forgiveness

Teachable moments.

yesterday morning, my littlest came in with a sad look on his face. 
"Abby's mad at me because I broke her castle.  It was on accident, and when I said I was sorry, she still yelled at me."

"Were you playing around about knocking it down, got carried away and then actually did
knock it down?" (funny how they can be several rooms away and you can still see the whole scene.)

sheepish look. "But I still didn't mean to and now she's mad."

"Did you say you were sorry and not, "I'm sorry!!!!" Perhaps you can try, "I really am sorry. Will you please forgive me for being reckless?"

It's so hard for us to own what we do wrong.  True, he didn't intend to break her castle, but when he did, he
behaved as if she had done something wrong by getting upset; as if demanding forgiveness before actually repenting and being sorry for what he had done.

None of us want to own our mistakes, our bad judgments or our short tempered responses.  We either claim a right to behave that way or we turn it around and blame the other person for our actions and feelings.  We feel entitled to our behavior.  But when is is right to demean someone or undercut another's heart?  When is it our right to belittle someone's character, break a promise, take their belongings or treat them unfairly?  And then, when is is right to believe we have the right to withhold forgiveness from them when they do the same.

insert your name into these scriptures

Ephesians 4:3132
I _______________ will, get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander,
along with every form of malice. I will be kind and compassionate to others, forgiving
others, just as in Christ, God forgave me.

John 13:3435
A new command I give you__________________: Love one another. As I have loved
you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another."

Ephesians 4:29 NIV
I ___________________will not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but
only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.

Matthew 6:14 NIV
For if I ______________ forgive men when they sin against me, my heavenly Father will
also forgive me.

We are imperfect.  We still mess up, act wrongly and hurt others...even with the best intentions.  We are so grateful for the forgiveness we receive from God through Jesus' sacrifice.  We cling to the assurance that we are forgiven.  We must also remember that first we must repent, be sorry and turn from our sins.  In order to do that, we have to admit we have sinned.

Admit you broke the castle, even if you didn't mean to.  Allow the other person to be upset and feel hurt.  Be truly sorry and ask for forgiveness. 

Both kids came in.  I said, "you love her, yes?  and you love him?  if someone else was hurting one of you, would you come to help?  of course you would.  you are very close and because you're close, you are going to hurt each other.  you're not perfect.  and neither are you.  It's okay to not be perfect.  It's not okay to pretend that you are."

"I didn't mean to break your castle, will you forgive me?"
"I know.  Sure.  Wanna build a fort?"

(big hugs, giggles and running off to build together)

Sometimes it works out that way.  Children are so quick to forgive.  It's like their hearts are still too tender to hold onto something as ugly and coarse as unforgiveness.  We must soften our hearts, tenderize the hardened parts that refuse to forgive, the parts that refuse to admit the mistakes we make that require repentance. 

grace

For today....give a little grace, give others room to be imperfect, see beyond their harshness to their pain and extend some grace.  receive a little grace, be quick to say you were wrong and seek forgiveness.  We must become like little children....with tender hearts...big hugs...giggles.  Then we too will experience the joy of building together.

My Favorite Things

I love Friday.  It's my favorite day!  There is just something different about Friday to me...it feels different!
There are so many simple things that make me smile....so if I want to smile more often, I should do more of these things!
Here's a short list....
fresh flowers
sunshine
a fire in the fireplace
being married to glenn
friday night weaver dance parties
sinatra during dinner
wine
candles
movies
bedtime songs with my children
comfy clothes
a really good book and getting absorbed in it
laughing children
babies
a favorite song on the radio unexpectedly
quiet moments with God
helping other people to find their passion
weddings
dinner with good friends that lasts for hours
the ocean
...and of course, as I mentioned...Friday.
The first time I wrote a list like this, it occurred to me how easy it would be to have these things every day (well, except Friday!) These simple, inexpensive pleasures, when created intentionally or just noticed purposely every day would allow me to experience so much joy every day!

What is your list?  What things just make your heart ache with the love of it?
I read a blog yesterday about the ache of raising children, of seeing your boy becoming a man and being awed and amazed and somewhat bewildered by it all...
I love that ache...that tender place in my heart that reminds me of Love. 

