My mission is to provide you with inspiration and encouragement to live everyday to it's fullest. I do this by sharing the simple things in life such as recipes to the most difficult of things such a life. We all know life is a struggle and many days a balancing act, but I am here to inspire you to do it well. Everything I write about is designed to inspire as well as encourage you to be a "better" you that you can be. Everything I share is raw and real. I do not cover up or sugar coat what I write about. This would benefit no one. My goal is for you to walk away feeling uplifted and encouraged after leaving my page. Lastly, I am here to remind you that you are… enough and beautiful… just the way you are.
Being a father is an important job and one of the most important ones you will have.
I know for me I had an amazing one.
My dad was special because he was one before he had to be. This is because he wasn’t my biological one.
My back story is that my biological father left my family when I was very young and because I was so small I don’t remember him, which does not break my heart because I have always had a dad.
My dad became my dad when I was 5 years old.
He would play ball and games with me. He would read to me. He would love me like a true dad loves their child, but when he was doing this, he wasn’t my dad yet.
Over the years our relationship grew as a father and child would and then one day my mom and dad got married and he then became my dad legally.
Due to the time he invested in me, we didn’t have to grow our relationship after he became my dad because we already had one.
Instead, the only thing that changed was that I could introduce him as my dad. That was a sweet time in my life.
So, in honoring our dads out there, I want to take a moment to say to the nonbiological dads,
“Any guy can be a father, but it takes a special guy to be a dad.”
To the dads who are investing in kids that are not their own biologically, I see you too, because you are a special guy.
To the biological dads, stay engaged with your kids because you too are investing in their lives.
Keep up the good work guys because your kids are watching you, mimicking you, and are loving you.
Love your kids not just today, but every day. Invest your time into them and grow those relationships with them.
Are you waking up exhausted physically, mentally, or emotionally, from a hard week?
It is my prayer this encouragement will serve as a means to refresh you and remind you no matter how difficult or stressful life might be that you are special and important.
No matter how beat up or unimportant you may feel, you are not!
No matter how unappreciated you may feel, you are not!
No matter how insignificant you may feel, you are not!
No matter how unworthy you may feel, you are not!
My friend, you matter more than you know!
God made you special and He didn’t make any mistakes.
Big Hugs to anyone who needs one today.
If you would like a safe place to land to vent or share or cry out I am here.
Just leave a comment below and I will read it. If you wish to leave it personal, I will not make it visible.
It has been a while since I have posted anything, but I wanted you to know I am still here.
Life has become crazy busy on this end. My job has me at work more than I am at home.
My days are by far longer than my nights, but that is okay.
I have been offered an opportunity to shift gears in my work environment and in the new school year I will become the new lead teacher of a two year old class at our school’s daycare.
This is exciting for me as I will have the opportunity to take 5 of the children I have been playing with for a long time now with me and will be able to teach them and play with them in my own class.
This change makes me so very happy.
So, as we close out one school year and just ride the summer waves until a new year, I am in the background planning and preparing for my new school year.
How funny is it that the plans we think are ours, end up only being truly mapped out by God and His plans.
I had no idea when I started working where I do that this job would have ever lead me here to this wonderful opportunity.
Has this happened to you in your own life? You discovered in your plans really weren’t yours in the end, but what they became was something more than you could have ever hoped for?
With all of these changes in my life getting ready to take place, you may start to see a shift in my topic choices as I would love to share this new adventure with you, my faithful friends and followers.
I will always tie my subject matter or topics back to the theme of this blog, but as my journey in life continues to take it’s twists and turns I would like to continue to write about them here as well.
Maybe one day when I find the time, I will do a summary post about where I started when I began this blog and where I am today.
It would be interesting to see how God has orchestrated every road I have wandered down and how those roads have lead me to the one I am on now.
I hope you all have a wonderful day and are able to close out the week tomorrow on a high note.
Until I come back, know each and everyone who is still here with me are appreciated and that I am sending out hugs to all of you.
I want to send out a note of encouragement to those who may be struggling during this time of celebration.
