Life is surely an effort…

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Confidence, Faith, God, Lessons, Life, Trials

Life is surely an effort. We are infused with all we need when we come into this world, much is instilled within us to help us along our way. But the world is a siphon, it often endeavors to drain from us that which we carry within . . it happens each time we are faced with adversarial situations, or something is wearing us down & so we feel depleted of what we need to “fight” the brave battles of life.

Often times we become eroded in our spirits through daily interactions without even knowing that is what has happened. We make some choices or bear a few burdens, suffer a few slaps to our egos, without even paying attention to the slow erosion taking place in us from within. We lose our way a bit, as we are just weakened, sapped of our super powers from the efforts. The fiber of our beings – our self-esteem, our confidence, our ability to patiently wait things out – it all pays the cost in a life where we’re tested. But tested we shall be, & taxed we shall remain, so we must learn to build up our shields, to restore our superpowers to full strength, & to garner our
energy to endure it all!

Life is surely an effort, but those who learn the lessons of how to bolster themselves, how to keep a strong belief system going & those who endure confidently because they have sustaining faith are those who suffer less erosion or who fix what is already eroded faster! It is imperative that you remember the inner core of what fuels you . . it is the generator which ignites the fire, which burns through you & which enables you to keep going. That inner core must be fed with an equal mix of self-love, self-esteem & confidence! Any hint of insecurity, diminished belief in your own ability or a wearing down without a rebuilding & restrengthening, will slowly but surely shut down the inner fire of your being!

I believe that I am naturally infused with self-confidence & self-esteem when I focus again on all the things the Creator gave me . . He instilled in me a sense of my own worth so that I never have to doubt my value in life. He vested in me the fruits of the spirit, including patience, so that I am never without what I need to make it through anything! You must start with you yourself . . all things come from you . . your reactions, your responses & your ongoing ability to thrive in this lifetime are all because you are sure you can & will! Do the daily work in you & maintain the fire that keeps the engine of your life going . . you matter in it all! Without you, you have nothing to offer anyone at any time!

Sowing Seeds With Faith . .

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Commitment, Confidence, Faith, Strength

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As every gardener knows, myself included, the seeds you sow or plant today, is your hope & faith for tomorrow & beyond. It takes great faith being a parent, to enter into relationships, to sow seeds with faith that they will become something one day. Examine all the amazing ways you show your faith each day just by living your life! Maybe we humans are much more hope-full than we even realize & give ourselves credit. Living with faith, maintaining our hopeful resolve no matter what life brings, is truly what keeps us filled with the endurance to love ourselves & one another, to keep sowing our seeds anew each day for what lies ahead!

What's Your Story??

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Change, Choices, Confidence

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You must see yourself as the writer of the story of your life, or you will always feel reactive & out of control. When things happen to you, it isn’t in just the reaction where you leave your mark, it’s in the responding effort you make to your own reaction whereby you set the tone for all of your life! Surely we all experience sadness, but when some people suffer extraordinary & random sadness, they rise hig…her & build themselves up stronger upon their initial emotional reaction. They don’t allow the moments of sadness to become their trademark for life! The same can be said for any moments of anger, fear, uncertainty, bitterness or hurt! The one thing which is in your control in this life are your emotional reactions & your responses to everything.

Your story will be the sum of all that you endured in life, but it doesn’t have to be stuck on just one event which you allowed to change you in a negative way! It’s your story! How would you write it & why? And why would you allow one trauma to define you as the lead character in any way but a positive one?! You have so much control which you negate by circumstance & cede to situations. You give away so much of yourself & your own personal freedom to those things over which you have no control in life when you allow your own emotions to steal precious time from you & wreck your life. It is inevitable, we all will experience pain, grief, loss & great trauma. That goes without saying. It is part of being human. But we tend to forget the key to overcoming these situations is also within us! We are much stronger than we even know or give ourselves credit for! Don’t allow emotions of one moment to make your life’s story a negative read. Find a way to take the very worst of times & turn them into what makes you more faithful, better, stronger & more compassionate! Manage your life into a life which seems well-managed – one which exemplifies love, contentment & personal growth! That is your primary job!

The Storm Mindset . . .

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Conquering Fear, Joy, Strength

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The mindset of the storm. Sometimes what happens in the world seems overwhelming, the losses we endure, the infliction of such immense hardship, the problems piling on people like weights pulling them under water. Humans can feel so fragile & so broken at times, that they wonder if breaking further & being broken is a constant state. When hope wanes & eventually dies within us, we have nothing in which to bolster our reason for being.

