Daily Challenge

 

They say it takes 30 days to make or break a habit. At least, I think I’ve heard that somewhere. Either way it sounds about right. 30 days, 1 month. So what do you think you could do with 365 days? 12 months of doing the same thing every day could create some real change don’t you think? Well, I certainly think so, and I’ve got proof.

For the past several years, nearing 10 years actually, I’ve been doing daily challenges. Sometimes they’re private goals, things I need to work on for myself. Sometimes they’re more public, announced on Facebook so others can improve right along with me if they so choose.

The first year I wrote a Page A Day in a journal, it encouraged me to really reflect on what was happening in my life every day. Then it was One Good Thing A Day, it made me more positive, even on the bad days. An Adventure A Day helped me take more risks and be more adventurous. The next year is when I started being more public with my challenges. I shared A Quote A Day. It made me really think about what I was reading, and I think it improved my writing too, as some of the quotes were mine. That year was followed by a Bible Verse A Day. By the end of the year, I had read most of the Bible and better understood what it meant. I got closer to God that year and it encouraged me to continue to do so. The next year was so full of darkness I decided to remind everyone that Every Day Is A Reason To Celebrate! I love all the crazy holidays and I got to share that love with all my friends! It brought a little joy to a dark time. I also drew pictures for every day, so I got to work on my artist skills.

Last year was my No Such Thing As Normal Challenge. Every day I shared something about how we’re all different. This was my most in depth challenge yet and I learned so much! I talked about autism, adhd, procrastinators, all the personality types, love language, and more! I learned so much and I know others did too. This year I decided to do a Photo A Day Challenge. Each month held a different theme focusing on a fresh start, love, nature, humility, appreciating the people around me, etc. It opened my eyes to the beautiful world we live in and all the people and things I have to be thankful for. It helped me be creative in my photography too and I think I’ve grown through the process, stopping to really see something long enough to take a picture rather than just let it pass me by.

Each one of my daily challenges has helped me grow into the girl I want to be. Slowly but surely, one day at a time, one month at a time, one year at a time, I grow into who God created me to be. And I take a little bit of each challenge into the following years. Instead of writing in my journal every single day, I make a point to write every couple days. Maybe I don’t write down something good every day, but I catch myself trying to see the positive more than I used to. I don’t share a Bible verse every day, but I do still try to read my Bible or a devotional every day. I understand myself, and others, better now because of my various challenges, and that’s growth that should be continued and shared.

I haven’t totally decided what my daily challenge will be this year, but consider this your encouragement to take on a daily challenge with me. Look at your life and find something you want to work on. Gratitude? Knowledge? Peace? Creativity? Joy? Whatever it is, there’s a daily challenge that can help you get there. Let’s not just start this New Year with high hopes of a better you, let’s end it with real results that will last for years to come.

First Draft

 

I recently finished the first draft of the book I'm writing. Finishing the first draft is a big deal. Most of my novels never get that far. I probably have 30 books in various levels of completion, and I have only finished the first draft of 3 of them.

I remember the first book I actually finished. It was my first chapter book; it was where it all started. I finished the first draft while I was sitting in a class my mom was teaching. I could barely contain my excitement as I sat there in the back of the room, bouncing in the hard school desk as I got closer and closer to writing that final sentence. I bit my lip to keep from squealing as the final word was on paper. Back when I did most of my writing with actual pen and paper. As soon as I knew I wouldn't disrupt the class I jumped up and down and told mom the news.

I had just as much excitement with the next book I finished and now this one. But the excitement only lasts a little while before getting hit with the realization that now I have to edit. And re-write. And re-edit. And hire an actual editor. And try to get it published. Suddenly the monumental accomplishment of finishing the first draft doesn't seem so monumental.

I never actually edited that first book, or the second, and I am editing this most recent one but I’m dreading the task. I only finished that first draft a week or so ago, yet already the excitement has now totally worn off and I've moved on to the next step. Why are we so quick to stop celebrating? I've been working on this particular book for about 10 years or more. Ten years! And I finally finished, and I only celebrate for 10 minutes? It deserves way more than that! And it got me thinking, what else haven't I properly celebrated?

