Daily Wisdom Words

                                                         FAITH

How strong is your faith, and what/who do you place your faith in?

If, your first instinct is to answer yourself, I ask you to re-evaluate everything you believe in, OR, Don’t.  When we stop being open to new ideas, we stop growing, inside.

There is the Webster meaning of “faith”, and there is my definition.  Before I share what I believe, I by no means, believe, I have all the answers.  I have an opinion, but I do know, in my heart, that something much more powerful than me, I call God, lives within me, and he, is my inspiration behind my daily writing.  My number one hope with this writing, is that someone will have FAITH in these daily words, and will feel better because they read them, or gain some insight or perhaps a new perspective with anything they may be struggling with. 

FAITH      =       Fostering   Adornment    In    The   Heavenly

This is my acronym for faith.  Worshiping.  Remembering who is first, in our lives, our creator.

I have been in some pretty scary situations in my life, and without faith, there is no way I would not have been overwhelmed with fear!  For instance, financial difficulties……..Every bit of the worry I placed in wondering, “how will I pay this”?  I’ve found, is all a waste of time, as long as I am doing everything Humanly possible, rather than worry, I have faith.  I do, foster adornment in the heavenly by praying.

I know for all of us, what we can see, smell, touch, taste, hear;  those are things we have “evidence” of, that are real.  Have you ever seen a magic show and watched a great magician pull off a trick, and you wondered, how did he do that?  What I SAW, was certainly different.  HOW did he pull that off?

God, I believe, operates in a similar way, but he is so much more important then a magician’s trick.

He is everywhere, and everything, he is the past, the present, the future, and what we stand on every day, and who we are, was all created by God.  I truly feel so sorry for those who don’t believe or have faith in anything bigger then themselves.  I have found, the more “scientific” ones background, the more difficult it is, for them to have faith.  Again, they SEE how things work, on a scientific level.  Who ever said, God didn’t create science?  There are many famous scientists that believe, the way the world was created, goes hand in hand with the Lord.

Life can be so very lonely at times.  Most of us, have felt down or depressed from time to time.  I only ask you, to remember this:  It is hope and faith and the possibility of change, that restores our mindset when we are feeling “out of control” of our tiny place in this world.  Guess what?  We are not in control of what happens, when it happens, what odd surprises pop out from time to time, when something happens we least expect, or how it happens.  We just think we are. 

There are no coincidences in LIFE.  If you read the other Wisdom Word posts I have written, they tie in with this one.  In other words, I have faith that someone out there, will not just read this post, but they will find it interesting enough, to read the others.  I have FAITH that God has me writing for a reason. 

I lost my career, and for a little while, about a year, I lost my faith.  I thought there was nothing productive I had to offer this world or nothing productive I could do to feel good about me.  It is also important, we have faith in our abilities, but what is more important?  Using those abilities to help others, and Most important?  Remembering who gave those abilities to us:  God

We first, and foremost, have faith in where those abilities, came from.  God…He, through a series of surprise twists and turns, took me in this direction.  I hope, what your reading offers you, just that! HOPE, and FAITH, and when your prayers are answered, remember to Foster adornment in the Heavenly:  in other words, thank the Lord, for all the good in your life, and change your “perspective”, on the bad things that happen to all of us.  There is always a lesson to learn from those bad things.  Learn it.  Live life to the fullest, and be prepared for the fact that you aren’t in “control”.

Just when you think, nothing will fix where your at or what the problem is, some miracle happens, and it is fixed.  Believe.  Please, have FAITH.  SLA Wisdom Word for your day

                                                 FAMILY

                                             CHOICE

                                                             CONFIDENCE

Are you a self confident person?  What does confidence mean?  One definition in the Webster: 
A state of self assurance; Bold.

My definition:  believing in yourself        The aura you emit, NATURALLY, to others.  A feeling, internally, of belief in your abilities, and who you are as a person.

To believe in yourself, fully, you need to believe in something bigger than you.  In my opinion,
that is God. 

How do we believe in ourselves?  We gain strength from giving to another, doing things for others.
I believe that is one way we can build our confidence.  Another way we build confidence, is
to reflect within.  We ask ourselves what we can DO, and focus on that, instead of focusing on what we can’t.  We make a list.

I would love to tell you, I am a confident person, all the time.  I am not.  I look at others and some seem to reflect confidence, all the time.  I have found for myself, when I need to find that confidence from within, write down all of the attributes I have;  ten positive things about me, and  also a list of what my accomplishments are.

