Empty Nest, Abundant Life

Nag Less, Pray More

Category: My Walk with Jesus (Page 3 of 6)

Gratitude can help you get through anything

October 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

The temptation is so strong to focus on what is lacking in our lives instead of what is abundant in our lives.  It’s so easy to think about what we want to acquire, achieve, or change instead of express thankfulness for each blessing in our life.

Make it a game to see how many things you can express gratitude for each day.  From the first smell of coffee in the morning to your comfortable pillow at night, you can find objects, situations, feelings, relationships, and experiences that cause you to express gratefulness.  The more you notice and thank God for all you have, the stronger your “gratitude muscle” will become.

Your “gratitude muscle” will be especially needed on dark days, when finding things to be grateful for will take more effort and creativity.  When you choose to focus on all the gratitude-worthy parts of your life, your mood lightens and you realize just how blessed you really are!

 

This post is part of a  31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Advice to my Younger Self.  Please click here  to find all the posts in this series.  You’ll be glad you did!

 

Trust in God more than circumstances

October 5, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

By now you know how much circumstances can make or break your day, week, month, or year, yet you wake up in the morning with your circumstances on your mind instead of your mighty God.  Circumstances can change as often as the wind, yet God is completely unchanging and unchangeable.   When you base your mood and stress level on your circumstances, your stress level and mood will changes as quickly as your circumstances, but when your focus is on a faithful God, He will be your Rock and Stronghold, no matter what is going on around you.

You’d be shocked if I told you the difficult circumstances you will endure in the years to come…many deaths of loved ones, a rapid decline in your own health, and unexpected moves and changes in your husband’s career.  Yet God will be there for you in everything that will happen just as He has always been there for you in all that has happened to you so far in your life.

Enjoy your life, but keep an open hand on the changing circumstances while you cling to a perfectly trustworthy God!

This post is part of a  31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Advice to my Younger Self.  Please click here  to find all the posts in this series.  You’ll be glad you did!

God is good, God is bigger, and God is faithful.

October 2, 2018 / / 2 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You will be going through so much in the next three decades and beyond, but these ten words can get you through both the best and the worst days:

They are a form of worship and trust in a God who always keeps His promises.   They are words you can hang onto with your fingertips as you feel yourself slipping down a difficult metaphorical cliff.  They bring hope to any situation.  They give credit to the One who deserves all glory, honor, and praise.

All three of these phrases are always true:

God is good

Everything God does is flawless and is meant to bless us, grow us, and/or transform us.  This doesn’t mean that everything you go through will always feel good, but you can trust that God Himself is always good.  When you are going through tough experiences, you can be confident that God is at work in your life and wouldn’t have you going through it if it wasn’t for your greater good.

God is bigger

Nothing exists that outranks, outsizes, outwits, outlasts, or outplays God.  God is all-powerful and so much higher than we can ever think or imagine.   His ways are so much higher than our ways, and His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts as proclaimed in Isaiah 55:9,  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

God is faithful

God wants relationship with you.    He is constantly at work to bring you closer to Himself because He loves you so very much.  He will never give up on you.  Even when you might feel forsaken, the truth is that He is right there with you.  He is a promise-keeper, and you can depend on Him in every situation.  You can never go the wrong way if you are following Him.

Younger self, if I told you all the joys and trials you will go through in your life, I doubt you’d believe me.  That doesn’t matter.  God is what matters, and He is always good, always bigger, and always faithful!

This post is part of a  31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Advice to my Younger Self.  Please click here  to find all the posts in this series.  You’ll be glad you did!

 

 

Fighting Loneliness

September 10, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The silence reverberating through the house overshadows the memories of my boisterous children and their friends.

The time and energy I once spent daily on my children has diminished, and I wonder what to do with myself.

My arms which were once full of babies, groceries, and laundry are emptier now.

These are  the most common maladies among parents whose children have recently moved away from home.   Is there a cure for this dreaded disease?

