gratitude Archives - Page 3 of 3

Nothing can ruin my day

Published on March 31, 2018March 31, 2018 by VelvetLeave a comment

It smells like Spring. It reallllly does. Mmmmmmm. I think of past springs and reminisce over the times. What it was like to be younger. The older I get the more complicated life is. And I’m only 25. HA! I have feelings too. I don’t care to think about how much MORE complicated things will get as the years pass by. I am here. I am alive. I am well.

I saw this leaf on the road yesterday as I was taking one of my clients for a ride. I bypassed it and started to think about how I am much like this leaf. So much alive yet still has some beautifying to do. Some conforming. Some growing and changing. This leaf is partly dead, but it’s more alive than dead. Unlike this leaf, I will continue to grow and change and become better. This leaf is separate from the branch and vine, and will die. But I am a branch. And Jesus is the vine. I am alive through Him.

Like a spring plant drinks water from the stem as it filters up, providing nutrients and life and CO2, Jesus and His Word gives me the sustenance that I need.

I didn’t know that daffodils could be so beautiful. They’re everywhere. But if you look at the flower closely, you appreciate the beauty, the design. The delicate petals. The bursting color.

This flower is so tiny. It’s smaller than my pinky fingernail. But it’s so soft, bright, beautiful. Now if only the photo weren’t blurry.

And then we have the cherry tree. Ha, at first I wrote “cheery” tree. It is quite cheery, don’tcha think? Although I think it may be causing some of my allergy symptoms. Oh heck, I’m sure it’s all of the lovely spring things that’s causing them. I never used to be bothered with allergy symptoms before moving to Virginia. What’s the deaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!!!!!! But I’m still delighting. 🙂

And the wishing flower. You may call it a dandelion if you wish. But I call it a wishing flower. I have always made wishes on this little flower. And every time I see it I pick one and make a wish, given the opportunity! There must be 100 little seeds that float out from this one flower.

So then. Spring is here. April will be here tomorrow. I am alive. I am well. Things are blooming all around me for my eyes to see. And so many things are blooming that I can’t see as well! I’m sure of it. 🙂

Happy Springtime! What can you find delight in today?

xoxo <3 V

Sunday

Published on March 5, 2018 by VelvetLeave a comment

Today has been a long day. To say the least. I’ve been up since 6:00am. Got to church at 7. Played music at 8. Went to Starbucks at 8:30. Til 10. Then putzed around until church at 11. Then walked in the woods for a while, which was nice. The sun was out today, which was also nice. And I listened to a good sermon on what Jesus has done for me and how I owe him my whole life and nothing less.

I am rather deadpan today. As opposed to alivepan. Just kidding, that’s silly, and doesn’t make much sense. I think I’ll go to the store now and get some Halo Top.

So I just got back from the store. Took 20 minutes. Not bad, considering I sat in the car and listened to about half of “Stars” by Skillet

SO that was good and uplifting. Reminds me that God’s got it in the bag. When I’m having a hard day, He’s GOT it…! I just need to ask for help.

In the store, my cashier was super cute. Not in the traditional sense though. She had a boyish haircut and was pretty overweight, and normally probably wouldn’t have been confident or talkative. I’ve actually had her as my cashier before and she acted like she wasn’t sure if I was going to judge her or not, as she clearly judged herself. This is a way that I’ve changed since re-committing my life to Jesus: I no longer dominate other women with my eyes and attitude and behaviors to get an ego boost. I would try to dominate so I could feel powerful and good about myself. Praise God that now I desire to lift up other women and show them love and affection and empathy and compassion!!!!!

Anyway, she was confident tonight because her frand or boo-thang, or half-boo-whatever-flirt-crush walked by her and she made a comment to him like “it creeps me out when you slip behind me like that”; even though he simply walked by. Though I understand what it’s like to have a crush. You do or say whatever to get their attention onto YOU. You do whatever you can to get noticed. Louder. Flirtier. It was cute. And made me smile. I’m glad I went to the store. For multiple reasons. Including my pint of S’mores HaloTop ice cream which I’m about to eat….!!!!!

Another song I heard on the way home was “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” by Danny Gokey. Here is the chorus:

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again

So I did. I told my heart to beat again. Words do have the power to bring life or death.

Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

So I am going to speak good words to myself. Life-filled words. I am going to listen to life-giving music, messages. I am going to spend my time with life-giving people. And I am going to read the ultimate life-giving resource: the bible. Praise God for giving us this amazing book of truth to govern our lives and know Him personally.

He keeps no secrets from us about how to live a fulfilling life. Starting with surrendering your life to Jesus and admitting you need help. You can’t do it on your own. You don’t have the control you thought you had. You can’t make people and things do what you want and happen the way you want them to. But it’s okay. Because God is available to you and wants to help you. Hear you.

Today I was feeling rather dark. Tired. Sleepy. Sleep-deprivation causes depression for sure. But even through that, the Lord has picked me up. Helped me up. Given me the time and the tools I needed to be restored. He is my well-spring of energy. Christians are not supposed to work and live on their own strength. We have the Holy Spirit and ought to let Him do the work. So I call on God.

