No Coffee Required

Image: lipmag.com

For those that know me, it is probably a little obvious that I have come to enjoy a good cup of coffee.  Just a smidge, just a little, just a lot!

I blame my husband.  It's his fault.  He finally converted me around five years ago as he wanted someone to enjoy a coffee with - go figure?  It started off weak and it needed sweetening for it was so bitter to taste.  As the years have progressed so has my 'taste' for the almighty caffeine.  Now I have it strong and sugar is for the weak.   It is a welcome substance for days where simply getting your feet from bed to floor is a challenge. When opening your eyes, your mind says 'do it' but your body is still soaking up the rays on a beach in the mediterranean where Brad Pitt is serving you coffee and giving you a neck and shoulder massage.   

The past 24 hours have been eye opening for me - where an 'A-Ha' moment has surfaced.  Where I have gone from confusion to clarity - it is amazing! Recently, I committed myself to a journey that is truely identifying my deepest desires and direction for the future.  It is making me dig deep to get to know my inner self, my values, my secret ardent desire.  

The more I understand myself, the more confident and capable I become.  It gives me freedom to be who God designed to be.  To believe that I can achieve greatness.  To pursue what makes me happy and to do with no regrets, no hangups, no limits!   I can see a high coming and it is not going to be from a caffeine fix.  It is an all natural one - no coffee required.  What I thought was my direction is quickly changing to a new one.  Not too far removed - with just a 'jump to the left and a step to the right', I am discovering and acknowledging where my heart leads. 

I have found a straight talking woman who is leading me to find my authentic self. She pulls no punches and challenges me on my perfectionism, procrastination and limiting beliefs.  She gives me a kick in the derriere when I need it and tells me to push harder, dig deeper and do it with vigor.  My passion is unfolding, my dreams are becoming visions and my heart is once again climbing, no, rocketing skywards towards a place where I am 'high' on life itself.

What about you?  Are you stumbling around in the dark trying to find clarity for your direction.  Maybe it's the forties, mid-life crisis thing happening - although I am definately not at the point of tossing the hubby aside, buying a sports car and disappearing off into the sunset.  It is more about seeking a path that resonates on a deep level within me.

Join me as I unravel this new direction, take action and work with women who too are struggling to find their 'natural high'.  This is just the beginning.

Regards,

 

Need a guest speaker?  Read more about how you can engage Lynnelle to speak at your next womens event www.lynnellerichardson.com.au

Learning to Fly Again

You lie battered and bruised on the ground.  One would think that you have been hit by a truck and then it reversed over you just to make sure.  Every piece of your self-worth and confidence are lying shattered in a million pieces around you.  Tears roll down your cheeks as the initial shock hits.  Those words were cruel, actions uncalled for and well, it came like a bolt out of the blue with no warning.  Just when you were feeling good about yourself, just when you were starting to make progress - BAM!

So where to from here?   You can sit silently in the shadows waiting for someone to come past and pick you up, tell you it will all be okay and help you on your feet.  Is that what you want?  Is that what you need?   I remember feeling so worthless and fearful that I kept the blinds closed for weeks and was quite happy never to have to face the outside world again.  I could have easily been deemed a recluse and stayed safely tucked away from that big, bad world.  It was only there to hurt and I had experienced quite enough at that stage.

Over the next weeks I worked through those feelings, and yes I talked out loud to myself often.  God didn't miss out either.  I screamed, I shouted, I cried as this gamet of emotions poured out and all the hurt, disappointment and pain revealed itself.  Then something happened.  I made a mental note that all must change if I want to move forward.  No more sulking like a child in the corner, no more 'woe is me' attitude.  I needed to mend these broken wings and learn to fly again.

As I look back now, I can see that from pain and heartache comes growth.  It is in these times that we discover more about ourselves than we ever could from a lifetime of pure happiness and perpetual smiling.  God does this for a reason.  He knows that if our days are forever bright and sunny, we won't challenge ourselves and will 'gloss over' the areas that need improvement.  It is about learning more about what makes us tick and finding strength that we never knew we had.  For me, learning to fly has taken time and I still fall out of the nest sometimes however, God is there to pick me back up, put me back in the nest and whispers quietly, 'try again'.

Are you ready to mend your wings?  Have you had enough of hiding away in the shadows of hurt and pain?  Do you want to fly?  Reach out to the one who made you and knows every part of you, every dream, desire and deep seeded hurt.  All you have to do is ask and then take the first step of faith.

Regards,

 

Need a guest speaker?  Read more about how you can engage Lynnelle to speak at your next womens event www.lynnellerichardson.com.au

Meltdown Moments

I will be the first to admit it.  Coffee is my friend.  It may not be my best friend but it sure comes close some days.  You know the ones, the days where simply opening your eyes is a chore.  The ones that you can feel from the moment your feet hit the floor that it is going to be like bootcamp for the next 16 hours until you're comfortably curled up in bed once again.

It is in these days that I find solace at the bottom of the cup.  Now sometimes it is not really days, perhaps mere moments where everything becomes too much.  Where rescuing just one more odd sock from the jaws of the dog is too much.  Days when the shop assistant really should have offered you a neck and shoulder massage rather than informing you that a carrier pidgeon would have a better chance of getting that urgent order here on time.

