So says Alan Christofferson, the main character in Richard Paul Evans’ new book, The Walk.

Does any one of us know what the future holds? I can think of so many times in my life when I had a plan all laid out for the next weeks, months, and even years – and then, in the blink of an eye, everything changes. A phone call; a chance meeting; a turn of events, and life is altered forever.

After Alan lost his wife, his business, and his home, he decided to walk across the country to the place furthest from where his dreams all died. As he stops each night, he writes in his journal. His entries are brief, but telling. One night he wrote, “We can be victims of circumstance or masters of our own fate…” and I thought, “How can you write that when you have just lost everything, through no fault of your own? How can you say you are the master of your fate?”

Then it hit me. Alan had learned what Viktor Frankl taught: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances – to choose one’s own way.”

The night his wife died, Alan’s journal entry read simply, “All is lost.”

Shortly thereafter, he sat in despair at the kitchen table with two bottles of pills, contemplating taking his own life. He could find no reason to live, and was ready to end it all quickly, when he heard, from somewhere, the words,

“Life is not yours to take.”

Then, he thought he heard the voice of his late wife, McKale, whisper, “Live.”

I believe that is what each of our loved ones would say were they able to communicate with us. Not to simply exist, but to live with purpose; to choose our own way.

Again from Frankl: “Man does not simply exist, but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment.”

I believe we too can make that choice, and determine who we will be and what we will do with whatever circumstances we are presented.

There will be times we too will say, “I do not know what lies ahead of me,..” but in those times, we will also be able to say, “…but I do know what I want to become.”

That decision will change everything.

The book is about Alan Christofferson, a man who has everything, and how, through a series of tragic losses, he ends up homeless and begins a journey, walking across the country. At first, he walks to get away from everything in his past – but as he continues, he learns lessons that change his life, and realizes he is really walking to face his future. In his words, “This is what I’ve learned. We can spend our days bemoaning our losses, or we can grow from them. Ultimately the choice is ours. We can be victims of circumstance or masters of our own fate, but make no mistake, we cannot be both.”

“We are all on a walk. Perhaps not as literal as mine, but a walk all the same . . .”

It hit me in the early hours of the morning as I finished the epilogue that he is right. I too am on a walk, and I’ve been shuffling my feet. Some days I have even refused to take one step. I had once again slipped into that seductive passivity of victim mode.

Yet I have opportunities before me, all around me, that, if I embraced them, could burn more of the dross out of my soul, and help me to become a better tool in God’s hands. On the other hand, if I continue to resist them, that dross will grow darker and thicker, becoming even more permanently adhered to the chambers of my heart.

I want to grow. I want to be able to look back on this time of my life with no regrets, knowing I truly did the best I could. But I will need God’s help. The compassion and charity I need are not within me, but are gifts only He can give. I pray He can soften my hardened, selfish heart and as promised in Ezekiel 36:26, replace it with a new one.

There are more lessons to be learned from this powerful book. I will share them as I continue on my walk, and encourage you on yours.

Stepping out, once more,

Roslyn

I shared how I had recently read Aaron Raymond’s book Double Your Income Doing What You Love, where he gives some suggestions for setting goals for improvement. In our goal-setting session tonight, we discussed four of them, one of which I will address here:

Choose to clean up one mess each month.

Aaron says, “Each mess is a lock on the gate that keeps abundance out.” I found that fascinating – and then I read the following paragraph:

“Messes rob you of vitality. Messes teach you that you cannot handle tasks . . . Messes make you cringe. Messes make you apologize to others. Messes diminish you. Messes do not merely belittle you; they actually have a major impact on your financial well-being.”

I believe he is right. Right now if I think about several areas of my home, I do cringe, because there are messes calling out to me, waiting to be addressed.

Aaron suggests considering messes in the following areas:

Your car; your clothes closet; your desktop; your files; your desk drawers; your garage; your basement; your tools; your taxes; your paperwork; your computer; your last will and testament, even your key chain!

