Tag: blessed

Soften The Heart: Devotional #19

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“…for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:14

Let’s define a few of these words so we can better understand this scripture and message.

The definition of the word humble is having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.

The definition of the word exalt is hold (someone or something) in very high regard; think or speak very highly of.

If you reread the scripture with those definitions you could say it says that whoever thinks very high of themselves will be brought to their knees and a person who lives a humble life will come out on top. Possibly a more fulfilling, peaceful life.

This scripture instructs us to not look down on others. We are instructed to remain humble at all times. And if we fail to do so God will definitely interrupt and remind us of our place. We will be reminded that we know very little to what we think we may know.

Erase the mentality that you are more deserving than another person. Truth be told, we don’t know what others do in secret. One person may share their charity work publicly while another chooses to remain anonymous.

Erase the thoughts of it will never happen to me or assuming you have more time than another. No one is more righteous than another. We are all sinners and we are all broken in search of repairing and rescuing.

Many walk this life living unconsciously. Unaware that the past still has control over their wheel. They are stuck in their conditioning and haven’t gained the courage or knowledge to break the cycle. We are in constant need of God’s grace to revive us.

We must be patient and again humble ourselves. Change can be extremely difficult for many. And we are not judge those. Some do not change their lifestyles because it’s what they know. They are comfortable, and they feel safe even when their environment is questionable to another. They don’t know any different.

When Jesus was on the cross, during his death, he remained humble. He didn’t say anything cruel nor did he exalt himself. He said, “forgive them Father, for they do not know.”

Recognize how fragile life truly is and offer compassion and offer it fully to everyone. There was a time when you didn’t know. Just as children don’t know many things. With time they begin to understand.

But God calls us at different times. And when we are called we are to be examples.

Pray to God to correct you when you are exalting yourself, pray to be humbled and pray to be humbled often.

May we live with love.

– m.g.

Soften The Heart: Devotional #11

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“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

Proverbs: 27:17

I had a really great, thought provoking conversation with a friend of mine that I have only known now for a few months. Our daughters are in class together and we met at one of their classmates birthday parties. Neither one of us knowing a beautiful friendship was about to be born. How grateful we must be for the small moments that lead to something priceless, like an amazing friendship.

We had a conversation on the phone not too long ago, and we had a deep conversation as we normally do. Unfortunately it came to an end due to my children needing my attention, but once we got off the phone I was provoked to find a scripture related to friendship because I felt so grateful to have a friend who I can share my inner thoughts with. We each challenge each other with what we believe in, in a very respectful way.

No offensive is taken, only respect and listening to each other sharing why we feel, believe, or think the way that we do. I believe we humble each other in our discussions and help one another to see more beyond the horizon. We sharpen each other.

How important, and what a gift, friendships are. A friend that is pushing, challenging you, and encouraging you, is going to improve you. Sharpen means improve or cause to improve. Improve means make or become better. Countenance means to admit what is acceptable or possible.

In relation to the scripture above, we strengthen each other’s tolerance and endurance to the sufferings that are experienced in this world. We alleviate burdens and give the gift of perseverance to one another.

To live is to experience suffering, we know this is true, and this scripture tells us how you and I can give strength to one another and endure what to some would be unbearable. This scripture reminds us that we are not alone in our sufferings and how important relationships are with one another.

We are here to uplift one another not to bring down. We must sharpen each other to the best of our capabilities. Because everyone at one time or another will seek or is seeking right now alleviation in what they do not know. We must share our light. We only shine because of those that taught us.

Reach out to your best friends today and remind them how much you cherish their friendship. Explain to them why you choose to have them in your life. Give them love and gratitude. How special to have such friends who develop us and push us to grow.

Love to you all.

Soften The Heart: Devotional #10

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“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”

Philippians 4:11

If we define the word worry, it reads; “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.” Think about that for just a moment. When we can’t control something, it causes us stress and anxiety. It leads us down the path of worrying where we end up in a field filled with fear.

How often do you worry? Many times I’m sure. About all sorts of things, right? We worry about the future, we worry about our children, we worry about bills being paid, we worry about our health, we worry about our family, we worry about many, many things.

