goes doubly true for you
Last week our challenge was to use “Outstanding!” instead of our regular response to the question “How are you?”
The power of the spoken word creates. It creates worlds. It creates your world.
The spoken word begins with a thought. By changing our thoughts we can change our world. By using the spoken word we can speed up the change.
Set your mind on something you desire for yourself, pray for it, then speak as if you believe you have received it.
Recently I heard an evidence based story about a man (Jesse Itzler) training with a Navy Seal (Chadd Wright) for a difficult race (Last Man Standing) and how he was able to to get past his mental and physical blocks at mile 38. It made me think about how to apply some of the techniques to everyday life in order to live a more vibrant life. There were several phrases that I am turning into a weekly challenge for myself and I invite you to join me. Here is week two:
Spoken Word Challenge #2
Sometimes we get tired when we are trying to do something. The initial thought that we are tired can either make us end up on the couch or can be transmuted into energy to draw from.
Speaking our thoughts is like throwing an accelerant on them. It promulgates them, puts them into effect by decree. If we vocalize that we feel tired the feeling increases. If we instead say something like, “I can do it (define what it is). I have enough energy.“ We find that we are able to continue and we do in fact have more energy stores to draw from.
Our Provider has unlimited resources, that means we have unlimited resources.
For the next week I challenge myself and you to transmute thoughts of tiredness into energy. Choose a phrase that resonates and when thoughts of tiredness enter in say the phrase out loud:
I have limitless energy. I can do it (define what it is). I have enough energy. I have unlimited energy. I never get tired. I am feeling more energized every minute.
Do it. What have you got to gain? Gain it now. The power is in your words.
E.A. Fussell 08.20.2023
Isaiah 55:11 Proverbs 16:23 James 1:26 Matthew 7:7-12 Mark 11:22-24
We all respond to obstacles in different ways. And probably not in the same way every time. Give up or push through? The answer may depend on the type or size of the obstacle.
There are lots of things that can appear to block our path or hold us back: age, sex, race, distance, disability, money, fear, uncertainty, laws, fitness level, regulations, obligations, health, self-doubt.
What might happen if we chose to look at obstacles as opportunities? 🪨 Perhaps you’ve heard the old story about the hidden treasure a king hid under an obstacle he placed in the road? He blocked the road with a large boulder and hid a bag of gold coins under it as a reward for the person who expressed ingenuity and figured out a way to move the obstacle. Several people tried and gave up. Then a pauper came along and used a large branch as a lever to dislodge the massive rock from the road. 💰 When he moved the boulder he discovered the hidden treasure and a note from the king saying, “The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve your condition.”
💡What if we envisioned a hidden treasure in every obstacle we face? Would we approach it differently? Would we be more tenacious in figuring out a solution? Might we use our creativity to come up with new ideas? If we saw unlimited opportunity to improve our future in it would we let temporary obstacles have so much control over our emotions?
Life is filled with obstacles, they are to be expected. The next time we encounter one let’s embrace it, turn it upside down, see it as an opportunity. Look, in creative ways, for the hidden treasure.
Grievance: a real or imagined wrong giving cause for complaint; or a strong feeling that you have been treated unfairly. (Also known as “bellyaching”. )
It’s easy to pickup and carry around grievances. Our ego encourages us to store as many as possible to separate us from the light that is our salvation. Complaints and hurt feelings can create a heavy cloud and keep us in a dark place. The words we speak to ourselves and others, either perpetuate the scenes that play out around us or change them.
I try to be aware of my thoughts and words and change them quickly but recently I got caught up in a perceived wrong and started bellyaching about it. Then another situation arose with something done to a family member and I added it to my bellyaching. Vacillating between feelings of anger and sadness clouded my thoughts until I recognized the effect it was having on my other interactions. This morning I took time to clear my mind and heart. To change my thoughts. To let go of the grievances. To see and feel from a place of love.
The light of Love pushes back the darkness bellyaching brings.
When we focus on and speak about perceived wrongs done to us, or others, we will see more wrongs to complain about. When we focus on words of encouragement we will see more encouraging things surround us to speak about.