On some of my darker and more hormonal days, I would argue that no cure exists, but, as time goes on, I am learning some ways to cope with the loneliness.  Here are some tips that have helped me go through the transition

  1.  Don’t isolate yourself!  Make it a goal every day to text, call, or get together with someone, even if you are an introvert.  You’ll find that many are as lonely as you are and would love to get together.  Look for groups in your area of others in similar situations.  I joined a group on Facebook of people from my town over 40, and they schedule multiple outings a month.
  2. Explore a new skill or topic you’ve always wanted to learn but didn’t have the presence of mind to master when my son and daughter lived at home.  I practice every day in hopes of finally becoming fluent in Spanish.  This also widens the scope of friends I can have.  I am also learning to crochet.  I participated in my first community theater production when I was in my mid 40s.
  3. Volunteer.  Opportunities exist everywhere to give back to the community, so look for one (or more) that will be a great fit for you.  On a weekly basis, I volunteer by visiting widows, running a mothering group, teaching preschoolers about the Bible, reading one-on-one with disadvantaged elementary school children,  and working at the sign-in desk for the preschoolers and kindergartners at church.  I receive far more hugs now from all these different people than I did when my kids were home.
  4. Start a new exercise routine.  You may meet new people, feel better, lose weight, and release endorphins all at the same time.
  5. Press into God.  I developed a deeper love for God and His Word once my children left home.  I realized that God would never leave me, and He was never too busy for relationship.  I could now enjoy uninterrupted time with Him.

What are some of your favorite tips for fighting loneliness?

A Retreat for One

January 29, 2018 / / 0 Comments

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already reached the final days of January.   One month ago today, I left home for hours to go on my 2nd annual one-woman, one-afternoon retreat.   I do it on the last Friday afternoon of the year, but you can anytime you have at least three hours in a row and enough energy to do some deep thinking.

In the past, when I thought of retreats, I imagined driving with a van full of ladies to a rustic setting in the mountains for a weekend of fun, worship, and teaching.   I have been to many retreats like this, and they required preregistration, paying around $100, packing, picking just the right time to ask my husband if he could watch the kids, and gearing up my introverted self for a lot of “together” time.   Don’t get me wrong;  I have enjoyed, learned from, made great memories, and even taught at some of these experiences, but I was looking for something different.

In December of 2016, I listened to a podcast by one of my favorite nonfiction authors, Sally Clarkson.  She explained the benefits of getting away alone for a yearly reflection.  She also referred to materials from an author whose name I had never heard before, Lara Casey.  I went to both Sally and Lara’s websites and read all they had to say about this event,  put their suggestions into two Microsoft Word documents, and made plans to take my retreat at ….. Starbucks.   Much less money and planning!

I took the following things with me:

  1. My Bible
  2. A ton of notebook paper in a folder
  3. An assortment of brightly colored pens
  4. Inspirational stickers
  5. Highlighters
  6. Posterboard
  7. A Sharpie
  8. Kleenex

I found myself experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions as I sat nestled in a booth sipping on my mocha, thinking about all the wonderful events of the past year and setting goals for the following one.  Because I was alone, I could think objectively about my marriage, my children, and my own life, evaluating the good, the bad, and the ugly, and praying how to work on the difficulties.  I came home refreshed and ready to implement my plans.

Do I achieve every goal I set?  Definitely not, but I like having a direction I am choosing to travel in my life and page after page written in my own handwriting.  I would highly recommend this activity to you and can’t wait to see what God shows you about your life!

New Year, New Word

January 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The new year always brings a flurry of thoughts about how this year will be different from all the ones in the past.    It causes us to analyze how we can be more effective and make resolutions to change habits as a result.    I struggled to harness these strong feelings of resolve and to fine tune them, and I have found success in doing this for the past five years.

My secret?  Choose a word!  Just one word.   A word that you want to aspire to learn more about and one that you will come to resemble more and more as the year goes by.

I read a great book on the topic, One Perfect Word, by Debbie Macomber, at the end of 2013, and I was inspired.    On January 1, 2014, I dared to write down my word for the year and pray it each day for myself.  The word terrified me; my word for the year 2014 was Surrender.  I wanted to surrender my plans, hopes, dreams, and agenda to God, who had an even better plan for my life.  I had no idea how strongly this word would play out until I found myself in ICU not able to breathe on my own in June of that year.

By the end of 2014, I had not only gained my strength back but had also learned far more about surrender than I ever imagined possible.  I was hooked on choosing a word, now not only for myself but for each member of my immediate family.  My word for the year 2015 was Rejoicing.   I wanted to learn to rejoice not only when circumstances were going my way but also in the deepest disappointments.  It was a worthwhile journey.  The words I chose for my family were endurance, maturity, and trust.

When 2016 rolled around, I couldn’t wait to do this exercise again.  My word for the year 2016 was Renewal, as I looked at my new life with children moving away and going on the international mission field.  My words for my husband and children were balance, faith, and courage, as they all were learning huge lessons of their own.

