Empty Nest, Abundant Life

Nag Less, Pray More

Category: New Experiences (Page 2 of 6)

Travel as often as you can

October 19, 2018 / / 2 Comments

 

Dear Younger Self,

You’ve been comfortable on an airplane since you were a toddler and have always viewed travel as a great adventure.  Even when your parents divorced and lived 3,000 miles away from each other, flying alone as a preteen was no big deal.  You love to plan and anticipate trips and can hardly sleep the night before your departure because you are “trip happy.”

Don’t ever lose that zest for experiencing new places and cultures.  Seize any opportunity you get to travel.  You’ll learn even more by traveling abroad.  Don’t just be a tourist.  Get to know the locals and immerse yourself in the culture and language if possible.  Learn to appreciate the differences between other’s lifestyles and your own.  Assimilate the positive characteristics into your own life when you return home.

While on a trip and exploring Bainbridge Island alone when you were in your 40’s, you found the wall hanging pictured above in a charming book shop on a rainy day and were immediately struck by its wise words.  Your purchased it and hung it in your dining room when you arrived home.  Those words are just as wise today…so go, visit, learn, enjoy, wander, and grow so you will be a better person when you come back home.

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!

Strive for unity more than perfection

October 18, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You interact with people often.  When their opinions, decisions, and actions are different from yours, you want to change them.  You reason with, debate, and manipulate in order to get your way.  This is completely unwise.  Do not try to control people.  

Instead, try to approach them on common ground.  Work together for a solution that will satisfy everyone involved.  As long as you don’t have to compromise your character in order to come to a consensus, be willing to negotiate.

You grew up in a household where your dad’s motto was, “Be reasonable; do it my way,” but I think it’s much better to live your life according to 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a,  “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

It is far more important to work together than to be right.

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!

Keep the faith, even when you can’t see what’s around the corner

October 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Photo courtesy of Heidi Louber from one of her incredible long-distance hikes!

Dear Younger Self,

Sometimes it’s hard to keep going when you have no idea what’s coming up next.  You tend to imagine the worst case scenario and let the doom and gloom hold you back from taking the next step.  This is where faith comes into play.  You need to rely on your mighty God who will never leave you or forsake you for every move you make, especially the difficult and new ones.

I love the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”  If you stay at the bottom, just staring up at the top, without taking action, you will never get where you are going.

Another friend you haven’t met yet, Carol, has a daughter who has hiked some of the toughest trails in the world and took the attached the following quote to the above picture from one of her hikes,  “Keep the faith, even when you can’t see what’s around the corner.”

If you turn back in hesitation, you’ll miss the amazing view and adventure awaiting you.   You’ll never regret moving forth in faith!

 

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!

Never stop learning

October 14, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

I know that you just graduated from college and are thrilled to be done with homework, tests, papers, and projects, but I don’t want you to give up on learning.  If you are interested in something, make it a point to learn all that you can about it.  You have so many ways and opportunities to learn skills, languages, subjects, facts, Bible verses, methodologies, and inspiring thoughts, and your newfound knowledge can be used to teach and bless others.

When you allow your brain to stagnate, you become uninteresting.  You have much less to offer.  Your mind becomes dull.  You are less excited about life.  I don’t want that to happen to you.

Never go through an entire day without reading.  Whether it’s reading the Bible, a newspaper, a well-loved novel, an instruction manual, a textbook, or a magazine, find words that will expand your mind.  Never stop going to the library.

I know it’s hard to believe that someday your body will slow down, but I can tell you with certainty that it will.  The wisdom you have attained throughout your life will be a great comfort.

 

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!

Don’t get sucked into the yuck

October 11, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You have a life-changing choice in this world.  Are you going to pursue joy, or are you going to allow negative thoughts to hijack your day?  You are going to have both wonderful and horrible things happen to you throughout each day of your life.  How you choose to react to them will determine the kind of person you are.   You will face this choice countless times each day.

For any situation, you can find both a bright side and a gloomy side.  I encourage you to embrace optimism instead of getting “sucked into the yuck.”  Once you have allowed your thoughts to deteriorate to that deeply negative place, it is much harder to climb out of that deep hole and you may unconsciously pull others into the hole by your grumpy outlook.  Instead, look for the benefits, blessings, and lessons at every juncture in your life, instead of complaining and grumbling.   You will enjoy being around yourself much more, and you will be a better companion and positive influence on others.

 

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!

Develop good habits

October 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You have always hard a hard time with consistency, and the struggle will continue to plague you throughout your life.  It’s so easy to make excuses and talk yourself out of doing activities which are best for you.  I firmly believe that it’s because the enemy of our soul, Satan, whispers lies to us and entices us toward laziness and poor choices.  Don’t succumb to the temptations, younger self!

