Keep Your Faith!

This Saturday is?International Survivors of Suicide Day

Those of you that know me, know I lost my husband in 2014 and then my son in August of 2017. Just 3 years apart.?Over the last seven years, this is a topic that is nearest and dearest to my heart.

My daughter Laurel and I Co-Authored a book together in 2019 called?"Keep Looking Up". The purpose of us doing the book was not so much to tell our story, although we do share that in a lot of the chapters, but it is more about what has been helpful for us and what we learned in our journey, sharing how you can go through life through your adversity.

I want to share the three biggest things I think are probably what helped us the most to get through our adversity, and keep getting us through it every single day.

1. The company that you keep, your powers of Association - the people that you spend the most amount of your time with every day, every week, every month is critical. Most people don’t think that this is a big deal. It is! When you finally decide to move away from the relationship that drains your energy, you're going to be so amazed at what a difference it makes in your life. It’s important to only have those people around you in your life that you feel safe with. I talk about this when I go Live in our Vision Driven Life Facebook Group. I surround myself with people who are going to lift me up.
2. Give yourself and everybody around you a whole lot of Grace and a whole lot of Mercy. During such a fragile time, you will be in uncharted territory and trying to maneuver through a LOT. You will need to give YOURSELF a lot of Grace as well, because you will have feelings of guilt or feel like you should have known better, that you didn’t do enough… or whatever you’re telling yourself. STOP and give yourself a pat on the back for getting through every single day, because some days it's just that. Getting Through, one day at a time. Others around you may be expecting you to get through this faster than you are able to, or they may want to spend time with you in a way that really isn’t helping you at this time. They may take it personal. Just remember that everybody is dealing with everything in their own way. We just have to be kind, to ourselves and those around us in these situations.
3. Change your perspective of how you see your life. My daughter Laurel teaches on this. This is much easier said than done, but perspective is everything! Laurel designed an exercise called the “What-IS” List vs. the “What-IF” List. Every Tuesday she goes live in our Facebook Group, Vision Driven Life, and talks about this exercise,?our story, offers encouragement and so much more!?She discusses how taking a look at the “What-IF” … “What if this didn’t happen to me, my life would be so different”. Don't get caught up in something you can’t change. Instead, look at it as a gratitude list.?The change of perspective is everything, and it is a choice.

We chose the title of our book, “Keep Looking Up”, because we want people to understand that the biggest thing that has helped us get through?everything?is our faith. Knowing that one day we'll all be together in heaven. To be with my husband and my son, and that this temporary world is just that - it's just temporary. If you don't have faith I encourage you to talk to somebody about that today and if you are not in our?Vision Driven Life?group, I invite you to join us there. We go into a lot, and talk about these items at great length.

I just wanted to share that with you and let you know that I'm aware that a lot of you are dealing with some tough stuff and we're here for you.

Thank you, be blessed, and be grateful for your family.

Keep Looking UP!

GNWY - Pursue Your Why

I recently was introduced to this amazing organization, and I am going to be getting involved in their mission. Please read about them, and I hope you will feel led to donate. Any amount helps. Generation?Why was officially established by?Jordan Miller in 2017. Due to Jordan's personal story, he and all the members of Generation Why aim to motivate every generation by revealing their purpose and providing opportunities to pursue it. Generation Why believes in your worthiness, your story, and your future. Suicide is preventable when we work together! One way we help young adults is through suicide prevention by promoting mental health awareness - suicide rates are ever-growing in our country today which makes us more determined than ever to share our message with others out there who need it most!!!