Cynthia "Soaking up the SON" Newman
Make Life Beautiful...Live Life by Design!
Cynthia "Soaking up the SON" Newman
Make Life Beautiful...Live Life by Design!
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Psalm 28:1 - The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.
Good Morning! Its cold in Indiana and the kind of day that really makes me want to stay wrapped up in my heating blanket and get some shut eye. However, four words have been ringing in my ear for the several days, so I have to write about them. And that is the topic of today’s post. "IS THIS THE YEAR? Or should I be more precise and say is this YOUR year?
On occasion I have posed the question….what is it that you want to do? I ask my readers that because everything starts, with you having, a desire, a vision and a goal. So today, I am posing that same question again but in a different way because I really want to see you fulfill your dreams. The teacher in me loves to see my students have the “aha” moment.
I am reading a book called “Goal Setting: 13 secrets of World Class Achievers” by Vic Johnson. The premise of the book is to teach you how successful people think to be able to achieve their desires. He made a profound statement that says, “People who don’t have goals will always work for those who do.”
By the shear fact that we are human, all of have things that we want to do, some great and some small. But scores of people think of their dreams and never act on them. Let me pause right here to say that by “dreams,” I don’t not necessarily mean your “one big hairy audacious goal.” I mean simply …what is in your heart to do and is this the year that you are going to do it?
Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t watch award shows and beauty pageants; at least not in their entirety. Why? Because I have long held the philosophy that instead of spending my time watching others live their dreams, I would rather be doing something productive toward living my own.
So I want to put you to work today by asking you some key questions. And I want you stop..no really, right now…pause and take a moment to answer them. What have you always wanted to be? Where have you always wanted to go? What have you always wanted to do? What do you want to drive? Where do you want to live? Who do you want to help and how?
Once you answer these questions, and make it a goal to start doing them, you will put your life on a course for it to become EXACTLY what you want it to be. Side note…Even if your life is not where you want it to, you set that course too!!
Here is the reality of those questions. It doesn’t matter what you say it is that you want to do…somebody is already doing it! That means that if someone else has done it i.e. become debt free, amassed wealth, quit their jobs and started a successful business, moved to a warm climate, lost 100 pounds, (or any other thing you can think of) then you can too!!
It’s time to start pursuing those things with B O L D N E S S! Did you read today’s meditational scripture? “The righteous are as bold as LIONS!!” (Psalm 28:1)
Back to my philosophy of not watching award shows, if those people can achieve what they have, and many don’t claim to have Jesus…what can I do with my dreams, belief, action AND Jesus on my side?
ANYTHING! And if you put all hesitation and procrastination aside this year…SO CAN YOU!
'Til Next Time,
Cynthia "Holy Boldness" Newman
Make life...Always Beautiful...Live Life, By Design!
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Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Good Morning LBD readers. I’m sure you were looking for the post on yesterday but a Tuesday business trip caused my writing schedule to vary. Thank you for inquiring about the posts because it lets me know that you are still reading.
Today I want to talk with you about getting “Unplugged.” When we took our cruise last month, we were forced to totally disconnect from the world. We literally unplugged for 6 days because we were out in the middle of nowhere with limited communication and cell costs were ridiculous! At first I didn’t know what to do with myself. It took me a minute to adjust to no phone, email, text or Facebook. It was as if time stood still. Being “unplugged” allowed me to see just how long 24 hours really is.
I often hear people say that there is not enough time in the day to get things done. In fact, I say it myself. However, those days showed me that there is plenty of time to get things done, if you will carve out time where you don’t have a lot of things coming at you once.
The world is moving so fast that we now receive millions of images coming at us each minute! That tells me that we need to be reminded to protect our “gatekeepers,” mainly our eyes and ears, by making a conscious effort to control what we see and hear.
Disconnecting myself from the world for those days allowed me some time to reflect on and reconnect with what it is that I want out of life as opposed to just being an on-looker in the lives of others and wanting what they have. More importantly it allowed me time to commune with God, nurture my spirit and spend valuable time with my husband without being distracted.
