Birthday Thoughts

Today's my birthday!

What a perfect time to write about perseverance! As I sit and think about my life, I would have to admit that I am very good at STARTING a task, but not so good when it comes to FINISHING a project.

So what does that mean as far as finishing each season of life well? Perseverance is a valuable but often overlooked quality in a woman, I think. Perseverance is what is needed to really make each year of your life count for something.

I have found two 'checkpoints' in my life that help me maintain perseverance.

The first is vision. As long as I can hold on to a vision that inspires me to keep going for my goal, I can persevere through the tough times. Without vision, it is easy for me to leave a task or a discipline behind.

The second 'checkpoint'is vitality. Perseverance requires discipline. Discipline brings vitality into my life because it means I am choosing my path. I need to be disciplined in my spiritual life, my physical habits, my emotional health and my mental state in order to experience vitality.

I have found if I grow weary in what I really want to do, I remind myself of the big picture-the vision-I have and that usually will encourage me to stay the course.

If the vision doesn't inspire me, it's usually because one of my disciplines are off-kilter. My spiritual life is dry. My physical body is in need of attention (more sleep, more exercise, better food, etc). My emotional needs are raw or my mental state needs some stimulation.

Birthdays are a great time to get a vision for the future. It's a great time make sure that all areas of my life-spiritual, emotional, physical and mental-are full of vitality.

The Bible says that perseverance produces character. That's what makes birthdays a perfect time to talk about perseverance. What better gift can you give yourself and your loved ones.