Category Archives: Enlightenment

affirmation, appreciation, Blogroll, Enlightenment, Gratitude, Growing, Healing, personal growth, self improvement

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener!

We live in a disposable society. The majority of people eat most of their meals with plastic untensils, on paper plates or in styrofoam bowls, which ends up going into the trash to help contribute to the filling up of landfills, which give an enduring testimony to how we have become a “throw away” society.

If we don’t like something, then the easiest thing to do is give it to someone else or throw it away. And this attitude of consumption and self satisfaction has contributed to our society being more selfish and never satisfied. As the landfills continue to grow deep and wide, our lives become more shallow and meaningless, leaving us with the lingering question: Where did we go wrong?

I think one of the real problems is that we have forgotten what real satisfaction is really all about and bought into the lie that tells us that we have to live like someone else to really be happy. We’ve developed a “the grass is greener” mentality that refuses to allow us to experience anything as it really is. Instead, we allow ourselves to make our decisions and live our lives based on the opinions, judgments and expectations of others, who could care less if you are happy, fulfilled or satisfied.

Live your life long enough and pay close enough attention and you will discover that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and if it is, then it’s probably because it’s built on top of a septic tank. God has created each one of us and gifted us with certain skills, talents and abilities. When we grow in our relationship with Him, He is able to use what He has given us to help us build a life of joy, happiness and contentment.

Most of us miss it, because we have bought into the false advertising of the society we’ve grown up in and most of us suffer from “If Only” disease. “If only I had this or that.” “If only I was as good looking or as smart as that person, then I would be truly happy” We convince ourselves that others have it better and if we had whatever it is that they have, that we want, then we would some how be complete and happy too. The problem with the “If Only” disease is that it never stops to take in the whole picture. If you look close enough at the person or thing that you think is perfect, you will discover that the person or thing has it’s own unique set of challenges, difficulties and struggles.

The grass is not always greener and if it is, then there is a reason and the reason may be good or it may be bad. If it’s good, then learn from it and make your own grass greener. If it’s bad, then learn from it and be grateful you are not having to dig up your septic tank.

Three Steps To Greener Grass On Your Side Of The Fence!

Step One: Be Grateful For The Grass You Have! Take and make time to appreciate what you have. The old saying is true: “Sometimes you don’t know what you had until it’s gone!” If we invested the time we spend admiring everyone else’s grass into appreciating our own grass, then we would find the motivation to actually get our grass greener, which is where the real satisfaction comes from.

Step Two: Take Care Of You And Yours! Stop wasting your time getting caught up in the comparison game. Your value comes from one amazing truth: God created you and gifted you on purpose and for a purpose. Live that truth, grow that truth and share that truth. Take care of the blessings God has given you and I can promise you they will reproduce.

Step Three: Enjoy! I truly believe that this life is God’s gift to us and what we do with this life is our gift to God. I believe the greatest way to give God a great gift back is to live the life He has given me for all it’s worth and then some. There is nothing like seeing the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening. There is no sound quiet as soul stirring as hearing your children and grandchildren laugh and be happy. There is nothing that taste so good as a good meal with great friends. There is no place that smells as sweet as home and there is no touch like the touch of the one you love and who loves you back.

If we are not careful, we miss what really matters, because we are looking for something better, when better was right where you live…

Blogroll, Creativity, Enlightenment, Expectation, Growing, life, love, mindfulness, personal growth, self help, vision

Confidence – You Cannot Fail At Being Yourself!

I try to have a word for the day for most days and today my word was confidence. There are times when confidence seems to come easy for me and there are others times when confidence seems to be an illusive animal that I just can’t seem to track down. It’s kinda funny, because there are times when I am pretty confident of my confidence and other times when my lack of confidence really throws me into a state of confusion. So today, I wanted to think a little about confidence, what helps me to be confident, what gets in the way of confidence and the price I pay when I can’t figure this confidence thing out.

So one of the first things I needed to figure out and why do I want to develop my confidence, if that is even possible? And of source I think it is possible, so in order for me to figure out, I started to think about where my lack of confidence comes from and what it may be costing me, so that I could figure out if this was really even a battle worth fighting.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. -Psalms 139:13-14

I want to develop more confidence, because I know that I don’t like the feeling of limitation that a lack of confidence produces in my life. You know that moment just before and right after you walk into a room full of people. That time and space, where you just don’t feel like you are enough. Not smart enough, good looking enough and we could fill in the blanks all night long. One of the major problems here is our getting caught up in the “comparison game”. Do not play this silly game, you will lose every time and if you don’t lose, you still lose!

I feel like I lack confidence when I am around people, because I want to be accepted and loved by everyone, but don’t always feel that I deserve that, because of past experiences. In so many ways I was loved and encouraged by my family and friends growing up, but that never seems to be what I focus on. Rather than focusing on the acceptance, encouragement and love I did have, I tend to think about what I didn’t have and it takes me straight down the road to a lack of confidence and often paralyzes me where I stand. We know this is not a right way of thinking, but it is the way that most of us do it, so now what?

One of the things I have been doing that has been a big help to me in a lot of different areas is taking time at the very beginning of my day to focus in on my day, who I want to be, what I want to accomplish, where I want to go, when and how I’m going to get there and why all this really matters. Thinking through these questions help me to put together a workable plan to get more meaningful things accomplished and this emphasis on meaningful work over busy work has contributed to me feeling more confident.

We have a choice, we can get distracted by who we are not, by what we don’t have and how we can never get there or we can find confidence in our success, build upon it and dream of growing better.

Think about just three words. Three words that help you to think about who you want to be, who you are going to be as you grow in your confidence. My three words that describe my future best self is blessed, confident and successful.

Everyday that I get to do what I was created to do is a blessing. The by product of growing is that I develop confidence that helps me to become even more effective in all that I do. Living this life and being happy is the greatest form of success that I can ask for and I have discovered that I have ll of this and more when I am fulfilling my called and created purpose…

Blogroll, Creativity, Enlightenment, faith, Growing, life, mindfulness, positive

Watch Your Talk And Your Thought!

“We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written. I believed and therefore have I spoken: We also believe and therefore speak.” -2 Corinthians 4:13

In my role as a Minister, Master Life Coach and Mentor, I see people everyday defeated by their thoughts, because of what they believe. And I see people defeated by their words and what they say. It is true that most of us are our very own worst enemy. The idea that our talk and thought decide the life we are going to experience is really such a simple truth with very powerful implications. We really need to get this, because it has the potential to change our life and living in a very positive way.

Our thoughts – what we believe matters, because it impacts what we say. Our talk – what we say matters, because it impacts how we thin and what we believe. This is why it is very important to get our thoughts and words right, because they empower and feed off of one another, creating an infinite loop of positive direction up or negative spiral down. We are feeding a beast of blessing or a beast of burden, the choice is ours???

Faith/belief/trust is a powerful gift of God that enables us to shape reality with what is in our heart that flows out of our mouth. In Mark 11:23, Jesus put it this way: “If you believe in your heart that what you say will come to pass, you’ll have whatever you say.” And this is just another reason why it is so important to read and meditate on God’s Word, because what we continually believe and say is what we will believe and receive.

To believe something is to speak it and to speak something is to believe it. And this is why all the great teachers remind us to: Watch your thoughts, because they turn into words. Listen to your words, because they become actions. Pay attention to your actions, because they turn into habits. Be careful with your habits, because they become your character. Make sure you are in control of your character, because it impacts your destiny…