Toodles Tuesday

Well, today is the day we say goodbye to 2013.  I must admit, that’s not a hard thing for me to do as it hasn’t been one of my top ten fun favorites.  However, it has been extremely valuable – the heartbreaks, discouragements, disappointments and failures… as well as the achievements, high points and moments of joy and love… all weave together as a giant tapestry of lessons learned.  And that’s always a good thing.  I will take time to reflect back and take those lessons (and hopefully the wisdom I have gleaned from them) into the future.  What were my top ten highlights?  My top ten hardest moments?  My top ten happiest and most content times?  How about you – what were yours?  What were the top ten lessons and how can I use them now?

2014… a fresh start, an unopened gift from God brimming with possibilities.  It calls us to take a deep, cleansing breath, releasing our past and taking that first step forward as the ball comes down in Times Square and we hear the first strains of “Auld Lang Syne” as the clock strikes 12:01… January 1^st, 2014.  It gives me the feeling of a child on Christmas morning when I first see the gifts before me, still touched, wrapped in glittering paper and bows that sparkle in the lights of the Christmas tree.

I wish you happiness, health and a heart filled with love overflowing in the coming year.  I pray 2014 will be a time for you of goal achievement, simplicity, personal satisfaction and understanding, and peace.  I pray you will continue on your journey with energy and enthusiasm and joy.  

Most of all, I wish you a personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior, as He offers us the best of free gifts, salvation.  As a Christian, I believe the offer of salvation is God’s love-gift to all. Those who accept it by faith, apart from works, become new creatures in Christ. Because fallen humans are unable to save themselves, God, according to His own sovereign mercy, acts to save those who come to Him by grace through faith. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the penalty of death in place of condemned humanity. Simply through believing the good news that Christ died for his or her sins and then rose from the dead, a person can be forgiven of all sin, declared righteous by God, reborn into new life, and guaranteed eternal life with God. See John 3:16; Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 15:1–5; and Ephesians1:4–12; 2:8–9.*

I wish you a wild woman life extraordinaire in 2014 – may it be your best year ever.  I hope you will allow me the privilege of being part of your journey.

Blessings,

Coach Linda Bush

*See more at: http://www.insight.org/about/essential-beliefs.html#sthash.4QfEVOtE.dpuf

Merry Monday

Don't make me hit you with my candy cane!!!!

Merry M-O-N-D-A-Y?????  

Okay, before you toss your coffee cup at the screen, think about it.  Today you hold INCREDIBLE POWER in your hands!  You can CHOOSE to be a grinchy, grumpy Monday maniac, grousing around and bringing yourself and the rest of the world down with you.  

Or… you can choose to live in “opposite world” and put your own "stuff" aside and look at the needs of others today.  

What can you do to bring a smile to someone else?  How can you make merry as a gift?  Can you get a cup of coffee for somebody?  Pay the bill for the person behind you at the fast food place (c’mon, you know you still go there once in a blue moon even though you’re eating healthy most of the time).  How about just holding the door for someone else at the store?  Biting your tongue and adding another level of grace to your presence when the other person who is driving you crazy deserves to be given a good what-for?

Maybe surprise the kids or a friend or the hubs or a family member with a surprise trip for a cup of cocoa?  

It doesn’t have to be anything big.  Stopping what you’re doing to give the person in front of you 100% of your attention – eye contact and all!  A phone call to say you’re thinking about someone, or a quick email or note.  Maybe it’s just something as inexpensive (and priceless) as giving a complete stranger your smile. 

Think about it.  Pray about it.  Then be the gift to someone today. A side benefit will be how good you will feel today - and that's a great way to stay healthy during the holidays.

Because you are priceless and your smile may be the most incredible present someone gets today. 

Blessings,

Coach Linda

Traffic Talk Tuesday

A few years ago I started off the holiday season on December 1st being side-clobbered by a young lady determined to go from her middle lane through my right (slow) lane into the shopping center on the other side of my lane (and car).  Blessedly I wasn’t hurt (my car took the brunt of the damage), but it truly was a very avoidable situation (for her, had she paid attention).  I wasn’t in her blind spot… as a matter of fact, I saw her coming into my lane and tried to speed up to avoid her, fortunately avoiding a slam into my driver side door (the rest of the side of my car didn’t fare as well) as I careened up onto the grass triangle of the entrance. Her explanation?  She was busy thinking of upcoming exams (she was a local college student).  

