Your Story

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" We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."

C. S. Lewis

You have a story. We all have a story. A story shaped by the years we have lived, by the places we’ve been, the things we’ve seen, the people we met, the books we’ve read, and the decisions and choices we made. It is this story that makes us who we are today, that has molded us to the very core of our existence. But the story is not completed. It's still being written. Day by day, moment by moment. And it will not be completed when you take your last breath, because your story affects others. Who you are has an impact on human life for generations to come.

Think about your story for a moment. Go back in time to our childhood, your parents, the places you’ve called home. Think of the friends you made, your school years, where you are working now, your family. Think of your dreams and aspirations. Think of your frustrations, disappointments, and feelings of loss. All these experiences have shaped you into the person you are today.

The question that remains to be asked is whether you believe your story is going in the direction you want.

We were created for a great life and yearn for it every moment of our existence. The good news is that we can have this great life and the most powerful tool we have in achieving it is our freedom of choice.

This morning I read the story of a man who was diagnosed with colitis, a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Symptoms vary, but for this man they included intense abdominal pain and 30-40 trips to the bathroom daily. Now think for a moment how much your life would be affected by a condition like this? For eight years this man endured the life altering discomfort from this disease always in search for the best treatment and cure. He tried multiple therapies, surgery, and was placed on multiple medications because one medication causes a symptom that requires another medication which causes another symptom and so forth.

After eight years this man had had enough and decided it was time to do a complete lifestyle change. He did, and slowly his symptoms began to subside until he was able to get off his medications because he didn’t need them anymore.

Ultra marathon athlete Rich Roll has a similar story. One day, already in his 40s, he decided he had had enough of being an overweight couch potato and decided to change the direction of his life. Eventually he came to be considered one of the fittest men in the world and now in his 50s, he lives a healthy and rich life.

We can make our lives head in a new direction if we’re not satisfied where we are.

Author C.S. Lewis once said: “ We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (1)

January is almost over, and many of our new year resolutions have been put to rest. I want to encourage you to unbury those resolutions and use your freedom of choice to chose a great life for you, starting today. I’ll go on this journey with you.

(1) Lewis, C. S. (2009) The Weight of Glory


Note: This website is going through some big changes that I can’t wait to share with you! It will give you the tools you need to chose and live an abundant life. If you enjoy these posts, please share them with your friends.

A Life Well Lived

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

"A great life is nothing more than a series of days well lived strung together like a string of pearls"

Robin S. Sharma

In the first chapter of Michael Medved’s book, The American Miracle: Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic, the author describes with detail some of the events that led to the 50th anniversary of the United States of America as a country. 4th of July 1826 was fast approaching and of the original writers of the Declaration of Independence, only three were still alive. Former presidents of the United States John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were two of them.

Adams and Jefferson loved their country. They had worked tirelessly for its independence and establishment as a nation. Though well advanced in years, to live to the country's 50th anniversary was a dream and a determination for them. Living 600 miles apart, when the morning of July 4, 1826 dawned, friends and family of these men could see that both Adams and Jefferson’s lives were nearing the end. Realizing that it was July 4, John Adams expressed, satisfied, what a good day it was. It had been fifty years since him, Jefferson, and several others had written and signed the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. It was a good day indeed.

Around noontime, when the bells were ringing in joyful celebration of the 50th anniversary of this young nation, Thomas Jefferson breathed his last breath. John Adams closed his eyes later that afternoon. Both dying on July 4th, 1826. Independence Day!

These great men had a profound love for their country. They had fought hard to help the nation gain independence and lived to see it grow and prosper for fifty years. They had great dreams and worked tirelessly to have their dreams fulfilled. When time came for them to rest from this world, they both expressed contentment over their life work. No regrets. Just peaceful content.

How wonderful it must be to reach the end of life, look back, and be satisfied with the path we took. To feel content with a life well lived is a great blessing.

