A New Monday Blog

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noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:01:00 +0000

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The Lost Poem of Dr. Seuss

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:37:00 +0000

We were meant to live in a STORY!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:05:00 +0000

I took the kids yesterday to see "Narnia Prince Caspian". It was more for me than it was for them. I love stories. Good stories. In the beginning of the movie I found myself feeling that I didn't want the movie to continue on. Why? I didn't want the story to end. I get sucked in to good movies and totally feel apart of what is going on: the adventure, the suspense, the danger ,the hope for a saving moment that destroys evil, the help that comes at the perfect moment and the virtue that is displayed in the characters and their faults too.

I find that I want my life to be filled with all of it. I want to live on the edge. I want to live in a story filled with adventure, danger, hope, friendship, courage, and chivalry.

Then I think, "MAN!", I do live in a story. His-story! If you are a believer then we should be able to see that we are living a great story. He wants us our lives to be adventurous: just like the adventures that Peter,Susan, Edmund, and Lucy face in Narnia. We might not have to face a gigantic army but we do have bills to pay, kids to feed, people to serve, and a LIFE to live. We can't be fully alive by watching life go by.

We were not meant to be BORED or comfortable. We as humans need excitement. We need adventure. We need passion. We need drive. We need to live on the edge. We need to take risk. It is in our nature to. Otherwise, our existence hurts. We find no meaning or purpose. We become nihilistic.

Find something that moves you and good grief, go do it!

-Elias

First tooth Distrupts life just like a job we hate.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Our little one's first tooth has finally come in. Life for the last three days has been he&*. No sleep. Stress overload. No energy. Other kids become extremely annoying. Makes us parents just want to run. As I recall this is how I actually felt when I was at a job that wasn't the right fit. I would always come home stressed out, anxious, annoyed, didn't want to talk or play, let alone listen to what my wife had to say. I was out. Gone. I was lost. I was no where to be found. I was covered by years of mud that was created because I was NOT doing what I was created to do. Finally, when I lost my job I started to shed that mud and a whole new person began to emerge. People say that I smile now.

A New Monday has been on the horizon for me!

Peace Out,

Eli

I hate Monday!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Sunday Night Dread

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:15:00 +0000

So, I have been working from home now for a week and there have been two things I
have had to overcome:

First: guilty feelings about working from home and

Second: the Sunday night dread that lays hold of me when I know Monday is coming.

First:

It has been so ingrained in me that an office job in a human filing cabinet is the only way to make a secure living. I am constantly fighting and courageously overcoming this feeling. When I first started college I was told what to study and to find an office job. What was the result? Lots of miserable studying, student loan debt, depression, and many other negative effects. But hey,
"everyone is doing it and you will make lots of money" is what they were telling me. It took 15 years to realize that nothing of what they said came true.

Second:

Even though I did not have a job to go to today, last night the Sunday dread
kept on creeping into my heart and mind. I have been so used to it taking over
that it was almost automatic. It was like I was drowning with feelings of
despair and hate for Mondays .

I can see that I am being called to grow in courage and trust with regard to doing
what is right. It is not easy to follow your heart, but it is definitely a
worthwhile adventure.

I lost my job, but I am excited!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:14:00 +0000

What!!!! How can you be excited after losing your job? Gee, I don't know, maybe because I couldn't stand being there. I would literally have a panic attack every morning when heading towards the office. I would dread every morning. I don't know how many cups of coffee I would drink just to give myself a little bit of pleasure at work. I had to use many distractions just to get me through the day.

No More of These Mondays!

So, now I will have the time to work on my New Monday. I know a few months down the road I will be saying that losing my job was one the best things that ever happened to me. I am at peace because I have a plan and all I need to do is work that plan.

Now that I am not at a job that I hate, I can do what I love.

What if nothing existed?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:12:00 +0000

I remember when I was young between the ages of 5 and 10; I would wonder what it would be like if nothing existed. What if people didn't exist? What if the planets didn't exist? What if God did not exist? It really boggled my mind considering I was only 5. As I think back I am trying to figure out why I would even wonder that. Ultimately it is a question of why DO I exist. Yes. I Know, we are destined to be with God. But I still needed more than that if I am going to spend 80 to 90 years on this earth. I needed meaning now. I needed to know that I exist on this earth for a reason. I need to know that I can make a difference. Depression is so prevalent and I truly believe it is because of a lack of meaning in people's lives. I want to change this. And this is why I want to enter the field of Coaching and one of the reasons why I exist:)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:12:00 +0000

I spent a little over a year in a monastery and spent most of my time as a novice. As novices, we were to live a hidden life away from the world so that we could grow in our relationship with Christ; therefore preparing us to be able to go out in to the world to minister. The most life impacting thing I took with me when I left was the appreciation of silence. At first it was very difficult. Why? Well, not being able to just chitchat or talk whenever, forces us to look into ourself. The inside self. Your heart! It is very scary, as a novice, to take your hear seriously. You begin by opening the door to your heart and then start sorting things out. One by one you come face to face with desires, wounds, memories, and deeper things. And then you sort them out one by one. The mysterious thing is that you get a sense that you are not alone. Someone is there with you; wanting to also sift through it all. Once the process of digging deep is completed then it is just you and Him. And then the gaze turns outward towards the world......

Today, I thirst for silence (I have 4 kids under the age of 5). This is one of the main reasons I want time freedom. So that instead of heading to a cubicle, I can head towards the mountains to find some peace and silence.

The Journey Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:36:00 +0000

This trip has definitely been like a roller coaster ride but with the scenery constantly changing. If you have ever traveled Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park you would know what I mean. As you climb in altitude, there is something new to see on every turn. You climb and climb and climb.
At one point, way up high, there is a gift shop full of tourists, toys and gifts. The drive through the Rockies is very similar to the trip I have been on for the last several months. In the beginning I had no clue where I was going. I just knew I had to hop in the car and take the risk. I could only see as far as the next turn. Was it scary? Yea! Sometimes all I could see was the cliff on the edge of the turn. But you know, on my journey there seems to be a gift shop right around the corner of every turn I had to take.
Unlike the real gift shop, the gift shop of my life seems to offer me many wonderful things. Better yet, everything I've received was earned. Whatcha talkin about Willis?!! Well, what I mean is that once I started to take risks, searched for the truth about myself and the world around me there were rewards. After every turn I started to gain more courage to tackle life. I have started to feel more self-confident and have gained more self-esteem. Moreover, the higher you climb the more you rise above the clouds which in turn makes seeing life (or the road) more clearly.
Oh the freedom and insight you discover when the clouds of life seem to dissipate. It is almost as if you start to walk on clouds:)