Lent 2010

1. Be in the moment.
2. Be deliberate.
3. Write down what I want to do next so I don’t have to think about it while I am doing whatever it is I am doing in the present moment.

These are the things that I am going to focus on during Lent this year. I am constantly feeling hurried and harried. I feel like I have, because I know that I have, way too much to do and not enough time do it in. There isn't anywhere that I can cut back. I have analyzed.

To just BE and focus on each moment of life, I need to find some help. I know that I need help because I can't do it all. Thankfully I have a ton of support, but support doesn't get the laundry to the dry cleaner, dinner made, dishes done. I don't have to do everything myself, contrary to my own belief.

So, in addition to being in the moment, during Lent I am going to evaluate my life and look at things through different lenses. What can I outsource, so that I can focus on what I really need to be focusing on? Hopefully in 40 days I will have some answers.

To receive is to give

The following is an excerpt from an email that I sent to a friend of mine who is dealing with a very difficult situation:

Don't worry about needing help, just be open to the possibilities. You may be very surprised as to how the help you receive presents itself.

People want to help in any way they can. In the south, a lot of times that means food, but there are a million other things that people can and want to do to help. Giving people the opportunity to give is a gift to them.

Giving and receiving help is the way the universe works. What goes around does come around. There will be a time in the future that you will be able to help out someone in a way that no one else can because of your experience.

Just keep turning it over

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~Philippians 4:6

I am leaving on a trip tomorrow and I am taking my son. My mother is going with me to help, but I am very nervous about how it is all going to work out.

It is times like these, when the worry is constant, that I am constantly reminding myself to give my worries to God.

There is no reason in the world for me to be anxious. I know that I am doing everything in my power to prepare for the trip and the rest is in God's hand. I know He will take care of us. He always does.

Thankful for the little things

"Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes.” ~Norman Lear

I always try to remember be thankful for the little things in life. I thank God when I make a green light. I thank God when I find something the first place I go to look for it. I try to remember to thank God for all the little tiny good things that happen during a day.

Being thankful for the little things helps me keep a positive attitude, even when something big goes wrong. In turn, keeping a positive attitude seems to make life easier. Of course, when life is easy it is easier to be thankful. The cycle continues and grows, but it starts with the little things.