Focus on the good

It doesn't matter how wonderful life is...there are times when life just throws mud in our eyes!

It doesn't matter if you are on top of the world, if something comes along that tips you - 

you just lose focus.  

I've been listening to #JoyceMeyer on the internet for quite a while now.  I gain so much strength and inspiration from her teachings. She's consistently feeding into us that we have the power and control over our thoughts and mind to overcome life's negativity.  I am so thankful that I've been listening and studying these practices over the past several months because I, for one, can testify that it's working, NOT that I've perfected it...because I haven't.  I fall, fail, etc...but I can see and feel that transformation.  Life is just too short to waste time and energy on the negatives.  I truly don't want to live out the next chapters with hurt, bitterness, resentment and ugliness in my heart.  I want to be an over comer!

We all have battles, we all get tripped up, we all have needs, wants, desires, etc...we are human after all, but with those, let's keep our eyes on what God is doing in our lives.  

Give yourself a chance

Let go of the way you think it should be and give yourself a chance at a blank slate and an open mind to the future.

Don't carry around the baggage you've been holding on to into this new phase in your life.  Don't hold on to the negative opinions of others when you are beginning your new walk.  We've all made mistakes, we'll all make more, it's life.

Only you have the power to wipe the slate clean. 

I'm not telling you to pack all your things and move to a new town - you don't need to run from anything - you can just choose to make up your mind to dig your heels into life and stand tall knowing you're giving yourself the chance at starting over.  It's time to start creating the life you have always dreamed of having, one positive step at a time.

I dare you to believe in your future!

Do it anyway!

Cody McCasland

Born prematurely in 2011 and not expected to live more than a few days.

Cody's will was stronger than the circumstances, stronger than doctor opinions, stronger than evidence.  He does not let anything stop him....and I'm pretty sure he's faced more than his fare share of "bad days" and just look at his smile, precious!

What are you faced with?  Are you mad?  Are you angry at the life you've been given - the hand you've been dealt?  Look at Cody's face...he's running his race with a smile, with determination, with the strongest will to win...he's not giving up!!!  When you feel like you're in a losing battle remember Cody's story.  If this young boy can fight the insurmountable odds that have been against him since the moment he entered this world....you can win too!

We have to take the focus off the problem and start looking towards the solution.  We have to stop thinking about life with a poor me attitude - we are more than conquerors.  

Don't get tripped up on life's troubles as you start over.  Stay in the race! Keep running!  

"Ain't gonna be no rematch" -Apollo Creed (Rocky)

It was the story line that captivated the hearts of men and women, boys and girls.  Who doesn't love an underdog story?!  A struggling individual given a chance to succeed, fights his way to the top, wins the belt..and the girl! :)

I admit, I had a crush on Sylvester Stallone as a young girl...there was something about that man that had a little girl captivated.  I was 4 years old when the first Rocky movie came out in 1976.  He was the man tagged as the Italian Stallion! Heart be still!!  My dad...knowing how much I loved him, was able to have Sly autograph a photo for me which I still have to this day.  Ahhhhh :)

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Rocky's story isn't too far fetched to be yours too.  Maybe you've been knocked down by life.  You've lost your fight, that zeal to take another step, you may be down but don't count yourself out!  Muster up the strength of a fighter...change your mind set, shake off your blues and get back into the fight!!!  It's your fight...so win!  

You have one shot at this life...

Start this day with the mindset of a winner!!

Healing comes...

I'm constantly getting side looks from Greg...I don't know how to keep my hands away from my face.  It's a terrible habit!  Here I am in my 40's and I still get "blemishes" on my skin - go figure lol!!!

  I hate that!  He tells me if I just leave them be, they will go away.  WISE man!!

Well, I got to thinking about that when I ran across this phrase,  I was reminded once again of another one of life's lessons.

If we want to heal, we want someone else to heal....we have to stop bringing the painful parts of the past up.  Just like that road rash we all received when learning to ride our bikes, a scab has to dry up and heal.  If you pick at it, it just gets infected, nothing good comes from it! Leave it alone....and eventually you'll see the scab disappears, a scar will be left behind, but the pain....is gone.  

We all have things in our past that we just want to overcome.  If you have a spouse, a child a friend that needs to heal, or you need to heal and can't because it's brought up again and again and again...it's time to stop.  It's time to rip the bandage off for the last and final time.  Everyone, including yourself deserves the opportunity at a peaceful life.  

It's time....time to live.  Let go of your past, quit licking your wounds.  Think yourself happy again.

Here's to a beautiful life filled with scars, filled with the good and the bad, filled with hope and promises, filled with healing.

Open your windows

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, smell the ocean air, feel the salt on your face.

