We Were Meant To Live For So Much More

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves? 

Somewhere we live inside 

Somewhere we live inside 

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves? 

Somewhere we live inside… 

Switchfoot "Meant To Live" 

Sometimes in life we may feel lost. 

It's so incredibly easy to get lost in our day to day lives. It's so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of each day... the harried rushed mornings, the commute, the mandatory meetings, the conference calls, demanding clients, scheduling and so forth. 

It's so very easy to get caught up in the usual... the sameness of routine… the quick send offs, the flurried goodbyes, the absentminded "MmmHmmm's" and "Hurry!" 

Life can become one big deadline, one huge leap... a sprint, a race... a marathon. We often feel pressure to "get there"... to meet a goal, a project completion date, a first kiss, a marriage date, a first house, a conception date, a ten year anniversary, fiftieth and so on… life can become one big "One day…" of wants, wishes and hopes…

But then sadly…

"One day" never gets here.

Time keeps passing us by and with each check in the morning mirror we may notice more crow's feet, more graying hair and maybe looking past the reflection in the mirror a lot less fun.

Perhaps life has become one long list of… 

"Hopefully soon…"  

"Hopefully soon we will go on that cruise." 

"Hopefully soon we will go on a vacation that involves

 being gone more than a measly two or three days." 

"Hopefully soon we will go on that date night or overnight." 

"Hopefully soon we will have that pajama day at home, make waffles and connect." 

"Hopefully soon we will go back home to visit Mama." 

"Hopefully soon we will take the kids on that trip to Disneyland." 

"Hopefully soon we will… "

What's on your list?

What do you hope to do? 

The very word "Hope" means faith that such and such will happen, something wonderful will take place… that we believe it will come to fruition.


But in that "Hopefully we will…" is there excuse lurking?

Is excuse or procrastination insidiously hanging in that sentence we utter with the somewhat (?) convincing tone we use?

Perhaps. 


We don't have to lose ourselves in life. We don't have to subscribe to a life where everything that has special meaning to us is put on the perpetual back burner… we can claim today…  that we will pull out the calendar and begin marking definitive dates we will go live for so much more than just work and stress. We can claim today… today that we will choose our children over our iPhone, our late night at the office or a skipped family dinner. We can realize that we may have second tries… we may be able to say "I've got a chance to do this again…" but only so many times do we get that chance. Are we living with our eyes half open, stumbling through the commitments and motions or are we fully awake and tuned in to our very present moment?

We all want more than what this world has to offer… Christians ultimately want Heaven… we want peace, we want love, we want Jesus… and we all want our slice of Heaven here on earth while we walk this land… we won't find it in an office cubicle… but we will outside…

In the glorious beauty God has given us in this world… where land meets blue painted skies.

Where is your little piece of Heaven on earth? 


Maybe it's the snow-capped mountains… the majestic trees, the lakes and rivers… maybe it's the desert and all it's simplistic beauty… or maybe it's like mine… the sandy beach.

This past week I was blessed to relax a bit where my little slice of Heaven is on earth... in Florida I spent some time on Barefoot Beach in Naples. If you haven't been it's a wonderful place to take your family. The Barefoot Beach State Preserve has beautiful beaches and turtles.

Wherever your slice of Heaven is on earth… be sure you take some time there now and then… don't let it become relegated to a "Hopefully" with good intentions that never come to pass.


Because we aren't meant to just exist.

Were meant to live. 

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

                          

           

The Non-Sociopathic Child: How To Instill Empathy ~ 3 Tips

As a little girl my most beloved grade school book was Charlotte's Web. The story was touching as it showed true friendship between Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig. Charlotte was loyal to Wilbur to the very end and Wilbur never forgot her short presence in his life. It's a classic tale of friendship, yes… but also empathy. Charlotte put herself in Wilbur's position and knew his potential untimely demise at the hands of the farmer could be prevented if she intervened selflessly on his behalf. We know if she was in his place she would hope he'd do the same for her. Which we know by Wilbur's loving character he surely would have.


When it comes to our children I believe any good parent would wish for the gift of empathy for their child. Empathy in children leads to becoming adults who care for others, who can make decisions with careful thought… they are better equipped to decide what is best for themselves but also weigh their choices out of respect toward others feelings… yet in that, to not go the other extreme and become people pleasers. We all want our children to grow up to be strong… to be resilient against bullies, against peer pressure and narcissistic sociopaths. Yet in that we don't want them to become hardened like some people in the world… we want them to have a healthy balance… and realize that although there are a few bad apples out there, for the most part people are good… and it's important to have empathy toward others.


A narcissistic sociopathic parent typically chooses between his children. He may make one the golden child (preferred), one the black sheep (discarded) and any others may fall by the wayside. A sociopathic parent doesn't have empathy… it's like he has a glitch in his system. He is not capable of love and placing himself in someone else's shoes…. to imagine what they must feel when enduring a hurt, offense, loss, etc. Since he's not capable of showing empathy his children suffer as well. This is why it's so essential for the healthy functioning parent to teach empathy as much as possible… in the hopes the sociopath's harmful behaviors can be overridden by the healthy functioning parent.

