When I was a kid, I remember they timed my gymnastics hero, without his knowledge, to see how long he was actually on the apparatus during a 3 hour training session. It was 14 minutes. Take out the stretching and the conditioning and the time he was doing actual gymnastics skills was 14 minutes. Tough sport. I brought that up to young athletes one time to stress the importance of making every training and every turn count.
Life is the same. You don’t have time to scroll through your phone for hours a day. To watch TV hours a day. You don’t have time to hold on to anger. Revenge. Resentment. Betrayal. You don’t have time not to forgive yourself, or someone else. Life is too short not to live it. Not to enjoy it. Not to wake up, bow your head and be grateful you have this day. Make the most of it.
Jesus loves you.
Don’t fool yourself. They want to be just like you. They want what you have. They. The enemy. The people who hurt you. The people who gossip about you. The people who let you down. The people who turned their back on you. Nobody tries to take something away from somebody who has nothing. Nobody tries to beat the person in last place. Nobody chases down something they already have.
You’re soaring. You’re thriving. You’re working hard. You’re growing. You’re getting better. Little by little and day by day. Everybody sees that. Everybody sees you. And some of them want to celebrate your victories with but some want to have what you have and take it from you. Remember that. Remember the next time someone tries to take you down it’s because you’re already up above them. Nobody can take you down unless you’re up. And that’s where your biggest decision is. When someone tries to take you down, do you go down with them, or do you keep soaring above them? Keep soaring.
Jesus loves you.
Someone who gave me some peace during some chaos and someone I think a lot of was once asked in an interview how he was doing. Simple enough question I suppose. We get asked that simple enough question ourselves dozens of times a day. “Good” or “Great” we’ll typically respond, but he answered “hhhmmm?”. Almost as though he had never been asked that question before and if the interviewer actually really wanted to know how he was doing. Like not just a pleasantry question, but REALLY how are you doing. The interviewer asked gain. He stopped. Thought hard. Then answered: “Brilliantly and terribly”.
I love that answer because it was the most brutally honest answer I think I had ever heard to that simple question. The next time someone asks you how you’re doing, which will likely be today, maybe just even give yourself an internal gut check. How are you doing? Like really? Thriving? Surviving? Grateful? In pain? Sorrow? Loss? Hurt?...Brilliantly?...Terribly? Or maybe better yet, ask someone how they’re doing. Like REALLY ask, making eye contact and they may likely just say “Good” or “Great” which is totally acceptable, but what would you do if they answered something else? Could you be expected for any answer and be some comfort, some help and a friend if it was an unexpected genuine answer.
Where ever you’re at today, just realize that most people are likely not just “good”. You truly have no idea what demons they may be facing, nor do they know what you’re facing today. How are you doing today? REALLY? I hope you’re brilliantly. But if you’re terribly, stay down. Take as much time as you need. Heal. Then get up when you’re ready and find the brilliantly.
Jesus loves you.
I used to start my morning by rolling over, grabbing my phone, checking emails and social media. Whatever that little device threw at me, played a big part in how my day was going to go. If something difficult came up at work overnight, I’d think about it while I got dressed, while I ate breakfast, on the ride to work. If someone messaged me or commented on a social media post, I’d immediately start writing back. Then I changed that. I took back my day. I took back every day.
I sit at the edge of the bed. I take minutes of deep breaths trying to think of absolutely nothing other than my breaths. I talk to God and list all of the things I’m grateful for. The fact that I was just able to take minutes of deep breaths. The sound of little voices and footsteps from my kids. My health. The health of our family. That I have a place to go to work. A car to get me there. That I have a house. That I have never had to know true hunger or thirst or war or pain. I list all of the things that I’m grateful for. Every day. And so with that, every day starts off good. Every day belongs to me. And yours belongs to you. Don’t let anyone or anything else steal your day. It’s yours. Be grateful.
Jesus loves you.
I opened the door to our old barn and a robin flew in and went up the loft hatch. There’s no esacpe from up there other than to go back down the way he went. I watched him panic and jump and fly at a sealed glass window. I left all the doors open in hopes he’d find his way back. He didn’t. He continued to stand and fly and jump at the locked glass window for hours. I finally decided to go up to see if there was something I could do. It took a lot of time and effort to pry off old wood and nails and carefully remove the big glass that had been sealed for years, until I was able to finally open a wide window that was only five feet from the robin. All he had to do was stop insisting the closed window was his only way, and feel the breeze from five feet away and fly out of the wide open window. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t. He died.
And that’s it right? Sometimes that’s us. Insisting the road we’re on is the right one even if it’s not getting us where we want to go. Even if it creates panic, and pain and the same results of no results. The robin was so insistent and so stubborn that his way was the right way, he couldn’t stop for a moment to feel the summer breeze and wide open space of a way out. If the road you’re on isn’t getting you where you want to go, just stop. Stay silent. Stay down. Feel the summer breeze of a new road. An open window. And then take it.
Jesus loves you.
You cannot undue what has been done. You can only change your reaction to it and what your next move will be. You can’t go back. I know, I know, I know - your mind wants you to. An accident. A mistake. A death. A loss. A betrayal. Maybe something so dark and so sorrowful that your mind can’t escape it. But it can. That’s just it. It’s something that happened, not something that’s happening. You have a choice to continually replay it over and over and over and continue to open up the pain. Or an easier alternative…don’t.
