Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 18th

“It certainly is a puzzle.” He turned back to the broken road. “But sometimes to find the answer, you have to take a leap of faith.” ― Dianna Hardy, Summer's End

God's will is like a jigsaw puzzle until you put all the pieces together, you won't be able to see the whole picture. ― Danny L. Deaubé

Dare to ask questions and seek answers to the puzzles of life. ― Lailah Gifty Akita

As I was watching all of the coverage of President George H.W. Bush (41) a couple weeks ago, I heard one commentator say that President George W. Bush (43) did not believe that he would have been president if Ronald Reagan had not selected his father to be his Vice President.  Additionally, in Jon Meacham’s book Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, Bush (41) did not want to accept the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1976 when President Ford asked him to serve because he thought his presidential aspirations would be forever doomed by holding that cabinet post.  However, the puzzle pieces of life fit together, and he did become the 41^st President of the United States. 

Throughout my life, I have encountered various life events good and bad that I did not understand why I had to go through them.  Not until after the life event occurred and I thought about it did I understand how that “puzzle pieces” all fit together to prepare me for the future.  

Lesson Learned: Embrace the Puzzle Pieces of Life! 

CHALLENGE: Think back over your life to find the activities/events/jobs/experiences that have been the “puzzle pieces” for your life and reminisce about how they all fit together now. 

Resources

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol-60-no-2/destiny-and-power.html

Meacham, Jon. 2015. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. New York City, New York: Random House.

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 11th

Switch your mentality from “I’m broken and helpless” to “I’m growing and healing” and watch how your life changes for the better.  – amazingmemovement.com 

She’s been through more Hell then you’ll ever know.  But, that’s what giver her beauty an edge…You can’t touch a woman who can wear pain like the grandest of diamonds around her neck. - Alfa

A woman who can take her pain and create something to be used for God's purpose and glory...She's brilliant and she knows how to shine. - A Modern Day Ruth

We all go through trials and tribulations in life.  Those trials and tribulations often cause hurt, pain and bad memories in our lives.  Often times, those memories stay engrained on our minds and continue to affect our lives.  When I met my Marine, a lot of past pain was brought to my remembrance.  To have a good relationship with him, I learned I was going to have to take time to work through those issues.  None of the issues I am dealing with are his fault and I want a healthy relationship with him. 

For any of us to have healthy, successful lives, overcoming our past is important.  It is vital to take the time to overcome the past. 

Lesson Learned: Get Healed from the Past! 

CHALLENGE: Determine the pain from your past and contemplate how you will overcome it.  

Resources

https://www.facebook.com/strongwomen2012/photos/a.314876281900637/1942707559117493/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/ModernDayRuth/photos/a.745490762144394/2426890530671067/?type=3&theater

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 4th

Sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find joy in the story you are actually living. - Rachel Marie Martin, Findingjoy.net, The brave Art of Motherhood

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. - Tony Robbins

I don't understand why things happen the way they do, but I do know that God is in control and has a perfect plan for every situation. - Unknown

It's never luck or fate, it's God's perfect plan. - Stephen Samuel

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. - Proverbs 16:9

As a dreamer and very goal-oriented person, I create a plan to accomplish the dream/vision and then I implement the plan to accomplish it.  However, that is not life and I learned that this year.  I was absolutely determined that I had met the man of my dreams in 2017.  He met all of the qualifications that I had prayed for and there were things that he did to show his interest.  However, he never made a serious move.  This went on for over a year.  The ups and downs were not good for my emotions.  In mid-June, there was a tall, blonde-haired man that showed up at my church.  I noticed him, but thought he was younger than me.  I asked one of my friends to do “recon” on him for me.  Come to find out, yes, he is younger than me and he is also a Marine with blue eyes.  We officially met on July 15^th and by mid-August he made a move and we have been dating ever since.  As of the writing of this blog post, that is about 3.5 months.

I learned that I saw what I thought was the right “opportunity” for me but learned that there was another “opportunity” that exceeded anything I could have prayed for.  I don’t know how this will end up, but I do know that I learned that I have to be open to other options and flexible with how I will accomplish my dreams.  

Lesson Learned: Be Open to Other Options!

CHALLENGE: What have you been determined is the “right opportunity” for you?  Is there a change that you need to make in 2019 to provide the opportunity for new options?

Resource

https://www.facebook.com/strongwomen2012/photos/a.314876281900637/1942706575784258/?type=3&theater

http://www.letgodbetrue.com/proverbs/commentaries/16_09.php

https://youtu.be/iaO1_wmvi0Q