Alexis-growing up fast

I have not blogged in forever, school has kept me extremley busy...amongst other things....Here are a few new pictures of Alexis! She is the light of our lives and such a wonderful blessing to us!

bag of rocks

Experiences, feelings, thoughts and attitudes that can make us feel like we are not normal do not simply disappear from our hearts. Instead, we all tend to collect all of these emotions in our big bag of rocks. The weight of carrying them around can make it hard for us to grow and reach our goals in life...I know it has mine and I have had to learn how to deal with it! Many of us have trouble knowing the type of rocks that we carry around with us...I've got a wonderful exercise to do, it really helps for those of you wanting to try it. Get a paper or plastic bag and a permanent maker, Go out in your backyard or a park and collect a few rocks. Next go to a quiet place where you will not be bothered and make a pile of rocks. One by one, write a word that describes the way you feel about anything, take your time and dig deep. When you are thru, put the rocks in your bag...you will have a pretty heavy bag when you are thru. Feel the weight of the bag and notice the amount of rocks that you have in your bag. After you have done this, consider the true nature of a rock. Rocks are solid, strong, stable and enduring. Rocks are used to build foundations for houses and statues to honor great people in history. They are also used to pave roads and when they are cut and polished they become a beautiful piece of jewelry. They are not shameful, normal or abnormal. They are just simply a part of our earth and without them, life as we know it would not be possible. The same is true for our bag of rocks. They represent our struggles and pain, but they also stand for our experiences and that makes us unique. They also stand for the foundation of our real selves and they can be used to build self-empathy and a new definition of normal that can include every stone in our bags. Remember self empathy calls for us to treat ourselves with compassion. We should respect our personal history, our termperaments, our talents, and our shortcomings. If we don't practice empathy with ourselves, why should we practice it with others! So whats in your bag?

An A-Z list of words that can change your life

A few years ago I found this in a magazine. It inspired me, hopefully it will do the same for you. Happy New Years to All from the Blair Family!

*Accept*Bless*Call*Devote*Endure*Focus*Give*Hope*Identify*Joy*Know*Learn*Meditate
*Notice*Offer*Play*Quit*Recognize*Savor*Truth*Unplug*Voice*Worshop*eXpect*Yesterday
*Zeal

*Accept-others help. Have someone hold you accountable. (support you)
*Bless-others. Bless means to add value or weight to something.
*Call-someone special.
*Devote-time to prayer and worship.
*Endure-enjoy with effort.
*Focus-reorganize your priorities.
*Give-do it outlandishly, extravagantly & ridiculously.
*Hope-cultivate hope in your life. Think of Gods resurrection.
*Identify-issues. Deal with them right away.
*Joy-carry it with you wherever you go-choose to become joyful.
*Know-your purpose, How do you serve God?
*Learn-commit yourself to a life of continual learning.
*Meditate-on a short passage from the bible. What stands out to you?
*Notice-the little things in life. Life is made up of a series of little events more than the big events.
*Offer-your body as a living sacrifice-hol & pleasing to God. Eat well, Exercise & Challenge your mind.
*Play-relase the life smoldering grip of business, stress & anxiety.
*Quit-whining-God has things under control.
*Recognize-your strengths-it is the exercising of your strengths that leads to your success.
*Savor-immerse yourself in the enjoyment of it, it is the lost art of cherishing, appreciating & relishing.
*Truth-the truth will transform your life.
*Unplug-your tv. The worst thing about tv is not what it puts into our minds so much as what it prevents us from doing, it kills intimacy, conservation & disrupts sustained thoughts!
*Voice-listen to the way God speaks to you.
*Worship-you can worship thru song, looking at nature (in wonder & amazement), thru service, by being the best parents you can to your kids, dancing, drawing, building or simply thinking.
*eXpect-the unexpected.
*Yesterday-leave it and all of its regrets behind-regret will destroy a hopeful life, but hope will restore a regretful one.
*Zeal-Passion, fervor-God will take a short zealous for hime over a blase one any day.

A New Year

I know that I'm not the only one who in the past has made all of these great New Years Resolutions with the intentions of making them come true. In the past few weeks I have been doing some soul searching and reflecting on what changes I want to make. I have decided not to make any resolutions for the first time. Instead I am going to try daily! We as humans should always serve God and honor him each day. I will be posting a blog soon about serving and finding our purpose.