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Simple gratitude.

This year my goal is twofold.

1. Strengthen my relationship with Jesus

2. Simplify

I’ve decided to challenge myself each month with a theme to simplify my life. Month one is simplify my home. Some things I’ve tackled so far:

Entryway and coat closet. Note to reader…CAUTION this will leave you with an extreme, uncontrollable amount of excitement and satisfaction. We have a small space but I knew it was workable if I changed it up. Our shoes were OUT of CONTROL! Our coats didn’t fit in the closet and ended piled on the floor in a corner (if not somewhere in the kitchen), and the baskets for my two and one year olds’ shoes were a nightmare to find even one shoe from a pair in. Here’s how I took my sanity back. I took my shoes off the shoe rack in our closet, eliminated about 6-7 pairs that I never wear and took the shoe rack out. Instead of baskets for my 2.5 year old and 12 month old, I now use the shoe rack. It’s not the most beautiful thing our entry has seen but it is 💯 more practical.

I am seriously in awe of how in control of my house I feel with some order in the entry of our home.

2. Refrigerator, outside first. Try to trust me on this. So we purchased a new construction home, and were allotted so much money per appliance. It was a reasonably priced upgrade for stainless steel, so we splurged for it. Two years in with kids, our refrigerator has finger prints everywhere within thirty seconds of a wipe down, the freezer has three dents from a new tricycle incident last spring, and the door boasts our two year old’s (to Mom and Dad) award winning artwork along with 10-12 family/friend photos all of which I firmly believed brought me immense joy.

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Why I’m On a Social Media Elimination Diet

I have committed to a 30 Day Social Media Elimination Diet. You read that right; I am doing it and can already see that it is not a fad diet. Cold turkey I cut all of my access to Facebook/Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest. I am not cutting myself off from my own personal blog however, which is why I am still here sharing my journey. 🙂

WHY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Decide for yourself if any of my reasons for quitting resonate with you. 

 

 

 

There are a few main reasons that I am trying out a full blown social media cleanse.

 

    1. I lost my mom and best friend to a cancer battle 21 days after having my now seven month old son. I am still working on accepting life without her, and my hope is that a social media cleanse will be a healthy way to continue my grieving, and further the healing process as I learn my new normal without her on this earth.
    2. I want my life to be about living, praying, and loving which all require looking up.
    3. Social media the way I’m using it bids productivity farewell.
    4. I’m ready to stop whining about feeling overwhelmed as a mother of two kids two and under. I’m opening my eyes to the possibility that some, if not most of these feelings can be alleviated by using my time more wisely.
    5. My priority isn’t social media, so why am I giving away so much of my day to it?
    6. I won’t look back on my life one day and say “I’m so proud of all the loves I gave to others on Facebook” or “I’m honored at how many people liked my posts on Facebook.”
    7. My mind feels like it is on a racetrack where my thoughts constantly circle, but never get to actually finish the race.
    8. Last but not least, losing my loving mother reminds me that time is far too precious to waste on purpose (I don’t purposely waste time but I allow it). 
    9. I am sick of the guilt!!!! I am a people pleaser to the core. I have come to realize however that here is no legitimate reason that I have to wish a friend I haven’t spoken to since 9th grade a happy birthday just because I see that it is her birthday.  As much as I want to believe it will make her day more magical it probably will not, and her birthday will still be okay if I don’t wish her a special day.
    10. My time is limited We are all busy, busy with the things we choose to be busy with. I know it has already been said, but I feel the need to clarify that social media is NOT or at least SHOULD NOT be my priority.

 

 

 

Lights out for the night….stay with me on this journey folks! Please feel free to share this post! 

Short Link: http://wp.me/p8J4Hd-2t

Follow my 30 Day Social Media Elimination Diet Challenge below:

Link Here

As day one of my personal challenge comes to a close, I am eager for positive changes to continue as I complete the upcoming 29 days. I won’t get into the reasons that I enjoy social media because I think anyone reading a blog post understands them. To be clear, I’m not planning on giving up my connections for good. I just need to reduce my personal usage which I believe will benefit me and my family.

To my dismay, on this first day  I caught myself phone in hand, finger at the ready for my habitual swipes countless more times than I ever would have guessed would happen during a typical day. These grabs happened mostly when I was bored, stressed, irritated, and/or alone (which hardly happens with kids…). I never reached for it during the moments I was truly present with my kids, husband or self. After so many absent minded attempts at a swipe I resorted to deleting my Facebook, Messenger, Snapchat, and Instagram off of my phone for the remainder of the challenge.

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10 Things to Pray For During the Happy, Sad, or Hard Times.

