Connect with Nature to De-Stress

Did you know connecting with nature can help reduce stress? It renews your spirit and revives your energy level. So the next time you are feeling stress, consider stepping outside for a while. Maybe a walk to reconnect with yourself....I personally need to remember this one! Anyone else?

You Will See it When You Believe it

How's this for a little inspiration today? You've gotta believe!! Then you will see!

Find Out Who You Are and Become It

Love this quote. Came across it in The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. 

So many of us mistakingly try to shape who we are based on who we think we ought to be. But that is not the plan God has for us. He sent us to earth with a plan and a purpose. It is our job while we are here to figure out what he had in mind and become it.

I love helping my clients discover who they truly are. Contact me if you would like to work on this for yourself!

We Need More Silence

The key to finding God is through silence. But it takes courage and devotion to yourself to retreat from the ways of the world to find that silence. What can you do today to bring in a little more silence?

A Little Spring for you Today!

It's no secret -- spring has been a bit delayed in coming this year. So, you can imagine our joy when we stumbled upon the Macy's Secret Garden Flower Show this weekend in downtown Chicago. We took a detour from our day just to enjoy the flowers! 

What can you do in your day to make it feel more spring-like? 

What is Your God-Given Gift?

Channeling a little Max Lucado today...

"Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. God made one version of you." 

We are all unique with special gifts designed for a special purpose. 

Some of us dance. Some sing. Some play instruments. Some coach. Come counsel. Some are good with numbers. Some are good with words. 

What is your gift and how will you use it today?

Relationships are Journeys, not Destinations

I read a quote yesterday that made the little light bulb inside my head go on.

Here it is:

"Relationships are journeys, not destinations."

I'm thinking mostly about marriages here, so I'm going to focus on that.

A journey is a trip -- traveling from one place to another. Or, you can think of it as a passage from one stage to another in life.

I think many people get married with the false notion of "Happily Ever After." Almost like the marriage ceremony is the end of the journey. But, really, it's just the beginning, because relationships require work.

Just because we fell in love and got married doesn't mean our relationship will always be happy and easy.

In fact, it's quite the opposite. We are guaranteed to experience problems. But here's the good news. If we choose to remain committed to our marriage, those problems are going to make us stronger individually and as a couple. 

I believe God designed marriage to take us on a journey to help us grow into the best versions of ourselves. Some parts of this marriage journey are joyful, others are difficult. But together -- the joyful times and the difficult ones -- they make the journey complete. 

So, the next time you feel frustrated in your marriage, just remember, it's part of the journey. And it's your cue to start working on the issues causing the frustration so you can get back to the joyful part of the journey.

And remember, anything worth having in life is worth working for. I believe marriage is one of those things.

The Way We Talk To Our Children

A friend of mine has this quote displayed in her kitchen.

"The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. Discipline with soft words."

I love this reminder. Words are so powerful. As are the tone they are spoken with.

As parents, we yield quite a bit of power to influence our children's inner thoughts. We can influence the first thoughts they think when they wake up in the morning, the last thoughts before they go to bed at night ... and many thoughts in between.

This motto is easy to keep when everything is sailing smoothly, but the challenge comes when things are tense or when we are disciplining our children -- those times when anger or frustration is present. 

I also love the verse she has written above it, "Encourage one another and build each other up." That is what Jesus commands us to do. We must use our words to build people up, rather than tear them down.

Some examples of negatively using our words with our children are phrases such as these: "I can't believe you did that." or "What is the matter with you?" or "How could you do that?" or "You're a bad boy." or "You're so stupid." If this is how we speak to our children, these are the messages they will replay over and over in their minds throughout their lives. I don't know about you, but that is not how I want my children thinking about themselves.

Here's a personal example. The other night, we were trying to decide if we were going to go out for dinner or stay home. Tyler had a meltdown in the middle of it, because he wanted to stay home, but he also wanted to go out. He just couldn't decide. 

My husband got very frustrated by Tyler's tears and indecision and used some of the phrases I mentioned above. Rightfully so, Paul was frustrated with the situation. He doesn't like to see Tyler get upset over something seemingly so small. But what good do those phrases do in building up a child? Don't they just make the child feel worse?

