"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint--and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing "
It is time that you take the time out in the silence to discover who you are. Do you really know?
No, not the you who your friends think you are. Not the you your co-workers or business associates say you are or the one your minister say you should be or even what society says you are, but the person you truly are inside; your likes, your dislikes - the things that really matter most to you.
Who is _______? Fill your name in the blanks. What is it you feel deep in your soul, the longings of your soul? Now, this is where you need to do some soul searching, as they would say. Look deep within yourself.
Honesty
As you open the book, the pages of you, who's hidden within the words you read? Are you clouded out by your fears, your limitations? If you were to remove those fears; the ones that says you can't do this or you can't afford that, what would you find? Or who would you find?
Free yourself from those limitations. Get into your powerful God-given imagination and remove all the 'buts'. See yourself rise up out of the restrictions and limitations. Identify and remove the 'weights' off of your dreams. Take a deep breath and experience 'Freeeedom'. Set your spirit free to embrace abounding love, joy and peace which is the foundation or the nourished soil for all of your precious garden (your desires) to emerge.
Connect to the Source
Today, as you connect to the Source of Life, experience new life, new growth, new hope for your coming out. Not accepting what others say you should settle for, but embracing the reality of your true destiny, and as a result, moving in the direction of your true purpose.
Be free today. Live, breathe the breath of God afresh in your soul. Freedom comes from within and expresses itself outwardly. Live the life you were meant to be and not what you've settled for.
Momspiration: I embrace Love and Life and emerge with new energy. I am free to be me. Free to live the life I was meant to live; without limits, without boundaries. I embrace Freedom now!
Feel free to share these inspirations with another mom. Subscribe to Changing Inside Out Now! newsletter for more weekly inspiration at http://www.changinginsideoutnow.com
Feeling pulled in every direction; children, schedules, husband, work, school, business, church, other groups? You may ask, "How do I find time for me?" or "How do I find me in all of this?" Feeling overwhelmed? Feeling stretched? Doing the juggling act? You've come to the right place. Find rest.
As a mother, it is true, you carry many hats. But here and now is your time; time to enter into the silence of the dawn, time to fill or refill your inner tank.
Quiet time
Quiet time for mom is essential in order to maintain mental and emotional stability. You've been giving of yourself to your children, your husband, your career, your job, your school, your church and everything else you're involved in. It's in your nature to nurture others, but who nurtures you? When do you stop to take time out for you?
As a mother of 7, things could get pretty noisy around here at times. It is my entering into the silence of the dawn daily that allows me to smile, keep a level head and not fall apart 'at the seams'. This is my protected moment and I cherish it.
Benefits of daily quiet time
Your quiet time scheduled at dawn, the early part of your day, sets the tone for the rest of the day. Here are 7 reasons why this is so vital:
1) Develop clear thinking - as you sit in the silence, releasing of the days problems or activities, you allow your mind to become clear to accept a new perspective on your situation.
2) Inspiration comes - as you are relaxed, inspiration comes, insight comes, and wisdom comes. If you are dealing with an issue with the children, you are now opened to receiving wisdom in dealing with this situation that you never thought possible.
3) Instructions - steps to take in ordering your day comes to you naturally. At this point you're not pulling your hair out but you're able to flow with ease.
4) Refreshed, energized - once you rise from this place of silence you become energized with new vigour to engage in your day's activities.
5) Discover you - here is where you find yourself. Away from all the hustle and bustle, you can go deeper into the heart of you. Become acquainted with you. Not you, the mom or you, the wife, or you the group leader, but you. Your true inner desires, dreams, longings, successes and perhaps even failures. Failures or disappointments are also important because they hold within them key lessons of life that you, in turn, teach to your children.
6) Connect to the Source of your life - your soul, that secret place reserved within you where Divine Intelligence dwells, awaiting your presence and your attention. For there lies the heart of God, the power and sustenance you need to abound in all areas of your life. Your absence denies you the connector you need to activate and fully experience the treasure which lies richly within your inner being.
