Episode #64 The Endurance Challenge. I Double-Dog Dare You.

 

I’m going to push you beyond your comfort zone!

A personal trainer will push you to endure more than you think you can in order to strengthen your muscles.

As a life coach, I’m challenging you in this episode to endure what you don’t think is possible to move beyond your obstacles and live what it is in life you’re too afraid to. Are you ready?

 

[su_spacer]

http://player.cinchcast.com/?platformId=1&assetType=single&assetId=7105131

Check Out Lifestyle Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Move Into Action on BlogTalkRadio

Listen now!

 

Stop avoiding your obstacles and get ready to tackle what stands in your way. Give this episode a listen and get ready for the challenge I give you at the end. I double-dog dare you to listen, make an action plan, and find the strength you never knew you had by taking one courageous step at a time.

Now, go!

[su_spacer size=”70″]

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My name is Christine Pechstein

I facilitate energizing atmospheres. Are you ready to create yours?

 

I’ve been best described as the Roman Candle of creative ideas and solutions to help people get beyond complex life problems. My specialty is facilitating energizing atmospheres in people’s life areas through coaching, training, preaching, and teaching. Through life and stress management coaching, I help people clear chaos from “too much” activity to quickly restore peace, organization, and focus in their life areas resulting in more time, energy, and resources for the things they value and cherish most. Are you ready for positive changes guaranteed to recharge your life?

Want more?

Get Happier. Live healthier.

Stop glorifying your crazy-busy life!

Download On Demand Life Management Tools and Videos Now!

See all Christine’s books, training, coaching, and tools for organizations here.

 

Hello?! Unwrap Your Gift!

Handmade gift wrap (Photo credit: erika g.)

I normally blog on Fridays. But today is an exception. It seems that I know of many people who are ill, have passed away, or are fighting hard to survive.

I just had this thought-a random thought. Sometimes this happens, and I have to share it.

So….

Right now, I want you to S T O P what you are doing. Just for 30 seconds.

And think….about your gifts. Have you unwrapped them? Have you taken them out to really contemplate what it is that you’ve been given? Let’s see…

You are a child of the living God. This alone is enough to take your breath away! Awesome that He gives it right back to you! Galatians 3:26-29

You were formed and fashioned by Him. Ephesians 2:8-10

In His likeness. Genesis 1:27

And you are here today…because He has given you life! And life abundantly! (Abundance is PEACE, HOPE, JOY, SAFETY, PROTECTION, ETERNAL LIFE…It’s not your bank account that makes your life abundant in Christ!) John 10:10

And not just life for however many years you’ve been here…..but He’s given you life TODAY. Job 33:4

T O D A Y! Are you standing on your head in excitement that you have the gift of TODAY? This moment?

Have you unwrapped your gifts in today? Or are you sitting there looking at them?!

Unwrap today! It’s a gift you might not see tomorrow!

Thank Him for it!

Live it! Use it!

Do something with what He’s given you…TODAY!

Share hope! Encouragement! Peace! Forgiveness! Love and whatever else He’s blessed you with.

Unwrap your gifts daily and live it up!

Be thankful and joyful, living in thanksgiving daily. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Unwrap your blessings and share them with others…

REGIFT your GIFTS….and have a pleasant day!

How can you unwrap what you have and share it—gifting yet someone else?

A Day Early and I STILL Ran Late

All day today I seriously thought it was Wednesday. I know, that has not ever happened to any of you. (*wink *wink SURE!)

Wednesday (Photo credit: teachernz)

I had so many things going on that truly it was hard to remember where I was coming from and where I was going: ON TUESDAY! Today! I was uploading training, testing software and training, trying to record a final segment, had a car overheat in 105 degree weather and had to turn ON the heat to cool the engine while praying my windows would roll down (there’s a short in them-sometimes they don’t work), went to purchase an iced tea after safely pulling my car into the parking lot where my last meeting of the day was only to realize that I left my wallet at home….

Should I keep going?

My blog post today is REALLY late, but I am still on time. It’s STILL TUESDAY! (11:02pm-which means I have 58 minutes left of this day to enjoy and unwind!)

