Recently two things have caught my heart's attention: a desire to live more simply and also the idea of entitlement here in North America.

When I see how other people in the world often live with so little or live with many people in one house, it makes me question how we live here. Right now I have my son-in-law, daughter and little grandson living with us. There are moments that it would be nice to have a quiet house and have it all to myself but the majority of the time, I enjoy hearing those little feet pattering around upstairs. My husband and I have grown very close to our daughter, son-in-law and also have developed a very special relationship with our grandson. What a blessing and a privilege! It is not everyone who gets this chance.

I'm not sure where I'm going to start with the more simplistic living but I'm thinking of doing a year where I'm not going to buy anything new for myself. I am giving this some thought. I'll keep you posted.

I just know that God is bringing this to my attention for purpose. I love embarking on a new path!  I know that it can be challenging but there's always great growth.  I anticipate wonderful things! So, until next time, I'm thinking simple thoughts...

Recently I was reading in Psalm 141:8 - "But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;...". I thought about the word 'fix'. We often refer to fixing something because it is broken.

Without being the scholarly type, I believe the meaning of 'fix' here refers more to "placing definitely and permanently". However, I was thinking of how I sometimes see others and myself - imperfect and sometimes, downright ugly. We all have those character traits that we are not very proud of. We all need fixing!

And that's where Jesus comes in!  Because of what He did for all of us on the cross, God now looks at us through His grace-filled eyes and sees us as fully righteous! What an amazing gift!! If we would keep this at the forefront of our minds, how could we but keep our eyes fixed on our Lord?

We need God to 'fix' our eyes and make them more like His so that we would see ourselves and others with more grace and with a more clear perspective.

I pray for all of us: fix our eyes and keep our eyes fixed on You!

Comfort! We all love being comfortable, don't we? Nothing like having an evening in with a comfy pair of PJ's on, a good movie or book and a lovely cup of tea. Love it!

But lately I've been thinking about being uncomfortable. Not a really popular concept. Even the word makes us feel sort of... well, uncomfortable. As a life coach, I will sometimes ask the question: are you willing to be uncomfortable in this? The reason I ask this question is to find out - how badly do you want this and are you willing to suffer some difficulty in achieving this goal or situation?

Our society is big on making us comfortable. We are taught  to run away from discomfort and pain of any sort. However, what I have experienced is that I usually experience more change through things that challenge me. That change can be emotional, spiritual or physical and sometimes all three!

Where would you really like to see change in your life right now? Are you willing to be uncomfortable for a time to get there? Remember that life is a journey full of seasons. Sometimes we are riding in a season of comfort and other times, we are mucking through a challenging season. If you want growth and change in your life, don't fear the difficult. Embrace it and expect good results!