7) Who nurtures you? If you're relying on external comforts to give you the satisfaction you need, forget it! It's only temporary. But in this quiet place, as you connect to God, as you turn inward and become one with the Creative presence that lies within you, you draw life from the eternal life that dwells in you. Your light becomes illuminated from within, changing and transforming you from the inside, emanating outwardly.
If you've never taken the time for quiet time or the busyness of life has overtaken your time, it's time to return. Reshuffle your schedule and make time to enter the silence of the dawn.
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You know the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words would never hurt me."
Words are very powerful. If used correctly, they can heal and change the world, but if used maliciously, could seriously destroy a person's life. Words have been used to uplift and inspire, and they've been used to tear down and discourage. Consciously or unconsciously, words have been used that caused an effect.
Remember the proverb, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue?" Let's examine this closely.
Death - that which destroys, that which draws life from, that which no longer exists Life - that which empowers, that which rejuvenates, that which lives Power - that which rules over or controls Tongue - words spoken
Let's put it all together. So if the words spoken has within it the power to destroy or draw life from, to the point where is no longer exists, and the power to empower, rejuvenate and give life, then we must be extremely careful with the words that we allow to escape from our lips. It is therefore better, then, that we choose to be quiet if our words are not going to uplift another.
But what about words you speak of yourself? Are your words full of life and empowerment? Are you building up your life, your body, YOU? Or are you pulling YOU down? Does this sound familiar? "I'm such an idiot?" What! You probably wouldn't say that to someone else, so why are you destroying YOU by the words you say?
Choose LIFE, choose LIFE! And in choosing life, you choose LOVE and love will always uplift, empower and build you up.
Fuelling words: I love my body. I love me. The power of Love and the Source of love lives in me. I am beautiful. Beauty flows in and through me.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
Not feeling like you're in the swing of things today? Why not pull up on your inner strength to lift you up and get you back on track?
If at times you're feeling like you can't make it, it's time to pull up on your inner strength, shift your thinking immediately to, "I can do this, I have the strength to go on." When you motivate yourself in this manner, it's amazing how your body follows along with the message you give it.
Try this exercise:
Say to yourself, "I feel tired, exhausted." Feel what your body starts to feel. It begins to follow suit.
Now, say to yourself, "I feel great. I'm energized. Oh, yeah!" Your body begins to feel energized and alive, following the message that you sent it.
If ever you're beginning to feel down and out, change your thinking. Send positive messages to your body of the way you really want to be feeling. Start feeling yourself enjoying being alive and energized and all the cells in your body would begin to agree with you and your body will begin to move in that new direction.
Fuelling words: I send positive messages to my body. My body responds in return to the message sent. Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
Getting my body back - Day 39 When working towards your goal, being open to new ideas is essential for progress achievement. Reading information in the area you're working on gives you new and perhaps time-saving ways of accomplishing your goal. Use knowledge from others to jump start your own progress.
Even though I pretty much know what I should do to achieve my ideal weight, such as monitoring my eating habits and workout routine, I still find that there's so much more information available for me to try different ways to get the best out of my workout routine.
I read an article yesterday about a research that was done. Two groups of people were chosen to test the amount of time they spent doing their workout. One group spent an hour each day, while the other spread their workout throughout the day in 10 minute segments. The second group that spread out their workout actually showed betters results than the group that just exercised for the one hour.
Because of my schedule, I find it easier to just do the one hour and then I could focus on other things. Today I did things a little different. I decided to do my regular one hour workout, then I went out to the garden to get some gardening done, using the opportunity to workout other muscles that need special movement to get them going.
Other people's experience and advice could enhance your life and save you years of mistake. Make it a part of your daily routine to learn at least one thing new each day.
Fuelling words: I learn something new today, so I could be a better person tomorrow.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
Dad and our children put up a fence around the garden to protect it from deers, our dogs running through it and from our children when they're playing ball. We also plan on planting marigold around the garden to keep away the bugs and the deers, at least that's what we were told by other more experienced gardeners. After all the hard work that's been put into the garden, we definitely wouldn't want to see it trampled on.
