Category: joy in everyday life

The Gift of Gab

Do you ever have a moment….a day….where you wonder: 

Why? Why am I doing “xyz”….

or What? What is my gift…talent…purpose? 

Where? Where am I suppose to do “xyz” and use my gift, talent, purpose? 

When? When am I suppose to do “xyz”…with my gifts, talents, purpose for this where? 

And Who? Who am I to do the where, when, and why?


As a WONDERFUL WARRIOR WOMAN (on a Wednesday, non-the-less..hehe…) I may wonder this from time to time but I feel pretty grounded, pretty confident, in knowing that God has given me the gift of gab….lol…

Let me explain:

Not everyone is comfortable sharing their life story to others, never mind in a public, out there for everyone and anyone to read or hear.  
Open to vulnerability.  
Open to criticism.  
Open to even self doubt, self criticism, self struggle.  
Open to share the good, the bad, the ugly of the past.  
The good, bad, the ugly of the present….
…and the good, bad, ugly of the hopes, dreams of the now and future.

But this is what I have realized….we are all called to bring light into lives of others.  
We are all called in different ways.  
Thus if I am called to share EVERYTHING (well almost everything…lol) than I am a willing vessel.

I admire Joyce Meyer in her willingness to share with others her life. I have admired, listened, and learned so much from her for almost 10 years now. through many of her teachings I have realized that one of my many gifts is to share…share my life….share what I have learned….whether it is about health, nutrition, faith, family, social, spiritual, physical, psychological….ALL of it….I have been “asked” to be open to share my story….my life…with all around me….all who are willing…wanting to read….hear…in order to be a good ripple for others. Who am I to deny my Maker when He asks something of me?

I grew up my mom expressing how much she wanted to write a book as to bless her children.
I KNOW I am to write to bless others around me. Because really who on earth would want to share all the most tender vulnerabilities with others? There are many out there who share lots about their life but share the surface….share about vanities or pride….and even from them there are things to learn.
I share not for those reasons….heck there are times I wonder, ask, why….why do I share…what does it matter? Who cares? Why do I even care?
I have learned and realized through my faith that those of us who are called to share our lives in this way have the gift not necessarily of gab…but the gab is about giving….it is about pouring out ourselves to give:

LAUGHTER
ENCOURAGEMENT
FAITH
HOPE
PEACE
JOY
LOVE
I HAVE A POWERFUL GIFT TO SHARE MY LIFE AND TO SHARE THE JOYS OF EVERY SINGLE MOMENT LIFE GIVES US! 

I have a gift to share how even when I am struggling with something physically, mentally, or spiritually…

I TRULY can LAUGH through the tears….
I TRULY can ENCOURAGE others and myself through the struggles….
I TRULY have FAITH….no matter what….
I TRULY see the HOPE in all of it….
I TRULY feel the PEACE of my situation….
I TRULY CAN find my JOY in all circumstances….
I TRULY can see the LOVE in all of it….
ESPECIALLY THE LOVE OF THE LORD carrying me through it all!
Next time you find yourself wondering on the: who, what, where, when of your life…..STOP…REFLECT…BREATH…because we all have a calling, a gift, a talent….a purpose….dig deep….pray….listen…breath…..and the answer WILL come to you deep within. And don’t let go of it!
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Problems to Ponder….THE JOY JOURNEY!

We are inundated with “problems” every day.  Worries, concerns, troubles, whoas, pains….illness…disease….mental….physical…spiritual…..

 BUT….
Do we REALLY understand true suffering!?

I absolutely LOVE it when GOD gives me a swift kick in the butt and reminds me THERE IS SOME ONE who has it harder than me.

Now don’t misinterpret…I’m not a complainer at heart.  I am NOT a glass half empty sort of gal.  Yet, with my thyroid flare ups, I have found myself, on occasion, wondering WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END!?

And then I have loving reminders of:

So what if I have to live with a thyroid condition for the rest of my life?
Is it so bad?
Is it so bad that I have to learn to manage my stress?
Is it so bad that I have to ensure I receive proper sleep?
Is it so bad that I have to say no to EVERY opportunity that I just feel compelled to say yes to?
Is it so bad that I have to learn to gracefully accept help?
Is it so bad that I have to learn to take the good with the bad in a totally different way?
Is it so bad that I can’t take my body’s health for granted?
Is it so bad that I have to smile and enjoy some down time in an afternoon because of a flare up?
Is it so bad that I am given graces to realize there are people dying from cancer…people suffering from ailments that I cannot fathom….and here I have to just learn how to manage a mind body soul approach to my autoimmunity issues….to my many systems screaming at me to care for them!?

I was having a profound conversation with a friend as she witnessed the death and dying of a young mom who had cancer.

The amazing grace and peace this 29 year old has left as a legacy can be explained only as GOD.  How else can a woman who has young children and is dying not get caught up in her personal worries, fears, concerns….but because of GOD….she knows He is Lord….she KNOWS He is holding her and her family.