As the holiday season comes to a close and we approach a new year, often times the pain we are holding now, we take with us.
There are many who are:
Experiencing health issues and are in the hospital
Fighting against complicated health issues
Struggling financially
Grieving the loss of a loved one
Lonely
Lost
Suffering with PTSD and other emotional disorders
These problems do not discriminate because of a holiday season or a time of celebration nor do they automatically go away.
But, be encouraged my friend!
God sees you.
He sees your pain. He is drying your tears. He is calming your fears. He is healing your body. He is healing your heart. He is meeting your every need!
Here is an encouraging verse to cling to today.
“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.
Psalm 75:26
Hang in there and know you are not alone. God has not abandoned you or forsaken you, instead He is holding you and is strengthening you.
Merry Christmas to everyone who is on Christmas vacation and Christmas break.
It is my sincere and heartfelt message that you are able to make some precious memories and spend some quality time together.
Take the time to rest and watch Christmas movies together.
Take the time to fill your home with the sweet aroma of home baked Christmas cookies together.
Take the time to build a uniquely “your own” gingerbread house together.
If you live where it snows, take some time to play in the snow together. Make a snow angel family, go sliding, or make a snowman and then enjoy some creamy hot chocolate afterwards.
Take some time to sit in front of the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree or the warmth and sparkle of a fire in a fireplace to reconnect with the relationships you have missed or have been struggling with.
The time you spend and the memories you make will be the best present you can give to each other this year or any year.
To those who are not on vacation and are struggling, whether it is with grief, loneliness, discouragement, frustration, anger, or PTSD, know you are not alone. I see you.
For many, it is hard to see the joy the holiday season brings, but if this is you, I want you to know you are not alone.
It is my prayer God will soften the pain you feel and will provide you with a peace to see the sparkle of joy this season whether it is through a song that will touch your heart or the twinkling of Christmas lights you may see in the passing of your day.
It is also my prayer this verse will touch your heart and provide you with the comfort and peace you didn’t know was possible to feel again.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NIV
God wants us to remember that He sent His Son to give us the assurance there is better to come.
We don’t need to be hopeless or discouraged because no matter how bad life may seem right now, there is better to come.
Take some time in the week to come to seek God and receive His gift of grace, peace, and comfort.
Big hugs to those who are struggling and suffering today and big hugs to those who are celebrating the season with those who have embraced them.
I woke up this morning and realized how much stuff I still have to do before Christmas.
Instead of continuing to feel the stress of it all, I decided to make light of it and create an encouraging image for you in case you are feeling the same stress.
No matter how much we have to do, remember… it all will get done no matter how much we stress about it or not.
Instead, stop, breathe, and rest knowing Christmas will come whether we are ready for it or not.
If the cookies are not made, it’s not a problem. No one will ever remember the year with no cookies.
If you didn’t buy the gift you wanted, it’s not a problem. No one will ever remember the year you didn’t buy that gift because they didn’t know they were getting it.
If you didn’t do an activity or go to the Christmas party, it’s not a problem. No one will ever remember you didn’t go.
What people will remember is if you were present.
Be present for the things that matter. The snuggle time, the quality time, the time where you were present and engaged.
This is what will be remembered this Christmas Season.
I wanted to remind you there is power and strength in “hope”.
I recently realized the strength, power, and encouragement in the words grace, mercy, and faith, but hope tends to be neglected.
I recently felt God nudging me to share this story with you since He rejuvenated us with the power and strength of “hope”.
My daughter has struggled with a health condition that she was born with. It took me years to get the doctors to listen to me to get her the treatment she needed to live a relatively “normal” life, but it was not easy. It took the power of determination and perseverance to get her a treatment plan that worked for her.
Unfortunately, something changed this past January and her condition took a turn for the worse. She called me on my way home from work with fear in her voice that something was wrong and this is not something she does.
With all of her medical conditions, fear is never something she displays because she has a strength that only God created in her to gracefully deal with everything she battles.
