This Amazing Thing Called Grace

The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.  Matthew 26:41 (KJV)

It is sometimes easier for people to focus on “tHe SpiRit is WilliNg” and forget that “tHe FleSh is wEaK”.  They expect RoCk-sTaR pErfoRmaNce and beat themselves up when their performance is anything LeSs tHaN pErFeCt.  Can you relate?

It’s important for you to understand that your HuMaN nAtuRe, your natural tendency, is to Go iN tHe diTch.  I’m not being negative, just realistic.  It’s just like a car.  If you take your hands off the steering wheel as you are driving down the highway, it will eventually end up in the ditch.  And although there is nothing you can do about that, there is a lot you can do to keep yourself “between the lines”.  It is an active role you play daily.     

However, from time to time you are going to make miStAkes.  And when you do you must remember the flesh is weak.  This is not a license to mess-up or an excuse to give-up, but it is a reminder that you are a WoRk iN pRoGreSs.

So, have cOmPasSion on yourself.  Give yourself a break.  LiGhtEn uP.  The Bible calls this grace.  And let me tell you that you will enjoy your journey a whole lot more (and so will everyone else around you) if you will just learn to give yourself (and others) this AmAziNg tHinG cAllEd GRACE.

Robynn~

Stop Staring at Me!

Are you ever trying to break a bad habit, but the hAbit is always staring you down?  I was having this issue over the weekend with a red velvet cake.  Although I knew there were a tremendous number of calories in every slice and how sluggish it made me feel AFTER I ate it…I still wanted more.My solution?  The cake went in the trash.  I eNjoYed two small slices over the weekend, but I won’t feel guilty for throwing something away that is only going to make me feel worse.  Back
in the day and I would have never thought to do such a thing.  Knowing that there are people in the world in nEEd of something to eat would have kept me from tossing it.  However, keeping unnecessary snacks and junk food around the house would just be contributing to another big problem in this country, weight management.

Sometimes we have to take eXtreMe measures to avoid being stared down by our tEmptAtions.  In the end, we need to do whatever it takes to set ourselves up to SuCCeeD.

~Lara

Sweet Spot “Spotters”- The Challenge (Wk 15)

I went through a time in my life where I was fRusTrAteD in almost every aspect of my life.  Things just didn’t seem to be going well for me.  I felt mediocre, or worse, like a failure.  That is when I remembered a couple of compliments I had been given years earlier by two separate individuals.  They both said the same thing, “Robynn is the NiCeSt person I know.”  I remember being floored that two people who didn’t even know each other and didn’t live in the same city said the same exact thing.

My point in sharing that story is not to say I’m the nicest person around because it turns out that I know fRiEndLier aNd NicEr people than I am and I try to emulate these people.  Instead my purpose in sharing this story is to show how these people had seen my gifting, my tAleNt which is being fRieNdLy and enCouRagiNg to others.  That is my StrEngTh.

When I thought back to these comments the LigHtBuLb went off!!  I wasn’t operating in my GIFT, instead I was trying to be someone else.  I was trying to emulate people who have strengths in the areas of my weaknesses and when I did I failed.

What gifts and talents do others see in you?  Maybe it’s not even something that you have ever considered being a gift or a talent.  Maybe you have blown off CoMpliMenTs thinking that people are “just saying that”, “don’t really mean it”, or “are just trying to be nice” .  It may be time to take their compliments to heart.  Could it be that they are pointing you to your “SwEeT sPoT” without you even knowing it?

Robynn~

Eye Candy!!

Need a FuN aNd hApPy twist in your decorating?  Why not try something as simple as adding some different throw pillows?  I found some fabric I loved and then had my friend, Kendall Follmer, from KeNdAll’s UpHolSterY make these pillows.  I think they turned out FaBuLoUs! 

PiNk and GrEeN are my two favorite colors!  They are my “eYe cAnDy”!  Can you tell?

These colors just make me HaPpY!  Why not find some colors you LoVe and switch things up a bit?  No doubt come fall and the holidays I’ll be gravitating towards other CoLorS and TeXtuRes (maybe fur or crocheted), but these pillows go perfectly with SuMmeR and the way it makes me feel!!