Sometimes we just need to transport ourselves to that place.  The place of peace and tranquility and remind ourselves to find rest. 

This is something I myself need to do.  Over the past two weeks I have found myself caught up in the whirlwind of dreams - big wedding/small wedding, wedding dress or just buy something simple/yet elegant.  Packing/selling personal items to be move in ready with my fiance upon our marriage.  Not only preparing my own mind and heart but my youngest daughter and our doggies....as well.

In all that - I have found myself praying that this is not all too good to be true.  That my prince charming truly does love me and wants a life with me...this woman who's been hurt and broken...this woman who has been rejected and left to fend for myself...is it true, is it real?

God is the giver of peace, grace and mercy and once again granted me the peace that I need.  I'm so thankful for a patient man who reassures me it's all going to be okay...it's like opening the window to a beautiful breeze; how he calmed my spirit today.

I know starting over isn't always easy - I know little things try to trip us up....but if we (I) can just remember to stop, take a deep breath, enjoy and appreciate the simplest of things...I'll be reminded once again that it's all going to be okay.

I'm opening the windows of my heart - letting peace flow in and believing in this beautiful life that's in front of me!

Life is a gift

Don't waste it...we have but one life to live.

Life is meant to be filled with love and appreciation - compassion and forgiveness.
Don't squander with bitterness, anger, fear, and resentment.

Take this opportunity to create the life you deserve!

#startingover15

In love

Good Morning to you all.  I woke up today with so much love in my heart, it's hard to contain.  I am blessed to have fallen in love with my best friend.  I am blessed to have someone worth the fight!  Trust me it hasn't been easy, but it's been worth it each step of the way.

Living in a small community and falling in love isn't always easy but we have learned to navigate through it all.  I'm blessed to have amazing girlfriends who have been there in the good and bad.  I'm blessed to have daughters who wanna see their momma happy and loved.  I'm just blessed!!

I want to thank God for restoring my faith in that head over heels, over the moon, completely captivated kind of love.  I still get butterflies when I see him looking at me, I can't wait to see him no matter how long our time apart has been.  I have truly found my prince charming.

He proposed to me this past Friday - on a day that holds heartache and pain for so many - Sept 11th.  But for me, it was just one more reminder of how God turns beauty from ashes.  Best day of my adult life up til now!

This is one woman who believes that starting over was the best decision of my life!!!

I love you Greg!!! Thank you for starting over with me!!!

A made up mind

I'm often reminded at just how easy life is when we make up our mind on certain matters.  

When you make up your mind to lose weight, it's easy to say no to the unhealthy snacks.  When you make up your mind to save money, it's easy to hold on to that $20 bill in your wallet, you're just not about to waste it.

When you make up your mind to stop drinking or using drugs, you find you have the will power to push through the withdraws.  When you make up your mind to love someone, it's easy to love them and them alone.

It's crazy how powerful your mind is.  A made up mind is more powerful than anything else.  It's a force to be reckoned with.  You just cannot change a made up mind.  There have been soldiers who have been tortured for information but because they made up their mind to serve their country and stay loyal to their country and comrades they never gave in.  

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As we start over in life we have to remember....we can't move forward until our mind is made up.  Otherwise, we'll find ourselves in the same trap again and again. 

Whatever you are starting over in - do it with a made up mind and you'll never have to start over again!!!!

Who am I?

I am...worth it!  I am chosen.  I am free.  I am loved.  I am smart.  I am blessed.  I am a mom.  I am a daughter.  I am a cousin.  I am a niece.  I am an aunt.  I am a sister.  I am an employee.  I am bright.  I am smart.  I am beautiful.  I am happy.  I am blessed.  I am a christian.  I am saved.  I am a friend.  I am needed.  I am important.  I am fun.  I am Me!!

This list can grow and grow...but what I'm focusing on are all the positives.  I refuse to focus on any part of me that would cast a negative reflection in my own mind.

This past weekend was a weekend I'll forever have seared in my mind and memory.  My boyfriend of nearly a year, flew me to Colorado with him to meet some of his dearest friends, took a tour of the city where he attended college, took in a CSU game and went into the most amazing Colorado Rockies.  In that trip he got down on one knee at the top of the mountain overlooking Fort Collins and asked me to be his wife.  The validation I received in that moment was incredible.

I am chosen!

Just as he made the choice to ask me for my hand.  I made the choice to say yes.
So today I type this out knowing...
I AM LOVED BY HIM!
I AM GOING TO LOVE HIM UNTIL MY LAST BREATH!

Thankful for the path that has brought me to this point in my life, for second and third chances, for hope and restoration, for a God who brings beauty from ashes and for a will to start over when I felt all hope was lost.