I guess my point today is this:

Life will test us. And not one little thing at a time. It’s likely a WHOLE bunch of things occurring ALL at one time. And we have a few choices in how we respond to those things. Todays lessons were a reminder in letting go of the things I can’t control. And embracing those things I can. I couldn’t control the engine on my car. But I sure could control my response.

And I chose to laugh.

Realizing I didn’t have my wallet to cool off with a cool drink was the icing on the cake so to speak. I realized that it was all good. These things in comparison to what else is going on in my life is nothing. I am HUGELY blessed. I am highly favored. God loves me. I adore my family. I can laugh over my PT Cruiser my kids now have named the PT Loser (this car has a history, LOL). And I can look forward to the rest of my day-53 minutes remaining now-and the hope I have for tomorrow.

My life is built around JOY. Not circumstance.

I am so grateful for my blessings and want my life to be about the PRAISES and not the complaints. I have a car to borrow tomorrow and while this hot weather continues. And my wallet is back in my purse. The best part? Despite my running late today and being so far behind even though I kept thinking I was literally a day ahead and into my Wednesday, I still have my Wednesday to look forward to.

I’ve had some real lessons lately on patience and enjoying the moments I’m in instead of rushing through them to keep a hectic schedule. And I’m really glad that I’m not too late to enjoy my Wednesday when it shows up…in 49 minutes.

So blessed by my life management skills. They are a total lifesaver;)

A Loaf Of Luvin’

Image via Wikipedia

Today in church our pastor started off with a thought, and it’s just stuck with me all day. It’s made me laugh, ponder, and think about numerous life areas. He was talking about showing our love after a song “Show Me Your Love”, and he spoke about how a man gives a woman gifts to get a reaction. I thought about it. And I contemplated why we do give those we love gifts. We do want to see how they react. Appreciative, excited, surprised, happy, or in some instances cold and non responsive.

Have we ever had that happen? We give a gift to someone and we had anticipated them loving it, but then we realize they really could’ve cared less? There was no appreciation, celebration or thankfulness? Of course we can relate this to our personal relationships and marriages. But where our pastor was going was this: God has given us gifts. He’s given us blessings. He’s given us salvation, freedom from the bondage of our past and forgiveness, yet how many of us have treated the gifts as though they didn’t matter? That just breaks my heart. As our pastor said this morning, God doesn’t force us to love him. He gave us the gift of love in so many blessings. But He leaves it up to use to show Him our reaction. Do we embrace it? Do we just ignore it? Do we not give it back? Do we just take it for granted? Is this how we love? Wow. It makes us think about love spiritually and within our relationships. What have our reactions been? And are we truly showing the reaction we want the giver of love (who ever it is) to see? If not, we’d better change it and quick, because love is on the line!

To live is to love. To live without love is like trying to breathe without air. That just came to me one day, and it’s something I love to reflect upon. We want our lives to change. We want to live with people who really care about us, fall in love, feel secure, grow and mature in love, but we treat love like it’s a loaf of bread. We let it sit out. We forget to tie the twisty-tie to keep it fresh. We forget how to enjoy it. After all, it’s just a loaf of bread, right? It is. Yet we forget it has many purposes, much like love does.

Love heals.

Love forgives.

Love embraces.

Love accepts.

Love gives.

Love appreciates.

And love bonds.

What do you want to be bonded to?

A loaf of stale bread? Or a life of love?

If we choose a life of love, we’d better get off our buns and show our gratitude and appreciation, and show our love in return. If we don’t, we’re just allowing it to go stale. It’s time to stop loafin’ and start lovin’.

If you want your life to change, embrace the love.

You’ve got some luvin’ to do.

Show me your heart:)

Uncool Is The New Cool

Image via Wikipedia

I volunteered with my youngest daughter for Hutch for Haiti yesterday, where we packaged meals with many other individuals in our community donating their time, money, and resources. When we walked in, my daughter didn’t put up much resistance until she realized she would have to wear a hair net for sanitation reasons and to keep hair out of the food. She fussed for a few minutes and made some funny faces to let me know of her displeasure, but with some coaxing and playfulness of those around her, she reluctantly put it on.

I began to notice how she kept scanning the crowd. She quickly looked down at one point and said in a startled tone of voice, “Oh my gosh, there is my TEACHER!” As she realized that people were too busy to notice her even being there, she resumed her packaging. A few minutes later, she saw a boy from her school and panicked again.

