Praying for Balance

As you may know, I’ve been traveling quite a bit this fall. Some of it was planned, and some was spontaneous. It was wonderful, but I’m so happy to be home even though coming home can be hard. I absolutely loved sleeping in my bed for the first time last night, curled up with Rosie beside me, and I’m so happy to be getting back into my routine because it’s the routine that always suffers most when I’m not at home. While I try to keep up with emails and voice messages when I’m away, it doesn’t always work. Things slide by or fall to the wayside. My workouts usually come to an abrupt halt, and my sleep cycle is off. The first week I’m home is just like being away–I’m faced with fatigue, a pile of laundry, and twice the work in what seems like half the time. I’m left feeling off-kilter and a bit frazzled. It’s kind of like I’m heading up the wrong tree!

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While working out this morning (for the first time in two weeks), my instructor said something that made everything clear… Read more

Just Breathe

IMG_8243Breathe.  We all do it.  Ultimately it’s what keeps all of us alive.  Without breath, there is no life.  About it, songs have been sung, books have been written, and even movies have been made. In the Bible, we are told that God breathed life into Adam.  This was essentially the very first breath of life.

I am often asked how I do all that I do – manage a household, be a loving and devoted wife and mother, run a Girl Scout camp, volunteer at two schools, maintain a blog, website, and other social media, and write books.  Most people who know me know that I am a rather calm person.  It takes a lot to get me befuddled.  So what is my secret?  It is simple.  I trust in God for He is my strength through which all things are possible.  And I breathe.

Sometimes all I need is a calming breath in and out.  Sometimes I need several breaths and a prayer.  Other times, I need time and space to reconnect to myself and the world.  But at all times, I simply

– need

– to

– breathe.

I often tell my girls, when they are worried or beginning to panic, that a cleansing breath or two is all it takes to maintain or regain calm and put your life back into focus.  Whether it is a ten second intake and release of breath, an hour at Mass, or a two week vacation, the key is simple.  Whatever battles you’re fighting, roads you’re traveling, or mountains you’re climbing…

Just breathe.

Amy Schisler is an author of mystery and suspense novels.  Her first book, A Place to Call Home is in its second printing and may be purchased in stores, online, and through ibooks.  Her previously published children’s book, Crabbing With Granddad may be purchased in stores and on Amazon.

You may follow Amy at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor on Twitter @AmySchislerAuth and on her web site http://amyschislerauthor.com

Stretched Thin

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Do you remember Stretch Armstrong?  He was the superhero doll from the 70s who could be pulled and stretched to three times his size just for the fun of it.  I’m not sure why many children from my generation spent so much wasted time stretching this otherwise useless toy to his limits just to see him warp back into himself again.  Sometimes I think we did it just to see how far we could pull until he broke and that gross, gooey, syrupy stuff came oozing out of him.  Looking back, I think whoever made that silly toy must have had a vision of the future. Somehow he knew that GenX was going to live the life of poor Stretch Armstrong every single day. Read more

Keeping Balance

DSC00558Life is all about balance.  Have you ever given that any thought?  We have two eyes, ears, arms, legs, lungs, kidneys, even nostrils.  Our bodies are perfectly proportioned (given a genetic twist here and there); and even inside where we might have one organ, there is another organ (or two) opposite it that maintains that balance.  When you really think about, it’s amazing!  So how does that matter for the rest of our being?  Writer and theologian Thomas Merton taught that “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”  Sometimes we are in perfect balance within ourselves and our lives, and, well, sometimes we are not! Read more