Sure, we celebrate the big things, the holidays, the birthdays, the weddings and graduations, and we celebrate them for a full day at the very least, if not a whole week or even months! But what about the little things? Or rather, the more personal things? The things we slowly work away at for years, sometimes without even knowing it. Or the things we accomplish privately. Or completing a big step in an even bigger project, like my first draft. Don’t they deserve a celebration too?

So, here’s your reminder to celebrate those moments, those victories. And to let yourself celebrate them for more than just 10 minutes. Yea, it might just be the first draft of many, but every story has to start somewhere. So let's celebrate!

39 Hours

I was having a really hard time sleeping. I would be exhausted, but I’d lie in bed for hours, unable to force my mind or body to settle. My mind would circle endlessly, focusing on nothing and everything all at once. My eyes refused to close, just scanning the darkness. Eventually I’d fall asleep, but it was a restless one. Frustrated, I found myself writing in my journal one night that maybe I needed to just stay awake all night and reset. I, completely unintentionally, did just that a few nights later.

It started with an infuriating attempt at untangling some embroidery floss for a tiny crochet project I was doing. It came wrapped in such a way that it was impossible to use it without it getting knotted at some point, so in an attempt to avoid that in the middle of the project, I decided to roll it into a ball ahead of time. I had almost gotten it completely untangled when my tired mind made one wrong move and it was knotted again. I decided to go to bed. 12. I read a couple chapters in my book. 1. Then I lay there, eyes wide open, no indication of sleep. 2. So I proceeded to finish my book and move on to the next one. 4. I heard mom get ready to leave for work. 5. I had some splintered sleep amounting to about an hour, but that was it. 7. I heard dad get ready for work. 8. I had stayed up all night.

I surprised myself by not completely crashing that day. No nap, no going to bed early. I was actually kind of productive. I was tired, but productive. 39 hours. By the time I went to bed that night I had been awake for 39 hours. And you know what happened? I slept great that night, and every night since.

It sounds crazy. When you think of a reset, you think of rest. Taking time to let your body take a break from the business of life and rest. But that’s not what my body was asking for. My body was asking for a night with no sleep. A day of running on empty and making it work. Then, instead of fighting against my body to go to bed that night, I could actually have a restful sleep and wake refreshed the next day.

Sometimes the ways our bodies need to reset don’t make much sense. One person’s way of resetting might look different than someone else’s. Some people may need multiple days to recover from things while others may need no time at all. Sometimes your body needs rest, sometimes it actually needs more activity. Sometimes it takes 39 hours of sleep and rest, and sometimes it takes 39 hours of being awake to find some normalcy again.

The Cracks That Divide Us

 

The ball bounces across the court. I run to catch it, jumping over the cracks in the pavement. And then I notice this one crack spans the whole length of the court. Stretching farther than I can clearly see. And then there are these little cracks branching off of it, splitting in all different directions. I know they probably didn’t happen all at once. And they’re probably not done growing either. They started with one little injury that spread until you could no longer see where it began or where it ended. And that, ironically, was exactly why I was on that basketball court. Shooting some hoops to clear my head and boost my mood. Wanting to be alone while simultaneously hoping someone would see me down there and come see if I wanted company.

I knew this particular job was going to be difficult. It was not the best environment for me, but I came in hopeful I’d be wrong. It didn’t go wrong all at once. Just a weird look here, a rumor started there, an odd comment thrown in for good measure. Little things, both from myself and from others, that slowly built into big cracks, splitting any small relationship we had before it even started. That seems to happen to me a lot. Friendships, work relationships, family. It’s never just one thing. It always starts with just one little hit, one tiny shake after another, until you have a crack, splitting into a dozen other little cracks, and before you know it there’s a canyon between you that you don’t remember being there.

So then what? Is there any hope of fixing these relationships? Well, I believe there’s always hope if both people want it bad enough. And the basketball court wasn’t done teaching lessons. In the veins of this crack on the basketball court there’s one that is now filled in with sand. The reminder of the crevice that once was is still there, but the sand has formed a scar. And peeking through this scar are some plants, bringing new life and growth, bringing further healing.

