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My Side of 50

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My Side of 50 Podcast | Podcast for Women Over 50 | Episode 5 |Weathering Life's Storms | Brenda McDearmon | texasoverfifty.com | job loss motivation | job loss surviving | job loss encouragement
Podcast

Episode 5 | Weathering Life’s Storms with Brenda McDearmon

Brenda McDearmon is a native Texan and empty nester who enjoys Uptown Dallas apartment life with her husband of 40 years, Mike.

Brenda has been my “online” friend for a while and this summer I actually got to meet her in person when I visited Dallas for a conference.

When you follow her blog, Texas Over Fifty and her Instagram account by the same name, you can’t help but see her approach to life which she describes as one of purposeful spirit and intentional adventure.

She is the author of The Big Hunker Down: 7 Take-Cover Strategies to Weather the Storm of Job Loss and Keep Your Destiny out of the Bar Ditch.

In this episode, we talk about weathering the storms in our lives. In her case, she and Mike have weathered the storm of job loss several times in their 40 years together.

No matter what storms we face, Brenda’s analogy of what you need to do to “hunker down” in a storm will resonate with you.

 

What does “hunker down” mean when weathering life’s storms?

  •  Crouching down or taking cover or attention to a certain task or idea . Hunker down place of safety.

 

  • Safe place for you to weather a storm or difficulty.

 

  • A place of focused attention to get you through the storm.

 

Weathering Life’s Storms | Job Loss

Brenda and Mike sailed through the first 18 years of marriage with Mike on the fast track up the corporate ladder.

Words like down-sizing and corporate merger were not part of their vocabulary.

After all, their parents had worked for the same companies their whole lives and retired with pensions.

When Mike lost his job as the result of a corporate merger, they had a young family with 3 children. It was difficult and scary, but God worked it out.

Little did they know, they would experience this same scenario 3 more times.

Every time that God has taken us through the storm, we’ve hunkered down, made it through and come out with something better in many ways.

 

Ways to Hunker Down When Weathering Life’s Storms

 

  • Allow yourself to grieve.

 

  • Accept the things you cannot change. Don’t dwell on “I should have” or “what if” scenarios.

 

  • Hash it out with someone you trust for a set amount of time.  During the job loss seasons, Brenda and Mike would set aside a certain amount of time every day to hash out the what ifs, pain, anger and disappointment.  After that, they wouldn’t discuss it again and focus the rest of their time on moving forward.

 

 Every test is part of our testimony and so accepting what you can’t change is living in anticipation of the end and what testimony you’ll have when it’s over. 

 

  • Have a mindset of expectation and expect God to do big things.

 

  • Learn how to pray big prayers.

 

  • Let your thoughts, prayers and speech reflect that God is going to do big things.

 

  • Recite scripture out loud. Mike and Brenda would do this every day on their walks.

 

  • Use tools that will keep your mind right and focused on the Lord – books, podcasts, sermons, who you talk to.

 

  • Start every day with the Word of God.

 

  • Plan the party – even while you are waiting. Something you are going to buy or do that will help you remember this season and how God world it out.

Brenda said “It’s exciting to look back and see how God worked out each situation”

 

Working with God in building our faith does take time and it’s always worth it when we look back.

 

Texas Over 50 Blog

Texas Over 50 on Instagram

Book: The Big Hunker Down: 7 Take-Cover Strategies to Weather the Storm of Job Loss and Keep Your Destiny out of the Bar Ditch.

You may also like:

Stepping into Purpose After Pain with Anita Morris

My Side of 50 Podcast | Podcast for Women Over 50 | Episode 5 |Weathering Life's Storms | Brenda McDearmon | texasoverfifty.com | job loss motivation | job loss surviving | job loss encouragement

My Side of 50 Podcast | Podcast for Women Over 50 | Episode 5 |Weathering Life’s Storms | Brenda McDearmon | texasoverfifty.com | job loss motivation | job loss surviving | job loss encouragement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode 5 | Weathering Life’s Storms with Brenda McDearmon was last modified: November 4th, 2021 by Cathy Lawdanski
October 17, 2021 0 comment
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Be Brave

15 Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep

Things to Do When You Wake Up in the Middle of the Night

15 Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep

A common problem that many of us face on this side of 50 is insomnia. That is what I have been dealing with lately and I know many of you suffer from it too. I know this because I see you liking and commenting on Facebook posts at all hours of the night!

