Living the Good Life

"If we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first
believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ."

My Reflection

The way my mind works scares me sometimes. I can literally see something and a random thought pops up almost instantaneously. A thought that has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on around me. Take this picture of our Black-eyed Susans for example.  The first shot is of them in their prime and the second their final days. Their season of resembling weeds not their beautiful bouquet of early summer. I was amazed by how quickly the flowers went from making me say "Aww" to "Ohh".  (If this were a FB post, I would add a smiley face with the aww and a sad face with the ohh...I'm sure y'all understand.)

So then the random thought: "Life is a lot like these flowers, so I reckon we'd better live a beautiful and good life while we can...."

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Picture This

Memories and pictures of the past are just awesome. Allow me to go back in time for a quick visit to some things and people I still love. Take my dog Kelly; her memory still brings tears to my eyes - I can see her playing with the girls and bouncing around the house to greet me. She was one pretty sad looking mutt but so loved, by me as least. And then my parents; what a joy to remember them: Dad's last words to my daughter, the look in mom's eyes her last day on earth...I can still picture many friends and family in my mind. The decades of them being gone have only sweetened their memory. But, depending upon my emotional state, these memories will either bring a tear or a smile. But the joy is the same no matter my emotional outlet. Why? Because I choose to remember the good things in life. Have I forgotten the pain or loss? Not at all...but I would rather focus on the good things stored in my memory bank. Like the day my dad taught me how not to make a pie crust. The day my mom rolled down her car's window and called out to a random jogger. The days my friend Heather Dudley and I walked up and down Jordan Run Road laughing over too-sweet red Kool-Aid and enjoying her last summer here on earth. The final smile my brother-in-law John shared with my grandson Maddox. The good things in life that the rest will never have the power to overshadow. And so is life. It is full of choices. Full of of good. Full of evil. But how we choose to remember, what we choose to remember, is entirely up to us. How we choose to live our life, creating a habit to do good not evil, serving God as best we can, living a good life, these are also choices. And important ones.

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Fast Forward to 2016

Each day we have to choose how we are going to spend our days. Will we create affirming environments, or positive energy, wherever we go? Will people actually want to see us instead of running in the other direction? Our choice ultimately boils down to this: are we going to live a life that reflects Christ in all we do, all the time? Can we create habits that reflect the lifestyle of Jesus? These are choices nobody can make for us. It is our life, our story, and only we can write it.  We can choose to focus and remember the negative that life tosses to us, get all down-in-the-mouth because time is passing us by, or we can choose to focus on the good days we have left instead. We can wallow in self-pity and guilt or we can stand up, brush ourselves off, and continue on a better path. 

As their life coach, I give my Neighbors a shocking news flash: "What others think of you is none of your business." And I believe that...but what I hope they remember me saying afterward, after recovering from that shocker, is this: "But how you live your life is your business and your responsibility!" 

Choosing to serve God by living a life that reflects Jesus Christ is a habit with eternal rewards - habits we form on purpose, then become easier, and eventually best described as the way we are built. Not religious obligation but a lifestyle that we perfect over time. Here are just a few Christ-like habits that are important for living a good life: A habit of serving others first; a habit of smiling to strangers; a habit of actually praying for FB friends when they request prayer. Creating a habit of doing what is right for the sake of doing what is right. And the results? A happy heart! A posthumous life that decades past, still brings smiles and an occasional tear...but always joy.  I love Psalm 16:9 (ESV):  "Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure." 

Today I encourage you to develop a habit of serving God and others through a Christ-like life and I pray you realize the importance of living The Good Life.

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Have blessed Wednesday y'all.

In Christ with love and compassion,

Coach Kelly

#YourLifeCoachingWV; #BeyondTheMirror; #WVStrong