authenticity Archives - Laurie Hopkins

June 24 2019

My Journey, Your Journey (Sharing Our Stories)

Hello my friend – you know the drill – grab a cup of something hot in a fabulous mug and take a seat! How was your week? What exciting things were you involved in? Were you able to find time to check out the last post on Time as a Mindset? If not, scroll down further and you’ll see it there! I have been thinking a lot this week about My Journey, Your Journey; about sharing out stories and the challenges and benefits of doing so.

What stories do you have to share? What stories do you want to really listen to? The sharing of our stories is an anchor of hope and unity in the Body of Christ. If I can be real and comfortable in telling my authentic story and you can be real and comfortable in listening to my authentic story and vice versa – then we can begin to connect at a deeper and more meaningful level. Community and unity will follow.

We All Have A Story

We all have a story; every single one of us. As a matter of fact, each one of us has numerous stories that add up to the one large story that serves as a map of our journey. Most of us understand that we have a story, what many of us struggle with is not whether or not we have a story, but rather the significance of that story. We wonder if we have a story worth sharing. Sometimes we even understand that our story is worth sharing, but then we lose sight of the importance of stepping out and sharing that story.

Why Share Our Stories?

Why should we bother to share our stories and listen to the stories of others?

1) The sharing of stories brings significance to our lives.

2) Framing and sharing our stories builds courage, vulnerability and resilience within us

3) Our stories encourage others

4) The sharing of stories creates community leading to unity

5) Sharing our stories teaches us to be listeners as well as talkers and receivers as well as givers

6) Character is built through the reflective process necessary in the framing and subsequent sharing of our stories and listening to the stories of others

Past Experiences With Sharing Our Stories

What has happened in the past when we considered sharing our stories? We often wait to be asked to share out story. Some of us have never been asked to share our stories. This may have happened for a number of reasons. People can get caught up in their own stories. They may believe/assume that they already know our story. Or, they may want to listen to our story but they don’t know how to ask without coming across as intrusive.

When it comes to listening to the stories of others, sometimes we haven’t really known how to listen, receive, or respond. This has resulted in discomfort, because although there was an effort on both parts, to tell the story and to listen, both of us walked away feeling uncomfortable and unwilling to go there again.

Changing Our Experiences - Authenticity and Framing

The first step to a positive experience in sharing out stories is to begin living and then sharing from a place of authenticity. Our stories are easier to share when they come from our authentic lives, not lives that are built up and covered up.

Then we need to learn how to frame our stories. We need to become courageous and brave enough to dig deep for the real in our lives – to find the real essence of who we are and the stories that support that.

Once we have begun to frame our stories, we can begin sharing. A big piece of sharing our story is carving out time to allow sharing to happen. Time is of the essence. Not allowing the time and space for sharing to happen can be one of the biggest barriers to effective sharing and listening of stories. If you haven’t read last week’s blog post on Time as a Mindset that is a great place to start!

Changing Our Experiences - Encouraging And Listening

While we are preparing to share our stories, we can start encouraging those around us to share their stories. When they see us living from a place of authenticity and digging deep for real in our lives to begin framing and sharing our stories, they will be encouraged to begin on their journey to do the same.

We can also begin really listening to the stories of others. We must be mindful to never get so caught up in our own stories that we neglect the stories of others. Having the opportunity to listen to the stories of others is a gift and a privilege. Hearing is a passive process. Listening is an active process. If we begin to really listen to others, receive their stories with grace and actively engage in the exchange, the sharer of the story will feel cared for and will be more likely to step out and share their story again and again.

Why Does It Matter?

Why does it matter? Is it really necessary to share our stories and hear the stories of others? YES! Life is a blank book full of pages waiting to be written on. We often consider the living of our life all that is necessary to fill in those pages; but in reality, until we have shared that life, those pages only tell half the story! When others only watch our life and never have the opportunity to hear our stories that leads to assumptions and misunderstandings. Assumptions and misunderstandings about our life encourages us to build facades to make things look better and walls to keep others from getting too close to see the cracks.

The telling of our story encourages authenticity, transparency and clarity around who we are, where we’ve come from and where we are going. The hearing of our authentic story encourages a deeper and truer understanding of the same.

