Rough Week

This week has been a tough one. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Just tough on so many levels. This post may be long. I just need to get some things off my chest. I don't know if I have it in me to talk out loud about these things, so if you want to share advice or encouragement, I ask that you do it in the comments or through an email...

On Tuesday morning, I found out {via Facebook} that a friend from high school, Buddy {Trey} Harp had died in a car accident. He was the older brother of a friend, but we were all in church youth group together and I would count Buddy as a friend as well.

It has been at least 10 years since I had seen Buddy so I don't have a significant personal attachment to him. HOWEVER, I find it incredibly tragic that he died leaving behind a wife and 6-month-old child, as well as his entire family. The whole story breaks my heart. I hurt so much for his wife and child and the pain they must be suffering right now. Every time I think about them, it makes me start to cry. I can't live my life crying, but I am learning that crying can be a good relief from pain.

This situation continues to weigh heavy on my heart. On top of that, it continues to be difficult to be separated from Daniel. During the week, we are both so tired it is hard to communicate effectively. And then when he is home, we are having to make tough decisions, work hard and we don't have a lot of time to just be us. I know those days are coming, but after a week like this, I could really just use 30 minutes to cuddle and not think about anything else. I need to feel connected. I need to feel like if for some AWFUL reason I lost him, we would have spent some quality time together.

The stress of getting our house on the market is really having an impact on us. We are both dog tired. We are forgetting things. We realized Friday night that the registration and tags on the Altima was expired. So I got up early this morning to go get an inspection. Then the realtor came by to sign paperwork {and answer all of D's questions}. The landscapers showed up too. Then they left without doing a major component of the yard work we had agreed to... talk about STRESS. Daniel called the owner of the company and the guys came back this afternoon to finish - it was just a misunderstanding, but stressful nonetheless. I have been on my feet working for the past 13 hours. I am exhausted and we still have work to do.

Have you ever said something out loud that you immediately regretted? This happened to me on Friday. I wish I that I could CNTR+Z my life. But I can't. I said some things that may have {unintentionally} hurt a friend. And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I have apologized, but that doesn't lift this burden. I wish I could be like Sophie {my dog} and show remorse for being bad and then let it go and immediately return to loving everything and everyone and being loved in return. For humans, that seems to be a much harder thing to do.

So. It has been a rough week. I have no idea what the future holds. I pray that the coming week will be a good one. I continue to pray that God will hold the family of Buddy Harp in his hands. Our house will be officially on the market on Wednesday {as long as nothing catastrophic happens}. Daniel and I will be spending next weekend together in Atlanta at a friend's wedding. I hope this gives us some time to rejuvenate and reconnect and just appreciate being together again. And I especially hope that things work out with my open mouth, insert foot incident.

A Great Recipe For Life (from a friend)

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. --- It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, or on issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. ----- Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Adversity/Stress

In our home church on Sunday nights, we are doing a study on stress that is based on the book of Philippians and Paul's letters that were written during his time of adversity. Even when things went wrong for Paul, he still continued to praise God in every situation.

From our discussion tonight, one thing really stuck out to me. Your perspective is really what determines your stress level. If you react to every situation like it is the end of the world, your stress level is probably going to be high.

So my thoughts for the coming weeks are as follows: If something in my life seems out of control or like bad things are continually happening I will ask the following question: Has anybody died?

If no one has died, then the situation, while serious, does not merit me having a panic attack about it. If no one has died, situations can be dealt with and we will persevere no matter what life throws at us. Satan will not distract me with petty arguments or critical comments from others. I will not waste time passing the blame on to others or trying to be defensive about anything.

I will live my life by having faith in God and constant prayer and by not worrying about things that I cannot control in my life or in the lives of others.

Why You Shouldn't Wait Until The Last Minute

Daniel and I always seem to put things off until the last minute. I don't think it is because we are total procrastinators, it is more that there is always so much to do and so little time.

In Charlotte, we have to get our vehicles inspected yearly and we had been putting off getting the Altima inspected b/c Daniel needed to swap the tires out. Well on Saturday I remembered that April was the month for the Altima and I reminded Daniel and he swapped the tires.

Anyways, this morning I ran by a Valvoline that is close to us and their machine was down. So I have to get the car inspected TODAY or we will get fined electronically. Hopefully the machine will be working by lunch time OR I can find another place before the end of the day.

Waiting until the last minute brings unwanted stress.