My youngest daughter and I finished Charlotte's Web last night...a think I read it about 50 times growing up.  As we read 'The End', she looked at me and said, "that's such a sad ending." Not sad,  poignant....it's nostalgic...it's ...that ache.  The awareness of love because it's been lost.

Oh how I want to learn to Love until it aches without having to experience the losing part!

I want to be more present to my loves....I want to be more aware of my joys and more appreciative of my favorite things!

"Sunrise doesn't last all morning, a cloudburst doesn't last all day.  All things must pass away."(G. Harrison)

We all have that feeling...as the sunset fades into the dark, the final notes of our favorite song drift into quiet, the child becomes an adult, the endless hours suddenly are past years...

But the reason I love that ache, as much as it hurts sometimes is because of the reason we ache in the first place.

We are not made for the temporary, but for the eternal.

We aren't supposed to experience loss, but to remain forever in Love.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35)

The ache of things I love here remind me of the eternal Love, and the knowledge that someday my heart will remain permanently filled make me cling to the moments that bring me joy here...regardless of how fleeting.

So I will celebrate my Fridays, cry over heart wrenching movies, tear up at the memories of my babies, invite more friends over for more wine and more laughing, buy more fresh flowers....even though all of this makes my heart ache and eventually fades away, my hope is in You Lord! 
Someday, all will be made new!
"Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:5)


Happy Friday everyone.  Write your list of favorite things and see how many you can create, appreciate and celebrate this weekend!

Rejoice in all things

Max tried to pack his lunch this morning....no jelly, no bread, bad strawberries, no string cheese, no crackers.  The milk is gone.  Sigh.

Have you ever felt as if you work 20 hours a day and still end up with a pile of undones?
The new day brings more hours and you think you can catch up, but that new day also brings with it a whole new list of "needs done".

I ask if you've ever felt this way while knowing of course that you have.  Everyone has.
Well, I'm having one of those right this very second.
(well, it started yesterday and it's not looking that great today)

So what is your antidote? Do you escape? Cry? Yell? Take it out on those closest? Freeze and do nothing?

My other question: have you ever felt such joy and peace that you felt like music drifting in the warm night air?
It is my prayer that if you said yes to the first, you can also say yes to the second.

Yes, my plate is very full right now and there is much to do.  My stress level is creeping and, well, February is coming. (that's a saying in my house that means hardship!)

However, one of the devil's tricks is to burden us with the sense of permanency when we are struggling and one of vapors when we are joyful. 
If you are trying to quit smoking and it's the first three days and you feel like garbage, into your mind drops the phrase, "this is awful and it's always going to be this way." If you are trying to lose weight and it's only happening ounces at a time, when someone offers you chocolate cake you think, "this diet isn't working anyway, I'll be fat forever; may as well enjoy the pleasure I can have."

When things are good and we feel life is beautiful, we cling to the moment and think, "but I have to go back to the office tomorrow/there's all that work on my desk/that fight with my father....." and we are robbed of the joy in the moment.

We are not in heaven yet and this place is imperfect.  When we seek perfection in an imperfect place, we will feel burdened and overwhelmed or unfulfilled and wistful.  There is only One place to find the peace and joy in the midst of it all.   When we feel beauty and turn to Him, we are reminded that He is always beautiful, even during the ugly times.  When we feel burdened and turn to Him, we are reminded that in our weakness, He is strong and by His power we can accomplish all things needing done.

 What do workers gain from their toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.  I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.  When times are good, be happy;  but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one  as well as the other. (ecclesiastes)


With eternity in my heart, of course this life pales.  It is only when I remember that whether it is a good day or a difficult day; a moment of beauty or the sharp pang of loss; a triumphant achievement or a humiliating failure, He- Lord of all is in all of it and will bring me through it and will give it purpose and will give me lasting peace.

So today, with no food in the house, a pile of papers on my desk and a list of calls to make...I give praise and thanks to God who is in all things and then I am joyful in the presence of all these things.

For you today, can you give thanks and praise for your challenges as well as your joys? 

Do your part

In Mark 3:5, the man stretched out his hand to be healed. In John 5:8, Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and walk.  In Mark and Matthew we hear about the boy giving his lunch and Jesus fed thousands.

Of course it is possible for God to work omnipotently and independently without any input from us.  Jesus could have healed the blind man without telling him to get up and wash the mud from his eyes.  But  all of the miracle stories have us participating in our own healing, our own feeding, our own seeing.


