Who Is My Audience?

Today's Five Minute Free Write prompt is AUDIENCE.

Who is my AUDIENCE?

Women 18-35? Women 35-55? Men 45-55?

If you would be willing to comment about who you are and what you like about my blog. What you like, what is boring, what you want me to write more about, that would be so helpful.



My heart for my AUDIENCE is this:

I want to encourage you.
I want to build you up and remind you that the pain of life can strengthen you and not destroy you.
I want to write transparently enough that you feel safe to be real but not so candid you cringe every blog.

Does that make sense? I hope so. I really want to know what you think about this. I don't write for me, I always write with you in mind.

WHO is Perfect?

WHO do you give yourself permission to be? Do you have to be perfect or do you feel guilty if you aren't?

WHO do you give the people around you permission to be? Do you allow the people around you to be imperfect or do you demand perfection?

The Five Minute Friday prompt this week is WHO

I want to do this -->

I want to intentionally express to the people around me, starting in my home, they are LOVED and they BELONG.

They don't have to do "it" right. They don't have to "be" anything in particular.And they never have to be perfect to be in relationship with me.

WHO do you value?
How do you communicate that to them?
Do they feel like they belong in your presence?
If they do, how do you know?
If they don't, how do you know?

The book I've listened to twice because it was so incredibly insightful, was Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene' Brown. Read it. It's fantastic! Encouraging in this day and age where so many are trying to prove they matter.

A SEARCH Resulting In The Unexpected

Free Write for Five Minutes prompt today is SEARCH.

SEARCH

An amazing park right in the middle of where I work.

What do you SEARCH for? My answer: People or things of great value.

When we look we always find something. It may not be what we were looking for. What do you do when your SEARCH comes up with something new instead of what you expected? Are you willing to change direction? Plot a new course? Or do you throw what you found to the side and proceed forward regardless of what it was.

For me, because of who I am, if I am SEARCHing for something and I find something else instead, I wonder why. I stop and consider if this is something worth following or is it something I need to walk past?

I found my job that way. I was SEARCHing for a way to pay my bill but ended up sending in a resume'. Three months later I am trained and working and loving it. Six months ago I would have never considered what I'm doing as an option. But I am super happy with how this SEARCH turned out, even if I wasn't expecting the result I ended up with.

PAUSE: A Key to Depression Prevention

Five Minute Free Write today is PAUSE.

I've written about my ongoing battle with depression several times. One of the ways I've learned to push back from the edge of the Black Hole is to PAUSE.

Do you ever have a moment where you want to freeze time and just hold still, soak it up and breathe deeply? For me - occasionally.

I love ballooning for a bunch of reasons, one of which is the PAUSE
that comes after the burner is used when there is just silence.

Do you ever have to make yourself stop, take in what is going on in your world and receive the gifts you've been given? For me - absolutely!

When I'm skirting the edge of the Black Hole of depression or getting close to falling in, I PAUSE. I look for the great things (my people), the good things (having a solid roof over my head, running water, a car to drive, food to eat) and the "daily" things t
hat have to be done but I don't always appreciate my ability to do them (cooking, cleaning, shuttling my kids around). If I PAUSE and see these things for the gifts they are, I can back away from the Hole for a few minutes, a few days, a few weeks or even, if it's sunny consistently, a few months. But I have to make myself PAUSE regularly to keep from the dark despair that comes with the Hole.

If I am IN the Hole, it's impossible or very close to it to find the good, see the great, or be amused by the "daily" stuff. That's when I go to my doctor. Modern medicine isn't the ultimate solution, but by the time I get to him, I've tried exercise, thinking happy thoughts, journaling, etc.

Like a picture captures a moment, take a moment.Stop and look around you. PAUSE.

Messy Monday: Tuesday Edition, PRAY, Coffee and Flames

This week was messy enough for me to forget what day it is. I haven't had one of these kinds of weeks in a while.

PRAY is the Five Minute Free Write today. So, because I am behind schedule, I will be combining them both.

I recently started training for my new job. I am working all kinds of different hours the last few weeks. I literally forgot what day it was until last night, when I realized I completely missed Monday! A combination of 8 hour and 10 hour days, juggling the boys schedules, and even threw in a food/art/geography project.

An island. Created with Rice Crispies, Cocoa Crispies, and Lucky Charms. And according to my son, he and his class thought it was magically delicious. Though you couldn't have paid me to taste it.

What's wrong with this?

I have no idea where I found this. But I love it. #true

Nothing! The essence of why I started writing Messy Monday. An this week, on Tuesday! I hope you are smiling by now...

PRAY - often. All day. Because you can. Talking to God has changed my life. It could really be so much worse. God is not a great fairy godfather in the sky to lean on as a crutch to survive my life. It is a necessity to remind my that my life isn't about me. It's about loving and serving others in a non-codependent way (took me years to figure this out!).

You don't have to do it. But if you do, even when you're mad, you likely won't regret it. Believing that Life is bigger than the space you see hear and know, expands your ability to understand and have compassion in the big wild crazy world around you. At least that's why I PRAY.

The more hours I work the more I am completely confident this is true! I loved this. Made.Me.Laugh. I am so grateful for people who come up with this stuff. Seriously, it makes my life better - Coffee and funny coffee memes.

A seriously bad day for someone definitely reminded me why I don't like foreign cars. No, just kidding. But I was leaving work the other day and I saw this. Suddenly, I didn't think my day was so hard. Keep this in mind - If your car doesn't catch fire and melt before your eyes, your day can't be that bad...

Catch you next MONDAY with more messiness!

WHEN Do You Live Your Dreams?

Today's prompt has so many possibilities on where to take it.

One of the things I've been asked the most often since my Love has been a hot air balloon pilot is WHEN do you get to live your dreams?

Here's the thing:

I am.

I have dreamed of having a husband, a family, a family sport/focus my whole life. I love horses and I have always wanted to get back into that, but I am not missing anything - or any part of me. WHEN I'm driving the chase truck, predicting where he's headed next, getting the truck and trailer into and out of crazy places, figuring out how to pack out the balloon from a barbed wire fenced field without damaging it or us, and backing up the trailer like a bad ass I am living my dreams.

***********

WHEN I wept over infertility, lost our baby, decided to do a triathlon or five, my friends were there. One in particular is on my mind today. It's her birthday and I can't stop thinking about her impact on my life. She's always supported, encouraged and told me the truth. She has taught me it's not about how you feel about something, its about what you are committed to. She inspires me to be better. I dreamed of that. Having people in my life to push me to be the best me WHEN I want to quit on what's important to me.

WHEN you surround yourself with people who love you, encourage you, and inspire you, you ARE living your dreams. Every.day.

ASK - 2 Key Questions for Relationships

Yesterday I wrote about my great friend who says, Talk to me! all the time.

That same friend has taught me and my Love to ASK two questions that changed the way we communicate with each other, our kids and the people around us.

What do you need?

How can I help?

ASKing those questions when someone is stressed, angry, tired, sad, or scared communicate to them they aren't in this situation alone.

For our marriage, it communicates compassion and support. With our kids, it helps them know we hear them and want to be helpful, not against them or dismissive of them. For our friends, it reminds them, we want to be there for them.

One word of caution - Follow through. If they answer the question, be prepared to do what they've asked of you. This will build trust that you really mean what you've said, they aren't in it alone.

Five Minute Friday Free Write number 14!