By December of 2016, I even took myself on a one-woman, one-afternoon retreat to evaluate my life, set priorities, and, most importantly, determine my word.  My word for the year 2017 was Freedom as I sought to be released my own self-doubt, others’ expectations and opinions of me, and the limits I had placed on myself due to fear.  I experienced my best year yet, achieving more than ever and daring to do activities I never expected that I would.  My words for my family were fortitude, security, and maturity.

This year is no different.  I have chosen my word.  It’s another scary one because I know that there are many lessons I need to learn about this subject.  My word for this year is Humility.    True freedom only comes when I choose to humble myself before God and trust Him completely for my future.   The words I have selected for those closest to me are direction, leadership, and abiding.

I have found a great website that has also helped me in this journey:  www.oneword365.com.  It’s a wonderful community of people who have also chosen one word for the year so we can support one another as we live out our word for the year.

What will be your word for the year?

Stay tuned to my blog for posts about one-woman retreats and vision boards!

Growing in Gratefulness

November 3, 2017 / / 0 Comments

On days like today, when life does not particularly go my way, it is harder to show gratitude.  I tend to focus my attention on what is going wrong instead of being thankful for what is going right, yet when I resolve to look for blessings and show appreciation for them, I find my attitude making a change for the better, a smile spreading across my face, and my mind fixed on the Giver of All Good Gifts.  I even find myself thankful for the challenges and obstacles in my life because they cause me to grow in patience, learn humility, and rely on God more than ever!

My Five Project Gratitude Thankful Things for Today

  1. The Soft Fur on my Cats
  2. Stimulating Conversation with a Table Full of Women who Point me to Jesus
  3. Beautiful Rays of Sun Poking Through the Clouds.  (I pulled over to the side of the road and snapped the above picture while driving through town today.)
  4. The Refreshment of Ice Water After a Workout
  5. A Phone Call from my Married Daughter Just to Chat.

What are you thankful for today?

Project Gratitude

November 2, 2017 / / 0 Comments

It is easy to get so distracted by the hurried pace of this world and everything that is going wrong in our lives that we take our eyes and hearts off the One who has richly blessed us.  When we focus on all the blessings we experience in this life, our hearts fill with gratitude toward God and we feel stronger to face the obstacles and complexity of this life.  November, the month of Thanksgiving, is a perfect month to express thankfulness and gratitude for all we have.  I am challenging myself to find five things to thank God for each day during this month.  Who else would like to join me?

My 5 Project Gratitude Thankful Things for Today

  1. The Smell of Coffee Brewing
  2. A Warm Shower
  3. The Privilege of Teaching Children the Promises of God
  4. Autumn Walks and Talks with Friends
  5. Guacamole

What are you thankful for today?

New Month, New Outlook

November 1, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I’ve always loved the first day of a new month.  It’s a day for changing calendars, for looking ahead to all the fun that the month promises, for receiving special “first of the month” coupons and emails, and for wiping the slate clean from last month.  I especially love November because I can say, “Thanksgiving is coming later this month,” and  “Next month is my birthday and Christmas.”   When I encounter a flawless, new month, I am empowered to forge ahead instead of paralyzed with embarrassment over the mistakes I’ve made or overwhelmed with too much to do.

May we all greet November with a spirit of adventure and gratitude!

Loving Others Well

October 30, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I can’t think of a single better way to use the rest of my life than loving others well.   Before my eyes are even fully open in the morning, I have already mumbled “I love you” to my husband and scratched one of the cats.  Before I get out of bed, I express my love to God by reading His Word, applying it to my life, worshiping Him, and praying for over 100 people.  When I spend this time with God, I find that He fills me to overflowing with love so I can’t help but look for opportunities to love others all day, from those closest to me to those I have not yet met.

Love can be expressed in so many ways.  We often thing of it as physical affection, but that is just one way to show love.  We can make time to spend with others in deep conversation.  We can do something kind for others.  We can encourage one another with our words.  We can let someone know we are thinking of them with a text message, phone call, or a gift.  Even a smile to the grocery checker or the person in the car next to you in a traffic jam can ease a burden and make someone feel special.

The current rhythm of modern American life is becoming so fast-paced and impersonal that stopping to unselfishly invest in another’s happiness seems unnatural.  So many days I fail at loving others well.  I get caught up in the rush of life and my own agenda that I view others as obstacles to what I need to do instead of high priorities.  It is only when I go to God to get refreshed in His love that I have enough to give others.

When I am no longer on this earth, I want to be remembered as someone who loved others well!

This post is part of a  31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Embracing Fifty.  Please click here  to find all the posts in this series.  You can find the work of more bloggers participating in this series here. You’ll be glad you did!

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Empty Nest, Abundant Life

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