I inquired about why she cared so much. Bottom line, it was the hair net and apron she had to wear. She said it was uncool and she was popular. I had two ways to react as a parent and found two teachable moments in this scenario.

1. I was very upset over the selfishness that I zeroed in on. We spoke about the people in Haiti and what her time and service was providing. We talked about how the focus was NOT about her and how she looked, but rather saving the life of someone who was hungry, malnourished, and desperate for someone to care in the first place. In this country alone, we have enough food and resources to end world hunger. Yet, I found myself exasperated at the mentality of society, which I include myself in. I, too, quite often get hung up on me, my image, me, me, me. I found a way to not yell at my daughter or end the day in a state of frustration, and instead began a conversation with her over focus. It was a great reminder to me as well not to focus on myself, and focus on what I can do for others as I set an example for my kiddos.

2. I empathized with my daughter. I began to think about kids today who are considered “uncool”. They get teased, bullied, made fun of, and all sorts of other things when they are different. It seems that if there is any variation from society’s standard of cool, the kids (and even adults) quickly become outcasts. Thankfully, I turned this situation around by giving my daughter a reason to think about how she could use her popularity to become cool for doing what is uncool. I saw her popularity and being well-liked by so many people in her school as a blessing.  She can use it to influence others to do good and see Christ through her.

OH YEAH!!!

This applies to so many of us and not just our youth. What has God given us…talents, special abilities, gifts, resources, blessings, and even a simple passionate desire for world change, evangelism…the list can go on forever—

What can we do with these things that would be uncool to take a stand against what society considers cool to make a difference for the Kingdom?! If we as parents can teach our children how being uncool IS cool, we can launch them into becoming little missionaries all over the world that change the future for their generation and every single generation after them!

I don’t know about you, but that is just mind-blowing exciting to me! I am working with my daughter to design a t-shirt for people that says, “It’s cool to be uncool.”

I want to teach my kiddos the same things I have to remind myself of consistently. It’s cool to be uncool. And that’s what I want to cling to. Not what the world says. But what God says.

In our churches…

In our homes…

In the way we use our time and talents…

And how we utilize our blessings.

Be uncool.

The Blind Side of Necessities

Cover of The Blind Side

Tonight I watched The Blind Side, and it’s the third time I’ve seen it. But tonight I got to watch it with my teenagers. And while watching it with them, and listening to their comments,  I realized something I hadn’t thought about before.

We all have a blind side.

When the character, Michael, tells his soon to be adoptive mother Leah Ann (Sandra Bullock),   that “he’s never had one before,” she thinks he’s talking about his own bedroom as she puts the finishing touches on his room. Before his reponse of, “A bed,”  she is blind to the fact that he’s never had a bed before, much less a room of his own, a home, or a family. In her world, it’s something she never thought about. The boy had never had a bed before. In the movie, as she retreats to her own room to process his response and contemplate the fact that he’s never had the luxury of having a bed, it sunk in. This was HER blind side.

We all do this. We all have one. What we have we don’t think twice about in many cases. For the majority of us reading this, a bed is not a luxury item. It’s what we consider a necessity, so we give little thought to the ownership of one. And while it is a blessing, we can forget just how much.

Many people go without beds, and many have never had one.

Many people go without homes. Many have never owned one, rented one, or felt safe in one.

Many people go without a meal. Many have no food in a pantry or know where the next will come from.

If we simply realize that we all have a blind side, we can keep our eyes open for things we have and don’t give a second thought to that maybe another person could use.  We could share what we have to make a life altering impact for another human being. We could begin to see needs that normally wouldn’t stand out to us and meet them for people who desperately needs for us to see them in the first place. Our perceptions of the world and our personal desires would change if we could see all we really have and not take it all for granted or consider everything a bare necessity.

If we could learn to pay attention to our conveniences and  appreciate them in ways we are used to taking them for granted, we’d learn to find contentment in what we’ve been blessed with in life. And that contentment comes when our blind side is removed and we fully understand what it is we truly posses. After all, we all possess the power to have a positive impact on another human being in so many ways.

Once we begin to see what we consider necessities not as necessities, but as blessings, our blind side becomes perfectly clear and we can focus more clearly on the needs of others.