Once you've made a decision to make changes in your heart and life, engaging in the groundwork necessary to effect and manifest this change, protecting what you've invested is essential for continued growth and success.
A proverb comes to mind, "Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it." Everything we aspire to be, whether consciously or not, flows from within us; what's within our hearts.
When you allow any and every thought to enter your mind and then your heart, you allow these thoughts to have free range. Negative thoughts intertwine and entangle your life, blocking the path of good that should be flowing freely into and through your life.
Ponder on the thoughts that you're engaged in on a regular basis. How are they adding to or subtracting from your life? How focused are you on these thoughts? Have they become a part of your belief system which inhibits you from moving forward or blockers of your good coming to you?
Take the time today to think about what your thought patterns are and compare your life to the way you're thinking.
Remember when you were in school and you got a report card to take home to your parents? Perhaps you dreaded taking it home because you knew you really hadn't done your studies to warrant a good grade. If you did study, you'd be happy because you knew that you worked hard, understood the concepts taught and you expected good grades.
Your report card shows your progress during the school year in the same way a progress report tracks your progress at work, business or any project you're working on.
A progress report is a gauge to measuring how close you are to your goal.
Why do you need a progress report?
1) It keeps you focused on where you're going
2) It gets you back on track if you've gone off track
3) It shows where you're lacking and need to zoom in on a particular area
4) It tells you what's not working and what is
5) It helps you make decisions as to if you should continue with a segment of your goal or not or make adjustments or eliminate it altogether.
6) It tells you how far you've come
7) It shows you how far you have to go
A progress report can work for any aspect of your life; whether you're trying to get to your ideal body weight, running a business or be the best parent you could be. The method is transferable to all areas of your life.
Fuelling words: I'll track my progress to ensure that I stay focused and achieve my goal.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
We've decided to start our garden this year because we have a large family and it will cut down on the cost of our grocery bill. Because we have so many apple trees in the backyard, we were able to cut down on our expenses on purchasing fruits last year.
We decided to take it a step further this year, so we could also save on vegetables and just spend cash on those items we can't grow. Not only are we going to save in the summer and fall, but with proper planning, we'd also save during the winter months, as well. If you've ever done any gardening, you'd know that it's hard work, but the pay off is worth it.
When embarking on any change, you must determine your reason for doing so. This will be the finish line you're targeting to reach. Your reason or some call it your 'why' is your motivator for enduring the difficult times.
Your 'why' must be compelling enough to keep you going through the tough times. If it's wishy washy, you'll find yourself slacking off and finding other more enjoyable events to engage yourself in.
Determine your 'why' today and make it a strong one.
Dad and our children began preparing the ground for our garden. The grass-covered grounds showed evidence of a previously existing garden but no work had been done on it for quite some time.
Today, we were all outside working on the new garden; plowing the ground with forks and uprooting the roots of grass and weeds.
As you survey and assess the ground of your heart to determine what changes you need to make, you may recall a time when you were working away to make changes or to achieve a particular goal. This may bring back memories of how you were at one point in your life.
The memory is evidence of what once existed, just as the overgrown garden on our grounds. But now your experience has also overgrown with grass and weeds; the discouragements and failures of what could have been or what used to be.
You can start afresh with new desires, plans and goals. Begin from where you are, glean lessons learned from your mistakes and get on the journey to changing the garden of your heart and your life inside out.
I've decided not to use a scale as a progress instrument. The reason for this is because, for me, it opens us the tendency to constantly check on poundage loss and when there is no visible reduction on the scale, discouragement sets in. I decided that I would pay close attention to my body, using my senses to determine my progress.
By feeling my thighs, I could feel the changes in size and toning.
Visual perception - when I look in the mirror, I see some weight reduction there.
While I'm doing my workout routine, I know I need to increase my repetitions or modify the move to gain more intensity because my muscles have already adjusted to the regular repetitive count. I added new sets to my routine to maximize my efforts.
I'm also listening to what my body is saying to me. What does it need more of? Do I need to bump up my aerobics routine or switch. This may vary from time to time. I am becoming more in tuned with my body and listening to the warning signs.
