The best way to get what you do not YET have...

New seasons bring new learning's and new perspective. 

This truth has all sorts of applications. 

Like you know when winter comes, you suddenly have a new appreciation for sunshine, hot coffee, scarves, and winter sports. 

Or perhaps when summer arrives, it's the fresh air, a cool plunge into a lake, a refreshing glass of lemonade. 

Whatever season you are in, take a moment to gain some appreciate perspective of the positive provisions around you; because this season won't be forever, eventually it will pass and another will arrive. Take everything good that you can from the season you are in. 

For me, my career has recently taken a turn into the Finance Industry with SunLife Global Investments. As a part of my on-boarding I'm doing a lot of training in processes, event planning, Insurance and Investment education and branding. 

While being in the mindset of financial care, saving etc... in order to aid yourself in living your best life, I found myself at church on Sunday listening to a similar concept. 

Whether it's financial care, spiritual care, physical or emotional care, career care-- the best way to achieve what you do not YET have is to take care of (to steward well) what you DO have. That is what will propel you forward. 

"The best way to get what you do not YET have, is to take care of what you DO have." 

Ash 

SEASONS

Seasons

Is anyone else tired of the -15 weather in Ontario this month. BRRRR!!

Makes me think of seasons. And how I WISH it was SUMMER!

It also causes me to reflect on the different seasons of life that bring different experiences and emotions, enjoyments and lessons.  Different seasons also bring along different people, and places.

For the past 4 years of my life I have been in an amazing season with The Gideons International In Canada. I have gotten to experience things that I had never dreamt I’d get to experience. Like travelling to places like Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Russia, & Moldova, gathering stories of people whose lives have been changed through the work of the organization.  One year even getting to go to the Olympics!

I have had the privilege of launching a nation wide youth and young adults movement called, “SendMe” encouraging young people to share hope with those around them on a daily basis.  Through this program I’ve had the privilege to speak to and encourage thousands of young people at events and conferences across the country.

And most recently I have been able to come alongside musicians and speakers in order to marry their art to our cause, enabling thousands of people around the world to receive their own Bible.

This has been an amazing season. One that I will be forever grateful for.

But now I find myself walking into a new season.

I have recently taken a role on the marketing team at Sun Life Global Investments in Waterloo Ontario. I am so excited to find myself in a new season with a new landscape, new people and new places. 

You see, although our landscape may change—who we are, our character, should remain steadfast. For me, it’s to love others, to be light, to bring color and life to all those around me, propelling them forward in the full life that they were created to live. Living colorfully as Kate Spade would say ;)

Whether it’s -15 or 30+, The Gideons International In Canada, or Sun Life Global Investments that passion remains the same. What is it that remains steadfast for you in passion, pursuit and priority? Keep that your focus throughout the changing landscapes of life.

Seasons, they come and they go, they eb and they flow—but whichever you’re in, treasure it, and you’ll win. <3

Ash XOXO

ORDER

“Don’t live out of order and expect order.”

Some people are what you call a “quick start” - they see what they want and they attempt to fast forward to that end result, often times skipping steps along the way.  

Maybe that resonates with you? It resonates with me that’s for sure. I’m a quick start.  

Don’t get me wrong, there can be a lot of strengths that come from such a personality trait, like an entrepreneurial spirit, the ability to garner momentum around an idea and rally interest etc...  

But sometimes we end up living out of order, to get to a result faster (with the best intentions) to only get to what we think is the result, and realize things are in disorder, disarray. 

It’s like building a house. You need the foundation, the proper order of erecting the structure in order to get to an end result that will last, that you can enjoy. 

We can’t live out of order and expect order.  

Think about the trajectory of where you are in meeting a goal or achieving a vision. I challenge you to write out every step of order that one “should” take to get there, and try to discipline yourself to actually invest the time and care to take those steps. Live in order, and you will see order around you.  

You’ll find you’re better off in the end! 

Acknowledge where you are realistically in the journey toward your destination (in whatever arena or application in life) and Stewart (take care of) this season of the journey well, and allow yourself to enjoy it!  

XOXO  

Ash

VISION

Seeing clearly is important to us all, both physically and philosophically. We all crave clarity: a clear, concise, crisp vision for life. 

There is nothing worse than throwing on a pair of sunglasses or eye glasses and having scratches and smudges inhibiting a clear view of everything around you. It simply takes away from the experience of the moment, and causes frustration. 

Likewise in life, when we don't have a clear vision of what we desire our lives to look like, what we want to accomplish, and what kind of impact we want to make, it takes away from the daily joy of living and causes us frustration. 

If we were all to take inventory of our daily lives, it's interesting to note where our time is being spent, where we are making our investments. 

You see the purpose of vision, is to inform our daily behaviour so that it supports seeing that vision come to life. 

