Month: March 2018

Ordinarily Speaking…

“When’s it going to happen for me?!”

It’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t happen the way we wanted them to or as fast as we wanted. Social media shows us everyone’s success, their vacations, their friendships, the new…whatever, and often it seems that our ordinary, little life just doesn’t stack up.

I posit that, if you are doing what you do, no matter how ordinary it seemingly is or unnoticed though it may be, if you are doing it with your whole heart as unto the Lord and not unto man, being faithful in the small things, then it IS “happening for you.” See Matthew 25

Check this out from a devotional on YouVersion:  “God isn’t asking you to be famous; God’s asking you to be faithful…BEFORE any great acts, AFTER any great acts, or WITHOUT any great acts… Faithfulness is a marathon not a sprint” (The Blessing of the Ordinary Devotional).

What may seem ordinary to us can become extra-ordinary when we recognize Who it is we are “working” for.  There’s a destination better than Cabo San Lucas, better than Puerto Vallarta, better than _____ fill in the blank.  Be faithful in the little (ordinary) things, and you WILL be ruler over much.

How can you be more faithful today, right where you are in that thing you do called life?

Feel free to comment. Sometimes just putting it out there helps. I will respond.

Living Life to the Fullest: Part Three

Review: A full life is a grateful life. Start each day by being grateful on purpose, and also make sure you take care of you. If we go full steam without refueling, we will fizzle out, and we won’t be able to do the next step…

Step 3: Do something for someone else

(Your Kingdom come; your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)

Again, you may wonder where that is in the Lord’s Prayer. After I pray God’s will to be done in my life, I then begin praying for his will to be done in others’ lives – for him to fix my people, help with needs, turn things around for them. This is the place where I pray for everyone in my life; I pray for the country and leaders etc…

Hence, the step – doing something for others.

  • People often think it’s “how can I make my life better.” While we do, indeed, strive to better ourselves, one of the greatest ways to live life to the fullest is to give of yourself to others. People need to know they are appreciated, that they matter, and you can be the one that does that for someone. By doing this, you also begin to feel better. It can be as simple as calling someone that you haven’t talked to in a while. People do still call, I believe, right? If they have a smart phone, text or video message them. Don’t forget, our elderly friends and family may still need a phone call. Simply ask how they are doing, then let them talk, and truly listen.

 

  • Stop and help a person get their stuff into their trunk at the grocery if they are struggling. Smile and look the person in the eye that you meet in the aisle or on the sidewalk. It amazes me how people can walk, looking straight ahead as you pass right by them. I always try to catch the eye of the person I’m passing and simply, smile. If you look for something to give or do for another, opportunity will avail itself; you’ll bless someone, and you will feel fuller, yet lighter.

ACTION:  Look around you right now. What do you see that you can do for someone in your immediate family?  Take a moment and think about the people in your circle; who has been having a hard time financially, physically, mentally? Write down at least 3 people that you know you could brighten their day or lighten their load, and write down what you will do.

Person I can do something for.                                  What I will do.

 

Living Life to the Fullest: Step Two

Step Two: Take Care of You

(Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)

Where is “taking care of you” in the Lord’s Prayer, you may ask. When praying for God’s will to be done – the next part of the prayer – we should first pray for his will to be done in our own lives. Isn’t that kind of selfish, you may ask again?

Consider this: if our own lives are out of whack, how then can we help others?  For 30 years I have followed the Lord’s Prayer in my prayer time, first taking time to thank him and recognize his goodness in my life. Then, I pray for his will to be done in my life – to fix me – to forgive me – because, if I have something wrong in my life, whether it be with another person or between me and God, we are directed in scripture to first make that right, then He will hear us and we can proceed with confidence.

Therefore, give yourself permission to take care of you daily on your journey to living life to the fullest. For instance, every day take time for you in two areas in particular: your mind/spirit and body.

  • Every day we need to be doing some sort of personal development: reading books (or listening to them) on a topic in which you need improvement. Start with Darren Hardy’s Compound Effect. Don’t be thrown by the title; it’s not a financial book. It examines the compound effect of the little things we do in life daily and their “compound effect” over time. This is my all-time favorite. My next favorite is Punch Fear in the Face by Jon Acuff. If these books don’t stir you, you spoon has fallen out of your bowl.
  • Every day do something for your physical body. Stretch, walk, swim, workout. A friend of mine was battling an arthritis flare that lasted 3 months and she could barely walk. She joined one of my online challenge groups in which I sent one exercise per day via our Facebook private group. She could not get out of bed or off the couch at times, but she moved her arms in the manner of the video, or she would move her legs in repetition, and she would bend forward at her waist. When I lived in Texas, it would be so hot there was no way I was going to go run outside. Instead, I set the timer for 10 minutes and trotted all around my house doing a figure 8 as I jogged to the front of the house, into the office, back out and around the bar in the kitchen. Sometimes I’d jog up the stairs and in and out of the rooms! (this was before I discovered 10 Minute Trainer) Do what you can, where you are, but do something for your body. My mentor, Darren Hardy says:
  • Your body is a business. Take care of it or it will go out of business.
  • Today, remove one unhealthy thing from your kitchen. Throw it away and decide what one healthy thing you can replace it with. For instance, Oreo cookies. Yes, give yourself permission to toss them! It’s the best 3 bucks you have ever wasted, and don’t give them to the grandkids; remember, you’re taking care of you so you can take care of others – set the example. Replace them with a bag of dark chocolate morsels, and when the urge for chocolate occurs, grab a few of these instead. Do this once a week for a month, tossing a different unhealthy thing each week. For more healthy alternatives, go to my website: vickielperez.com and click on Fitness Coach.

ACTION:  1. Decide on a personal development book you will start today. Google it or browse on your favorite E-reader to find one. Start with the ones listed above if you are unsure. Write the title here (if you are already reading one, list it here as well) ____________________________________________________  (Comment to me what it is!)

  1. Decide right now what you will do for your body. Will you “trot around your house?” Will you sit on your couch and move your arms and legs if that is all you are able to do? Will you start a workout program? Write what you will do here:

___________________________________________________________________ (Need help deciding what to do? Let me know!)

  1. Get up, yes now, and go look in your cabinet and find one thing that is bad for you and toss it! Write what you tossed here ______________________________________ and what you will replace it with here ________________________________.