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.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes being a mom… is having to do the tough stuff when you don’t want to.
It is having to give your child 4 shots worth of infusions after she already experienced 40 shots in her head earlier in the day.
Sometimes it is showing up for them when you are so tired you can’t fathom taking one more step in the day.
It is sacrificing your career because you decide their education is more important to you than what you set out to do for yourself.
Sometimes it is holding them when they are hurt or sick.
Sometimes it is falling on your knees in prayer because you are desperate to help them when no one else can.
Mom’s, when you begin to doubt yourself and your ability to be a “mom”, stop yourself and give yourself the grace to know that no matter how hard the day is or how hard the “season” you are in is, that God sees you.
He knows your heart. He knows your pain. He drys your tears and He gives you the grace to get up in the morning to see that it is a new day.
Remember, no matter how bad today was or how tired and frustrated you may be, know you are making a difference. Know God made you to be the “perfect mom” to your children and it wasn’t by accident.
As a result, He will bless you with the strength, knowledge, grace, and wisdom you need to raise them.
Big hugs mom as you start your day or you are ending your day.
As I got up exhausted this morning, I strolled to my kitchen, only to be reminded God’s blessings come in His timing and not in mine.
Are you struggling in an area where you just keep praying over something in your life and you have been waiting for an answer or a direction?
Be encouraged by His words:
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
My friend, I encourage you to not give up. God is hearing you. He hears your desperate pleas. He knows your fears and frustrations. He is wiping your tears away while He is holding you in His arms.
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