Month 7: Mission 7: Focusing my Faith

Wow, I can't believe it's been 7 months since I've started this series! I'm so thankful that I decided to start this blog and chronicle my growth in becoming a better person! I'm grateful for each person who reads and comments. I'm just in a general mood of thanksgiving and I'm glad I've maintained this outlet...it has definitely been beneficial for me!

Month 6: Mission 6: Enjoying my differences

What to do when you're DONE!!! 

We've all been there...reached a certain level of frustration and annoyance with a person or situation that at some point, we realized that we didn't have anything else to give! We are over it, over them, and fed up! We are tired of trying, tired of caring, and tired of trying to make it work. Yep...we're done!

But being done, however appropriate that feeling may seem, is not exactly the type of feeling that you want to let linger in your spirit. Whenever possible, I find it best to address your doneness so that you and those around you move forward in a space of love and productivity.

I certainly don't have all the answers, but below are a few ways I manage to keep my doneness levels in check...{but I still feel DONE many times too!}

Month 5: Mission 5:  Pushing Past my Feelings

21 Day Gentleness Challenge

I described in this post how my default mode is not one that I'm always proud of. Starting on Friday, February 7, I'll be taking deliberate strides to change the Default Me by specifically working on being gentle. Here's my non-dictionary definition of gentle:



Month 4:  Mission 4:  Forward Planning

 

Hey! Here am I!!! Did anyone miss me or notice my absence from blogging? Anyone? {cue crickets…} Well, I certainly missed writing and sharing and hopefully, I am back to a regular writing and posting routine. I did not plan on taking a break, but it’s funny how sometimes things seem to just happen at the time you need them to. 

Even though I wasn’t putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, I was still composing in my head every day….still making mental notes on tips and strategies for living my best life! Keep reading to review my list of things learned/ remembered during my blogging break!
 

I came across an article online a few years back describing how a church created “blessing bags” to distribute to those in need. They filled baggies/ zip lock bags with items they thought were essential for those in their area. I loved that idea so much that I created a few “blessing bags” myself to give out as I saw fit. And because the urge to do this always strikes during this time of year, I thought I would share what my “blessing bags” look like for this year.

Well, Happy New Year!!! I hope this holiday season was a joyous one, filled with good times with family and friends. I hope memories were made and hearts warmed with extended time to fellowship with loved ones. I hope reflection was given to the reason for the season and we entered 2014 with reverence and awe for our Creator and love for all His creations.

Hey 2014! How you doin'?

You know from my Makings of Me series that I like beginnings, so the beginning of a new year is really exciting. Seems like I get another year to do it right, do it better, and do it with love.

Of course I have a million {realistic} goals for this year…things I started last year that I want to continue with or perfect and things I’ll be starting fresh this year. Below are a few things I’m starting new this year just for 2014.

 

 If you're new to The Makings of Me series, read the intro below.

I like beginnings. The beginning of the day, the beginning of the week, the month, the year… There’s something about the beginning that seems so fresh and opportunistic. It’s like you get a clean slate to start whatever you want to start. A diet, an exercise program, a new perspective, a new you.

I mentioned in a previous post that September is my birthday month and so, it dawned on me that this is the beginning of a new year of life for me. I never viewed my birthday that way before. (I’m telling you…it’s something about the 30s!)I usually only considered January 1, the start of the new year, but really, each birthday signifies a new year of life for that individual. Isn’t that nice!? A beginning!

For the next 12 months, I’ll be taking strides and making efforts to improve this year of life for me. I’ll be doing the things I’ve thought about doing but never followed through on. I’ll be doing the things I know I should do, but don’t. I’ll be intentionally working towards doing and being better in areas of my life that I feel need improvement.

Your birthday may be far off, but really, there’s no time like the present to live the life you want to live. Don’t keep waiting if you’ve felt a tug to do and be a better you! Won’t you join me? Share any things you’re working on and your goals towards self improvement in the comments below. This is exciting! This is the beginning of a new you, and a new me!

Month 3: Mission 3:  Apology Rejected!

If you're new to The Makings of Me series, read the intro below.

I like beginnings. The beginning of the day, the beginning of the week, the month, the year… There’s something about the beginning that seems so fresh and opportunistic. It’s like you get a clean slate to start whatever you want to start. A diet, an exercise program, a new perspective, a new you.

I mentioned in a previous post that September is my birthday month and so, it dawned on me that this is the beginning of a new year of life for me. I never viewed my birthday that way before. (I’m telling you…it’s something about the 30s!)I usually only considered January 1, the start of the new year, but really, each birthday signifies a new year of life for that individual. Isn’t that nice!? A beginning!

For the next 12 months, I’ll be taking strides and making efforts to improve this year of life for me. I’ll be doing the things I’ve thought about doing but never followed through on. I’ll be doing the things I know I should do, but don’t. I’ll be intentionally working towards doing and being better in areas of my life that I feel need improvement.