I also use my clothes to gauge my progress. How are they fitting? Are they a little bit looser?
What method are you using to measure your progress?
When you break down your ultimate goal in segments, you set a clearer picture of where you are and where there are deficiencies, where you need to enhance or get rid of completely and what's the next step.
Evaluate yourself, today. Do your own progress report, rate yourself and do the necessary adjustments to draw you closer to your goal.
Fuelling words: I evaluate my short-term progress to gain maximum long-term benefit.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
You are where you are because of the steps taken or not taken, activity or inactivity. Retrace your steps/your actions and undo what you've done or do the opposite of what you've done.
Everything you do, whether consciously or unconsciously or I can say it another way. Everything you do, whether you're aware of it or not, brings you the results of where you are today. Your decisions or indecision produce results one way or another.
If it is true that one thing leads to another and every action leads to another action or reaction, then you must become a master chess player in your own life and anticipate the next moves as a consequence of your first move.
Making errors is a part of learner and losing is also a part of learning, as well. But, as you master the chess game of life, learning from your errors and being consciously aware of your decisions and the potential outcome, becoming a master at winning will be more at your grasp instead of letting life just happen.
I evaluate where I am in my desire to getting my body back. As I reflect on my journey that has brought me to this point, I see where there are times I've neglected to do what is essential to maintain my body weight; like regular exercises and over indulging in my favourite foods. Yes I, not like, but love chocolate and ice cream. And yes, because I have 7 children, I was either pregnant or breast feeding, and this added to my gaining extra weight.
After my 5th child, I ventured out on losing off the extra body fat and wowed myself by jogging and shedding quite a few pounds; the girls at my workplace were amazed. I had two more children since then. I know what I need to do to achieve my goal. Gaining weight in pregnancy is okay. But when it gets out-of-hand it can be quite uncomfortable and unhealthy.
Evaluate your journey that brought you to where you are now. Take responsibility for your mistakes. You can't control other people's actions, but you sure could evaluate, control and change your own.
Take the necessary steps to consciously create the change you need to change your life inside out, now! It's your move!
Fuelling words: I take responsibility for my actions that brought me to this point. I choose to change my actions to bring me positive results.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
It is said that the body is the temple of the living God.
Your body is intended to be the outward expression of the inner workings of the creative power of the Creator. It is also intended to be the outward display of the magnificent works of the spiritual realm.
How then are you treating your body? Are you respecting or disrespecting the temple by the way you treat it? The spiritual realm is a vast place, filled with life, energy and power and abundance. When we fail to tap into our resources, we limit our potential and therefore live a limited live.
Many of us have not been taught how to live from this realm, and if we're experiencing certain aspects of it and share with friends and families, that are also unaware of its existence, they tend to make fun of it or say you're weird or even crazy. But the spirit realm is more real than our external world and have more effect on our lives even more than we realize.
If you are aware of the treasure you hold within you, or even a glimmer of it, you'd begin to treat your body with respect knowing that you carry within you the potential to express outwardly the treasure that you hold within.
Fuelling words: I treat my body with respect, taking care of it, because it is the temple of the living God.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
Determining the kind of harvest you want let's you know what type of seeds you should sow and what type of garden you're going to grow.
If you want a vegetable garden, you're not going to sow flower seeds and expect to harvest vegetables. Now, if you want a combination of a flower garden and a vegetable garden, you sow the appropriate seeds to harvest your desired outcome.
Similarly, you want to sow seeds in the heart that will bring you a harvest of love, joy, peace, health, prosperity and wholeness - a well-rounded life.
The seeds you sow into your heart come in the form of your thoughts and your words which results in the actions you're taking on a daily basis.
What are you thinking about on a regular basis? What feelings are these thoughts producing? Are they making you feel joyful, at peace or angry and frustrated? Your thoughts, producing your feelings, causes you to act or react externally.
Whatever you are thinking, which is directly affecting your feelings, is the reason for your reaction. The key to turning this around is to stop the negative thought right in its tracks and replace it with a positive one. Find the positive side in every situation. There's always light, even if it's just a glimmer of hope, move towards it. Replace the negative with the positive glimmer of hope. Focus on it, just as you would the negative thought. Feel the emotion and before long you will act or react in a positive way, producing positive results.
