I'm back.

I am afraid.

Its been over a year and it can all be summed up into those three words.

I AM AFRAID.

LIFE

So I haven’t blogged in a loooooong while…and for good reasons chale.

I still start my sentences with ‘so’ and I still say ‘chale’. I guess not much has changed loool.

I haven’t blogged in a long while; life happened some might say. I disagree.

Life does not ‘happen’.

Life is here and now

Life has opposing attributes ….. 

Ebbs and flows
Good times and sober times

 Fun times and hard times

 Easy times and difficult times

That is life. It is a series of problem solving.

To expect anything more or anything less is to not understand life and its attributes.

Problems and challenges are a part of life; it is how we grow both mentally and spiritually. They call forth our courage and our wisdom and force on us to take action where we are mostly passive. In fact, it is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning.

The times, the seasons……..that is what life is made of.

Embrace it!

Find peace!

And then maybe you can truly begin to live.

Not as the world lives, going about moaning incessantly, loudly or subtly about their problems and the enormity of their burdens as if life is meant to be easy.

Nah, look around you, get your eyes off yourself for a minute, and see? Everyone has their fair share of problems. Life’s difficulties are not a unique kind of affliction visited on you specially.  

                                       

I know. I have been in that place myself. 

Until we truly understand and accept this truth, we won’t find peace even though we have God, we will still seek the wrong things and our hearts won’t be in the right place.

When we embrace this, life is no longer hard because it no longer matters that life is difficult.

Then we can finally be FREE.

Free to use the hardship to be all that we were called to be

That’s the only way to begin to live optimally.

I have found my peace.

I have found my happy place.

It is in Abba’s arms, and this gift of life he’s given me.

Cheers to a life of ''problems''! ....for now I know, I am shaped by them. Like gold is purified by fire. 

#Betterlivingforeveryone

Dealing with being stuck.....

Hi,

 I was listening to a podcast today about what to do when you get get stuck and one of the points made was for one to analyze the reason for getting stuck (especially if it is a recurring thing)

Personally, I think the reason I get stuck is because I attempt a complete life overhaul and naturally, I do get overwhelmed and get stuck! The reality is that I still have my daily life schedules to deal with and old habits just wont disappear into thin air. IT IS A PROCESS! It is amazing how often I forget this. So I am saying to myself this morning,

 Dammie,

1) You will have greater success if you make small meaningful changes and build from there. Living a balanced life is a marathon and not a sprint.

2) Manage your expectations and set yourself up for LONG TERM success. Rome was not built in a day, It has taken you 29 years to form the bad habits of today, and you will not be able to change it in 29 days. While that is ambitious, It is not realistic. Pace yourself.

3) Be kind to yourself! Celebrate 'little' successes. Celebrate progress no matter how minute.

4) Look around you, there are lots of tools and resources you can use to make your goals and life easier to manage. For instance, getting a book on time management or an app that helps you track your fitness and nutrition.

5)Find support. While it is great to be your own man and be focused on your goals and all, there is great advantage in finding support. The truth is that you will not always be motivated and you will need all the support you can get. Find someone to go on this journey together and be accountable to. You will be amazed at how much help that will be.

Thinking about my weight loss journey, I think this are the things that have really helped me. Do I have bad days, yes! but I choose not to let them bother me. I pick myself back up and just move on! try harder next time. No pressure.

One thing I must also add is this;

GET EDUCATED!.....The way my mind works or should I say that the way I get myself to actually do stuff is by what I call "obsessing".....So I find myself spending time reading about whatever it is I want to do, every of my spare time is used researching about the thing and then more importantly seeking out success stories and soaking up all the positive energy. Researching more and more about their methods and approach. It is what puts me in a 'doing' mode. It just keeps me going.

I really want to embrace this method of staying focused and motivated in other areas of my life.

OK,

So that is about it for now. this is where I am now after my crazy episode. lol. I am really hopeful that the next couple of days and weeks will be much better.

