These past 2 weeks I've been visiting my Mom and family at my childhood home farm in Ohio. My brother Dan has been making hay this whole time because the weather has been sunny and hot every day, perfect weather for this!

As it turns out, 4 of my 5 children and 7 of my grandchildren made it to the farm also, a rare treat for all of us! In this picture my oldest grandson Jonah is on the hay wagon experiencing hay-making for the first time. He loved it even though it was hot and he got sweaty and dirty.

Why? Because he seized an opportunity that presented itself that caused him to grow up in a new way. It also served my brother and helped him to preserve the hay for his sheep and cattle who will need it during the winter months.

"Make hay while the sun is shining" is a phrase I've heard about for years. I have a very clear picture of what that means because of the farm life I've had the privilege of growing up with.

How does it apply to your life?

Everything that happens, good times or bad, provides you with an opportunity of some kind.

If you are working from home, quarantined, it may be a time for you to grow closer to your family members. If you are single, it may be a time to get to know your neighbors better and develop new relationships. If you lost your job, it may be a time to find something more suitable to you anyway.

What opportunities are your current circumstances offering you? How might you 'make hay while the sun is shining'?

Pandemics give rise to new discoveries in science to provide a cure. Quarantine can give you time to create something you've always wanted to create - Shakespeare wrote King Lear during the bubonic plague!

You are resourceful! Let this time in your life be an inspiration for life-changes that benefit you and others around you.

Make hay while the sun is shining!

Blessings,

Terri

https://fullyalive5.com/coaching/

p.s. I'd love to walk with you if you are contemplating making some life-changes. Click the link above to check out my coaching options.

Dear friends,

I had the privilege of doing this podcast recently with Sisters of the Crown, a very special ministry for women. They call women up to live in their rightful dignity as daughters of the King of Kings.

This podcast is about a story of a very hard season in my own life when I went deeper in friendship with God than ever. The hardship was something God used to help me become 'best of friends' with Him.

Here is the link for it - I hope it speaks to your heart and encourages you today:

https://youtu.be/EKoguQflR-s

Be blessed today!

Love, Terri

https://fullyalive5.com

Dear Friends,

This year has been one for the history books! We've been living through a pandemic, living in quarantine - now coming out in stages, seeing a terrible tragedy in Minnesota and resulting racial unrest, political dissension, the list goes on!

One thing I know about us human beings is that we often struggle with such disruption and change.

When life and routines are disrupted there's an opportunity for making changes for the better - but we need help to get there so we don't have to go it alone.

When I went through a time of personal upheaval that left me wondering which end was up, I got a coach who helped me make the changes I really wanted to make. It was SO amazing that I became a coach to help others in the same ways.

Here are 5 Game-Changing Gifts a Coach Can Give You: 

Gift #1 – Discovery 

Gaining greater clarity on: 

*Your true identity *Your life purpose 

Gift #2 – Dreaming 

Creating space to think creatively 

*Envision possibilities *Create a vision for your life 

Gift #3 – Doing 

Taking action on your discoveries and dreams 

*Make your plan *Work your plan 

Gift #4 – Defying the Odds 

Choosing to be unsinkable 

*Turning obstacles into opportunities *Overcoming limiting beliefs 

Gift #5 – Destination... 

Pursuing your divine destiny with determination 

*Setting your internal compass to ‘true north’ 

*Living your life with intentionality 

I'm ready to walk with you into the future. Click the button below to contact me for a free call to talk about what you're experiencing and see if I might serve you in some way. I offer both group coaching and personal coaching. While you're there, sign up for my blog!

I hope to hear from you soon!

Warmly,

Terri

https://fullyalive5.com

Dear friends,

Today I'm sharing a post my husband wrote on the Life Model Works blog. I felt it was relevant for the times we find ourselves in now.

"My wife and I were reading through Judges this morning about the story of Gideon. I think we sometimes over-glorify certain Bible characters because God used them to accomplish some amazing things in their day to bless God’s people. Despite God visiting and empowering Gideon to defeat the Midianites who were occupying Israel at the time, in fact, Gideon was a very fearful person and soon after his victory, he used the booty to make a golden image that became an idolatrous stumbling block to the nation. How different was Gideon’s life situation from ours!   

How does the battle Gideon faced as an ancient Israelite apply to our lives as followers of Jesus in the 21st century? For Jesus, Paul and the other apostles, warfare was clearly not about waging literal war against other people. They were peacemakers, healers and ministers of reconciliation. They pulled back the curtain behind the visible world in which we live. Their lives and ministries exposed and dealt with the dark forces that are generally “pulling the strings” that create human strife, deceit, violence, idolatry, war, crime, abuse of authority, illness, relational breakdowns, and many more subtle evils in our world. Paul indicates that the same is true for us in Ephesians. We are called to be this kind of warrior. 

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17

I am all in favor of engaging in some of the more obvious activities that relate to our wrestling match with evil forces … focused prayer and fasting, speaking to power, delivering people from evil spirits, being practically engaged in our culture at large. However, I also think it is important to point out some of the softer counter-intuitive ways that we actually engage in our wrestling match with evil powers. We need to broaden our understanding of the battlefield and realize that some of our weapons are quite subtle in nature. 

Here are a few that I think of: 

1. Regulating our big emotions that can trigger us to rely on our flesh. 
2. Speaking the truth in love to the people around us. 
3. Being long-suffering and patient. 
4. Keeping (and returning quickly to) our peace and remaining relational at all times and living in rest. 
5. Being tender in our responses to weakness in others. 
6. Spreading the joy of Jesus by looking into someone’s eyes and smiling. 
7. Trusting in God’s goodness when situations are challenging. 
8. Doing the next right thing God’s Spirit is inspiring you to do. 
9. Offering a hug to someone who is upset. 
10. Remaining curious when someone is upset with us. 

I view these kinds of responses to living in an interactive relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as mighty and devastating weapons against the principalities of darkness. They may not seem very heroic, but they are! You and I can become these kinds of “spiritual warriors” in our spheres of influence. 

If you wish to take a deeper dive into learning more about finding peace, living in rest and spreading the joy of Jesus during a crisis using methods grounded in scripture and cutting-edge neuroscience, consider getting the resource Passing the Peace. You will learn in detail three easy to remember steps to finding peace and get a greater understanding of how to help prevent compassion fatigue, care for secondary post-traumatic stress and other emotional injuries to people facing crisis."

My thoughts and prayers are with you all -

https://lifemodelworks.org

https://fullyalive5.com