I will hurry without delay

You know you’re wrong, but to do right would make it too obvious that you were wrong.

Is this a conundrum that only I struggle with? (Read it the above line over a few times to really get what I'm saying)

So you know those moments in life when you realize you are wrong, or you’re in the wrong, or you aren’t acting the way you should, or you aren’t being who you were meant to be in a situation. You have that moment of realization, and then you think… well if I change now, it’s just going to drastically point to the contrast of how incorrect I was before. And I don’t want to be associated with that incorrectness, so maybe if I just stay even keel, no one will really realize how incorrect I was, and in a few weeks, I’ll really change my tune.

Okay example.

I remember being like 12 and something didn’t go my way, and I’d get all cranky about it. I can remember thinking in my mind, “oh no, now I have to be cranky pretty much all morning.” So it’s like I knew I was going to waste a morning in order to not openly admit I was in the wrong, and stand my ground trying to justify in some way that I could be right.

 I think it’s a bit of stubbornness? I swear I wasn’t a bad child LOL. It wasn’t only stubbornness, it was actually my complete distaste for messing up- that almost caused me to stay in that attitude. It was almost like I hoped that if I stood my ground long enough maybe I could figure out how to justify it and not be wrong. And changing my tune and acting rightly would mean completely recognizing I was previously in the wrong. And more than anything I don’t like acting wrongly. There’s a distinction I want to make here, it’s not so much the distaste in being wrong, like I have an incorrect fact or something like that, but acting wrongly, having the wrong approach or attitude, or treatment of people.  

There’s a verse in the Bible that is so challenging, but true:

I will hurry without delay to keep your commands – psalm 119:60

Wake up call to me.

It’s time to get over ourselves, at all times, and be quick to do what is right, even if it means having to recognize something was wrong.

Be quick to right our wrongs, be quick to take accountability, be quick to do good. We end up being the best version of ourselves, being happy, everything about the result is positive.

Wow. I will hurry without delay to do the right thing, to be the person I am called to be, to treat others the way they should eb treated, to take accountability, to listen, to apologize, to encourage, to give. And the list goes on.

I want you to scroll up and have another look at the image I related with this post. They are track runners. Imagine suiting up to compete in a track race with all that zeal and intention to do good, to live right, to always do the right thing. Like Racing to it. Kind of a funny visual. But I found impacting. Let’s be track runners, training, preparing, and racing, without delay, with zeal and desire to always do the right thing. Like “Oh me, me! I want to do the right thing!”

I will hurry, without delay.

Will you join me?

The Guardrail

Last weekend I was walking along a piece of wood maybe 50 inches wide thousands of feet in the air across a canyon with tree’s as high as the sky surrounding me. I could see the water rushing at the bottom, the crisp breeze against my face and the loud realization hit me that I was thousands of feet in the air on a very small walkway of wood.

Now, one thing that is missing from this depiction is that there were guardrails on either side of the wooden plank, held up by a very sturdy structure designed to hold 100 plus people at a time.

As I was walking I was thinking, it’s amazing the difference that these guardrails make. Without them, you’d never have thousands of tourists walking through. But with them, everyone is at ease, enjoying a walk above a canyon.

I would never in a million years walk that wooden plank  without the guardrails- nor would anyone unless you were Hudini. You’d simply never do it, it would be looked at as crazy. Something you probably would not survive. But with them, it’s something we are okay to do.

Immediately following that thought came this one.

In life, I feel like God is that guardrail. His spirit and protection allows us to do things we otherwise would never attempt.

Think of how crazy it would be to walk thousands of feet in the air on a piece of wood 50 inches wide.

Now think of a dream that you have that may seem equally as crazy. You have the guardrail, you have God. You can do it. Just like you would not walk the wooden plank without the guard rail, but you easily would with it – the same goes for that wild crazy dream that you have.

You have that dream for a reason—now go get it.

ATTENTION

Have you ever had one of those moments when your parents admirably share intricate nuances about who you’ve been your entire life? Ones that they perceive as charming, adorable and highly entertaining, but unbenounced to them, these things can actually be perceived as negative? 

Well the other day my boyfriend and I are talking to my mom on the phone, and Josh mentions a recent public speaking engagement I had. And my mom responds, “oh yes, Ashley loves attention.” 

To which inside I kind of cringed. But why? My mom meant this as a positive thing. 

Usually when we say someone loves attention or doesn’t mind (slash loves) the lime light, it’s usually perceived as a negative thing.  

I will admit, my mom isn’t wrong. I love attention.  I’ve often been deemed a social butterfly. I’ve always loved public speaking, performing and entertaining, and all of these things include ATTENTION.  

So okay I guess I “love attention.” But I am convinced it isn’t for a self absorbed, I need validation, kind of reason.  

I LOVE attention, because in order to truly connect with someone, inspire someone, encourage someone, motivate someone, journey with someone, make someone smile or laugh, or make a little happier... you need their ATTENTION.  