I took a different approach that night by gently asking Tyler questions about why he was so upset and why he wanted to stay home. Wouldn't you know it, within a minute or two he came to the decision that he would like to go out. (I'm so glad he did! We had the best time!)

I'm not saying I always perform this well as a parent. And I'm not throwing Paul under the bus by sharing this example! He's on board! But, I share the story, because little lessons like these can help us all use our words to build up our children, instead of tear them down.

The Myth of the Perfect Parent

Parenting is hard -- especially when our children make mistakes. I'm talking about mistakes like not listening, hurting someone else's feelings, not sharing, hitting, etc.

When things like this happen around my house, I tend to beat myself up and blame myself. Why? Because I feel passionately that it is my job to raise good children. I am so afraid that I am going to mess this up. And there are no second chances here.

Image courtesy of Ambro /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

But, I recently gained a new insight on an old story that set me free from those negative thoughts.

It goes a little something like this. There once was the perfect Father, and he had two children, Adam and Eve, who sinned and rejected his ways.

Oh. My. Gosh. Stop the presses! Let me get this straight. God ... who is the perfect Father, had children who sinned?

Yes, I knew that. But I never put it into the context of my parenting.

If the most perfect Father could have children who sinned, how can I expect to have children who never make mistakes? And why am I beating myself up about it when they do mess up?

Wow! What a relief. It's a whole new perspective! Now, this doesn't mean that I will stop trying to raise wonderful human beings, but it means I will no longer expect to be the perfect parent!

Does that resonate with anyone else?

Never Underestimate the Power of Prayer

One of my favorite sayings is, "Never underestimate the power of prayer." Those words have been proven to be true in my life again and again.

I don't know about you, but I spend a fair amount of time praying every day. I try to pray unceasingly. I say prayers out loud and in my mind, and I also write prayers in my journal.

I thought I was doing just fine in that department until a friend introduced me to an amazing and powerful prayer journal this weekend. It is the 2013 Sacred Intercession Prayer Journal.

I loved the journal from the moment I first saw it. Its cover artwork is beautiful, it's the perfect size (7.5 x 9") for a journal, and its spiral binding makes it very functional for writing in.

While all of that outer beauty is great, the real beauty is on the inside of this journal. What I love most about it is actually a compilation of three things: the ready-to-use prayers, the scriptural prayers and suggestions for a prayer framework.

The ready-to-use prayers for protection, praise and thanks have provided me with inspiration, guidance and enthusiasm about praying, and they feel powerful -- so much more powerful than the words I was using on my own.

The collection of specific scriptural prayers is just awesome. Praying for someone with an addiction? Someone who is pregnant? Someone who needs financial help? Someone with cancer? There are pages and pages of organized scriptural prayers to choose from.

Regarding the prayer framework, I've had my own prayer order that I've used in the past, but the journal's suggestions take what I was doing to the next level. Just to give you an idea, here's what the journal suggests:

1. Say a prayer of protection and putting on God's armor for the day 
2. Give praise 
3. Give thanks 
4. Ask for forgiveness 
5. Pray for those in need of God's love, compassion and healing grace 
6. Say a cleansing prayer that acknowledges you are placing all of these prayers in the hands of Jesus and you trust He will handle them according to His will. 

Those are the three things I love most about the journal, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of its other helpful features, including:

• Space to journal reflections about your life 
• Pages to record personal and spiritual goals 
• Weekly calendar pages to record daily intentions 
• A section to record answered prayers!

Overall, it's a place to consolidate your prayer life, and it's calendar-based so you can blend your daily life and your prayers all together if you want. I don't know about you, but as a Type-A, organized personality, I say AMEN to that!

If you think a tool like this might help you in your prayer life, check it out at www.sacredintercession.com.

Julie Rudnick, creator of
Sacred Intercession Journal

On a final note, I would like to share that this journal was created by a woman here in Northern Illinois. Her name is Julie Rudnick, and she is a friend of a friend as I mentioned earlier. Thank you for this awesome creation, Julie! It is really special, and I am praying for it to land in the hands of all who need it! (I'm going to go write that down in my Sacred Intercession Journal now!)

Teaching Children about the Big Impact of Small Acts of Kindness

Recently, the kids and I were at Potbelly getting lunch. As I was standing in line to place our order, Tyler, my nine-year-old, walked out of the line to find a table. He happened to cross paths with a little girl his age who was carrying a tray of empty cups and wrappers to the garbage.

