Empty Nest, Abundant Life

Nag Less, Pray More

Category: My Next Act (Page 2 of 5)

Relationships and Experiences are Worth Far More than Any Material Possession

October 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

How will you choose to invest your life?  In modern America, the word investment is closely associated with the accumulation of more money and more stuff.   Material possessions will bring fleeting happiness, but not lasting joy.   The more stuff you get, the more stuff you have to maintain, keep track of, and clean.

Instead, I would recommend that you spend your money on memorable experiences and meaningful relationships.   Don’t wait to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.  You never know when you will get the chance to do them again.  The time and energy you spend on others will continue to bless people for generations, long after anything you owned even exists.

So, savor each day, take the time to develop friendships, teach those younger than you what you know, and give a smile to someone who needs 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!

Great Joy Comes from Giving to Others

October 21, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

Common sense might tell you that getting is so much better than giving, but that is a lie.   Some of the best times you will experience in your life are when you are giving to others.  Try to reach beyond your selfish desires and seek to meet other people’s needs.  It doesn’t take much effort to brighten someone else’s day, yet it can mean so much.  Think of the simple gestures of kindness that people have extended toward you throughout the years and what a difference they’ve made in your life.

Each day gives you fresh opportunities to bring joy to others.  It can be as easy as a smile or encouraging word to a stranger or as involved as a yearlong commitment teaching every week.  Share the topics you are passionate about with others in creative ways.  Don’t expect repayment or even gratitude.

You can change the world by giving your resources, time, energy, and self, and your life will be far richer as a result.

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!

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!

Pray for Wisdom Every Day

October 17, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

Life is hard, and it’s not getting any easier.  You have always been confident in your own intellect, but your conduct in this life will demand more wisdom than you are capable of mustering up on your own.  My advice to you is to rely on God for His unending wisdom instead of your shortsighted self.

The best way to do this is to pray before you even get out of bed in the morning, pray before you respond to any situation, pray before any conversation,  and pray before any major decision.  God delights in filling you with His wisdom but you have to confess that you don’t have enough wisdom on your own and ask God for His wisdom.

Ever since you made the choice to follow God, you have spent endless hours dwelling on the question, “What is God’s will for my life?”  God answers this question very clearly in His Word.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

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!

Expectations kill relationships

October 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dear Younger Self,

You are such a sensitive soul, and your feelings are easily hurt.  You expect a lot out of yourself, and you expect a lot out of your friends.   Don’t let this hinder you from forming friendships or cause you to sever friendships you’ve already created.  Everyone has different standards, different circumstances, and different backgrounds.  When you expect them to speak, react, and do everything exactly like you would, you will be sorely disappointed.

When you build up great expectations of others without communicating these thoughts, you are setting yourself up for failure.   When you build up expectations, you are often building barriers in relationships.  It is much better to not expect anything and be delighted by anything that others do or say that positively affect you.  See these moments as gifts from God.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”  I know it can be hard to look for the best in others when you are feeling wounded, but it can be the most healing salve available.

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!

Getting Unstuck

August 27, 2018 / / 0 Comments

My cat, Milo, often squeezes himself into strange places where he cannot easily escape.  This picture shows one of his favorite attention-getting locations, behind my monitor on my desktop computer.  He peeks out often, and I will occasionally see his orange paw extended toward me.  Retreating from this strange position is more difficult than he thought.

I can relate to Milo’s problem.  I often mentally get myself stuck.  I allow circumstances, excuses, and fear to keep me in my precarious position, unable to move on.  This is how I’ve felt about blogging lately.   I can’t argue with the fact that my summer has been packed with my son’s wedding, a job change for my husband, working at two Vacation Bible Schools, a summer trip, dealing with my husband’s unexpected health issues and truck accident, regular scheduled activities, keeping up with the house, and family life, but I certainly had the time to write.   I can’t let my fears of how others will perceive my words hold me back either, but that’s been the case these past couple of months.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been reading an excellent book aloud to my friends, Gail and Pat, when we get together each Monday to encourage one another.  The book, Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable by Valorie Burton, has given us many tips to apply and many topics to discuss.  Her 8 irrefutable rules of getting unstuck are: 1. You can’t move forward when you’re still looking backward, 2.  Meditating on the obstacle only makes it bigger, 3. Emotions are teachers, 4. Inspiration won’t chase you down, 5. You can’t control which thoughts show up, but you can control which ones you entertain, 6. Your words are tools, 7. What is central to your life controls your life, and 8. To be unstoppable, you must master this moment.