Future Possibilities

When people come together and tell their stories and listen to the stories of others, new stories and future possibilities are created. There is power in coming together and sharing. Coming together allows for the power of creativity and ideas, the power of validation, the power of collaboration and the power of support and encouragement.

The listener is encouraged and the sharer is validated. Both have a good experience and they feel empowered to go out and engage in the process again. There is a more accurate and gracious understanding of one another. Community and unity are created and grow. And the process continues. People began to connect in a meaningful and deep way. People began to carve out the time and space necessary for continued connections. The future possibilities are endless.

What Next?

Would you like to learn more about writing, telling and sharing your story? Would you like to learn how to really listen to the stories of others?

Let’s get on board and become fabulous storytellers and expert listeners – we live the material everyday – let’s begin to frame it, let’s put it on paper, let’s put it to hearts and minds and in doing so, build a community that lives in unity and can’t easily be pulled apart.

I would love to hear from you! Drop a comment below. Tell me about your experiences with sharing your stories and where you would like to go from here!

Until Next Time!

Well, my friend, I can see the bottom of my tea cup which tells me it is just about time to go. I am sure happy you took the time to drop in today.

See you again next week, same time, same place!

This week, begin to think about your experiences with telling your story and listening to the stories of others. There is more for all of us if we commit to changing our past experiences and move into a future of possibilities through sharing out stories!

If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click here to go directly to Weekly Devotions with Laurie.

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

Laurie

Category: Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

June 10 2019

45 and Fabulous

Hello my friend! Thanks for dropping in to spend a few minutes together. Do you have a hot cup of something and a few minutes to yourself to sit and chat? Great! Let’s get started! I have spent the week getting adjusted to being 45! It is similar to the beginning of the New Year when you find yourself writing last year’s date on everything. The first week at a new age is interesting as every now and then it just hits you that you are a year older and hopefully wiser. It is like a fresh AHA moment every few hours. As a result of all these AHA’s moments that I’ve experienced this week, I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to be 45 and fabulous.

Age is Just a Number

I am of the persuasion that believes/professes that age is just a number. However, there are certain numbers that make you stop and think about that a little more than others. 45 is one of them. Maybe because I’m now smack dab in the middle of a decade; perhaps because it has already been a year of much change -or even because I’m past the denial of being over 40. Whatever the exact reason is, 45 is a number (age) that has left me a bit more reflective.

Reflection

I like to sit and think about things; life, where I’m at, where I’m going, what that path looks like. Thinking generally happens with a fresh sheet of paper and a sharpened pencil in my hands. A cup of tea in a nice mug is also helpful for this process. I’m never sure what will come out; poetry, short stories, mind maps or visions, but always, when I look back at it, it touches me deeply. How do you do your reflecting? Do you give yourself the gift of some quiet time spent thinking? Would love to hear when, where and how you like to think about things. Drop a comment below.

Musings on 45

It was a quiet afternoon last week when I had some time to set myself aside with my tea and some paper. My pencil was newly sharpened and the kitty cat curled up beside me. I wrote for a long time and then closed the cover of my notebook and set it aside. I wasn’t quite ready to sit and read it yet. Almost a week later, on a beautiful sunny morning, I settled myself in a chair on the deck. I plopped my big floppy hat on and grabbed a cup of hot tea. I was excited as I opened up my notebook and began to read. I wasn’t disappointed. My musings on 45 from a week earlier resonated deep in my spirit and may even have brought a few tears to my eyes.

Yellow Flower

Yellow Flower

Sheets of gray rain

A yellow flower blooms in the midst

A little hand reaches out and picks the flower

That little hand travels in the rain – with a bright red umbrella – holding carefully the yellow flower

That hand touches the shoulder of the one

hunched over in despair

And hands over the flower

The one sits up and looks around in the gray rain

and then looks at the bright yellow flower

The one goes out in to the gray rain

and furrows a piece of ground

and plants the yellow flower

and moves on

As that one travels she tells others, hunched over, where to find this

flower garden

Others, hunched over, hear of the hope of colour

They rise up and travel

Committed to see

The flower grows tall – little flowers

growing around it

The hands reach out and pick the little yellow flowers

They travel in the rain with a bright red umbrella – holding

carefully the yellow flower

What I Know

45 is knowing where the yellow flower is, knowing you have both the hands to give it and the hands to receive it. Knowing that there is colour in the grayness and that sometimes we have to get up and travel to find it.

