My mission is to provide you with inspiration and encouragement to live everyday to it's fullest. I do this by sharing the simple things in life such as recipes to the most difficult of things such a life. We all know life is a struggle and many days a balancing act, but I am here to inspire you to do it well. Everything I write about is designed to inspire as well as encourage you to be a "better" you that you can be. Everything I share is raw and real. I do not cover up or sugar coat what I write about. This would benefit no one. My goal is for you to walk away feeling uplifted and encouraged after leaving my page. Lastly, I am here to remind you that you are… enough and beautiful… just the way you are.
I do not know what your week holds for you. I do not know what blessings you will receive or what struggles you will battle, but one thing remains week after week, day after day.
This constant is God.
Today’s reminder is to encourage you with these great words from Galatians,
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV).
Do not give up my friend!! You’ve got whatever comes your way.
Do you have a to do list that is so long you do not know where to begin?
If you do then you are not alone.
I have taken this week, that we didn’t have any doctor appointments, to find order in my chaos and peace in my frustrations.
I found by making my home functional that this brought me peace this week.
I came to a realization in my attempt to find “me” that the biggest waster of my time is chaos.
I found if I can reign in the chaos monster and better use my time on stuff that matters and is important, then I am in better control over my stress.
And let’s face it… (nothing against dads here at all as we all love our husbands (most days), but when mom is stressed, the whole house is usually.)
Ladies and gentlemen, we need to find where our source of stress is and we need to learn how to tame it better.
So in my new found revelation this week, you will begin to see me post more practical every day tips to help us be better stewards of our time while encouraging and motivating each other along the way.
Are you game for this inspiration?
If so, feel free to leave a comment or a symbol below in the comments and together we will learn to tame the chaos in our lives, one step, one chore, and one day at a time.
I have a simple reminder for you today in case you forgot…
“You are stronger than you know. More capable than you ever dreamed. And you are loved more than you could possibly imagine.” Unknown Author
Do you doubt yourself from time to time?
My friend, believe today that you are brave, capable, and loved.
They are lies.
God made you perfect in every way.
He made you to be brave and courageous. He made you to be Bold and beautiful!
You are His handiwork.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Psalms 139:13-14 ESV
My friend, today is the day to believe in “you” and fight back against the lies you tell yourself.
Lastly, remember you are Brave, Capable, and Loved!
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You’ve got this Friend!
“Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go; just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.” -Unknown
You’ve got anything life can throw your way.
God has empowered you with the strength, determination, and endurance to battle what lays ahead.
Remember, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1 ESV.
Take one step at a time and lean on God for your strength as well as your refuge.
One day you will look back on today and give God the praise for helping you get through it.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 ESV.
Hang in there and know, whatever you may be going through, it will not last forever.
You’ve got this Friend, you’ve got this! 💜
Are you having one of those days where you just wish something would go right?
Maybe you were up all night or you got up and your car wouldn’t start, or you just received a phone call from the baby sitter saying you need to leave work to pick up your sick child?
It doesn’t matter what you have struggled with today.
All that matters is that you are still moving forward.
Instead of allowing your frustrations to manifest in your soul and consume your entire day, try releasing all the penned up anxiety and turn it into the power of determination.
Use that extra adrenaline energy for something good and redeem your day.
You will feel better when you do.
You’ve got this Friend! 💜
Encouragement TodayYou’ve got this today!
No matter what lays ahead just focus on right now.
One step at a time while you tackle one task at a time.
Breathe in and out.
You’ve got this because I believe in you!
Do You Struggle With The Power of DarknessI am feeling God has a few of His own who are in need of some encouragement today.
My friend, God gave me this verse for you, who are in pain today.
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”” John 8:12 NKJV
No matter how dark life might seem, please know there is a light that is wrapped around you. This light is so you will never remain in total darkness. It is God’s light which surrounds you and has you consumed because one day you believed in Him.
Allow that light to shine on your darkness while you use it to light the way out of this dark time. Follow it until you find the peace and comfort you need to not feel alone.
My friend, reach out to those who are closest to you. Allow them to help you, pray for you, and encourage you.
If you feel they are not enough and you would rather reach out to someone who doesn’t know you, feel free to leave a comment below. I am here to lift you up in prayer.
I hope my daughter doesn’t mind my sharing an absolutely beautiful sunset she sent me last night as she was crossing over the water on her way home. This sunset can only be made by God, it’s Creator.
Today’s message is short, but my prayer is that it is meaningful.
My friend, I am here to remind you today, no matter what you may be facing or what obstacles you may be trying to hurdle, that the same God who created this sunset is the same God who will walk you through your situation.
Here is a verse to cling to if you are in need of His promise to love us unconditionally,
“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5 NIV
I do not know what your circumstances are, but I know one thing that is true, God’s Love is always and forever, with no strings attached.