Can’t Fall Asleep Insomnia

There are two kinds – the kind where you absolutely CANNOT fall asleep, for which there are all kinds of totally unrealistic remedies:

  • Turn off the TV and get off your iPad, phone and computer.  And do what, I might ask?
  • Limit caffeine. Makes sense, but I do love a cup of coffee after dinner.
  • Limit alcohol. What? No evening glass of wine?

Can’t Fall BACK to Sleep Insomnia

I don’t suffer from the can’t fall asleep kind of insomnia. I fall asleep about two minutes after I turn on a TV show or start reading a book. I have the wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep to save my life kind of insomnia.

WITHOUT FAIL at 3 a.m., nature calls or a cat decides I need to get up. I make my way to the bathroom without turning on a light then stumble back to bed, followed by:

  1. Getting a drink from the water jug by my bed because for some reason I am dehydrated.
  2. My lips are dry, so I feel around in the dark to find my Chapstick.
  3. I am wide awake by then and turn on the light to get out my Lavender essential oil and find the Melatonin.
  4. Take off my socks to put the Lavender oil on the bottoms of my feet.
  5. Lay back down on my left side.
  6. Curse the cats for waking me up.
  7. Roll onto my right side.
  8. Stick one leg out from under the covers.
  9. Put the leg back under the covers.
  10. Curse my husband for breathing in such a way that I can hear him.
  11. Curse my husband because he can sleep anytime, anywhere and nothing wakes him up.
  12. Rearrange the pillows.
  13. Try to read on my iPad.
  14. Watch Netflix on my iPad
  15. Lay on my back and try to FOCUS on going to sleep – yeah, like that works.

By this time, it’s 4 a.m., so I usually just get up and have a cup of coffee. Rarely do I fall back to sleep.

So, since I am exhausted, I’m going to let others from the Blogosphere do the work this week. Seriously, I have found some great posts that you’re going to like.

What do you do when you can’t sleep?

From Around the Blogosphere

3 Ways to Clean a Cast Iron Skillet from the Pioneer Woman

I LOVE Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. I DVR her cooking show. I bought 5 of her cookbooks to give as Christmas gifts. Her line of dishes and bakeware is lovely. She seems like someone who could just be your best friend.

I have a cast iron skillet that I love to cook with, but wasn’t sure I was taking care of it properly so . Now I know.

This article on Caring for Aging Parents called When You Don’t Think Your Sibling is Providing Adequate Care to Your Elderly Parents.

On this side of 50, if your parents are still living, you will likely be involved in caregiving at some point. You may be in the middle of it already.

This is a good article on ways that you and your siblings, given your proximity to your parents and your individual situations can pitch in and work together.

One book that I found to be very helpful was:

Excellent Resource for those taking care of aging parents.

Excellent Resource for those taking care of aging parents.

How to Care for Aging Parents, 3rd Edition: A One-Stop Resource for All Your Medical, Financial, Housing, and Emotional Issues.

This book covers EVERYTHING and it is in an easy to use format. You don’t have to read the whole thing. It’s divided into sections that you can refer to for wherever you are on the journey.

2 Months as a Blogger

After almost two months into the blogging journey, I can’t thank you all enough for actually READING this blog and for your kind and generous feedback. I am overwhelmed.

Here are two ways you can help me grow my readership:

  • Subscribing to the newsletter here

    One primary way that bloggers can earn the income needed to support their site is to attract the interest of potential advertisers. The more newsletter subscribers you have the better.

And it’s not just about helping support this blog. I have some exciting plans    for subscriber only benefits coming up soon!

  • Share posts

    that you like on any of your social media channels. If you like them, chances are your friends will too!  There are “share” buttons at the top and bottom of each post.

PS – If you subscribe here – watch your inbox. There is one more step. You have to click a link in that e-mail confirming that you want this blog in newsletter form delivered to your inbox.

AND I never share your information with anyone and WON’T SPAM YOU.

Thanks for reading, subscribing, sharing and commenting on mysideof50!

 

15 Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep was last modified: October 19th, 2016 by Cathy Lawdanski
January 20, 2016 50 comments
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About Me

About Me

Cathy Lawdanski

My name is Cathy. I am an over 50 wife, mother and grandmother who is embracing new challenges and adventures that come from being on "this side" of 50. Join me on the journey!

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