It’s official. According to the results of an informal poll that I have been conducting among my clients, family members, and friends, 2009 has been one of the most difficult years we have ever experienced. Thankfully, there are indications that things are getter better, at least economically: several banks have made enough money to repay their bailout loans, consumer spending is cautiously on the rise, and the stock market has made modest gains.

But for some of us out there, as far as money goes, things are still really bad: we still haven’t found a job, our homes are still in foreclosure, or we still can’t come up with enough cash to pay the rent. Or maybe things are good for us economically, but personally our lives are a mess: We’ve lost someone whom we loved very much, our marriages have blown up, or we just don’t feel like we are making any progress in life. It’s to these last two groups of people that I am writing today.

As this difficult year comes to a close, let me remind you of just one thing: today is not the end of your story. As I’ve written before, tough times have a way of blocking out the sunlight of hope and making everything around us seem dark and discouraging. And difficult days have a way of convincing us that things will always be bad. But today is not the end of your story. For reasons unknown to us, life is not always easy, nor is it supposed to be.

Consider a lesson from nature as told by C.H. Spurgeon: “See that creeping worm, how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at flower bells, full of happiness and life; that is the end thereof.”

Perhaps this year you have felt like that caterpillar Spurgeon described, cocooned in darkness, with the pressures of life squeezing every drop of joy out of you, until there is nothing left but pain and despair. I want to encourage you to hang in there. Don’t give up! Your butterfly days are coming soon. Take a deep breath, calm your nerves, and don’t be afraid to reach out to those around you. We cannot make it through life on our own. We are hardwired for connection with other people. If you don’t have anyone to reach out to, get in touch with me. I’ll help you build your support network so that you don’t feel quite so alone. To steal a line from the Counting Crows, it’s been a long 2009, but there’s reason to believe that next year will be better than this one has been.

Wherever life finds you on this last day of the year, I want to wish you a happy and prosperous 2010! Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your life in 2009. May God bless you, your family, and friends.

Warmest Regards,

Coach Paul
www.lifechangingcoaching.com

“And if your home is just another place where you’re a stranger, and far away is just somewhere you’ve never been. I hope that you’ll remember, I am your friend.” – Rich Mullins

Life-Changing Coaching by Paul Edward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivative Works 3.0 License.

Hello Everyone:

I know that finding the right gift for the holidays can be a chore, so I have simplified your life for you. I have taken the time to look through all the gifts available and come up with a list of sure fire, can’t miss gifts for every occasion. Click on each link to see what they are:

The perfect Christmas gift: http://tiny.cc/Christmas944

The perfect Hanukkah gift: http://tiny.cc/Hanukkah204

The perfect Kwanzaa gift: http://tiny.cc/Kwanzaa842

The perfect “any occasion gift”: http://tiny.cc/anyoccasiongift692

So there you have it, the perfect gift for each occasion and ALL ARE UNDER $20.

Here are another 140 ideas from my friend Mike, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, for last minute gifts, from free to big bucks (and don’t worry they are all different ideas) – http://3.ly/LastMinuteGifts

You can thank me later!

Happy holidays everyone!

Warmest Regards,

Coach Paul

Hello Everyone:

Please forgive the apparent silence, but we have been dealing with a trojan virus that made it impossible to post new blogs.

I have an exciting series of parenting blogs coming your way for December, so stay tuned for those.

In the meantime, I just had an article published by the American Management Association, called Good Leadership in Challenging Times. Click here to read it.

Warmest Regards,

Coach Paul
www.lifechangingcoaching.com

“And if your home is just another place where you’re a stranger, and far away is just somewhere you’ve never been. I hope that you’ll remember, I am your friend.” – Rich Mullins

Life-Changing Coaching by Paul Edward is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivative Works 3.0 License.