Why We Should "Honor the Space"

"Honor the space between no longer and not yet." 

- Nancy Levin

Here is an actual excerpt from my personal journal:

"You really gotta wake up and be excited about life. And if you aren't, then you need to figure out a way to get yourself to that point. That means everyday choosing to make the choice. The conscious effort to not give in to that inner naysayer. Procrastination, fear, insecurities, just plain laziness. You gotta get up, show up and fight that fight." 

I really took a big leap of faith in finally making the choice to get out of a situation and living space that wasn't conducive to my soul's well-being. Where I was and the environment I was in was so toxic for me as I was drowning in anger, doubt and low confidence. I was at an ultimate breaking point where I couldn't neglect the things I loved anymore.

Two months ago I left that situation. It was drastic. It was dramatic. It was scary. I had no idea what to do next.

I am making new realizations daily that are helping me to cope with everything going on. It really is a big mess in my head. . . I know I am in the thick of it. That it will pass and time moves on. I'll be able to look back and know that this tough time proved to be a turning point in my story. The close of yet another chapter in my life but I am ready to embark on the new journey that is meant to be for me. For me to be healthy and finally be able to serve my God the way I long to. . . I've definitely lived a habit of neglecting my heart for too long. . .

The quote above really speaks to me lately. What does it mean to honor the space? Just like a sunrise, the darkness is now gone and the light reveals the brand new day. Taking the time to just sit in the sunrise and take in the beautiful colors and the quietness as the world wakes up.

This past Sunday had a message that applied a lot to what the quote speaks about. I took notes based on what the pastor had said were the steps you take once God has cleared the fog and you gear up to walk in faith into that space that was once fogged up.

Humility. Alignment. Invitation. Strength.

Humility

Accepting you are broken. Putting yourself before God as your Savior.

Alignment

As you lay a broken mess, that is the fresh start you need to really change your life. Set a plan in motion to learn how to live. To live a more Godly life. What tools do you need? Who should you be spending time with and not spending time with? Make the necessary changes to get the journey moving toward where you are meant to be.

Invitation

Open your heart. Give it to God. Let Go and Let God. It's FAITH time!

Strength

Prayer. Constant and transparent prayer. God will give you the strength you need.

That space between NO LONGER and NOT YET is a special time because the molding is happening. The strength is growing and faith is moving into your heart. It is a time to appreciate and be excited about!

That is all I have to say about that. I am a really big mess right now but I'm ready to do this! June is ME month!

I will share a lot more on The STRONG Life Facebook Page so be sure to like it to get inspired with me!

Money Talks and People Kill for Less

#TipsTuesday 

Are you one of those people, like me, who battles with being committed to a fitness program? The hardest part about starting a program and sticking to it is overcoming all of the external factors of life that do their best to keep us from reaching our goals. For years I have been an off-and-on person always gaining and then losing what I gained and gaining it back again. Then for a couple years I had the taste of what it feels like to live fitness as a lifestyle where I didn’t even have to think about it. I just did it. 

Then after a few life altering events happened, I just stopped. 40 pounds up. There was no yo-yo happening anymore. I got past that point. I was just going to keep gaining if I didn’t make a drastic change. I used to be able to push myself until I made it routine, but I have changed so much mentally in the negative direction this past year that I just couldn’t commit to anything! I had no follow through bone in my body!

Finances became the ocean that drowned me and it is going to be a long time before I can recover. However, God has blessed me with a great job and I am at the point of being able to invest in myself more. My mentality with money is still cheap as they come and I’m not one to put myself above having to pay the phone bill or the electric.

However, when I analyzed what I was spending money on out of feeling down or lazy? . . . Well. . . a burger here, a bottle of wine there, pizza, cups of coffee. . . Those were adding up and showing up on my body. The money was being spent anyway!

We all have a breaking point where enough is enough. I am at mine and of course God has great timing and so I was able to join a Weight Loss Challenge. I just jumped in, dropped the money and committed (the feared auto pay! eek!). I am a penny pincher and the thought of so much money being taken away makes me cringe. Especially when I remember how I felt on times when it was either food or light or gas until next payday. But this time it is for something that is worth it. Someone is going to win the $10,000 for the National Challenge, why not me?! 

Are the odds against me? Yes. 

Does my mind and my heart care about that? No. 
Aiming high never hurt anyone!

I know I am on the path to truly change my life and to help others get out of that pit of despair and self-loathing that I was (am still) in. Truthfully, I’m still clawing my way out of that pit but I am convinced that I will get out!

Money talks y’all! I am putting a lot of money for this membership and I am using it to the max that I can! I am fighting to win the prize money! And when I feel down and want to give up, I tell myself over and over, “People kill for less!”

The shot of $10,000 without having to go to prison? Yep, that 5am class is much more worth it. ;-p

(Do you journal? Take these questions to paper!)

Reflect: 

What are the factors that hold you back from reaching or maybe even starting your goals?

What are things you have started and not completed? What stopped you?

What things come first in your life right now that you put above yourself?

What can you give up to be closer to being able to put yourself first and loving yourself better?

Act:

What activity can you do today to bring you closer to your goal?

List all of the steps you believe you need to do to start your journey to your goal. 

Rank them from easiest to hardest and start with the easy!

Be sure to LIKE The STRONG Life on Facebook and share your journey to reach your goals and what you are doing for a stronger life. 

~Melina

Be a Display of Splendor: A Mission Statement

I spent my holiday season a bit on a break just to get my mind right and get ready for this new year. I spent my whole New Year's day reading and getting inspired and I made a few plans that I am excited about which of course I will be blogging about.

I had looked back at my 2014 year and thought initially that it was a quiet year in that I didn't progress anywhere in my life. But that just isn't true at all because wherever I felt I had remained stagnant, God has been using to help shape me! I truly believe that I had made no progress in my journey last year because it was my choice to live in negative thoughts and maintain negative habits. Now, this year I have the chance to make a new choice to let the lessons I learned last year shape me and propel me into a positive year. 

On New Year's day, someone posted this scripture on Facebook and then it was the quote of the day on my phone's Bible app widget:

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” ~ Isaiah 43:19

I was moved by the appropriateness of that passage for a new year that I didn't stop there . . . 

I then opened my devotional Bible to the book of Isaiah, read the intro, read that passage, read that chapter, then moved to the next day's devotional after that passage which then brought me to Isaiah 61 appropriately titled "The Year of the Lord’s Favor" which pretty much is like a mission statement for 2015. I decided to rewrite it as a mission statement by changing a few words . . . 

“ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news . . . He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom . . . and release from darkness . . . to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve . . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair. [I] will be called [an oak] of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” ~Isaiah 61:1-3

I have lived for years wanting to use my platform to inspire and help others. I want to use this statement to remind myself always that God has a plan for me but he can't use me until I make my lessons into productive actions. 

I have been planted so that I could use my life as a display of splendor. That is pretty powerful. So, I probably should be doing right things to be a better display. I am not meant to be a display of negativity. I am meant to display HIS splendor.

Okay, 2015, The Year of the Lord's Favor. . . I am ready. 

I feel a series comin' that will break down that passage. Get inspired with me and LIKE The STRONG Life on Facebook. 

What are your goals for this year? What will you do to live in God's favor?

~Melina