As I took that time, I realized how much we have allowed the overuse of technology to steal our time and our quality of life. Now for my techie friends, I know that technology is important and it affords us many things that we might not have access to such as a connection with people around the world. I just wonder if the chatter in our ears and stimuli in our eyes has not become clogged with so much outside side forces that we have forgotten how to define life for ourselves.
Romans 12:2 says that we should not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I believe that allowing ourselves to be inundated with computers, social media and living our lives through simulated games without taking time to establish a healthy balance is how conformity takes place. Case in point, if we spend all of our time plugged into the world, when do we have to time hear from God himself? In fact, how can we renew our mind if at every moment something is pulling at our attention?
Can you spend just one day per week without your iphone or blackberry so that you can be alone to hear your next move from God? I know for some of you it will be like breaking an addiction (LOL); but you can do it for the health of your own mind and spirit.
I have decided to “UNPLUG” from the world periodically so that I can “Plug In” in Jesus!
Til Next Time,
Cynthia “Plugging into My Source” Newman
Make Life...Always Beautiful...Always by Design!
Posted at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Good Morning! Welcome to 2012 and welcome to the new "Life by Design". I know...It looks the same, format is the same and it is me writing, but looks can be deceiving. "Life by Design" is different because I have decided to be different. And I am, even if you don't see it yet. One way it's different is that you can now follow me on twitter at cnewinspiration@twitter.com!!!!
We're four days in to the New Year and I am sure that for some, the resolutions are already slowly falling by the wayside. This year instead of making resolutions (statements), make a determination that "I am going to be different." What is a resolution and why don't they work? A resolution takes its meaning from the root word "resolve":
Resolve - to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something)
By definition, a resolution is making a statement of our decision backed by determination to take action. However, most people make their statement but fail to take the appropriate actions that make the decision work. You do know the street definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results!
This applies to everything, weight loss, budgeting, changing your attitude, improving your relationship...whatever you decide to do, takes decision and action to make it work. Your "resolve" kicks in when things do not look good, or go as a planned, you reconfirm your decision and continue the action knowing that eventually, the change you have decided upon will take place.
I believe that the biggest deterrent we have when we make a decision to change occurs when we don't see change on the outside fast enough. It causes us to think that no change is happening and give up our resolve...i.e. we let go of our New Year's resolution.
We must recognize that change takes time. John Maxwell, leadership expert, calls it "The Law of Process" - change happens daily and not in a day! That is why resolutions don't work. On New Year's Day, we get caught up in the "countdown" but fail to count each day as important to our change process.
Both the decision and action must be made repeatedly (daily) for you to accomplish your intended results and you must not get side tracked by how things look on the outside!Remember that every action puts you closer to achieving that resolution, whether it is large or small. Zech 4:10 says, "Do not despise the small beginnings..."
Your 2012 can be different if you will decide for it to be. Isaiah 43:19 tells us that "God is doing a new thing in you...don't you see it???" Most times, that sight must be done with our spiritual eyes before our natural sight kicks in. It also says that "He will make a way in the wilderness and a road in the dessert." God is referring to two barren places where things either do not grow or dry up. God can take those places and make something out of nothing....even when you don't see it!
I have decided to a different, decisive, kinder, gentler me. So....what is it going to be for you? New Year...New You or Different Year...Same You?
Til next time,
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Psalm 127:1 - Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor, labor in vain.
Good morning! Hope you had a blessed Christmas as you celebrated Jesus’ birthday.
I've heard that I have the gift of putting people on “blast.” That's true, but I am an equal opportunity blaster and today the person on the hot seat is me! For whatever reason, God made me a transparent person. I am not one who can hide much so I have a confession to make…I fell “off the wagon.” No, I am not a secret alcoholic…I mean that I had fallen away from my routine of spending time with God.