Sometimes we so quickly jump to the conclusion that extroverts or entertainer type personalities love attention for all the wrong reasons, when really they may want attention only so they have the gateway to give something away or add something to someone’s life.  

I think that’s why my mom was speaking about it proudly!  

If you want someone’s attention to see them smile, be encouraged forward in life— I say, go for it, love attention... when it’s actually not about you, but it’s actually about others.  You need people’s attention to make an impact, to be in relationships, to change the world! 

Also, maybe your thoughts are travelling to a place mine have... well what makes people think they can add anything to my life? Let’s be real— we can all add to the lives of people around us, that’s being the loving generous humans we were created to be. It has nothing to do with being self righteous but instead a loving, generous, people oriented person. 

So yes. I’m with my mom. I love attention. Because I love loving, connecting with, and encouraging people. 

Shout out to all the attention lovers! ❤️ 

Ash XO  

What are you looking for?

What are you looking for?

So yesterday my mom call’s me and tells me she bought 5 pairs of shoes at Payless. And she got 5 pairs for under $50. So naturally, I went to payless. (I swear I don’t like shopping)…

So I get there and read a sign telling me that any shoe with a red tag is now $5 or $10. There were hundreds of shoes, but I was only paying attention and looking at the one’s with the red tag.

So I saw the shoes with red tags, and the hundreds of other shoes that were present, and within my view, I didn’t see. (Thank God!)

My point here is this. You will see what It is you’ve set intention to see. If your mind is focused on negative thoughts, you will see negative things around you. If you focus each thought on goodness, thankfulness, positivity, blessings, that is in turn what you will see and notice in your life.

Sure, both may be present, within view, just like there were sale shoes AND regular priced shoes, but I saw what I intended to see… the sale.

There may be difficult things in your life, as well as boundless blessings, both may be present, but what will affect you most is what you give your attention to. Will it be the blessings, or the difficulties?

What is it you are looking for?

Phillipians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Ash

Replace Expectation with GRatitude

As I am sure everyone is aware, it is the American Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Instagram feeds are full of our American friends and celebrity favorites' dining room tables decked out with beautiful table wear, dishes, and finishing touches of thematic décor. And don’t forgot, the amazingly good looking food, family, and friends. 

I love any occasion to get together with people I love and celebrate—when we appreciate what we have, and celebrate what we have, and one another, there is joy built up inside our hearts and minds as we become conscious to the fact that there is so much goodness in our lives that we don’t even deserve. Often times, we miss out on the beautiful things in our lives because our attention is on things we don't have, leading us to never enjoy what we do have or what we don't have, leaving us empty. 

Along with an Instagram feed full of thanksgiving dinners, are thanksgiving quotes. One that I read said this:

“Replace expectation with gratitude”

If you simply play over a few scenarios in your mind of an expectation you have for life or a situation or a person, I think you will quickly realize that beneath an expectation we have of someone or something, is something even greater to be thankful for.

Don't let the distraction of an expectation take away the awareness, joy and appreciation of what you do have! 

Most times you’ll realize that the one thing your stubbornly “expecting” is far smaller in magnitude than all that you have already received. Start thanking rather than expecting, expecting, expecting.

Everyone will be a lot more joyful, harmonious, full, and the list goes on!

We will never truly live in the fullness of everything we have, everything we are, if we never fully appreciate in gratitude all that is around us.

Be thankful everyday for what you have, for who you have, for who you are! When you realize that all you have is enough, you have everything that you need... Thankfulness breeds contentment, which breeds joy, despite circumstances and leads to a full way of living.

ThankFULLness. Is the way to live the FULLest life possible.

Count your days

This week I heard a few people quote this Scripture verse…

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Understanding life is short...so that we may grow in wisdom... so we may live carefully wise, intentionally investing the time that we do have, instead of carelessly spending it away to no purposeful end. 

A wise man COUNTS his days and makes them count. Not with a YOLO attitude that lives careless moment to moment in whatever feels good, but instead looks to capitalize on every moment they are given in order to make the most lasting impact possible.

What kind of life do you want to live? What do you want your life to look like? Hopefully it’s one that is full of love for others, uplifting others,  journeying with others to become the best version of  ourselves, living generously... and the broad stroke list can go on…

Write out some of these things. Vision.

Now, only make decisions that support that. Why would you make decisions to slow down or get in the way of that vision you have for your life?

A small example I can think of happened yesterday. After finishing a long day of work, I just wanted to go home and flake out in that moment (meaning do nothing) and NOT go to the gym as I had planned. However, I knew that if I just got myself to the gym it would aid the vision I have for my life of valuing and making time for physical health and fitness. I knew that making the decision to go even when I didn't feel like it, was going to be a small building block in having the life that I desire. If I were to not go, I would have regretted it later. 

Make decisions today that you will thank yourself for tomorrow. That support the vision you have for your life. Don't "use" your time but invest your time, wisely.  

We don’t know how many days we have, so live on purpose—a wise man counts his days AND makes them count.