Unexpectedly, her tray tipped a little, and a cup fell off of it. In slow motion, I watched the look on her face, which said something like, "Oh no, what am I going to do now?" She looked around the restaurant for help.

Then I watched Tyler as he contemplated what to do. He looked at her and at the cup on the floor. Then he bent down, picked up the cup and put it back on her tray.

Even though the exchange was very brief, it seemed as though time stood still. I had enough time to appreciate the point of view of both children and feel immense joy as I watched my child do something nice for another child.

I even had enough time to wonder if there was more to this story than just one child helping another. Who knows, maybe Tyler and that girl will meet again some day, and she'll say, "Hey, you're the kid who picked up my cup for me at Potbelly."

Honestly, I was not planning on writing a blog about this, because it was such a minor, every day experience -- it's not like he saved her life. But then I remembered that that is what my blog is all about -- making memories out of every day.

And I realized that Tyler's small act of kindness could have made a big impact on that little girl, her parents and anyone else in the restaurant who saw it. It certainly made a big impact on me, and I made sure Tyler knew how sweet it was, too.

So, I am sharing this story because I believe it is vital to take the time to notice and appreciate the small, every day positive experiences in life. Otherwise, life may just pass us by.

Hummingbirds from Heaven

When my dad called to tell me that my grandmother had just passed away, I was sitting outside on the patio enjoying a beautiful Saturday morning.

After his call, I just sat there for a bit, taking in the information, letting the tears stream down my cheeks, when suddenly a creature came flying right at me. I thought it was a dragonfly and that it was going to hit me, so I flinched, but as it got closer, I realized it was a hummingbird.

A beautiful hummingbird! To say it took my breath away would be an understatement. I was fascinated. It flew right next to me and hovered there for several seconds. Long enough for me to take it all in and be captivated by it.

I have only seen a hummingbird in person a few times in my life. And NEVER for such a long period of time. It was just breathtaking.

I am very interested in the spiritual meaning of animals, so, after the encounter, I looked up the hummingbird, and what I read had me in tears. So many messages for me. Too many for one blog article, but, the primary one is the significance of how the hummingbird's wings flutter in the shape of a figure eight. That is the sign for infinity -- eternity.

Seriously. For a hummingbird to "magically" show up next to me moments after learning my grandmother had passed away is nothing short of divine. I'm sure my grandmother sent me that hummingbird to let me know about eternity.

Growing up, birds were our thing. Well, sparrows, mostly. She fed the sparrows at her house every single day, and when I was there I did it too. But she didn't feed her sparrows ordinary bird seed, she bought loaves of bread specifically for the birds!

I loved tearing up the bread into little pieces for the birds and then running inside to the kitchen window to watch them all eat.

She told me her father always told her he would come back to earth as a bird after he died, and that was why it was so important she fed the sparrows at her house. Well, now I have hummingbirds to feed in honor of my grandmother. It just makes me smile.

Hummingbirds also symbolize joy. I think my grandmother is telling me, from heaven, the same thing she used to tell me in person -- savor every moment, every day. Savor your family.

I get chills every time I think about it. Lucky for me, I have a very caring husband who promptly went out and bought a hummingbird feeder. Now we see them every day! CRAZY! He also set up the video camera to see if we could catch one in action, and we did! Check out the video! So cool!

Spiritual Journaling: The ART of Compassion

I attended a spiritual art journaling class last night and made this piece of artwork.

For the week prior to the class we were instructed to be asking God for direction in this new season of life ( it could be the kids going back to school or whatever is going on in life).

We were to ask God to lay some things on our hearts and to be paying attention to the repetitive messages he would bring us.

Throughout the week I felt that God was giving me the word compassion to think about. I read that word and heard people speak that word REPEATEDLY all week long. 

He even gave me a verse from the Bible -- Psalm 103:8, which says "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."

I took time to reflect on what God was trying to tell me with this, and I think right now it has to do with me being compassionate always.

It's easy to be compassionate toward people who treat you with love and respect. The challenge comes in being compassionate toward those you feel are not treating you well.