He loves us even when we forget how to love our selves.
Lean on Him today, My Friend! He will give you the strength you need.
Hugs to each and one of you! 💜
Choosing Which Box to Open
I must just sit down and take some time to decompress from the stress of life. I feel like I am trapped on a hamster wheel and I cannot get off. I know everyone has problems, we are all human, but how we handle them is completely different.
I for one, compartmentalized my stress and worries. I have so many issues and concerns that worry me that I have found if I place them all into their own individual boxes then I can open them as I need worry about them.
As for my boxes, they look a little like this…
And the list can go on and on and on.
Unfortunately, for me, I can have all my boxes opened at one time and have all the contents, or in this case worries and concerns, laying all over the floor in a big heaping mess.
In the “picture perfect” world, I would only open one box at a time, but not me. I am that “raw” and “real” mess and I am exposing myself to you today with the hopes of encouraging you to know, if you too are like me, you are not alone.
I am not, by any means, saying this is healthy, as I know it is not, but what I am saying is that it is real and there are others who live in this messiness, we call life.
By living this way, it is impossible to give all this the focus it needs to be done efficiently and therefore it feels like everything in my world is either getting ahead of me or I am constantly in a state of it all falling apart.
I juggle all of this and because I do, nothing on this list gets my undivided attention and as a result, makes me feel stressed out, inadequate, and frustrated.
Do you have a set of boxes similar to mine and find yourself feeling the same way?
My friend, if you do, I am going to share with you what God shared with me this morning.
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in the times of trouble.” Psalms 9:9-10
We can use this verse as a means of strength when we are weak, as a source of courage when we are scared, and a source of comfort when we are lonely.
When life has us knocked down like I described above, He is always there to guide us back to a time of stability and normalcy and strengthens us from our time of fragility. He is always there, even in the middle of our biggest messes, when we choose to open all our boxes at one time and then we feel overwhelmed and frightened by what awaits us.
My friend, God is our source of strength even in our darkest and weakest of times. If you have wandered away from Him and feel like you have strayed so far that He has forgotten you, I am here to remind you, you have not. He knows you and remembers you. He wants to be your comforter and your source of strength. He wants you to know you are loved unconditionally.
Remember the familiar bible verse that so many of us learned when we were children or new Christians,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV
He loves us all unconditionally. He loves us no matter how messy our lives are. He loves us despite how many boxes we may have or how many we may have open at one time.
There is one thing that remains consistent as I write this blog post and it is this; God keeps reminding me that no matter how many boxes I may have opened or how many boxes I may have dumped all over the floor at one time, He is reminding me that it can all be picked back up (similar to our children doing clean up and putting all their toys away) and that once it is all picked up and placed back in the box, the cover can be closed and we do not have to see the mess any longer.
My Friend, as I close out this post, it is my desire through exposing the rawness of my life, that you are encouraged by knowing no matter what you are going through, God is still by your side. He is there comforting us as we open our boxes and wants us to turn to Him while we navigate our way through the boxes.
Be encouraged and know that no matter how dark and messy life may seem, there is always a hope to cling to and that hope is our Savior who is “ALWAYS” by our side. We are never alone no matter how lonely you may feel.
Peace and comfort my friend as you finish reading this. It is my desire if you struggle with the same messiness I struggle with, that God can use my ugly revelation today to encourage you to know you are not alone and that above everything else to know God is and will always be by your side.
As I watch and listen to those around me, I am always amazed at how so many people are able to find all their broken pieces in life and glue them together and create something new and beautiful.
It is so easy to fall into a trap of always thinking about how big our problems are and seeing them as big ugly monsters waiting to devour our very being, but I want to live my life in such a way that although my life may be difficult, I still want to be encouraging to others who are around me.
I follow a couple of amazing people via Facebook and Instagram and have watched how their lives were ripped apart by unforeseen circumstances, but with the help of God they were able to not only put their broken pieces back together, but they created amazingly beautiful lives out of their devastation.
They provide me with the encouragement that I can do the same on days when I struggle as well.
I find when I make and find the time to write more, I am able to spend more time focusing on positive things in life instead of always looking and seeing the negative things.
My friend, today’s encouragement is a simple one. No matter how difficult life may find itself, there is always something that can be found good in it. We just simply have to open our eyes, hearts, and minds to it in order to see it.
Today I am going to present a simple challenge. If you are in the middle of a difficult journey and no matter how hard you try, you find it difficult to see the good in anything, take the time to stop, open your eyes and look around. Look for the unexpected good news that may come in the mail. Look for the sun in the sky if it has been rainy a lot. Look for the simplistic beauty in a field of flowers or the majestic Mountain View or the calming wave action of a beach. It doesn’t matter what it is, so long as you take the time to open your eyes and your heart to see it and to feel it.
My friend, everyone only has one life. It is up to us to truly make it what we want it to be.