I also sincerely hope someone learns something from this. As always please let me hear from you! It helps! :)


Cheers!

'Dammie

Current Situation.....

Hi,

I know I am supposed to post my goals and all but sincerely I have been feeling so down this month.

 My month has not gone the way I planned it in any way. I am so behind on my goals and milestones and I just can’t seem to get myself out of this rot.

The only aspect of my life that seems to be working right now is the physical area where my goals include weight loss and embracing a healthier lifestyle. With that, there has been so much going on in my head. I practically cried all evening yesterday. 

My weight loss journey is draining me mentally and emotionally. I am being forced to confront a lot of underlying issues that I didn’t even know existed. I am usually so mentally and emotional worked up it is hard to focus on anything else long enough for it to matter.

I am really not happy that I am not on top of my goals and plans and I cannot seem to snap out of it. It is almost like I cannot focus on two things at a time. This makes me question if balance is achievable. Right now, I am failing woefully.

Anyhoo, this blog post is basically me carrying you along on where I am at the moment as opposed to just leaving you hanging. On the flip side this is also part of my journey so ....yeah.

I understand it is a journey, but right now, I must confess that I am just…..bleh! So bleh that it is really surprising that I have been sticking to my weight loss plan and reaching my milestones in good time. Maybe there is a thing or two I need to learn about my approach. I’ll ponder more on that.

That’s it for now; I covet your prayers and please feel free to drop a line if you know something that can help.

Thank you.

Cheers

‘Dammie.

Writing your own Life Purpose Statement.

So I got some emails asking me about how I was able to come up with my purpose statement and decided to do this post; 

I actually wrote some time ago about getting a material from Chip Brogden’s The School of Christ. 

This was what really helped me in coming up with my own purpose statement. I will share some of the steps with you here as I feel it will help you greatly;

STEP 1

Find a quiet place where you can be alone and undisturbed while you complete this exercise.  Then think about your answer to the following questions:  

1)  Pretend that you have all money you want and all the time you need. What would you do?      

2)  What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?     

3)  If your life was a movie, and you could write the script anyway you chose, what would happen?     

4) If you were to die TODAY, what incomplete, undone, never accomplished things would you regret the most?

STEP 2

Answer the following questions to uncover clues that will help clarify and define your unique Purpose. 

1)  What are your unique gifts and talents? (Things you are naturally good at.)    

2)  What are your unique skills? (Things you have learned to be good at.)    

3)  What are your unique experiences? (Positive and negative events in your life.)    

4)  What are your unique passions? (Things that get you “stirred up.”) 

a) What makes you happy, satisfied, or joyful?    

b) What makes you angry, furious, or frustrated?    

c) What makes you sad enough to cry out to God?    

d) What stirs you, or inspires you, to take action?   

5)  What is your unique time and season? (Are you preparing, or pursuing your Purpose?    

6)  Name three people (other than Jesus) that you admire most in the Bible, and why:  

7)  Name three people who have made the deepest impression on you, and why:  

8)  List your top three values (character traits you think are most important to have):  

9)  Ask three people who know you well to answer the following two questions about you:  

a) What do you think I am best at? b) What three character traits describe me the best? 

Summarize the feedback you receive below:  

STEP 3

Prayerfully consider what you have learned so far about who you are, what you are becoming, why you are here, and what God is showing you.  Then, write down a Purpose Statement for yourself that sums you up in ONE SENTENCE. 

“My Purpose is …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

If you get stuck at this point, don’t let it bother you.  Just adapt the Purpose Statement below and begin living according to this purpose right now!  Later, you can customize this to better suit your needs, or update it as needed to reflect your specific passions, gifts, skills, experiences, and character.  

Remember: Your Purpose is not your decision, it is your discovery!  

“My Purpose is to live, to learn, to love, and to leave something behind.”

1. TO LIVE is to take care of your physical health

 2. TO LEARN is to take care of your mental and emotional health

 3. TO LOVE is to take care of your social health (family, friends, and other relationships) 

4. TO LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND is to take care of your spiritual health – serving God, helping others, and leaving behind a Christ-centered testimony.  