Your words are as a direct result of what you've been thinking. I recall a scripture which says, (paraphrase) "It's not what goes into a man (person) that defiles him because it does not go into his heart but his stomach. But it's what comes out of a man (person) that defiles him (makes him unclean). Because what comes out of a man (person's words) comes out of his heart."
You tell what's going on in a person's heart from what they're constantly talking about, which is the fruit of their lips.
Begin today to change your seed thoughts and your words and actions will follow suit to produce the harvest you need.
We've come to the final day of the Easter celebration. Just as Jesus continued on in his path of love; visiting the disciples, comforting them and finally ascending to take his place, seated on the right hand of the Father making intercession for us, we, too, must continue to grow, following our own path.
We must allow our transformed life to continue to grow, seeded in the soil of love. Let the flames of divine love fill our hearts and burn away all that is impure, so we, in turn, could fulfill our life's purpose.
Love must therefore be cultivated in our hearts as the main ingredient where everything else flows out from there.
Every gardener cares for his garden out of the heart of love. A careless gardener will neglect his garden, therefore, resulting in weeds overtaking and choking out the crop, denying it of essential nutrients.
Love is the true foundation for growth in our hearts. Let the Easter message inspire us throughout the year that we may grow, be strong and bear good fruit.
Okay, yesterday I got a mouthful from my 10 year old daughter because I missed our workout time. I got caught up doing some work and she kept asking, "Mom, when are we going to do our workout?" I told her later. Later came and I was still busy. Yep, she gave me an earful. Talk about accountability. Yes. We did do our workout. It was quite refreshing.
Need someone who'd give you a kick in the butt, keep you on your toes and get you moving? Either enlist someone who's willing to accept the task or find a way to keep yourself accountable.
Recently, I was listening to a self improvement audio by Jack Canfield, and one of the strategies suggested to use to keep you from self-sabotaging your own goals, is to promise yourself that if you didn't follow through you would do this really terrible thing that you really don't want to do.
Think of something that you'd really despise doing as a penalty on yourself if you failed to follow through on your promise to achieving your goal.
I know I won't be able to miss a workout and I can't fire my daughter. So guess what? I have no other choice and Dad's backing her, too. And no, I don't want to hear another mouthful.
Fuelling words: I keep following through on my goal achievement promise as I'm kept accountable.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
The final achievement of your goal reflects the level of growth you’ve attained during the process.
When you first made the decision to go after what you desire, you may not have known how to get there. You finalized in your heart and mind that you would achieve what you set out to do.
The information you gleaned, the hours of research, the frustration that you came through were all a part of the growth process. The roadblocks which made you draw on your creative juices to find another way to arrive at your destiny. The failures that made you stop to think and regroup. The tests that made you re-evaluate the value and worth of your goal. The friends you met along the way to give you support. The information you absorbed from every book you read. Perhaps the countless hours spent dreaming, adjusting, hoping, praying were all part of your growth process.
You learned a lot more about yourself; your strengths, your weaknesses. You built up your muscles and were able to do things you never thought you could, when you first started off. Changes occurring on the inside of you produced the outward results of your final achievement.
Here you are today standing tall because you endured and persevered. Others admire your success and wish they had what you have. But, are they willing to pay the price to learn and grow? The learning process caused you to evolve into the type of person you have now become; a process which took place on the inside, where no one else witnessed but you and then manifested itself outward.
Every mature tree began very much the same way; a seed in the soil invisible to the eyes, but quietly changing and growing until it breaks through the ground’s surface. Much of its growth is taking place on the inside bearing outward witness of the inward changes.
I feel the changes that are occurring in my body, invisible to the outer world. Day after day, I learn and grow within. Listening to my body and becoming more in tuned. As long as I keep changing from the inside it will reflect on the outside.
Fuelling words: I’m changing from the inside out. I’m no longer settling for second best.
Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.
Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.
Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.
