some thoughts on goals and truly living.

are you a resolution person or a goal person? in about a week, january will make way for february in all of its "love bug glory" and i'm finding myself adjusting my goals and adding new ones to the list of things i want to see in 2013.  i happen to be a goal person.  and this lil' "goal person" can't help but notice a few things about this year that really seem to stand out.  maybe it's not just me and you've noticed them, too?

as you've been reaching out towards the plans you've made, are you finding yourself doing things that at times you thought you normally wouldn't be able to do on your own? are you dreaming bigger dreams and setting higher goals? as one door closes in your life, are you finding even more opening up in succession?

maybe you have a goal to get in shape. have you found an exorbitant amount of oreos left in the cookie jar when you know good and well that, in the span of that jar's little glazed porcelain life, it has gotten to know more crumbs than cookies? miracles ya'll. this year has come packin'.

i have noticed all these things. {well, except for that whole oreo cookie bit.}  and i'm not really surprised by any of it... although, i'm awed. so awed. it's almost like i received an invitation into 2013 postmarked "Goodness".  and when i arrived at the threshold of this brand new sparkly year i looked down to a welcome mat...only, i'm not sure if it was laid out to welcome me or if i laid it out to welcome it. either way, i feel like i stepped into grace in abundance. there's a grace to achieve the things God has put in my heart, there's a grace to reach higher, dream bigger, run faster, to strategize, and endure until i see His promises fulfilled.

now, i've also noticed that everything isn't all shiny perfect either. life can pack some punches and i've been hurled a few doozies this year already.  but, you know what i'm seeing? they haven't knocked me out. i haven't lost a tooth. there's cheers still coming from my corner and a coach with fresh cool water when i need it. and if i get knocked down, i know there will be a hand there to lift me up so i can continue to charge forward. we're "million dollar babies" this year - ...but, ya know, with a totally different ending. (insert a thankful chorus here)

now, i also believe this isn't just for me but it's for you as well.  whatever your dreams are, whatever the plans you've written upon paper, whatever is stirring in your heart, there's a grace for you to see those things come to pass. i encourage you to purpose to do today what you'll be thankful you did a year from now. and if complacency/the comfort of an ordinary life/or fear of whatever is holding you at the ankles, grab your boots and show it you mean business. i guarantee the minute you march out the door you'll look around and won't find it tagging along.

you may have heard it said that "life is a grand adventure or nothing at all". let's live this year more than we've ever lived before and pack life into our days. let's move towards the impossible and watch God make it possible. how about we unfold the cloth that makes us who we are, individually,and behold what our Heavenly Father has written and painted upon its length? how about we agree with everything He says about us?  let 2013 be the year when our plans align with those of the One who had all our days prepared long before we even lived one.

there's a life of abundance ahead and it's overflowing.  stick with it.  continue to dream, reach, and run.  then, say it's yours... and, dive in.

just love.

I do not live in a bubble.  I see the news, read the headlines, and over hear many conversations as I'm standing in line at the post office or sitting in a chair at the salon.  I also have a problem with Facebook... I'm a little addicted to it (as if you could be "a little" addicted to anything).  I see the many conversations on there, as well.  I know, all too well, what people are saying.  But as I listen, more than anything else, what I hear is fear.  I get on the phone and a friend is afraid.  I turn on the news and see my neighbors hunkering down.  It's this thought that fear is having its way with people that upsets me the most.  I've learned from experience that being in fear is no way to live.

I may not agree with a lot of things going on in our world right now.  BUT, I refuse to live in fear and believe that everything is some sort of conspiracy. You cannot make a positive impact on the world if you’re paralyzed with fear and have a “deer in the headlights” look on your face. You cannot touch the hearts of others if you’re hiding in a hole somewhere waiting for the sky to cave in. If you do, the bad has won out and you have lost. Not only have you lost, but those that you could have touched have lost, too. 

Fear will not rule my life. Fear would only kill it… No life worth living can be found in fear. You know what else will not rule my life? These things: Bitterness, strife, selfishness, and unforgiveness. I’m drawing a line in the sand. Any problem in the world that you can think of, is rooted in one or more of these things. Don’t let them take root in you. The world does not need as many skeptics as it needs people to open their arms and hearts to others who need it the most. And, the ones who need it the most are the ones who you think need it the least. They are the “unlovable” people among us. They are those who just seem to rub us the wrong way.   

My arms are short, my voice is soft, and my soapbox is small but, I know the way I choose to live, the words I choose to speak, the way I make others feel… whether good or bad… creates ripples that will go on further than I could ever imagine. You can build up the world around you with your words or you can tear it down. I don’t have all the answers. I have more than a few doubts. There is much in my life that is uncertain… But, what I am certain of is, love heals. Love restores. You can build with it and you can build on it. Love is the most powerful thing in the world and is the biggest weapon we have in our artillery. It trumps everything. It can soften even the hardest of hearts. Love does not entertain fear but drives it away with its tail between its legs. Love brings life… even from death. 

Do we want the best for this world? Let’s start with ourselves. Let’s purpose to grow in love. Let’s not let a day go by without being able to say that we’ve learned to love a little bit more than we did the day before. Let’s never give up this loving… Let’s take our last breath doing just that.