DAY SIX

Renewal Day.  Taking time to refresh and breathe and re-examine my 100-day priorities has been my focus for today.  I feel as if in the past I have focused my ATTENTION on things I want that just might not ever come into my life.  Time for that really unwanted but completely necessary reality check!  If I want SERENITY in my life, the balance of joy, I must be grateful for what I have and stop focusing on what I don't have.  I'm not saying I plan on turning my back on my dreams, goals, or what I want for myself.  I only think I have been spending too much time being unhappy because I've been misdirecting my attention unnecessarily.  My new INTENTION is to focus my gratitude on my current blessings and gifts, by accepting and cultivating myself as I am, not what I wish I was.  To put this into ACTION, I plan on taking more "me" time than I have allowed myself in the past.  Joining with the journaling and blogging I already do, I plan to meditate on becoming my most positive and satisfied self.
I really want to find ACCEPTANCE in myself.  At the core of this challenge, this is what I want.  I can achieve nothing (none of my "balancing my life" goals) until I find the balance within myself.  Working from the inside out!

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.  Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen." -Reinhold Niebuhr  

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." -Proverbs 3, 5-6

"Personal core values describe qualities that are absolutely necessary for your integrity, your wholeness and satisfaction, as a person. With a knowledge of your values in hand, you can more easily lower the stress in your life, you can clarify your life purposes and motivations that will bring you to action. To put the list to use in looking at your life, think of your life as a pie. Divide the pie into different pieces: family, career, social, spiritual, physical/health, and financial. Taking your list, consider each piece of the pie and your roles and actions within it. Are you acting from your personal core values in each piece of pie?  Think of ways of being and actions that you could take that would allow you to live more fully from your values in each slice of your life." -sserenity.wordpress.com

My Core Values:

1. My Faith. Jesus Christ is the center and foundation of my life.

2. Family & Friends.  The people closest to me are my support system.

3. Learning. I strive to enrich my life with knowledge.

4. Love. I will play the game of life with all my heart.

5. Hope. I have deep and profound faith in the goodness at everyone's heart and in happy endings.