I also pray.  I pray to God to give me the confidence I need, for a particular conversation I need
to have with another, when perhaps communication broke down, and I need to make amends.
also,remember all those loved ones that believe in you.  They ask you for an opinion and they ask you, because they have “confidence” in the advice you can offer.
Most Importantly, remember to believe in yourself, and remember what you can do, and you
will feel confident, and that confidence, will humbly, gracefully, naturally, will reflect to you and others, you are a person who exudes CONFIDENCE.  SL

                                                  WISDOM WORD FOR 6-18-13
                                                               Extraordinary

In this life, we begin as a child, brought in the world, who doesn’t have a clue as to what the
future holds.  And then, we grow up, and in our teens, we are taught to begin to mold what
our future should be.

How do we begin to figure this out?  First, we hear what our parents want us to be, in some cases.
In our minds, some of us imagine, we will be something exceptional, perhaps a movie star, and dreaming is all we do.

Then, we graduate high school, or perhaps we do not.  Funny, if you read what I have just written, although we do have many outside influences, life, is a series of choices.  Every single choice made
in your life, as a teenager, and then, at 18, technically an adult, is formulated with each individual choice.

The sad thing is, once we’ve made a choice, and begin to live with the consequences of that choice, we can never go back and change it.  We cannot GO BACK.  Often times we have regrets.

I look at my life.  There are some Big choices and Little choices, I would change, if I could.

I want you to ask yourself today:  What does it take for me to be extraordinary?  Am I extraordinary?
Being extraordinary is a different definition with all of us depending on who we are and our personal skill sets.  When evaluating where we are at,  although we can’t go back, and change
some of the choices we would like to, to make our present different, what we can do, is evaluate
more carefully what choices we make in life to be extraordinary. In life, whether your consciously aware of it or not,  we do our best to make choices which in the long run, will make us just that!

I believe, its very simple.  God made all of us to be extraordinary.  He can guide your choices, through meditation and prayer.  To me, being extraordinary, is being, yourself, heart and soul, and never trying to be someone you are not.

So, I ask you today, when making any choice, to use this wisdom word as a way to move in a  forward direction always, to extraordinary. 

Extraordinary doesn’t mean you have super powers, or your a famous actor or a marathon athlete, for most of us.  I think “extraordinary” can be achieved every day in our lives by doing the things that make our soul, content.  Most often, it is those people, who have made a poor choice, with terrible consequences, that can stand up, realizing their mistakes, and the people who are strong enough on
the inside, to dust themselves off, after a tumble in life, get up, and not only fix their mistakes from the poor choices, but become a better person because of it.

How do we do that in the midst of paying the consequence of poor choices?  We become, extraordinary.  We, not only learn from our mistakes, we make new choices in the present, and grow as a person on the inside, and develop wisdom to grow towards what in life makes our presence in this big world of ours, extraordinary.

Are you extraordinary?  I believe we all can be.  We all make poor and good choices, throughout our lives which is a series of them everyday, but do they lead us to become the wiser, and stronger, and most importantly “grow”, for our present, and our future.  SL

          Wisdom Word 6-17-13        AUTHENTICITY

Each and every one of us have special, unique traits that make us who we are.  These traits are our
skill sets, our abilities, the way we act, look, and think, there is always something that makes us unique., and most importantly, who we are on the inside…

I thought of my daughter when writing this blog because she is the definition of authenticity.
She is” herself”.  When I say that, I mean, she knows her skill sets, knows her special God Given
talents, and remains humble and open-minded, without compromising her personal beliefs.

What makes you authentic?  Do you know?  Have you ever pondered over what you can or cannot
do?  Perhaps you can knit, sew, build a deck, cook French cuisine, make someones day, compose music, or perhaps you like to write, like me.  Do you know?

My daughter does know her skill sets, and who she is at 22 years old.  She is also aware that life
changes, and so will she.  She doesn’t, however try to be someone she is not.

She may see a quality in another, and admire, but she doesn’t try to mimic it or, on the other hand,
make fun of it.  She appreciates, the fact that we are all different.  I admire that so much in her.

Then, my mind goes to the word, “generic”.  We become, Generic in our ways, if we spend our time
trying to be someone we are not, instead of “discovering” what makes us, unique.

