With which character trait do you most need God's help?
Friday, March 7, 2008
CHARACTER MAKEOVER: 40 DAYS WITH A LIFE COACH TO CREATE THE BEST YOU
Let us know if you have any questions or comments! Blessings, Katie Brazelton and Shelley Leith Authors, Character Makeover
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Day 42 - Inspired by God
Today’s chapter is on perseverance. I think I am a pretty determined person. Sometimes determined to do the wrong thing, but determined non the less. I have had many dreams in my life time. Some I worked at with diligence and made them a success. Others, I toiled day and night for, only for them to fail miserably. Some dreams I have walked away from because it hurt so much to keep perusing them. A few dreams I keep as dreams, fun to imagine, but don’t really long for fruition. Yet still, there are a few dreams left to be made. Allow me to share a few with you. A dream I have always had since I was a child, was to go to Hollywood and be a famous actress! Bright lights and demanding rolls. Limo’s and limelight. Ah the life. Would I ever seriously pursue that? Probably not. They have no privacy at all and if they make one mistake, EVERYONE is all over them. Being human is not allowed. Still, it is fun to sometimes envision walking down the red carpet or being awarded the best actress on the planet award. If I close my eyes I can almost see the flashing lights from the pauperizes cameras. Oh wait…that’s the headlight from a passing car! In my first marriage, I all I could to keep that marriage alive. I fought for my man. I worked hard and no matter what he did, I took him back. I’ll be darned if I was going to let it fall apart! Sometimes, no matter what you do, they leave anyway, and instead of perseverance, you must learn the art of letting go. This example shows how sometimes things are just not meant to be. Only a few short years after my husband walked away, God brought into my life, the greatest man to ever walk the planet! My husband and I both come from a less then idealistic background. We never lived in a home for long. Many people in our families struggled with addiction issues. A new car was unheard of and owning your own home was….well you get the point. A few years ago, my husband and I bought a house. The structure was in good shape, but it had not been updated since it was built….in 1956. We worked and toiled doing all labor ourselves and now the house scarcely resembles the one we bought. Oh we could have made it bigger and fancier and although it may not be the Ritz it is our home and we love it. Together with hard work and perseverance, we achieved a dream we never thought possible. One dream I have not given up on, but have set aside is the dream of parenthood. I love kids and so does my husband. He wants a LARGE family and to be honest, I think he would be an amazing father. Children LOVE him. My heart cries when I see him interact with a child. Being around them seems so natural to him. It saddens me to think there may never be a little one running through our home. Many things opportunities have come our way but so far nothing has come to fruition. We have placed this dream on hold, unsure if we will ever return to it. Sometimes the pain that encompasses your heart creates barriers that keep you from obtaining a forward momentum. I think that perseverance could very well be the core of the human soul. God created us in His image. He longs for us to love Him and does all that He can to bring us to Him. He is the utmost example of perseverance. Therefore we, in His image, persevere as well. You may be sitting there, shaking your head and saying “No Nellie, I am a quiter” or “I have had nothing in my life to overcome.” Not so, I say. You may not have had to face the same challenges as me, or you may have faced things far greater, but somewhere, during the course of your lifetime, your have persevered. Think about it. Nellie ;!)
Not hard to tell what this chapter was about is it? Quitting. We are all familiar with the concept. We have all done it a time or two or five or twenty six. We’ve quit a marriage, a job, or trying to have a child. We decided not to pursue school, a friendship or a change of local any longer. Divorce. Bankruptcy. Resignation. To put it plainly my darling, we quit! There are some things I am a firm believer we should quit. Bad habits, abusive relationships or putting Christmas decorations out in September! (Sorry, the last one is a pet peeve and I had to throw it in!) There are some things we should hold tight to and never give up on. A friendship, a family, your children and your faith. Many times that is easier said then done! Ironically, quitting or perseverance is not a problem for me. My problem lies more in when is it time to do which? Some things are not of God and are not meant to be but when is that? Let’s go with friendship. I once had a friend that I loved dearly. However, her life was always full of drama and chaos. Every time you turned around something else was happening. Sadly, most of the time, her drama and chaos was self inflicted. Much of it could have been prevented. I tried so hard to be her friend. She didn’t seem to have many of those. I stood by her through much of her chaos. Many times I was sucked into it and I was not even around when it happened! Still I kept being her friend, trying so hard to develop a relationship with her. Something lasting and meaningful. Two years after moving to another state, I was still being pulled into her drama and chaos and lived over 3000 miles away. Finally, I had to walk away. I have not spoken to her in many years. I wonder about her from time to time and pray she is doing well. So now that I have given you a brief history with my relationship with my former friend. Should I have let it go? If I should have, at what point? The first time her chaos overflowed into my life? The 100th time it happened? At the time of our friendship, I was not a Christian. I did not prayerfully seek guidance or knowledge. All I knew is I could take it no more! When do you think the time is to quit? Is there ever a time to quit? Think about it. Nellie :~)
My final week of the character makeover, I chose the following action steps”