Praise God for helping me get through this day… and for giving me so many blessings along the way. For sleep. For church. For music. Guitar. Talent. Coffee. Friends. Singing. Praising. Prayer. The Bible. Truth. Sunshine. Walks in the woods. My phone. My car. Time. Safety. Energy. My house. My job. Rest. My computer. The internet. Videos. Ice cream. Money. People. Inspiration. Wine. Pretzel chips. Hope.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:23

So now I’m going to go eat my halo top and revel in my blessings. <3

#blessed

xoxoxo

Why I’m Glad I Got Sick

Published on May 24, 2016 by Velvet3 Comments

The Chest Cold Chronicles Pt. 1

Today marks day eight of cold strain 134. I’ve been quarantined to my room for eight days and couldn’t eat dairy (besides a little butter in my coffee) #missyoukefir #missyouparmesan.

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Close-up of my bulletproof coffee (AKA coffee blended with butter & coconut oil= <3 <3 <3) in my favorite mug!

I’ve gone through eight boxes of tissues (no thanks to no dairy! 😛 ), eight buckets of chicken soup with eighty pounds of kimchi and garlic in it, and wayyy too much sauerkraut mixed with horseradish (this was a mistake).

A sample breakfast delivered to me! The bowl of what looks like brown rice is actually kraut & horseradish. >_<

Although I was wiped out from walking downstairs and back up one time, I did enjoy having my roommates bring me my meals in bed! Another examples of my lovely meals:

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Aren’t they the best?

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Part II: More bulletproof coffee & some of the sweetest fresh-picked strawberries 🙂

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By day four they were trying to make me laugh just to expedite the phlegm-hacking process.Gotta clear out the ol’ sinuses amirite — hence the horseradish *shudder*.

Besides all of the lovely food stuffs brought to me three times a day (not counting mugs of ginger tea with lemon & honey, cups of green juice, and gallons of filtered water), I was also getting treated with steam baths 2x a day and oil diffusions.

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Teach me how to Steam bath:

Boil one pot of water and place it on a tray with a towel separating the pot from the tray.

Add a few drops of eucalyptus, peppermint or other essential oils to the pot.

Cover yo head with a towel and lean down to the pot of oily steam. Inhale for 10 minutes.

Besides steam baths, I also covered my chest, neck and glands leading to my ears in coconut oil with a few drops of peppermint oil to open things up and get the mucus moving.

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When I wasn’t inhaling or topically applying peppermint oil, it was being diffused in my room. Buy oils and a diffuser from my favorite company here!

Sometimes I put lavender oil around my ears and temples to relax and soothe.

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Aside from good foods and oils, I was taking extra supplements in addition to my regulars (magnesium & vitex… I will do a post on vitex soon). What I took was:

1,000 mg Vitamin C with two meals a day

250 mg glutathione twice a day

1330 mg curcumin once a day

200 mg Niacin three times a day

Curcumin is supposed to help fight bronchial inflammation.

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Niacin is good for a whole range of things but is mainly marketed for raising good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol. The truth is, there are endless benefits to taking Niacin. The reason I take it is because it helps relieve anxiety and depression, and also aids in sleep.

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, has only one side effect: it produces a “niacin flush” that looks and feels similar to a sunburn and lasts between 15 minutes and an hour depending on the amount you took, what you ate/drank prior to taking it, and how many histamines are in your body. Here’s a picture of what I looked like with a flush a few days ago:

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My arms were very splotchy and my chest, neck and face were on fire!

I’m sure I’ll do another post on niacin in the future, but if you’re curious about taking this vitamin, check out Dr. Abram Hoffer’s site.

Just be careful to discern what is true and what’s a lie from big pharma. 🙂

To top the post off: Here’s why I’m glad I got sick (maybe the real reason you are here 😛 )

*to practice accepting help and service from others <3

*to learn more about health! 🙂

*to have time to pray for others <3

*to practice resting and being patient! 🙂

*to practice expressing love and appreciation to those who do so much for me! <3

*to reflect on the direction my life has gone in the last few months 🙂

*to learn to trust God and surrender doing what I love so I can regain strength and grow even stronger <3

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Backyard chillen after 5 days quarantine. #lookingood #eligible #singlenessisreal

See guys? Next time you’re sick, remember this:

Being sick isn’t too bad. We can learn a lot when we’re sick, whether we want/intend to or not!

Love you all <3

ice cream for breakfast?

Published on July 12, 2015July 14, 2015 by VelvetLeave a comment

Winding down to the end of a HOT Saturday in July! And what's better than ice cream on a hot day? How about ice cream for breakfast? Yep, this dichotomous hot and cold breakfast incorporates filling and fruity fiber, peanut butter, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla! Continue reading “ice cream for breakfast?” →

ebb & flow

Published on July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 by VelvetLeave a comment

I scurried down a steep rock face using my hands to grab onto the edge of boulders as I felt out good places to put my shoes as I climbed down towards the sea. My bike should be okay up there. I don’t think anyone would steal it. Nahh, it’s a small island. I’ll turn around and check on it every couple of minutes. I placed my foot on what I thought to be a sturdy rock but it wobbled back and forth as I Continue reading “ebb & flow” →