THE NEXT STEP

Monday mornings bring anxiety to many. We remember our mistakes and frustrations in the previous week. We anticipate the workload and tasks ahead, and are reminded of ALL ELSE we want to do and haven’t done in our lives (wow!). We think of responsibilities, fears, what if’s and why not’s and why not yet’s AS IF we can deal with them or accomplish everything this Monday (hellooooo?). What we put off in the past days (weeks, months, years!), we just want done today! And of course, that simply jolts our system and cause every Ill feeling and thought in the planet. HALT!!!
Just think about the NEXT STEP. What is your schedule today and what do you need to do so as NOT to COMPROMISE Today. And in whatever free time you have, do the one with the nearest deadline. And if you can spare time from your usual entertainment period (a.k.a. Me-Time, sleeping time, rest time, teleserye or movie hours) you can embark on a task you have been ignoring for a long time (like writing a chapter of a book or a research protocol! “Right on target!”).

The NEXT STEP is the near-dry spots you can walk on in a puddle of water (otherwise just take another route!). It is the immediate visible area when you enter a seemingly dark tunnel (like in a highway or expressway). You don’t see it from afar but you see it when you get there. It tells you going through it is doable after all. It helps you move. The NEXT STEP allays irrational fears, gives you control, puts order into your thoughts, and makes you plan, DO, rather than blindly Worry. Think NEXT STEP (take the next step!)

Write your next steps. It helps to clear your mind when you list the things that you want done– even though you have been writing that goal for the longest time. Write “To Do Today” (for the week, for the month, for the year!). A number of times, our anxiety springs from a fear of forgetting what we actually need to do. Write on the calendar, on your phone, on slips of paper– UNCLUTTER your head! And see that Monday is not the only day you can do all these (read and remember!) Don’t be too hard on your Monday.. Or yourself. Write NEXT STEPs, and Do.

Frustration, confusion and paralysis are the spiritual enemy’s way to oppress us in our thoughts and keep us from doing anything at all. They hold us bondage. And they can lead us to become angry at every living being who interrupts our schedule and violates our private space. Sad to say, most of these beings are the people we love. We deny ourselves a time of cuddling, hugging and kissing (Ninang! Too much information!) because of every anxious thought in the universe we allow to penetrate our mind (!) on a Monday morning (or everyday for that matter!). Think NEXT STEP, clear your head. Go to the Next step and hug and cuddle your loved one (First!); that is ALWAYS the Next Step when there is an Opportunity! I guess I missed it earlier (Never Again!). Next Step: Call my husband back!

TEXT MESSAGE:
Me- “are you coming back”
Husband- “if you want me too”
Me- “yes pls”

Ninang TIP: In every step, DO NOT MISS enjoying the company of your loved ones. Showing your love is A Most Important Step. Ignoring to do so will always be a MISSTEP. But after every misstep, there is always the NEXT STEP! Forgive yourself and MOVE!!!

– Ninang thoughts before listing “things to do”

“What do you want me to do for you?
Lord, I want to see, he replied.
Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” (Luke 18:41-42)
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)