Purpose, Practice, Pilates, Prayer and Persistance

It's not always easy to reach a goal.  After SIX years I have finally become a certified therapeutic horseback riding instructor with PATH international.   This was a big goal for me.  I did not ride horses as a kid so I had to start from scratch.

My journey started on my 50th birthday when I decided that I wanted to do "something" with horses.  I didn't have much extra money so I signed up to volunteer at EquiVenture in Russiaville, Indiana.  I really enjoyed helping there so I decided to become an instructor.

Spring semester of 2006 I signed up for a class in therapeutic horseback riding at Purdue.  I spent an interesting semester there and began taking serious steps to becoming an instructor.

Having a clear plan and goal as laid out by PATH(the organization that oversees certifications) really helped me get through the whole process.  Riding, studying, volunteering and more riding were all part of the process.

I had to ride, and ride and ride.  However, just riding was not enough.   I found that I had to work even harder by going to a Pilate's class and doing strengthening exercises everyday.  Then I took more riding lessons and continued to work.

 Then came the big certification workshop in September 2011.  I had passed both written tests, the teaching test, 25 hours of student teaching only to fail the riding segment. Failure is such an ugly word.  But there it was staring me in the face.  PATH does allow one retake for the failed component.

I nearly quit.  I was totally discouraged. Both Ginger,my mentor, and my husband encouraged me to stay the course and give it one more shot.  So I hung in there and resubmitted the riding portion of the test in October 2012.

I did a lot of praying and just kept working toward my goal.  Ginger, my mentor was wonderfully  patient and instructed me in both riding and horsemanship.  In January of 2013 I received my official papers that I had passed the certification!  Thank you Lord!

What are some of your goals?  What kind of difficulties did you overcome and how?

Just not my gig...

We often spend a lot of time trying to fix our weakness.  While I think that we should spend some time working on improving ourselves I think our time is better spent captializing on our strengths.  Our weakness' are often there for a lifetime.  We are all wired differently and should not expect to be good at everything. Weakness serve to keeps us humble.   We should not spend a lifetime working to "fix" what we are not made to do.  It is best to find out what you are really good at and then hone that gift. 

Here's a cool  Bible verse about this very thing.
"Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it".
1 Chronicles 15:22

"Train  a child in the way he is bent (natural gifts) and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6

What is your gift? 

Dissatisfaction vs. complaining...

There is a difference.
Chronic complaining makes you unhappy and negative. Nothing changes.
Some dissatisfaction with your life motivates you to press forward make changes. Things get better.
Your thoughts?

How to ...get a job.

1. Be a contributor. The sign says "Help wanted" not "Get your paycheck here".

2. Be nice. Look good, smell good, and display a good sportsmanship attitude.

3. Don't have a stupid e-mail address. Be extremely careful about what you post on Facebook. I know of several people that did not get the job because of what was on Facebook.

4. Listen to advice and get some help with your resume or interview skills.

5. Google "interview questions". Think over your answers before you go in for a face to face interview. What will you say when asked "why do you want to work here"? or what is your greatest strength or weakness?

6. Don't whine or complain about anything... especially your old job or boss.

7. Don't be a trouble maker. Employers have enough to worry about.

8. Be willing to learn, retrain, and try something new.

9. Determine what your assets are and then market them to the company that needs those skills. If you don't know what your strengths are get some input from someone who is wise and knows you well.

10. Take a minimum wage, part-time, or temporary position. This is likely a dress rehearsal for a more permanent position.

11. Apply lots of places.

Protecting your treasure.