(Side note: I was all prepared to roll out of bed and write a post called “Unplugged” but God has something different for me to say, so I will have to come back to that one later.)
I've said before that my usual M.O. most mornings was to get up early. Pray, meditate, read my word and then write. I must admit that for the last month or so, I lost my routine. For whatever reason, it seems like when it was time for me to bound out of bed, I wouldn’t. In fact, I couldn’t. I just wanted to lie there in the “comfort” and warmth of my place. Inevitably, I would drift back off to sleep and wake up with just enough time to prepare myself for the day, or write this blog (if it was Wednesday) and then head to the office. Does that ever happen to you?
Though tired some mornings, I keep up with the blog posts, because I don’t want to disappoint the “followers” of this blog. Well, God is so awesome, that he knows how to keep you right on track if you will listen.
Today, I was reading from the John Maxwell Leadership Bible. As I opened it, the first thing I read was this bold heading “Security is Found in the Lord, Not in Followers”. That caption hit me like a ton of bricks as it was used to explain the passage from Psalm 127:1(a) - “Unless the Lord builds the house, they that build it labor in vain.”
I take from it the crux of my message to me and you. Keep God at the center of everything you do!
In the middle of all of our doing, it is easy edge God out. Not intentionally, but subtly. We can be so busy doing for God that we neglect to spend time with God. I think, no I know, that it is one of Satan’s tools to get us off track. Not by making a conscious decision to ignore God in our lives, but to craftily keep us busy (and tired) by doing “God things” so that we take our focus off of being with God himself. Then before you know it, you have fallen off the wagon, your life starts to feel empty and you’re wondering what happened. That is why Ephesians 6:11 says “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” And trust me; he has many “wiles” in his arsenal.
Well thankfully for me, God got my attention before my wagon ran off the road!
When I write, God gives me a message for other people, and then at other times, He gives me a message just for me but allows you all to listen in. Today's message is just for me. Though I send Life by Design to you, I write it for HIM. So I always want to make sure that the messages you receive are inspired by God. To do that, I have to stay connected so that I can hear his voice. So….pray for me as I get back to arising at 3 a.m. or 5 a.m., or whenever I hear His call. I’ll pray that you respond to His voice as well.
I’ll close with this poignant passage from Matthew 7:13 – 14 (The MSG)
“Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.”
So…“Keep God at the center of everything that you do!”
Til next time and for the last time in 2011,
Cynthia “Back in the Saddle” Newman
Make Life…Always Beautiful…Always by Design
Posted at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
I want to clarify that my husband, Eric, was nursing a terrilbe cold and did not want to join me in the water, but is always in support of me "living my dreams!"
See you next week!
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Raising Queens makes a GREAT Christmas gift! Order your signed copy at www.Cnewinspiration.com.
Philippians 4:13 -I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Good morning LBD family! Thank you so much for your prayers for safe travel while I was away. Hope all is well and that you are keeping your head above water this holiday season.
Today's post is somewhat of a follow up to last week's reposting of "FEARLESS". I had no idea that it would turn out this way but as I hoped, both my trip and the sea provided a boat load of experiences for inspiration.
Complete this sentence please..."I've always wanted to____________________."
During our cruise, we went on an excursion called "The Glass Bottom Boat & Snorkel Tour." I've always wanted to "snorkel," but for whatever reason I almost let the opportunity slip by. Why so much hesitation? Well, I can't swim. I can't even float!! But as fate would have it, just as you were reading "FEARLESS", I was afforded the opportunity to live it out. Mind you, snorkeling has been on my life's accomplishment list for as long as I can remember. But fear is always waiting in the wings to steal your dream. When fear attacks, you must call on the Philippians 4:13 power scripture and go for what you know!
Today's message is not about overcoming fear. That was last week. It is about getting you to start living out your heart's desires. Living out your desires is exactly how you live "Life by Design!" I heard in Bible study recently that when God gives you a desire, He doesn't give it to so that you end up disappointed. He gives you desires so that you will experience His goodness. One of my favorite verses, Psalm 37:4, says "Delight thyself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
When I jumped into that ocean, in 15 feet of water with both a life vest and raft, I immediately learned some lessons that I want to share with you.