Thus I say shame on all of us who worry over all the little things.  Even myself.  I am not a worrier by nature but I can get caught up in forgetting this life is a journey….and my season right now is managing and loving every aspect of the health I am in currently in…. because it could be worse….I can get worse…BUT with GOD I CAN AND WILL learn, grow, and love through all of it!!!

So….no more comparing myself to what I was before….did before…etc…..I AM WHO I AM NOW!!!  I desire this for everyone!  Embrace whatever struggle, burden, ailment….you may have and LOVE YOURSELF WITH IT….THROUGH IT….LOVE YOUR LORD WITH IT…..and LOVE YOUR JOURNEY…..

I have always loved Joseph from the bible…but I have been loving Job and Paul even more as well.

Joseph: NEVER GAVE UP NO MATTER WHAT WAS THROWN AT HIM!
Job: NEVER TURNED HIS BACK ON GOD!
Paul: MADE SURE HIS MESSAGE GOT OUT NO MATTER WHAT!!!

And then there is also one of my favorites: Abraham.

I love him because of his trust and faith….willing to sacrifice his child….knowing that yes it would have been heart wrenching….yet he knew his child was never his to begin with.

AND….he walked with a faith of not needing to know every turn GOD wanted him to take on the journey…he was willing to just do it….because HE KNEW it had purpose…THERE WOULD BE FRUIT….

EMBRACE YOUR JOURNEY TODAY!!!
EMBRACE ALL GOD HAS TO SHARE WITH YOU!
EMBRACE YOUR LOVE OF SELF….EXACTLY HOW YOU ARE NOW! Not the you of yesterday….not the you of tomorrow…..THE YOU OF TODAY!!!

The cliche that “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle….”….is interesting to me…..because I think He actually does.  In the sense….that our struggles, our lessons, our journey can feel so heavy sometimes…..but only when we are trying to do it ALONE….when we remember WHO we are living this journey for….THEN REALLY….it is pretty easy….not pain free….not struggle free….just peaceful and amazing….AND FULL OF SO MUCH JOY…..even in the middle of pain and sorrow!

ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY WITH JOY!!!!

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September 13, 2014 Women’s Conference Sum Up!

I waited a bit longer than I had intended to share with everyone this amazing day of reflection, prayer, and personal growth that I experienced a month ago.  

(Read previous post here to learn about the lead up to this Women’s Conference I attended in September!)

My one huge thing for all women who didn’t get to go:  YOU MUST GO NEXT YEAR!

Now I am a huge Joyce Meyer fan.  I would love to go to one of her conferences one of these years….but let me tell you the speaker: ROSE SWEET, was top notch! Check out her website here! 

She provided a beautiful, hip, loving environment that blows all those old thoughts that a CATHOLIC conference is stuffy, too serious, or too outdated.  

I remember going to a learning session once years and years ago to learn some things about my faith.  The speaker was well intended, she had fantastic material and message to share but the stuff she used wasn’t catchy, wasn’t with the times, and she didn’t really engage her group.  Maybe I was naive, a newbie, and a little bit out of my league….but it just was dull for me.

BUT…this was nothing like that…..

This was empowering…

This was amazing….

THIS WAS RESTORATIVE!!!!

The first part of the day was learning about the 4 levels of happiness.  That basically we MUST strive to be in level four:  an amazing beautiful relationship with GOD!  

To understand just how much to TRULY LOVES US NO MATTER WHAT!!!  It is at this level that we will find true, full happiness.
Levels one, two, and three (things, self, others) are intended to point us to God, level 4!!!  Thus, we must reorder our lives and put GOD at the top of our pyramid, instead of any of the other levels.

How do we achieve this?

WE MUST FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD!

How?

Be quiet…listen to HIM!

Get away from everyone to BE with HIM.

Read HIS words….GROW in HIS word.



When you fall in love with God, you get to KNOW HIM on a level that is hard to explain and others may not understand.

 

Yet when you TRULY love HIM you are able to know HIM and SERVE HIM without feeling ME, ME, ME; without feeling like you must impress others, or worry about stuff, or all the other reasons that may hold you back from truly LOVING AND RECEIVING GOD AS YOUR FIRST MAN!!!!

The second half of the day was about the 7 stages of Romance.
Big take home: these stages lead us to THE TRUE ROMANCE WITH GOD.
Our goal is to know God so intimately that we become so full with HIM that we don’t desire other imitations.

Be willing to say to HIM: TAKE ME LORD!  
I AM HERE FOR YOU TO DO AS YOU WISH!!!

My summary doesn’t possibly give that day full justice….but I hope it gives many of you something to think about.  I pray you all mark your calendars for next fall to NOT miss this amazing conference.

St. Teresa challenged herself to continually learn, grow, and move in her faith….this is exactly what this conference with do for you!!!

Blessings and love always,
~K 🙂

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