I struggle with heights, especially when there is nothing beneath me. I would definitely not make it as a tight rope walker.

So, it is quite ironic that a few weekends past, I found myself 50 feet in the air on a wire looking down at the people below me. It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time

I have been working on a little writing project over the past several months. I wrote, re-wrote, had it proofed and re-proofed and then I let it sit for a while before I took it to the shop to be printed. 

The day that I finally went to the print shop…. three days before I needed, I arrived with my project completely unformatted, so Tracy, the print specialist, worked patiently with me to make sure my project came out looking it's best. She gave me her opinions and even helped make decisions on color choices, all the time showing me great patience. 

The store was quite busy, so it would take about three days before I would have my project finalized, but I was thankful and grateful that she would be able to get my project done in time in spite of my procrastination.

After she finished taking my order and all the printing notes, she looked at me and said "Can I just thank you for being so nice, patient and understanding" It took me back at first. I explained to her that I was thankful that she was so patient with ME. I can be handful and a bit high maintenance as I am not the most savvy person when it comes to formatting projects. 

You see, the day earlier, Tracy dealt with a customer that wanted his project right away and when he did not get his way, he was apparently quite mean and brought this sweet worker to tears.

As I thought about our encounter, here is what I pondered... Tracy thanked me for being patient even though I did absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I simply treated her with respect and gratitude for the work she was doing. I didn't scream and I didn't yell because she couldn't have my project ready in one day.

It saddens me that we live in a society where, all to often, people are so self-focused, that when a person is simply civil to another human being, they are seen as extraordinary.

Friends let's bring the extraordinary back to a place of being simply and beautifully ordinary. Let's bring back words like "Please & Thank-you" when we are out in the world. Let's treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves.

And on those days when we slip, let's have the humility to go back and simply say "I'm sorry." And I, my friends, have had to do that on a several occasions.

Love you in the Lord,
​Mia

This weeks blog, is more like a fun infomercial, but hey, you may get a free prize!!

​ I don't know about you, but I love free stuff. This week I am excited to have the opportunity to give away something free to you! Well, 1 of you, actually. Whether you are male or female, I think you will like it. ok... guys....you may like it because you can give it to your gal and she'll think your awesome!

This week I am partnering with Our Pampered Home to be able to share a sweet gift with you. My sweet friend works for this company and she thinks it's swell.
​

I'm a pretty chill person most of the time, so when I slip into hyper slow mode, to the untrained eye, most people would have no clue that I am struggling. In fact, the changes can be so subtle, that even I don't know.

I have some deadlines from various places coming up and I have been on the road for some trips, some of which were expected and some that were not. These little events in my life start stacking up and before I know it, it turns into crunch time.

When I am stressed, instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I tend to procrastinate and fall prey to distractions, still unaware of what is going on until........

BOOM, my body starts screaming out "I'M STRESSED, HELP ME!" The screams come in the form of hives. Yep, because apparently it's the only way I will listen.

So here I am a few days before an event with ugly blotches on my arms.

But, here I am. Here I am ready to listen, ready to take a look at my priorities and focus on what is important, ready to be accountable, ready to press into God's strength and NOT my own.

Here I am...ready to fix my eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of my faith. 

Here I am, ready to Breath.

How do you handle stress? Do you recognize it quickly or do you need to get hit by a bus (figuratively) before you stop and re-evaluate.

What really helped me this time was sitting down with my husband and simply writing down all the deadlines and things I needed to get done. And you know what, it's not as bad as I thought. I saw more clearly those things that I could let go and those things that were important and now, I'm off to get 'er done (and go hiking)!

​Peace out friends! Don't forget to breath!
​Mia