No. 27 ‘Prepared!’

Walking Into 2022 more prepared than EVER!

26 is the number of times I have spilled my heart out to you guys about my setbacks, struggles, and victories for 2021. Today makes number 27. It’s my 27th blog entry! It is inevitable that after setbacks and struggles come victory and triumph. God set it up this way for a reason. Ironically enough, today will be my 27th and final blog post for the year. And I am walking into 2022 more prepared than EVER!

Going forward, every new year I will pick a word that sums up my goals and intentions for the year. I’m getting started a few weeks before we move into 2022 with the word ‘Prepared!! Instead of setting a bunch of resolutions that I know I cannot keep, I listen for God to speak into my life. I choose ‘Prepared’ because there were many life changing lessons in 2021. Changes that brought an opportunity to be fearful but I chose to be faithful through it all. There is always a CHOICE. Always. Everyone of us has a choice. Most of the time, getting prepared means making a difficult choice. Difficult in the sense of going down the road less travelled. For me, prepared means surviving circumstances that were completely in my control. Surviving the waiting seasons in 2021 and there were many. What I am trying to get across to you is that I’m prepared because I chose to let go and let God trial after trial in this year. I’m still learning to let go daily.  My perseverance has been tested on levels I never dreamed I would go. 

I opened my blog, ‘Knetris The Word Nerd’ up in 2021. I survived COVID 19. I turned 40 years old. I was hired to write for a major women’s lifestyle magazine. I will probably resurrect my teaching career and get back into the classroom in 2022. God prepared me in ways I never thought possible in 2021. God is also for YOU! Absolutely. 100% He loves us in such a way that the human mind cannot even comprehend. Everything he does is out of love. It’s always for a greater and better you. All the things I went through in 2021 will be used as fuel to ignite the fire for ushering in this brand new season. Those hurdles created a more compassionate, more joyful, more graceful Knetris. Now, I can truly decipher what is really important. You are not regressing. You are growing and getting prepared. God is taking you higher. Just trust him❤️

I hope you have a Beautiful week leading up to Christmas and a very safe AND happy New Year! I love you and there is nothing you can do about it!

Remember To Breathe!

How To Survive The Holidays During A Pandemic!

Grammy award winning singer, Lalah Hathaway’s song, ‘Breathe’ has become a beacon of light for me since I first heard it. In 2011, I was on a Christmas vacation in Kansas City, Missouri with my family. At that time, my brother, Thomas was playing his final season in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. We were on our way to the mall to Christmas shop and I just wasn’t quite feeling like myself. He put that song on and it was an instant mood booster. At that time in my life, I was carrying some unresolved grief and may have been suffering with slight seasonal depression. Now, whether I’m not feeling quite as confident or if I’m on cloud 9, ‘Breathe’ is my anthem. We MUST remember to breathe.

I think at times it’s hard to truly understand the trauma we have all endured since Covid came to America. We have been so totally knocked out of our routine. It is important to stay on a routine during this holiday season. I exercise as soon as I wake up in the morning. I shower and then have a light breakfast. I do this everyday. This routine helps my mental and physical health because I know its going to give me long term benefits. I also have noticed an extreme difference in my confidence level. It’s through the roof. I have increased energy, which shows up at work all day. 

If you are struggling with mental health concerns, be sure to ask for help during this holiday season. The use of alcohol usually rises during the holidays. Reach out to a sponsor or family and friends if you find yourself struggling with alcohol and drugs. This time last year, 47 million people reported mental health issues due to the death of loved ones, financial strain, not being able to buy gifts for kids, as well as foreclosures and evictions! Organizations and non profits are available to help buy kids toys for Christmas this year. 

A tip that I’ve found to be so necessary is to avoid social isolation during the holiday season. I have a large family but we also have cell phones for a reason. I have a weekly virtual meeting with my sister and her two kids and husband every Sunday after church. Since I haven’t been able to visit them in Florida since they were born due to the pandemic, I look forward to seeing them and watching them grow. 

Keep your holiday small. Plan a small family gathering like brunch or dinner for the holidays for family that has been vaccinated. At the moment, it’s imperative for you to be COVID tested if you are going to be around individuals who have not had the vaccine. You can still get COVID if you have been vaccinated. I have been laying low during this holiday season because I tested positive for COVID in January of this year! I have not had any symptoms since then. When I visit with family and friends, my circle is always very small. That is intentional.

I hope and pray for you to have a Bountiful and Blessed holiday season! Remember to use your best judgement and a lot of common sense. Happy Holidays!

When God Says, ‘Wait!’

Have you ever thought about why you have to be put in a position to ‘wait’ for certain things in life? Actually, we are ALL waiting for something. When God says, ‘Wait’ it’s always for a good reason. It’s always for the greater good of our lives. I was gifted this book in 2016 called, ‘When God Says Wait,’ by Elizabeth Laing Thompson. In it, she laid out her waiting seasons in life, most extremely painful and connected them to waiting seasons by powerful women in the Bible. My objective with this post is to provide you with some reassurance that your waiting is not in vain. I would also like to give some tips on what to do to ease the waiting periods in life, no matter how painful!

Everyone of us is waiting for something. Whether big or small, we make our requests known to God and we wait. I know it’s hard when God says to wait. I am waiting for things right now also! Whether we know it or not, the waiting seasons transform us. Most of us are totally oblivious to what we need during waiting seasons. They are uncomfortable, lonely and down right awful if we let them. I like to use the analogy, God is taking us from ‘odd to awed,’ during seasons of waiting.We could be waiting for a job, a husband, a wife, a baby, physical healing in our bodies to a million other things. What God really wants us to do is to focus on him during these times in our lives. Those odd seasons of life can be used to get to know God on a deeper level. We can get to know ourselves better and can let these seasons polish and refine us in such a way to equip us with the answers that God will soon provide us with. Getting to know God on a deeper level is more important than the answer to what we are waiting for.

Here are 5 tips on what to do to be a good steward in a waiting season!

1. Reach out to family and friends who may be waiting on something too. It’s most often that loved ones around you could be strengthened by your story. Check on your strong friends.

2. Use social media less during waiting seasons. Comparison is the thief of joy. For some, social media is not the best place to be while we wait. Try to find other forms of entertainment like reading or music. My love for music stemmed from difficult seasons in my life!

3. Try to find strength by fellowshipping with your church family. As much as time will allow, go to church, Bible study and pray without ceasing. There could be someone who could be going through the exact same situation as you! 

4. Keep a gratitude journal. As humans, we should get into a habit of writing down our feelings. When tough times come, you’ll need to be reminded of what God told you!

5. Exercise and eat a healthy diet. It’s important to take care of your mental health during the waiting seasons that are harder than others.