Surprise!

How do you feel about surprises? 

Personally, the way I feel about surprises depends on the nature of the surprise. If it's a pleasant surprise, it's welcomed with open arms! A pleasant surprise in my world would be: 

1. "Surprise! You've won an $50,000 gift card to Anthropologie and it's renewable every year!"

2. "Surprise! Purple is the national color of the Universe in honor of you!"

3. "Surprise! Everything you've ever pinned on Pinterest is in the mail free of charge!"

4. "Surprise! Your body will become perfect and you don't have to work out!"

5. "Surprise! Everyone you love is happy, healthy and at peace!"

6. "Surprise! You've met an incredible man who is totally in love with you and He wants to marry you and be faithful forever!"

7. "Surprise! You're gonna make it to Heaven!" 

8. "Surprise! You're going to get a gifted copy of any book you want plus a chance to sit down with the author of said book (if they're alive). 

9. "Surprise! You live in a dream bungalow in Bethesda!" 

10. "Surprise! You get to travel the world whenever you want!" 

11. "Surprise! You are worry-free!" 

12. "Surprise! When you blink, traffic ceases to exist!"

13. "Surprise! You can work on whatever you want, whenever you want!"

14. "Surprise! There's world peace!" 

15. "Surprise! Homelessness, AIDS & disease don't exist!" 

16. "Surprise!"

17. "Surprise!"

18. "Surprise!" 

"Surprise! You have the power to make a lot of these wishes happen!"

Talk about having a "gotcha" moment!!! 

I can actually make a lot of things on that list happen in real life. As I really sit down and think about what I want in life, God is in control but He did give me freedom of choice. Another I like to think of freedom of choice is "creative direction!" God made me the creative director of my life. The happiness, pleasurable experiences and joy that I choose to feel can't come from any of these. It has to be rooted in Christ. However, the ability to make this list come to life actually lies within me. It's been dormant and I need to figure out a way to wake it up. 

Actually... come to think of it...having exercises that challenge me like this #my500words challenge are great for helping me to master an art and lay a positive foundation for future challenges. Greatness lies within all of us. The ability of make our dreams come true lies within all of us as well. The difference between wishing it happened to you and making it happen for yourself is the discipline and taking deliberate action. If you don't have people in your ear motivating you and letting you know that you can do anything you put your mind too can wear on you. Our minds are constantly bombarded with the negative. We're told to be realistic, modest or appropriate in the things we go after. It's too flashy to want nice things. It apparently brings too much attention to you. I disagree. I think it's all in the approach. If you idolize it, then you're in trouble. 

Within the past two paragraphs, I think I've merged a bunch of different topics into one. It's after 11:30 on a Saturday night and for some reason, I'm actually tired. What happened to the days where you could stay up till 4 or 5 am and be totally fine and refreshed the next day? I'm getting old. Old isn't a bad thing. I'm just recognizing the shift. I had a hard time falling asleep last night and it bit me in the butt today with a vengeance. I took a quick nap this evening but to honest, my body is all out of wack. I'm going to go to sleep asap. Good night.