SOCIAL // The REEL and the REAL

I have taken 1001 personality tests, gifting tests, HR tests and they pretty well all set sociability as my highest or strongest attribute as a person.

And I think it makes sense, I can’t really argue with it. I love people, I love connecting with people, being with people, doing life with people, learning from people, sharing with people, and it’s my greatest aspiration to inspire and encourage people to be exactly who they were created to be living out their full potential. That is what drives me and makes me most excited and happiest.

I genuinely believe that life is best when we are connected to other people, journeying alongside one another, SHARING in our experiences. It’s one of the reasons I actually ENJOY social media when I know it so often gets such a bad wrap.

There are a lot of people I want to keep up with that I can’t see everyday whether they’re in a different country or province, or sometimes our schedules don’t allow, but social media allows me to keep up with their lives, and SHARE in their experiences and in turn, share with them mine. (Caveat—social media should never act as your only point of connection or even the main point of connection with a friend, but I see it more as a cherry on top that allows you to share with others throughout your day-to-day comings and goings.) 

I follow friends, family, and love seeing what everyone’s up too… I also love following people who inspire me, that are further ahead of me in life in perhaps their maturity, wisdom, abilities, experiences and I receive their posts as challenging and inspiring rather than being comparative and envious in a negative sense.

I love the verse in the Bible that says this…

Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

From my perspective, I want to use social media as an outlet where I can be open house with people and only HOPE that it may inspire others and connect me with others. But in saying that, I think that we must be real, vulnerable, and not only show the highlight REEL, but also be REAL.

When we only express and communicate the rainbows and sunshine it can actually make us inaccessible when the entire time our heart and motives were attempting to connect with people and BE accessible. 

I’m a shameless sharer. It may look like I’m obsessed with self haha, but actually I simply love journeying with others in community. I love doing life with people around me.

But you see the thing is, I’m also an optimist. The world could be crashing down around me, and you’d talk to me and think I was on vacation in paradise. Sometimes this is a strength, and sometimes it’s the biggest weakness.

The balance of maintaining realism and vulnerability as well as joy and optimism is so important. The balance that recognizes that things aren't always perfect or easy, but also looks to maintain joy, positivity, and an unwavering gratefulness, appreciation and excitement that we are blessed with LIFE! (Is my optimism coming through? haha) 

Maybe you follow me on social media and have recognized my new morning routine. Or maybe I’m being totally presumptuous thinking you’d even be interested. But getting up every morning at 5:00 am to read my Bible, pray, and hit the gym, isn’t always flowery… most mornings my first thought is: “It cannot be 5:00 am ALREADY I cannot get up yet, I won’t make it through the day without another hour of sleep…” But I get up. And actually enjoy it and my day is better for it.

You may see me laughing at work having fun with coworkers, braiding each other’s hair, (it’s important to have a joyful workplace culture where you can laugh a little okay...) but there are days when I’ve worked 15 hours and feel completely strung out! Maybe you think I am on consistent vacation travelling when 90% of my travelling is work related and takes me away from family and friends. 

Maybe you recently saw that I moved and my house is SO cute and I love that it got set up pretty quickly. But you didn’t see that I was pretty sad during that time as well because my family lives in different parts of the country.

All that is to say, my life isn't always sunshine and roses, but I do love my life everyday even when there are difficulties, and make it the absolute best day I can... why? because I am so grateful and excited that we have been blessed with life-- and I believe we should live it to the fullest. 

Overall, what I’m learning is this.

1) Living life in community and connection with others is AMAZING (the best way to life)

2) Living in community and connection SHOULD NOT be selective. When we are willing to journey through everything together, not leaving the sometimes difficult realities out, our connection with others, and with self, is much stronger and actually helps produce more joy, support, peace and perseverance.

3) I love you guys. Whoever is reading this. And it’s my heart to journey with you though life in some capacity, being real, honest, accessible, relatable, inspiring and connected.

Ash xoxo

 

the journey.

“We don’t become more spiritual by becoming less human” – Eugene Peterson

Far too often we allow our desire to be “the ultimate version of ourselves” to drive us to repression rather than realism. We feel as though any mistake we make detracts from becoming “that version” of ourselves that we desire.  This type of repression of admitting failure, weakness, or our need of help actually causes separation within us and with those around us. Our relationships suddenly lack vulnerability setting us up for surface level interactions, lack of true connection, a crippling façade, a life no authenticity. 

When we repress things we are dealing with, we also eliminate the opportunity to actually work through those things, coming out the other side stronger...

It’s not about accepting where you are and staying there. It’s about recognizing where you are, so you can find your next step forward.

Picture yourself on a road trip. And you get lost. It’s impossible to find out how to get where you are going until you figure out your current location. It’s only then that you can know what direction to go, what step to take and where to begin to get to your destination.

Acknowledge where you are in life, and then gracefully remind yourself of where you’d like to be, and courageously take a step forward in that direction. And tomorrow, take another step.

& Don’t forget to enjoy the journey :) 

- Ash