Perhaps. 

 It has been quite a while since my last post.  Life is busy…  we are all moving so fast.   For what? 

Ask yourself…… are all the things that you do in the daily hustle and bustle helping you to grow closer to God?  or are these nutty schedules taking you farther away from the only thing that really matters?  Are your priorities in order?  God first, family second, career third and EVERYTHING else below these?

Quiet the head.  Get the things done that need to be done, and take moments for you to center yourself everyday.  It will be so much easier to see your daily blessings all around you! Now, I am going back to bed!! 

 Be Blessed!

It is so easy to fall into the habit of complaint.  But, what if we all fell into the habit of gratefulness.  What would the world be like if we were all content, and grateful?

I think I would really like that.  What about you???

Now, let me paint a picture.  I was doing my “Sunday stroll” in the store smiling at people, saying hi, and enjoying myself.  Then, it happend!  As I was walking past an aisle, a man talking to someone in the aisle, walked backward and ran into me.  He proceeded to act obnoxiously and let me know that I shouldn’t be in such a hurry.  That he is never in such a hurry.  I tried to smile, and move on, but he wouldn’t stop.  HE began to talk to me and “hit” my arm in gest as he was being obnoxious.  He made a comment that I hit him! 

That did it!  I was fuming inside as this dude wouldn’t leave me alone, hits me, and now, states that I hit him.  I piped up and said, that he hit me, then I shut my mouth as I knew this wasn’t worth it.  He then said, “what, are you mad that I said that you hit me? “  ( I said nothing but continued walking.)  He then loudly calls out to me, “I should sue you!  I am a lawyer… that would be fun!”  I have to tell you, that frazzled me. 

 I took the high road.  I didn’t say anything that I need to have regret about.  I chose to put my smile back on because I know that it is my choice to have a good day or a bad one.  But that was hard.

 As I drove home I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  This is what is wrong with our society.  People blame and accuse instead of putting themselves in others shoes all the time.   Why can’t we respect others.  Why can’t we love each other.  We are all people, man, and we were all made my God. 

Next time you are in a situation where you are with a person who is rude and obnoxious, take the high road.  Realize that the other person must have had a bad day.  We can all relate to that.

Do you???

How do the things that you love bless others?  What is it that your are pining for this holiday season?  Will it bring joy and blessing to others, or just for you? 

Have you thought of serving others this holiday season?  Have you thought about bringing joy to someone, giving gifts to strangers, just for the sake of the blessing?

Check out www.thegiftrevolution.com

Totally cool.  Come join the revolution!

This shedding begins with Forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others.  Say it over and over again.  Journal and enjoy the the benefits of this process. 

I forgive myself and others.

 Be Blessed.

Journal about it.  Tell yourself you are healthy and vibrant.  Tell yourself , I love you, everyday.  Write about how you feel when you do this.  Journal everyday and let me know if you see any changes in your life.

Blessings!!

When was the last time you looked in the mirror and loved the “you” that God made?  Have you ever done that?  Go and do it now.  Say it 10 times.  Look into the mirror and say, “I love you, (Name)!”  Every time you say it, let yourself believe it a little more.  A friend of mine says, “fake it ’til you make it!”  This is one of my favorite statements now.  Fake it until you make it.  The more you say something, the more you will believe it.  Say negative things, you will believe them.  Surround yourself with positive things, and you will believe it.  Which would you prefer?  Being positive, or negative?  You decide.  It is YOUR choice.

I recently became a birth doula and it is fantastic.  It is such an honor to be apart of the most intimate moments of people.  Helping women have their baby with confidence, with comfort, with information… and seeing  new life come into the world….  WOW.   I am so grateful to my sister-n-law, Karen, who invited me to be her doula for her daughter’s birth, Aline, as this moment changed me.

For years, I have wanted something to do in addition to my family.  I love homeschooling my kids, being a wife and homemaker, and serving in our church,  but I wanted a little something more.  I wanted to help people.  I tried some home-based direct sales businesses, but nothing fit.  One I tried, promised to help people to preserve their memories, and another was to help women improve their skin, promoting a positive self esteem.  Though both companies are good, I am not a sales person and it wasn’t right for me.  I was always nervous, stressed out… nuts!  So, I gave up and I stopped looking for that something more.  Then Karen asked me to do this and I of course said yes. 

During the birth, I  felt so close to God… He was there.  I didn’t want to let her down so I kept praying that I would be all she needed me to be.  He was there and it was amazing.

When I looked into the certification process, there happened to be a class 3 weeks away.  I signed up and the process began.  I learned later, that those classes are only offered once or twice a year.  What great timing…. one might say.  I say, GO GOD!!  

I really feel His hand leading me.  I am not nervous or scared about this adventure.  No insecurities.  Just excitement! 

Check out my website at www.thedoulachick.com

 Be Blessed!!!

Ephesians 26 (NLT) And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”  Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

Forgiveness….  What is it?  What isn’t it?

The bible tells us not to let our anger control us.  In other words, don’t let your anger cause you to do harm to someone else.  Remember what our parent’s taught us,”if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.”   The bible says that we should not let the sun go down while we are still angry.  Isn’t that hard?  Don’t you just get so angry at your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friend, your boss, your co-worker, the guy on the highway, that you just want to spit nails??  Don’t you want to punish the people that harm you?  If you said no, good for you.  Are you being honest? 

When we are angry, we sin.  We talk negatively, we act negatively, we yell, we fight, we curse, we hurt others.  Do you really feel better when you’ve gotten “revenge”?  Or do you feel worse?

When we forgive, we are not making an “excuse,” causing us to be a door mat.  We are choosing not to hold onto that anger, to further cause harm.  We are choosing not to feel the stress, the discomfort, or hear the noise in our heads about the situation.  Instead, we are choosing to move forward and bring peace to our lives. 

When you do something nice for someone else, don’t you feel good?  Forgiveness will also make you feel better.  You will feel less tense, less focused on all the junk, allowing you to once again focus on God and all the goodness!!! 

I understand there are crazy circumstances that you can say are too hard to forgive.  Your spouse cheated on you, left you, your kid stole from you… there are very bad things that happen.  Unfortunately, though, if you don’t forgive, (I didn’t say excuse and forget), you will fall into a pit that will get more and more difficult to climb out of.  This pit will lead you down a destructive path, that will cause you and everyone around you pain.

I pray for all of us that our anger does not fuel us to do negative things.  I pray that our anger will cause conversations that will allow us to grow, and become stronger, better people, and that forgiveness will easily pour out of our hearts!

Just wanted you to know where I have been!

 Keep blessing others!