choosing wisely

It seems like everyone is trying to sell you something these days.  Each morning when I open my inbox at work there are several emails telling me what I need to purchase or buy into.

Have you noticed that too?  With all of today’s social media you can really get inundated with information.  Whether you are in the work place or have the wonderful opportunity of being home with your children, you seem to get it from everywhere.  Even some of my favourite blogs have gone from being a place to visit with a friend to a commercial either selling their products or those of their friends.

Recently I have stopped following several blogs and people on either Facebook or Instagram because it was so disappointing seeing these beautiful women marketing their gifts and talents in shameless promotion or what seemed like false modesty.

It just breaks my heart, mostly because I was caught in that trap years ago.  I took the webinars and listened to the podcasts of how to market the gifts and talents that God gave you so that you can become a rich stay at home Mom.

You know what, it didn’t happen.  I spent so much time fighting against God trying to convince Him that He needed to bless all these things that I was doing because I deserved to make money because I was doing all this for His glory.

Let me clarify something: I am not judging the writers of the blogs that I left.  I do not know their hearts, what they choose to post on their blogs and write on Facebook is something that is between God and them.  I used discernment and if I felt uncomfortable visiting their blog I choose to leave.

I have the privilege of choosing what I put into my heart and mind.  As I edited my blog RSS feed it was like saying good-bye to friends.  But I know that a cleaning of my heart and mind is needed.  This is my new journey.

I want to apologize to anyone who may have visited my blog in the past and you felt like you were visiting a commercial; and I want to thank you for visiting my blog today.  Like myself you have the choice to choose what you are putting into your heart and mind.  I thank you for stopping by to spend this time with me.  I hope that you come again and that this becomes a place where we can visit.

Have a beautiful day!

the sunrise

If you have been following my blog over the last few months you would have read about some issues I was having with going back to work and the fact that I was turning into a monster.

My morning drives are very different now because I have changed my perspective.  Every morning as I am driving to work I take a moment to enjoy the sunrise. 

The colours that spread across the sky as the sun starts to peak out of the horizon just warms my soul.  Many times I have pulled over to the side of the road, even in the recent freezing temperatures that we have had just to capture the beauty of a sunrise.

As I was walking through the parking lot to go work the other day, I stopped to take a picture of the sunrise.  My heart was heavy that day because we had been dealing with a family issue the night before and I didn’t feel like I handled it with the Godly wisdom that I continuously pray for.  I was tired and grumpy and dealt with it the quickest way I knew how so that I could get everything I needed done that night so I could go to bed.  Obviously, it wasn’t the best decision because here it is a day later and I am still haunted by it.  As I paused to take in the sunrise I thought – Today is a new day, I am going to rejoice and be glad in it.  It is a new day to start fresh and I can choose to do things differently starting each day.

Look at that sunrise!  How could you not pull over and capture the beauty of a new day and a fresh start.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentation 3:22 & 23

A change in perspective……

The last few weeks have been a very emotional time for our family.  A close family friend passed away suddenly and it really turned our life upside down.  My mind raced trying to comprehend how this could happen and then floods of memories (or flashbacks as my daughter calls them) continued to run through my mind.

The memories that kept coming back were the ones of everyday things.  Over the Christmas season I was taking pictures of our family and it made me stop and think.  Whenever there is a family event or a trip I always make sure I grab my camera and take it along.  But if something ever happened to one of us, those are not the memories that will play through my mind.  It will be the every day occurrences that I will remember and miss the most. 

Ever since I joined the Instagram community (livingskiescrochet) I am definitely taking more pictures of the everyday but I want to take more.  I need to take more.  I want to journal my every day and I want to capture the memories that I will want to hold on to forever before it is too late.

Now when I look through the lens of my camera I see things very differently, it’s like I have a different set of eyes when I look at the world around me.

I have always written in a journal, my first journal was an Annie Diary.  I love to write my thoughts and feeling and hurts and joys.  Now I want to start a photo journal of the miraculous things I see and experience each day. 

My camera now travels with me, I have made it a cute camera strap cozy and I am on an adventure to see the unique in each day.

I hope that you will join me on my new journey, as I create a photo journal of my every day memories.  I don’t want to miss a second!

always give thanks

Last night while I was praying I began to think about all the people in my life that are struggling through difficult times. As each person came to mind I began to think about how we are all on a journey and we are all learning something but why does it have to hurt so much sometimes.

Then 1 Thessalonians 5:18 came to mind, “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

That’s a tough one. Where on earth can we find the silver lining in some of life’s issues that are overwhelming right now. That a pretty tall order, if you ask me.

As I thought about it more I began to realize that if we spend our time focusing on the negative where does that leave us? It keeps us in this pit of self-pity and we are helping no one especially ourselves. When we focus on being thankful for the good in the situation then we can move on and become a stronger person for it.

Of course none of this is easy but I can see the wisdom in Paul’s advice. What does being an example of Christ look like? A bunch of Christian going around complaining about their problems, or a bunch of Christians over-coming their problems and becoming stronger in character.

If you are struggling with something today, write down five things that you are thankful about in this situation. Go ahead give it a try, what do you have to lose?

Check out this video while you are making your list.

Praise you in this Storm

Perspective

On September 4th I wrote this on my blog:

"Something else new that I have been doing lately is that I got a new Bible. Most people would freak! They have everything nicely underlined and circled in their Bibles and would be lost without their special copy. But I found that when I was studying and I came to a part that I had underlined I would skip it because I felt that I had already been there done that and so I didn't need to read it any more. So I found a beautiful Bible that inspired me and I haven't underlined a thing. Everything is new and ready for me to discover and it is awesome! Amazing what a new perspective will give you."

I have been preparing to speak at a conference in Saskatoon and so I have been spending a lot of time in the Word and writing. This past week I was thinking about my old Bible and trying to remember where I put it. I found it and put it in my Church bag. Yes, I have a church bag, it seemed that with all the handouts and crafts from Sunday School and Kidzone and then my girls would visit the Church library - my hands would be overflowing with "stuff" so now I bring an extra bag that carries my Bible and Journal and all of my girls "stuff". So at church the Sermon is coming so I pull out my journal and Bible and I open it to the verse our Pastor is discussing and when I opened my Bible I felt like I was home. I felt like I wanted to curl up in it and rest. Just be. I don't know if that sounds strange to anyone, but that is totally how I felt. I just wanted to hug it, to experience it, to rest in it. What a wonderful feeling.

So I guess, it is amazing what a new perspective will give you.