Two minute tuesday blog

You know the saying: “New year, new you!” Only 1% of people keep their new year’s resolutions. I know a friend who had a resolution to eat healthier, and then by habit went through a drive-thru on Day 1 into the year, ordered a donut and declared their resolution is over. New year, new you, by all statistics is unrealistic. But what about new day, new you? You ate the donut yesterday. So what. You fell. We all fall. Eat half of a donut today, then a quarter of a donut tomorrow and then nothing. And if you fall again, rise back up. Every new year is a chance for a new beginning, but luckily, so is every new day. 

This year will bring you many ups and downs. The world is too malevolent with too many monsters and demons slithering around trying to take you down for it not to have it’s difficult times. And when it does, stay down, heal, rest, rise and prove them all wrong. Soar with the eagles instead of slithering with snakes. Take the high road always. You got this. You…are…bulletproof.

Isaiah 43:19: "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert"

Jesus Loves You.  

How’s that old Christmas song go? “So this is Christmas, and what have you done?”. The question isn’t what have you done. It’s what are you doing? What are you going to do? You cannot change the past. You cannot continue to look back on the hardships you’ve caused or the hardships you’ve been caused. You can only focus on what are you doing now. What you are going to do. 

Life is in short supply. Whatever you’ve been putting off. Whatever you’ve been wanting to do. The forgiveness you’ve been needing. The grudge you’ve been holding. The addiction that had a hold of you. The family breakdown that hurt you. The book you’ve been wanting to write. The song you’ve been wanting to compose. The job you’ve been wanting to do. Whatever it is, it’s your time now. If you needed a sign, take the fact that you’re reading this right now as the sign. It’s Christmas. It’s not what you have done. It’s what you are going to do. Do it. And be unapologetically brilliant about it.

Jesus Loves You.  

There’s a song lyric that goes like “Someday you’ll look up from that phone and they’ll be gone.”. That one stuck with. We weren’t meant to live our lives at this pace. You can’t absorb all the facts and news and jokes and picture and messages that are at your fingertips. Most of them literally will have absolutely no impact in your life. Stop. Breathe. Slow down. Especially as the holidays approach. There is no present like your presence. 

You have your merry little Christmas planned. You’ve been planning it for days, weeks, months, all year. This is it. This is the season. This is Christmas. It’s here. It’s now. It’s happening. Put your phone down. Rest. Spread the word to the other people hanging their heads and flicking their finger aimlessly over a screen. Find your people. Find your family. Listen to them. Celebrate with them. Laugh. Dance. Enjoy it. Otherwise, someday you’ll look up from that phone and they’ll be gone. 

Jesus Loves You

I was drinking a lot. For a long period of time. 1-2 bottles of red wine every day, typically consumed in a 2-3 hour period in the evening for many years. I rarely felt incoherent or hungover, but did notice myself saying things and doing things someone with an addiction might say and do. 100 days is a long time to give up something you enjoy. I originally said 75 days and then someone challenged me to 90 and then someone challenged me to 100. So I stopped. Just like that. Because it’s my mind and my body and nobody or nothing has control over it but me. And I wanted to be sure. 

People told me I’d feel a change for the better in my sleeping and eating and thinking and energy and bank account. Oddly, I didn’t. When I attended parties, nobody noticed a difference in behaviour, nor did I. Even my doctor stated I had a rather unusual relationship with alcohol. I suppose at the end of the day, I wanted a body and gut check to make sure it was something I liked and not needed. To make sure nothing has control over me other than me. And to do something different, and be something different. You can’t expect changes if you don’t change. 

And so, as one of my good friends say “everything in moderation, including moderation”. I have a new goal, with a new limit. But as for today, I think I’ll pour a glass. One glass. And if say it, I can do it. So can you. 

PS: Even Jesus drank wine.

Jesus Loves You

As I bumble through news programs and social media and emerging AI, it’s become alarmingly more difficult to know fact from fiction. Suppose it’s always been that way. Lies, deceit, and gossip spread rapid and we’re all only too eager to bear false witness. I’m no exception, but I’m learning. Ms. Cloud teaches her daycare children to ask themselves before they speak: 1. Is it true? 2. Is it helpful? 3. Is it inspiring? 4. It is necessary? 5. Is it kind? Imagine if we could get to the truthful compassion of our words if we asked those questions before we spoke. 

I heard another one the other day. “Believe half of what you see, and nothing of what you hear.” That’s a good one that really stuck with me. I’m trying really hard to adopt that. In my book, I wrote about a song called “New Again”. It’s about Jesus dying on the cross and Mary pleading with God about how He could let it happen and Jesus answering not to believe what she sees. There’s more to what’s happening than what she can physically see. I suspect that is true with most things. Choose your words wisely and believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Stay grounded. 

Jesus Loves You.

I remember in the thick of my trauma, I wasn’t eating much. You can’t. Not when your world turns upside down. I lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. I remember squishing a piece of a tangerine into the side of my mouth. It was all I could stand to eat that day. Mom was concerned and she invited me to a local restaurant for breakfast. She insisted in the way a mother does that doesn’t allow a refusal.

I walked into the restaurant I hadn’t been in years, but the staff remembered me. I used to dine there almost daily when I lived closer by and I had done some marketing work to help the restaurant years prior. The owner was battling cancer and rarely came down from her office. One of the staff told her I was there and she came down to our table in a now-rare visit on the floor. Like I was a special guest the owner was truly excited to see. She talked for half an hour about her battle. I listened. Her story was heavy and I didn't need any more weight, but she had this comforting, authentic smile on her face like everything was going to be OK even though it wouldn't be. She would pass away weeks later. 