There are those who look like thy have it all together, but who see themselves hunched over and in despair. The former is an elaborate facade – the later their reality.

The one with the yellow flower recognizes the hunched over in the “all together” and acknowledges it while inviting them to life.

I recognize that even after 45 years, there is still so much more to give; maybe even more to give. So many, holding a bouquet of flowers, need someone to acknowledge the barrenness within and hold out one yellow flower to offer life to the despair on the inside.

We are both the one holding out the flower and receiving the flower. We are both the one moving in the colour and living in the grayness. There is a hunched over one in each of us at some point in our lives. I hope that all of us, at some point in our lives, have had the glorious experience of travelling in the rain with a bright red umbrella – holding carefully the yellow flower.

45 and Fabulous

So what of being 45 and fabulous? I believe it is fabulous to see where I am and where I’m going. To have the time to set aside and reflect on this new age that is just a number. Fabulous comes when something is extraordinary or amazing. I’ve decided that 45 can be fabulous if I commit to finding the yellow flower, travelling through the gray rain with a red umbrella, holding carefully each yellow flower I find and touching the shoulder of the one hunched over in despair.

What can you commit to today that will create a fabulous year for you? Would love to hear from you – drop a comment below!

Farewell until Next Time

Well, it’s time to say “farewell until next time”. I’m so glad to have been able to spend this time together. See you again next week, same time, same place!

If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click here to go directly to the Weekly Devotions with Laurie.

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

Laurie

Category: Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

June 3 2019

Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places

Hope Begins In The Darkest of Places

Good Morning all my Shining Ones! What adventures were you on this week? What challenges did you face? How did you face them? This week I thought we would dive a bit deeper. I would love to share with you a bit about my journey with “Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places.” Using my journal writings I will share the hope I found during one of the darkest times in my life. A spark of hope that began and endured despite the feelings I felt and the circumstances I saw.

A Lot Can Happen In 6 Months and 5 Days

On October 14^th, 2001, I entered the hospital for treatment of severe depression and anxiety. I emerged, into the world again, 5 months and 6 days later. It was “a year from hell. I crashed, completely withdrew from life, hit rock bottom, died a thousand deaths, began to resurface, learned to trust, found myself (in bits and pieces) and began to fight to learn who I was.”

It was a challenging time yet a time of great growth; a time of great despair but also a time development of a new and enduring hope that would help to propel me forward in the years to come.

Hope Bubbles Up In The Midst

“Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places.” I wrote those words without knowing what they would mean – they were an unconscious encouragement to me, offered up from somewhere deep within.”

It was, as I sat on my hospital bed and looked at the wall ahead of me, paper and pencil in hand, trying to capture some of the wayward thoughts to help make sense of the chaos, that these words came to me. It wasn’t a voice. It wasn’t a feeling. It is hard to explain the experience. The words just bubbled up inside of me and I immediately started writing. I must admit, when I looked closely at what I had written, I was disappointed. Hope, what hope? It was like another empty promise in the midst of the darkness; yet another contradiction in my life.

“At that moment when I knew I couldn’t fall any further, I could only envision despair. However, the darkest, coldest, bleakest day of winter is the one that inspires the wistful longing for the renewal of spring. I laid at the bottom of the pit, mired in hopelessness and helplessness, a soul scarred with anger, abandonment, distrust and hatred. My body and soul on fire, the world crushing my chest, each breath a struggle to survive. My mind was a constant torment to itself; critical and hateful, a constant barrage of darkness and evil.”