So, perhaps there is hope. Maybe if enough sand and seeds, kindness, truth, honesty, prayer, can be piled into the cracks that divide us, maybe we can heal the canyons. Maybe we can fix these relationships. Or at least we’ll have a smoother basketball court.

Life Lessons From A Squirrel

 

It was Squirrel Appreciation Day. Mom was the first downstairs that morning and found someone who didn’t belong sitting on this ceramic hippo we have in the living room. A squirrel, ironically. Now, we’ve had mice in our house for as long as I can remember, just comes with living in an old farmhouse. We tend to get a bat or two in august and send them back outside where they belong. I don’t remember ever having a squirrel, though. So, as usual when we have an unwanted critter in the house, I found myself praying for God to send this squirrel back outside where it belongs.

The next morning I found it jumping around the kitchen table. It had eaten the bait out of the have a heart trap (without setting it off) and was looking for more food. Later it tried to get out a window but was so impatient we couldn’t get it open without scaring it off. Then I was cutting apples to make an apple pie and I see its little head pop up on the shelf, smelling the yummy apples. It found the apple in the trap and once again scampered off with it without it closing. After reengineering the trap so it would actually close, we did finally catch it, but as dad went to take it outside it managed to squeeze back out of the flimsy cage. I found myself talking to the rascally little critter, “don’t you realize we’re trying to help you?” I’d ask, “don’t you want to go back outside where you belong?” And then, as usual when something crazy like this happens in my life, I realized people act just like this squirrel.

God created squirrels to live outside. They eat nuts and fruit and live in trees. They are meant to live happy, healthy, little squirrel lives. They were never meant to live inside with humans. Never supposed to live off peanut butter they manage to chew the cover off of or resort to chewing on things like candy or processed food like uncivilized mice. It isn’t good for them. And it isn’t good for them to live in hiding, they’re meant to scamper and play with their little squirrel friends, leaving all those snowy footprints I see circling around the backyard. At first this squirrel of ours seemed to want to go outside, trying to get out the window, it knew it didn’t belong here. But the longer it stayed the more it seemed to be content just living up on our kitchen shelf. It became comfortable with something it was never created to be comfortable with. And it was scared of the very people who were trying to help it get back where it belonged.

In much the same way, people drift from who and where they’re supposed to be. God created us with a purpose. He gave us a body, mind, and soul to take care of in order to fulfil that purpose. But what happens when we get ourselves stuck somewhere we don’t belong? Like this squirrel in the house? Sometimes we might get ourselves out right away, we know it’s wrong and correct the situation immediately. Or sometimes it feels wrong at first, but the more time we spend in the situation, the less wrong it feels. That sharp pang of our God given conscience telling us to get out eventually dulls to an insignificant whisper.

All too often I watch people, and myself, get more and more comfortable being where we don’t belong. Eating food we shouldn’t be, exposing our minds to things we should stay away from, being in relationships that pull us away from God instead of bringing us towards Him, living in situations we should’ve never gotten into in the first place, getting addicted to things that aren’t healthy for our minds, bodies, or souls. And the more we get comfortable with those things, the more we push away God and the very people who just want to help. The more comfortable we become with what’s wrong, the more what’s right starts to feel wrong and uncomfortable.

God created us to be happy and healthy people. He wants us to have healthy minds that can think and create, healthy bodies to be his hands and feet, and healthy souls to keep Him in the middle of it. He doesn’t want us in situations He didn’t create us for. He doesn’t want us to become comfortable with things He never intended for us. And He certainly never meant for us to try to fight the temptation of these things alone. He puts people in our lives to steer us in the right direction and help us out of the bad situations we’ve become all too comfortable with.

Eventually we did finally catch that squirrel and send it back outside where it belongs. It took a lot of time and patience, but we did succeed. And coming back to where we belong, or helping someone we love find their way back, might take some time and patience too. Will you take a step back with me and make sure we’re where God says we belong? You might just find you’re a squirrel stuck in a house you were never meant to be in.