It's my goal to establish a vision for what my dream 2018 would be, what accomplishments I'd like to make, and what kind of impact I want to have. Then, I want to strive to have my daily decisions align with that vision. Every aligned decision brings that vision to life, and the opposite is true too-- every decision contrary will slow down or detract from seeing that vision realized. 

Your vision should inform your behaviour and decisions today. 

You want to be fit, go to the gym, eat well. 
You want to buy a house, start a savings plan.
You want to be more positive, start your day with motivational readings. 
You want to be less stressed, sign up for a yoga class. 

2018 can be the year you dream of-- it's up to you to make it happen! 

Wishing you the BEST year yet. 

Ashley XOXO

Christmas Cheer or Fear?

Truth is, for a lot of people, the holidays can be a hard time of year. 

For many different reasons. 

Christmas CHEER has morphed into Christmas FEAR. 

Whether it be loneliness, anxiety, depression, confusion, lack of clarity or purpose, at a time of year when everyone else seems to be singing "Joy to the World", those less than joyful circumstances can feel heavier than ever. 

There is Good News. The Christmas season is all about God coming to us, no matter our season of life. He came to us-- to lift the heavy weight of life, and instead give us new life in Him. God came to give us Hope. 

Maybe you're reading this and you'll write it off. But just think of the implications of if this is True. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him, Shall not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

That's what Christmas is all about. It's a season with a purpose to remove fear, and in it's place,  give us cheer-- hope beyond this life on earth. 

Maybe it feels like God is far away from you, unreachable, unrelatable, un-"real" ... Take a moment to listen.  God is often times in the whisper. Why? Because He's close. 

Check this out at 19:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSaxoUHBvj8

Merry Christmas,

Ash
 

Going VS Belonging

So I'm sitting here at the Cambridge Mill on a short break at our Gideons / ShareWord Global staff day away and I had to get this message out there. 

Our president just shared a morning message of challenge and encouragement to our staff. 

It boils down to this: GOING versus BELONGING. There's is a huge difference, and whichever one is active in your life will determine your experience in life. 

Just "GOING" to work, to church, to family events, to volunteering, and so on: you are excluding yourself from the richness of experience, connectedness, fullness and fruitfulness that you experience when you intentionally BELONG.

BELONG to work, to church, to family events, to volunteering, and so on. The difference is taking personal ownership and it's focusing on intentional and pure life-giving relationships with the people around you. 

Are you going, or belonging? 

I challenge you, as I have been challenged, to BELONG. 

When we allow ourselves to belong, our attitudes shift, our energies and passions increase, all of a sudden it's OUR community, OUR successes, OUR impact, OUR opportunity... We start to REALLY care.

Dive in today and BELONG. 

A lot of times we think other people determine our belonging. "Oh, well they don't include me, they don't make me feel welcome..." so we isolate ourselves and use other peoples behaviours as an excuse. 

No.

Belonging is up to you. You can belong. Connect yourself, take initiative, get involved, invest your time and energy and presence. You will belong. And consequently, you will lead others to belong, building community, intentional purpose, energy, and a fullness of life wherever you are. 

Thank Peter Marshall, for being the incredible leader you are, and thank you for inspiring this blog post. 

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.

Colombia

Hey friends!

It’s been awhile since I have posted an entry. It has been a very FULL fall season so far. But today I came across the above photo in good old, “Facebook memories”, and it really inspired me to write and share.  

It seems like any regular old photo, could be anywhere, any beach, with no apparent significance. But for me this was a huge moment in my life.

I’m on a beach in Bogota, Colombia, on my first international outreach trip with The Gideons International In Canada. I had just completed my degree in Communication Studies, and I’m reporting for a global organization on their international work.

Just months before this photo was taken, my dream to report internationally on positive things happening around the world, seemed impossible. I remember flying up to Ontario from Newfoundland for my interview for a Communications Coordinator role in November of 2013. The reach of the organizations work fascinated me. I remember seeing a magazine publication of theirs on a coffee table at the office. One article in particular was talking about their work in South America and how they’d be sending teams to Chile and Colombia. After my interview, I recall calling my mom saying, “Imagine if I actually got to go on these trips as a reporter and help tell the story of how people's lives are being impacted.” 

Less than a year later this photo was taken on the beach of Colombia as we boarded a small rickety boat to go to an island that had historically, never had access to Bibles. The people of the island desperately wanted to read God's Word to learn more about Him and the hope that we can find in Him. 

Looking at this photo today I was reminded of two important things.

1)   Don’t put aside your dream as if it's impossible. Whatever dreams, goals, and visions you have for your life—they are there for a purpose and they are not out of reach.  Go for it as if you were created specifically to do and accomplish it— because you probably were!

2)   Don’t loose the wonder-- the wonder and amazement of the opportunities you have been blessed with in life to do what you love.  Be grateful, count them as a privilege, and pour your energy and passion into them!

Ashley
xoxo