We all worry. What you should know though is worrying is natural human survival instinct. Ultimately we worry to protect us from harm. Maybe you’re thinking, “how is worrying about my family protecting me? I’m worry about them.” Yes, that is true, however you worry to protect yourself from feeling pain. If something happens to someone in your family, you know you would suffer too. And who wants to suffer? Again, we worry to protect us. *Humans are pretty selfish, we think about ourselves a lot.*

Now worrying and living in fear is giving in to a very powerful force. Too many times we allow these emotions to completely control us and prevent us from truly living and feeling joy in our hearts. This also prevents our relationship with God from growing. Why? Because we aren’t trusting God. We aren’t trusting the creator of the entire universe. You’re not alone my friend, and you’re not on your own.

We have to lean in, we have to surrender, and we have to trust our Heavenly Father. He knows way more than we do. But, like a three year old, we are stubborn children. We want to do things on our own. Like children, we don’t want help. We don’t want to believe our Heavenly Father knows more than we do. Maybe we aren’t children, we kinda sound more like teenagers.

The spirit within us is like a muscle. As we strengthen our spirit muscle, it becomes stronger. The seed of love that God planted in all of us becomes stronger. God is love my friends. But we gotta water that seed! And we have to water others! As we continue to work on your relationship with God we become stronger than the flesh, we become stronger than those feelings and emotions that act like a wall preventing us from living in peace and harmony.

When we continue to seek God, the walls of fear and worry begin to crumble and dissolve like a soaked cookie in milk. We begin to feel peace within ourselves.

No matter what state we are in we aren’t worried or in fear because we know God loves us. We know no matter what, it’s going to be okay. We begin to understand God is in us, he surrounds us, he is reaching out and rescuing us.

But to be in that state, we have to reach our hand out. Gods hand is already present, we are the ones holding back. And once we grab ahold of the hand of God no matter what happens you’ll know in your heart God has got this. No matter what you know in the end Gods going to make everything right. God loves you. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you.

God bless

Soften The Heart: Devotional #7

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“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

And perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Romans 5: 3-4

This earthly life is full of inevitable hardships. Which is what a tribulation is; a hardship. However, as the scripture says, with hardships come lessons in determination, which gives us strength, which gives hope and encouragement to others and to yourself.

Some of you may already know this to be true and the pain is still lingering. You may be in a storm right now. But you also know what comes after a storm. A beautiful rainbow.

Sometimes in life you see great ordeals approaching, other times, those hardships will unexpectedly knock the air out of you the way a car spits out an airbag. Nobody wants to go through pain and suffering and nobody wants to see those especially close to them endure such things. They break our heart and crush our soul. But we are strong and courageous.

We have such things because we live in a world that is ill. However what we are being told to do when we encounter a hardship is to be still and rejoice. We are being told, don’t worry, something good will come out of this if you allow it. You have to seek the good. But think of those hard times for a moment, what did they teach you? What are you doing now and sharing with others to prevent anyone from suffering what you may have endured. Hard times happen to bring us closer together, not to separate us. Which is what God and truthfully all of us want. We want unity and peace.

So let’s hold hands and embrace these hard times together.

Soften The Heart: Devotional #3

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“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy or sell, and make a profit”;

whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

James 4:13-14

Life is precious like a gem and fragile like porcelain. It is so easy to get caught up in the web of this fast paced world and forget that we are not promised tomorrow. That our futures are not guaranteed. What we have is the present. What we have is a gift. And this is something we need to constantly remind ourselves. But many of us have difficulty living in the present moment. We become anchored to our past or become too caught up on a future that we know nothing of. I believe we may remain hopeful of our futures and I believe our past continues to teach us; the same way re- reading a favorite book in different stages of your life changes your perspective. However we must also accept that many things in life are out of our control. Coming to terms with this reality, that our lives are faster than a blink of an eye when you’re looking at the bigger picture feels incredibly surreal. But maybe going through this earthly life is the only way to know God. That this life is a grace of its own to know Gods love and sovereignty.

Let every day of your life be filled with passion, purpose, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love. Be grateful for each day. Hug and hold your loved ones close and thank God for this opportunity and chance to experience love.

Soften The Heart: Devotional #2

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“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance”

Romans 5:3

Let’s define some of these words first to grasp a better idea of what this scripture may mean. A tribulation is a cause of great suffering or trouble. Perseverance is defined as “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.”

