All or Nothing?

 All or Nothing?

 

What you give may be what you get.

 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." ~ 

Mark 12:30

 

Have I been loving, living and doing with ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my mind, and ALL my strength?  This is a secret handshake I share with my boys as a reminder when things seem to be going crazy, frustrating, off, or out of sorts.  When moments start whirling with feelings of anxiety, worry and doubt.  STOP! Breath!  And start at the top again.  Apply the secret handshake and ask, "Am I applying my ALL to this situation? If not, how can I?  If yes, how can I get more help? (Pray and focus on the bigger picture seems to work for me)

 

In all this I thought about applying myself to ANYTHING I want to do in life. I shuddered at the fact of doing anything with a half-attempt, not really caring how I do it or not or doing the work grudgingly. Where is the satisfaction in that? If I am going to do anything, I am going to give my all (or whole heart) to it....regardless if it is something I think I won't like. Because I realized, that regardless of liking what I do or not, it the getting it done and done WELL that I get a KICK out of it. Ever clean up dog doodoo in the spring time?......not fun. However, after cleaning it all up off your lawn, you know that you can enjoy taking care of your lawn and going onto it without worrying about rolling in a dog's leftovers.

 

I also thought about wanting to get something out of what I put into it. If I am all or nothing, and I put nothing into it, what am I going to get out of it? NOTHING! If I put my half-effort into doing something, how much do I expect to get in return? I should expect half. But if I put my ALL and full effort into doing something, then I can hope to expect a whole lot in return. As I did my workout this morning I gave it my ALL. I didn't finish it all, but for what I did do, I got the most out of it. I did do something as opposed to nothing, but in the SOMETHING I did, I gave it my all! I have muscle awareness all over the place HAHA and it is soooo satisfying. I know that my example of giving my full effort to whatever it is I do, will be seen and hopefully lived out in my children, in my friends and family too. I AM going for ALL as half or nothing doesn't sit well with me. And if I do settle for less, I know that the frustration will soon follow to remind me to give my ALL.  Thank you God for another wonderful instruction to live and enjoy. =D

GET INVOLVED - be part of the process

 “When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.”- anon GET INVOLVED - JUST GO FOR IT!!! ...Thanks for sharing Jessica Ortner

Why not?

 Why not?

A special thanks to Jeremy S Cowan who said to me years ago..."Don't knock it till you try it." I'm glad I "tried" a life together with him as it has been amazing. 

Man, did I have a reason for everything I wouldn't do, but having faith in what I (ME!!) could make of any situation and achieve, has been challenging, but oh so rewarding and inspiring. I often doubted myself, and had little faith in my ability, but I didn't give up on dreaming my dreams.  With the faith and encouragement of others, I was encouraged to be faithful in myself, in God, and my ability to live a beautiful life full of impact.

Do you have faith in what YOU are able to achieve?  And if not, is there anyone in your life that has faith in what you are able to achieve?  Ask them to share their vision for you and allow yourself to see how YOU can achieve what it is that you desire to do and how it can impact the lives of others.

So ask "why not?" before you ask "why?".  Why not give it a try, instead of why would I give it a try.....both can have the same answer depending on who is asking the question.  

Go for it!  If it requires faith in yourself, in God or faith from others to accomplish it...do it!  If it is shrouded with fear, then question where the fear is coming from, if it is based on speculation of an unknown outcome, then give it another thought and again ask "why not?".

The power of enthusiasm

 "Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." -Ralph Waldo Emerson