Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Day 9: Keep Moving Forward!

I'm REALLY good at hitting brick walls.  Seriously - stellar performances.  I once was hit in the head by a steel door 7 times consecutively, the last 3 being me trying to stand up and get on the other side of the door.  I was at work and believe it or not, the accident report they filled out actually said, "Cause of Accident: Blonde at roots".

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's being stubborn - stubborn and stuck in my ways.  Sometimes we get the motivation to move forward and after the initial few days, you begin to fizzle out.  The kids get sick, the husband keeps you busy, the weekend happens and the next thing you know you're completely off track.

When that happens in my house, I like to go watch this portion of one of my very favorite movies, Meet the Robinsons.

(YouTube hates me today and won't let me imbed the video - sorry, you'll just have to do this the old fashioned way and actually CLICK on the link.)

So, when you get stuck, it's time to "Keep Moving Forward".  We get all caught up in the failure to do something and forget about the successes we've had. 

I remember when I was receiving my first training in sales.  I received an excellent piece of advice. "No is not a personal statement of your self-worth, it is merely the answer to your question."  I propose the same to you.  Falling off the wagon is not a personal statement of your self-worth, your abilities as a wife, your standing in God's eyes, or anything else.  What TRULY matters is where you go from there, not what you have already done.

So, if you've fallen off the bandwagon, "keep moving forward" and if you haven't, good for you!  I hope someday when you need this pep talk, you remember it's still here.

Getting just 1-2 extra things off your list every day will make a MAJOR impact very quickly, so hang in there and stay the course!  Tomorrow we begin the double digits!!!!  Oh, and don't forget, we're still doing the St. Jude Novena for those who hopped on board yesterday!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Day 8: I hope you kept going!

Alright - I'll be rather honest.  For those who don't know me personally, my husband is in the process of being on short term disability due to some medical issues.  Occasionally doctor's appointments mean I may disappear intermittently. 

But no excuses, not for you or for me.  I spent the time I was gone focusing on our living room which is going to be our formal living room by the time this Era is over. 

In the meantime, today I want to focus in on prayer and the internal prayers we focus on.

Have you ever been so flustered, so angry, so upset, sad, or depressed that you couldn't even find it in you in that moment to pray?

I have.  I was earlier today.  Allow me to be blunt, sometimes life throws us curveballs and we just have to keep swinging that bat even when we can't see through our tears.

So tonight, after receiving today's final blow to my heart because I am going to bed soon and simply refuse to receive any more negative information, I set about doing one of the things I do best.  I hit the research piles.

First I attempted to find my favorite directory for saints online, but could not find my usual website for whatever reason.  I looked for a patron saint for depression but couldn't find one.  I looked for one for several other things that came to mind about how I was feeling, but found nothing.

Then I stumbled upon St. Jude of Thaddeus, patron saint of lost and/or desperate causes/situations who also just happens to be the patron saint of my parish.  Apparently, yet again, God had a plan. ;)

Tonight I began a novena to St. Jude.  I pray you will join me - it's at the link above.  Not for me, for someone you know or even yourself because there truly is a point where you begin to wonder and question why you must walk the path that you are on.  There is a moment, or even a period of time where you look up at God and all you can think is "I cannot continue this journey, Lord.  I simply cannot do this any longer.  I don't have it in me.  I don't have the strength" and the tears pour out of your eyes and there is nothing on this earth that could stop them from falling no matter how hard you try.

The next time you have the opportunity to pray, pray for those who cannot pray for themselves.  Pray for those who honestly have hit a brick wall and have no idea how to even begin to continue their life's journey.  Pray for those who, more than anything in this world, just need to feel God's love in that moment and find the strength in Him to sojourn on their path.