getting out of my funk...

Dreams that come true

If you had no limitations, what would you choose to achieve? If you could get up from where you are right now and go to do literally anything, what exactly would it be?

You instinctively know there are things that matter to you more than anything else. It’s important to remind yourself specifically of what they are.

You may not be able to fully achieve your ideal life right now. Yet you absolutely can take very clear, definite and effective actions today to move your life in the direction of that ideal.

With every choice, with each decision, you are progressing in one way or another. Know clearly where you want to go, and even the little moments will bring you closer.

Your life is a continuing manifestation of your most firmly held intentions. So focus on the intentions that you most sincerely and passionately desire.

The dreams that come true are the dreams with which you are most intimately and consistently familiar. Know precisely what you want, and the living of your life will make it real.

— Ralph Marston

i'm in a bit of a funk today and this just hit home perfectly. i need to keep positive and focus on my purpose and goals.

so what would i do if i could do "anything"? i do love teaching, but i am not sure if i would continue it in the capacity of a public school classroom if i didn't need the income. but as long as i need the income, at least i have long summer breaks so that i can be free to help multiple ministries. i would like to be free to travel wherever needed whenever needed, and to help others locally and abroad. my husband would like to a new ministry locally, i would love to see that turn into something that reaches a multitude of people in ways that nothing else does in our area. i want to be involved in ministries in haiti, philippines, liberia, and more.

right now, unfortunately, finances are blocking my ability to do a lot. or maybe i am letting the lack of them block my ability to get the drive to do more. i want to be at peace, positive and prosperous more than anything, but it seems so hard to attain at times... the question is, who is making it so difficult? i'm guessing that it's me, getting over myself and the fear of failure. time to buck up and work on focusing on the important things and quit letting doubt, worry and fear rule.

2 Timothy 1:1-7--I thank God,...without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,...being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother...and your mother..., and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

summertime, and the livin' is easy...

well, maybe not "easy", but it's definitely laid back compared to the school year! i have "summertime" set as my ringtone. last year it was "put your records on" because "summer came like cinnamon, so sweet"...

summer is absolutely my favorite time of the year. i like to think back and remember when i was a kid and all of the fun stuff we did. i try to do some of those things with my own kids, and come up with new ideas too.

so far this summer we've:
*caught lightning bugs and put them in a jar
*skipped rocks on the river
*made rock buddies
*played on the slip-n-slide in the back yard
*made homemade ice cream
*set off fireworks
*cooked on the grill
*made s'mores
*attempted to make s'mores bars and caught them on fire (yes, flames were coming out of the oven...very scary stuff, but all's well that ends well and there was no damage to anything besides the marshmallows on top!
*drove up to WV and enjoyed the mountain views
*gone swimming
*moved into our new home

hopefully we'll have lots of other fun things accomplished in the coming weeks before school begins again. also, hopefully i'll get better at blogging regularly. i really enjoy sharing my thoughts and ideas, and contemplating life and creativity.

bumps...all about perspective...

think back a bit, picture yourself as a kid riding in your parents' car. you probably didn't have to wear a seatbelt, and it was legal for you to ride in the back of the station wagon or bed of a pick-up truck. our family had an international travelall, it looked exactly like this bad boy pictured here...
this was the granddaddy of the SUV and crossover. (and it may just be the reason i really want my dream car)

when my parents brought the travelall home, my little brother and i thought it was the most amazing vehicle ever made! (and we already had a vw bug, which was almost as amazing...) we would ride in the "way back" and alternate between lying down, as we would drive down the bumpy gravel roads of rural kansas, and people watching. (you know the kind, we were the kids who would make faces at people, wave at everyone, and sometimes pretend we were hiding from all of the "bad guys" who were riding in all of the other cars on the street.) we would pretend that our family was living out of that car and traveling all over the country to see all of the great sights...the grand canyon, old faithful, yosemite, niagara falls, mt. rushmore...you name it, we pretended we were there, camping out of our car along the way.

back then, bumps were fun. driving on a road through rolling hills was even better. if we were driving on a "washboard" road, we would make noise and let the bumps rattle our bodies so it sounded like we were stuttering.

as we grow up, driving down bumpy roads becomes annoying. we worry about the damage to our cars, whether or not we'll have to head for the carwash afterward, and get exasperated when it's so bumpy we actually have to slow down...we're always in a hurry as adults, you know.

in the past couple of years, our family has hit almost every "bump" you can imagine...it's hard not to get annoyed when they come along, but i'm learning. when damage is done, i look for ways to fix it and not let it happen again. if it's "dirty", i clean up the mess and move on. and more than anything, i've learned to slow down and learn from it. i have found that if i take the time to enjoy life's bumps and work on my perspective of them, rather than getting sucked into the moment (which always passes, quickly even), it makes the ride much more enjoyable.

hang on and enjoy the ride, bumps and all!