I encourage you to take a moment today to release your grievances. Stop your bellyaching. Imagine taking your hand, reaching up and moving the dark clouds of perceived wrong weighing you down. Imagine parting them and pushing them to the side as a bright light begins to shine through. Imagine that light is pure love, God Himself. As the light shines brighter and surrounds you the clouds evaporate until you feel the darkness gone, your heart and mind refreshed. (If it helps you can imagine I am there with you, helping you move the clouds.)
Allow your thoughts to change to those of our Creator, who wants the best for you and is always encouraging. You have free will and can control what you think about. What you think about impacts what you see. You can choose what you see. You deserve to see the light of Love and others deserve to see it in you.
God’s love is always right there waiting to save us from ourselves, but we have to accept it.
As I wait for the plane to board and take me home to Florida, I am reminded that there is never enough time to see everyone. Time seems to alter itself into warp zone, speeding past, evaporating any chance of making plans.
I am thankful that the majority of my work can be done digitally which allows me to travel as much as I do. As long as I have internet and cell service I can work from anywhere. Which means that even less time is available for visiting.
It normally doesn’t bother me too much, only when I am in Florida, where I grew up and spent most of my life, where there are so many family and dear friends, all within a stones throw of me and I still won’t get to see most of them.
I hold onto the idea that one day I will retire, stop wrestling with the clock and invest my days in old fashioned visiting.
Watermelon has always represented love to me. One of my favorite memories as a child is eating an iced down watermelon. Daddy or Grandpa would get a watermelon from one of the local South Florida farmers, put it in a cooler and cover it in ice. Anticipating the sweetness to come would occupy my thoughts as I played and tried to forget the deliciousness chilling in the cooler on the porch. Eventually, after several hours, usually in the heat of the mid-afternoon, one of them would take out the glorious treat, slice it up and each family member would get a delicious piece.
Daddy and grandpa are no longer in this dimension of life but I picked up a watermelon Friday and have been enjoying the sweetness of the fruit and the priceless memories. Daddy played an instrumental part in my relationship with God. He taught me many things, especially how to turn from this world and seek my Heavenly Father.
This world will work to tear you down, your family, your relationships, your Spirit. This Father’s Day I offer a prayer for you:
Lord, please be with the person reading this, bless them in a special way. You know their needs, You know their struggles, You know their unspoken pain. Answer their needs Lord. Help them to remember that You are their Heavenly Father, provider, protector, guide. Comfort them, encourage them, enlighten them, give them the answers they seek, draw them close to You. Let them feel Your presence. Let them know they are loved and they are precious to You.
Sometimes we come to realize something we have been taught isn’t completely accurate. Maybe it was distorted by cultural, religious or generational beliefs. Maybe the person who taught us wasn’t properly taught themselves.
Did you ever think about the fact that most of our understanding was taught to us by someone else. When we were learning to speak others taught us what to say, the names of people and objects, and how to act (probably the same way others taught them). We started school and others taught us how to use our brain and how to act (probably the same way others had taught them). We went out into the workforce and others taught us what to think, what to do, how to act (probably the same way others taught them).
Most of the interpreting our mind does is based on what others have taught us. We seldom have a truly original idea of our own. We look at our future filtered by our past teaching and experiences and seldom give ourselves space to quiet our frantic chattering mind and look with fresh new insight.
As I grow older I realize I see nothing as it really is, I see it the way others taught me to see it. This can be overwhelming to my soul.
A practice of prayer and meditation help clear or clarify the decades of others understanding we have been taught with. As we ask for Divine guidance, setting aside our initial programmed reactions to the thoughts that come up and allowing ourselves to hear the ancient wisdom within, we are able to determine what we think and not just what others have taught us to think.
You’re never too old to start thinking for yourself. 💕
It’s easy to get caught up in using circumstances as excuses. Excuses hold us back, keep us stuck, prevent us from realizing our dreams.
It’s not selfish to have dreams. When we hold ourselves back from attaining them we miss out on helping someone who needs the person we could be.
When we let go of excuses and look past our circumstances we open the door to miracles. Opportunities begin to appear, we think of new ways to get where we want to go, helpful people show up, and new insight comes in.
Difficulty only limits our dreams if we let it. Release excuses, think outside the box, embrace your possibilities. Someone somewhere is waiting. They need help from the person you might be when you attain your dreams.
E. A. Fussell 