Here's to starting over - in this new and amazing chapter in life!

Momma said there'd be days like this....

  I love my hairstylist.  She's not just someone who cuts and colors my hair, but she's a friend and I just absolutely love her.  We've run into a bit of a problem the last several times she's attempted to color up my brunette base - it's turned a reddish/orange hue and I don't care for that on me.  So try and try she does, but to no avail.  Wellllll yesterday she used an ash on my hair and while it took the red out of the base, it caused my blonde ends (which I love) to turn purple and gray (which I hate). YIKES!!! 

So basically the above picture is me! lol...

I'm thankful for a man who loves me beyond my hair...he sent me a text last night (in my self pity mode) that stated... "You are a beautiful lady...try and relax...everything will be fine...the people who love you the most know your heart and soul! Not your hair babe..."  How I love this man.

I guess this shows me that life...is just life.

There are greater problems out there than me feeling out of my skin.
We have Veterans who have died while waiting to receive health care.  We have homeless, neglected and abused men, women and children. We have a government that is more confused now than ever... I guess I can swallow my pride for a few days or however long it will take and just thank God that I still have a head in which to put a bag over!! =)

So today, I'll go sit in the chair again...in an attempt to feel a little more like myself.  

In this one area in my life - I didn't want to start over.  I just wanted to touch it up.  Crossing my fingers and hoping I can come to work tomorrow without the bag over my head!!!

Happy Wednesday!!!   

My life, when I think about it...

How thankful am I to be the mom of two amazing daughters...the grandma to the sweetest grandson ever and the girlfriend to a loving man?

How great has it been that I've been able to travel to amazing cities, live on an island, see things that few get to, taste of rich foods, experience different cultures and be loved by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?!!

I can close my eyes and reflect on this life with it's storms, doubts, uncertainties and focus on them...or I can look in the faces of the four people who hold my heart in their hands.  I can feel love from my baby girl as she comes in my room from time to time and shares life with her momma...or as my oldest tells me how she's excited for this new chapter in her life as she experiences love and hope....or as my tiny little grandson reaches up for my arms and lays his sweet head on my shoulder.  I can shut my eyes and see the man who holds the key to my heart smile at me with a reassuring smile that everything is going to be alright.  

My life is worth watching!

I have a beautiful story to tell.  One of hope and forgiveness.  One of beauty from ashes.  One of peace in the midst of a storm.  One of friends near and far, a family to call my own.  The love of a risen savior.  What a story I have to tell!

Don't focus on the negatives in your life...focus on what's valuable.  Focus on who completes you.  Focus on a God who forgives and forgets.

If your story could be watched...would you rather watch the past version of your life or the version you're creating today?  Make this version be the best version!!!

From broken to blessed

Psalms 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds

Psalms 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Have you ever felt broken?

Have you ever felt like there are more holes and cracks in your spirit than there is a vessel?  

I know what it feels like...I have been there - several times.  But thank God, He has brought me through each and every season of brokenness.

I sit back and reflect on times past when I felt overwhelmed, felt broken, felt deep agony and despair for the events that surrounded me and I'm choked up with tears from God's faithfulness.

  I am blessed!

Here's a little thought to remind us all just how God turns the broken into blessed. 

Don't give up what you want most

What's worth the fight for you?

Is it your relationship?

Is it weight loss/maintenance?

Is it your career?

How about your family?

How many people ever have a smooth sailing life?  Everything comes with ease to you...

You have never worried about losing something in your life...partners never stray, the money is always there free flowing, your job just keeps getting more exciting with new opportunities for success, your family wants to gather around your delightful self at the drop of a hat...

I don't know anyone who's ever experienced pure bliss in life.

What I do know and hear about are people who've fought hard to get where they are.  If they have a strong marriage, they've worked hard at it.  It doesn't come easy.  They've had to filter out people who didn't have their best interest at heart, they've seen financial successes and failures, they've seen great loss and gains, but because they truly desire to stay together, they've made it.  Some at the 2 year mark, some 8 years, some at 30...the common denominator... they refuse to let go of what they really want.  They fight for each other regardless of the obstacles.

In talking with successful men and women in the workplace.  It wasn't just handed to them.  They've had to earn it.  They've pushed a few doors in, they've taken some major risks, they've lost and been knocked down, but they keep getting up because the reward is greater than the failure.  They just keep fighting!

• With no way back and no way forward, God does what God does best - The impossible. He made a way where, naturally speaking, there was no way. ‘Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."... Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.’ (Exodus 14:13-14,21-22)

  God will make a way when there seems to be no way.
Remember this as you start your day.