Back to the scripture, our pain brings out the will to not give up. It pushes us, it makes us stronger. It continues to say that our troubles are what give us hope and shape our character.

When hard things happen we must have faith. It’s the love in our hearts that persevere. May this scripture encourage you to dig deep into your pain and to find out what it has taught you. What has it made you realize? What has it made you wonder? Pray about it. Ponder it. Sometimes we have to go through a dark forest in order to see a beautiful sunrise. And when we see that sunrise we give hope to those who are still in the forest.

Believe that you will come out on top, no matter what life has and will continue to throw at you…..God is with you, always. You just have to look around.

To The Wildest Dreamers – Keep This In Mind

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Whatever you want in this life, I hope what I have to say can motivate or encourage you in some way.

Don’t ever stop being a dreamer.

“Set impossible goals”. I actually heard that quote on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It was one of her greatest holiday giveaway ones.

A man had been swimming in the ocean, he did a flip, and broke his neck. Just like that, his life changed in an instant.

Life as we know is full of those kind of moments.

He was told that he may never walk again. A nurse told him something that gave him strength and determination. “Set impossible goals.”

Over time, he did learn how to walk again, he is one of the lucky few. He didn’t allow being told that he wouldn’t be able to walk again stop him or hold him back. He dreamed that impossible dream. The beautiful part of this story is he walked his wife down the aisle. And I’m willing to bet they danced too. All because he didn’t give up. All the frustration, the tears, the try after try were absolutely worth it.

(This isn’t them btw, I’m just providing a visual so you can truly try to empathize with this couple and to gain perspective. Hope it works.)

Now……

Everyone has something that they desire. What is your dream? I know you have one.

I’m willing to bet some of you reading this have never really been asked that question. Or you haven’t shared it with anyone.

I want this post to get you thinking about what you want in your life. To take a moment to identify what you seek.

When I was younger the only dream I truly desired so much was to become a mom. I’m not even kidding, that was my dream. It was a dream and it felt like a calling, I can’t really explain it. I wanted to be a mom so bad and my greatest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to have children.

When I became a mother my dream literally came true. Words cannot describe how much joy motherhood gives me. However, what’s crazy though, when I became a mom I also lost myself a bit.

Losing a bit of myself was very bizarre to me. I became something that I wanted so badly, yet, here was I not feeling completely fulfilled.

I went on a serious soul searching journey. And 3 kids later I feel the most confident, courageous, that I have ever been. And I have grown so much.

Motherhood has been the best thing to ever happen to me, because I found a different part of myself. New dreams are being born and new goals are being formed because of my first dream. My daughters inspire me. I have started dreaming ‘impossible dreams’ because of them.

I share this because I don’t ever want you to feel discouraged. The feeling of reaching something but not quite feeling the way you thought you would will happen sometimes.

I saw an interview with Tom Hanks on The Today Show and he said something along the lines of, “The good things you feel from an accomplishment don’t last, and the same goes for the things that bring you down.”

I’m grateful for my dream of motherhood coming true. Greatest, hardest thing ever! This blog exist because of my girls! I have no idea where this blog will take me, but so far it’s probably helped me more then it’s helped any of you.

Trust the Timing of things. And trust your path. Each path provides some type of lesson to get you where you need to go next.

It can take time trying to figure out what you really want.

The point is, don’t give up. Keep trying, keep experiencing, keep doing! And stop being so concerned with what others think. Otherwise you’ll just become stuck and you will settle. If you only knew that just a few feet more you’d see that something greater was waiting for you.

If you’re afraid to fail in front of others, you’re going to have to suck it up. I say that in the nicest way possible.

I personally would rather keep trying new things and experiencing failure to find what really lights my spirit up, then to just settle because I’m in a content position.

You can’t be afraid of dead ends, u-turns, or any paths that lead you into a roundabout.

The pitfalls, the mistakes, the redos are going to happen and they have to happen in order for you to learn and grow and to get where you want to be.

4 THINGS TO CLOSE THIS UP

(Thanks if you read this whole thing!)

Be patient.

Don‘t forget the reason why you’re doing what you are doing.

Write your goals down and work towards it everyday.

Stop limiting yourself, set yourself to be free and to express who you really are and who you want to become.

Enjoy the crazy maze of life!

In A Nutshell, This Is What You Can Expect In Your 20’s

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20’s are an absolute blast I will say and a time for some full on growth.

