Through Christ, All Things Are Possible

Merry Christmas!  God's gift of His Son is the greatest gift.  Christ gave us the perfect example, the Atonement, and Resurrection.  I can never be enough.  But he makes up for my imperfections.  It is through Him that, despite my shortcomings, I can be great, and am great.

Staying Healthy During the Holidays

I am feeling first-hand the ill effects of the holiday season.  I feel stressed, achy, and experiencing large swings in my blood sugar.  My head hurts, my thinking is fuzzy, and I'm tired a lot.

Here is my personal commitment to myself to help balance the stress and sugar.

1. Eat leafy greens.  These tasty vegetables (kale, collard greens, broccoli, salad greens, etc.) are detoxifying and loaded with minerals.  A word of caution:  greens contain anti-nutrients (such as oxalates) and should be rotated when eaten raw.  In other words, don't eat a spinach salad every day.
2. Drink 1 quart of herbal infusion most days.  I plan to write extensively on this topic.  For now, suffice it to say that these are a strong, nutritive tea.  I drink them in place of a vitamin/mineral supplement.
3. Practice gratitude.  
4. Spend quality time with family each day.  I need to make the holidays fun, and just enjoy being with my husband, children, and other family members.
5. Think positively. 

We Are What We Think

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
                --Ralph Waldo Emerson

What we think determines who we are and what we become.

I have a problem.  I think too much sometimes.  I get caught up in negativity.  I think of all the bad things that could happen.

I am realizing that this is a waste of my energy and affects the way I interact with others.  It also severely limits my potential.  When I think negative things about myself or others, that is what I get in return; I am not my best self, and others may be negative toward me.  Actually, anytime anyone is less than complimentary toward me, it is because somewhere in my conscious or subconscious mind is a negative thought.


So how can I change my thought pattern to get out of this negativity?  Here are some ideas that I am working on:

• Begin the day with affirmations.  Ideally this is recorded, and you listen to it.  You can even be eating breakfast or exercising while listening.  Or, you can think the affirmations in your mind or say them out loud.  What is an affirmation?  What you want as if it's already happened, and who you are or want to be.  Some of my favorite affirmations:
• I am loved.
• I am a joyful mother of children.
• I am loved.
• I am a good homemaker.
• I have wonderful, connected relationships with my children.
• I earn $x each month.
• I weigh x pounds.
• Practice gratitude.
• When you notice yourself beginning to think negatively, immediately stop your negative thinking.  This makes sense, but it is hard.  My favorite methods of doing this is to yell at myself in my head for a moment, "Jessica, stop!  Think positive!" and then start quoting my affirmations, "I am beautiful, I am loved, I am happy..."

About Me and This Blog

Earlier this year I decided that women (and men) have amazing potential.  We are children of God and can do amazing things!  I don't believe that most of us (myself included) achieve our full level of greatness.  I found three reasons for this:

1. We don't know that we have the ability to be great.
2. We don't know how to achieve our full potential.
3. Our health doesn't allow us to achieve our full potential.

This blog is to help me and you find our greatness.

I made a list a few months ago of different reasons that I am not living up to my potential. It included things like: 

• I am not living up to my potential when I spend all my time cooking and cleaning.  
• I am not living up to my potential (or allowing my kids to live up to theirs) when I yell at my kids.  
• I am not living up to my potential when I think that I have to be just like someone I only know from a blog.
• I am not living up to my potential when I am worried about money.

So this is what this blog is about.  Time-saving tips to be great homemakers, being loving wives and mothers, and seeing ourselves as wonderful women in the tapestry of time.  It is about making healthy choices.  It is about living true to ourselves and being the best we can be.

About the healthy living posts:  I am not a doctor, or a licensed anything.  I am studying to be a women's herbalist.  I cannot diagnose or cure any disease.  I have studied nutrition, herbs, and healthy living for about 4 years.  I have seen amazing changes in my life due to my changes in lifestyle, eating habits, and by getting away from modern medicine and instead using herbs and food as medicine.  I know that food and herbs heal, and I want to teach this to others.

Practice Gratitude

I know it's pretty cliche to write about gratitude this time of year, but this is really important!  Did you know that studies have shown that people who practice gratitude are happier overall, and even go to the doctor less often than people who focus more on the negative aspects of their lives?  A professor at UC Davis states that  "gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives." 

So how do you cultivate gratitude in your life?  Here are a few ideas:

• Say "thank you" often.  We too often take those we love, or those who do things day in and day out for granted.  Thank your spouse for making dinner or taking out the trash.  Thank the bagger at your grocery store.  Thank your baby for smiling at you.
• Write a thank you note.  I need to do better with this one.  Think of someone you haven't seen in a while who has made a difference in your life.  Let him or her know.
• Keep a gratitude journal.  Write down 3-10 items each day that you are grateful for.
• Notice the small incidents that make you happy.

 

Conquer Fear with Love

One reason that am starting this blog to combat fear.  A fear of writing, as I don't think that I am a very good writer.  A fear that no one will read it.  A fear that I will embarrass myself. 

Another reason that I am starting this blog is to serve.  If one person reads each post and benefits from it, I am writing that post for that person.  As a service to him or her out of love.  I am choosing to allow love be my primary motive and to conquer my fear with love.

Dr. Laura Markham, in her book Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting states that all thoughts are driven by either fear or love.  I am choosing love.

Stephen Palmer says, "You can’t unleash your greatness until you expose your fears and weaknesses. Your fears and weaknesses can’t be exposed until you get out of your comfort zone."  This is what I am doing.  I am getting out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.

Marianne Williamson states: "As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."  I am consciously choosing to let go of my fears and live out of love.

The Bible reads: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Choose love.