Flail, Frail, Frail! None of those heading words are fun, not one, and they are all so closely untied. Yet, we all experience their presence in our lives. Sometimes we are in the flail camp where we can't pull it together or at least keep it together on a regular basis. Other times, we are dwelling in the frail camp wishing and praying we could be robust and ready for any challenge and then there was the fail camp where we convince ourselves that our worth is subterranean and we are done for. The quantifying of our own lives can be super harsh. We forget how loved we are in our humanity. Jesus has raised our dignity up and taught us how to celebrate even our weaknesses as we seek His strength. We call it redemptive suffering, or suffering well and with purpose. Accepting the growth that comes through suffering-flail, frail or fail-with a correct perspective in mind. Show me someone who is immune to these human calamities. If someone actually comes to mind, chances are you don't really know them and their acute inner struggles. 

Our participation in Christ's sacrifice according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
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Paragraph 618: The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men." But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross and follow [him]", for "Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps." In fact Jesus desired to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering.

​I have admittedly felt like I've spent time in each of those camps lately. I have needed to be pulled up by my bootstraps to get back in the saddle of believing and knowing things are working out for my good according to a plan laid long ago. I have needed to stay ENGAGED fully in life, not letting my guard down, but keeping it all in perspective. Looking at the bigger picture is a singular best way to regain the understanding of what is truly happening within us. I just choose to medicate with the Messiah!

With this current pregnancy drawing to a close in a few short weeks, I have entered a more fragile state where I cannot hold every bull by the horns as I'm used to doing. I have to resign myself to more rest and stagnation than I'd like. In fact, my whole self is abhorrently opposed to being lazy or what feels like lazy and apathetic. It's totally contraindicated for my inner wife, mother and athlete to push pause for any reason! I know the end result of my greater patience and rest will be a healthy and longer gestated baby...which is a win for me! 
​If you are struggling in any of the frail, flail or fail camps then take a close look at that. Why are you entertaining those feelings? What is contributing to your tailspin? How can you be an overcomer? 
7 Steps to try:
1. Look at the big eternal picture. Become secure again in Him.
​2. Pray intently for gratitude and a new docility to God's will.
3. Communicate to others that you need them to come alongside you  in this moment of trial.
4. Don't suppress these feelings, but express them. Write about them. Draw them out. Talk about them. Pray over them.
5. Seek others who can help encourage your release from what feels all too much like chains. 
6. Make sure to medicate with the Messiah and reach deeply into the Word of God for hope.
7. Never, ever give up. Most things are just a phase or a funk. Shake it off and let your animated productive self out again.

​Praying for each of you and wishing the best for your growth and consolation. Put your flesh at the service of your spirit to go forth and proclaim the Good News!

Gotta run, I mean rest,
Rebecca Dussault

Everyone of us has our hands tied to so so many things. More to-do's than are humanly possible...or necessary. The more technologically efficient we become, basically carrying computers in our pockets, the less time we have for the things that really matter and we thus flail into inefficiency with our time. UGH!

Do you also have those days where you wish that the whole schedule could be wiped clean, every worry, each detail, and certainly the day's unknowns. Fact is, it just doesn't work like that! With some dialed and continuous discernment you can achieve balance though...and it's not even BALANCE, but FOCUS. We need an intense focus on your priorities each day. 

I have a favorite analogy and its the PICKLE JAR! If you had a large glass "pickle jar" and could choose how to fill it each day, what would you put in there? Many of us almost top it off with life's sand, the little trivial wasteful things, email, social media, sitting idle, reading junk material, watching unnecessary things, and going through so many motions without calculated purpose for our precious time. We all do it.

10 fewer minutes on social media = 10 more minutes to work your core on the floor
10 fewer idle minutes on junky inputs into our mind = 10 more minutes to read about the faith
Many practices are emptying for us while others, in fact, are very filling. Be filled.

Each day competes for your time and attention with a ticking clock. How will you spend it and fill it up?
Be bold! Live defined! Pray through the day! Never give up!

Friends in the Lord, let's focus!

​Gotta run,
Rebecca Dussault

Chaos and commotion took over as part of our theme lately and I didn’t get around to blogging because we just moved again! in this pregnancy, which makes twice. With our rental house selling out from under us in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, our wood fired pizza business selling this Spring, and a line-up of work calling my husband back to Colorado, we discerned it was only wise that the kids and I trail on back to our beloved home state (CO) for a while to remain together as family. I am 31 weeks pregnant with a sweet little, very active, Dussault baby. I can be a bit of a wild card toward the end of pregnancy, so pray for us that it all goes well as we approach the birth in a few weeks.

Our mission in Montana was to again spend time in an area seeking out its offerings because of our deep desire to get to the land and begin a Catholic agrarian homestead- a place where we can welcome families and individuals to make retreats or perhaps share life on a more daily basis. The place will be conducive to immersing us all in the rhythms of prayer and work, recreation and relaxation.

We are inching closer to where and when we will finally begin to establish this. The waiting and searching are hard to bear with our hearts so ready to get going on the vision, but know that we will have found the right spot because of our due diligence over the last couple of years, yes years! It will be a place of faith, natural beauty, rich soil, community-mindedness, and avenues to help preserve diminishing human freedoms like land use. What we have learned through our travels is that it is getting harder and harder to find land that allows you to build simple structures, share a piece of land with family and or friends, use it in a measure with your own good stewardship and not be breaking some kind of law. In this endeavor, I am ready to trade my wings for roots! I will hunker down and be glad to watch another soar from place to place while I feel myself stand firmly planted on a plot of earth!

My encouragement to you in your moments of chaos and commotion is to keep to concrete routines of prayer, communication, health foods and refreshment through exercise. These pillars remaining intact will help you keep your inner peace despite your outward turmoil. I can testify to how much I have learned during our journey to the land and how I’ve grown through the waiting, anxiety, and hope. It has help tune up my prayer life by way of its constant unknowing. After all, we were meant to walk no other way through this life than by faith. I believe!

I pray Christ sparks your family's endeavors, and that centered on Him, they can wildly flourish!

Peace be with you,
Rebecca Dussault

Here is a little Park Strength video to keep you mommas sane and heading out for fun exercise with kids. I was just two weeks postpartum after my 5th, so the evidence is there. Do your best in every stage in life!