Fragments (By Lisa Renée Clark)

Today, friends, I have the privilege of sharing with you some thoughts that are not my own. These thoughts were written by my beautiful friend Lisa Renée Clark, and I hope they will touch your heart and refresh your soul as much as they did mine. I can't wait to see you succeed! ~K. L. W.

Bits. Pieces. Fragments. What comes to your mind when you read those words? Maybe you’re thinking leftovers; something that was broken apart; parts that are scattered. Sometimes when we see things that are in pieces, we will respond in one of these ways: “I don’t know what this mess is, so I’ll just gather it up and put it somewhere out of my sight so someone else can deal with it.” Or, “It’s all in pieces. It’s useless, so I’ll just throw it in the trash.” Think about it. When most people see something in pieces, they don’t see how all those little parts are related. They just look at one small bit or a few parts that seem meaningless and think, “This is useless. This is worthless.” What do we do with useless and worthless things? We throw them away. 

But wait. What did Jesus say about the bits, pieces, and fragments? “‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.’ Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten” (John 6:12-13, New King James Version). Obviously those fragments were not useless and worthless; they were quite valuable. The disciples filled 12 huge baskets with the fragments! Who got to take all that food home? The little boy who gave Jesus his few small pieces of bread and fish. His harvest was in the fragments! 

So what does this have to do with our 21st century lives? 

There are rich opportunities knocking on your door because you are here on this earth to accomplish something that is far beyond your current level of ability and far greater than the current amount of your resources. Yeah, you don’t have enough right now. Yet simply because you don’t have all the knowledge and materials necessary, does it mean that you should let these opportunities pass you by? No, of course not! You may not have everything you need to start the business, publish the book, get the contract, pay off all the debts, take the dream vacation, buy the house, lease the building, purchase the new equipment, enroll in the course, run the 5k … but you do have something. There is something that you can do now. You can do research online, ask questions on a forum, and practice with what you have. 

The little boy started with a few pieces of bread and two fish because that is what he had in his hand. What do you have in your hand? It really is enough to get you started. Jesus wanted thousands of people to eat until they were full, and those small bits of food looked worthless compared to the great need. However, the only thing the little boy needed to do was to bring the little bit that he had to Jesus. That was a seed, and that was enough to get the miracle in motion. You know what? The harvest from that little seed didn’t come back all at once. Jesus said, “Gather the fragments.” It took a while for the disciples to do that. They gathered a few pieces here; they found another piece over there. Individually those scattered pieces looked like something to throw away. However when it all came together, it was more food than the little boy and his family ever had! 

So what about your achievements? What about your harvest? It may come in one great big chunk (I’ve had those many times), but always keep your eyes open for the fragments. For example, my husband and I have a financial goal to save a certain amount this year, so we broke it down into smaller weekly goals. I am excited to report that up to now we have saved almost twice the amount of our 3-month checkpoint goal. How did we do it? Bits and pieces and fragments. We set the amount to put aside weekly, then added a little more here and there. At this pace we will far exceed our goal for this year! 

What are your goals for this year? What is on your heart that you long to accomplish? You have something in your hand right now — some small step you can take consistently that will lead to great achievements. Bits, pieces, and fragments add up to huge harvests.

* For more from Lisa Renée Clark, please visit her website, Transform Your Life | ReneeLife.com or find her on Facebook, Renée Life or on Instagram, @reneelife_insight.

Back to Basics

 

Hi friends; I want to ask you this week, have you ever gotten to a point where you felt you were doing well and then suddenly found yourself overwhelmed by the habits and routines you were creating? Case in point, every time I try a really strenuous calorie counting and exercise routine, I do great until Day 4. Days 1-3 I’m on top of the world. I think I’ve got it all together. I’m a new person, never going back to McDonald's fries and lounging on the couch. But then Day 4 hits... notorious, infamous Day 4. Day 4 is my kryptonite. It’s when sh*t hits the fan if you know what I mean. It’s usually on Day 4 when I realize I’m in way over my head, and I don’t have the time, energy, or will power to sustain what I’ve created. It’s on Day 4 that I eat everything in the house and give up on being healthy ever again. Ok, a bit dramatic, but you get my point.  

  We tend to get ourselves in over our heads.  Or at least I do.  We want so desperately to reach the top, to get to our destination now. But we take on too much and end up getting overwhelmed and giving up.  It's in these moments of overwhelm that we need to do some assessment and ask ourselves what the original intent of our goal was.  And with that intent in mind we can start from square one and build habits which are more sustainable.  