As we think of health and wellness most of the time our minds go to the gym, to exercise and diets, etc.  However, you can be fit as a fiddle and a car accident can wipe you out… or worse.

Here are some basic, time-tested tips on being a mindful motorist as you travel this season:

1) Obviously, don’t drink and drive – not even one – get a designated driver!!!

2) Sleep deprivation can be as damaging as drinking – get enough sleep and drive alert!

3) Always wear your seat belt and make sure all your passengers wear them as well.

4) GET OFF THE PHONE!!!  I was a multi-tasking traffic-time talkaholic for many years, but now I realize it’s just not worth my life.  NEVER TEXT WHILE DRIVING!!!  If you have to make a call, pull over.  

5) Keep an eye on your gas tank.  Did you know that the second half of your gas tank burns quicker than the first half and you will save money if you never let it drop below a half tank?  Not to mention that this habit will prevent you from running out of gas at the most inappropriate Murphy’s Law times!

6) Give yourself time.  Now I admit I am the queen of the early morning “jump in the car running ten minutes late teacup in hand toss on mascara in the slow lane… omigosh I gotta get there hurry up car in front what’s wrong with you let’s MOOOVEEEE!!!” syndrome.  My mother calls me “Mario” and it has nothing to do with computer games.  But… I am learning to change, for my own health and the health of all those around me.  I now (desperately) do my best to leave on time, or better yet, ten minutes early (okay, this is still a pipe dream, but I’m working on it, seconds at a time – Mom if you are reading this, stop laughing).  I am seeking to build margin into the commute schedule so that I am not tempted to speed.  Remember to build “lane margin” in between you and the car in front of you.  Drive the speed limit… an accident will really put a damper on your arrival time!!!

7) Take extra caution to be aware of the drivers around you and keep your eye on the cars way up front and on your sides – I have avoided many accidents by seeing someone swerving and getting out of their way just in the nick of time.  Remember, everyone is juggling schedules this time of year and running around, as my Grandma used to say, “like chickens with their heads cut off.”  

8) Keep an emergency kit in your car, especially if you live in cold-weather areas.  You never know when you might get stranded.  Allstate has a post on their blog for putting together your own emergency kit – here’s the link:  http://blog.allstate.com/super-vehicle-emergency-car-kit/.  And here’s another site from Edmunds.com: http://www.edmunds.com/how-to/how-to-create-your-own-roadside-emergency-kit.html.  

9) Keep your cell phone with you at all times, and invest in a car charger and/or a solar charger or some type of alternative energy source so you always have the ability to make a call.

10) Check the weather – be aware of the possibilities of storms.  Now I grant you, these crazy weather people seem to take giddy delight in warning us of the foreboding “Rain Event”, “Wind Event”… i.e., there are minor showers coming down and possibility a breeze here and there.  I admit, nowadays it seems the weather wackies love to cry wolf whenever a stray leaf floats down, but the truth is you should be aware of what’s going on and how it will affect road and traffic conditions.

Again, these are some basics – and they don’t even begin to cover safety in parking lots, on dark roads, etc.  But it’s a start and something to put into practice today.  You can be in more control of your safety on the roads… unless you happen to “bump into” a college student desperate to make a right hand turn into the mall parking lot from her middle lane during exams because there's a sale on lipstick at the local Wal-Mart.  Then… well, you’re on your own!

Blessings,

Coach Linda

Meltdown Monday

Have you shopped till you dropped all weekend long?  Stressed beyond comprehension already and we’re barely into December?  

Well, today I want to clue you in to a terrific article by Prevention Magazine entitled “Two Minute Stress Solutions”.  They have put together a handy and very easy list of methods to calm youself down in just a few moments.  No... it doesn't include alcohol or choking anyone... but the suggestions are very easy, very workable and very good to know as we go into the most sacred, special and yet stressful time of the year.  From breathing to oat milk tincture to movement, there is something for anyone (except for those of you who are still dreaming of hitting someone over the head with that vintage fruitcake while holding a BIG wine glass in the other)!!!  I very much encourage you to read it, print it and keep a copy with you at all times! 

Here’s the link:  http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/emotional-health/reduce-stress-these-2-minute-solutions/natural-soothers

Have a blessed day!

Coach Linda

The Advent Candles Wreath