baby haakon

A pep talk for me that is.  A pep talk to myself.  A peppy talking-to that I give to myself every once in a while to remind me what this life is really about.

Life is about thriving.  Not just surviving.

It is about taking what you get and giving it your all.

It’s about growing what you’re given and watching it flourish.

It’s about planting seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control…  you know…  all those fruits of the spirit… and reaping the results of your labor.

It’s about finding the silver-lining… and making lemonade… and looking up.

It’s about giving all that you have to give and then giving a little bit more.

I don’t know about you, but when I have a bad attitude…

When I struggle through each day, wondering how I am going to survive the toddler years…

The temper tantrums, the sleepless nights and days, the emotional roller-coaster of trying to train up a child in the way he should go…

When I focus on all those little things, I lose sight of the big picture and I forget to thrive.

I start surviving each day, counting the minutes to bedtime, wondering how I will do it all over again tomorrow.

I forget to thrive.  I forget to cherish every moment that is so fleeting.  Every moment that I will miss so deeply when it’s gone.

Someday I will long for these days.  As hard as they can be, they are also so full of joy.  Watching my children grow, and watching myself grow…  

I hope to someday be able to look back on these years and say that Yes!… we did survive these years, but even more importantly…  we thrived!

Why do we know what we want to do, how we want to do it, who we want to be…

Yet we just can’t seem to get there?

Our dreams, our goals, our desires…

Seemingly so close, yet always just out of reach.

I want to be a better mom.  I want to be a better wife.  I want to be a better daughter, sister & friend.

I want to show my kids, by example, what they should strive to be.

I want to point them to Jesus.

But so often I am afraid that the only things I am pointing them to are all of the ways not to be.

All of the things not to do.

All of the words not to say.

Unfortunately…  I fail.  I hurt them.  Everyday.

I hurt myself.  Everyday.  And I hurt HIM.  Everyday.

But, I will continue to try harder!

I will reach for that maybe unattainable goal, but never give up on the trying.

I will teach my kids that they may never be able to keep from falling, but they can always ask forgiveness and try again.

There is hope.  There is always hope.