Train stops...

Yesterday, I experienced something new.  I found myself stopped to wait for a train.  I was on my way to a meeting, and the train made me late.  However, I waited for this train for TWELVE minutes...TWELVE!  and...I might add, that I waited patiently for that twelve minutes.  I pulled up behind 6 other cars that were already waiting...I glanced at the clock and it said 4:31pm.  During my wait...I just sat.  I watched as 4 out of the 6 cars in front of me turned around to find a different path to their destination.  I just sat...not thinking...not getting ticked off...just in peace...then the train passed and I looked down at the clock to see 4:43.

I can definitely hear some of you saying right now..."Really lady?  What's the big deal?"  THE BIG DEAL??  This is HUGE for me...because I usually yell, pound the steering wheel, yell some more, and at this time...it's only been a minute...so then I turn around and find another way around the train.  By the time I get to where I needed to be, the train has past and I would've made it to my destination at the same time...if not sooner if I would've just waited. 

Why is waiting so hard?  I'm not going to lie, after I realized that I waited for 12 minutes {and not even realizing it had been that long}, I felt different.  But it was a good different...it was a different that I hadn't felt before, or at least in a very LONG time.  It was a feeling of calmness.  With all the hustle and bustle of my daily life, trying to be in control of everything and wanting everything to go MY way...I lost grasp of those moments in life when everything stands still...you don't have to think...you don't have to worry...you don't have to wonder...you {just have to be}...and then, those good feelings will come to you!

What are the train stops in your life?  What are those things that MAKE you stop...or at least those things that are trying to make you stop your hectic life...just for a moment?  It could be your child that wants to sit and read with you...but you are too busy because you HAVE to get the dishes done, or you HAVE to get the laundry done.  It could be the little old lady driving 40mph in front of you when there is non-stop traffic coming in the other lane.  It could be your son/daughter asking you to lay with him/her at bedtime because they are scared...even though you have a million of other things to do because you finally have a free moment.  It could be your computer not working at the end of the day when you HAVE to get on facebook to check out what all went on in the lives of your "friends" that day...  


Whatever those train stops are in your life...use them.  Use them as a chance to "chill" out and just {be}.  Don't worry...don't hustle...don't panic...don't argue...don't get upset...don't get anxious...just be calm.  Because chances are...once you've had a little breather...you will be able to enjoy your "destination" a whole lot better when you get there...even if it's not exactly how or when you had planned it!

XO
Angie

Overlap

Imagine if you will a group of people. It can be any group of people. Perhaps your family comes to mind, immediate or extended, or your soul circle of friends. Or perhaps, you thought of your neighborhood or your community. Perhaps your imagination took you to a broader scale, and you thought of something grander, such as the human race.

Whoever you thought of, I would like you to take a moment and consider the individuals that make up this group. Think of their strengths, their limitations. Consider their beliefs, their values, and preferences. What tastes do they have? What do they like to do with their time? What are their talents and passions? Their way of life?

I imagine that this group of people you have in mind has many differences. After all, no two people are exactly the same. Each person in this group has their own unique personality, perspective, and approach to life. Each is beautiful and imperfect. Each individual has strengths, weaknesses, traits, and characteristics that are completely their own.

And yet, while the people in this group are very different, they must be quite similar as well. Some of them may share interests. They may have certain traits in common. They may have similar beliefs, values, and perspectives. Or perhaps they are alike in ways I have not mentioned.

Now, I would like you to imagine a puzzle. It can be one of those great big puzzles with itty-bitty pieces, or a child’s puzzle that is much smaller. Regardless of the details of this puzzle you are imagining, think now about the individual pieces of the puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle is irregular. It has grooves that stick out, others that turn inward. Some of them look nothing like the others, but there are similarities to most of them as well.

But no matter what the individual pieces of the puzzle look like, they fit together in some way. And when they fit together, they create a beautiful picture. A picture that simply could not be created without all the pieces.

We are the pieces to the puzzle, my birds. There are differences among us, and they are to be celebrated and embraced. We should not shy away from these differences, and instead welcome that which makes us unique and precious in our own special way. We are to appreciate that which makes us different, and rejoice the richness it adds to life. For it is these differences that make life beautiful, fresh, and balanced.