So I took her concern seriously. I took it so seriously that I had her contact her primary care doctor who referred her to a specialist, who was not able to see her in a reasonable amount of time, so off to the emergency room we went.
The emergency room was not able to offer her any assistance and referred her back to the specialist.
This was when the waiting “game” began. As the months passed her problem did not go away, but her faith began to waver during this trial.
The pain began to overshadow her faith because no one was helping her.
She went through two appointments that were a waste of time. She was not able to get a new diagnosis or treatment plan, instead she was told she needed to wait an additional six more months. This was a very discouraging and defeated day for her.
This past October was when she finally got another appointment because I got tired of seeing her suffer in pain and began fighting for her, yet but again.
Do not underestimate the power of a mother when she fights for her children.
She was thankful, but yet nervous and apprehensive to go to it, as every appointment before now ended in great disappointment.
I wasn’t able to attend this appointment with her due to Covid 19 restrictions, so all I could do was pray for her and the doctor she would be seeing and be available for a face time call if they needed to talk to me so she went to her appointment alone and called me after it with a very upbeat voice on the other end.
God answered my agonizing prayers because she had a great appointment with a doctor who finally took her new condition seriously. He did not need her to go back to the very beginning of this problem because he had already done his homework and research.
My friends, he gave her hope. He gave her a new treatment plan and this plan will include a new diagnosis of what has changed as well as a new plan with the hope to give her a life without pain again.
Do not underestimate the strength of “hope”.
HD Benson
God truly was in control over this appointment. She has help now and for this I am excited to the point of tears.
We learned a valuable lesson in how hope is critical to our existence. When you loose hope, you begin to loose faith. This is what creates hopelessness (which we hear about more often).
Once you loose the strength of “hope” you loose a lot.
Today, I want to call attention to the strength of being hopeful brings and the weight it holds.
Are you struggling with something in your life?
Be encouraged my friend. I am sharing with you the gift of hope.
God sees your pain and your struggle. He has not left you, just like He didn’t leave my daughter. He wants you to feel hope in your situation and be encouraged this hope will replenish the faith you may have lost and may be struggling with now.
My friend, it is my prayer today that you will receive the same peace we received when the strength and power of hope was revived in my daughter’s situation.
I am offering hugs and prayers for those of you who may be experiencing the same struggles in life.
You’ve got this! Hopeis being renewed for you as well!
I hope today is one that is full of sweet blessings and the making of sweet memories.
I am, however, mindful of the many who are struggling despite it being a holiday.
If you are one who is struggling, I will send up prayers for you.
If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, I will pray for you.
If you are feeling lost and lonely, I will pray for you.
If you have a heavy heart, I will pray for you.
If you lost your job, I will pray for you.
If you have family you can’t spend time with, I will pray for you.
If you have a Service Member who is not home or is deployed, I will pray for you.
If you have a loved one working today, I will pray for you.
If you have a sick loved one, I will pray for you.
Today is a day of mixed blessings and emotions for so many because life, although it is beautiful, can still be messy no matter if it is a holiday or not.
I have a challenge for everyone, whether it is a wonderful day or whether it is one that is difficult.
Seek to find your blessings today.
“… Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
So what are you thankful for?
Let’s share our blessings. I am looking forward to seeing your responses.
With Thanksgiving knocking on our door, I am inspired to be mindful of being more thankful for the little things around me.
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
Robert Brault
One of the little things that comes frequently to mind is the sense of financial stability.
This came in the form of having our Military job. When my husband was deployed, we never had to question when we would get paid.
Likewise, when my husband was younger, before he began struggling with PTSD, I never had to question if he would be going to work. He just did.
This financial stability seemed so routined and normal, but now our life has changed so dramatically, life is no longer “normal”.
Our financial stability has improved, even more so since I got a job, but it is still stressful at times, as my husband has many health issues that prevents him from going to work consistently.
Although, financial stability would seem to be normal to most people, our reality is that it really isn’t.
I have learned a pay check is something you should not take for granted.
Home Life & Encouragement 