Year of Yays! The '2023' Edition.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Love!

Happy, Happy Monday to you!

Monday #054 Time Stamp: 10:38 AM CST

I have some EXTRA pep in my step today because...

1. It's the day of my dear Savior's birth. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

AND..

2. I have a brand new look to my blog now. In 2024, I will begin the process of building a whole new website and home for my blog to breathe, live, grow and thrive!

I want you guys to absolutely enjoy this beautiful holiday in whatever way you celebrate BUT just 3 major YAYS I want to share with you in this Christmas edition of my blog I like to call, 'The Year of Yays, 2023!'

• In 2023, I prayed for courage for God to give me the strength to move forward with my life in the healthiest and most productive ways possible! In 2023, I had to grieve the loss of several long time friends who no longer served a purpose in my life! It was so painful. This is a season where God wants to do new things in my life when it comes to ALL of my relationships! I have gone without for years and this year, God and I dealt with that area of my life and I REALLY needed to heal. AND I have! I have done the hard work and am now ready for God to replace every one of those old relationships!
• In 2023, I learned how to put myself 1st! This year, I have truly learned how to invest in MYSELF!!! And I have learned that every woman should learn how to do that, ESPECIALLY if you are a single woman of God! We are responsible for SO much. When I say invested in myself, I mean taking care of every aspect of my life. And if I cannot change what needs to be changed in the current moment, I am at least acknowledging it. I have learned how to be fully accountable for EVERYTHING that is going on in my life!
• In 2023, I learned how to take ACTION! I began working a retail job as a Supervisor in August of 2023 and my level of body movement changed drastically. I walk between 4,000 to 5k steps every single day at work. I removed all dairy from my diet in April 2023 so it was like I got a head start on my weight loss goals! Since February 2023, I have dropped 21 pounds. YAAASSS! I feel and look better than I have in years and I am just getting started! This year, I have learned to power of taking Action everyday because we know that..
• 'Faith Without Works Is Dead!'-James 2:26

Addressing these 3 major areas in my life has given me SO much confidence and I have discovered a whole new level of LOVE and RESPECT for myself! 2024-Let's ROLL!

Enjoy this beautiful holiday, my love! I love you and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it! Smiling!

72 Hours.

Happy Monday, Superstar!

Monday #053 Time Stamp: 8:39 AM CST

My weekend was SUPER restful and I have a lot to say this beautiful Monday morning! I have had this nudge from the Holy Spirit that I am called into the motivational speaking space for several years now! To be honest, it is why I continue writing in this, 'Motivational Monday' platform every week. I began following, Trent Shelton, a Christian based motivational speaker, author and former NFL wide receiver. Trent played with my twin brother, Julius when he played with the Seattle Seahawks in 2008! Trent has a Christian-based ministry called, 'Rehab Time.' I have been following him for years. Actually, he is the one who inspired me to begin making videos from my car!!! It is so much fun, you guys! 

One day after work last week, I was feeling a little defeated. Trent has become my go-to for wholesome and positive messages. I logged onto Facebook and he was talking about the things that have happened in his life that should have made him quit! He lost his mother a few years ago and losing a parent is one of the most painful things adults have to endure. Trent went onto say something that stuck with me. 'When things happen in my life that are hard to understand and that make me want to give up...I give myself 72 hours to vent, cry, complain and then I am moving on with my life!' For me, that means 72 hours of leaning on my own understanding...but when things happen in my life that I do not understand, I immediately play my favorite gospel song,' Run Til I Finish,'-by Smokie Norful. God knows we will not understand everything that we have to endure in life. This is why he sent the Holy Spirit. We are all human and dealing with life is always hard to understand...But, God gives us peace if we ask him for it. He will comfort us and give us grace to endure whatever trial we are struggling with. 