We all have treasures! You need to give some thought protecting your treasure while you are on Facebook. Facebook is a PUBIC forum no matter what your privacy settings are set to. You must remember you are not in your living room talking to your family or on the phone.
You need to protect your:
Identity:This includes your name, photo, address, phone numbers, husbands and children's names and photos. How much do you you want strangers to know? It does not matter that your settings are set to "friends only". Anything that is posted is available to "others".
Home:Please don't post that you are going somewhere for the weekend. There are lots of clever bad people out there and you may find your flat screen TV gone when you get back.
Money:This goes with all of the above. If your house is robbed you could potentially lose your identity and your bank accounts could get cleaned out too.
ChildrenI do not post anything about my family. I don't claim my kids, nieces, nephews, siblings or husband. Anyone that I am friends with on FB already knows who my relatives are. I personally know a child molester. He is on FB in the shadows with a false city and state. I think he knows about me but I certainly don't want him to know about my children. Predators are out there and they do not have your best interests in mind. Makes my skin crawl just to even think about it.
Reputation
What do your posts reveal about you?
Are you negative?
Lazy?
Unproductive? Too much time on Farmville?
Bored? Desperate?
Depressed?
Family arguments?
Are you or your kids disrespectful to others?
Unemployed? (does the world need to know?)

If you signed a background check be aware that employers can get into FB farther than the average person. My employer hires this done by a independent company. Always assume that your post is being read by your boss or if you are unemployed by those that interviewed you. Many potential hires have been "weeded out" by their FB posts.

Be smart! "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold". Proverbs 22:1

The Lost Dr. Seuss Poem

I love my job!
I love my job, I love the pay!
I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss, he is the best!
I love his boss and all the rest.

I love my office and its location, I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and grey, and piles of paper that grow each day!
I think my job is really swell, there's nothing else I love so well.
I love to work among my peers, I love their leers, and jeers, and sneers.
I love my computer and its software;
I hug it often though it won't care. I love each program and every file.
I'd love them more if they worked a while.

I'm happy to be here. I am. I am.
I'm the happiest slave of the Firm, I am.
I love theis work, I love these chores.
I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job- I'll say it again-I even love those friendly men.
Those friendly men who've come today,
In clean white coats to take me away!!!

Time for a change???

Is it time for a change in your life? Perhaps you've been laid off, or fired. Maybe you are just stuck in a rut in a dead end job. It's time to think out of the box and move toward a more meaningful life. I would recommend Dan Miller's 48 Days to Work You Love to help you move toward a happier life. Your not alone in your frustration with work...read on…

Maybe Dats Youwr Pwoblem Too
by Jim Hall

All my pwoblems
who knows, maybe evwbody’s pwoblems
is due to da fact, due to da awful twuth
dat I am SPIDERMAN.

I know, I know. All da dumb jokes:
No flies on you, ha ha
and da ones about what do I do wit all
doze extra legs in bed. Well, dat’s funny yeah.
But you twy being
SPIDERMAN for a month or two. Go ahead.

You get doze cwazy call fwom da
Gubbener askin you to twap some booglar who’s
only twying to wip off color T.V. sets
Now, what do I cawre about T.V. sets?

But I pull on da suit, da stinkin suit,
wit da sucker cups on da finger,
and get my wopes and wittle bundle of
equipment and den I go flying like cwazy
acwoss da town fwom woof top to woof top.
Till der he is. Some poor dumb color T.V. slob
and I fall on him and we westle a widdle
until I get him all woped. So big deal.

You tink when you SPIDERMAN
der’s sometin big going to happen to you.
Well, I tell you what. It don’t happen dat way.
Nuttin happens. Gubbener calls, I go.
Bwing him to powice. Gubbener calls again,
like dat over and over.

I tink I twy sometin diffunt. I tink I twy
sometin excitin like wacing cawrs. Sometin to make
my heart beat at a difwent wate.
But den you just can’t quit being sometin like
SPIDERMAN.
You SPIDERMAN for life. Fowever. I can’t even
buin my suit. It won’t buin. It’s fwame wesistent.
So maybe dat’s da whole pwoblem wif evwytin.
Nobody can buin der suits, day all fwame wesistent.
Who knows?

Time to try something new-BURN THE SUIT!