I would add: your kitchen drawers; your cupboards; your laundry room; your fruit room; your storage closets and hidden areas. That room or closet that, when you’re not sure where to put something, you open the door, throw it in, and slam the door closed. (Yes, I really did used to have a room like that!)

He says, “The more messes, the more locks on the gate that keep abundance out.” But then he promises: “Every mess you eliminate, no matter how small, brings relief of enormous proportions.”

I want that relief! I am going to follow his suggestion, and every month this year I am going to tackle one of my messes.

In the Bible, Job talks of a “land of darkness . . . without any order . . .” I feel that darkness when I consider the messes in my life. 1 Corinthians 14:40 counsels us, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

I feel so much better when things are “done decently and in order.” I just haven’t made it a priority – until now. One mess a month – I can do that! And just think how much more light - and abundance – will come into my life!

Join me – we can do it together. Invite abundance; reject darkness: Go clean up a mess!

I have noticed over the years how the media and school textbooks have focused less and less on the great deeds of past leaders and more and more on their perceived weaknesses. It’s not popular nor politically correct to honor our forefathers anymore; rather, those writers gain favor who can find some meager evidence of defects, failings, and flaws.

Mr. Guelzo goes on to say that “The hero is the story, not just of a good deed, but a great deed – a great deed which climbs the unclimbable, endures the unendurable, holds fast to the lost.” He was speaking of Lincoln, who sacrificed much to fulfill his commission to lead a nation through one of its most difficult periods of time. His description applies to all of those who, like Lincoln, have given their best for the good of humankind, and who, he laments, have become invisible.

Are heroes invisible? Not to my eyes. I have seen many instances of heroism, and of enduring the unendurable, as I’ve been interviewing widows and divorcees in the last two years. I see women, still grieving, but digging deep inside for the courage to take a class and start back on their college degree. I see women volunteering at women’s shelters, at local hospitals, and in their neighborhood. I see women putting on a smile and going out into the world, doing what needs to be done to support their family, relying on God for the strength to keep going one day at a time.

In their circumstances, it could be easier to sit back and expect others to have pity on them, to curl up and pull the covers over their heads, and try to sleep through the dull pain of each day. But these heroes I have seen realize that if they are alive, there must be a reason, and they are determined to live to find that reason and then to fulfill it.

Mr. Guelzo states that heroism is, “first of all, about profound moral conviction.” I believe that is what allows these women to keep going. They have the conviction that if God has given them another day, they are going to use it in His service, and do their best to be what He would have them be.

As Jorge F. Zeballos stated a few days ago, God “cannot require more than the best we can give; it would not be just. But He cannot accept less than our best, for that would not be just, either.”

Heroes. I submit that we are surrounded by them, and I suggest that each time we determine to give our very best, we join their ranks.

May we recognize the heroism in each other, and find peace in knowing that as we give our best, our offering is acceptable to Him who we serve.

However, Bill wanted something different than what he was surrounded by. He wanted better. And he worked hard (and worked smart!) and he eventually graduated from law school!

How can someone make such drastic changes?

He had to believe he could do it. If he hadn’t believed he could do it, he would never have taken the first step. The thought, “What’s the use – it will never happen” would have prevented him from making any progress.

On his four-part goal-setting series at iLearningGlobal.com, he encourages us to “Think BIG!” He says we need to dream, and we need to believe those dreams can come true. We need to believe that we are good enough already to become what we want to become, and all it takes now is our belief and effort!

When you’ve endured the loss of a loved one, dreams for the future can seem useless. Why go on, without that person in our life? What’s the use?

I believe that we need our dreams now more than ever. We need something to carry us through the darkness and confusion of grief, and to help us to build a new life and give us something to live for. Our dreams can be one thing that help us move on and find healing.

So I echo Bill Bartman: Think Big! Dare to dream about something you’d like to become or accomplish. Then remember that God sent you to earth with talents and skills – and a mission to accomplish with them. Believe that you CAN do it – and that with His help, you will.

One of my favorite books as a child was The Little Engine that Could. I can remember reading those words over and over: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”

So that will be my mantra from this day forward: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”

Join me – and dream big, and believe!

