He Works All Things For Good...

I wanted to share with you some things the Lord has been doing in my life, especially during this pandemic and time of near isolation. What an awesome God we serve!

I had foot surgery on Thursday, March 12th. That might seem a bit insignificant, but here's how the days following unfolded. I actually CHOSE to have foot surgery instead of an experimental PRP (protein-rich plasma) injection to repair a torn ligament in my foot/toe. After surgery, the Dr said the PRP never would have worked bc the ligament was completely torn off the bone! Friday, schools were closed. By that Tuesday, March 17th, all elective surgeries were cancelled. This surgery is considered elective, so had I even thought of doing the PRP and then ended up having to go ahead with surgery, I'd have had to wait. My husband and I are a planning to go to Poland for our 30th anniversary in August, and I would 1) potentially NOT have even had the surgery, or 2) not have been able to walk around Gdansk! God's planning is soo good! Additionally, our state's stay-at-Home order forced me to slow down, to prioritize some of the things I volunteer for on a weekly basis, and really focus on what He has for me in all of this for the year and for my calling. This has, ironically, been a wonderful time for me! Though I can't drive and walk around the lake near our house like I want, I have been able to be more intentional about my prayer time, remain focused on physical therapy and recovery from foot surgery, and I have been able to declutter, clean, and organize my home better than I have in the past few years!

What are some things you've been able to accomplish, see, change, realize during this time of distancing from our daily busyness and rushing?

Bonus: my husband is a regional truck driver, so he has been working through it all!

~Lyn

Come for the friendship, stay for the journey!

It's Not Okay to Quit!

Today, I'm taking back my health and my fitness!! While I had been a virtual "coach" for about 2 years, and seen GREAT success, had a setback, and waffled in what I was WILLING to commit to in my health and fitness journey, I decided I HAVE to do this! My WHY...is ME!

I'm not trying to lose weight and get healthy to be sexy for my hubby of over 30 years (a plus, no doubt!), I'm not doing it to keep up with the grandkids (another plus, though!), and I'm not doing it to silence those who might call me fat or look at me a certain way (Who's listening to those people anyway?!) NO! I HAVE to do this for ME! I recently realized that I hadn't looked at the value of working out and being a healthier more fit version of ME! That was a reality check for me! I have to find the value in becoming the healthiest version of me first!

It wasn't until I was listening to one of my favorite motivational speakers (Terri Savelle Foy!) the other day that I even realized that! She said that when you try and fail and try and fail, you don't believe yourself, you don't believe you can do it. When you do that over and over, you start making silent promises. But your dignity takes a hit each and every time, and your personal integrity doesn't know the difference of whether you say something out loud or to yourself. You gradually lose confidence in yourself. So you have to build a reputation to yourself--That you KEEP the promises you make to YOU!

You have to believe in YOU to be successful!

Make one simple promise to yourself:

Focus on your new reputation of yourself, that you keep your promises to YOU! You have to decide to do it. The Latin root for decision is to cut off alternative options. If you say, "I'll TRY to...," you haven't made a quality decision. Change that response with, "I'm GOING to..." and don't settle for anything less than accomplishing your goals and keeping that promise to yourself!

What promise will you make to yourself? I'd love for you to share!!

~Lyn
Come for the journey, stay for the friendship!

How Do I Know I'm Living Out My Purpose?

The past few weeks we've been talking about finding our purpose and how we even know what our purpose is! Today, I want to ask you, how do you know you're living out your purpose? 

I suppose my purpose has changed a bit over the years and I believe that's okay! It's not that God called me to something and then took it away. No! Quite the opposite. See, as a homeschooling mother, my purpose was to educate my children, for our family that was through high school graduation. Now that my youngest two have nearly finished that aspect of their lives, that purpose is coming to and end. 

Now, I'm a leader in a youth organization and have had the pleasure of sowing into so many young people, sometimes without ever really telling them about Jesus, but sowing His love, compassion, gentleness, and goodness into their lives. One of my favorite things I've done with them, that is BIBLICAL, is to have them create their own vision boards! And you know, that's my purpose in life for these kids at this time.

My sister homeschooled her three children through high school graduation. Then she, her husband, and all three children were in college at the same time! She got a degree in teaching, sowed into the lives of the students at the charter school she worked in, and now, she is ministering and filling children in Poland with Jesus' love and goodness, even though they don't know it!

I think of Esther. She was a young, beautiful woman that found favor with the king. He chose her over the others. And she was the vessel God used to save her people, the Jews. When her people were saved, did Esther's purpose in life cease? Of course not! Now that may be all we read in the Scriptures, but that is a great account of Esther's purpose at that moment in life. Isn't that neat?

You see, your purpose isn't necessarily a one-time, all-inclusive purpose. it may be for a season or for a lifetime, but God always has a purpose for your life!

What's your purpose? Has it changed as you've entered different seasons in life? I'd love for you to share!

~Lyn

Come for the friendship, stay for the journey!

How Do I Discover My Purpose?

When I was a young, first-time mom, I remember thinking, "If my only goal in life is to give this little baby boy of mine a happy life, then that's what I'm going to do!" As my husband and I added more children to our family, I began to think, "Am I only called to have babies and be a mother and wife?!" I wasn't completely sure of my purpose, though. Was that all there was to my life? Was I only made to birth children?! Of course not. But that is where my purpose began. You see, I believe I was called to reach mothers and youth in a unique way, even if I had no idea what that unique way was!

I am passionate about so many things and they all really do tie together with women and youth:

Can you see how these things go together? I can...now. I honestly couldn't see the big picture of this many years ago!