Hope is what sustains us even through the unimaginable. We must hold on to our hope, having faith that at some point ahead of us, even around a bend, there is a new day waiting which does promise smiles & an abundance of light. Too many of us are so lost in the dark storms of tumultuous times, grief or uncertainty for which we can’t imagine a passing, that we relegate ourselves to the mindset of the storm always. Then we don’t even notice that the “everyday” has returned, our lives would be better, our skies are brighter . We are still, however, in the storm mindset, our feelings keeping us there almost like a prisoner. When you have a sense that your hope is waning or grasping its last breath, please find the spark within you that calls it back! Life will often bring many storms to weather, but they do eventually pass. Don’t make one storm from now or before your constant sky! Please remember that like all things, bad days, problems, turmoils & upsets do pass! Brighter days are always just ahead, perhaps around an unseen bend, but they’re coming! Hope within you must be stoked & coaxed like a fire, you might have to add kindling & allow it to surge again. You shouldn’t have to relight it though, as hope does always live within you if you just keep the embers from dying in your heart!

This is dedicated to those who struggle with those emotions they just cannot seem to elude . . for all of you who make judgments based on a moment of feeling something now which will pass if you just ride it out! Life is a precious gift, hope is what allows our faith to endure all while we wait, endure, persist & to prosper! Let your hope take you with faith into this new day, resting assured that you will find something in which to be thankful in this gift of life! You’re the one who determines which emotions you ride to shore, after all!

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Hoist the Sails, Life Awaits!

25 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Commitment, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Strength, Trials

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Many times in life, we push ourselves too hard, & then we pay some price in physical or emotional pain. But for some things we don’t push ourselves hard enough, in my opinion. We settle into our ruts, believing ourselves incapable, unworthy, ill-equipped or just not “hungry” enough to care! But then who is it have we harmed through our assessment?! We hurt the one we need the most to accomplish things in life, ourself! When we cast doubt, over-analyze fear, worry, linger in malaise or expect that we are not able, we’re taking the wind out of our own sails! How do we know how far we can go unless & until we try?

If you talk yourself into mediocrity, having or being less, or just plain out of things in general, then that is what you shall have! You have to assume the captain’s role in your own life & decide that you’ll hoist the sails by heading out towards the wind or making your own by turning into the wind! You cannot remain in dock, or even stationary at sea for long, without needing some source of propulsion into the new, the different, the unknown!

You, as the captain, must venture out beyond the safe realm of what you already know, the steady & the certain, especially if that is not where you want to be or what you want! Only you can choose to take your vessel to uncharted places to find your life’s treasure! Those who have what you want, have only done one thing differently than you, they’ve dared to go find it! Now is your turn to dare . . take off the safety reins & let loose your fears, for out there somewhere is what you are either seeking or never even knew you could find! The best adventures in life are those which begin in anticipation, reveal their secrets of fantastic discovery as you go & fill you with the greatness of your accomplishments in the end!

Donning the Armor of Confidence . .

17 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Strength

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Confidence is the wall of strength you build within yourself from the weighty bricks of your burdens, the buckets laden with your fears & the mortar of fortitude in which you push yourself beyond the limits & limitations of your life to date! It is only when you still persist even though you may have your doubts, taking the chance even though you haven’t taken that chance before, that you will in fact develop this skill!

Confidence is the armor you will develop through believing in yourself enough to wage your battles, take on your daily challenges & hone your life skills . . confidence is born only in self-love & built-in self-assurance!

Confidence fights past your fear, overwhelms your doubts & stands at the edge of each precipice imagined without succumbing to worry! You cannot build the confidence you need by living in the constant safety of what you already know you have or can conquer!

Confidence comes only when you dare go beyond the safety of your comfort zones!

Diamonds in the Making . .

31 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Change, Character, Choices, Commitment, Conquering Fear, Life, Opportunity, Strength, Trials

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To endure that which feels like hardship, that which knocks us either around or down for a time in life, is to not let the very hope go out of our live & thus leaving our sails down without hope of finding the wind. We possibly become more brow-beaten the older we get as more happens, so that many of us are actually somber, downcast, unrecognizable versions of who we once were. We start to wear our hard knocks like our clothes & thus, we become sad, tumultuous, angry, bitter, dour or imperiled versions of us!

I took note when reading some of the Bible, how meaningful the stories of those whom endured were to me. I realized that many people in life only learned how to shape & form their character, growing to love God, themselves & others more from what happened to them during hardships & trials. Many of course did not learn at all, going instead to places of discord, unrest & their own version of solitary confinement – choosing to make that part of their story in fact the “whole story” of their life. Some just became worse for the wear surely. But many examples were evident throughout the Bible, as well as in our everyday lives of people who thrive in spite of what has happened. They’ve lived to become shining examples of grace under pressure, appearing to be diamonds who were formed in the worst of times! And there always will be “bad times” at times for us all, no one is immune from that aspect of life! So that is my hope in life for myself. I want to take my sufferings, my pains, my hard knocks & all those things could do me in & make it all instead the cloth which polishes my soul & spirit to perfection like a rare & priceless diamond!