Work toward developing these kinds of disciplines:

  1. Spiritual-No matter what, make sure you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer every day.  You have so many choices as to the method to pursue so you can find the system that works best for you.  It’s imperative that you stick with these habits above all because it involves drawing closer to the God of the Universe, who longs to be in closer relationship with you.   Scripture memory and group Bible study are vital activities to pursue as well.
  2. Physical-I know you think exercise is a horrible thing now, but, trust me, it will help you far more than you will ever know.  Even when you feel like you are too tired to exercise, get out there  and raise your heart rate daily.  You will feel so much better physically and mentally.  Studies claim that exercise is the most underused drug and that food is the most overused drug, and I believe it.  Track everything that you put in your body, so you are aware how many calories and grams of fat, sugar, and protein you are ingesting.  Make sure you brush and floss often and get all your regular check-ups too.  Sleep is a vital component of your health, so go to bed at a decent hour.  I know I sound like a mom, but you will thank me later.
  3. Mental-Make sure you exercise your brain.  You love word and number puzzles, and these help to keep your brain nimble.  Read daily, and pursue new hobbies and skills.
  4. Social/Emotional-Contact friends often.  I know it’s more comfortable for you to “hermit up,” but we were created to be in relationship with others.  Also, make sure you schedule downtime to recharge your emotional batteries.  Journal to process through difficult circumstances.  Reach out if you read me.

It only takes 21 days to form a habit.  That’s not a really long time when you look at all the benefits that habits provide.  If you do happen to miss a day,  instead of beating yourself and completely giving up, quietly strengthen your resolve and get right back to it the next day.  When you are busy keeping up good habits, you don’t have nearly as many time for bad habits.  With God’s help, you can do it!

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!

Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

October 3, 2018 / / 3 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You already know what a stronghold fear has in your life.  You’ve lost count of how many opportunities you’ve missed because you were too scared to try something new.   Your life will be so much richer and better if you summon up the courage to venture into the unknown.  Push past the fear and take risks.

Fear is a process of the thoughts you create.  Most fear is completely irrational, based on what could happen but never will.    I’ve now seen fear defined this way:

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

With each new experience you successfully endeavor, you will gain courage.  You will become a more interesting person.  You will go further than you ever thought possible.

So, when you are presented with adventure to attempt, don’t immediately talk yourself out of it, giving yourself reasons why it’s too risky or not a good idea.  I’m not saying to throw all wisdom out the door, but I am telling you that facing your fears will cause you to grow so much more as a person.  Listen to that new Nike catchphrase that just came out and “Just do it!”

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!

 

 

Introduction to 29 Pieces of Advice to my Younger Self

October 1, 2018 / / 0 Comments

22-year-old me on my wedding day in 1990

50-year-old me on my son’s wedding day in 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I knew it all as a young adult, but I had so much to learn that could only be taught through personal experience.   As I gaze at the the first photo of myself as a naive, idealistic girl barely out of her teens, I want to warn her, encourage her, cheer for her, shed tears for her, and laugh with her because I know all the joys and trials she will be facing in the years to come.  I also know that I still need to remind myself of what’s important to me and follow my own advice.  This is the final official Write 31 Days challenge, so even though life is extra-full right now, I couldn’t resist participating.   Laugh, cry, and explore with me for the next thirty posts as I ponder the essential elements of Advice to my Younger Self.

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!

Remarkably Glad to Be Unremarkable

September 21, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Now that I’ve hit the milestone of the big 5-0, my doctor has recommended that I take more tests than I used to.  Since both my parents died of cancer at a comparatively young age, I’ve decided to follow these recommendations.  Two weeks ago, in addition to my annual mammogram that I have done for the past ten years, I also had a bone density test.  As I changed into my special “test outfit,” (hospital cape open in the front), I chuckled to myself that my word for the year is humility.  I am a modest person and exposing my body to a technician is a bit embarrassing for me.  The mammogram is far less painful than it was many years ago, and the bone density test was also a piece of cake.  I was in and out of both of those tests in less than half an hour and quite relieved to receive a letter informing me that I am unremarkable.

This week has been a bit crazy as I prepared for my first colonoscopy, which I had yesterday.  On Tuesday evening, I fondly savored a piece of dark chocolate, knowing it would be last solid food I would get to enjoy until Thursday afternoon.   Even though I was teaching on Wednesday morning and tutoring reading on Wednesday afternoon, I only had Gatorade, Snapple, water, vegetable broth, and three popsicles.  At 4 pm, I mixed the dreaded gallon laxative, electrolyte concoction with water and began to drink it, 8 ounces at a time until half of the prescription was consumed.  At first, I was wondering why everyone warned me to stay near a bathroom after drinking the mixture.  Then my stomach began gurgling, and I dashed to my bathroom retreat where I remained for a good chunk of the evening.  Even though I was drained, I set my alarm for 3 am to repeat the process.   I arrived at the Endoscopy clinic ready for the whole experience to be over.  Then I was instructed to change into another hospital gown, opening int he back this time, and submit a urine sample on the off-chance that I was pregnant.  How can I be young enough to still get pregnant but old enough to need this embarrassing test?  The test itself was a tranquil nap for me, much needed after my active night.  Before I left, I was presented with some pictures and a report saying that my colon is unremarkable.  I don’t have to retake that test for another ten years.

I remember the first time I received results that said, “Unremarkable,” I was a bit offended.  I am a unique person with much to contribute to the world, and yet the one adjective the results used to describe me was “Unremarkable.”   Then I thought about the fact that unremarkable can also mean normal and disease-free.  Now I am thrilled to be considered unremarkable.

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