Tag: perseverance

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Doing It Anyway

I don’t feel like writing this blog post tonight.

I was going to wait and make it a Super Saturday, but then I started thinking.

That happens way too often.

I don’t feel like cleaning, so I let the dust build up and the floor gets more and more full of crumbs and dirt.

I don’t feel like saying no to myself, so I eat when I’m not really hungry.

I don’t feel like figuring out what to write, so I put it off another day.

Maybe you find yourself doing that, too. Putting off the things you don’t feel like doing until they become more urgent, and usually more difficult.

So tonight I’m doing it anyway. I don’t feel like it, but I’m writing this post.

This week I started to work on overcoming that tendency to not do the things I don’t feel like doing. I wrote at least 500 words every day on my latest writing project, even when I didn’t feel like doing it. They weren’t all brilliant words and many of them may not make it to the final version of the book, but that’s okay. I did it anyway.

As we begin this new year, let’s all work on doing it anyway.

We may not feel like exercising. Let’s do it anyway.

We may not feel like being kind to our spouse, our children, or someone at work. Let’s do it anyway.

We may not feel like working on that goal we set on January 1. Let’s do it anyway.

We may not feel like reading our Bible, praying, or sharing our faith. Let’s do it anyway.

We may not feel like pressing on when our anxiety or depression gets bad. Let’s do it anyway.

Truth is, we usually aren’t going to feel like doing most of the things we do. But if we do them anyway, I can almost guarantee we’ll feel good afterward.

Well, what do you know! I finished this blog post, and that feels pretty good.

“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.” (Hebrews 6:11 NIV)

Do you have a hard time doing something when you don’t feel like it? How can focusing on God help you to do it anyway?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Starting Over

Last Saturday night I did some shopping at our local grocery store. I got the things on my list, but then I checked out the baked goods on my way to the checkout.

There was a package of six donuts. The kind I like. Two were plain chocolate frosting with white cream filling. The other four had sprinkles with white cream.

I caved and stuck them in my cart. I almost turned around and put them back. I mean, I know that much sugar isn’t good for me or Gary. But I really wanted a donut, so I checked out and took them home.

I offered one to Gary and then I returned to the kitchen for my treat.

Here’s where my reasoning went totally haywire. I realized these weren’t quite as fresh as the ones I’ve gotten early in the morning. No, these were just a little dry, and they wouldn’t get any better by the next day, so I decided to put two on my plate and go watch a Christmas movie.

The first donut was delicious, but by the time I got to the end of the second donut I was almost sick. (Don’t worry, I suffered through and finished it.) And then the guilt and self-condemnation poured in…

Why did I buy six donuts when I want to lose weight? Why did I eat two donuts in one sitting instead of waiting until I was hungry again? Why did I give in to temptation like that? Should I just forget about eating better? No. I finally came to my senses.

I had to start over.

Earlier this week I decided to try a new company for my email list. I had paid quite a bit last year for a system that I didn’t learn how to use very well and I hadn’t grown my list much at all. I decided to go to the free level of a quality company and see if I can put more work into using it well as I grow my email list. So I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to move my precious group of subscribers to the new system and set up new forms for my website.

I had to start over.

Later in the week, my thinking started to get a little messed up. The normal stresses of the holidays, plus some stresses from our specific life started to get to me. Instead of catching those thoughts and turning them into something more positive and hopeful, I started to roll with the negative ideas bouncing around in my brain. It wasn’t good, because all it did was keep me from getting anything done on my list of things to do. I was paralyzed by my negative thoughts and I procrastinated until I finally picked one thing on my list and did it.

I had to start over.

Starting over is not easy. We don’t want to admit that we blew it in some area of our life. We don’t want to spend the time it takes to learn a new program or figure out how to produce something we haven’t done before. We get tired of fighting the negative thoughts in our brains, so we would rather just ignore them or hide from them or, even worse, believe them.

