Never Forget How Far You’ve Come

Never forget how far you’ve come. Everything you have been through. All the times you have pushed on even when you felt like you couldn’t. All the mornings you got out of bed no matter how hard it was. All the times you wanted to give up but you got through the day. Never forget how much strength you have learned and developed along the way.

Refine Your Life

In my earlier years when I was going through a difficult transition I used to do this exercise to help me rethink my life. One of the unexpected outcomes was that this exercise helped me free up a bunch of energy and enthusiasm that was hiding inside me.

I discovered a new willingness to take better care of myself. I improved my habits of eating, and exercising I began redefining my own notion of who I was, what I wanted from my life, and what I wanted to give back.

Yes, it can be daunting, I felt like I my found Big Answer. On the other hand I was faced with a whole new set of questions as I starting moving to my new path. I began going to the gym 4 days a week and as I changed some habits my fears and doubts that I thought were just a part of my life were being to disappear.

For me, the most interesting thing about all this was that, for the first time, instead of encountering my barriers and thinking , “ Oh well, I guess this just isn’t going to happen you me,” I began looking at obstacles as invitations to grow and get stronger. I began experiencing with what I would feel like to be on the other side of self-doubt. And of course I started slow because I still had fear I would be rejected. But it felt exhilarating.

As I began to be refined, I could be proud of myself and strong enough to face all my fears and with little doubt. I would get this flood of new energy it was anticipation, excitement and courage. I was able to get up early got to the gym and swim for about a hour, then get on with my new day. I finally had self-efficacy, it’s the sense of confidence you have when you know that you can do what you set out to do.

Know it is possible for everyone by changing some habits and begin to look at things with a new mindset.

Sometimes We Forget How Important Water is

This morning in Church we sang come to the water. I was thinking how many forget the importance of water.

Is God’s gift is not enough? I have had a few conversations about water lately. Water is important to our physical health if we don’t drink enough is can become a dangerous situation. But also it is essential to us as healthy God be in God’s believing people.

Water can be seen in scripture 722 times in the Bible, more often that faith, hope, prayer, and worship. Genesis 1: 2 states the earth was formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Water is such an essential component of like, it was created on the very first day.

Isaiah 55- Come all who are thirsty, come to the waters and you who have no money, come but and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without costs. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could have this in our lives.

Water flows throughout scripture to remind us of it’s importance-both spiritually and physically. Water is the most beautiful element and rich in it’s usefulness and purifies from the filth not only from our bodies it from the soul as well. If you’ve received the grace of the spirit. Water has the power to heal, their are stories in the Bible about the Syrian was cured from his leprosy in the waters of the Jordan river.

Water has the power to purify, to provide deliverance, and it can also destroy evil and enemies as in the story of Noah and the flood.

75% of the earths surface is covered with water. Roughly 70% of an adults body is made up of water, and about 85% of the adult brain is made up of water. Water is essential to life, all all living things need water to survive. So why do we as God’s children, sometimes take this gift, His gift for granted?

Remember that His body was broken for you and water and blood poured out from Jesus’s wound.

So that water to drink from your bottle or glass. Is also that water the God created for us, He has given His life so you we might have life abundantly.

I have a good friend that wrote a song about water, God’s gift to us. “I don’t know what your drinking but, give me a pint as well.” Pure clean water.

Don’t Do Something Permanently Stupid Just Because You Are Temporarily Upset

There are always things that are going to happen that causes us to be temporary upset. That’s just apart of life. But when those things happen we have to find away to keep our wits about us so we don’t do something permanently stupid that we will regret later. Instead we should focus our efforts on handling ourselves in such a way we can be proud of.

A few years ago my son did something to my make my daughter very angry. She told me she’ll never forgive him and they didn’t speak for about five years. It was crazy if he was at the house and she came she would turn around and leave. Then she decided that should accept a apology from him, and when he tried to apologize it was not good enough for her. It caused tension in my family for years. My son moved away and started working at a sometimes dangerous job. She is regretting what she did now. She did something permanently stupid. What ever he did he choose to hurt his sister. So they both acted stupid because they were upset.

Being in a bad situation and acting out only end up making you feel worse in the end, never better. But when you are dealing with a bad situation and you can actively choose to act in a way that shows the kind of person you are striving to be, then no matter how bad the circumstances are you can still walk away from them with your head held high feeling proud of how you behaved. And this a great feeling to have.

Whether it’s lashing out with words you say, or acting out in a physical way, or doing something to intentionally hurt or damage someone else who feel in the moment deserves it acting that way will still ultimately leave you with feeling of regret. Maybe not at that moment or even days later, but at some point you can be sure the regret will come.

Beyond the feelings of regret, you never know if the bridge you are burning today is the very bridge you will have to cross sometime in the further, it’s simply not worth the risk.

If you are able, even the most confrontational situation, to conduct yourself with integrity and treat the other person with respect even if they don’t deserve it, you will always feel proud that you conducted yourself in the right way, and if you find yourself needing to cross that bridge again in the future you can rest assured that the other person will remember the way you treated them and respectful for it.

All I know is the the best feeling in the world is knowing that your God, your Heavenly Father, is smiling because of you. It’s the best feeling even.

The Truth About Being A Strong Woman

A anonymous man once told me that “Being strong is not rewarded.” Women are expected to be vulnerable. Being strong means that your bitter or jaded about something, and that’s just not attractive.

Hears what being a strong woman means tome. It’s standing up for yourself. It means that we’re full- functioning human, one who is independent and able to do things for herself. It means that I have opinions and beliefs that I stand for, and that I do not settle for less.

It doesn’t mean we do not ask for help. I do, asking for help doesn’t mean your weak, it means I am able to acknowledge that I’m not a super woman, and that I’m going to need other people sometimes.

Being Strong doesn’t mean that I close myself off from others or act like I’m better than them. I’m always striving to be better, live better, love better which is about me rather than anyone else. It doesn’t mean that I force my beliefs down anyone’s throats, or judge them for how they think. It doesn’t mean I’m inevitably bitter or jaded. It fact a strong woman is a woman who loves herself and her world and is therefore positive, loving, and self-assured.

To be a strong woman simply means that I am grounded and confident in who I am.

There is a misconception about strong women: that we are difficult to love. But all in reality, it’s the complete opposite. Strong women are the best women to love. We are the women with fierce compassion. We know who we are and we’re not afraid to embrace that. We love wholeheartedly because we love ourselves and we are not looking to better ourselves, but our partners, our worlds.

If your a man who are intimidated by strong women, perhaps it is because you know this women will push you to be better, will make you see the world differently, and will challenge you.

This is the misconception about strong women: that we are difficult to love

Another misconception about being a strong woman is that we’re incapable of being vulnerable. The funny thing is: to be strong, you first have to be vulnerable. You have to look yourself straight in the eye and acknowledge all the parts of yourself that need improvement, all the parts of you that you try to hide behind a smiling face.

Vulnerability means being brutally honest with yourself; it means setting aside your pride and being open with someone and letting them in. Do not mistake independence and strength with an inability to let someone in. A woman that is confident with herself is a woman that will face love straight on.

She is woman that can be vulnerable in a relationship because she knows who she is. And she will let her significant other discover that person by peeling back those layers together.

The truth about being a strong woman is that the world sees us as a threat. We’re just simply too much, too intimidating, too jaded and miserable, and bitter. But we are none of those things. We are women with backbone. Women who aren’t afraid to b proud of ourselves in a world that might not always support us. Women who know the value of our vulnerability, our passion, our strength. And women who will fight anyone who dares say we should be any other way.