Now is the time to put those rules into action and get back to blogging on a regular basis.   I need to take the next step and get words typed out and published.   I am committing now to publish at least 10 new blog posts in the next month, and I ask you to keep me accountable.

Where are you stuck in your life, and what are you going to do to get unstuck?

 

The Phone Call

June 4, 2018 / / 0 Comments

We’ve all the had those moments when the phone rings with news that changes our world…

I had the house to myself and was relishing the quiet one Thursday evening when our home phone rang,  jarring me from my peaceful reverie and sending my thoughts into instant high-gear.  The home phone seldom rings in this cellular age, but when it does, it’s either a telemarketer or bad news from afar.  My husband was assisting at the local community theater where he serves on the board, and I had recently talked to my daughter, who could practically taste her approaching Spring Break from her demanding teaching position.  The wild card was my 25-year-old son, David.  He was at a Spring Break conference with  a group of close to 100 university students at Hume Lake Christian Camp and had been out of cell range since the previous Sunday.   My heart pounded as I observed that the incoming phone call was from the camp’s main telephone number, the one used only for emergencies.

I braced myself as I answered, expecting to hear a somber voice informing me of a injury, but was surprised to hear David’s voice on the other end, and he sounded downright…giddy.  He’d never sounded this excited on the phone before and I understood the reason as the words came spilling out, “Mom, this afternoon I asked Mariana to marry me, and she said, ‘Yes!’  Tears sprang to my eyes as we rejoiced together.  It would be a short engagement, less than 4 months, so they could get married before another year of college ministry began, so we immediately started making plans.

As I hung up the phone, I reflected back to the day I first held him in my arms, so tiny and helpless.   He’s grown up to be a strong and admirable man, and I can’t wait to watch as he becomes a wonderful husband to Mariana.

 

Putting Myself in Jeopardy

March 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments

You can call me old and nerdy because of what I’m about to reveal.  Every weekday evening, my husband and I gather in the living room to hear Johnny Olson’s booming voice announce, “This is Jeopardy!” and the familiar accompanying tune.  We enjoy shouting out the answers that we know and finding out about the quirky contestants.  It’s a quick and fun way to unwind after a busy day.

I am a big trivia fan ever since I can remember.  What other five-year-old would only name her goldfish after assassinated presidents?   I was even on my high school’s “In the Know” quiz bowl team in 1985.   I have enjoyed participating in trivia contests in venues anywhere from cruise ships to church.

I had always wondered what it would be like to try out for Jeopardy.  Seven months ago, while watching Jeopardy, Alex Trebek revealed that the twice-a-year online test would happen in a few short weeks.  I registered on the site and planned to take the test on the final of three nights it was given.  When it came time to log in for the test, the website wouldn’t recognize my password and prevented me from taking the test.  Part of me was disappointed, and part of me was relieved.

Last month,  Alex gave the new test dates, which were March 6, 7, and 8.   I battled within myself, wondering if I should try again.   I practiced logging in then registered for the upcoming test, electing this time to complete the test  on the first day instead of the last day.

Today was the day.

I logged in with plenty of time and, even though my heartbeat increased as I heard the theme music, I stayed focused on answering the questions instead of second guessing myself.  I completed the first two steps of the process by registering and taking the test.  Now it is up to Jeopardy to contact me if they choose me to audition.  I don’t know I will ever hear from them, but I pushed past my fear and put myself in jeopardy.  At this point in my life, I want to live it to the fullest.

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