So how do you figure out your purpose? Well, look at the things you do on a daily basis. Are you a wife, mother, do you work, are there things you're passionate about? That's where you begin! Write it down. Look at what you do every day, inventory what you're passionate about, and that will guide you toward your purpose!

How have you determined your purpose? I'd love for you to share!


Lyn~
Come for the friendship, stay for the journey!

What is My Purpose?

The other night, I had a dream that our associate pastor made a feature film entitled, "What is My Purpose and How Do I Know I'm Doing It?" Pretty profound, isn't it? That I would have a dream about this question is simply my spirit revealing things, I believe that is what was happening anyway. So in the next few posts, I want to talk about this with you. I want to know what you think about your purpose, how we discover our purpose, and how we know we're living that out!

So these posts will be a bit different than others where I might explain how to do something or discuss things the Lord has been working on me about. No, this time, I am making an interactive discussion post! And YOU get to play a major role in it. My hope is that through these discussions, we will each have a new revelation as to what our individual purposes are and how we know we're doing them.

What do you say? Want to join me on this quest? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Okay, today, let's just talk about what the Word of God says is our purpose. Please share as many Scriptures as you want!

Next week, we'll discuss how we discover our purpose and how it ties into our calling!

Please share this post, too! Someone may need a new revelation that only YOU can tell them!

Until next week...

Lyn~
Come for the friendship, stay for the journey!

It's Not Too Late...

A few months ago, I was feeling like I was so organized! I had printed out a great Christian planner, scheduled a few blog posts every week, stayed on top of new youth kids joining my non-profit organization, scheduled cleaning days for every area of my house, and had regular work hours for my blog and non-profit! But then...

Then, life changed a little when my second oldest son decided to enlist in the Army. We are so proud of him, his wife, and their two sons while he is gone at Basic. My husband and I and some of our children stepped up to help my daughter-in-law with the boys since she works full-time which meant some of the things we had been doing in life had to take a temporary backseat to my son's family. If you remember way back to May, you know that I had an attitude here and there about some things, too. All that changed when the Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me that, as with my own children, these days, weeks, and months with my grandsons will not last forever. My son will be sent to a base, potentially farther away from us, and we will not be able to see the boys everyday as we do now. It's not too late to stop and focus on them and their learning and fun times together!

One of the things that I allowed to take a backseat during this time was my health and fitness. I have sadly become easily tired and lack energy to play with my grandsons because of that choice. A year ago, I was working out six days a week, drinking my superfood shake, and felt so full of life! Now, I often feel as though the days get away from me with little fruit to show for the days and weeks. But just as it's not too late to stop and focus on my grandsons and our time together, it's not too late to stop and focus on my health and fitness first, and then on the boys!

You see, if we stuff too many things into our days, nothing will get done well. It may get done, but without prioritizing tasks, things will be completed in a rush and be done poorly or we'll end up exhausted and lacking the proper sleep necessary to do it all!

Today, I want to encourage you to write down all that you have to do in the coming weeks. Maybe it's caring for your children/grandchildren, writing a book, helping with Vacation Bible School, cleaning the house, working out, etc. Then, I want you to prioritize each thing. Those things with higher priority are things that are not debatable! You will complete them every day. Those things with lower priority, they can wait a day or two or three before being completed.

What do your priorities look like? I'd love for you to share!


~Lyn
Come for the journey, stay for the friendship!

The Truth About my Health and Fitness Journey...

When I was in middle school, I remember thinking I was "fat" because most of the cool girls my age were still wearing a girl's size 14 or 16 jeans and I was wearing a size 1 or 3. I weighed all of 104 pounds back then at 12 years old. Oh, how I wish I could tell my 12 year old self that it didn't matter what I weighed as long as I was healthy and eating right. The fear of weighing "too much" would follow me into adulthood when, as an 8 month pregnant woman with a 2 year old, all I could think was, "As long as I don't gain weight so that I weigh over 150 pounds, I'll be okay." The truth was, that I would have had just a 12 pound weight gain for that pregnancy, and that was not healthy for me or my baby. I had struggled with my overall perception of how I looked if I weighed a certain amount until I crossed a mental line and ended up thinking, "I don't care what I weigh," and I gained more weight, not even post-pregnancy weight!

About three years ago, I began working with a wonderful personal trainer! He knew I could do more, but didn't push me to the point of feeling defeated, just challenged, which I really needed to build my confidence. Unfortunately, the cost of a personal trainer caught up with me, and I had to leave my good friend. Soon after, though, another friend began posting videos of her workouts and this awesome shake she drank once a day. Well, I loved watching her working out, and she was very motivating to me (I've known her for over 20 years!), so I joined her team. I lost about 20 pounds and felt the best I had felt in years! She was my workout buddy, support, coach, and friend. But then, she quit the business, and I never felt more alone. She is still there for me, but as a great friend and encouragement. My motivation, however, waned. The weight crept back up, and my poor food choices and habits soon returned. It wasn't that I didn't want to eat more healthier, it was that the emotional eating that I had succumbed to years before was never dealt with, so I fell back into my old habits. What you keep in front of you, what you talk about, what you're focused on, that is what you will eventually lead yourself into--good or bad!

But I made the choice to start back on the health and fitness journey I had begun with my sweet friend. I'm choosing life, a healthier life, and I'm choosing to not make poor food choices. Just as I'm choosing this healthier lifestyle, we must also choose life in Jesus.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the weight of yourself, your relationships, your health, your life, I encourage you to read the Word and find Scriptures that support a healthy lifestyle. Just as I said on Monday, we are the ones who are in control of what we decide to do. No one can make the choice for you just as no one can workout for you or eat healthy for you and then you see the weight loss. Our decisions need actions to be successful!


What will you choose to breathe life into? I'd love for you to share!

~Lyn
Come for the journey, stay for the friendship!