My Hallmark Story

Oh, Nooo. Nooo. Noooo.
It’s too early…
Waaay too early.

But they have begun.

TV commercials for…
Hallmark. Holiday. Specials.

Now I like a good sappy, cry-til-your-eyes-are-puffy and your face-is-blotchy movie like everyone else. (Except my husband Steve. He would rather read a book.)
But sometimes…they are just a bit too much….

Everything always looks so…Good. Nice.

In the movies, the young woman who is surrounded by clutter and can’t clean her way out of a paper bag is endearing.
The woman who is always, always, always late is charming.
And does anyone in those movies have rosacea??!
No. I didn’t think so.

As much as I enjoy the movies, they can bring out the ugly…
I tend to slide right into comparative-itis mode.
Wishing my days of youth would have been more like that. (They weren’t.)
Wishing my days of growing older are more like that. (They aren’t.)

And then I move in haste into looking at the women around me who just seem to have it all together.
The women I admire, those who I wish I knew what their “something” was because nothing ever seems to show up and everyone is supposed to have something, right?
And then…well…then it’s Haagen-dazs ice cream time if I don’t put the brakes on. Fast.

But this year? I’m catching myself before I start piling on the pounds.

Those Hallmark stories are filled with Hope, aren’t they?
We love them because the story always has a happy ending.
They remind us that there is good in the world and promises are kept and love is plentiful.

So here’s what I’m holding close to my heart and mind when the comparing and wishing start…

My Life Has Hope.
It is filled with it.
And I don’t need a Hallmark moment to experience it.

Every day. All around me. Blessings abound.
I just need to look for them. Be aware of them.

I am loved. Cared for.
There is a roof over my head. (In fact, two roofs over my head since I’m at mom’s sometimes!)
Girlfriends are faithful. Sisters are miracle workers.
And God is faithful. Always.

I’m not going to wait for the Hallmark movies to remind me about Hope.

I’m going to intentionally watch for the chocolate pieces…the blessings…that line my path every day I take a breath.
Those moments that bring me Hope in Someone Bigger Than Myself.
Knowing that there is a movie with my name in it and The Director has picked out a part just special for me.

I’m going to create my own Hallmark moments…
And be Endearing. Charming.
GRATEFUL.

Want to join me?
Let’s write our own Hallmark Stories of Hope.

Would you like a little inspiration from me every day?

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