There is a story that a friend reminded me of the other day.  It's always been a favorite of mine.

There were 2 farmers, both in desperate need of rain. Both prayed for rain, but only one farmer actually prepared his fields to receive the rain. Which one trusted God to send the rain? Which one are you? God will send the rain when He's ready. We need to prepare our fields to receive it. (from the movie Facing the Giants)

Throughout scripture, we are asked over and over again to participate with Jesus.  We are not to just sit by and pray and hope for a result.  We are to enter into the miracle.

When we felt called to make this move to South Carolina, it was a very strong message.  Even though we didn't really know anyone here, we believed this was God's plan for us.  We started out by saying, "well, if the house sells we will move.  If it doesn't sell by the end of the summer, we won't."  By the end of June, no sale and yet we felt God saying we needed to move forward.  We need to prepare our fields even though there was no rain. We started packing, had a garage sale, rented a house in South Carolina and paid to register the kids in school.  We were definitely readying our fields, but without any signs of rain! We were stressed!

I kept telling myself that to stress was to not trust; that one day we would look back on that time and realize we had no reason to stress.  

We set our move date for August 8th.  The week before we left, we got an offer.  The rain came.

I remember writing in my journal during that time, "it's not the end result that's the miracle.  It's what happens to us in the waiting."

People we work with will often say, "I want God to bless my business."  Our response is usually, "Give Him something to bless!"  It is more my daily prayer in asking Him to bless my efforts that they may produce good fruit, help to others and glory to Him.

What are you doing today that is bringing you His healing or His grace? What is your participation?  What can you do to further your work, your relationships?  Do you need to step out in faith in answer to the prompting of the Spirit?  Do you need to forgive someone else so that you can find peace?  Do you need to ask
God for direction so that you may work with Him in bringing about His purpose for you?

God performs miracles every day.  It is my conclusion, based on past experiences and the stories of Jesus walking with us that God would prefer to work these miracles through us.  Through Him, with Him and in the unity of the Holy Spirit! 

How exciting!  God wants us to be involved.  He wants us to share in the miracles with Him.  That is so exciting and humbling that God, Creator of everything, would want to use me that I may be changed in the process.

For today: If you are praying for rain, how ready are your fields?

precious child

January 18, 1997 Jessica Hope Weaver

I was 25 when God brought her into our lives.  We would sit for hours just watching her.
Yes, it is true in our family as well....we have hours of video of our first and several albums...fewer of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th....

Why is that?  I suppose it could be that we have less and less free time with each additional blessing that comes along. It certainly isn't less love.  Perhaps it is the awe.

I remember saying on her first night at home, "there's another person in the house with us now." The wonder that someone isn't...and then she is.  The miracle of a new baby.  The freshness of my memory now 15 years old.

I was with friends last night, laughing, sharing jewelry and stories.  There were two 5 month old babies there and during the evening someone received a text....another new baby...just arrived!  Another blessing...a little girl all the way in Michigan was being celebrated by a group of women here in South Carolina.
More laughing and crying and passing around the pictures sent immediately on a phone....connection.

Twelve women sharing a bond, a new baby.  So much joy and wonder and hope comes with a new baby.  There is a message that the world is good and each life created reminds us of the goodness and the Creator of all things good.

I love babies.  I love their scent and their softness; their little feet and the brightness of their eyes.  Babies bring hope and joy and bond us, especially women as we connect in the miracle of participating in the delivering of these blessings.  This precious child.

My heart aches with love and joy and pride for all of my precious children and today, on her birthday, my Hope.

for today~ see the tantrums as passion, the defiance as budding independence, the broken dish as a reminder of the frailty of their hearts and the kisses as the breath of heaven.  love your babies today...no matter how old or how young they are.  everyone still needs to know she is a precious child.

Set the World on Fire

"If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire!"
~Saint Catherine of Sienna

That's wonderful!  But many of us then come to the question, what am I meant to be?
We are meant to be happy, joyful people living abundantly in the grace of our God through Jesus.
Does that sound like you?
I want it to be me, and as Bill Murray says in the movie Groundhog Day, "I'm really close on this one!"

