Hello, friends! I think it’s time we had a little heart to heart.

I mentioned earlier that I have not been feeling too well. Not only have I felt like my body is fighting off illness and that all I want to do is sleep for 24 hours straight, but I have also felt on the verge of an anxiety attack and like something isn’t quite right.

Yesterday afternoon, Peter & I seriously discussed me quitting the blog.

When I have a passion for something, I go all out. You may have noticed that. You may also have noticed that I have a lot of passions.

I have a passion for my faith.

I have a passion for my family.

I have a passion for a healthy lifestyle.

I have a passion for sharing my story and blogging.

Most of the time, I can give 100% to each of those things without hesitation. Most of the time, I can juggle the responsibilities that come with each seamlessly. Most of the time, I have no problem and manage it all with a smile on my face.

Then, I noticed something. I give and give and give to each of those passions. Nothing brings me down for awhile. But inevitably, I crash and burn.

Peter and I took a closer look at this cycle and, it appears, about once every 3-4 weeks I reach that threshold and go from one extreme to the other. From having it all sorted out to barely feeling like I can keep my head above water. The water being the tears that drop from my eyes at nary a moment’s notice.

Whenever I reach this point, I doubt myself as a mother. Whenever I reach this point, a lot of my healthy habits break down – either with stress eating or feeling too exhausted to workout. Whenever I reach this point, I get angry with myself and lose patience with others. This can not and will not go on.

A lot of topics in my devotional readings, study groups at church, and even just in my heart during prayer, have really forced me to wonder about my own passions.

When looking at my passions, it’s obvious that 3 of the 4 are non-negotiable parts of my life. That left me negotiating the blog.

After much thought, I can’t deny any of those passions of mine. They each bring something to my life which I cannot give up on. So, I won’t. Yes, I still plan to blog. I simply have to analyze where I spend my time on the work and adjust as necessary – likely a lot of the behind the scenes and side work associated with it.

But that isn’t even the main point of this post.

This post is NOT another reflection on my blogging habits or a plea for feedback on what to do. It is not asking for comments to assure me to keep blogging.

If anything, this post is a plea from me to you. A plea to take a close look at your life. Really take the time to consider your goals. Pay attention to how you spend your time. Determine if you ever feel you don’t have enough to give to the things that matter most. This post is not a plea for my benefit. It is a plea for yours. A plea to live the life that matches your values.

Morning, friends!! It seems like the mornings just come earlier and earlier this week. That will happen when not getting as much sleep thanks to night time potty training. Oy! Plus, I keep feeling like it’s a day ahead. At least tomorrow is actually Friday.

About to head off to the gym now for some more treadmill fun. I plan on doing my recent treadmill interval workout again this morning since I had such a good time with it last week. It felt kind of weird printing off a workout from my own site this morning, but at least I can remember what to do in my sleepy fog.

Which reminds me – the “Print This” feature didn’t show up originally on last night’s two strength training workouts. If you were interested in those workouts and want an easy print option, I fixed it for ya!

How Do We Recognize Our Gifts And Talents In Life?

For the longest time, I would hear others talk about their passions or seem so naturally fulfilled by something they loved. It seemed like certain parts of their lives just flowed. They could somehow tune in so perfectly to their skills and really make a difference.

I felt like I stumbled through life, going through the motions, with nothing that I could call my own. Nothing that truly lit me on fire. Then came motherhood. And then came sharing my story.Then came the a-ha moment that I needed my decisions and actions to mesh with who I am at the core.

How do we even know what our gifts are? Our discussion in our adult study group this past Sunday focused on identifying two things:

Step One: What Comes Naturally To You?

• What do you enjoy doing?
• What do you spend your time thinking about that makes you happy?
• What can you do with ease while others seem to sometimes struggle?

Pay attention to those because they almost definitely add to your life, but also to others’ lives as well. Especially when you consider…

Step Two: What Do Others Compliment You On Often?

Really think about the compliments you receive most. They are people recognizing your natural talents! Strong organization? A good listener? Motivational? A creative mind?

The message we watched on this topic made a point that took my breath away:

Talk about a wake up call with that part of the discussion! I know I do that.

We don’t have to use our gifts as our careers. We don’t have to use our gifts every single day. But we should be in tune with them and leveraging every possible opportunity to use them. It will add to our lives.

I’m still learning myself, but I know paying attention to what ignites me and what I do well really helped me find me more and more. And I couldn’t be happier for where it has led me.

• What do you think are some of your gifts?
• Have you ever thought about dismissing compliments in that way?