Just Keep Swimming!

Short and sweet, these words of wisdom from Dory the fish (from the film Finding Nemo) are my motto for this year. Every time I feel discouraged I think to myself "Just Keep Swimming" and smile at the picture of funny little Dory that pops into my head! Sometimes this is all we can do. We may not make any progress but as long as we keep our heads above water and make it to the end of the day without drowning then we can count that day as a success. Even when the shore seems an impossibly long way away as long as we keep swimming I know we will all make it there, and when you feel like you just can't do one more stroke then I know that our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, are there to keep us afloat while we take a deep breath and then carry on paddling. I hope this post will help any of you who are finding your personal challenges particularly hard at the moment to have hope that you will get there in the end.

Nobody has it worse - just different!

I have spent far too much time through the years feeling guilty for finding my life hard or for whinging about my problems when - as we hear so often - there is always someone whose life is harder or whose problems are worse than mine. Well, I have recently come to realise that this is actually not true. The truth is that no-one has it worse (or better) than me, but everyone has it different. We are all given different challenges in life. Some of us have physical challenges, some emotional, some mental and some financial. Our challenges can be big or small, time-consuming, energy-consuming, life-threatening, life-limiting, they can be personal challenges or they can involve family members or friends but they all have one thing in common - for the person going through it each challenge is hard. I firmly believe that our Father in Heaven gives each of us only the challenges that we need to teach us the lessons we came to earth to learn - and He will never give us a challenge or trial that we cannot cope with - even if sometimes we may wonder where the strength He knows we have is hiding! So.... next time you look at someone else's life and think - I could never cope with his/her challenge you are probably right (that's why it theirs and not yours) - but remember that they probably look at your challenge and think exactly the same!
I hope that I have managed to explain myself well enough and haven't upset anyone, after all this is just my opinion, and I hope that maybe after reading this you might feel better about finding your particular challenge difficult and allow yourself to acknowledge that you are entitled to have the occasional whinge - and then pick yourself up and carry on doing the fantastic job I know you are doing!

Where to start?

Hi and welcome to my world.
I have started this blog as the suggestion of a good friend for 3 main reasons. First as a way to record for myself and for my daughters the ins and outs of life in our house - who knows maybe we can learn something from it. Secondly as a way to vent frustrations and celebrate accomplishments - sometimes we all need a good whinge but equally we need to acknowledge our achievements and give ourselves a pat on the back (cos if we don't sometimes no-one else does!). Thirdly as a way to share the good and bad times with those of my friends who I don't see often enough, those who want to know more about me and anybody else who wants to drop in!
I hope you enjoy the ride!