1. The thing that you've "always wanted to do" is so much more wonderful than your mind can ever imagine. Amidst my fear, I plunged into the Caribbean Sea and uncovered God in all of His creative glory. What I didn't know is that as soon as I stuck my face in the water there were beautiful fish
all around me. I saw every kind of fish, brilliantly colored, literally at my finger tips and even got to feed them. I now understand how coral got its name from as I saw it's big fans waving me on. As my fear subsided, all I could think is "How can people say that there is no God!!!"
2. Even when you don't know how to do that thing that you've "always wanted to do," there are people waiting to help you. I was able to cross snorkeling off my list, because my tour guide, Luis, insisted that it would be a crime for me to come to this beautiful body of water and not get what I really came for; the experience of being in that ocean one with nature. He kindly got in the water, stayed with me the entire time, steered the fish my way, and continued to instruct me even though I probably called his name way too many times. ( i.e. "Luis, don't leave me...LOLOLOL!!!)
3. There will always be those on the sidelines who don't want to come along on your journey. It's okay...go anyway; even if that means leaving those closest to you behind. My husband has no desire to snorkel. He can't swim either, and he wasn't about to let one toe touch the water; much less his whole body! Just before I jumped in the ocean, he reminded me one last time that he loved me and that we have plenty of insurance, just in case I get out there and don't make it back! Know that you will have all kinds of well-meaning deterrents. As necessary, consider them for validity but remember your desires are yours and yours alone.
I have come to know that life is all about the experiences that we have; nothing more and nothing less. So as you end this year, fill in the blanks for yourself. I've always wanted to __________________________.
Whatever it is; no matter how silly or outrageous, do it!! Life is for living and if you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat!
Signing out 'til next time,
Cynthia "Overcoming the Ocean" Newman
Living Life...By Design!
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Looking for a great gift? Order a signed copy of "Raising Queens" for the woman or girl in your life! (www.cnewinspiration.com)
Good morning! Periodically, I like to go back and read my previous posts. Sometimes I find myself saying, "This is good...did I write that?" LOLOLOL. A few Christmases ago, I wrote this post because I found myself so "caught up" in Christmas that I was missing the real meaning. I think I have done somewhat better but I must admit that parts of it still challenges me as much today as it did back then. So, I thought it would be worthy of reposting to help us all keep first things first.
If you've been with me since the beginning then you know that I am an advocate of periodically slowing down to "Review, Renew and if necessary...Redo." Hopefully today's post will help you do that.
Enjoy the season!
Cyn
I Was Martha (Revisited)
Luke 10:42 - But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:38-42 speaks to us about two sisters Mary and Martha. These same two, are the sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. In this passage of Luke, Jesus has come to visit the family as he so often did when he was in town. No doubt, Martha, the "busy" one was frantically running around, preparing dinner and playing hostess to the guests. We can assume that there were guests because we know that a crowd followed Jesus wherever he went.
Signing out 'til next time,
Cynthia "Mary" Newman
Make your life...Always Beautiful...Always By Design!
Purchase Raising Queens at www.Cnewinspiration.com
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Psalms 116:12 - 14 - What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord's name for saving me. I will keep my promises to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (NLT)
Good morning. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I tell you, the media has fixed it so that before we can get over one holiday we are already into another. Case in point, have you noticed that Christmas decorations and advertising has been up since Halloween? And of course, Black Friday, which officially starts the Christmas shopping season, started on Thanksgiving night. On the internet, it started as early as the Wednesday before! I know, because I was up until 2:00 am that night looking at shoes! Then it occurs to me...how easy it is to get sucked in to what this time is not about...stuff!