We all have meltdown moments where the smallest thing is disasterous, the world as you know it has no meaning and that rock in your backyard looks like the best place to crawl under and hide from the rest of the world.  It is easy to lose your cool and you pity the poor person who is in the wrong place at the wrong time, for they are on the receiving end of an outburst of frustration that would put you as a hot contender for an Oscar.

It's okay.  These moments happen and sometimes they are spectacular.  Whatever the reason, whatever the frustration, whatever the problem, while it may knock you down you need to get back up.   From one who has been there, accept that you have had your 'meltdown moment',  gather yourself and rise above.  Now, for my family it means pour mum a coffee, give her space and eventually she will be mum again.

Cheers,

Need a guest speaker?  Read more about how you can engage Lynnelle to speak at your next womens event www.lynnellerichardson.com.au

Worth the Fight

Life is tough...it's not what you had thought it would be. You are angry, you are frustrated, you are unhappy in some part or maybe all of your life. Ask yourself why? What changed?? It wasn't always this hard. There had been years of easy times, not perfect, just easier. Remember back to when you had a smile to share and laughter filled your soul. When the pressures and challenges were manageable and less often. Those days are still there you just can't see them at the moment.

As we grow older, the challenges appear to be more frequent and stronger. We look back to years of youth thinking how wonderful they were and wishing that life was that simple once again. However, we can't live in the past what we have to deal with is the now. The now may be hard, it may hurt but you have the power to rise to the challenge and fight for what you want in this life. Perhaps a relationship is breaking down, perhaps the job is coming to an end, perhaps the kids are screaming and you wonder how on earth you ever ended up in this mess. These times just seem to happen and can come from what appears to be nowhere. It could be a sudden, unexpected change or it could be a series of little niggles that has turned into a festering, ugly situation where there appears to be no hope.

You are worth the fight. Your relationship is worth the fight. Your children are worth the fight. Stand up and claim the goodness that God has for you. The happiness that awaits you once again. Grab hold of what brings joy to your heart or a smile to your face. One moment, every day - remember it, claim it. Fight.

Fight against the mindset that we are fed continually or that negativity that has crept in over the years. No more will you let heartache, anger, sorrow, worry or frustration rule your life. Perhaps you and your attitude needs to change to find that peace again. Our mind can control our hearts and we have to ensure that we are being reasonable in our expectations, accept that we are not always right, we are human, we have faults and that it takes compromise and compassion.

No matter what you are facing today, there is hope. God has the power and the strength to see this one through, even when you don't. God doesn't want you to live a miserable life - he wants only the best for you however it is up to us to accept this, embrace it and run with that belief in our hearts.

Winds of Change

Change. Do you go with the flow or resist? Do you fight change with every breath in your body or do you accept and move on? Change is inevitable. It will happen today, tomorrow and always. Change sweeps through a workplace, a home, a life. It can be life changing, frustrating or motivating.

I read once that it is all about the Cheese. When the cheese moves we need to move too, just like the mouse. This little nose can sniff out the cheese no matter where it goes to. It acknowledges that the cheese is no longer where it was and that to find the cheese, one must move.

Change comes in many different forms and what initially can be upsetting for some can turn to opportunity. A few years ago my cheese moved. It was unplanned, unexpected and unwanted at the time. As a result I was shaken and stirred into action. An action that would not have happened if the cheese did not move. As I look back now I can see that the moving of the cheese brought opportunity not loss. It was a period of growth (however difficult at times) and has opened doors towards a future that would not be there had I stayed in the same place, doing the same thing. I was in a rut, I needed to escape but was unable to make that decision so God made the decision for me.

In the book "Fearless" written by Max Lucado (my absolute favourite author), he speaks of how God changes our assignments. In doing so he is preparing us to change the world. Isn't that exciting! If you are experiencing change or feel that change is in the wind...don't be afraid. Embrace it and enjoy it as the winds of change sweep through your life. While you may not see purpose at the time, remember that God has everything under control. Just sit back and wait for the new direction that is enfolding for your life.

Photo from: Dipity.com

Year of Favour

I awoke early this morning and the brain kicked in as soon as the eyes opened. There is a stirring in my soul to rise, a small voice that says get up and share a cuppa with me. So, I grabbed my bible, a cuppa and sat in the stillness of the morning. As I opened my bible, the pages fell to Isaiah 61 and the words ring true to me as the morning sun rises to at the start of a new day.

This is the year. After three years of waiting, I feel that there is going to be something different this year. That gift that Jesus has promised - perhaps it is finally time to open it!

Isaiah tells me the it is the Year of the Lord's Favour. What a blessing to read this! I have felt that my journey is to motivate and inspire and have spent the last three years at times feeling like I am wandering around in the wilderness. Perhaps it wasn't the wilderness but more of a training ground. When I stop and think about what this means, I also hear the words "who are you to do this?"
I don't know the how, the where or the when but that doesn't matter. For what I do know is that if my God has said it, I believe it and it will be.

Are you heading into a year of favour? Are you listening to that small voice that talks softly, leading you and loving you. Take the time to spend a quiet cuppa with God and see what he reveals to you. Once the seed is planted, he will nourish it and prepare you for what he is calling you to do. Have patience and a year of favour will be upon you!