But we must start over. It’s the only way we’ll ever accomplish our goals. It’s the only way we’ll ever learn to do something new. It’s the only way we’ll get better at catching our thoughts and turning them around to something helpful and positive.

I think the more we practice starting over as soon as possible, the better we’ll get at it and the less often we’ll have to do it. But even if we have to start over a hundred times a day, let’s do it. It’s the only way we’ll make it through the marathon of life that we’re on.

Move ahead, fall down, start over. Repeat as needed. (And stay out of the bakery aisle.)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV)

Do you get tired of starting over? How can focusing on God help you to keep moving ahead with perseverance as you live your life?

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Terrific Tuesday: Let’s Focus on Perseverance

I’m so sorry, dear readers.

I couldn’t seem to get myself to write on Focus Friday.

And then I missed Super Saturday.

Sensational Sunday slipped by with no desire to write.

I almost gave up when I got to Marvelous Monday, but here I am.

It’s Terrific Tuesday and I’m taking a few moments to write, even though I’m terribly late.

Why? Because I want all of us to think about perseverance.

Truth is, I’ve been struggling a bit these last few days. I stayed in bed until 9:00 today, something I haven’t done for many months. I’ve been feeling kind of blah and lazy in general lately. It’s discouraging because I had been feeling very good for quite a long time. When you deal with depression, a few down days can lead to feelings of panic if you’re not careful. “Oh no, it’s coming back!”

But I don’t have to panic. I know what to do to stay healthy emotionally, and I know who to reach out to if things don’t get better.

First, I need to think about what may be contributing to my low mood.

I realize there are several things: I missed a couple of days of exercise; I’m stuck back at June 1 in my One-Year Bible; I’ve been going to bed a little later than I should; my thoughts are leaning toward the negative too often; and someone in our community died by suicide recently.

No wonder I’m not feeling the best!

Next, I need to make plans to turn things around.

I’m going to get back to my morning exercise routine; I’ll take the time to read my Bible each morning; bedtime will be close to ten again; I’m going to catch my thoughts and make sure I’m focused on what is true and good; and I’m going to persevere, even when I hear about yet another person who tragically couldn’t do that.

Finally, I’m going to make sure I’m living a focused life.

Letting everything in life push and pull me around so that I don’t focus on one thing will only bog me down in confusion and despair. Focusing on God first, and then the things He leads me to will keep me purposeful and hopeful.

I need to remember that my faith and perseverance may help someone else who is struggling. Sure, it’s not a big deal if I write my blog on Tuesday instead of Friday, but I’m going to do my best to stick as close to that schedule as possible.

Thanks for being patient with me, friends. I’m going to persevere, and I’m praying that you will, too.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12 NIV)

Do you get tired of trying sometimes? How can focusing on God help you to turn your thoughts around and decide to persevere?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Finding Hope

Grand Canyon for blog

I’m coming back to one of my frequent themes this week: Hope.

I hope no one minds. Oops, see what I did there?

We throw that word “hope” around pretty casually: I hope it doesn’t snow tomorrow. I hope she calls me back. I hope I don’t gain a pound from eating this ice cream.

Hope is so much more than just wishing for something. The modern definition is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen,” but the archaic meaning is “a feeling of trust.”

That’s the meaning of hope we need to cling to. We can wish all we want for certain things to happen, but that feeling of trust is what gets us through, even when the thing we’re hoping for doesn’t happen.

Hope (that feeling of trust) helps us keep getting up in the morning when life seems too hard.

Hope helps us to keep praying for someone we love, even when we don’t see the results we’re hoping for.

Hope lets us keep going, day after day, sure of our salvation in Christ even when we aren’t sure where the path will take us in life.

I chose a picture of one of my favorite places for my graphic this week: The Grand Canyon. That beautiful, wild, gigantic place often reminds me of the hope we have to hold onto. Whether you’re going down or coming back up, there are times when you think you’ll never reach the end. You hike along the switchbacks, round a corner, and realize you still can’t see your destination. You heave a sigh and keep putting one foot in front of the other. And eventually, without fail, you make it because you didn’t stop and give up.