Your birthday may be far off, but really, there’s no time like the present to live the life you want to live. Don’t keep waiting if you’ve felt a tug to do and be a better you! Won’t you join me? Share any things you’re working on and your goals towards self improvement in the comments below. This is exciting! This is the beginning of a new you, and a new me!

Month 2: Mission 2- Eat right!

Gift Notes:  A Planned Approach for Gifting

 

Well, I think it’s pretty much official! The Holiday Season is here! I was hoping I could wait until around Thanksgiving to really get underway with Christmas and all that it entails, but no go. It’s here. Sigh. Get ready!

Today I'm sharing my new strategy for not only gift giving, but also keeping track of the gifts I've given. I realize this method may be a bit much for some, but I enjoy making lists and keeping track of things, so this approach is right up my alley. I'm sure there are many ways to adapt this method to fit your style, including using an app on your phone. But for my pen and paper folks, my strategy may work for you!

Have you ever forgotten what you've purchased someone from one year to the next or couldn't remember if a gift you gave was for someones birthday or Christmas? While ultimately, we know this isn't important, it matters when you're like me and want to give nice, thoughtful gifts that preferably, you didn't give them just the year before!  In the digital age, where everything is computerized and synchronized through Google calendar, I still enjoying jotting things down the old fashioned way.

Enter gift notes.

photo credit

 

Have you started thinking about Christmas yet? The process of decking the halls, giving gifts, holiday meals, and generally being merry? Of course, the true joy of Christmas has little to do with the things I just mentioned and everything to do with Jesus...

Christmas always seems to bring more. More fellowship, more food, more time off, and inevitably, more stuff. Even if you don’t receive a lot of tangible gifts for Christmas, chances are someone in your house does {like your children} and if you don’t have any children, you’re probably buying many things for other people’s children, which means you have to have somewhere to store those gifts until the big day.

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships lately….relationships and connections…community and belonging… all these very natural and inevitable desires we have simply because we’re human. We’re created this way. To want interactions with others.

I haven’t gained or lost a friend lately…I don’t think. Maybe friendships have been on my mind because I marvel at how my children can make friends at the park, in Payless, or the doctor’s office in 1.4 seconds. How my son has a “best friend” who isn’t related to him or imaginary. Maybe it’s because now that I’m thirty-something, I see that my friend circle is more like a semi-circle. I’m ok with that. But with so many things vying for our time and energy, friendships, just like any other relationship require work and effort to maintain.

 
Peer groups aren’t just for children and adolescents, they are important for adults as well. They give us an outlet by which we gain perspective, insight, and knowledge as we venture through life at about the same point on our journey {give or take…of course this varies}. Peers give us that connection and community we crave and can offer advice and affirmation as we do the best we
can to live a happy, fulfilling life.

Because our peer relationships often get put on the back burner, I thought it’d be fun to purposefully peep out our peers with some simple tips to get us feeling good and friendly! You down, Homie?

 

Is it the last Friday in October already? Yep! So that means this is the final installment of Feel Good Friday. Remember, the point of this series was to get in a better place…a place of gratitude and giving, as we enter into the holiday season. Naturally, however, the habits and strategies discussed and started this month would be beneficial to continue well after the holidays are over. They should be woven into our lives on a regular basis.

Are you a list maker? Do you make to-do lists and then reflect on how much you still have to do at the end of the day? Do you sometimes criticize yourself for not getting more done? If so, this tip is for you!

Feel Good Friday Tip #4:  Keep an ‘I Did It’ List

The logic here is quite simple. At the day’s end, instead of feeling like a loser for not doing more, applaud yourself for what you did do and write it down on your ‘I Did It’ list! Whenever I wallow in this space…this space of thinking of all the things I was able to do that day, I immediately feel good! Like, literally a rush of goodness surges through my body because I feel accomplished. While I may not have done it all, at least I was able to (fill in the blank). And my accomplishments are not always grand…I celebrate little things like finally washing the rugs in the bathroom or making time to write a friend back or taking the children to the park. All of that makes me feel good!

Do you do this? Do you focus more on what you didn’t do than on what you did do? If so, I challenge you to keep an ‘I Did It’ list and really feel the goodness that comes from celebrating progress, one baby step at a time. 

Click here to print an ‘I Did It’ list to use for a week. If you feel better by doing this, come back and print it again and again and be sure to leave a comment below!

If you missed any of the Feel Good Friday posts, click the links below to catch up on the good feelings!

 

Feel Good Friday Tip #1

Feel Good Friday Tip #2

Feel Good Friday Tip #3

 

Well, hello and happy Friday! 

I hope this post finds you counting your blessings and doing random acts of kindness! I’m pretty excited to share the 3^rd tip for Feel Good Friday because it’s a biggie. I mean, it’s a game changer, but the thing is, like anything else worth having, you have to actually put in work! And quite frankly, I know that sometimes…many times, we just don’t feel like doing whatever it is we know we should do or what we could do. There are many factors that play into why we don’t do things we know we should do or that we want to do. One of the biggest reasons is that we are comfortable where we are and don’t want to push pass those initial awkward feelings because we are so use to doing things the way we’ve always done them. Change can be hard, my friends, but it is so doable and worth it!

