Friday night, I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the FlameFest Ball (an event for wives whose husbands are firefighters). I was excited about this event — and especially excited to get to speak at a ball!
I was looking forward to my presentation and had fun getting dressed up for the event (I wore a dress I got from RueLaLa, shoes I got from Zulily, and jewelry Jesse bought for me for 70% off at Kohl’s — gotta love frugal fashion!). I walked down the hall from my hotel room to the ballroom feeling very confident and stoked.
And then I stepped foot into the ballroom.
As I saw all the couples dressed in their finest, my former confidence disintegrated.
What do I have to offer these incredible folks? All around me were strong and muscular men who willingly risk their lives fighting fires. Next to their sides were equally strong women who endure long days and lonely nights while their firefighter husbands are on duty.
I looked at the strength and courage represented in the room and felt very small. Who was I to be standing on stage delivering a message of hope to them?
I’d been asked to share a message on saying goodbye to survival mode. The conference coordinator knew exactly who I was and what I was about.
She knew I didn’t have a long resume or heroic acts of bravery attached to my name. I’m just a regular mom who hit rock bottom in her own life and found a lifeline of hope and practical steps to take to no longer live life stuck in that pit of survival mode, but to instead live a life of passion and purpose.
And so, I had a choice in that moment: I could choose to be swallowed up by fear and self-doubt. Or I could choose to go up on that stage and give it my all, praying that the words I shared would be impactful to those in the audience.
As I was getting mic’d up, I whispered to Liz (who travels with me), “I feel so out of my league, but I’m going to go up and give it my all.”
And that’s exactly what I did. I left all those feelings of fear and insecurity behind, asked God to fill me up with courage, and then I went up on that stage and owned it.
When I came down off the stage, I knew that it may not have been the most eloquent talk ever, but I’d given it my all. And it felt so empowering.
Sometimes, courage is just showing up and giving it your all.
Wherever you are in life, whatever you are facing, can I encourage you to show up and give it your all? To not let fear, insecurity, and self-doubt own you but instead for you to own whatever “stage” you are called to stand on right now?
Maybe your “stage” is investing in your kids and marriage, or reaching out to the needy in your community, or writing a blog post, or loving a difficult person, or serving at your church, or being the best employee you can be, or studying for your summer classes… or a million other things. But whatever it is, show up and give it your all.
There will always be those voices (literal or imagined) that will whisper in your ear, “That’s not good enough.” Or, “So-and-so does a better job than you.” Or, “You’re not qualified.” And on and on it goes.
And now I get to go into my summer reprieve — which I’ve been so looking forward to! I’m all about working hard, but I’ve also learned that seasons of rest are so very important. And the hard work makes those seasons much sweeter and rewarding.
I pretty much didn’t accomplish much of anything on my goal list last week, but it was a good week and many good lessons were learned and memories made, so I’ll take it.
9. Shoot two videos for an upcoming media project.
10. Finish all the details and writing the copy for an upcoming product launch.
How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
We're focusing on developing the habit reading more. I grow and learn so much through the books I read — which is why I included this as part of the 12 Months to a Healthier You challenge. I think filling our mind with good things can transform our whole life — from the inside out.
I'm also hoping to keep up with January's habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February's goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March's goal of drinking 8 glasses of water a day, April's goal of cutting back on sugar, May's goal of getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night, and June’s goal of sticking with my morning routine
This Week's Progress:
So far, I’ve only read 2 books, but I was also traveling and out of town, so I’m hoping that I’m going to be able to step it up with reading now that I’m going to be home more the rest of this month. We’ll see!
I hit my water goals six of the days, ate a salad six days, got an average of 7.5 hours of sleep (yay!), did a fairly good job of sticking with my morning routine, and had dessert twice. The only area I really bombed was exercise — I didn’t exercise one single day. Yep, bad, I know. But I aim to change that this week!
How Are YOU Doing?
Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you're blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below. Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