1. I will be prompt. 2. I will evaluate and let go. 3. I will assess my responsibilities. 4. I will find my passion.
Anyone who has known me for any length of time, might find it a bit odd that I chose being prompt as an action step for myself. I have always been a prompt individual until I switched jobs. I essentially work “around the corner” now. My commute is about two miles and takes 5 minutes to get to work. I started to take advantage of the fact I was so close to home and I don’t punch a time clock and started running two to five minutes late. I have been working to turn that around. I have also been working to be more prompt on correspondence. Something I have become a little lax on lately. Notice how I chose evaluate as step two during week eight as well as step three during week seven. Not only have a moved it up the ladder, but added “and let go” Until I gave this step some serious thought a moment ago, I really did not think I had done much of the “letting go” part, but really I have. I have let go of excess in my home, I have paid off a few bills, I have let go of a few activities and projects that I have not been making time for and really don’t feel I need to be spending time on. When it comes to responsibility, I have a lot of that. I carry my fair share of responsibilities and a fair share of others as well. I have been working to not only assess my responsibilities, but assess what is not mine and allowing people to take care of their own. For those I have joint responsibilities with, I have been having them carry their share of the load. I must remember I cannot do everything. As far as my passion in life, I still have not found it. However the quest continues! I have decided that I am going to refine my action steps and make one master list. Very similar to what I was supposed to do at the end of the book. I am going to make copies of the list and post it in various places as a reminder as to where I am to be heading. I will update one more time closer to the end of the year and let you all know how it is going.
3 comments:
Day 42 - Inspired by God
Today’s chapter is on perseverance. I think I am a pretty determined person. Sometimes determined to do the wrong thing, but determined non the less.
I have had many dreams in my life time. Some I worked at with diligence and made them a success. Others, I toiled day and night for, only for them to fail miserably. Some dreams I have walked away from because it hurt so much to keep perusing them. A few dreams I keep as dreams, fun to imagine, but don’t really long for fruition. Yet still, there are a few dreams left to be made.
Allow me to share a few with you.
A dream I have always had since I was a child, was to go to Hollywood and be a famous actress! Bright lights and demanding rolls. Limo’s and limelight. Ah the life. Would I ever seriously pursue that? Probably not. They have no privacy at all and if they make one mistake, EVERYONE is all over them. Being human is not allowed. Still, it is fun to sometimes envision walking down the red carpet or being awarded the best actress on the planet award. If I close my eyes I can almost see the flashing lights from the pauperizes cameras. Oh wait…that’s the headlight from a passing car!
In my first marriage, I all I could to keep that marriage alive. I fought for my man. I worked hard and no matter what he did, I took him back. I’ll be darned if I was going to let it fall apart! Sometimes, no matter what you do, they leave anyway, and instead of perseverance, you must learn the art of letting go. This example shows how sometimes things are just not meant to be. Only a few short years after my husband walked away, God brought into my life, the greatest man to ever walk the planet!
My husband and I both come from a less then idealistic background. We never lived in a home for long. Many people in our families struggled with addiction issues. A new car was unheard of and owning your own home was….well you get the point.
A few years ago, my husband and I bought a house. The structure was in good shape, but it had not been updated since it was built….in 1956. We worked and toiled doing all labor ourselves and now the house scarcely resembles the one we bought. Oh we could have made it bigger and fancier and although it may not be the Ritz it is our home and we love it. Together with hard work and perseverance, we achieved a dream we never thought possible.
One dream I have not given up on, but have set aside is the dream of parenthood. I love kids and so does my husband. He wants a LARGE family and to be honest, I think he would be an amazing father. Children LOVE him. My heart cries when I see him interact with a child. Being around them seems so natural to him. It saddens me to think there may never be a little one running through our home.