She surprised us by paying for our meal that day. A random act of kindness that was the first glimpse of hope I had seen in a while. But more importantly, she gave me her precious time. She was running out of time and she shared it with me. Shared her story of grit. It stuck with me. It’s still stuck with me. There can be no greater gift to give than time. You never know what’s ahead. You never know what someone is going through. Time is in limited supply. Share it with those that mean the most.  

Jesus Loves You. 

I thought I was done. I had nothing left. I was getting minute of sleep on floors and countertops. I was bleeding. Literally. Figuratively. I know you’ve been there too. If not, you will be. The world is too hellish with too much malevolence not to be knocked down. Maybe you’re there now. Feeling like you have nothing left. Tired. Worn out. Feeling like everyone and everything is pushing you down. Stepping on you like a small seed. Want some advice? Let them. Let it. Sink. Go down. Stay down. Rest. Let the roots sink deep.

Remember the parable of the sower? The famer who scattered seeds? The birds ate the ones on top. Some landed on rocks and couldn’t grow. Some “sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow”. Don’t let that be you. Don’t spring up too quickly. God is planting you on good soil. You’re being replanted. Let it take root. You’re going to rise up. You’re going to be new again. Believe it. Believe.

Jesus loves you.

When I decided to write a book, I knew it would come to fruition. I truly wasn’t expecting it to land on a bookshelf or for people to buy it. I wasn’t expecting the stories that people would share with me. But I was fully expecting that I would have a printed copy of a book that I wrote. I prayed for it like I already had it. 

I ran into some financial issues a while back and I prayed about it like I was already out of it. Like something would break through and I would get back on my feet. Just days later my head was financially above the water again. It’s faith. If it’s God’s will, He will give you what you ask for if you pray with such faith that you truly believe. You know the bible stories. You know the characters. The woman that just needed to touch his cloak. The 2 fish and the 5 loaves that fed 5000. Peter walking on water to Jesus. 

Pray like you’re already cured. Pray like you’re already healed. Pray like you’re already out of the miry bog. Pray like you’ve already beaten the addiction. Pray like you already have that new job. Pray until you believe it and if it’s His will, you already have it.

Jesus loves you.

I used to do this thing, that no matter what I was doing or where I was, I was always thinking about the next big thing. Like if I was planning to go to the beach, I’d always just focus on the beach and how great it will be. Then once I was finally there, I would think about what I would be doing after the beach instead of really enjoying being there. And then when I was at the next thing, I’d be thinking of the next thing after that. Always striving and thinking of the next thing.

Then trauma hit and it stopped my world and I realized how precious every moment is. Presence. Being still. 

Then I started saying this thing where instead of always looking forward to the next thing, I’d be present where I was. Satisfied with where I was. And I would say to myself, (or often out loud), “I’m looking forward to right now.” Be present. Be still. Look forward to where you are right now. 

Jesus loves you.  

I wrote it like that in one chapter of Be Bulletproof. “STAY. DOWN.” I remember the editor didn’t like it much...grammatically. I took his advice for most things, but skipped by his red ink on those words. Of all the things in the book, the importance of staying down was the thing people most resonated with. Because that’s it right? When shots are fired and you’re in shock and hurt we’re all too quick to get up. I’ve done it. So have you. And we’re told when you fall down to get right back up. But they’re wrong. 

For instance, when you lose some one you love, your initial grieving is distracted with obituaries and wakes and funerals and tombstones and wills. People, mostly with nothing but good intent, flood you with messages and flowers and tuna casseroles. If you’re lucky, your work will give you a couple of days off. Then the dust clears and everyone else has moved on and that sends your body signals that you must get up. Then months later, it hits you again and you fall and you’re alone and the messages and flowers and casseroles are gone and they you are continually getting up and falling down because you didn’t stay down long enough. You didn’t heal properly. You didn’t stay down. STAY. DOWN. 

If you plant a seed in the ground, it will grow into something magnificent, but not if you keep digging it up and replanting. Whatever it is, whenever it hits, give yourself the love and grace to stay down. Heal. Then, you gotta get up. And then you show the world that they were wrong…and you are bulletproof. 

Jesus loves you. 

Fun fact – your brain can’t think of two things at the same time. I know you’re a good multi-tasker and I know you’re a quick thinker, but you still can’t think of two things at once. Stop. Take a breath. Think of something you’re grateful for. How about just starting with the fact that you’re able to take a deep breath. That’s a start. You’re alive. Chances are if you’re reading this you have great wealth that you’ve taken for granted. Fresh water. Clean air. You can walk. You can read. You have transportation. Shelter. Food. Some change in a coffee can. A clean shirt. A friend. Maybe two. That’s more than a start. That’s more than billions of people on the planet have. 

Take a moment to be grateful. To focus ONLY on the good things you have in your life. For a breath or two forget about the bad things that have happened that you cannot control. Forget the worries or problems or the millions of scenarios you play in your head. The addiction, the debt, the betrayal, the loss, the past, the future. Be present. Be grateful. For a breath. Or two. Pray your gratitude. Say your gratitude. Watch your anxieties lessen and your attitude change with every positive thought. Your brain can’t think of two things at the same time. Swap out the negative for the positive and watch you soar.

Jesus loves you.