Happy Monday morning! Nice to be talking to you once again.

Today I'd like to talk to you about hard vs easy. This week, I have a very busy week and when I got up this morning (at 5 something!?!), I knew I needed a reframe. I have so much to do this week - lots of commitments - and I was already setting myself up for the 'can't wait until this week is over' mind frame. I have to stop myself or my week flies by and I'm not happy and I'm not experiencing life - I'm just surviving and getting by. That's not what I want for my life.

So where do I pick it up from here? Well, I find that when we are constantly saying 'this is going to be hard', then guess what? In our minds, we've already set ourselves up to expect that. So even if the things that we have to do aren't that hard, we are focusing on what is difficult about those tasks. So, a reframe is needed. This week, for me, is very busy. However, a lot of it is writing and preparing for several talks I'm working on.  If I really think about it, I love writing and speaking, so shouldn't this be enjoyable for me? Then answer is YES! And I know that when I get into it, I LOVE the prep work. I love researching and discovering new facts. I enjoy thinking of stories to back my points. So, why am I dreading this week and all of its work? Good question! I should be anticipating it with job and vigor - some great things to jump into and relish! This is NOT hard but what I do for a living. And the reason I do it is because I love it.

My reframe: yes, I have a lot to do (not going into denial...) but I love what I do and I'm good at it. I want these talks to be not just good but excellent so I will work at getting them just right. I anticipate great results from my efforts this week.

So, hard or easy?  How about busy and pleasurable? I like it!

Happy Monday morning! I hope you are well or are you weary? I don't mean to be a downer but I would like to talk to you about being tired.

Weary is a good word because it's more than tired. You're not just physically tired but your mind is tired as well and you just feel... well, weary. So, what do we do with weary?

The one thing you don't necessarily need to do is ask yourself why? Sometimes you'll know. Perhaps you just had a child that got married or maybe you just finished a huge term paper or exams. Those are all quite obvious. But even if your reason isn't that obvious, the fact that you are dog-tired is a fact and where are you going to go with it?

Well, here's my recommendation: rest! Yes, my brain had to work overtime on that one!! But seriously, how many of us continue to push through because hey, life goes on. And yes, it does. Perhaps our weekend was really full and we get up Monday morning and have to go back to work. This is a reality. But there are other things you can do to restore. How about ordering in supper tonight? Perhaps go to bed a little earlier with a good book? What restores you? A long soak in the tub? You know what restores you and brings you back to your normal energy levels.

Don't try to push through. Your weariness will not go away on its own. If you constantly push yourself, at some point you will pay for it. It's not worth it. Stop right now, while you are weary and restore. For some it will be one evening of rest and for others, a few days. Whatever it takes for you, be gentle with yourself and do what you need to do.

Before you know it, you'll be back on the top of your game!

First of all, my sincere apologies to my dear Blogites! I know that I am very late but I didn't want to miss a week so here I am.

I wanted to talk about acceptance with joy. The reason for my title with dashes in it is 'Acceptance-with-Joy' is actually a name given to someone in an allegory that I read. This small book is called 'Hinds Feet on High Places' written in the 70's by a lady named Hannah Hurnard. In this story, there is a young woman and her name is 'Much Afraid' but God plants love in her heart and when it blossoms, her new name becomes Acceptance-with-Joy. This is a book I read on a regular basis and will probably continue to because there are so many great life lessons and encouragements in it.

Acceptance with joy - an interesting name and statement. It's not a phrase that says that everything is going to be easy or even that everything is going to be all right. However what it does say is that whether or not we can do something about our situation, there is a good attitude that we can have in approaching life. We all have stress. This is a part of life.The next time you feel fretful about a situation or a problem, think about 'acceptance with joy'. No, I'm not saying not to do anything about the situation if you can but what is your attitude like? How can you reframe this problem and have acceptance with joy?

If we would keep this little phrase in our back pockets, it could make things go a little more smoothly for us.
Acceptance-with-Joy  - I think the name suits you!