I know, even 5 years ago, I didn’t dream or expect I would be writing this blog.  You see, I was
using another God Given skill and wasn’t opening my mind, to all the possibilities of who I am.
However, life changed, and with it, my circumstances.

I no longer could use that skill set, and I prayed, and prayed, for God to lead me in a new direction.
One day, I LOOKED in front of me, and there stood my daughter, having a conversational debate, and I watched, as she stood her ground on what she believed in, without offending or compromising her integrity, and at the same time, she was respectful of the other persons opinion.

Where am I going with all this?  I noticed, my daughter was authentic.  She, at that moment, showed me my answer of what I still could do, and that, was to share with whoever might read this, my authentic ism, through another skillset that made me unique, completely different from my previous one.

I dug inside myself and remembered I loved to write, poetry, and perhaps I may have taught my daughter to find her skillsets, but that day, she taught me I hadn’t explored all of mine, and I had an opinion too!

I hope you will appreciate my “take” on the word, authenticity.  SL

Wisdom Words for 6-15-13 by Samantha LeBoeuf             EGO

                                        EGO

We all, as Freud said, have an Ego.  Today, I am going to share with you, my opinion of the Ego.  I have an acronym I’ve
created, for the EGO: Emitting God Ourselves
 Why do I use these words to explain, the definition of Ego?

For me to explain that, I am going to get Webster’s help with the definition of the words, and put them together, so you can hopefully understand
my thinking.  Webster’s definition of ego:  The self, as distinguished from others.  Ego also serves as the conscious mediator between the person and reality. (summation)
My definition of our egos in control of our lives and our being, to the extreme.
Emit-ting:  To give off, or out.  To put into circulation.
God:  The meaning of Love and life;  he created our heart and soul
Ourselves:  Sad, but we at various points in our lives, or all the time, are try to run the show, and believe we are “in control”..

Ego, is a very tricky part of our personality.  We need some of it as it does interact with self esteem, self worth,  and yes, our reality, but, it does not GIVE you all of those things.  All it does, is help you “present” to the outside world, the make-up you wear on your face.  The ego helps us emit the idealized part of ourselves, and hide our insecurities.  ( we all have them, whether we admit it or not) and the part of us, we feel is missing from our reality.
we feel is missing.

Why do we use it?  When we are trying to control things in our lives, or feel out of control, or completely IN control.  Imagine how a Surgeon feels when he does a successful heart surgery, or a Physician saves a patients life, or perhaps, someone such as Bill Gates, the Founder of a multi-billion dollar corporation.

There is a big difference with goal setting and organizing, and planning your future.  When we play the role of God, however, we are acting as the Compass.  God wants us to draw the map and have goals, and dreams;  However, he needs to be the one steering the direction your life takes.  How much EGO do you operate off of?  When we love ourselves, more than we love God, we are exhibiting our ego.  When we play Controller as we live our lives, we again, are operating off of EGO.

The opposite word of EGO?  HUMILITY.  The best definition of this?  My son.  He is very successful in life, and always has been, and does very well for himself at 25 years old, and I have to be careful, because he has so many accomplishments, and he wouldn’t want me saying more than that.

I  asked him earlier,  if he minded if I used him in my blog.  His reaction?  “Mom, please don’t say any specifics”.  He is extremely humble.
He does not need to cover up his personality or create his reality, or feel in control, or brag about his accomplishments.  These wonderful traits are exhibited through his actions, and kindness in life.  He is able to operate from a position of strength, without “flexing his muscles”. (I am a little skewed, Lol)

  Lets all take a moment and ask ourselves, where we’re at with our ego.  Do we understand egotism?  Do we believe humility is the best reflection of true success?:  Finally, Do we believe success lives within our hearts and souls, not the amount in our checking accounts?  SL

Wisdom Words 6-14-13  Samantha LeBoeuf

                   COMMUNICATION

Communication…..What does that word mean to you?  Out of every possible thing we have as a tool in a relationship with anyone, be it professional or personal, “Communication is the Key”

It literally operates as a KEY to open doors throughout your daily life with anyone.  Ask yourself  2 questions:  What can I do to improve all my relationships?  Is there a relationship that needs mending, or is broken?

Go back in your mind, re-tracing the words said, throughout your relationship, conversations you’ve had, and you will be able to unlock the door to the problems and the root of where and when they started and ended or what led to the relationship you could improve, and how the relationship has manifested because of this.