Here are three tips in helping instill empathy in your child…

3 Tips:


1. Read To Your Child:
Think back on the childhood stories you read and I bet you'll see some similar themes in what they taught… empathy. Charlotte's Web, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Little House, The Giving Tree are just a few that you can read to your child aloud at bedtime and then discuss. Encourage your child to think about the individual characters and how they likely feel about their experiences… ask them questions to get them thinking: "How do you think Wilbur felt when Charlotte died?" Doing this opens the door for kids to go on to more in depth discussions related to hurts, loss and death.


2. Stop Rewarding:
You may think you read that wrong. You may be thinking… "What? Stop rewarding good behavior?" It's fine to reward a child now and then… but to go and reward a child for helping someone else, for doing something kind, is just plain counterintuitive. It's telling them: "Here's a reward for what you did that should have been from the heart." Rewarding children for doing acts of kindness toward others sets up expectation i.e.; let's make a deal type thinking and "you owe me", versus giving freely as we should do and as God would want.


3. Model Empathy:
Think of ways you can model acts of kindness toward others that involve your children. Maybe it's putting together small bags of goodies for his or her classmates at Christmas or "just because". Maybe it's baking brownies for your mail carrier along with a sweet handwritten note. Perhaps it's washing your elderly neighbors car or planting flowers in the empty pots on their porch. Think of small ways you can add beauty to someone else's day and then involve your child. Afterward talk about how much it made your neighbor smile and how nice it is to help others.


© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

To My Readers: 

Thank you for reading, 

commenting and sharing! 

Intent: Living A Life Of Purpose

"It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash

It happens in the time it took to look back

I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time

What is it I've done with my life?" 

~ Blink Revive 

How do you live? 

Do you live each day in a blur of work, projects, traffic, noise and chaos, only to look back each night with regret wondering where on earth your day went? 

Do you have a mental list of:

"I'd like to…"

"I want to…" 

or maybe

"One day I plan to…" 

Well, if you do... you're not alone… this is a common struggle. Yet it feels so good to know we are actually doing something we want to accomplish or believe in to be important... whether it's a project around the house, taking that long overdue vacation, learning a new skill, or just helping others…

It's living with intentional purpose. 

It's following through on something we believe has value. 

I've been trying to live a bit more intentionally. Time is not forever. Like you, I won't always be here and only God knows when each of us will reach the finish line and cross over to the other side. 

We each have the ability to live with more purpose, with more intent and not let the hours go by each day without having helped someone, without having made a difference. 

Last December my kids and I assembled blessing bags to distribute to people who are homeless. It has been a humbling few months handing out these blessing bags filled with granola bars, toothbrush & toothpaste sets and deodorant with slips of scripture tucked in. People you wish you could give more to and yet giving a bag of essentials and a snack is always met with a thankful heart, grateful look and kind words spoken. 

However fleeting, I know what it's like to go without some mere basics. Leaving home at seventeen with a picture ID in my pocket and six measly dollars... it doesn't take Einstein to know it doesn't go far. I always had shelter but I knew my situation was precarious and I was relying on others to provide a place for me to live and for safety. Being without basics and shelter is something no one should go through, to endure, yet it happens everyday. Some people might chalk it up to bad choices and turn away, choosing to ignore... but that doesn't help anyone. If any one of us were in their shoes I know, guaranteed, we'd be praying for shelter, food, a helping hand, a break however big or small. 

Recently when stopped in a center lane at an extremely long red light and large intersection, I turned my flashers on, exited my vehicle and walked a blessing bag to an elderly man asking for help. To my surprise, the guy stopped in traffic behind me was exiting his truck to do the same thing. At that moment our eyes locked and we smiled the same language... love. 

Purpose... 

I want to live with purpose. I want the busyness to fade away. I want to turn my flashers on a moment and say "Wait, just a minute" to life and declare what is important in that moment, that second, that that takes precedence over "busy".

God wants us to live with purpose. With intentionality. The days go by in a blur and yet we don't have to subscribe to a whirlwind of life where everything passes by in a kaleidoscope of color. We can stop the spinning, we can take the reins and bring the ride to a halt. 

We can say: 

"Today I'm doing something however big or small I've been putting off. Something that I believe is important..." and maybe even more important... "Something lovely that will speak to others, that will exude warmth, happiness and a giving heart... something that will further the kingdom of God and spread joy." 

We each have the ability to live like that. 

Some may say "But you don't understand... I just don't have time. I'm too busy." or "Maybe I can when my life gets to a better place... right now things are really bad... I'm in a tough season." 

All the more reason to reach out with intention and purpose. Reaching out to others does three things... One, it helps someone in need. Two, it gets our thoughts off our own problems. Three, it pleases God to have a giving spirit. 

We all have problems. We've all had heartache. We've all had failures, disappointments, regrets, losses and bad things happen to us that we wish had never occurred... and yet were still here... and just because of trials in this journey called life we aren't to turn our back on others. We aren't to turn inward and become self absorbed... but instead to keep reaching out. 

So I continue to reach into my pocket and I hope you will too... to reach in from my heart and give outward... because it really doesn't matter whether we have six bucks in our pocket or six hundred... God looks at our heart... He wants to know whether were willing to share…


with purpose and intent.. 


toward others. 

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

To My Readers: 

Thank you for reading, 

commenting and sharing!