Month: December 2018

Christmas day has already come and gone on the calendar, and if you are like many of us your sights are now set on New Year’s, which often means setting big goals to be the best version of ourselves. Before we push the accelerator to cruise to more demands, however, I would like to invite you to resist that urge and instead just pause. Take a deep breath. Notice this moment and what you can take in to appreciate NOW.

This invitation to pause and notice the present helps to slow the reel of never-ending thoughts that come at us. Invite yourself to notice the life that is happening all around you.

We may even choose to go a step further and resist the typical flood of thoughts and instead invite thoughts of gratitude. Examples of what we may notice when we exercise gratitude are something as simple as a sunny day… a conversation with a close friend… a warm cup of coffee… or a good book. We can experience joy in ways that are unique to our giftedness and belovedness (so what brings you joy may not be the same as your neighbor of family member). There is not a right or wrong way, but simply noticing and releasing any judgment we may be tempted to attach to the noticing. This act of giving ourselves permission to lean into what we find enjoyable can help us be healthy and encourage contentment within us, which can have a big impact on the journey ahead. Today notice the beauty in life, as well as within you…

If you have the courage to try practicing the pause, you may be so impacted by this simple act of self-care that you find yourself drawn to creating time to do this over and over in your daily or weekly rhythms of life. This intentionality can begin to shape a more peaceful way of moving into the world. When you feel overloaded and overburdened, perhaps come back to this invitation to let off the accelerator, and instead take time to put on the brakes (practice the pause) and soak in the beauty of the present once more. The beauty of nature. The beauty of those around you. The beauty of you and how you were so wonderfully created.

~MM

Your task in this moment is to do nothing… Embrace the beauty of you… the beauty of this moment.

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Today’s blog post is by guest blogger, Kerry Koerselman. Kerry is a Licensed Professional Counselor at Sioux Falls Psychological in Sioux Falls, SD. She works with adults and couples and her areas of specialty include: relationship issues, midlife issues, trauma, spiritual issues as well as anxiety and depression. Kerry graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2001 with a Masters degree in counseling psychology and received a Graduate Certificate of Theological Studies from Sioux Falls Seminary in 2016.

I was at a gathering recently where everyone went around and talked about how they were raised to feel about joy.  It was interesting to hear that there were many different answers to this question.  Some people said there was no time for joy in their family—there was work to be done.  Some people said their family time was full of joy.  Others said joy almost seemed sinful unless it was in church or explicitly about God.  Another answer was that feelings were not discussed, not joyful feelings or other feelings.  These messages we learn about feelings from our families can be limiting.  Becoming aware of the messages you were given and then setting your intentions on what messages you would like to shift and what messages you would like to be like yours can make your life more fulfilling. 

At Christmas, the word “joy” is all around—in the Christmas Carols, on the decorations and in the cards.  When you read the story of the birth of Christ in the book of Luke, joy is woven throughout the story.  Joy at the pregnancy, joy in the angels singing, joy in the worship of the baby.  It seems that joy is integral to Christian experience. 

What would happen if you made stepping further into the moments of joy in your life a focus?  What if your personal joy became a goal?  Perhaps some activities would need to lessen and other would increase.  Maybe simply giving yourself permission to sit more fully in the joy is what you need.  It may take a conscious effort not to feel guilty, not to move on the next chore, not to move away from the intensity of the emotion, but just to sit with it and feel it.

 My guess is that if you look at your life and what truly brings you joy, it will be times of connection with people around you, with nature, or with becoming more fully you.  All of these connect us to that which is beyond us, that which is spiritual. 

At times in life the joy will be hard to come by, and when the joy comes, it will be held alongside sorrow.  Sometimes the joy is most powerful and poignant then.  At those times, keeping your heart open to joy is courageous. 

Moving toward joy is moving toward living life more fully. 

~KK

I have an aspiration to do something new and different-to branch out and begin speaking more and even dare to write a book. This absolutely terrifies me and excites me all at once. I feel as though there are a million reasons why I could talk myself out of this, and yet there are so many that urge me to take the risk and put “pen to paper,” or more accurately finger tips to the keyboard to begin formulating something to share with the world.

I share this because maybe you too have an aspiration in your heart. Something that equally scares and excites you. Something that connects your deep passion with a need in the world. And, just maybe, the lies in your head encourage you to keep quiet, saying this dream could never be a reality. But… perhaps you have an opportunity to take a step in the direction your heart is leading you in order to see if it really could be something that starts something new… if it is something you can continue to build on and work toward. What keeps you hiding in the shadows? What would it take to step out, into the light, and share your gift in a way that just might inspire or encourage another person?

In the words of Andy Stanley, “You have no idea what hangs in the balance of your decision to embrace the burden God has put on your heart.” When we are paralyzed by fear we just don’t know what we, or others, may be missing. Stepping out in faith, knocking on doors and stepping through those that open to follow the journey where our heart lead, takes tremendous courage. We can desire to stay safe and hidden away from potential failure, or we can risk falling flat on our face, getting back up again, and continuing to forge a path in the direction toward our soul’s passion. This provides an opportunity to gain access to doors we didn’t know existed because we haven’t tried before. I also appreciate Albert Einstein who is quoted saying, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

The ups and downs getting where we long to go is where life happens… and perhaps it’s when we dare to step out that we discover who we were really created to be….

~MM

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11