Robynn~

It Isn’t Always Easy

Have you ever been really pAtient and pOsitiVe about a situation and it still didn’t pan out the way you had hoped?  In those moments it is easy to want to “throw in the towel” and let all upbeat thoughts dissipate.  Then you start to wonder, why waste so much eNerGy trying to be optimistic all the time?

Being a positive person isn’t always easy.  A negative attitude takes less effort and low expectations keep you from being easily disappointed.  Although this is the outlook of many, I’m a bElieveR that being positive is hArder, But bEtteR.  Although we have to constantly motivate ourselves to find the good out of a bad situation, I’d rather work hard at feeling good vs. work less and feel bad.

So next time things don’t go your way and you want to kick your positive attitude to the curb, remind yourself that good things happen for those who work HARD and WAiT OuT tHe StOrM.  Negative efforts give quick relief but the positive ones give eTerNal haPpineSs.

~Lara

(This picture was taken from our yard this past spring.  We have been blessed to have many breathtaking rainbows from our front porch!)

Strong-Willed Child – The Challenge (Wk 14)

Do you have one?  A StRoNg-WiLLeD ChiLd, that is.  I actually have two, but my youngest is the one with the strongest will.  You better believe that she can throw a full-fledged fit and scream at the top of her lungs for hours on end.  Literally.  I wonder how I ended up with not one, but two of these precious little darlings.  After all, I was the compliant child and what you sow you reap, right?

My response to this mayhem?  I refuse to be manhandled by a 3-year old.  So, BriNg iT DaRLiN’ because If wE tAnGo I promise you, I will always win.   I do tell her that frequently.  We even rehearse this dialog often:

MOM:  “Who is in charge?”

CHILD:  “You are.”

MOM:  “So, that means that who is NOT in charge?”

CHILD:  “We (her and her sister) are not in charge.”

Besides my children, there is another strong-willed child I have to deal with almost every day –  a.k.a. ME!!  It’s that undisciplined part of me that only wants convenience and comfort.  It willingly cooperates, but only if it doesn’t involve sacrifice and hardship of any kind.

This strong-willed child is my public enemy number one.  It is 99% of my problems.  It’s what stands between me and my goals.  It refuses to cooperate with my plans, wants its own way, and will throw a fit if it doesn’t get it.

How do I handle this strong-willed child?  The same way I handle my strong-willed 3-year old.  Sheer determination to be the LaSt oNe StAnDiNg.   Feelings, comfort, and convenience will have to take backseat, because I will win this one.  I promise.

~Robynn

In Need of Mending

Is there someone in your life that you’ve a falling out with? Haven’t talked to a friend in ages because your relationship ended out of the blue? You know who I’m talking about…the thought of this person is TuGGinG at your heart just thinking about it.

Over the last couple of years I have been very fortunate to meNd broKen relaTionsHips with individuals that I had once been very close with. Much to my surprise, when I finally contacted them, their reasoning for having a “falling out” was due to something completely different than my own. It was shocking that years had been wasted due to having hurt feelings for completely different reasons. If only we had talked about it sooner!

It takes a lot of CouRaGe and FaiTh to reach out and contact a loved one whom you are no longer close with. Sometimes it takes a long time for the hurt to heal, and even when you have forgiven, that doesn’t mean that they have. Regardless, life is tOo shoRt to not take a chance on a relationship that could be mended. Call them or write how you are feeling. Either way it should give YOU CLOSURE, and perhaps it will give you more than that…a renewed relationship! I’m so glad I have those people back in my life again.

~Lara

BBFYB: Avoiding Skin Cancer & Hearing Loss

With the FuN summer hOlidAy around the corner, get your biggest bang for your buck by packing along your sunscreen and earplugs.  Don’t underestimate the ImpAct of being in the sun for a picnic or surrounded by a few fireworks crackling in your ears. Someone once told me that any noise over 85 decibels causes hearing loss.  For example, a lawnmower makes noise at 90 decibels. Keep this in mind when the kids are outside or near other sounds at similar volumes. Prolonged exposure of the sun and noise can cause problems later in life and ProTectiNg yourself from these potential issues only takes a second!

Have a SAFE holiday!

~Lara