Sep 24, 2020 | Faith
Where have I been this season? I’ve been journeying through the past, re-evaluating the presence, and envisioning the future! I’ve been filling myself with healthy self-reflection, and it has changed my life and perspective in tremendous ways.
The end goal of reflecting is to ultimately be refreshed and reminded that you are here with a purpose and God’s plan for your life is a journey worth embracing fully, no matter how challenging. With that being said, as a way to encourage you, I want to share five ways that self-reflection is beneficial.
1. It Builds Confidence
When you make room to do deep self-reflecting, it allows you to better understand your strengths and weaknesses. This then leads to self-confidence. I know what I do really well and what I need to work on. It all leads to better handling situations as they come up.
2. It Develops Self-Awareness
Self-reflection allows you to look internally and develop better self-awareness. It helps you understand your emotions in a clearer way and how your response to situations affects the people around you. It also improves our decision-making when we need to gain control with how we respond emotionally.
3. It Helps You Conquer Your Fears
The first step toward conquering your fears is knowing what they are. Self-reflection challenges us to dig deep and get to the root of things. How you deal with these fears starts with you knowing yourself. Once you know yourself, you can better prepare for confronting a fear and in turn, care for yourself in the ways you need to.
4. It Helps You Embrace Your Purpose
Self-reflection allows you to maximize your purpose! Placing your focus on developing and knowing yourself causes you to be more purpose-driven with your actions. You become more intentional about what you do and how you do it when you understand why you are here and your part in God’s plan.
5. It Gives You a Clear Perspective
You gain a clearer perspective of your place in relation to the world around you when you take time to self-reflect. Once your perspective shifts, it makes you more grateful and appreciative of where you are in your life in all aspects. You begin to prioritize what’s really important to you and spend less time focusing on things that are pointless or would hinder your personal growth.
As you journey through life, careers, goals, relationships and all, I encourage you all to find some time throughout your day to self-reflect. Make it a point to continue learning from the past, being in the moment and enjoying the process before you!
Photo Cred: Green Tangerine Photography
Aug 30, 2020 | Favorite Things, Shopping
Between homeschooling, tending to my kids, running my household, and keeping up with my own tasks, I am one busy mama. I really don’t have any time to waste. In fact, I’m doing my best to multiply and maximize every second I have.
Regardless of if you’re managing your workload, your kids, or all of the above, time management is crucial when you are on a busy schedule.
Here are five time-saving hacks any busy mom can use:
1. Use a Calendar
While some people pride themselves on remembering every detail for every day, this still leaves room for mistakes. I’m always juggling several balls at once so here needs to be a central location for every appointment, task, or to-do. Consider Google Calendar or even an old-fashioned planner to have a layout for the coming months and days.
2. Make a list
Write down all of your tasks for each day. If possible, create your list the night before. This way you will be prepared without having to stress about remembering what’s important. When you wake up, you’ll be focused and ready to go.
Jot down everything you need to accomplish, from picking up the dry cleaning to making those dentist appointments for the kiddos. You will feel accomplished once you start crossing things off your list! Whatever task doesn’t get done is put on the top of tomorrow’s list. This way, nothing is forgotten and you can continue where you left off. As long as you are consistent with this process, by prioritizing what’s most important, everything can get done in a timely manner.
3. Set a timer
Give yourself a specific amount of time to complete a task. This hack works great when there is a lot that needs to get done but little time to do it. Instead of spinning your wheels, focus on one task at a time, and once the timer goes off, move on to the next task. It may take some getting used to but being strict (and realistic!) with the time you have is crucial.
4. Delegate
If there’s a task or chore that can be handed off to your hubby or an older kiddo, let it go. As a busy mom, your hands are already full. So pass off a task to someone you can trust and free up more time.
5. Take a break
An empty cup cannot pour into another, and neither can an empty mama. If you find yourself dragging from one activity to the next or being especially crabby with your spouse or the kids, it’s well past time for a break. Pencil some quiet time into your planner or as a reminder on your phone. While the kids play quietly or nap (hey, a girl can dream!), take a few moments for yourself. Enjoy that tea while it’s still hot or that book you’ve been wanting to catch up on. Whatever you need to do to recharge, do that. You deserve it.
Aug 30, 2020 | Family & Home, Homeschool
The 2020 School Year has come with a new normal — working and teaching from home! Yikes! Many weren’t ready for the culture shock of COVID-19. The good news is (with a few years of homeschooling experience under my belt) I believe I can be of some help.
For this month’s blogging, I wanted to go around the fluff and pretty photos that show the beauty and precious moments of homeschooling and dive into the raw mistakes you want to avoid. Sometimes, when you’re creeping on new territory, it’s best to know what to be aware of before it hits you all at once.
1. Don’t Set Unrealistic Expectations
Although homeschooling may look like an elephant you have to eat all at once in order to get your kids on the best learning level possible, you don’t have to tackle it all this year! Create a list of achievable goals and relax any stiff standards. Sure, keep following your favorite homeschool mentors (as myself) but take on what you know you can comfortably handle this year. Then, make room to give both yourself and your kids some grace.