Black Friday Blessings

Image via Wikipedia

After writing my earlier blog post and spending the day with family, a few dogs, some sleepy ground squirrels, and a cat in hiding, I got to have a fairly typical Thanksgiving Day full of food, laughter, and “window” shopping through the Black Friday advertisements. And as I returned home to figure out where to place our Christmas Tree so it survives two cats with Jungle Fever and pretend loin cloths, I had the opportunity to reflect upon my typical holiday.

I thought about the blessings in my life. Specifically those that I am fortunate to have such as an abundance of food, cable TV, and a fork that only gets used to serve desserts. I am blessed with much more than I need. I really don’t need a dessert fork, but nonetheless, I count myself blessed to have one.  As I continued to contemplate on the nine million store ads, early store shopping times, and the dollar driven day planning I was barraged with all day, it became a Thanksgiving filled with disappointment. It was so easy for our family to go from visiting and telling stories, to reading the newspaper and watching commercials between the football games, and soon we were counting how many things we wanted to be in line for at 5am.

I quickly reminded myself that we do not need more. We definitely have too much if we have dessert forks that don’t get used. And I got to thinking about how our lives are centered around our constant lists of wants and desires, while in reality there is a world filled folks who didn’t get to have a typical Thanksgiving because of a multitude of factors.

Just from peeking into the lives of those around me:

Some people recently experienced the death of a loved one.

Some people  didn’t have food, and today was nothing different for them than the typical day in search of the only meal they may have all week.

Some people today are cold and have no coat, shoes, or warm place to sleep.

Some people today couldn’t travel to be with family, because they don’t have a car, bus fare, or gas money for travel.

Some people today were ill at home or in the hospital and couldn’t fix a meal for their families.

Some people have a spouse or relative serving in the military who couldn’t be together for Thanksgiving fellowship.

I could list things for an eternity. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t appreciate our blessings and not want them. But it’s so easy to stay focused on ourselves and only see what blessings we have and not give a second thought to those who don’t even have their basic needs met. And it’s just as easy to focus on ourselves to whine about what we don’t have instead of finding contentment in what we do.

So, here’s a challege:

As we wrap up our Thanksgiving feasts, our blessings large and small, and prepare for the next big race on Black Friday to acquire more blessings for ourselves and those we love who are probably already blessed in many, many, ways, let’s take our attention and focus it on what we can do for someone else.

While you’re out and about this weekend, while you are shopping, while you are searching for the last parking spot in an overcrowded parking lot, while you scour the aisles for the last coveted shopping cart, and before pushing someone out of the way to grab the last sale item on the shelf, consider how you can bless another person by allowing THEM to have what it is that you are after.

Bless someone with that one last parking spot up close and park way out in the wide open.

Bless someone by leaving your change for the cashier to apply to the person’s order in line after you.

Bless someone behind you by buying them a coffee at the drive-thru.

Bless someone by donating your clothing to a local soup kitchen where the items are GIVEN away free to those who need them.

Bless someone by looking for a way to get involved and donate your time just once per month in your community.

Bless someone by getting to know your very own next door neighbor simply by take them cookies.

Bless someone who can’t cook by taking a home prepared meal to them even if it is just Sloppy Joe.

Bless someone by praying with and for them.

Bless someone by smiling and being kind, and allowing them to cut in line ahead of you.

Bless someone by giving them a blanket or a hot meal.

Bless someone by treating them with dignity, simply because they are human and all people matter.

The blessing that you can be can go on forever, and you can become a blessing to the world with your life simply through your actions. And there’s no better way to start, than on black Friday, which is one of the most selfish days of the year. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for what we have. It’s about counting our blessings. But what we can’t forget is that in many ways WE ARE the blessing to another person who so desperately needs something that we have the time, talent, or funds to give them. Let’s just not get so caught up in our own blessings that we forget to be a blessing and find thankfulness because we can.

BE a blessing, and watch the blessings change your life.

