Chapter 3: Appreciate The Small Things

Appreciate the Small Things

Have you ever watched the sunset? The beautiful colors seem to cover the whole sky. The amazing warm color scheme always makes my eyes dance. Do we ever really focus on these little aspects of life that God has put before us? Or do we take advantage of them? Chapter 3 in grabbing life by the horns, is focused on learning to appreciate all things in life, including the small things. 


God put every little thing in our path for a reason. Everything we touch, everything we see, everything we feel has a purpose. We need to look at everything and appreciate its worth. For example,  I have three little kittens. They are all three from the same mother, but all three are completely different. Most people just look at something simple, like a small kitten, and just say "awe, how cute". Sometimes, I just look at all the different patterns in the kittens' furs, and just wonder who God could have spent so much time detailing such a little critter. The little paws, the claws, the tail.. everything has so much detail in it. Sometimes, to get closer to God, we have to look at things and realize how beautiful they really are. Just to think, that God created man in his own image, makes me wonder what he really looks like; and that thought itself, gets me motivated to go to heaven. Like the sunset, he expects us to show light, just as he does, and appreciating the little things  and not taking life for granted is a great way to do so. 

Chapter 2: Gathering Strength

Gathering  Strength

As humans, we get depressed when things get hard. As my last post explains, we have to learn to experience the sorrow so that we can start getting over the hardship and learn to bounce back better than before. Chapter 2 in grabbing life by the horns is learning to pick yourself and find the motivation to move forward.  This is really hard physically, but the idea around it is very easy. Take part of the hardship... find something that has emotional appeal, and find your own way of building your strength around that one thing, and the rest will spread. For example, at my workplace, there was a young girl that was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She fought with it for over a year, and helped her own strength by promoting cancer awareness and working with the Relay For Life. Even though she has passed away, everyone remembers Meg, her legacy, and how much of a fighter she was.

We are all part of a plan; every little thing that happens in our life, every second is put into play by God. Though we do not understand it and most of the time we never understand it, God wants us to find motivation in our hardships, and overcome them in order to give him glory and praise. He wants us to fight, not only to keep our heads above water but to have the faith to walk on the water.

There is a man that I have known for many years. He is my best friend's grandpa. My best friend, Bailey died when we were juniors in High School, from a car accident. Her mother died of a drug overdose and her grandmother died of cancer. Her uncle also was killed in a traffic accident involving a bicycle. This man has endured so much in his life. He has lost his wife, daughter, son, and granddaughter. He and I got  really close after Bailey passed away. He's almost like a second grandpa to me. We've played guitar together for years. Every time I look at that man, I can see his humility in his eyes. When I talk to him, he sounds so strong. His strength motivates me to be stronger.

A long time ago, my step dad was thrown in jail in Texas for a charge that he did not commit. He was in and out of jail all through my childhood. I can remember talking to one of his best friends. I was upset, missing my daddy alot and he looked at me and said, " SarahBeth, you have to look at the devil and shake your head no. Pick yourself up. There is always someone out there that is worse off than you are." When you start feeling sorry for yourself, or feeling like you just can't move on, just start counting your blessings. Thank God for everything he does for you and start finding motivation in your life. Find something that really makes you FEEL. Feel what, you may ask? Anything. All you need is something that will give you enough emotion to get up and start working on improving yourself. 

Just remember that you are a part of a huge plan. Everything you endure is just a small piece of the puzzle. The journey of life is very long, and we have alot to experience, so grab life by the horns and learn to have the strength to stay on top!

(For more information, see Philippians 4:13, Psalm 18:32-34, and Isaiah 41:10)

Chapter 1: Learning To Cry

Learning To Cry

Things are not always going to go your way. Lesson 1 in grabbing life by the horns is going throughout your life being prepared to cry. There are a million instances that I could list, that would make life hard. Some of which include:

• losing a loved one
• failed relationship (of any sort)
• bad day
• physical, emotional and mental illness
• arguments
• being abused or hurt in general

There are tons more, which are way too many to list, but point made. One cannot sit through life feeling sorry for themselves, expecting to overcome a hard ship. You have to learn to go ahead and take the first step. Cry. Let it all out. Show the world that you are real. Hiding your feelings will only make living a happy life impossible. You have to be willing to let go of whatever is bothering you, and just let it ALL OUT.

Men will try to say that "real men don't cry", however, when anyone humbles themselves down for God, you will find that pride is not something that is a factor. Men can cry. Men do cry. I have seen people cry out to God in pain and hurt, when they feel burdened, or just have alot on their mind and need to express their feelings. We are ALL human. We all have a reason to cry. We are all sinners, there is no such thing as perfection. If we were all perfect, there would be nothing for God to fix. We wouldn't need his mercy. This brings me to my next point. 

Now, don't get me wrong; crying is not always a bad thing. My grandfather is a Baptist minister. Sometimes, in his sermons, he will stop what ever he is saying and just cry out to the lord. He thanks him and tells him that he loves him, praising him for his mercy and grace. We all need to take time and just enjoy life by letting ourselves experience the tears, because its a way of crossing the line from being just humans, to being humble servants of God. In life, there are all sorts of reasons to cry. 

The important thing to remember is that when we die, there will be no crying. No tears will fall from our eyes. So, its no big deal to cry. Just do it. If you feel it coming, don't fight it. You can fight the tears all you want, but it won't make you feel better.  I assure you, that if you take the time to pray, God will put stop the fire inside you. He is our comforter. The Bible says that God counts all of our tears and keeps them in a bottle. Can you believe that? Every single tear we have shed is captured.

This is an actual picture of me a few years ago.  I  took this photo for a  photography contest. I was crying because at the time (my best friend) the man I was in love with, married a girl without me even knowing that she existed. I was crushed. It took a lot of bravery to actually tell people the background of the photo itself, however, it goes to show that I got through it.

For more information, visit Psalms 56:8 and Revelations 21:4

Introduction

Introduction: Grabbing Life By The Horns

This blog is about grabbing life by the horns. Or... in other words... lessons on living your life to the fullest. At the time I wrote this, I was a nineteen year old single girl who lives in a small town. Everything I post is from true stories and parts of my everyday life. I chose to write this as I go through my life, as a learning experience to others. I have befriended a lot of troubled folks and know a lot of people that use my advice every single day. I want to help others and teach others that life isn't over, and that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hopefully, through my experiences and the experiences of those around me that I use, you will learn a lot and put it into effect in your own daily life. Think of this as me teaching you a course on Living Your Life. I am learning just as you are, living.. just as you are. The advice I give, the life events I describe, the stories I tell, are all surrounding a huge plan that God has made. Everything we do is a small part of the Blueprint that God has made of our lives. We have to take the blueprint and build our lives around it to make it what He wants it to  be.  

I hope that this introduction has motivated you to follow me and my journey of teaching and discovering all the life has to offer. Remember not to sweat the small things, let God take over. :) 

(For more information, see Joshua 1:8)