Feel Good Tip #3:  Give what you want!

So, what areas of lack do you feel there are in your life? What do you want more of?  More money, more praise and recognition on your job, more romance, more communication with your friends and family? Whatever you feel you need more of…GIVE MORE OF IT! Simple as that.

Tell me in the comments what you plan to give more of and how you plan to do it. For example, if you want more money then you’ll be giving more money in support of charitable causes by sending a check to an organization or group. If you want more recognition, then start recognizing other people for their efforts by verbalizing the positive things you notice in their work.

If you’ve already experienced this in your life (the give to get phenomenon) and know it to be true, share your experience! We’d love to hear it!  

Happy Friday!

Are you still counting your blessings? Like for real…by writing them down on paper? I’ll be honest…I’ve forgotten a few nights so I’ll be sharing soon what I’m doing to combat that. Let’s make being grateful part of our daily lives, forever and ever…

Feel Good Tip#2:  Do random acts of kindness!

There’s something powerful about being kind to someone who’s not expecting it or doing something out of the norm just to show your thanks and appreciation. There’s something special about being generous and doing more than your fair share. It makes the ordinary, extraordinary.

So, you may be wondering what exactly I mean by ‘random acts of kindness’ because the word random doesn’t always evoke nice thoughts. We could easily substitute the word unexpected or super nice for the word random. Essentially, I’m saying do a nice gesture for someone, just because. Do something that you thought about doing for a split second but then decided you didn’t have time to carry it out. Do that thing that you think, “It would be nice if…” The biggest thing here is to DO SOMETHING! So often our good deeds stay trapped in our heads. Let’s act on them and touch someone’s heart.

Here are some examples of random acts of kindness I have done or plan to do.

1.       Give people coupons in the check-out lanes when I see they have something in their cart that I have coupons for.

2.    Write a kind letter to someone or a business.

3.    Prepare a home cooked meal for someone and deliver it to them.

4.    Plan an outing for or with someone just because it’s something they like to do.

5.     Donate things.

6.    Pay off or pay something on someone’s lay away plan at a participating retailer.

7.     Be a good listener, despite being tired.

8.    Give goodie bags to the homeless.

9.    Give of my time, without accepting anything tangible in return.

The possibilities are endless! What random acts of kindness have you done and what do you plan to do in the coming days? Have you ever been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness? How did it make you feel?

I like beginnings. The beginning of the day, the beginning of the week, the month, the year… There’s something about the beginning that seems so fresh and opportunistic. It’s like you get a clean slate to start whatever you want to start. A diet, an exercise program, a new perspective, a new you.

I mentioned in a previous post that September is my birthday month and so, it dawned on me that this is the beginning of a new year of life for me. I never viewed my birthday that way before. (I’m telling you…it’s something about the 30s!)I usually only considered January 1, the start of the new year, but really, each birthday signifies a new year of life for that individual. Isn’t that nice!? A beginning!

For the next 12 months, I’ll be taking strides and making efforts to improve this year of life for me. I’ll be doing the things I’ve thought about doing but never followed through on. I’ll be doing the things I know I should do, but don’t. I’ll be intentionally working towards doing and being better in areas of my life that I feel need improvement.

O to the… C to the…! October is here and so, you know what that means. The Holiday Season is practically here. We just welcomed in Fall and it seems like we’ll go straight from pumpkins and leaves to Christmas trees and presents! Stores all around are already stocking shelves with Christmas décor to usher in this fun time of year. But for many people, the Holiday Season also brings extra stress and anxiety. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of going, going, going during this time of year and feel pressure to keep up and do more. To get our minds right before that time of year is completely upon us, I’ve created Feel Good Fridays. Each Friday in October, I’ll be sharing simple things we can do to help get, and hopefully keep us in a spirit of love and thankfulness. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?!

Feel Good Tip #1:  Count your blessing!

Ah yes, how many times have you heard this one? The logic and practice of counting your blessing is certainly not a new idea. In fact, entire books are written on the subject of gratitude and the positive implications it can have on your life. Starting today and for the remainder of the month (or whatever you can realistically do…although I’ll bet you’ll want to make this a permanent habit) COUNT YOUR BLESSING! And I mean, really count them by writing them out somewhere. I feel that the act of writing helps draw your attention to what you’re thinking and feeling. Just listing things in your head is good, but it makes your thought much more fleeting. We want to really focus on all that we have to be thankful for and having a written account also allows us to reflect on it and review it at a later date.

Challenge yourself to come up with at least 5 things everyday without repeating, if possible.

Do you keep a gratitude journal? What ways do you like to reflect on your blessings?

Do you ever feel like there is a disconnect between the person you are and the person you want to be? Like somehow your actual self and your envisioned self do not line up? Do you ever set goals and promise yourself you’ll adopt new habits, new perspectives and outlooks and overall just do better? Then, do you fail? Do you not do want you wanted to do, what you planned to do, what you promised yourself that ‘from now on’ you would do? Well, I’m there.