Prayer. It is such a gift to have a direct line to the Heavenly Father. Long before technology was even a thing imagined, God gave us access to the best possible kind, AND we can reach him anytime, anyplace, regarding anything.

10 Things to Pray For  

1. Words to Say

Don’t think, just pray. Pray while you think of what to pray. If you don’t know where to begin start by asking God for some help. God isn’t like the people on this earth who care about the words you choose. As long as your heart is there, and you hold tight to the belief that through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven…that’s the only start you really need.

2. Help

It’s easy to get lost and forget that God is here to help us. He doesn’t always answer in the way we might like, and his timing doesn’t always match our ideal window, but we can pray for help of any kind.

3. Releasing Anger

If you’re upset about something and just can’t let it go, a prayer can help you find strength to let go, and let God. A memory etched in my mind is of my mom giving me [at the time one very angry high school girl] advice about holding onto anger. As I huffed and puffed about a situation I was upset over, my mom told me that the girl I was mad at probably wasn’t even thinking about me. “Why give your energy to someone who probably isn’t thinking about you for a second?” She also gave me her speech about never going to bed angry. It is so much clearer now looking back. Of course things happen that make us mad and upset, but we need to find a way to let them go to move on with our own lives. If we can’t, we should pray until we can. God will give you peace. You may not get a resolution, or understanding, but God will work in your heart if you pray hard and long enough to move on with your life.

4. Strength to Forgive

Letting go of anger and forgiveness go hand in hand, although for those BIG things, forgiveness can be as hard if not harder. The best way I know to find the heart to forgive, is to look in the mirror and think of all the forgiveness Jesus has allowed me. Jesus responded to the question of how many times one should forgive their brother with 70×7. Jesus didn’t mean forgive 707 times and then you’re clear to move on. Forgiveness is a gift that’s been given to us by our Savior. Sometimes the greatest gift of forgiveness is forgiving myself, or someone else. In my experience forgiveness is freeing every time. Even if it is undeserved. Especially if undeserved. Keeping my reflection close reminds me that I should be quick to forgive others knowing I am a sinner. Just like with anger if you can’t forgive, pray for the heart that eventually can.

5. A Grateful Heart

I am a firm believer that the true key to happiness is having a grateful heart. If you look around there is so much to be thankful for. If you’re feeling down give a heartfelt thank you to someone by giving them a call, text, or better yet a hand written card or note.

6. Wisdom

It’s tough sometimes to step back from controlling our own lives and say Jesus I need your wisdom. We don’t know it all, He does. What a beautiful gift to be able to ask him to give us his infinite wisdom. Along with any wisdom I’ve ever asked for I have always been granted peace following the prayer.

7. Childlike Faith

Speaking of wisdom, a wise teacher Mr. Marv Erdman once told me that a person should never become so intelligent that they lose their childlike faith. If there is something testing your faith, you may need to ask for guidance in finding your childlike faith. Put your trust in Jesus, and he will sustain you.

8. Peace

In our chaotic, sin filled world, peace can only truly come from our Lord and Savior. There is no other way to feel it than through divine intervention. Pray for one of the many types of peace: inner peace, peace on earth, peace in our relationships, peace in our family. You choose the peace that your heart needs most or better yet pray for multiple types of peace in one sitting. Even if you don’t need peace right now, you know someone who does if you think long enough.

Here are some types of inner peace that you may want to pray for:  Pray for peace from comparing yourself to others, peace from unhealthy lifestyles, peace for the broken hearted, peace for our families, and the list could go on to an infinite number number. See how I found peace through my 30 day social media elimination diet.

9. Placing God First

Pray for making God your first priority, and know that everything else will be in His care. I often struggle with loving God more than my children. I know that in reality they are His children and I have been blessed to keep them in my care. Maybe there is something else in your life that you keep putting first: money, your spouse, job. Pray to keep God the biggest priority in your life.

10.  Releasing Our Need to Control

I saved the best for last. What a merciful God to take control of our lives for us. He has a plan, and we will flourish through it when we look to Him.

In a world that focuses on social media, it is no wonder that so many let God take a backseat. Posts scream that we ourselves alone are powerful and in control of change. God absolutely wants us to be bold and confident in our own abilities. He wants positive changes for our lives, he is after all our Heavenly Father that wants the best for us. The best for us is to remember that ultimately He is in control, and we should live our lives for him. He wants us to rely on him when our willpower runs thin, or our strength runs out. He will give us all the strength we need to reach our goals.

 

 

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Sometimes you just need a reminder.

