Bloom Where You're Planted

"She was a wife and mother, in love with the life she lived." -Nicholas Sparks, from A Bend in the Road

It is not very often that I run across a quote in a novel that stands out to me.  However, I just finished reading this wonderful novel listed above by Nicholas Sparks and several pages from the end, I read the line above.  And it caught my attention, probably because that line very much describes my life right now.

If someone asked me what I do today, I would say my job is "wife and mother". Even though my profession is a musician, being a wife and mother in this period of my life far outweighs anything else going on.

But the second part of the quote is what really inspired me: "she was...in love with the life she lived." What a beautiful line.  How many of us can honestly say we're in love with the life we live?

Go ahead and be honest with yourself: are you?

I believe a huge part of loving your life is looking for the opportunities to flourish right where you are.  I live away from my mom (very far away, about 800 miles), and for the longest time, I wasn't content with my life because I didn't live close.  Finally after several years, I stopped fighting myself and began to set goals and dream about what could be right where I am in Florida.  And that is when good things started happening and momentum began to take me to greater levels of personal and professional success.

One of my favorite quotes is "Bloom where you're planted".  You may not feel like you have the resources around you that you would like, but you can always take what you do have and make something with them.  Wherever God happens to have you in this moment of your life is where you are supposed to be.  It's easy to fight it and hope that things will change, but I challenge you to bloom where you are.  You can flourish, even in a desert season.

Can you imagine how much better our world would be if more women rose up and decided to truly love the life we live?

My wish for you is that you would find contentment in the here and now.  Live today.  It's all you really have anyway.

Cheerleaders Needed!

Happy Saturday to everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this lovely day and getting ready for a fun three-day weekend!

Today I want to talk about something that is absolutely critical to the success of your goals.  If you don't have this in your life, you are going to have a difficult time living the life of your dreams.  Hopefully you have more than one.

I'm talking about a support person, or a cheerleader.  A cheerleader is someone who knows you well and believes in your dreams while offering a shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough, but is also truthful enough to help you overcome your (known or unknown) weaknesses.

None of us are an island, but so many of us resist sharing our deepest goals and desires with the people who know us best.  Why is that?  Do we think they will laugh in our face?  Shun us for aiming at a ridiculous target?  More often than not, the people closest to us want us to succeed and they may know exactly what to say or do to get us moving in the right direction.

In all of the goal-related books I've read and studied, one of the first steps to take when starting a new goal is to establish a support system.  Whether you meet with someone in person, schedule regular phone meetings, or even post your goal on a social media site, having a support system in place is like laying down the steel skeleton of a building.  It is establishing a rock-solid foundation to build your dreams on. You are making yourself accountable to someone other than yourself.  Without a support system, it's a lot easier to quit when times get difficult.  You can easily talk yourself out of your goals,  but when someone else knows what you're trying to do, they will be able to push you to go the extra mile, even when you don't seem to have the energy left to take another step.

Keep in mind that a support person has your best interests in mind.  If he or she tells you something you don't want to hear, take a moment to examine if there is truth behind it.  If he or she points out that you always say you want to lose ten pounds, but eat three candy bars every day, don't get offended if it's the truth.  Support people are much different than saboteurs, who secretly just want to see you fall flat on your face.  Support people speak the truth in love, even if it's sometimes hard to hear.

Today, can you identify at least one support person in your life?  If not, think about people around you who could be potential cheerleaders for your goals.  I encourage you to contact someone today and be honest about your struggles and successes.  I bet you will come away from the conversation feeling a renewed push to work on your goals.

Before I go, I'd like to give a shout out to one of my biggest cheerleaders, especially right now, and that is my mom.  Even though she lives 800 miles away, she made plans to move in with me and my husband for the next month to help us with our new son, due to arrive today (although I don't think he's coming quite yet).  This week has not been easy for me, but my mom has been here to encourage me.  One of the first things she did after she arrived was paint my toes for me since I can't reach them.  How's that for a support person?  I don't know how I would have made it through this challenging week without her here.  She's been a shoulder for a very emotional pregnant person to cry on all week long.

I hope you have many support people in your life today, but even if you have just one, reach out to them!  You will be doing yourself a favor.  And, while you're at it, think about the people in your life who might need cheerleaders of their own.  Who can you provide support for today?

I leave you with this Scripture:

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." -Proverbs 27:17