2. Plan, Plan & Plan More!
Even if you’re being gracious to yourself and your new students, tossing caution to the wind and going with the flow every day isn’t practical. Create a realistic schedule for your school days, choose your favorite curriculums, and stick to it. Kids thrive on a schedule, and it helps to know what activity or subject is coming next. Plus, this means you can pencil in some daily quiet time for yourself. There are great templates on Pinterest and similar sites to make your schedule both functional and pleasant to look at.
3. Don’t Be Too Rigid
Now that you’ve laminated your gorgeous schedule and pinned it to a wall in your Instagram-worthy home classroom area, it would be a total fail to miss a single time slot, right? Wrong! The world is changing every day, and it’s a fair expectation that things in your new classroom will change, too. Perhaps your child just isn’t feeling it today and needs a break. Maybe math takes place in the kitchen while baking, or your spouse takes over helping with English. Take a breather and relax. The word of the year is definitely “grace”.
4. Don’t Ignore Your Kids’ Emotions & Learning Styles
Check in with your kids. They may not have the correct language or say all the right things, but open your eyes and ears to their little needs. Make a point to actually listen to and acknowledge their feelings. Sure, schoolwork has to get done and those projects have deadlines, but be mindful of their learning styles and their emotional needs. Maybe they miss their friends or the fractions are kicking their butts today. Work together, versus bulldozing right over their needs.
5. Don’t Ignore Yourself
Just like you check in with your kids, check in with yourself! I’ll say that again: Check in with you! Take time to examine your emotions and assess your stress. You cannot be emotionally or mentally present if your own needs aren’t met. There’s nothing wrong with taking a step back to recharge yourself and come back totally refreshed.
Aug 28, 2020 | Family & Home, Marriage
“So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to be really hard; we’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day.” – Noah (The Notebook)
This quote comes from a scene in The Notebook, (my favorite love story) where Allie and Noah have a huge argument. At this point, Noah expresses how willing he is to work through their disagreements because he wants her no matter what.
Marriage is the partnership between two sinful individuals—and sin plus sin typically does not equal perfection. Within marriage, I’ve been exposed to some ugly truths about myself. My flesh is wicked, constantly battling to overshadow the God that lives within me.
Naturally, we are flawed, selfish, impatient, and battling some sort of insecurity. While it’s easier to frequently be a finger pointer or the self-righteous one, I’m constantly reminded that the relationship is bigger than me. It’s bigger than us. Marriage was designed by God and we all know the enemy ain’t liking that! But marriage is for better or worse, and I have bound our vows around my neck and written them on the tablet of my heart!
Marriage has taught me that it’s crucial to pinpoint your enemy and your teammates. Being proactive and implementing guidelines to operate within is also vital. As I’ve stated before, I don’t necessarily enjoy team sports. I naturally flow better solo. But through marriage, I’m learning how to be an effective team player. Doing so has certainly strengthened my faith. It’s pushed me to rely on God and His truths. I choose not to rely on my own sinful ways, understanding, or strengths. When building a marriage that will last, know that it’s different from Hollywood’s love stories where the people dive off in the car and live “Happily Ever After”.
We never see the crisis they are faced with or how they balance all the things that come with life. Trials and hardships are a part of each of our lives individually, as well as our marriages. It’s inevitable, so establishing a plan of action is crucial for when things happen unexpectedly. We live in a world full of chaos and sin. How will you respond each time the enemy attempts to attack your marriage? Surrendering it all to God immediately should always be our first response.
Additionally, refuse to allow the schemes of the enemy to prevail. Stand firmly with locked arms, united hearts, and eyes fixed on the one who’s paid it all (the Lord). I often say marriage is like a Dorito chip, not the crumbled ones, lol. But with God at top and each of us working our way from the bottom up our individual side to Him, we won’t crumble. He will sustain us individually and collectively.
If you’re looking to strengthen your marriage, it’s important to first fuel your faith and know who’s number one, God. When you’re both pursuing Him earnestly, you can rise above all circumstances! Also, always seek wise counsel. Be consistent. When everything appears to be good, still check for cracks to seal that may or may not be visible.
I recall when we were engaged we made a vow to get marriage counseling every year regardless of how good we felt we were. It’s an ongoing investment to attempt to keep us on one accord. Life is a journey and marriage is a journey for life. As the days roll by I vow to constantly gain a greater understanding of my Husband, myself, and faith! I encourage you to pursue being a woman, man, and/or family after God’s own heart!
Aug 24, 2020 | Breakfast, Food
Açaí Bowls are a hit right now in our home and across the world for that matter. Demario’s requesting them to go along with his breakfast and he even has them as a post-workout snack sometimes! They’re extremely yummy, quick, filling, and an awesome treat! You can easily add your favorite protein powder, seeds, and toppings to make this bowl your new favorite as well!
Ingredients: (To make 2 Large Açaí Bowls)
- 2 Sambazon Açaí packets
- 1 Banana
- 1 cup of another fruit choice
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup of liquid (I typically used almond milk or açaí juice)
- Honey Almond Granola (Sams)
- Coconut flakes
- Toasted Almond Flakes
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Honey Drizzle
Instructions:
- Add the Açaí, banana, strawberries, fruit of choice, and the almond milk or juice to a blender.
- Blend until it is smooth and creamy.
- Pour the smoothie into a bowl and add all the fruit and dry toppings.
- Drizzle honey on top and it’s ready to enjoy!
