Storytime

Y'all. We've almost made it through February. Things  have been going good for me right now.  I've been attempting to do more things that fill my soul up. Like cooking. I mean,  I made a chicken vegetable soup all by myself without a recipe. I felt like Julia Childs. (I've been told I have to credit Emily for that) I've been taking my pup to the park and seeing/hearing from friends. Oh, and I finally scheduled a time to take my NCE (National Counseling Exam). Praise the Lord. March 15th. NCE, prepare to be conquered.  I'm still stressed, but making my way towards a healthy balance.

I was texting my friend Marianne the other day and I just had to share what she told me. I was telling her what a process all of the post graduation stuff has been. I just had to share what she said.
"Yes! Such a process....and we want a story...and our story is actually the process to our life. So hard to let go control of the unknown." 
Man. I just love that.

We are all living a story. The struggles, triumphs, characters, settings, it is all a part of it. There will always be something happening. At least hopefully. Otherwise, the story may become a little boring. And who knows what will happen on the next page. So make today an exciting one.


Ps-I blogged about this a while back but if you want an awesome book about telling a personal story, read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I think he also has a blog out now called http://storylineblog.com

Don't forget to have a good time.

Well, inspiration didn't hit for a while. I don't know what it's been about these past few weeks but they have been weird. It may be the February blues, but this month has been a struggle. Hearing from some of friends they agree too.

Struggling with worries. Job worries, future worries, friend worries, test worry. Worry worry worry. I too have been a victim of worry this month. Consumed with to-do lists, one task after another, giving so much of ourselves that at the end of the day we're exhausted. And then we get up and do it all over again.

Bad cycle my friends. And some things on our to-do lists are musts. We must do our job. We must run errands for things we need. Another must though? We must take care of our selves. We must give back to ourselves a little bit so we have a little bit to give back to others. I know I've talked about it before but especially during the February blues, it doesn't hurt to talk about it again. Start giving back to yourself a little bit. You not only deserve it, but you need it.

My mom told me this morning that I've been walking around with my shoulders up around my ears. Oops. So even if it is as simple as rolling the shoulders down and back. Taking deep breaths. Telling yourself positive messages. Petting your dog. Drinking hot tea. Or big things. Taking an hour to do yoga. Getting a massage. Dinner with friends. Taking a trip (Like Emily is currently doing. Jealous!) give back to yourself so that you can conquer that to-do list and not completely wear yourself out in the process!

Hopefully that wasn't too preachy. I'm going to step down off my soap box and work on my to-do list. Maybe my next post will be a little more light hearted.... Have a wonderful, fun weekend!

Quotes

So I have attempted to write three different posts and they just aren't coming out the way I want them to. I think my brain is turning into mush from all of the studying I've been doing for the NCE.

Usually a day after I post about my favorite quotes, inspiration hits. Hopefully that'll happen for me. But here's some of my favorite quotes I've found recently. Plus some ones that make me laugh thrown in. I'm always up for a good laugh.

The wide variety of those quotes will probably just give you a little glimpse into how scrambled my brain is lately! Have a wonderful week!

Growth.

I used to be shy. I mean really shy.  I'm pretty sure I didn't really talk all of kindergarten. I remember meeting Emily for the first time and all I could think was "Man, that girl talks a lot".  I was shy all through elementary but I was also blessed with a great group of friends that brought me out of my shell. In junior high, I felt like I had to start all over because my elementary school group got split up. I distinctly remember my parents in 7th grade encouraging me to make new friends and write down the names of people I talked to. After junior high, I decided that I wanted to work on my shyness.

It was a slow process. It started with little things like talking to new people in my class. Talking in groups. Trying new organizations. Then in graduate school,  it moved on to bigger things. Letting people get close to me. Letting my guard down. Loving myself. Accepting myself as an introvert but not letting that trait hold me back from things I wanted to do. My first blog post was similar to this. I've learned that it's still a process but my experiences will help me continue to grow.

Friday I made a presentation. It was more like a training. For some people, yea no big deal. Just a presentation. Well this introvert, lost some sleep over it. All I could think about was "How am I going to talk for two hours?" "Will they like my presentation?" "What if they ask too many tough questions?" "What if I'm not experienced enough?" "What if I'm not good enough?"

That's where what I've learned had to kick in. I needed to love myself. I had to remind myself that I was good enough, knew enough, and I could do it.

Guess what? I did it. Without my voice shaking.
It's the little things. But I counted it as a small victory and a step in my journey.

Staying in the Moment

I am hesitant about writing this post because I feel like I blog about it a lot. My whole intention for this blog though was to share struggles, triumphs, funny stories honestly and genuinely. That being said, I'm going to talk about being present minded.

I'm currently struggling with this immensely. I'm constantly catching myself thinking about the future. What it will be like, what I want for it to be like, what do I need to do to get there. On and on. It's ok being future minded to an extent. Everyone needs goals.  But having my mind entirely in the future is only causing anxiety. Creating stressful to-do lists, restless nights, and a fatigued mind and body.

 Worrying about things doesn't make them go away. It just makes me tired and less productive. Staying present is always something that I've struggled with. After I got home from work on Saturday, I took Chrissy and Sully over to the high school by my house. I took them off leash and threw the ball and let them run around. As I was sitting there in the gorgeous weather being entertained by my dogs, all I could think was, "I'm so happy this  is exactly where I am right now."

That's what being present is all about. Not letting the simple joys slip away because I'm worrying about what the next day will bring. Here's to staying in the moment and appreciating today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34 NIV