How often, however, do we trap ourselves in the mundane tasks of daily living, focused on our limitations, busy schedules, possessions, unhealthy habits, problems, and everything that is negative? Chasing after happiness in the wrong places. Allowing distractions to imprison our attention. Living like this for days and years without hope of something better, eventually conforming to a mediocre life. A life that was never intended for us.

But we don’t have to be content with a mediocre life.

God promised us an abundant life. A life with purpose, rich, and blessed, where we can reach our full potential, fulfill our dreams, and make a difference for the better. It’s time to break free. Today! And begin living an abundant life. We may not fight for the independence of a new country, or become President of the United States, but we each have a different calling. An abundant life doesn’t mean we have to do great things that everyone sees and praises. More often than not, an abundant life happens from our daily decisions and choices in the small matters. In the time we give our loved ones. In the service of others. In being content with the calm. In sitting in front of our house to watch our children play and chat with the neighbors that pass by.

Choose an abundant life today. Choose a life with purpose, full of meaning, and joy. Then, when our time on earth is done, we can look back with no regrets. We can be satisfied with a life well lived, where we made the world a better place just by being it it.

Decluttering: Practical Tips Part II

“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't.”

-Joshua Becker

You’ve been learning about the benefits of a simple life and decided it is something you want. You desire a calmer life, free from unnecessary stress, with more time to enjoy your family, your friends, and what is truly important. You also understand that simplifying your home environment is one of the best places to start, if only because the time used for cleaning and organizing can be freed to be used fulfilling your dreams and reaching new goals. You also know from the previous post what options you have when purging stuff from your home. But you look at your house and wonder: where do I start?

It’s easy to feel motivated and want to get it all done right away, but you didn’t accumulate all your stuff in one day. You won’t get rid of it in one day either. It takes time. The key however, is to start small and start neutral.

If you haven’t heard of financial expert Dave Ramsey, I encourage you to check him out. Your financial live will be transformed! When speaking about debt, he counsels that we pay debt off from smaller to larger. The reasoning behind is that when people see their small loans paid off, they will feel motivated to keep going as they pay off larger debts. The same principle can be applied to decluttering. By starting small and neutral, you will feel motivated to continue as you see the results and benefits of your work.

What do I mean by small and neutral?

START SMALL
Small means that you don’t start by decluttering your shoe collection or your family photographs. These are sentimental items difficult to let go of. Starting your journey with these would be the same as paying off your largest debt first. It will be so difficult that you’ll feel discouraged and possibly give up. Begin by decluttering small areas like a junk drawer, or your car for example where it’s easy to accumulate clutter. Throw away all the trash, take all the toys back inside the house (leave just a few if you have children), get all the papers and junk mail out, and everything else that doesn’t belong in the car. Or maybe start with your sock drawer. You know which socks you use and which ones have been hiding in the back of the drawer for several years without being used. Start small and you'll begin to see results right away which is very encouraging.

BE NEUTRAL
Being neutral means you declutter your own things first without interfering with others’ stuff. We can easily notice how messy our kids or spouse are and have a difficult time realizing how imperfect we, in fact, are. This truth is addressed by Jesus when He explained how easy it is for us to want to remove a little speck from another person’s eye while we have a plank coming out of our own. We must first remove the plank out of our eye. It will help us see more clearly, and perhaps even realize that there is no speck in the other person's eye. You can read this story in the Bible, in Matthew 7:3-5. I love this analogy! If you want to avoid confrontation and a lot of stress, don’t touch anyone else’s stuff. Start with your own. 

I started with a collection of mugs that I used to decorate the top of the kitchen cabinets with. They were souvenirs from different places I had visited, but eventually I realized that their only purpose was to collect dust. So off to the donation box they went and I got rid of the dusty visual clutter that adorned the top of the cabinets. And you know what? The kitchen looked so much better without all of those mugs up there. And I felt better too. This to say that there is plenty of decluttering we can do with our own stuff and that’s where we need to start.

With these tips in mind, grab a box or large bags, make a plan, and start removing from your home and your life the things that are keeping you in bondage. It’s time to break free!

Happy decluttering!