Changing Your Life

Some people hate change and do all they can to avoid it; others love it and are continually inviting it into their life. I embrace change in all facets of my life. Life is always changing and can't be avoided. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not so good, but it always happens and you can choose to embrace it, or you can choose to whine and spend time trying to make it go away and return to what it was, but it never will go back. Change is like time, it only goes forward and never back. But as today's quote says: "You're one connection away from being able to change your life." Author, Larry Bennet. This can be in a positive way or a negative way. We may not be able to order God to bring us the opportunities and changes we want, but we can order the perspective we view those changes with and adapt our lives to them in a positive way. Matthew 12:35 says: "For the good person brings good things out of the good stored up in him, but the evil person brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him."Let's decide to bring out the good things.

Changes and Choices

I am going to start this and my future posts with a quote that is relevant to the post, then end with a verse. "You may have habits and daily patterns that are so much a part of your daily life that you may not recognize them as choices." Unknown Author Life can be usually so busy that we tend to go through it on autopilot some times, I know I do. But we need to realize that these are choices we make each day, what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Some things are things we take care of that must be done, like getting ready for work or school, other things are running errands or helping someone in need. When things need to be done, we can still choose how we want to do it and in what order or when we want to do it. Other things we can do are choices in a different way-we can choose whether we want to do it or not, and if we want to do it, we can choose how much we want to commit to doing. Breaking the pattern of when and how we do things can actually build more brain connections! So start building, but remember, it's always better to think before making a choice, and make it a good one. "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14

Experiences That Humble

Well, it has been a life-changing couple of years! I am just going through a final recovery period after having TWO close-to-death experiences this past year! I suffered a stroke last spring and had to undergo brain surgery. It was successful but took me a couple of months to recover due to infection and allergic reactions to the two medications I was given. As I completed the therapy and was nearing total recovery, I was t-boned by a speeding car and it was back to the hospital last summer! I had fractured almost everything on my left side and required two surgeries. I now have metal rods in my left leg and screws in my hip and ankle. I have been going through eight months of rehabilitation therapy so far, and will now continue on my own until I can complete my total recovery and hopefully be moving and walking normally before all these events. While I was in the hospital beginning rehab from the car accident, my mom was undergoing lung cancer surgery in another city. It was very difficult for me to not be able to be with her and helping support her because I was in the beginning stages of my own recovery three hours away. My mom has recovered well and is still cancer-free to this day, but this past year has truly been a time and season of humbling and stretching my faith in God. Many prayers were lifted and I have become even closer to Him. I know there was a reason for it all, even if I don't understand why. My give Him all the credit for saving my life and healing me. It was a year of big changes and events. I changed schools and companies. I'm now with Learn 4 Life and love them! The service and care they show toward the families they serve, the staff they employ, and the communities they support, is just beyond imaginable. Through both of my health issues, Learn 4 Life was there for me. They supported me and kept my job open for me to return to as soon as I was able. My son and I also moved across town after my stroke, so we dealt with settling into a new place as I began my recovery three days out of the hospital and into a new house. I wouldn't have been able to do it without God in my life and the support of my friends and family. It has been a long and difficult road but I'm looking forward to what He has for my life this coming year. He is moving in our lives and I sense big changes coming, but in a positive sense this time! But that is a story for another time!

New Seasons

We are entering the third month, here in Southern California, of the hottest summer I can ever remember! There was no June gloom, just an average of 90-100 degree weather most everyday. As Fall slowly approaches, we look forward to blessings of slight dips in temperature and the teasing cool breezes of the changing seasons. Our lives undergo changes in seasons sometimes as well. I continue to teach and write, but am now looking forward to taking on a new 'hat' as a small biodynamic farmer. It has been a dream of mine for awhile to have a farmhouse in the country where I can grow a lot of my own food and maybe raise some livestock. I recently applied for a small farm loan and will hear back in a couple of weeks. I'm praying that this will be my time, that I will soon see another dream of mine come true. Here is a picture of the farmhouse my son and I are hoping to get:

In my next post, I will include a picture or two of the land we want to put our home on. These next two weeks are going to be the longest two weeks I've ever gone through😊

Trials

All throughout life, we encounter trials that test our faith and perseverance. They may be little things that once they happen, get handled and we move on. Other times it can be very difficult things that take a lot more courage and strength to get over and deal with before we can get on with life. But life does go on, whether we want it to or not. We can't stop it, it's not going to wait for us. It has its own schedule and a plan is set. We can choose to move with it or against it, but it will continue moving forward. So the question is, are we going to move forward with it, or stay behind?

Preparedness

After all the rain California has received this winter, especially the last couple of months, I don't think we have to worry about being in a drought anymore! Someone told me we broke history records with these storms and the rain level. I believe it! I always believed in the importance of being prepared, too, for anything. In this case, sometimes back-to-back storms. I made sure the gas tank was full, we had plenty of groceries and water jugs, and dog necessities. Also, I made sure we had bath tissue, trash bags, and any other household items that might have been necessary. Any bills that needed to be paid, bank runs, and any other errands were done before the storm hit. It is dangerous to be out in a storm, especially bad ones. This one that hit yesterday caused flooding within the first few hours after it started! It was all I could do to drive home! Lanes were flooded and had to be bypassed, stores were putting up sandbags by the sidewalks, and visibility was not the best. We made it through and the storm only lasted until night, not the two-day storm they thought it would be, thank God. Now we'll enjoy the few nice days before the next one comes sometime this week!

stewardship

I am promising myself that starting this week I am turning a new leaf and going to be a better money manager! I'm tired of just getting by. I am sure that if I budget better and quit impulse spending, even though it is not much, I will be able to start coming out ahead. God willing, the tides will be changing soon for the better and I will be able to pay all my debts off! What a blessing that would be, and I will not go that route again! I am making plans on how I can make my skills and talents work better for me and help myself out, but I also need to get rid of a lot of unnecessary debt.