And just as we are each different, we are quite similar as well. While there are many traits that we share, we are also similar in a much more basic sense. We are all human. And as human, we crave love, acceptance, and kindness. As humans, we share many of the same needs, have many of the same desires, and we must remember that about one another.

Today, I challenge you, my beautiful birds, to take a different kind of look at the people around you. I dare you to celebrate that which makes you unique, find comfort and understanding in that which you can relate to, and take delight in the beautiful picture that we may create only when we embrace one another.

 

-El

Wellness at Home and at School

We are off and running into the second week of school. I hope everyone is surviving, I know it can be a difficult transition but with the right tools we can make it.

As a nurse I am consistently trying to teach my children about good physical health and nutrition. But mental health is just as important. Good mental health allows children to think clearly, develop socially and learn new skills. Here are some basic tips for both physical and mental health.

Good physical health includes:

Having a healthy diet.

Adequate sleep.

Exercise.

Immunizations.

Healthy environment.

Good mental health includes:

   

Unconditional love.  A child needs to know that you will accept and love them regardless of their accomplishments. Children will make mistakes,  just as adults do. We build confidence in a unconditional loving environment.

   

Self confidence and good self esteem.  Build a child's confidence and self esteem by praising them, setting realistic goals, being honest, avoiding sarcasm, and encourage them to do their best.

   

Social interactions with other peers.  Make time for play!! Be creative, play hard, run, yell and have fun! This helps the child both physically and mentally.

   

Healthy play.  Although we live in a society that focuses on winning, we need to remind our children that winning is not everything. Good sportsmanship and making your best effort is more important then always winning.

   

Encouragement from supportive care takers.  Encourage and support your children in the activities they would like to try. Be their cheerleader even if they try and fail.

       

Be compassionate and empathetic to their feelings, win or lose.

   

Safe and secure surroundings.  Talk to your children to make sure they feel safe and secure in their surroundings. Not only at home but at school as well.

   

Appropriate discipline and boundaries.  Every children needs discipline and boundaries. B firm but kinds and realistic with your expectations.

 

Be a good example for your children.

 

Avoid nagging and criticism.

 

Encourage your children to talk about their feelings. And seek help if you see any of these warning signs; decline in school performance; regular anxiety; refusal to go to school; persistent nightmares or depression.

Hopefully we can use these tools to help our children have a successful school year.

~Stacy.

 

 

a. deep. felt happy. elusive, painful, worth it.

shared this on my personal blog - thought i would share it here as well.

a shift back to happy....but deeper.

happy. 

ecstatic.

gleeful.

joyous.

blissful.

chipper.

merry.

simple words. right?

you would think it would be a simple place to find in our lives. 

that place of "happiness".

i guess that depends...on so many different things.

so many.

it depends on our story.

our experiences.

our hurts and our joys.

and the distance between the two.

personally....just like you - 

i want to be happy. 

consistently.

constantly.

and every moment in between.

if given the choice, i would choose happy.

hands down - every single time. 

we all would.

all your "self help" people will tell you to do just that.

simply to "choose happiness".

your choice.  your decision.

i 50% agree with that philosophy.

i know the choice is ours.

i get that.

i love that.

typically - 

even if a big white stinkin' elephant is stepping right on my little toe - i smile.

why not, right?

however, i have found in simply CHOOSING happiness, in CHOOSING to paste that smile on your face, in CHOOSING to stitch your broken heart with 5 stitches when it requires 30 stitches - you are doing yourself an injustice.  

you can't fake happy.

'cause in the end...."happy" will start to ache, tear you apart, simply hurt.

happy will become just a word.

ya know?

why would we RUIN a perfectly good thing by being fake?

why fake happy? 

dumb.

so...pretty much - 

i am over it.

this "JUST BE HAPPY" stuff. 

the truth is never all that easy when it comes to heart ache.

facing all the "ouch" - when all you want to do is forget- it hurts.

let's lay it on the line.

it would be easier walking away from all the pain.

it would be easier convincing yourself that you are strong, brave and "happy".

but sometimes...your "happy" is worth getting through, feeling and standing up for.

2 years ago. 

my heart began to shatter.

one "incident" after another.

months and months and MONTHS of "stuff" 

taken advantage of. lied to. lead on. all these scenarios. one after another. 

it broke. this open heart of mine. BIG TIME. 

into a million and one pieces.

i was wide open. trusting.  stumbling.

