Category: Testimony

Thank you for being a friend!

Thank you is a common phrase.  We say it all the time.  Two very simple words. Simple words that have the power to change your life!

Right now I want you to take a few moments close your eyes and think about all of the things you are grateful for.  Really picture them in your mind don’t just make a list.  Think about why you are grateful for these things or people.  Why are they important to you?  What difference have they made in your life?

How did you feel when you did this?  More or less stress? Did thinking about these things bring a smile to your face?  Did your shoulders relax?  What feelings were brought to your heart?

Gratitude though a simple practice is a great form of self care.

Why?  By cultivating gratitude we are able to really see all of the blessings we have in our lives.  There are so many ways that we can incorporate gratitude into our lives.  Instead of throwing out a quick thank you to someone that helped us;  really focus on them and say thank you.  Is there someone that has really blessed your life?  Write them a letter of thanks.  How great would it be to get something in the mail other than bills?  Focus on the people in your life.  Find one specific thing each day you can thank them for.  (Not just “you’re awesome” find something specific!)

One way that I incorporate gratitude in my life is through my tender mercies journal.  Each night I write one thing that happened that day that I am grateful for or was a tender mercy or blessing from the Lord.  Each night I get to stop for a few minutes at the end of the day to think about the good that has happened.  I tend to focus too much on the negative.  Writing in my tender mercies journal is helping to retrain my brain to focus on the good instead.

And you don’t just have to take my word for how good gratitude is for you.  The Great Good Science center at Berkeley has an entire section focused on gratitude. (They have lots of other stuff too.  I highly recommend this site!)

Start today really focusing on the things you are grateful for.  Because just like a microscope the things you focus on become bigger!

Connection to God

Self care Thursday!!

Most of you know that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  My connection to the divine is through my belief in God and in Jesus Christ who saved me and  paid the price for my sins.  That is what I feel in my heart and what I believe.

Why does this matter?  Because one of the best ways to take care of yourself is to keep your connection with the divine strong.

I know that there are many different ways to believe and connect to the divine in all of us.  I have been blessed by knowing and experiencing this connection in many different ways in my life. Today I NEED to focus on a lesson I learned reading in the Bible. A lesson that demonstrated how I had been lifted and carried during the horrible anxiety time when I felt no one was listening.  And has shown me how to weather the daily storms of life.

I was reading in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount.  At this point He is teaching the people how to pray.  He says in verse 11  “Give us this day our daily bread.”  I stopped and began to think about what that really meant to me.  He said give us the bread we need today.  Not give us everything we will need for this week.  Not, give me all of the knowledge that I will need in my life.  No He said give us what we need today.

When I was in the worst of the anxiety I wanted to be given the way out right now!  I wanted the pain and fear to be over NOW! But what the Lord was offering me was a way to become stronger.  He gave me what I needed right then at that moment, in that day, so that I could move forward.

I was given the strength to wipe my tears, get up off of the floor and take care of my family and myself.  I was given the knowledge of what to do that day to help myself feel ok enough to not hurt myself.  I was given friends and family and some people I never saw again to lift me up.  I was given a husband that listened to me everyday no matter what.  I was given exactly what I needed to be strengthened in that day.

What I wanted and what I needed were two very different things. I am very grateful that I was given what I needed and not what I wanted during that time.  I was given the daily bread I needed.

I look back and know that if I had been saved from what I went through daily I would not be who I am today.  I wanted to be saved from trouble and heartbreak.  When truly that trouble and heartbreak changed me into a stronger servant.  And I know that each day I must connect with the divine.  I need to be reminded of who I really am.  In the world today we are pulled in so many directions.  We are told so many things that aren’t true.  As we keep our connection with the divine strong we are able to remember who we really are.

When we remember who we really are we are better able to take care of ourselves.  We can combat all of the things that we are told that aren’t true.  We are able to lift others and share the light we have cultivated.  When I am connected to the divine I am given the words I need to heal my broken heart and hopefully share that healing with others. When we are connected we are able to live our true selves.  We are able to live the life we were sent here to live.

I share all of this with you because I need the reminder.  I need to remember how it feels when I connect with God.  I need to remember that when I am living in His truth I am living the life he wants me to live.  I want to remember each day the feeling of love and peace that comes God.  I want to remember that this peace is worth fighting for.  I want you to know that you are loved by me but more importantly you are loved by God.