Because I can, I Did A Coaches Journey

10 Things I’ve learned in 2016

2016 hasn’t been much different than 2015 or 2014 or 2013 and so on for the past 10 years for me.  Life is life.  You have choices and you have positive or negative reactions/responses and consequences to those choices.  You have a choice in how you respond, love, live, who you allow in your life, who you choose to let go of and so on.  However, despite going through another divorce (#3), several medical hiccups, financial strains, issues with my kids, 4 soccer teams, a few lost friendships and some ugly realities, this year I feel I come out a lot stronger than any year prior due to these learned lessons.

1. Everything is a choice and it’s always up to you to decide.  There is never a such thing as “I don’t have a choice.”

2. It’s ok to not have all the answers or everything figured out.  Just let things be and try to be better today than yesterday.

3. Be present. Life happens.  Job schedules are crazy, kids schedules and so on. However, the only thing you will regret later in life are moments missed.  Time is the one thing you can’t get back.

4. It doesn’t matter how many times you drive that ball up the field, if you don’t take a shot you will never score.

5. People make time for what and who is important not excuses.

6. Let Go. Sometimes holding on does more damage than letting go. God will never take something from that isn’t healthy for you or that He doesn’t plan to replace with something greater.

7. What flows from your life is more often than not associated with what you allow to flow into your life.  If you allow drama, toxic people and negativity without balance then what will eventually flow out of you will be just as toxic.

8. You can’t pour from an empty cup.  Make yourself a priority.

9. Perspective is everything. How you see things and how you choose to view the world around you and situations you are in will make a huge difference in your life one way or another.  

10. God’s GRACE is sufficient! Most of all this year I have more truth and comfort in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 than ever before.  I can ask God to remove my thorn (which most of the time I self inflicted) or I can allow God’s love and God’s grace to flow from whatever hilltop or valley I may be in, and really in the valleys “for when I am weak; He is strong.”

There you guys and gals go.  A few lessons that I feel I am leaving 2016 with and taking into 2017 where I will continue to grow and be stretched with epic grace, love and guidance from above and those close to me!

Tonight I met a girl for senior portraits at JMU.

The weight of the world and the need to be loved and accepted had broken her to the point that her body bared marks of self hate and no value.