A Gift of Words

When one is desperate, at the bottom of the pit and finding it hard to get even a glimpse of the sky, one takes notice of those things that bubble up from within. I went to work, painted a large piece of paper and wrote these words in large red letters. I hung it on my wall. There it stayed for the duration of my time there. It generated much discussion. Many stopped and asked what it meant. Some questioned whether I believed it or not. Some thought it foolish. But there it stayed. Why? I believe these words were a gift to me from the Lord. Heaven knows I couldn’t have come up with them myself in my current state!

“From the bottom of that pit I had cried out to the Lord and He heard my voice. He lifted my head when I could no longer move, placed this, “Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places” in my heart, and in doing so, generated a spark of hope. There was no light, no warmth, no voice, but in that moment I knew hope.”

In that moment, despite how I felt, despite what my circumstances looked like, despite the hopelessness and helplessness I found myself in, these words that were given me, generated hope.

There is much I could say about the rest of my stay, but really there is no need for details. Suffice to say, the gift of these words was a catalyst, a reminder and a challenge all in one, to stay the path, dig in deep and do the work I needed to do.

Words Matter

As was my practice, I spent much time in my Bible, seeking comfort, direction and encouragement. These words reminded me of the importance of words in my life and reminded me to stick to what I knew.

Were the days easy? No! Was the work difficult? Yes! Did I often want to quit! For sure!

But the words I saw on my wall everyday reminded me that all the words I needed to read were available to me whenever I needed them. My Bible became my close companion and within it I found words of life that taught me about my value and worth, the purpose and plan for my life and the love of a Heavenly Father.

“I cried out for release from my torment and my voice was heard. I cried out for guidance and a hand reached to me. Form the darkest place I found hope. From the darkest place hope grew and sustained my spirit. From the darkest place I uncovered parts of me hidden for a lifetime. From the darkest place I learned to reach out, to trust, and to believe. From the darkest place I regained my faith. From the darkest place I became aware, grew more mindful. From the darkest place I learned to fight the resistance within.”

I read, I cried out, I worked, I reached out, I learned about myself and my God, I grew. In time the hope grew stronger, not only impacting me but those around me.

What You Need To Know

Why do I share this with you? I want you to know that:

1) you are not alone in your pit

2) you are not the only one who is struggling or has struggled

3) there is hope

4) if you are not ready to hope on your own, I will begin to hope for you

5) hope, acknowledged, will, in time, grow and strengthen and become believable and then undeniable

6) there are no quick fixes –life requires effort and commitment and work

7) no matter where you find yourself today, you can do this

What I Know!

Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places! I believe it with all my heart. I watched it at work. I watched in amazement and disbelief in my own life, and yet it worked anyway. 2001 feels like a lifetime ago in terms of where I’ve come since them. If I could change it all around, I wouldn’t change it. That time, although dark and full of despair, was a time of great growth. It taught me the importance of the Word in my life. It drew me closer to my Jesus and took my faith walk up several levels. It created within me a stamina and courage that I didn’t know I could ever have. Most of all, it took me on a journey that now allows me to speak hope into your life.

Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places

Hope Begins in the Darkest of Places still sits amongst my papers as I couldn’t bear to toss it.

The Step For Today

Where are you today? What hope do you need generated in your life? Today, I am believing for you. I have created a number of printables and social media posts for you to use. Click here to download. Print them off, hang them on your walls, physical and social media, and look at them often. Create your own if that works better for you. Just take that first step.

I’ve also done up a printable of a portion Psalm 40 for you – a Psalm that I read and reread in that season – a Psalm of truth and reality and great hope. I hope you will be encouraged by it.

Thanksgiving

I went home from those 5 months and 6 days in hospital a very different and much stronger individual; prepared to continue to do the work I needed to do. A year later on Thanksgiving Day I wrote this:

“There is a season for all things and I give thanks for my season of darkness and the resulting renewal I have been granted. I stand in the meadow of my soul, hand thrown up to heaven, and offer my heart and soul in thanks. My soul cries out to the Creator a song of praise for life and living, for despair and growth, for past and present, for enemies and friends, for the me I was, the me I am and the me I am to become.”

This is true 17 years later as I continue to sing out a song of praise! In time, I believe, it will be true for you as well!

Until Next Time

If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click the button below to go directly to the Weekly Devotions.

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

laurie

Category: Uncategorized | 2 Comments