Goodbye Mr. Monday.....

 

I decided while on our RV trip that when I got back home I wouldn't be doing anymore Mondays.  I mean honestly who Likes Mondays?  So, I have decided that Mondays are going to be kind of like "warm up" days.  So, that I can gear up for the other 4 days and following weekend.  

My weekends look like this:  Big Family Breakfasts, Movie Marathons, Game Fests and a Mad Dash around the house picking up Messes.  So, on Mondays I used to drag around and beat myself up for not being productive enough.  Not, anymore!  I make sure that the important things are accomplished like feeding my Family and my Soul.  Then I make sure the kids Read, complete some sort of project or chore like Mahala just finished cleaning her bathroom from top to bottom.  And I make sure I'm organized and ready to go for the next 4 days of school and complete any phone calls, emails or assignments I'm working on.  

This change has given our Home a more relaxed atmosphere and I have found that we are so productive the rest of the week.  I enjoy lighting candles, listening to music and slowly move into full force on Tuesday.  Today I prepped my Bible Journal for December's Devotional Project, made about 5 phone calls, took care of some Blog/Social Media matters, painted, made a delicious pot of Kale and Turkey soup, washed clothes and read books with Kaden while noshing on blueberry scones and hot chocolate.   And tonight we will start on the Christmas tree....a Beautiful Monday!  How was your Monday, sending Happy Holiday Vibes out to everyone!!!

Tuesday Self-Talk ~ Gratitude

Gratitude, what does it really mean to be Grateful?  Gratitude is an act, a look, a warmth in our soul that seeps out of us when we have it.  It's like a contagious smile from a stranger.  It feels good and clears away the yucky mental fog of all the past days that might not have made our favorites list.  Sometimes we go through our days on autopilot not even giving our actions a second thought.  So, how do we keep that glow of Thankfulness?  

We make a decision....we wake up every morning and make the decision to be filled with Gratitude.  We vow to not let the little dark things build up into full on Demons.  We vow to be Seekers, I have been a Seeker my whole life.  Even when I was a little girl and lost my 2nd parent in just over a year I looked for Light, I was Thankful and had Unshakable Faith.  That act of being a Seeker has been what has kept me above the line many many times when I could have just slipped deeper into despair.  

I say all this because I do not have a rosy picture perfect life by any means.  But, I'm often reminded that even on the darkest night if you look up into the heavens you can see the twinkle of little stars that really aren't so little at all.  But, to us they look that way and with Faith we can Believe and know that those lights are way Bigger then any problem or person down here on Earth.  

Are you a Seeker?  Do you look for the good around you?  Do you see the value in choosing your Attitude?  I would Love to Hear your Stories of Gratitude!  
 

Tuesday Self-Talk~ Affirmations

This is my very 1st Tuesday in my Tuesday Self-Talk Series here at Four Violet.  Make sure to check it out each week, because we are commanded to Love ourselves and what better way to do that then to Power Up our Self-Talk!!!  No more Negativity!!!  God created us Beautifully in His likeness.  

I have found that Daily Affirmations are a positive way to start your day.  Or when you start battling negative self-talk, try one of these instead. :)  In the Bible it says Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” What we think, we’ll eventually say and what we say is very powerful.  We can speak words of life and we can speak words of cursing.  The Bible warns us to guard our thoughts and mouths.  Proverbs 18:20-21 says “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.  The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Bellow are just a Few Affirmations to get You started, I'll share more each week.  I have mine written on index cards on my bathroom mirror, dash of my van, at my desk and in my planner.....get creative and let your Self Love Flooooow!

*I am strong.
 

*I am wise.
 

*I am precious in the eyes of God.
 

*I can love and be loved.
 

*I have power to choose my course in life.
 

*I accept my self for who I am.

*I replace my anger with understanding and compassion.

*I know that God’s unfailing love surrounds me and that I can trust Him.

*I have everything I need.  

*I trust my ever-increasing ability to eliminate the non-essential and appreciate that which matters.

Illustrate My Faith~ God's Promises

Wow...I have been reflecting like crazy over here.... Part of my Dalies that I strive real hard to do is to Read my Bible and Journal along with Illustrate whatever comes to my heart. 

One of my Bible times this week reminded me of my childhood.  I've seen so much darkness in my Life from a very early age.  I've carried Secrets, healed from Trauma and most importantly been covered by Christ's mighty Promises.  Promises of Hope, Love, Salvation, Comfort, Forgiveness, Strength, Companionship, Grace, Eternal Life....I could go on and on.  In my life the list of fulfilled Promises is endless...I am so grateful, for every strife or hardship I can see the worth behind it, the lesson, the strength that it provided me.  He has been preparing me my whole life for the days to come.  Many steps ahead of me he is there preparing the way for me, even when it makes no sense to me he knows what's best.  These passages bellow is what I read and meditated on.....
 ^{2 Corinthians 4:3-10....}3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

We are not Abandoned, nothing can Destroy or Crush us.  We don't have to live life in Despair....we have the Light, God's Light inside of all of us.  When the darkness surrounds us and threatens us all we have to do is let that Light SHINE out into the Darkness......  We are the ones with the power of God, He has already fought and won for us....we don't need to fight, we only need to Believe and have Faith.