Revived by My Own Challenges

Revive means to activate, set in motion or take up again, to renew……..As a verb, “to be revived” means to return to life, to restore consciousness or return to a flourishing condition.

During the past few weeks, I have felt like my life has become a 3 ring circus-or maybe a 5 ring circus. Each one of my passions I am currently involved in pursuing, increased in demands and time commitments. I found myself feeling like there were not enough hours in the day to get everything done. We had special birthdays and then the blessing of gathering for Easter which are always fun celebrations but for me and my schedule…it involves a 6-8 hour drive to these events. But how could anyone miss out on spending time with these precious people?

But of course these important events happened during my most important month of preparation for a speaking engagement I had volunteered for almost a year ago. My teaching topic was based on a life principle that I am totally committed to, so it didn’t surprise me that I was being challenged from every angle to live out the very thing I would be teaching on. I believe you are tested the most when you are taking risks and are willing to step outside of your comfort zone, but those tests…when passed and survived are the very things that “REVIVE” your life.

During this testing time, one of my 5 circus rings that had also increased in commitment level was my passionate involvement in our Growing Weisser blog. I am currently enrolled in a class with a few other bloggers to learn how to improve our blog by working SMART, CREATIVE, WISE and PRESENT! Our first assignment was to list our 5 top priorities in our life. So, in the midst of these overwhelming feelings of things spinning out of control, I was being challenged to stop and focus on my priorities. As I reflected on the things that are truly important to me, I came to the realization that each one of my 5 priorities had become one of the rings in the 5 ring circus I was trying to control.

My top 5 priorities are…1) my spiritual life, 2) my family, 3) health and wellness, 4) using my God given gifts of leadership and teaching in communities of women and 5) our Growing Weisser Blog and other business and ministry ventures. My  5 ring circus was actually a reflection of my  choices to pursue with pleasure a commitment that was an expression of one of each of my priorities.

Taking the time to meditate on my priorities and thinking about how my commitments reflect my priorities is a discipline that I want to undertake regularly. Time is the one thing in my life that I can not multiply, duplicate or replicate. Each moment is precious, each opportunity may only come around once in a lifetime. Every day is a gift from God and I want to make it count! My family is growing and multiplying and I want to have an impact on each and every member. I want the way I spend my time to be honoring to God, my family, myself and my community. This simple assignment of taking the time to reconsider my priorities and determine whether or not my precious time was in synch with those priorities actually REVIVED me and gave me a fresh determination and tenacity to not allow my life to spin out of control. Each one of my commitments seems less overwhelming and my work is getting done. I am learning to work smart, creative, wise and present as I take on each task. I have been given a new vantage point and a fresh perspective and that has made all the difference.

My blogging class has given me resources to encourage all of us as we are challenged to study and implement all that we are learning. I would highly recommend listening to a Podcast called “The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” and reading a book called Essentialism-the Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.

What are your top 5 priorities? Spend some time thinking about them and how they are being reflected in the way you spend your time. You will be REVIVED!!!