Tips for the Journey #3 & #4

A few weeks ago, I posted Tips for the Journey #1 & #2, which included Don't be Easily Distracted and Pack Lightly. Check out the Page titled Tips for the Journey for the complete list. I'll probably be adding to it as I learn my own new lessons.

Mistakes are a great way to learn a new lesson. Right?
Funny thing is, even though we know what the right thing is to do, sometimes we simply can't help ourselves.
Even Paul, in the Bible, seemed to struggle with staying on the path.

"For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing!"
Paul from Romans 7:19

Isn't it good to know even the saints struggled with staying on track? Of course, I've always believed that what makes a saint isn't all the good they do, it's the fact they keep getting up, keep going, despite how many times they fall down.

So, here's Tips for the Journey 3 and 4. I hope they will help you along your way. All of these are issues Alyra deals with in Illuminated  as she journeys from Racah to Alburnium. Basically, these are issues we all deal with at some point in our lives.

photo found at flicker. click photo for original source.

Tip #3:
Keep Your Friends Near- but don't let them steer you wrong.
Yeah, sometimes you'll travel alone. Don't despair, you will eventually find others heading in the same direction as you. Join up with them. Enjoy the company. When they stumble, be sure to help them back up and they'll do the same for you. However, when the time comes to part ways, be okay with that. Once a friend, always a friend when you allow it. Don't let their individual destiny become your own. You have your own purpose in this life. Follow your own path. Be open to meeting up with new travelers just around the bend. We can never have too many friends.

photo found at flicker. click photo for original source.

Tip #4: Don't Freak Out Over Obstacles
Hey, stuff happens. Life happens. You will come to roadblocks. You will face neck-breaking mountains. Stay Calm and ... I don't know, just don't freak. Okay?  Have you ever heard the Going on a Bear Hunt chant? We can't go over it, can't go under it... gotta go through it. Yes! Just suck it up and keep walking. Hear me on this: There. Will. Be. A. Way. Through.
Really.
Keep going. If the path leads in that direction, there will be a way through.
God is not out to set us up for failure.

He promises that he has a plan and a purpose for us. He wants what is good. He wants to prosper us. So keep that in mind and keep walking. 

Are you up for a grand journey? Let's go!

Non-resolutions for the New Year

Let's not kids ourselves. We mean well, making resolutions of change and promise for the new year. But to be honest, New Years is simply another day. Time, dates, clocks... all that is man-made. Something to help us keep track, or try to control time.

Thing is... why do we set ourselves up every year to feel like failures when we ditch all those well-intended resolutions? We know we won't keep 95% of them. Yet, every year, we write down our goals all over again.

WHY?
Well, because we are always hopeful of change. And we are always looking for something new. An adventure, if you will.

Walt Disney said that we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we are curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.


And in all honesty, isn't that what we want? To find that right path we are supposed to be on? The one that will help us reach our dreams?

Of course, weight loss, quitting bad habits, or trying to do something more often and better are all wonderful goals to strive for. But let us seek out what our hearts desire is and run, run, run after that.

I'm not making any resolutions for this year. I already know what I need to do and I'm going to work my butt off trying to do that. I know now what I want from my life. I believe with all my heart that I'm finally living out my purpose. I've been given talents to carry me through this life and finally, I'm using them.

And it feels wonderful!

So, maybe this year, instead of writing down that standard list of resolutions, let's call them something else. Anything else. Instead of setting yourself up for failure, establish a plan that will lead you to what you want out of life. No matter how simple or complicated that desire might be.

Don't be afraid. All that's require is simply taking one step at a time. Staying on course. And never, ever, giving up on your dreams.

Walt Disney never gave up. Talk about a visionary. And one of my all time heroes. I love what he did for our world. The beauty and joy in his creations are timeless and will never fade away. His inspiration still spurs on generation after generation of creatives to think outside the box, to wish upon a star and believe that anything is possible.

And it is. It really is.

Happy New Year Friends! May the coming months take you to new places beyond your wildest imagination.



And thank you all who have bought my book Illuminated. Thank you for your encouraging feed back. I've done better than I anticipated in my first three weeks of publication.

I've received so much great feedback, even from people who I know aren't big readers. One or two have even told me they cried in places and had to stop everything toward the end of the book so they could keep reading and find out what happened.

Any idea what that does to a writer's heart? Wow. And my head... oh my I have to keep check so I can get through the doorways. Ha ha ha.  Kidding.

However, I'm so excited and ready to start on the next book. I keep changing the title but it will have something to do with Luminous. lol.  Luckily, it's mostly written, but needs some changes and needs to be finished. Can't wait to dive back into Alburnium for more adventures.