...and just a little stupid, i guess. 

i won't go into detail.
after all the heartache.

"happy" simply hurt.

it wasn't real anymore.

today.

as the hurt continues to heal - 

i wrote this to a friend - regarding what i have learned....

my heart goes out to ANYONE who is struggling with hurt so deep and still having to put on a smile. i never imagined when i heard the word heartbreak that it would one day become so literal in MY OWN life. i FELT my heart break SO MUCH in the last two years for so many different reasons. 

- however i can say this, 

when i am HAPPY - i am HAPPY because it has to get

 by all the hurt first.

i guess my happiness is rooted "deeper" after all the hurt.

a deeper place to reach means it is simply felt on a much deeper level.

i wrote that email and i realized it was a blog post in the making.  

so you have pain.  so your heart has been broken once, or twice, or 3 million times. 

each time happiness sinks a little deeper.
you can't prevent that.
it lies UNDER all the heartache.
buries itself.
becomes a wee bit elusive.

it becomes a little harder to just "choose" happy.

but YOUR happiness is still there just the same.   ready to take the journey back to your reality.

be grateful for that.

because when "happy" surfaces it comes from within a place in your soul SO DEEP...you KNOW like you KNOW like you KNOW - it is real.

nothing worth having OR FEELING is easy.

so embrace the heart ache my lovely friends. 

heartache = heartFELT happy.

it doesn't come easy, and you wouldn't WANT it to anyway.

"happy" is not for the faint of heart.

it is for those that HAVE a heart that is willing to break in order to be stitched up that much stronger.

elusive as happy may be, know it is there.

....and when you feel it...take a deep breath.

YOU DESERVE happy. 

YOU have earned it.

no matter what.

xoxo,
ang.

Bullying

Why does bullying hurt so much? Why does harassment from others affect us the way it does? Why does the mistreatment from others cause us so much discomfort?

When I think about it, I see the answers are the questions. Really, don't those bullying, harassments or mistreatments cause you to question yourself? No matter what the subject matter is, it raises questions about who we are, what we stand for and where we are going in life.

If your daughter is called a bad name by the "popular girl," it makes her question herself. If your son is being picked on by the "bigger boys," it makes him question himself. If a woman in an office full of men, is constantly having to hear about their weekend behaviors... she can start to question her own life. Maybe even adjusting her own morals to fit in. Same with being mistreated. It raises the question...am I worthy of anything better?

All those around us, whether you are an adolescence or an adult, those around you will make you question yourself. It's where the phrase "outside influences" comes from. It's up to you to determine how strong your opinion is of yourself. Are "they" going to have the power to sway you or will you have the special advantage of letting it roll off your shoulders.

This is going to always be a work in progress. Always. Be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself when you are weak and celebrate when you are strong. And remember that no one is better than someone else. What one thinks is right for them does not have to be what's right for you.

Love God and love yourself. It's the first step to others seeing the real you.

July 6, 2011 w/ Pastor Paul

Our Message for the week is: “How to Face an Uncertain Future”
We have two choices: - Face the future with doubt. - Face the future with certainty.

Who really knows what lies just around the upcoming corner in life!
How do we deal with the uncertainties of the future?
Today we examine three reasons we can face the future with confidence, based on our final study in the 23rd Psalm.

Scripture: Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Our Focus:
We can face any future with confidence because of God’s protection watching over us: “Surely goodness... will follow me all the days of my life...” (Psalm 23:6a)
Psalm 145:20 reassures us that “The Lord watches over all who love him...”
We may not know what the future holds ... but we know who holds the future!
This doesn’t mean only good things will happen to us! – The Psalmist also shares this insight: “For [God] will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11).
Angels protect us against harm and evil (as is found in Daniel’s life... Daniel 3:28; 6:22) and will intervene in the middle of dangerous situations.
The biblical book of Acts gives us many examples of angels helping in times of despair (Chapters 5-8, 10-13).
We can face any future with confidence because of God’s provision working in us: “Surely mercy... will follow me all the days of my life... “(Psalm 23:6a).
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
... Grace: What God gives us that we don’t deserve.
... Mercy: When God doesn’t give us what we do deserve.
... Mercy and goodness are the “sheepdogs” God has follow us all the days of our life.
... They are God’s gifts to us.
We can face any future with confidence because of God’s promise is waiting for us: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalms 23:6b).
We will be rewarded for our faith in Him: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (II Corinthians 5:1).
... Take the best thing we can think of now... it pales in comparison to what is coming for the best is yet to come.
... We are not ready to live here on earth, until we are ready to die for we have not actually begun to live.
... The pyramids of Egypt were built by kings in preparation for their death. – Their tombs have been robbed and plundered because they spent their lives accumulating “stuff” and tried to take it with them by burying it in their tombs.
... In reality, all our stuff is gone when we die.
The Bible promises that, when in Christ, we will be reunited with Him, our family, and friends who have gone before us.
... The Apostle Paul taught it this way, “... we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:6-8).
... God is waiting for us if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
We will be released from the bondage of this present world:
... “[Christ] will wipe every tear from their eye” (Revelation 21:4a).
... We will be released from the pain, sorrow and depression of this life.

