ARE YOU FLYING WITH THE TURKEYS?

This Inevitable Stress

Given the amount of stress in my life, I figure I should be the skinny little thing I was in high school.  I’ve been clinging to that philosophy while the pounds cling to my waistline.   I finally realized the talk show docs and nutritionists were actually referring to me when they say that stress will cause fat to hang on to our bodies!  So over the course of a year, I have been examining my lifestyle and this inevitable thing called stress.  

You and I can’t avoid stress.  It comes in good packages like the holidays, or it comes in dreadful doses of uncontrollable events.  We can control stress with our diet, activity level and time management. But what about managing the stress in our soul?

The Low and Slow Turkey

There are many wild turkeys that strut around our city (yes-real turkeys).  They hang out at the schools and walk around suburban streets.  They crack me up!  One Fall day I was driving down a road when a turkey decided to take flight.  His big ole body lifted into the air while his wings leisurely flapped.  He was flying directly toward my windshield.  I began to panic because he wasn’t gaining height.  As I imagined this humungous wild bird crashing through my windshield, he managed to skim above the hood of my car.  My heart was racing and relieved.  

Fly Above the Stress

My mind’s eye remembers this turkey in sharp contrast to the majestic eagle.  The Scriptures tell us that those who wait on the Lord will mount up with wings like eagles.  I have read that when an eagle senses a storm is coming, it flies to a high spot and waits for the wind to come.  When the storm hits, it spreads its wings and soars above it.  It is not able to escape the storm but instead flies above it.  You and I can’t avoid the storms of life: sickness, disappointment, loss, the daily grind.  But can we actually rise above it?  Isaiah 40:29-31 gives us this promise, “He gives power to the weak.  He increases the strength of him who has no might.  Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; But those who wait for the Lord (who hope in Him, talk with Him, listen to His Words), shall renew their strength and power (be invigorated); they shall lift their wings and mount up as eagles; they shall run and not be weary (they won’t give up), they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” It’s God’s desire for us that we rise above our trials.  He has provided a way for us to prevail over and even conquer the stress in our lives.  

This is my desire as well.  When I cling to the stress, it clings to me.  It becomes a weight that makes me fly low and slow like that turkey.  Instead, I’m choosing to cling to the promises and love of God.  Waiting on Him is a deliberate practice of trusting the God who made me. He then gives me the perspective and tools to mount up as eagles above the storms and stresses of my life.

BONNIE CHRISTENSEN

http://www.WomanGoneWise.com

FAILURE DOESN'T EQUAL SUCCESS … BUT IT CAN GET YOU THERE!

Last week, my daughter bombed a math test. Flunked. Failed. In a big and mighty way. So big, in fact, that the teacher called me into the classroom to show me the test.

Later, when Riley and I were talking about it, she began to tear up.


“Are you saying that I made a bad grade?” she asked as her lower lip quivered.


I hesitated for a beat and then said, “Yes, Baby Girl, you made a bad grade.”


A lot of parents would be horrified with me. I can hear them saying, “What?! You don’t use the term bad when talking to a child!” I could hear them complain that I was going to scar my child or permanently damage her self esteem.
In our society today, we have become so concerned with the emotions of our children that we will lie, cheat and steal to keep them from feeling badly. The theory goes that if we can organize a world where they feel safe and secure and loved and comfortable all the time, then surely they will become confident adults.


The problem with this approach is that it simply doesn’t work. An obese child who is told that she is fine just the way she is will still grow up with be an adult with chronic health problems. A child whose bullying behaviour is overlooked because he is having problems at home that are not his fault will not learn how to care for those around him. A child who thinks that a failed grade is actually good will never learn how to succeed.


And so I let my daughter feel the full weight of failure.


And then I gave her the tools to succeed.

“You see, Riley, a bad grade tells us two things: 1) You don’t understand the material and/or 2) You did not practice enough before the test. However, both of these things are fixable. We can make sure you learn the material and give you lots of practice so that when you will not make this grade again.”

The rest of the weekend, we worked hard. It was obvious that Riley was missing the foundational pieces to the concepts and so we made sure she got them. Then we built on the foundation until she was grasping math which was much more difficult than the concepts on the test.

She got it. She grew confident. She asked to practice so she could show us what she had learned. And she learned how to turn failure into success, a life lesson that is exponentially more important than a math grade.

Many of the couples I meet struggle even admitting that there is failure in their relationship. They dance around the subject, trying to project an image that is perfect. They hope that I don’t ask any questions that might poke that delicate exterior and expose it for what it truly is.

But, just like Riley, if we do not take an honest appraisal of our work and if we do not acknowledge places where we fail, we will never be able to move past failure to success. Admitting you have a problem, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, is the first step to a new life. The brilliance of taking this first step is that you can make changes, fix the problems and move to a place of health and true happiness.

What do you have in your relationship that is not working?   What is failing?

Once you have taken an inventory, begin to make changes. Need some help? You can book your coaching session with me today.

ERYN-FAYE FRANS

CANADA'S PASSION COACH ®

ErynFaye.com