 

 

Thanksgiving becomes Givingthanks

Image via Wikipedia

I got up this morning after a glorious ten hours of sleep (which is a gift in itself), to start the coffee and pet each of the animals on my way to the living room. Our cats were especially lovable so early in the day, and I think that’s because they were guaranteeing they’d get their turkey later in the day. I mean why else would they be so eager to rub their sleek coats around my ankles and purr like their was an award for the loudest? Forget the American Academy Awards for best musician. In my house, my cats were shooting for best new  Purrrrrcussion. Ok, that was corny,  and yes it worked. They’ll get plenty of turkey later. Sneaky felines.

I sat in my big chair and powered up my laptop, so I could say Happy Thanksgiving via Facebook to people  near and far, when I noticed something that distinctly caught my attention. Everyone was grateful for family, friends, food, provision, and blessings of all kind. I began to think about what blessings mean for so many of us. And in all the post that read Happy Thanksgiving, I began to see  the wording differently. In all of the Thanksgiving posts and blessings people were thankful for, I began to see:

Givingthanks.

As I thought about blessings and all the things I am thankful for, I pulled the two words, thanks and giving, apart and rearranged them to read, Givingthanks.

After all, isn’t it really that we count our blessings when we are GIVING thanks? Think about the word Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t we be giving thanks when we are giving and not just receiving? Do we really count our blessings when we receive blessings and then keep them to ourselves? Or do we give thanks for what we have been blessed with when we give and share with others what we’ve received? We give thanks when we receive gifts, provision, and blessings. But we can also give thanks when we are thankful for what we’ve received and then pass some of our thankfulness along to someone else by giving them a piece, portion, or small provision of our blessing. In that aspect, we can certainly be giving thanks by simply giving as well as receiving.

With Thanksgiving comes contentment and joy when we share our blessings. And then we truly begin Givingthanks.

Happy GivingThanks Day!!!

This is the first blog post of two. The second will be posted this evening, so stay tuned and Happy Givingthanks Day! But…you might want to start thinking about ways you can give thanks 😉 (hint, hint!)

Praises In Pickles

I was spending quiet time out on my deck with a home-brewed Starbucks iced-coffee and my favorite french vanilla creamer when I noticed it was getting really warm outside. I laughed at that, because it made me think that I must have REALLY been studying the word of God. I was in fact starting to break a sweat! Either that or His Word was making me uncomfortable which makes us sweat sometimes as well. It was neither though. It’s just really humid and hot outside!

I gathered my Bible, my empty cup, and pen to head inside where it’s cooler. I thought about how lucky I was to have a home with air conditioning to retreat to. Really lucky. But it wasn’t until I walked over to my refrigerator and opened it up to get my coffee creamer did I start to think about blessings. As I opened the refrigerator door, I thought about how blessed I am to have a way to keep my food cold and safe for my family. And then I thought how blessed I was to have food in it. But that wasn’t it. There was something more that grabbed my attention.

I have a full jar of cold pickles.

Seeing the pickles in my refrigerator brought on the praises.

Praise God that I do have a Bible.

Praise God that I can read it freely in a country that allows me to.

Praise God that I can take what I learn and share it as I teach and travel.

Praise God for my iced coffee.

Praise God for my french vanilla creamer.

Praise God for my Starbucks. (((Feeling really spoiled now.)))

Praise God for my refrigerator.

Praise God for the food in my refrigerator.

Praise God for pickles.

Seeing the pickles just stood out as something that goes beyond an every day blessing that I take for granted. Do I need the pickles? No. I stated thinking about how long they’ve been in there and how long it will be before I open and use them. They’re certainly not a necessity, yet I have been blessed. And the next time I grill burgers for my family, I will be sure to sing a praise to God because we have them.

We don’t need the pickles. But we have them.

I just want to make sure that we are giving praise to God and not just when he gets us out of a pickle.

I want to praise Him for what He provides that most times goes unnoticed.

Just A Picture

This is my six month old cat, Chunks. BIG KITTY! He is usually laying across my wrists as I type and work on the life management magazine and my blog. He makes a nice coworker, lol. The only draw back? His nasty wet mouse. He shares what he loves with me, but I guess that’s a good thing. Have an awesome, Monday. Blessings to all!

PS. Don’t overlook your blessings 😉 Even that nasty, wet, toy mouse is a blessing. Why? If I didn’t have that to deal with, I wouldn’t have my cat. Be grateful for what the Lord blesses you with!