With belief for the future,

Roslyn

I listened to Richard Paul Evans’ seminar, The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth, and I learned that only 5% of Americans save up enough during their lifetime to retire comfortably. This, in the richest nation in the world!

Obviously, as a nation we are missing something. There have to be principles that, if followed, can put us – any of us – up in that five percent. So, I am making a study of the “principles of prosperity” (try googling that – I came up with over seven million results!)

As my time is limited, I am studying only the classics of the genre, and those I feel led to read. I’ve started with Napolean Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, picking up other books and gleaning from them what I can while working through Mr. Hill’s program.

As I read last night, I was reminded just how vital it is to have a clear goal in mind as we begin any venture. As a matter of fact, that clear goal is the very first item on the list  Napoleon Hill gives of the steps to success:
1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.
2. Determine what you intend to give in return for the money.
3. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money.
4. Create a definite plan and begin at once(and I thought this next part was fascinating:)whether you are ready or not to put the plan into action. (!)
5. Write a clear Concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire; name the time limit for its acquisition; state what you intend to give in return for the money; and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.
6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read—SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

He reminds us that our burning desire will help us to visualize and convince ourselves that we WILL acquire the money.

Some of my burning desires?  I want to be self-sustaining throughout my life. I want my children to be able to enjoy having me around, without having to worry about my care and upkeep as I age. I want to be able to help them when needed, with a down payment, with medical needs, with funds for missions for our church, and to have the funds necessary to be able to travel around and visit them and stay close to the grandchildren. (At present my children are spread from Utah to Washington, D.C. – my desire at some point would be to have them all close enough that we could interact regularly, and I could have ‘grandma time’ with the grandchildren weekly – but that is a completely separate topic!)

I would love to have the funds to be able to help support my community, my nation, and the world. My daughter served in Africa last year, and became acquainted with a man running an orphanage/school for seven hundred orphans.  They desperately need new buildings to house them and food to feed them. (see Timothy’sOrphans.org.) My heart aches to hear of their deprivation. Yet his concern is always for others. We recently received a text from this man when he heard of the recession in our country and he wrote: “Are you suffering terribly?” I don’t think I have ever suffered as those children do daily.
I want to help him. To do so, I need to build wealth. To do that, I need to learn the principles. And so goes my quest. For now, I know step one. I need to answer the question: What is my goal?
Perhaps you, too, are seeking a change. It could be greater prosperity, as is mine; it could be healing, it could be a hundred different things. I invite you to join me in setting a clear, definite goal, and to learn from those who have achieved wealth, so that together, we can make this world a better place.

May we all follow these steps – and begin to see the results of our burning desires!

Seeking to bless lives,

Roslyn

In the movie Anne of Green Gables, Marilla encourages Anne to look ahead, not behind at her mistakes, by counseling her, “Each new day is fresh, with no mistakes in it.”
That is what I love about mornings, and new weeks, new months, and new years! Fresh starts, and no mistakes yet.

Looking back, we can see so much in our lives that we wish were different, and that we’d like to change.
I want to change my life. I want to be more consistent, more reliable, more effective, more charitable, more knowledgeable – you get the idea. I want to change!

I used to think that for something to change a life in a positive way it would have to be huge and drastic, and those things never happened to me. I have come to learn differently. The things that seem to make the longest-lasting changes are those that take just a little bit of effort, that happen one small step at a time, stretching over a long period of time.

Forming the habit of reading from the scriptures for a few moments every day has changed my life, maybe not in ways visible to an onlooker, but I am more peaceful, more hopeful, and more positive after spending that time daily with God.

Taking the time to do just a few housekeeping tasks each morning starts the day out with a basic order in our home, and that changes my attitude for the entire day.

Deciding simply to listen more attentively when my children are talking to me has improved my relationship with them, and that changes my life for the better each time I remember to do so.

We have a new year now; the opportunity for yet another fresh start. Will you join me in finding joy in that chance to start over, to try to do a little better this next year?

May you find increased peace, hope, and healing in 2009, starting fresh, today.
Looking forward,

Roslyn