For those interested in receiving Pastor Paul's messages, please e-mail Pastor Paul (pastorpaul@willmarag.org) and mention you would like to be included.

Our prayer for the week: Dear God, give strength and hope to all people who are targets of bullying and help them to take the right action with courage and peace of mind. Bless them. And change the hearts and minds of the people who bully in every sense of the word. Make them stop this senseless cruel behavior. Help them to understand why they cause such suffering. In Jesus name we pray. ~Amen

~Sara

School!

I wrote this a few weeks ago...but I feel that it is still relavant today.  Enjoy!

With September quickly, many of us are finding ourselves concerned with the first day of school.  My son has been asked time and again, “Are you ready for school?”  Yet whether we are ready or not, Labor Day will come and go and school will most definately start.

So to prepare my son and the rest of my family for the 2011-2012 school year, I have been making shopping lists for school clothes and school supplies, adjusting routines and schedules, and fine-tuning various details of our lives to make the transition as smooth as possible.  Now and then, I stop and think about what this time of year must feel like for my son.  As I think about this, I usually ask him “Are you excited for school to start?”  His typical reply?  “Kinda”.

Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that as parents, we often get so caught up in the preparations, the planning, and the details of the first day of school that we forget to check in with our kids and ask them how they are feeling about the impending school year.  It is easy to assume that because they have a backpack full of supplies, new clothes in their closets, and shiny shoes on their feet, they have everything needed to start the school year.  We like to consider them prepared and ready to navigate the halls of their schools because they have attended the open house, found their lockers, met their teachers, and memorized their schedules. 

Yet, in truth, school readiness is so much more than these material things and basic skills.  Of course, such gear is essential in the life of a student, but there is so much more to success as a student than writing utensils, paper, and style.  To succeed as students, our children must also feel supported by their parents and their teachers.  They must feel a sense of security and belonging amongst their peers.  They must have a sense of self, or an identity.  Similarly, they must be equipped with coping skills, stress management techniques, and resilience. 

Unfortunately, though, it is all too easy to forget about these survival skills.  Because we cannot write them down on our shopping lists, or check them off as complete, these intangible assets often fall lower on our list of priorities than they really should.  And while it is admittedly difficult for parents to instill such traits in our children and feel confident in their ability to do so, it is paramount to their well-being, happiness, and success. 

This year, parents, I encourage you to take extra care as you prepare your children for the 2011-2012 school year.  As you tend to the preparations and details of school readiness, ensure that you also tend to the full spectrum of your child’s needs.  Check in with them regularly, encourage them to express their concerns, remain involved in their lives, and support them as they embark on this year’s journey. 

-El

Give me your eyes so i can see

I've attached a video of a song I love so very much. Please never give up on Hope. When things get rough, slow down and pray.

Our prayer for this week is... Lord give us the grace of wit and wisdom to understand that rainbows are only the result of showers, dust, and hope ~Amen.

Sara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnsSpHFmfEw

Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath~

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight

Touched down on the cold black tar
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going somewhere
Why have i never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so i can see
Everything that i keep missing
Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me your eyes so i can see
Yeah yeah yeah yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath

There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work he's buying time

All those people going somewhere
Why have i never cared?
Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so i can see
Everything that i keep missing
Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me your eyes so i can see
Yeah yeah yeah yeah

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes just moving past me by
I swear i never thought that i was wrong

Well i want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so i can see
Everything that i keep missing
Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me your eyes so i can see

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so i can see
Everything that i keep missing
That i keep missing

Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me your eyes so i can see
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah