* Writing My Eulogy*

As I sit here on this Saturday morning with my cup of coffee in my favorite pink Valentine's mug, a candle burning, my book The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren sitting next to me, my boys sleeping, and the snow beginning to slowly fall outside I'm thinking of a training I did the other day by Craig Holiday. He asked us to write our own Eulogy. At first I thought it sounded a little grim, however the more he spoke of WHY this was important it really inspired me. Have you ever really thought of what others would say of you if you were no longer here tomorrow. I don't mean how they would judge you, but how your life would look through their eyes. What would you have accomplished? What type of person would others say you were? Who's life would you have touched? Would you have made a difference? What impact and legacy will you leave behind?

As I sat and thought about this I had all these thoughts run through my head. I decided in that moment that I wanted to write my own Eulogy. That I wanted to put Pen to paper (or keys to a keyboard in this sense) and write down what I want the rest of my life to look like. The person that I want to strive to be. I want to share my struggles and my story and where I want it to go from this day forward. Now it's not that I'm not happy with how my life is now. I have a wonderful husband that I love deeply and that loves me. He's always supported me in my crazy ideas and goals that I've set for myself. We have two incredibly amazing little boys. A home that we're raising our children in, and live in a town with amazing friends. We have supportive families, and jobs that provide us with what we need for our family. I've accomplished my goal of graduating with my Masters Degree and I'm working in the field of Special Education. I've also started a business that I can do from home where I can help others in feeling their absolute best through teaching them about living a healthy lifestyle, something I'm passionate about. This business also helps in providing more towards my family. However, I have always felt that there is so much more out there. I've always felt that I can DO MORE. I've always had this burning feeling inside that I can make a difference in the lives of others. So I got to thinking how...

I've written 2 Eulogies in my time so far. I stood up and spoke and shared my thoughts about two of my grandparents. It's an amazing thing to reflect back on someones life and share how they've impacted the lives of others and share what they accomplished in their lifetime. It is really therapeutic and an amazing way to cope with the loss of someone. But it gets you to thinking what are others going to say about me. How have I impacted the lives of those around me and my loved ones. I don't want them saying that my past struggles affected my future. I want to leave this world with people saying I was an amazing mother. I want people to think that I was a supportive wife that loved my husband with my whole heart. I want others to say that I was caring and inspiring and hard working. That I inspired others to be their best self and supported them in reaching their dreams. Have you ever thought of writing your own eulogy? Have you ever thought deeply what you wanted YOUR life to look like? What you wanted to accomplish in your life and have others share about you? It really gets you to think doesn't it? It makes you stop and reflect on what can I do over the rest of my life to make a difference? As Rick Warren wrote in the first 4 words of his book "It's not about you."...It's not. Our lives are a reflection of the lives of others that we've touched. When we're gone no one is going to talk about what we've done in our lives for ourselves, they're going to talk about what we've done for others. They're going to talk about how we've impacted the lives of those around us and what we've done to change the course of their lives. They're going to speak of how we are giving, loving, caring, kind, and supportive. They're going to talk about what we did to raise up those around us and help them be successful and reach their goals. As a mother I want them to speak of what I did for my children and how I worked hard to give them the best life possible. I want them to talk about how I was strong in standing up for what my kids needed through their life. I want them to talk about how I supported my husband in reaching his dreams and helping him care for our family. I want them to speak of the strong, passionate, endless love we shared through both good times and bad. I want them to see how I was a Special Education Teacher and worked tirelessly as a mother and full time preschool teacher to complete my degree so that I can help students with special needs be successful in school and get them the supports they needed to learn along side their peers. I want them to talk about my strong Faith in God and how it carried me through my life. I want to connect with other women and mothers and help them feel inspired to make their lives the best they can for their families and their children. I want them to talk of what I did to make a difference in this world.

So I want you to do something. I want you to start today thinking about how you can make a difference in this world. How are you going to make an impact and leave behind a legacy. How are you going to change the lives of others around you? Think today about how you can reach your personal goals in life and in the process touch the lives of those around you. Think hard about how you're going to move forward in your life and leave a lasting impact. What will your Eulogy say about you someday? Will it say that you changed the lives of others? Will it say that you left a footprint in the sand? Will it say that you had passion? Will it say that you LIVED?

Much Love <3