This is no small challenge. It means changing your heart. It means that even those who have hurt us deserve our compassion. Maybe it helps to think about what Plato said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”

So, the goal of the spiritual art journaling class was to take what we learned over the week and to journal it artistically. We were given an 8x8 canvas, paints, markers, crayons, glitter, stickers, photographs and more to create our artful journals. The end result is a treasure to help remind you of what God is teaching you right now.

Tamara Peterson, the creator of this idea, came up with it because she understands the value of journaling, but has trouble putting her thoughts and feelings into words. She's an artist, so instead of using lots of words, she uses lots of paint, color, symbols, pictures and anything else artistic she can get her hands on. She is so talented! And very fun to be around, I might add!

But you don't have to be a talented artist to journal this way! As you can see from my photo, I am not an artist -- I am a woman of words! But I loved this method of journaling and found it to be very peaceful and divine. If you're interested in learning more about creative journaling, click here.

The Subject of Trust

In a recent moms radio show I co-hosted with Life Coach Mir Lynne Pietrzyk, we talked about the job of raising children as mothers filled with faith and trust.

During the show, I mentioned a recent experience with trust, and I wanted to expand upon it in writing.

For some reason, I have been confused about the actual date my children were going to start school this year. I knew it was a Wednesday. But I couldn't remember if the date was the 22nd or 23rd. Quite honestly, I wasn't fretting about it. I knew I'd get them there!

It turns out the correct date was Wednesday the 22nd of August. However, that morning, I thought the date was Wednesday the 23rd, so when I got up to work on my devotional, I opened up to the date of August 23rd.

Here's what my devotional said on my children's first day of school, "Entrust your loved ones to me; release them into my protective care."

Imagine my surprise. I thought, "What are the chances my devotional says that on the first day of school?!" That devotional gave me such peace. It was exactly what I needed to hear, and I knew it was right. I need to let go and trust God to protect my children when they are away from me.

I am grateful to God for that message, and as I thought about the situation, I realized there was another message for me.

I realized it wasn't an accident I was confused about the date. God knew I needed to read the devotional for August 23rd, so, he allowed me to be confused about the date, so I would read the message he wanted me to read. The message I most needed that day.

So, not only did I learn to trust that God will take care of my children, but I also learned to trust that God will provide for me exactly what I need when I need it.

It's taken me some time in my life to get to this point, but it's such a wonderful, peaceful place to be. I am learning to go with the flow more in life, because everything happens for a reason -- God's reason.

Forgiveness is Part of the Very Essence of Life

Today at Tyler's First Reconciliation prayer service, we read Colossians 3:12-15. I love this passage. I won't go on and on about why, but rather, I'll just share it with you, in case it will do your heart good to read it!

"Brothers and Sisters:

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace.

So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts and be grateful."

Amen!

What are the Sparrows here to teach me?

Do you believe God uses nature as a tool to communicate with us? I do. Whenever an animal starts making its presence known to me, I try to look it up. It's as easy as typing "spiritual meaning (insert your animal here)" into Google and finding a reputable site.

I've had many an animal to Google in the past couple of years. The most recent one that came to me was the sparrow.

While I was growing up, my Grandmother always fed the sparrows in her driveway. Now that I am living in her home, I am the one feeding the sparrows. The kids and I have been doing it all summer long, but it didn't occur to me to look them up until this week. Why? Probably because they're such an ordinary bird. Nothing exotic.

Well, wouldn't you know it. Those darn sparrows do have a message for me. Because the sparrow is small, part of its spiritual significance is to remind me that I do not need a big house or flashy car to be important.

Very interesting considering we are living in my Grandmother's modest home while we work on selling our Florida home. As the market has continued to decline over time, the price of our home has had to go down right along with it -- making us realize we are not going to be able to buy the Northern home we have been dreaming of. We have had to scale down our expectations quite a bit. We're OK with that and are actually thinking smaller is better, anyway...perhaps it will allow us more of a travel budget to get back to Florida and visit family and friends there!

The sparrow also brings spiritual messages of simplicity, and boy are we enjoying that here at my Grandmother's house. Most of our belongings are still in our Florida home, so we are making do with much less. Guess what!? We are doing more than "making do," we are actually doing very well. Paul loves his job, the kids love their school, and I'm busy with my business and enjoying being near friends and family.

Here's to the sparrow!

-- Written with love and honor for Grandma who always took care of the birds.