That’s what hope means to me. It’s trusting deeply in the LORD and refusing to give up. Hope is getting up every day. Hope is saying a prayer and moving ahead (sometimes quickly and sometimes painfully slow).

Hope hangs on tight and never lets go.

“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, LORD, is in you. (Psalm 25:21 NIV)

Do you have a hard time holding onto hope? How can focusing on God help you to hope in Him and not give up?

*Gary and I spoke in church about our experience with anxiety and depression this past Sunday at our church. We titled it “Finding Hope” (you can watch it on YouTube) and also told people about the Fresh Hope support group which will begin here in Platte on Monday, January 4 at 7:00 p.m. at First Reformed Church (101 N Main St – use East doors). If you live in the area and want support and encouragement for your mental health, please come check it out!

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Cream Puff Dessert

I made two pans of Cream Puff Dessert earlier this week. (I’ve included the recipe after this post.)

It’s one of my favorite things to take to our family get-togethers. It’s not too difficult to make and it tastes delicious.

It is kind of a weird process to make the cream puff base, though.

First you boil some water and butter, then add a cup of flour and mix until it’s smooth.

You let it cool a bit, and then add four eggs, one at a time.

This is where it gets a little weird. As you begin to stir, your nice smooth batter seems to fall apart.

You find yourself thinking “This can’t be right! It looks disgusting and slimy. Maybe I did something wrong.”

You stir and stir and stir some more…and finally the batter comes back together and looks a little more normal.

Then you add the next egg and the process starts all over again. Separation. Slime. Stirring, stirring, stirring until you feel like your hand is going to fall off.

Then it finally gets better.

After four eggs, you have a nice smooth batter.

You spread it into a pan and bake for a half hour.

You end up with a puffy base that gets a pudding layer and a whipped cream layer added to it after it cools.

Finally you drizzle some chocolate syrup on right before serving…and enjoy!

(This is not mine…mine is not this fancy and we ate it all before I thought of taking a picture.)

Now, I found myself thinking as I stirred this time.

Sometimes we add something to our life and it doesn’t feel good right away. It doesn’t seem like things are coming together right and we think we’ve ruined everything. We feel like giving up and starting over, or worse, not trying that again.

Maybe we try a new method of discipline with our children. We know they need it, but they resist. Loudly.

It’s tempting to give up and just go back to the way things were before, but if we persist and keep at it we just might get to a new, more pleasant, way of relating to our kids.

Perhaps we want to learn a new skill. We watch videos and read articles and books about painting, or writing, or finances, or underwater basket weaving. We begin our attempts, but it’s harder than we expected. The painting is not a Picasso, the writing project stinks, the bank account stays empty, and the basket sinks.

It’s tempting to give up and stick with what we already can do, but if we keep trying we may surprise ourselves with what we accomplish. A painting good enough to frame. A book with our name on it. A nice little nest egg. A cute little soggy basket.

When I’m making a Cream Puff Dessert, I have to remind myself that the stirring is important. I can’t stop while the mixture is still a slimy mess or the dessert won’t turn out right. I have to keep going. I have to remember that something good will come from my hard work.

I have to do that in life, too. I have to remember that something good will come from my hard work.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest [or a Cream Puff Dessert] if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

Do you get tired of trying sometimes? How can focusing on God help you to persevere and keep going until you get to something good?

*Cream Puff Dessert (recipe from Sharon Tilstra, many years ago)
1/2 C. butter or margarine
1 C. water
1 C. flour
4 eggs
– Combine butter and water on stove in pan. When it starts to boil, add flour and mix ’til mixture forms a ball. Let cool a while, then add eggs one at a time.
– Spread in greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
– Cool.

Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
2 small pkgs. instant french vanilla pudding
3 C. milk
– Beat cream cheese. Mix all together and spread over crust. Spread 8 oz. whipped topping over all and drizzle with chocolate syrup shortly before serving.