Full of foolish moments that make you smile whenever you think about them. Happy hours, parties, late night shenanigans, plenty of all nighters, summer love, blurry moments, adventure, dancing, and some really fun, stupid times.

A few moments of “what was I thinking?” and, “I still can’t believe I did that” will happen when reminiscing about your 20’s.

Your twenties are kind of the carefree time in your life. At least in the beginning it starts like that.

When I say carefree I mean go with the flow kind of mentality. That things will just work out how they need so. Your thought process is that you have time.

Later you realize that’s not exactly how it works, if you want something it’s going to take work and you have to be willing to put in the work to get what you want. You also realize time doesn’t wait and you don’t get time back.

You don’t really realize how young and naive you are at that age till you are reflecting on the past.

You will be a different person at age 21, 25, and 29 no doubt. A little hard to believe how much changing and evolving happens during this time.

Your 20’s are full of growing and identifying who you are and what you truly want to be. You may move to a different city, make a drastic career change, get into a committed relationship, do things you said you’d never do, and a few setbacks may happen here and there.

Your 20’s are also full of mistakes. Recalling events or actions and feeling completely embarrassed or guilty. Or not taking that leap of faith your initiation was telling you to do.

During these moments you learn to discover the silver lining in all things.

Towards the end of your 20’s you begin to love yourself and you learn how to not let the opinions of others alter who you are. You may become lost, but you also find yourself in a completely different way.

You drift away from friends but gain new ones. Some you cut off completely, some you rekindle with.

You become very close with your family and recognize how often they have been there for you and have supported you.

You may get married and have kids. If it’s not happening to you it will be happening to the people around you. Don’t feel rushed or saddened.

There is a time for everything. One lesson you will learn in your 20’s.

There will also be a few hard moments that will probably happen in your 20’s. Heartbreak and loss. Feelings of wasted time and regret.

Struggles will happen with your relationship, you may experience struggles of trying to start a family, you may struggle with work, you may struggle with debt, you may experience betrayal, you may experience heartbreak, etc.

These are the moments that will shape you the most. You will become more empathic towards others and gain a variety of different perspectives.

A few things you will take with you onto the next decade are:

  • More confidence and more self assurance
  • A list of goals you are determined to accomplish
  • Awareness of how fast life really does go
  • Words of wisdom from friends, parents, or mentors
  • The courage to say No to things you really don’t want to do
  • That things will pass, and life does go on
  • More knowledge about your physical and mental health and how you need to stay on that
  • Friendships you’re incredibly thankful for

Advice for your 20s

  • Embrace everything
  • Seize opportunities that approach you
  • Explore and Travel
  • Learn how to manage your finances
  • Exercise
  • Spend time with your parents
  • Read more
  • Go On A Solo Trip If You Can
  • Don’t compare your journey to someone else’s
  • Pray
  • If you aren’t happy, don’t wait, do something about it NOW

On to the next adventure. On to the 30’s.

For myself, I am incredibly grateful for where I am and the lessons I have learned.

Wishing you the best, always.

Be grateful. Be thankful. Be humble.

If You Have Been Experiencing Mom Guilt, I Want You To Try This

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Being a Mom can be challenging. That’s the truth, and for many different reasons and unique situations.

While Motherhood is absolutely amazing and very humbling, it’s full of struggles, hardship and what many other Mothers would call ‘Mom guilt’.

You really won’t hear too many Mothers going around talking about the struggles they have with parenting, a lot of times we keep our hard times to ourselves.

Why? Because we are ashamed to even have these feelings and emotions. We feel embarrassed and unworthy at times. It’s difficult when these types of moods occur.

I got to a point in this Motherhood journey where I knew I needed to change myself. Some of my actions were definitely uncalled for. How could I expect my little one to control their temper when I could barely control my own.

I found myself constantly complaining and it felt like I was pouring out nothing but negative things. I was loosing my patience on my toddlers. I was crying because of my behavior. I was disappointed in myself. I couldn’t believe some of the things I did and said. I truly felt unrecognizable.

My faith has always been important to me. Even more important and guiding once I became a Mother. I knew at this point where I was that I needed to be put in my place. I needed perspective and I needed an adjustment in my attitude.