You can get the full version of The Balanced Christian life here

Cheers!

'Dammie

PURPOSE....

I recently spent some time really thinking about what the purpose for my life is……and prayerfully and with a lot of thoughts, I came up with this purpose statement that for now sums up what and where I feel God is leading me to.

PURPOSE STATEMENT:

To live out my identity as a son of encouragement and a helper; helping people realize their full potential. 

To live a life of unhindered expressions of Abba’s heart by spending myself and my resources in service to my family (by blood and by faith) and the society at large.

VISION:

1)       To live and build a balanced and integrated life with God and His Kingdom at the center. (Spiritual, Physical, mental, social and financial Integration).

2)      To build/be a part of a family/community that is generational in thinking. Skilled and equipped to present to the world an alternative lifestyle of God’s Kingdom on earth thereby being a fragrance of life to thirsty souls.

3)      To create a support system with the following mandate as stated in Isaiah 58 6-14:

·         Loose the chain of injustice and be a voice for the oppressed

·         Share food with the hungry (physical, spiritual, mental and emotionally food)

·         Provide shelter and clothe the naked.

·         An enabling environment for people to flourish.      

“Those who are noble make noble plans and by noble deeds, they stand!” – Isaiah 32:8

This will be the bedrock from which all other things flow…… SO HELP ME GOD!

THOUGHTS

It scares me a lot when I think about the future and where I feel God is leading me to. I wonder if I can really pull this off….I dream so much but I fear that they will remain just that…DREAMS. I fear that I am not made of an over-comer's material. I know I really shouldn’t be feeling that way, but I feel it anyway….inadequate…..not enough. I am trusting Abba to really help me see that this is not about me. There is a bigger plot and I am just a small part of His Story. That in the end, it is his story and all I have to do is keep showing up to set, listen to the directors instructions and interpret my role to the best of my abilities…The zeal of the Lord will accomplish the rest.

QUESTIONS

*How involved are we supposed to be in carrying out God’s plan and purpose? What is God’s role and what is our role? Is it OK to be Ambitious? 

SELAH.

'Dammie

Hitting the reset button.........

OK! 

So for a minute there, I got caught up in only sharing some of my pensive thoughts and experiences and that’s great however, thinking back to why I really started this blog, I think I might have digressed a lil bit. Maybe it was my way of stalling on what I really will like to do.

I have however been reading a book….THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED by M. SCOTT PECK, M.D. and it really is teaching me to embrace my reality…It is the truth and the earlier I accept and confront my truth, the better. I hope I just made sense…lol!

So back to why I started this blog. I wanted to chronicle my journey to living a balanced life. I can hardly begin if I do not first clarify what my vision and purpose is…..at least my understanding of what it is right now.

So, In my next couple of posts, I will be posting on my purpose/vision statement and I will then post a background of where I am in each category/aspect of my life that will contribute to that balance. I will also include my goals for those areas. Big stuff!

I am going to be as real as I can and hope that someone somewhere learns something from all of  this but more importantly, that I learn something from all this…..lol.

I am still a bit wary of how much to share and how much is too much really and sometimes I wonder if what I am doing even makes any sense but this is my understanding for now and I see this helping me stay focused and on track so……I will give it my best shot!  I am not putting any pressure whatsoever on myself….it is a journey and I hope to never forget that. To always remember that the journey is just as important as the destination.

This blog is about to sound very much like a personal journal….that is what I started it to be really. I also will not be sharing my posts on social media as much as I used to do. Just with friends and anyone whom the Holy Spirit draws to it really. My aim is not to gain popularity and I must not forget that. I guess it is my way of control…lol. Whatever man.

Ok, I should stop babbling.

There you have it……..*smiles*

Please do feel free to share your thoughts at any time. I am open to receiving. No pressure though

Cheers!

‘Dammie