May 3rd, 2017

Have you ever had a sick baby? What a pointless question to ask a mom right?! Today  I am home with my daughter after she had a fever top out at 104 yesterday home sick with her daddy (it’s just viral so it’s all good). Well, This year I had a chance to gain a new perspective on sick kids.

My son who was only about two months old at the time spiked a fever of 103. He had been battling a cough/cold since birth and we ended up being admitted into the hospital to find out what was causing such a high fever and elevated white blood cell count in such a tiny baby. The doctor wondered about whooping cough, and we were thinking things like what if the blood cells mean cancer? My husband and I were terrified, and just prayed that everything would be ok. Everything turned out to be viral, and after an overnight stay we were sent home with a happy, healthy, baby.

While praying and being so thankful when we were sent home, it occurred to me that maybe God was doing a favor by reminding me of His plan, power, and love. You see, I had lost my mom just 3 weeks after my son’s birth, and my grief was overwhelming me to the point that it was stealing some of my joy as a new mom. I realized in that moment that this was God’s way of saying that I have SO much to be thankful for. A strong faith, 32 years to enjoy the best mom in the world, a loving husband, two healthy babies, and the list could go on. God’s plan is hard for us to understand sometimes, but He knows best. Take some time to think about the blessings in your life, and thank God for them despite of the trials he gives you. Take comfort in knowing that He is in charge, and that sometimes there is a lesson to be taken even from the hardest life situations.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for reminding me that Your will is better than my plan. I thank you God that you have lifted the burden of taking charge of my life plan. Please forgive me when I try to take over. Thank you for reminding me of the blessings in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Mother’s Day for the Grieving

 

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My mom and I on Mother’s Day four years ago (hair growing back after her aggressive cancer treatment). She went to heaven on this past New Year’s Eve.
As a new mother myself, the only gift I will ever want for Mother’s Day is time with my sweet blessings, Brooklyn (almost 2) and Carter (5 months). My mom always loved when her kids would come home, and her personal favorite- join her and my dad for church on Mother’s Day Sunday or any Sunday for that matter. I never really understood why, but now that she is gone it makes sense to me. I am sharing my experience hoping that I can help someone else who is dealing with grief. Whether it’s the loss of a mother, father, grandparent, sibling, or friend, I hope someone can find a level of peace through reading my experience.

A verse that I cling to these days is: “Your faith has made you well” Matthew 9:22 (ESV). The story from the Bible surrounding this verse has nothing to do with grief, but instead is about Jesus healing a woman when she touched his clothes. My mom loved and read it often after her diagnosis (6 months or less) holding on to her faith that only He had the power to heal her during the four years that she battled anaplastic thyroid cancer.

So what does this verse have to do with me, or the grieving? After all, my mom’s faith was unwavering and she still had her life taken by cancer. How does it relate to me when I still miss my mom every second of every day…grab my phone to call her, and start to add her to a family group text with pictures of my children? Or when to my surprise I miss her most in the happy times when I would have called her to tell her something great that happened, knowing that noone else will ever be as elated as she was when I would tell her that Brooklyn said a new word, rolled or crawled? The way it relates to me is actually pretty simple. These powerful words of Jesus “Your faith has made you well,” give me hope. No explanation or thing on this earth will ever give me a remnant of peace, strength, hope, or understanding as to why my mom was taken from this earth so soon. It is through the word of God, His mercy, and much grace that I find these things. Through my faith I realize that God’s plan is better than mine. It will never be easy to accept that she is gone, but it is through faith that I can.

Through my faith, I am thankful for Mother’s Day, and every day. I’m grateful for the promise Jesus gives that one day I will be with her again. I am especially thankful for the opportunities that I have to go to church, even on Mother’s Day where I might have to swallow hard and wipe some tears, and fight back a few more thinking of how much I miss her. Although it will be hard, church is the place where I feel the closest to my mom. I now understand why she loved so much for us kids to join her and my dad any Sunday we could after we left home. I am thankful for the grateful heart that my mom modeled throughout every moment of her cancer battle. She reminded me that there is “always, always, something to be thankful for.” When asked how she was, she often replied “I’m grateful.” I am thankful for the love of family and friends, and for the blessing of being a mom myself. I am thankful for the 31 years that I was able to spend with my incredible mom.

On Mother’s Day and everyday, I’ll strive to live in the joy of knowing that God’s plan is better than mine, and hold tight to the promise that I’ll be together with my mom again someday. So for those sweet loving friends and family members who are thinking of me this Mother’s Day, you can know that through faith alone, I am doing well. And you better believe I am snuggling my sweet babes and thanking God for my chance to be their mom.  ❤️🙏🏻IMG_3906