Perserverance

By Perserverance the Snail reached the Ark.

~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A few weeks ago I was driving past a local church and the sign outside had the quote above on it. For some reason it brought a tear to my eye as I thought about it. A tiny little snail, God's creation slugging along millimeter by millimeter watching everything around it moving quickly and yet it was moving so slowly. It had a goal, one focus, to get to the ark. It eventually made it little by little, day by day.

Do you ever feel a little like that snail? Sometimes I think about how far I've come in terms of my goals, dreams and accomplishments but yet there are still so many things that I want to do, achieve and become. Some days you might be blessed with a mini miracle in the form of a life changing phone call, a big break at work or you  might open up that credit card statement that finally reads the $0 balance you've been dreaming about for years. Others might be the same old, same old regular days that are filled with problems all of their own and you might be wondering how you'll ever achieve your dreams, repair your marriage, get through to a friend, get your child out of diapers, whatever it may be, the list goes on.

The important thing to remember is the big picture. I've never met or read about a successful person in life that wasn't committed, persistent or that didn't perservere when they were faced with life's toughest challenges. We will all have our up and down days. We will all have times when we might even feel like giving up. This one thing I know for sure, we are all winners if we keep on trying, stay in the game and learn from our past mistakes.

You can't move forward when you are focused on what's in the rearview mirror. If there are past unresolved issues in your life holding you back from what you desire from your future today, I highly encourage you to embrace them, work through them so you can be all that you want to become. A friend recently told me that some previous beliefs she had about herself  kept her from persuing her dreams of running her own business. Don't let your fears or past hangups keep you from living your dreams.

Whenever you're feeling knocked down, defeated or hopeless just think of the little snail, if it can reach the ark, you can perservere and reach your goals in life too!

What dreams or goals do you have right now that feel a bit impossible at the moment?

Are YOU Who You WANT To Be?

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This is your life.....are you who you want to be? This is your life... is it everything you dreamed that it would be? Those lyrics are sung by the band  'Switchfoot' in a song called 'This is your life'.

The first time I heard that song it really struck me. I wondered, how many people are living a life where they don't feel they are their authentic self or are trying to be someone they aren't, are not sure who they really are or may not even like themselves let alone love themselves. Then, I thought about my own life.There are so many areas I'm proud of in my life but there are areas of growth, improvement and discipline still to be conquered also. I believe this is the case for most people, otherwise we'd be stagnant, bored and unfulfilled. The truth is that we will never really reach a destination point where we can say, 'Ahhh, okay, I'm here, I've arrived. We are constantly learning and growing and desiring to be our personal best.

Sometimes it's easy to get distracted, to take your eyes off the prize when we put too much attention on the lives of others. Maybe you know a couple whose love for one another and life seems picture perfect and you truly long for something that resembles it, a family who apperas to have it all and yet you feel so far away from achieving that yourself, your best friend who shares with you her dream job and a salary to complement it and you're struggling to get by. You may be left wondering what special and exciting things are meant for you?

Ask yourself this question- Am I  living each day with intention? Purpose? Joy? Passion?

With the joys of life, also come the mundane daily errands and tasks. Often times we only see the special, happy moments in others' lives but the frustrating, maddening, boring or heartbreaking ones in our own. We must reflect on the wonderful experiences and opportunities that we have had. We are all unique and are given different gifts and opportunities, we must be willing to make the most of them.

Now, ask yourself these 3 question? What do I really want to do with my life that will fill me with joy? What will be my legacy? How do I want to be remembered one day by those that love me?

Maybe your goal is as simple as bringing joy into the lives of everyone you meet on a daily basis, perhaps you want to be a world traveler and author who leaves a legacy of books behind, like I do, for future generations. You may even dream of being a fulfilled and loving mother and wife, that is a good goal too! We need more loving mothers and wives on this planet, that is for sure!

Whatever your goal, desire or passion is, attempt to live that out each day. Never let fear hold you back from being the very best possible version of YOU. Just this week I received a call about a new opportunity that was bigger and grander than others I've worked on in the past. I committed myself to the project and look forward to the new challenges. However, after I got off of the phone, I felt excited then immediately felt fearful. I started thinking about all the things she may want me to do that would be new and perhaps a little scary. It's easy to stay where we're at in life, but we need to press in daily and break forth into new opportunities, new assignments that may feel uncomfortable at the moment but need to be conquered so we will realize how gifted and accomplished we actually are.

Here are the lyrics for the whole song if you haven't heard it before:

'THIS IS YOUR LIFE'

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead

Yesterday is a promise that you've broken

Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes

This is your life and today is all you've got now

Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be

When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Yesterday is a kid in the corner

Yesterday is dead and over

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be

When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

Don't close your eyes

This is your life are you who you want to be

This is your life are you who you want to be

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, are you who you want to be

This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be

When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Have a blessed day and live your dreams!

Quotes by Oprah

Today's post is short and sweet, I'm sharing some of my favorite quotes from a classy woman that ALL of you know and many of you love-Oprah! I hope these 7 quotes will cause you to think about your own life and go after your dreams this year!

'Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.'

'My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.'

'The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams!'

'I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.'

'There's no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!' (on exercise/losing weight)

'Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.'

'The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance - and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.'

~All quotes listed above by Oprah Winfrey.

What is your favorite quote? It doesn't have to be one from Miss. Winfrey, but I'd love to hear which ones you refer to when you need some inspiration!