How do we know though that we are living the life we are supposed to live, the life we were created to
live?  I believe that God creates the desires in our hearts for the life we were created for.  I know that I was
not created to sew, be a doctor, take vows of a nun, go to the Olympics or even to be a banker or an elementary school teacher.  How do I know these things for certain?  I do not have a desire in my heart for those things.  While I may be able to study and learn some of these things and if I work really hard and apply myself I might someday become adequate.  That doesn't sound like living abundantly, does it?

John 10:10 reads "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly!"  That is why Jesus came.  If we are believers and followers and we're not living abundantly, we must ask ourselves where is the disconnect?

As children, we are encouraged to dream and aspire to accomplish great things. We dream about where we'll live and travel, what work we'll do and the family we'll have.  We get excited thinking about all the world has to offer and where we find the most joy.  As we get older, those dreams get squelched and squashed by dream killers and the brutal reality of daily routine.  We begin to feel foolish for dreaming and immature for believing life has more to offer. We settle into what's expected of us....a steady job with good benefits, quitting school to stay home and care for the house and family, taking over the family business or giving up traveling for the sake of stability.  Now, if that job, staying home, the family business or your home town ignite a fire in your belly and make you jump out of bed in the morning with enthusiasm, then you are in fact following your desires.  Unfortunately, most people don't and they are left feeling empty and passionless in their lives.

Jesus is passionate.  He is passionate about us, about our lives and our futures.  He is passionate about our relationship with Him and with the Father.  Listen to the sense of urgency in His voice in this prayer in the gospel of John.
"I pray that they (my followers) may all be one, Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you.  Father, you have given them to me and I want them to be with me where I am so that they many see my glory, the glory you gave me! I made you known to them and I will continue to do so in order that the love you have for me may be in them and so that I also may be in them!" (17:21-26)

We are made in that Image...that holy and passionate and all-out Image.  We are made for passion and purpose. 
For today- go back to dreaming and go deep within your own heart to discover the passions and talents that God planted there before you were born.  Be willing to step out and follow those talents and begin to find your purpose as you do live happily, joyfully and abundantly in the grace of God!

Your Spirit is within me

In Charlie Brown's Christmas, Charlie Brown shares this interesting insight with Lucy concerning her disgust for Pig Pen.

"Don't think of it as dust. Think of it as maybe the soil of some great past civilization. Maybe the soil of ancient Babylon. It staggers the imagination. He may be carrying soil that was trod upon by Solomon, or even Nebuchudnezzar"
Pig Pen's reply?  "Sort of makes you want to treat me with a little more respect, doesn't it?"

As believers, we know that the Spirit of the living God resides inside of us.  We trust that His divine presence, loving guidance and saving grace breathes in our bodies.  As we agree with this statement, we might need to consider what Pig Pen queried.  Shouldn't that knowledge make us want to treat one another with a little more respect?

So, what's the problem? If Christ lives in me and Christ lives in you, why do we argue, abuse, shame or ignore one another so much of the time?  Even if we adopt the polite response of, "oh, bless your heart," to someone's face, there is so often an internal rolling-of-the-eyes. 

My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak.  Is that it?  It's certainly a very spiritual response and brings some relief to our conscience.  Sometimes I wonder though, is my spirit willing?  How willing is my spirit to be generous, to be humble, to be self-sacrificing, to be lowly or misunderstood?  How willing is my spirit to let someone else get the credit or have the prize?  How willing is my spirit?

Sometimes I know that my spirit needs to have a better connection with His spirit.  (you would think if we were both housed in the same body, we would connect more often...but you know how busy we all are!)

Ah-ha.  How busy we all are.  Maybe in order to allow our spirit to better connect with His Spirit within us, we will have to slow down and allow the Word and our prayer to bring us closer to Him that is already here.  Maybe, if we slowed down enough to allow our spirits to be engulfed in Him, it would be by His power that we could treat others with greater respect.

It's not so much to treat others as you would want to be treated, but treat others as you would Christ. For today, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help our eyes to see past someone's flesh to the spirit within them and then for the grace to treat them with a little more respect.
I need to work on this.

Wake up from your Slumber

"Days they force you back under those covers
Lazy mornings, they multiply.
Glory's waiting outside your window
Wake on up from your slumber
And open up your eyes!

