My Vision & Hope

Today would have been my grandmother's 89th birthday.  For anyone who's read this blog or simply known me over the years, you know she was one of the most pivotal people to have graced my life.  In my estimation, she was simply PERFECT...

She loved me wholly and completely.  NO questions.

She touched my heart and understood my soul intuitively.

She made me smile every single time I saw her or heard her voice.

She was LOVE to me.

She's been gone a few years now and the loss simply does not lessen over time.  But that's okay because she is ever-present with me.  Truly.

She and I used to celebrate our birthdays together.  One cake.  And we would talk... most of the time on her porch.  She'd reflect briefly on the past but generally we'd chat about "What's Next??"

So today - on her day - I've been asking myself that same question:  WHAT's NEXT?

I've written a lot here about the need for a VISION, how to determine what yours is, and steps to take to attain it... but I've never really outlined the basics of mine for you.  I won't go into too much detail here because that would literally take writing out the tons of pages in my Prayer Journal but I hope you know that I am absolutely serious when I say WRITE IT DOWN!  I write in depth, down to the smallest detail every aspect of my hope... but here is how I began.  These pieces led me to fill in more and more along the way.

Angela 101 Vision Basics

1. I want to have a positive impact on every single person in my life that I meet.  I want each one to be better off for having known me, if only for a brief time (allow me to be to others what Gram was/is to me).
2. I seek to love fully and completely, with courage and faith, ever believing in love's pure power to transform and heal.
3. I ask that I am approved by God; a joyfully married partner for life;  a wise parent; a best friend; a thoughtful, fun and giving lover; a generous teacher; a debt-free steward; a patient daughter/sister; and an inspiring leader.
4. I believe I will have a safe, warm and useful home (see architecture layout, landscaping, et.al.) on XX acres of land that will be fenced in for my animals (see stables, garage, et.al.) and have awe-inspiring views that reminds me every day of God's artistic majesty and blessings (see hills, river, seasons).  This home will be close to family and friends ensuring they are part of my every day life.
5. I pray I accomplish that which I was created to do for God first - and I pray I live each day striving to do just that.  Give me the desire and vision to see what I should do and the will to make what is in my power to do happen.  Teach me to influence others as you would want to achieve Your greater good in whatever role I am in.  Show me how you see each person so I may understand first and speak/act thereafter accordingly.  Allow me to serve and bless me with the opportunity to GIVE.
6. Grant me grace for today and bless me with ongoing health for the remainder of my life.
7. Bless me with a partner for life who loves me as much as You do, Lord and who recognizes my worth and our strength together as a team who each loves according to 1 Cor 13 every day, teaching and challenging one another to be better.  Wholly loyal and unwilling to accept anything less than each other, living courageously for God and each other first.
8. Keep me humble, trustworthy, and teachable Lord but grant me the strength, courage, and internal knowing/wisdom to teach and to lead with my work, my hobbies, etc. 
9. Speak skill in/over me in all that I do so that I do it well:
1. Athletic
2. Musical - able to play the guitar well, appreciate all music
3. Intelligent with a keen understanding of scripture, history, philosophy, and literature (although I could use some help with math as well)
4. Communicator - able to speak clearly, listen intently, write eloquently
5. Leader - with David's heart, Solomon's wisdom, and Peter's faith
10. Create in me a desire to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually HEALTHY and strong always; opening me up to lessons ensuring I AM.

I then also created my own Bucket List of Things I wanted TO DO as well, but that is a separate list.  Nonetheless, these 10 things have been the basics for my hope and vision for my life since I was a teen.  I work at them every day and have since filled in much more detail on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY - leaving the HOW up to God to direct.

What's your Vision?  

For today, my prayer is simple.  

I hope to be a woman like my Gram... and I hope she knows how unbelievably loved she still is.

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

Planets Aligning?

Yesterday turned out to be a really good day.  My day started by hearing the voice of the person I love, which is a great way to begin!  As the day progressed, we got to chat and just spend some time together.  It was nice.  Later in the day, I got to spend time with some friends and learned - compliments of Google Sky Map - that the planets were aligning with the big FULL Moon.  It felt like the planets were aligning!  Have you ever felt that??  Things just seemed to be moving in the right direction...

As I thought about my day, I was surprised at how genuinely HAPPY I was almost all day.  There'd been some setbacks lately, things that really got me down; but I actually laughed out loud at different times reminding me that Life could be good despite the fact that my dreams weren't yet reality.

It was the first day in a long while where I felt LITE.

When you've been through a tough time or when you finally figure out what your dream IS, it can be incredibly difficult to invoke patience.  As you're moving through the emotional onslaught of positives you tell yourself to combat the negative, it can at times feel like a Tar Pit where the more you struggle against it, the more stuck you get!  I think I've felt more stuck than not by my current circumstances, which has left me feeling frustrated and at times, sad.  So how WONDERFUL was it, do you think to actually FEEL light?

Pretty great.

The thing is that the planets only align infrequently at best, cyclically, but not that often... If you're not paying attention to those glimpses, you can easily miss your opportunity to be aware of them nor appreciate the experience.  The same is true I think for life.  I believe God creates opportunity spaces for each of us to MOVE us into the direction of our future, our vision... but we have to be AWARE.  We have to be paying attention, constantly looking for our chances to step forward, otherwise, the opportunity may come and go without us ever noticing how ONE choice could change our experience, change our future.

Doesn't mean that the planets won't still align, but rather that those who are on the look-out will likely make informed choices verses those who are blissfully unaware.  I think basically it means that the former will take less time... and for those of us with little patience, the less time, the better!

My goal is to pay attention to ALL those opportunity spaces to make sure I am making the most of each chance I get to move forward toward my dreams.  That also means, choosing not to be afraid and taking the time to stop and look at the Moon ;)

I want to be aware when my planets align... taking advantage of the opportunities and moving forward toward my dreams.

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.