Spirit:Thankfulness

Thankful Lips :
I will extol the Lord
at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
(Psalm 34:1)
Through Jesus, therefore,
let us continually
offer to God
a sacrifice of praise –
the fruit of lips
that confess his name.
(Hebrews 13:15)

I am at a much better place in my life than I have been in for a long time.
I am thankful for my wonderful children and I am thankful that they are proud of me today.

They are proud of me because:

I have taken on a personal challenge to completely abstain from any alcohol for 110 days.

I am on day 40!

I was inspired by the show "I Used To Be Fat" on MTV. The teens are helped by a trainer for
110 days.

I was so moved by one trainer's declaration that a person that can go 110 days has broken a habit,

and is not held under (food's stronghold) - the trainer's proclamation that real change takes place in

this amount of time resonated with me. I made my own 110 day tear-off pad and hung it on my wall.

I have been tearing a sheet off every night before bed. I wrote little notes on some of the days- on today's

Day 40 (70 days to go) I jotted "your boys are very proud of you". I do not want anything unhealthy to

take the place of a closer relationship with God. I want to learn to turn to our Lord Jesus in times of stress,

and emotional distress. This is part of the journey - to test myself and prove to myself that I don't need

to have alcohol to live a good life. I do not believe there is anything wrong with having some drinks to

celebrate or socialize with- I just feel like when you are "using" it to alter consciousness and you feel like

you turn to alcohol instead of dealing with the problems that you have - It needs to be put aside.

I am thankful that I have a home, pets, healthy kids, safe neighborhood,

 good food, good relationships with my Dad, Brothers, and Mother,

 a husband to depend on,

and I am extremely thankful for a strong healthy body. I am also thankful that I get to give

and receive the Love of my family and friends over the holidays. -- I am very humbled

by how grateful I feel at this moment. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Mind: Mental labels

I have something on my mind this morning; I am thinking about how important mental labels are to how we live and experience our lives.


Have you like me labeled foods as "good" or "bad"? For me the labeling on the negative side are foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar or starches. I started thinking about how I have given a good or bad label to so many things subconsciously. I overall label experiences, people, pets, feelings, thoughts, and even kids. (You know that kid in the neighborhood who enters without knocking and rummages through your fridge and is real loud). Labels are important because the labels affect how we treat and experience the person, feeling, or object.
Now I want you to think about a few people that you have mostly labeled as "bad" and really think about why they are under that category in your mind.  I have done this and I have to admit a lot of any negative labels come down to a lack of trust (in general).

Now dig deep here:     
How do you label yourself??
If in fact you label yourself  "good" then that is  a positive thing however I challenge you to think about all the negative labels you give yourself on all kinds of everyday responsibilites or traits.  For example - I label when I say "I am just stressed easily and therefore I am anxiety-prone" or how about this one "I am just lazy".

If in fact you have mentally labeled yourself as "bad" then ooh my friend you are creating a cycle of continued negativity. When you see yourself this way - then you create a life where "bad" things are manifested.

The point can be said so many ways,but the point is this: Negative self-image perpetuates more negative actions while positive self image increases your possibilites and raises expectations that you WILL rise to!

Watch your self-talk and monitor your thoughts for any time you are accepting something about yourself that you do not like.

Labels can be wonderful when you tell yourself that you are "strong, kind, peaceful, generous, loving, supportive, dependable, and fun to be around" -

We will never be perfect but I guarantee we are creatures that change according to how we perceive ourselves. It is a long process depending on how negative that you see yourself but God sees you as His child and knows how valuable you are and a how much potential for living a full life you have. When you follow your inner voice when your conscience is telling you No!  You should have a moment of positive "self-talk" and build on that!

Make good choices today! It is a start :-)