All these victims stand in line for
Crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by
All the while Your invitation
Wake on up from your slumber
Come on open up your eyes"
(song: "Slumber" by Need to Breathe)


See what is, read His promises.  Hear and believe!
Why do we allow our minds to talk us out of God's truth?
"Tongues are violent, personal and focused
Tough to beat with your steady mind
But hearts are stronger after broken
So wake on up from your slumber
And open up your eyes"

I have come that you would have life and have it abundantly! (john 10:10)

Why do we say, "oh, that isn't for me." God says, you are my beloved.  I have

counted every hair on your head. I will never leave you or forsake you.  And while

we were still sinners, Jesus came! (not after we fixed ourselves up to be presentable!)

Believers.....believe!           Followers......follow!

If you believe in the promises of God, act like it.  "Wake on up from your slumber, open up your eyes."  If you say you're a Christian, follow Jesus.  "All you victims, stand in line for crumbs that fall from the table, just enough to get by."

We are not victims, but victors in Christ!  Imagine what we as a body of believing, following people could create in our world in His authority.  We don't have to imagine.  God tells us.  If we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains.  If we believe, then we are in Him and He is in us, just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. 

"Glory's waiting outside your window. Wake on up from your slumber, open up your eyes!"

I love this song!  I love many of their songs and highly recommend checking them out! 

We can't allow our minds to talk us out of what we know to be true.  God says what is true.  We believe, regardless of whether or not we understand it. (proverbs)

What are you going to accomplish today?  What Glory is waiting for you to accept the invitation?

How do we compete with our rival thoughts?

"whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (phillipians)

For today, think on such things.  Open your eyes.  See the Glory and live boldly.  I can't wait to see all that is waiting outside my window!  Aren't you curious as to what is outside yours?

Shining Star

Yesterday was the feast of the Epiphany.  The Wise Men arrived to pay homage to the new born King. They followed a star, not really knowing how to get there or what exactly they would find when they arrived.  They followed because they were compelled to do so.  They knew the skies and there was something very different about this star, something that compelled them to follow it and see where it leads.

Who are the stars in your life?  Who are those people who just had something so different about them that you felt compelled to follow them?  If you followed, where did it lead you?

To whom are you a star?  Do you shine in such a way that people are compelled to follow you?  I suppose the even more important question would be where do you lead?  If people were to follow you, your example, your leadership, your values and dreams, would it lead them to Jesus as the Star of Bethlehem led the Wise Men?

Whether we believe it or not, people are watching us.  We have an impact on every person that we meet, even if it's for a brief moment.  What do we want those moments to look like? Every Christmas, millions of people watch the classic It's a Wonderful Life.  We watch George Bailey struggle against his life, but it is his integrity and the way he treats people that is his measurement of success.  We may never know the impact we are having on the cashier at the grocery store, the waitress, the person you let in front of you in traffic.  Every day we can choose.  We can choose to be joyful.  We can choose to be kind.  We can choose to go out of our way.  We can choose life.  We can choose Christ. 

I am reminded of a talk Randy gave last year at our conference. He played Earth, Wind & Fire "Shining Star."
"You're a shining star.  No matter who you are.  Shining bright to see.  What you could truly be."

You could be the shining star that rises above the usual way of doing things. You could be the star that attracts attention because it's so different, so brilliant, so compelling.  You could be that shining star that leads people out of their darkness and to the stable of the new born King.

weekend plans

tickle your kids...
flirt with your spouse....
have a glass of wine with friends...
Praise your God and
enjoy the gift of the weekend!
~laryn

power of gratitude

Why is it so hard for us to be thankful? Why do we spend our days focused on all that we don't have instead of all that we do? We can choose gratitude, you know.  Every research study confirms that grateful people are happier, healthier and more productive people. Grateful people....
 Make progress towards important personal goals (Emmons and McCullough, 2003)
 Report higher levels of determination and energy (Emmons and McCullough, 2003)

Isn't it so true though?  Even when we feel so low and so lost and like we've failed at everything....there are still blessings when we choose to see them.  Why not focus there? 

Last year I read a powerful book by Ann Voskamp titled 1000 Gifts.  It's changed my life because reading it prompted me to act on something I already knew to be true.  Her words gave me momentum to change my perspective and encouraged me to implement a different way of thinking and feeling.  Two years ago I published my book Living Intentionally: 10 steps to a more purposeful life. Even after writing my own thoughts about this, it was Ann's writing that made such an impact on me!