Many things opportunities have come our way but so far nothing has come to fruition. We have placed this dream on hold, unsure if we will ever return to it. Sometimes the pain that encompasses your heart creates barriers that keep you from obtaining a forward momentum.
I think that perseverance could very well be the core of the human soul. God created us in His image. He longs for us to love Him and does all that He can to bring us to Him. He is the utmost example of perseverance. Therefore we, in His image, persevere as well.
You may be sitting there, shaking your head and saying “No Nellie, I am a quiter” or “I have had nothing in my life to overcome.”
Not so, I say. You may not have had to face the same challenges as me, or you may have faced things far greater, but somewhere, during the course of your lifetime, your have persevered. Think about it.
Nellie ;!)
Day 43 - The Quitter
Not hard to tell what this chapter was about is it? Quitting.
We are all familiar with the concept. We have all done it a time or two or five or twenty six. We’ve quit a marriage, a job, or trying to have a child. We decided not to pursue school, a friendship or a change of local any longer. Divorce. Bankruptcy. Resignation. To put it plainly my darling, we quit!
There are some things I am a firm believer we should quit. Bad habits, abusive relationships or putting Christmas decorations out in September! (Sorry, the last one is a pet peeve and I had to throw it in!)
There are some things we should hold tight to and never give up on. A friendship, a family, your children and your faith. Many times that is easier said then done!
Ironically, quitting or perseverance is not a problem for me. My problem lies more in when is it time to do which? Some things are not of God and are not meant to be but when is that?
Let’s go with friendship. I once had a friend that I loved dearly. However, her life was always full of drama and chaos. Every time you turned around something else was happening. Sadly, most of the time, her drama and chaos was self inflicted. Much of it could have been prevented.
I tried so hard to be her friend. She didn’t seem to have many of those. I stood by her through much of her chaos. Many times I was sucked into it and I was not even around when it happened! Still I kept being her friend, trying so hard to develop a relationship with her. Something lasting and meaningful.
Two years after moving to another state, I was still being pulled into her drama and chaos and lived over 3000 miles away. Finally, I had to walk away. I have not spoken to her in many years. I wonder about her from time to time and pray she is doing well.
So now that I have given you a brief history with my relationship with my former friend. Should I have let it go? If I should have, at what point? The first time her chaos overflowed into my life? The 100th time it happened?
At the time of our friendship, I was not a Christian. I did not prayerfully seek guidance or knowledge. All I knew is I could take it no more!
When do you think the time is to quit?
Is there ever a time to quit?
Think about it.
Nellie :~)
Character Makeover Week Eight Action Step Update…
My final week of the character makeover, I chose the following action steps”
1. I will be prompt.
2. I will evaluate and let go.
3. I will assess my responsibilities.
4. I will find my passion.
Anyone who has known me for any length of time, might find it a bit odd that I chose being prompt as an action step for myself. I have always been a prompt individual until I switched jobs. I essentially work “around the corner” now. My commute is about two miles and takes 5 minutes to get to work. I started to take advantage of the fact I was so close to home and I don’t punch a time clock and started running two to five minutes late. I have been working to turn that around.
I have also been working to be more prompt on correspondence. Something I have become a little lax on lately.
Notice how I chose evaluate as step two during week eight as well as step three during week seven. Not only have a moved it up the ladder, but added “and let go” Until I gave this step some serious thought a moment ago, I really did not think I had done much of the “letting go” part, but really I have. I have let go of excess in my home, I have paid off a few bills, I have let go of a few activities and projects that I have not been making time for and really don’t feel I need to be spending time on.
When it comes to responsibility, I have a lot of that. I carry my fair share of responsibilities and a fair share of others as well. I have been working to not only assess my responsibilities, but assess what is not mine and allowing people to take care of their own. For those I have joint responsibilities with, I have been having them carry their share of the load. I must remember I cannot do everything.
As far as my passion in life, I still have not found it. However the quest continues!
I have decided that I am going to refine my action steps and make one master list. Very similar to what I was supposed to do at the end of the book. I am going to make copies of the list and post it in various places as a reminder as to where I am to be heading.
I will update one more time closer to the end of the year and let you all know how it is going.
Until next time…
Nellie
Post a Comment