  When we get ourselves so focused on being the biggest and the best at everything as quickly as possible, we forget to enjoy the process.  By scaling back and making our habits and goals realistic, we can grow while still staying sane and enjoying our every day lives. Maybe 50 pages a day of reading is too much for you, but can you do 10?  Was your original intent to learn and improve?  If so, 10 pages of reading daily will have a far greater impact than committing to 50 pages and not reading any because it's too hard.  Make sense?  

  I'm all for challenging our comfort zones and seeking to grow, but too often we try to emulate what we think others are doing, and we end up wearing ourselves out and not getting anywhere.  As the old adage says, "slow and steady wins the race."  If you take big leaps but do them infrequently (50 pages once a week) vs. small steady steps (10 pages daily), you will end up much farther ahead with the easier and more consistent routine.  

  This week, if you are feeling overwhelmed or struggling to maintain all the habits, routines and demands you have placed on yourself, it might be time to go back to the basics.  Ask yourself what your original goal was, and see how you can tailor a more manageable plan that may even get you there faster because it's easier to stick with.  "Go big or go home" may have a nice ring to it, but when it comes to our day in, day out routines, we are much better off with those small baby steps every day, inching closer to the people we desire to be.  Start from square one and take those small steps today, friend.  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K. L. W.  

Simple (Part 2)

   Good Morning Friends!  I know I talked to you a few weeks ago about keeping things simple, but I want to bring it up again, because it has been on my heart.  We complicate our lives so much, always looking for the newest, best things, but often the answers are simple.  Drink water, eat whole foods, sleep, move your body, celebrate the little things. 

  So often we are distracted and kept from doing things that would help us because we feel we can't meet someone else's perfect formula.  Take for example, diets.  I can't even tell you how many diets I've tried over the years.  Don't eat this, only eat that, work out this many times a day.  I have bought ridiculous amounts of groceries only to have them go bad at the end of the week because I got tired and gave up by Tuesday.  And all of these things didn't make me healthier.  In fact, they only made me feel worse about myself for being a "failure." 

    I've done workouts that I hated, and I've pushed my body to exhaustion and frustration, but the truth is, I feel at my best when I just do twenty to thirty minutes of yoga.  And I eat well and feel great when I just buy fresh meat and veggies and keep it simple.  Grilling some chicken and asparagus, cooking up a steak with some broccoli, or some fish and green beans.  There's no counting, measuring, and complicated recipes.  Simple.  And while I'm not a doctor or nutrition expert, I'm pretty sure that eating more vegetables and fresh meat and not stressing myself out at every meal is better for my health than complicated formulas, measuring and counting, and elaborate meals. 

  It seems we are always looking for the newest and best this or that to make our lives suddenly come together.  We want to look and feel "successful" in some illusionary definition of the word. In reality, the answer is probably much simpler than we think.  Read that book.  Take a walk with your spouse.  Eat the vegetables. Save the $10.  You don't have to make things overly complicated.  Being busier and more stressed out than anyone else doesn't prove anything.  Look for ways to make life simple.  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.L.W. 

Breathe

   

  Hello Friends! If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that life throws you curve balls. Even the best of intentions and well laid plans can go awry. I spent the last week in beautiful Florida, escaping the cold Pennsylvania winter and getting some much needed relaxation and restoration. After a few days of blissful yoga, meditation, healthy meals, and plenty of time to read and write, I thought sure I had it figured out. 

  Fast forward to today. I went to bed last night ready to adopt my new vacation mindset, and was woke up this morning by a family member needing to go the hospital. There went my perfect plan. No yoga or meditation, no long morning with my book and a coffee. And to top it off, my son forgot to take his coat to school. It’s 29 degrees out. The best laid plans...all up in smoke. 

  This is not a pity party though. The truth is, when you develop a mindset of peace and an attitude of grace and gratitude, it’s a lot easier to go with the flow and not let these bumps throw you. I may not have had time to meditate, but because I’ve learned how to breathe and center myself, I can use that even in stressful situations. I might not have had time for coffee and reading, but I know that God hears our prayers and I can seek his presence no matter where I am. 

  If your life feels a little off course or isn’t going according to plan today, don’t sweat it. Look for small ways to incorporate the positive habits you use on your best days, and they will help you get through your worst. Breathe, pray, and move forward. I can’t wait to see you succeed! 

~K.L.W.