Courage...

Hi everyone,

Well, it took some courage for me to post today, since it's been quite some time :-).

I have hesitated to post because of the many challenges I've been dealing with of late - not the least of which is my husband's continuing jaw/eating/swallowing issues as a result of the 62  radiation treatments he endured for his tongue cancer 7 years ago.

When I thought of words I could use for my post today, the word "courage" came to mind. There are so many times we need courage in life, aren't there?

Sometimes, it's the courage to speak up. Maybe someone has said something unfair, or we have an idea that we feel is valuable but we're having a hard time speaking up. It may even be that we've been mistreated and it's time to put a stop to it. That may take courage.

Sometimes, it's the courage to get up! There are days when we are fairly certain that once our feet hit the floor, the day could easily sap our energy due to the obligations or frustrations we'll have to face. And THAT may take courage!

Maybe we just need the courage to keep up - with the frantic pace of life, with changes in our jobs, with the demands of others. Do you ever feel like it would be easier to give up??

Other times, it's the courage to let up... as some of you know, I am a bit of a "control freak."  Well, I think "freak" might be a little strong, LOL, but I do indeed like to be able to control my world and my life. But, alas, life sometimes has other plans, does it not? There are some situations which laugh at our efforts to gain control. That just puts me on the other side of "the courage to get up" again and I want to remain all cozy in my bed where "life" cannot find me!

But in the end, I find the courage to "buck up" and do what needs to be done.

Tomorrow, Guy and I will be traveling to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida to see if they can help him with the most recent issues he's having, which have been going on for over five months. Truthfully? I just want to stay in bed! I pray that there will be positive answers, but I can't be sure that's what we'll hear. We need courage just to walk in there tomorrow, even though there's a good possibility we won't even get answers since it's our first visit for this issue. 

Whatever challenges you have coming your way or are in the middle of right now, this minute, I encourage you to take a deep breath and draw on that well of courage you have inside you. You do know it's there, right? We just have to tap into it...sometimes over and over again. But you know what's really incredible? The well never runs dry!

I'm wishing for you all the courage you need to face a new day...

Blessings,

Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
www.LindasWorkshops.blogspot.com 

Encourage

Hi everyone,

Well, you can certainly tell by the dates on my posts that my life has been a bit hectic of late. Still dealing with the bum shoulder - now have 3 appointments a week trying to avoid surgery! Back still a bit achy and still have the issue with the inside of my mouth and tongue...ARGH!! Guy is still doing his "swallow therapy" with the speech pathologist, numerous other things have been pouncing on my calendar, we still both seem to be missing our dear Abby... and again, y'all know how it goes, I'm sure :-)

Here's what I've noticed though; apparently, others around me have sensed (maybe because of the whining that I have allowed to slip through - sorry!) that things have me a bit on edge right now. So some have taken to "lifting me up" with encouraging words, which is such a kind thing to do. My sister, who has her own daily irritants I'm sure, has been checking on my appointments. Two dear friends, Leslie and Cheryl, have been checking in on me and chewing me out when necessary when I'm too hard on myself(another form of encouragement,right?? LOL!). Guy has noticed that I'm not my normal cheery self (which, admittedly, sometimes drives him nuts!) and has been unusually "aware."

You get the picture - there are people who have taken time from their own troubles and full calendars to help me get my footing again - they have made it a point to encourage me.

So I'm taking a page from their playbooks - I'm going to try to get back on an even keel quickly so that I can once again be an encourager. I now know how it feels to be the recipient of those efforts - and it feels pretty darned good. Now it's time for me to get back on the other side and be the "giver." I can't wait!

How about you? Have you encouraged someone lately? Do it today and let me know how it goes!

Blessings,
Linda