I hope you guys have a wonderful week leading up to Christmas! I absolutely love this holiday. Just a chance to celebrate the reason for the season, spend time with my family and do something we all love, EAT baby! YAAAASSS!!! This time of year allows me to assess my year and prepare for the 1st quarter of 2024, which I am doing right now. I encourage you guys to make a list of some things you want to accomplish or want to come to fruition in 2024 and begin working on them now. Be intentional with your time right now. 72 hours can turn into years if we are not careful and God wants YOU to use those 72 hours of trouble to bless others! Please, let me know in the comments how I can pray for you in the next 2 weeks as we close out 2023. I love you and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it! Have a beautiful day! Let's GOOOO! Smiling.

Discomfort of Destiny vs Familiarity!

Happy Monday, sweets! BRRrrrrrr!

Monday #052 Time Stamp: 8:05 AM CST

Baby, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! And winter doesn't even begin in the Nashville area until a few days after Christmas! Maybe this is an indication that we will have a white Christmas...

I hope you are well and have been since our last meet up. I wanted to talk about 'Destiny' today! I have found that over the years, I have been tempted to remain in my comfort zone during the more trying moments in my life. After I gain some clarity from my savior, I push through and am ALWAYS glad that I did! The simple fact is, your comfort zone is not a home, IT IS A CAGE. 

I believe that we were all put here on an assignment! We aren't here to merely do what we want. We can but that's not our destiny! Your destiny or your calling requires you to partner with God in order to get clear on your assignment. Sure, it is easier to just stay in your comfort zone and never find out why you were REALLY put on this earth! I was created to be an educator and I believe I am fulfilling that calling. But there is so much more for me to discover. I really despise being in my comfort zone at any time. It is just so isolating and lonely. Finding your destiny will be uncomfortable because it is only for YOU! Once you find your gift, you are meant to hone in on it and perfect it and ultimately, share it with the world! Every single person on this planet has a unique gift! Once I started to explore the things I was really good at, life started to really open up for me! To find my gift, I just paid attention to the activities that I found myself doing consistently well and that I would do for free! It has been difficult getting here but this is MY journey! MY story! AND everyone has one. Let's get comfortable with being uncomfortable and find DESTINY! I love you and there is nothing you can do about it! LET'S GOOOOO! Smiling.

Apples To Oranges!

Happy Monday, love!

Monday #051 Time Stamp: 11:35AM CST

I hope your Monday is off to an incredible start! This is my 1st blog post since mid-September and I am super excited to connect again...SMILING!!! The Christmas holiday season is HERE and I couldn't be more excited!!! Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year and I LOVE celebrating all that it means! But it has not always been this way for me. I used to struggle with slight seasonal depression from 2010-2013. It was such a battle and it was something that I had to work through with God, my therapists and my Dr.'s at the time. It has been so hard at times. BUT, I have remained faithful and that depression has been lifted!!!! PRAISE HIM!!! 

Most, not all but, MOST of the depression came from my need to compare myself to other people. Comparison is something that many of us do during the holiday season. It is like comparing apples to oranges! It is so easy to just assume that EVERYONE around us is so happy and to assume that they are doing SO much better than you! It is just not true and everyone living has problems of some kind! It is absolutely absurd to believe that others have a problem free life. This is the way that an unhealthy mind thinks! Social media would have us to believe that a svelte woman with 50K followers, an attractive husband, cute kids and a dog live a problem free life!!  NO ma'am! That is an illusion and we have to guard our hearts from believing these things. I am only able to participate in social media because I spend a lot of time with God! I read his word daily! I enjoy it, it fills me up and it is exactly what my spirit needs daily, BUT even more when I am using social media. 

These days, my agenda is filled with me thinking of ways to turn my trials in life into a testimony to help people to become Overcomers, too! That is what spending time with God does for me. Having a large bank account and being attractive do not equal happiness! Please, stop comparing yourselves to people on social media. YOU are all that you need! YOU!!! We have no idea what others have gone through to be at their level in life. Do you know what is a trillion times better that happiness? JOY! We are 21 days away from Christmas 2023 AND 28 days from beginning a brand new year! Celebrate yourself just the way you are right now! YAAAASSSS!!!! I love you AND there is absolutely nothing you can do about it! Let's GOOOOO!!! Smiling!