Enduring life is not meant to strip us of our desire to live, but rather to form us into wiser, more compassionate & loving people better prepared to live! Learn to be at peace & contentment with life, to not make each battle one which embitters your spirit & to recognize in the moments you will have to swim upstream with great effort, that even in those moments you are being strengthened for the journey ahead! The saying goes: no diamond can truly be appreciated as first appears, it must endure a process which forms it from onset to what it will become in the end! And so must we . . but it is our choice as to how we shall endure what we must! It is always our choice to look beyond the process towards the end result!

DreamChaser

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Dreams, God, Happiness, Joy

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CanNot2Cans-50 The confines of our world say, “You can do this, but not this.” Do what you feel you are called to do regardless the messages you may perceive & those you actually may receive! You are a one-of-a-kind creation, formed by God for your own life & pathway. If you allow others to define you, direct you or perhaps inadvertently destroy your dreams by inflicting their own limitations about life upon them, then your life will never be as full as it was meant to be!

Believing in oneself is paramount to reaching for the stars! If you let anyone tell you otherwise, you have already confined yourself to remaining on the ground in lesser pursuits. Dreams are the seeds of God’s possibilities & hopes born in you. Don’t you dare let them die there! You are called to go after them like you know they were meant for you! Light yourself on fire with the faith, hope & confidence that you will achieve the dream God established there within your soul! I can assure you, no dream first started in you by our Master Craftsman will ever fail unless & until you let it fail & then die.

He may ask you to work for it, often quite hard, but He will never give up on it, & so neither should you! Recognize what lives within your heart & go for it like you are retrieving an actual part of you which was misplaced! If you let others, or a few bumps in life, take from you your journey to the stars, then you will suffer! Now, suit up & set your course for the galaxy waiting! Believe in yourself, your dreams & your own power to achieve whatever God has called you to be & to do . . . no limits!

Make the Most of Each Day!

05 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Commitment, Happiness, Life, Passion

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It’s not the day that makes you, but what you make of the day! If you haven’t yet noticed, some people take those 24 hours & make a grand production, busily creating, solving, attempting & doing as much as they’re able to make their dreams come to fruition. They are endeavoring to solve their own problems & those of others, to help create solutions, to channel their energies into being better human beings. Somehow they see the period of a day & direct their focus into making it count! It’s a habit, an intention, a plan with purpose! We can all do exactly that if we shift our focus from weighing ourselves down in fear, worry & remorse, or worse – idleness! We can all make our days truly memorable, truly significant & ones which we’ll count among our best if we set about each new morning to be & to do just that!

Having restful days are not bad, but having a slew of idle days which get you no further to your goals & dreams will become in hindsight a great regret! Carpe diem . . seize the day & let it fuel your passion for something you desire! Ignite in you the sense that time is finite & watch how your focus suddenly changes from wanting to worry, fret, fear, & idle away so many hours or lollygag in the restless pursuit of nothingness! Your lifetime is most definitely finite! What is it that turns your switch, ignites your inner fire & sets your passions to light?? Think of those things as you start to “plan” your day . . where in your day do those things fit? If you aren’t heading towards something which matters, you might not make this day count, & that my friends is a loss of a finite resource of infinite value!

Making Lemonade From Our Lemons . .

05 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Commitment, Conquering Fear, Strength, Trials

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Making lemonade from our lemons doesn’t mean we’re settling for less, it means we are making the best of whatever comes our way & that is how we make the best of our lives! We can choose to exist & to react . . ways to surely suck the living out of your life! In existing, you relinquish your desire to hope for yet-fulfilled & yet-achieved dreams. You simply stop living in a state of faith & hope t…o sustain that faith, & so your life becomes based in fear, worry, regrets, sorrows, “what ifs” & “why nots”. But when you take back the helm of your central internal emotional command, realizing that although you don’t control everything, you do control your responses, you will start to feel empowered & alive once again!

Don’t slip into existence just because things haven’t always gone your way, reach higher by overcoming your own internal negative gobbledy gook & keep living with the desire to reach all your dreams. Never give up hope, & never let your dreams die! It’s alright to be a realist, but faith doesn’t dwell in reality, it is inherently in the unseen & the unknown, which we all know also includes love, air (hopefully), and some other intangible aspects of life which are very concrete nonetheless! To react emotionally in life is natural, but to stay a prisoner within your emotions because things haven’t always gone your way, or because you’ve received too many lemons & are just sick of making lemonade, will keep you from enjoying your life! You cannot be living in the state of reacting to circumstances without feeling out of control & perhaps a bit victimized.

Flip the way you look at life by seizing the emotional reins & choosing an alternative mood! Life is about making the best of what you have, what you get & what you are facing so that you can feel the best about your life! Isn’t it time you start feeling that empowerment again towards your precious gift of life?! Seize the day, take the control back & live with an awareness that you are going to make a great life for yourself no matter what may come or not come. Learn to savor lemonade . . it’s refreshing after all!