My sister has always taught me to be careful with my words.  Of course, she was my little sister, who is now a woman, but her advice comes in handy when I am looking for answers.

First and foremost, take time to think.  Make a list of the positives and negatives in the relationship.   Think of your history, and be as objective as possible.  Is it a relationship healthy and worth saving, if your working on a broken one, and the same method below is used for your professional relationships that are broken as well, or just need mending.

Isolate the problems in the relationship.   after you’ve located the specific problems in the broken relationship, you then, can   list them on paper, clearly and concisely, one by one and ask yourself, what part in this problem do I own, and what role have I played in the mistakes made, and what is my part?  BE ABSOLUTELY HONEST with yourself, or this remedy will not work.

When you know what your part is, it is time to decide HOW you will initiate communication.  I prefer face to face conversation, but that is not always the best avenue to take.  In your heart, you will know what to do.
1.  Ask permission from this person to have the conversation, as this establishes boundaries, and shows respect.
2.  When you both meet, begin the conversation, laying out what you feel these particular issues are in the relationship and express your desire to mend it.
3.  Then, Really LISTEN to what they are “Saying and Conveying”.
As most of us have heard, ACTIONS do speak louder than words, so their message they are conveying, will help share with you what their feelings are.
4. Paraphrase, back to them, what you’ve heard them say, and acknowledge your understanding.
5.  Don’t be afraid to apologize!!  “Pride” has both positive and negative meanings, and Pride will stop many of us from being able to say, 2 infamous words, that mean         so much to another.  “I’m Sorry”.
6.  Compromise!!  If that relationship was worth doing all the things I’ve suggested, isn’t it worth, meeting them in the middle?
Remember:  In order to Mend, you must Bend!!  Allow yourself flexibility.  Your there to move towards a solution, not live in the past, with the problem.

My last suggestions?  Empathize with your partner in all interaction.  Make it a top priority.

You should also Know WHEN it is time to end a relationship, because, you may be willing to work for the relationship and the other person is not, or, it is a negative relationship in which your boundaries aren’t respected, and mutual love isn’t exchanged..

 We must all compromise for good, healthy relationships and our lives will flourish with love, abundance, and mutually healthy, positive relationships with another.  After all, isn’t that what life is all about?  Our connection with others?  Good communication skills equal Great relationships.  SL

LINES

Today’s Wisdom Words….

Lines…what does that word mean to you?  There are so many meanings for lines:..Fine LINE, Crossing the Line, Artist Lines, Lines in the sand, Parking Lines,  most important,are our Boundary lines, and finally,
the Bottom Line, which is this:  Lines that never should be crossed are our personal boundary lines.  Do you know your Boundary Lines?  Especially in your relationships, IE., friendships, love relationships, professional boundary Lines, and finally, the relationship with ourselves..

Where do we “draw the line” for ourselves?  Self respect, dignity, self worth, all are so very important, but how do we get these things???

Can we buy them?  No, they can’t be purchased, or borrowed and those are lines we must establish for us to have the self-esteem necessary to know when to draw the LINE.

God gives us those gifts, but we must establish how big or little that gift is for us as it should be the biggest gift, other than Gods Love, he has given us.

Self worth, is so important, believing in ones capabilities.  Every single one of us, has a bottom line with what they are comfortable with and that line should be respected by first, yourself.  Your “bottom line”.  Disrespecting your bottom Lines, equals low self esteem, self worth, dignity, self respect, and finally, self destructive habit patterns.

I recently was in a relationship, where I allowed myself to forget what my bottom lines are.  There is a fine line when its crossed but again, we all should be aware of what ours are, and God can help you through prayer, and meditation, to know what is acceptable and what is not for your bottom Line.

It doesn’t matter as of Today, yesterday is the past, so if you aren’t clear on your boundary lines, establish them, for  yourself:  Simply, ask yourself, what is my bottom line, and if you cannot answer the question, make a fresh start, and figure out what is acceptable for you, and what is not.

Start with questions like this:  Are the the relationships I have surrounded myself with, thriving,  positive, cultivating, growing? Are these relationships, a two way street with unconditional acceptance o, who you are, and loving you for that very reason, or simply lines with working relationships, that are clear and concise to you.

Please remember,  above all self acceptance is the key to your answers, and knowing, “your bottom line in life with all your relationships”, so they may flourish for each one of you, especially yourselves…….SL