Luck/Risks

I recently read in Psychology Today that there are actually "Lucky" people. Well, kinda.

I'll explain.

The article is called Make Your Own Luck by Rebecca Webber. Just a quick excerpt. "People who spot and seize opportunity are different. They are more open to life's forking paths, so they see possibilities others miss. And  if things don't work out the way they'd hoped, they brush off disappointment and launch themselves headlong toward the next fortunate circumstance. As a result, they are happier and more likely to achieve their goal."

Enough said right? No?

I am "lucky" to have these types of people in my life. I have them in my life because I am not one and want to be one. If that makes sense. (Side note: I think we make better friends with people who are compatible to us and offer something we don't, of course we bring something to them that may be needed also.) I have a friend who has had many jobs and tons of friends. There is never a closed door or window at the same time for her. There is always an opportunity waiting to be taken and she seems to have a sixth sense for them.

Me? Because I am the previously mentioned procrastinator, I have to think a while before making decisions. My mother recently asked me to go to a certain church group at a church we have never been to. It was four days away. We were both ready to go up until about fifteen minutes prior. I called her and told her I just couldn't bring my self to go. My excuse? I haven't had time to think about it. Yeah.

I'm sure it is much more than I can see myself and one day a therapist can tell me what my real problem is, but for now ...

So surely, you can see why this article has me motivated. If I were open to more ideas, then I think I would definitely have better "luck", karma, blessings, whatever. I might see what it is that's right in front of my face and not wait around. I come from a family of planners and so it is very hard to be spontaneous or take risks, because really that's what this article is about to me. Taking a risk. Getting out of my comfort zone. Not looking before jumping. I just don't do those things. I am a known researcher before doing anything. (Yeah, I checked out every little detail about that church...So?  Tis what I do.) 

There are a ton of things I want to do and at this point I need to start taking the opportunities instead of thinking 'it will never happen to me'. We all do this right? No matter what it is. We don't bother putting our names in the drawing box at the grocery store because we're already sure we've lost the case of Pepsi and a cooler. We don't bother going to a function where it is 90% people we don't know because we're too worried about what they might think. So we don't even give ourselves a chance. It's Ridiculous! And, frankly, I'm done with it. I want to try to win the Pepsi and a cooler. I want to put myself out there and make a new group of friends.

I'm motivated people!!

So, throw it my way. Give me something to do. Give me some suggestions for my first steps. I also want to hear how you deal with risks/"luck". Are you open minded? Do you seize opportunities at hand? Do you have issues taking risks and if so what kind?


(I keep typing "luck" because I don't really think there is luck, more of a state of mind, if you will.)

God Showed Up

A couple months ago I was trying to simplify my kid’s room. Background story: We live in a 1000 sq ft apartment. Two bedrooms. We have enough stuff in our home for six – ten people. Four kids worth of stuff is jammed into one room. Craziness? Yeah. We are officially on the road to buying our first home.

Anyway, all I have for the kids in their room is a dresser and a small side table (Along with the beds, of course.) I decide I must have a small bookshelf and a small dresser. I go to Walmart and Target to price some, then start thinking about the plastic roll around dresser that people usually use for their crafts and such. Within the next couple days I hit up the flea market and find this bookcase priced at $25. It’s a pale yellow and is missing a shelf. A guy comes over to help me and says, ‘I’ll take $15 since it’s missing the shelf.’ I didn’t really want the shelf anyway! ‘I’ll take it!’I exclaimed in my head.

So that night I’m still worrying about what I’m going to do for a dresser. I had set this day up for organizing and felt like I hadn’t accomplished it. My mother in law then shows up at the door with this.

She said she found it by the dumpster. It still had the sticker on it, it was so like new! I couldn’t believe it! After cleaning it I loaded it up and set it in the kids’ room very satisfied. It was just what I needed…and FREE!

I know this may seem small, but to me it was huge. At this point I didn’t really have a lot of money to spend on something like these two items. I guess you could say it wasn’t in the budget. I really needed to do something about these kids’ room so that they had access to play with their things without it becoming a danger zone. Then when I least expect it…God showed up. He provided for me. For anybody else it would not have meant as much as it did to me right then. And only I would be able to see it for what it really was.

I am so thankful for a loving God who knows that nothing is too small to show me that He cares, that He hears me, and that He wants for me too. I have kept this little picture on my phone just as a reminder that he cares even about the small things.

My question to you: How does God remind you that you matter to Him? Any testimonies?