Now I love Christmas like the next person, but I am challenging myself to be reminded about true meaning of Christmas; God sending his son as a gift to me, to ultimately die for my sins. With such special gift having been given to me, my real question is..."What can I give back?"
Somewhere along the line, we have taken the idea of gift giving (the wise men presenting their gifts to Christ - Matthew 2:1-12) and gotten it all twisted. We have now become great at giving things but poor at giving of ourselves. We have gone so far to the left that whether it is Christmas or any other time of year, you can curse, and say and do all kinds of lewd acts on TV, but if the name of Christ is mentioned, someone is offended! Well today...I am offended. Do you remember my post called "Take Your Power Back?" I think that Christmas is definitely one of those occasions when we need to do just that.
So this year, I have decided to lead my giving in different kind of way, by asking the same question that David did in Psalm 116:12, "What can I render unto God for all of his benefits toward me?" Yes, you can still buy for the spouse, the kids, and all of the other people on your list. But take some time to ask...What can I give to God first?
Can I give him my life? If I am not Christian, can I do for Him what He came to earth to do for me? Give of his very self for the good of all mankind?
Can I give Him more time? Can I stop each day to take just 15 minutes really getting to know Christ Jesus, the name sake of the Christmas holiday?
Can I give of my treasure in a more meaningful way? Can I reach over to the next aisle to buy groceries for some struggling mom or dad to lighten their load?
You know the list could go on and on but what I want you to do first is just ask the question... "What can I render unto God for all of his benefits toward me?" During this season, it just seems like we give so little to a God who continues to give us so much! I think this Christmas, is a great time to reverse that trend!
Til Next Time,
Cynthia "Challenging the Trend" Newman
Living Life...by Design!
Purchase Raising Queens at www.Cnewinspiration.com
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Proverbs 29:18 - Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.
Good Morning! Today, I am incredibly optimistic about my future. In fact, I have chosen to be. What do you see in your future? Do you even see your future at all? What does it look like? Can you feel and touch it? Do you talk about it? I see my future vividly but "Do you see what I see?" Let me ask that question another way. Do you have vision for your future?
I attended a conference several years ago. One of the workshop presenters was a life coach from California. This was years before I understood what "coaching" was really about. She gave us an assignment called "I feel as if I am there." The assignment was to write one a page description about where we would be in 5 years. Our writing was to be so descriptive that she should be able to feel as if she were there. In other words, it should feel like it was our reality. She was introducing us to the power of visualization. The person who completed the assignment and made her feel as if she was "there" would win a one hour coaching session with her. And guess who the winner was....me!
At that time, I wrote about a house that I saw in my future. It was November 2004. We had not been thinking about moving any time soon. But can you believe that we actually moved into a house very close to what I had described in that essay in December 2005?
I have read many self-development books and they all concur that the human brain does not know the difference between what is perceived and what is real. When you visualize yourself in a place, doing something, even if it is you in the future, your brain perceives it as real and your subconscious mind goes to work making it a reality. I bet that is why the bible says that "As a man thinks in his heart so is he." Proverbs 23:7. Visualize it long enough and it will be!
So do you see what I see? No matter what it looks like today, I see me successful, wealthy, healthy, flourishing, overflowing with businesses with many other successful business professionals working with me. I see myself as a mother, living well to the ripe old age of 100, speaking to millions around the world, traveling internationally and accomplishing everything I set my mind to and many things that I can't even think up in my wildest dreams. (You do know that God can do anything above what you could ask or think beyond your wildest dreams. Eph 3:20)
Now, for my mind to really start working on making this a reality I have to write that above statement so clearly that it feels like I am walking in my reality right nowand then start moving in that direction.
So now it's your turn. What do you see in your future? Get out a pen and paper and write it down. Then think, meditate on it and work on it and before long you'll be living in it!
I'll close with this quote from Helen Keller "Many people have sight but still have no vision!" Don't let that be you!
Til Next Time,
Cynthia "Woman of Vision" Newman
Living Life...by Design!
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