I've read hundreds of books, articles, emails and essays that support the idea that keeping a gratitude journal changes your life.  I guess I'm a slow learner.  It only took 20 years for me to realize, "ohhhh, you mean I should write down daily in a journal all of the gifts in my life that I am grateful for?" 
See, I told you I'm a slow learner. 
Perhaps I'm just more ready to receive it now.

'God only gives us as much as we can handle.'  That phrase is often used to describe hard or difficult times.  Well....what if God only gives us as much blessing as we can handle too?  What if we realize that in order to receive, we must be willing to receive and acknowledge those gifts?

I know at some point I have said to my children in one way or another, "why would I give you anything else until you can learn to appreciate all that you already have?" *ahem*
 
Are you ready to hear the message?  Don't take 20 years like me!
"When the student is ready, the teacher appears." (Buddhist proverb)
When we are ready to receive more....more information, more knowledge, more abundance...when we are ready, we find the answers are already here. 

Today's suggestion (just in case you missed it) : start a gratitude journal and create the habit of being grateful.

Waiting for The Go

I work in a very simple business.  We book shows so we can meet more people so we can book shows so we can meet more people so we can book shows so we can meet more people...well, you get the idea.  The point of course being that in meeting these people, we will have the opportunity to in some way better their lives, improve their daily experience or perhaps help them to improve their circumstances.  It is a beautifully basic concept that can have dramatic impact. Perhaps it is because of this simplicity that so many people make it more complex!

It is in our nature to over analyze everything.  We take very little at face value and look for the underlying meaning.  The analyzing can be paralyzing.  We think,"wait-it can't be this simple.  I must find a way to make it have more meaning and appear more enlightened....I must complicate the process!"

While we work on making our simple business "better" by clogging it up with a lot of extra stuff, we find ourselves waiting for the Go; waiting for everything to be in order before we actually DO anything.
There is much debate surrounding a simple little french play about waiting....while in fact it may just be a story about two men searching for ways to do nothing.

It's a new year....clean the slate, empty the baggage, stop complicating things.
Go out and meet some new people so you can have more shows and meet more people so you can finally get around to doing the important stuff....enriching the lives of other people. Quit waiting for The Go and spending lots of time finding ways to do nothing.  The light is already green.  Step on the gas and drive.

beginnings

When starting something new, it's always a good idea to start at the beginning.  So, here I am starting yet another something new.  That makes this the beginning.

Beginning of what you may ask?  Beginning of now.

And again, it is the beginning of now. It's always the beginning of now....

We put so much pressure on ourselves in January to make resolutions as we strive to fix everything that is wrong with us.  Why does January get all the pressure to perform?  Why not....May?  May would be a nice month to talk about getting in shape.  It's warm and sunny outside and fruits and veggies are fresh.  January even sounds like mashed potatoes and warm baked bread.  Talk about pressure!  Or how about September?  It's back to school, back to routine and if you live in the south, the weather is starting to cool down so going outside for a walk sounds pleasant again.  

April is a good month to talk about getting our finances in order.  Many people get a tax return, so making a resolution to spend it wisely would be better upheld in April than in January.  

But here we are again in January, contemplating everything we would like to change and be in 2012.  May I make a suggestion?  Accept who and what you are right now and start thinking, dreaming and talking about the great things to come. When we set goals, we often set ourselves up to fail.  The goal is set and immediately there is a tightening in our chest and a slight panic that flashes across our minds....failure. What if I can't do it?  What if I fall short again this year?

Instead create a word picture for your perfect year.  Share with everyone what will happen this year.  "I am getting in shape and I haven't felt this good in years!" or maybe, "my marriage is getting stronger every day."  If money is your hurdle then try, "I am learning to live in abundance and this year has already brought me financial gains."

We speak negatively every day about our current state of reality. By stating the current circumstance, we only reinforce that reality.  Change your thoughts, change your future.  When we try to change our behavior before we change our thoughts, we wind up feeling undisciplined and discouraged.

Be joyful, not because of your circumstances, but in spite of them.  Be energetic.  Be kind.  Be positive. Be confident in who you are and how you are right now.  Because you are...right now.  Don't try to fix yourself to have a better future.  Have better thoughts about your future and you will fix yourself without even realizing it!

Well....that's probably enough for a beginning.  I feel the overwhelming desire to go back and rewrite all of this to make it better.  Nah.  This is who I am now.  Tomorrow, I'll be better.