If you were physically hurt, you would get the proper medical help you need, let the wound heal and then continue to move forward. So why when you’re mentally hurt would you heal a bit and then open it up again and again? You have complete control over your thoughts. Complete control over your day. Undoubtedly, something will trigger your trauma to your mind and at that very moment, you have a choice. Let it in or push it out. Live in the present or live in the past. I assure you though, the present is all you have. There’s nothing for you in past. There’s nothing there. Be the superhero of your story. Go forward.
Jesus loves you.
A funny thing happens when you rise up from the ashes. You look different. If you’ve really healed properly. You stayed down. You stayed silent. You found strength in that silence. You fell to the ground, you were buried, but then you rose up from the dirt and you grew stronger. You grew different. All of those little mini changes you’ve made have slowly turned you into someone different. You don’t have to get a new haircut or buy a new wardrobe, you will just look different. So will your enemies. They’ll look tired, defeated, deflated. Old. Weathered. But you will look different and others will look at you differently.
You will be stronger. Your words will be more clear. Your thinking will be more clear. You will give off an energy and a bright light that will attract the right people in your life and make the others realize you can’t be defeated. You’re bulletproof. You look brilliant. Unbeatable. Undeterred. Unstoppable. No matter what. Wow. Well... look at you.
Jesus loves you.
I have a friend who comes up with amazing original sayings all the time. I’m all but 100% sure he once told me “A person is measured by their actions, not their memories.” but he completely denies ever having said it so I took it as my own. I love this saying because I hear people all the time talk about the good old days and their glory days and things they used to be and used to do and how great their memories all are. But what about now? What about today? What’s stopping you now? Where did that person that did all those amazing things go?
For many reasons, we can’t continue to live in the past. The only thing that’s there are lessons we learned that can make us better today. So you should be better today than you ever were. You are better today than you ever were. And your actions today are going to make you even better tomorrow. Your future you is better than your past you. Stop telling yourself you’re too old, too poor, too out of shape, too busy, too lonely. Change your mindset from how great things used to be to how great things are going to become.
Jesus loves you.
I watched my seven year old son make his First Communion. It’s a Sacrament of the Catholic Church where children first receive the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, in memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It reminded me of my childhood Sundays spent in the basement of the St. Dunstan’s Basilica with our Catechism teacher Marge McGee. She always said I was good with my prayers, but not as good as my brother was. Maybe you remember the ones: “Our Father”, “Hail Mary”, “Glory Be”, “Act of Contrition”, “Apostles Creed”.
My son learned them like it was his job. “Does anyone know their Act of Contrition?” the teacher said. A brief silence and then he just started reciting it for the class. “That’s great” she said. “What about the Apostles Creed?” A longer silence in the class and then he rhymed it off in such a speedy fashion that even the teacher seemed surprised. “Wow, you really schooled us here today.” she laughed.
You learned some prayers along the way too. Even if you don’t remember them, God’s listening to whatever you have to say. All the time. He wants to hear from you. He wants to help you. He wants to lift you up. He wants to give you beauty for those ashes. He wants you to be you again. And new again. He wants to heal you. He loves you. He’s never stopped. He's listening. Say your prayers.
Jesus loves you.
Got any enemies? Yeah, me too. Somebody did you wrong. Stole from you. Hurt you. Abused you. Took advantage of your kindness. Your gentleness. Your naivety. Your innocence. There's all kinds of monsters out there and people like me and you are some of the easiest prey because we want to see the good in everyone. And those enemies walk around like a wolf in sheep's clothing, often walking in the same sheep herd, blending in. It gets very difficult to figure out who's a friend or foe.
We use the word 'friend' too often. "I have hundreds of friends on facebook!". "I have thousands of followers on Instagram!". No you don't. You have a handful. Even Jesus Christ only had 12. Sorry, you're not more popular than Jesus. Find them. Know who they are. Don't lose them. Keep them close. Let them help you up and make sure you do the same for them. Stop trying to rebuild bridges with people who keep burning them down. Let your enemies go. Keep moving forward.
Maybe you don't have anyone in your life you feel you can truly trust. Nobody you feel could possibly raise you up out of the desolate pit. Start with God. Every day is a new day and He'll put the right people in your path at the right time. I know it. I lived it. Believe it.
Jesus loves you.
“Tell the truth – or at least don’t lie” is one of the "Rules of Life" by world renowned psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson. It’s a good one. I wouldn’t say I was ever purposely going around telling lies, but I’ve certainly done some dishonest and deceitful things if I felt it would give me an upper hand in the moment. But as it turns out, the upper hand is only momentary and it will come back on you. Peterson continues to confirm "Nobody gets away with anything. Ever."
And so I made some lifestyle changes back when I was in a miry bog, and telling the truth, or at least not lying, was one of them. It’s tough. I haven’t perfected it yet. But it’s been liberating. Freeing. Makes me think a bit more before I speak. You gain a calmness around you knowing that you may have to pay an immediate price for your actions, but it’s mild in comparison to the worry and weight of lying about your actions that will eventually make you pay a higher price anyway. Jesus backs it up when He said "The truth will set you free".
I’ve always told my kids: “As long as you tell me the truth, I can really help you. But if you tell me a lie, I can’t help because what you told me isn’t real.” My son gets it. My daughter…well…she’s working on it. I overheard him saying to her in the backseat of our car: “Daddy said he would do it. That means he’s going to do it. Name one time Daddy told a lie. See…you can’t!” OK, well I’m not that honest, but it felt good to hear it. It gave me something to strive for. I have something to live up to. So do you. Try it. Start with one day. It’ll take a weight off your mind. I promise.
Jesus loves you.
Copyright © 2024 Be Bulletproof - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.