When I decided that I needed to do something, a devotional book came to mind. In the past I would watch motivating videos on YouTube in hopes of being inspired or driven in some way. This time, I wanted something tangible and something that I could reference back to when needed.

I also knew a devotional book would strengthen my relationship with God, which is what I really needed. I needed help with Mothering my children because I was tired and burnt out to say the least.

I went onto amazon and I believe I typed in, ‘women’s devotional book’. Trusting God Day By Day: 365 Daily Devotionals by Joyce Meyer was one of the books that showed up in my search.

I choose that specific devotional book because of the numerous great reviews.

Mothers, I want you to try reading a devotional everyday, preferably from a devotional book. I personally suggest a book because more is said then just the devotional itself. Insight is shared, perspective is gained, and the author finds a way to connect you with their words, that you can apply to your every day life.

Try reading a devotional first thing in the morning, if not first thing in the morning then sometime during the day. 

(note: When you are reading your devotional have your bible, a journal, and a pen handy. Write down whatever stands out to you, or write down more specifically, what it means to you.)

I would like to share that reading a devotional everyday has truly helped me with my Mothering. I am more patient then I was, I am more empathetic, and I have gained more self control.

A few slips are going to happen. You’re human. However you will get closer and closer to where you want to be. You got this Mama! I am praying for you!

This is the devotional book I am currently reading daily and I am so grateful!

I’m so incredibly thankful for this journey and my beautiful daughters who have brought new colors into my world. Thank you so much for reading. I hope this will bring more peace to you and your family if you choose to try this.

@coffeewafflesandmotherhood

I Love Being A GIRL MOM- 5 things to love about having a girl!

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When I was pregnant with my first, a little part of me thought our first would be a baby girl. Oh my goodness, a baby girl I would think, how fun that would be!

I didn’t want to get my hopes up or make any assumptions though. I would be happy with whatever our baby was.

Regardless the sex of your baby, it’s a gift! Am I right!?

When they told us at the ultrasound appointment that the baby was a girl I got so excited! And my husband became white in the face! Lol I remember asking if he was okay, it was hilarious. Although, I didn’t want to get too excited. What if they made a mistake. It does happen!

When my little baby was born and they confirmed it was a baby girl my heart just about exploded with joy! Like, I just gave birth to my best friend!

When my first daughter was 10 months, we welcomed another baby girl into our family who would soon enough be ours permanently. It was girl power in our house! I had 2 precious little girls!!!!

And now I’m pregnant again, with you guessed it! A baby girl!

I love it so much and I am so incredibly thankful. I can honestly say too that my husband loves being a girl dad. It’s never a dull moment as you other girl moms know!

 

A daughter is…

a star glimmering in the sky

a wonder, a sweetness

a perception, a delight…

everything beautiful

A daughter is

love

– Susan Polis Schutz

5 things to love about being a Girl Mom!

1. Girl’s Make Everyone Incredibly Soft

Who doesn’t have a soft spot for a baby girl, especially their daddy! A relationship I just absolutely adore. But it’s not just their daddy, little girls have their Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, cousins, the neighbors, your coworkers, EVERYONE……all wrapped around their finger! It’s incredibly sweet to watch other people swoon over your little girl. Not only is it sweet but it’s humorous to watch a tough man in your life get soft when they see that bright baby girl smile. Little girls hold such a special place in the heart. If you have one, you know!

2. Girl Stuff Is Just ABSOLUTELY Adorable

I love girl stuff! From the clothing, to the accessories, to room decor, to pretty much everything! Girl stuff is just so cute and creative! Being a mom you just want to buy it all! Having a daughter you do have to learn a little self control otherwise you can totally get carried away with all the glitz and glamor. But honestly, does any mom have self control when it comes to their daughter! How many times have you said – she had to have it. No shame here! She did have to have it!

3. The Sassy Attitude – you know you love it

You just can’t help but admire and envy her little full of life spirit. There will be a few times the attitude is a bit much, where you’ll be like uh, excuse me missy! You may even need to turn your cheek to restrain from laughing because you can’t believe the sass of your little girl. But deep down you just love the facial expressions and witty comebacks.

You’ll be thinking where did she learn this and truth be told its probably from you mama lol.

4. Dance Parties Everyday

Girls just wanna have fun! And dance! Every time they hear music they just can’t control themselves! I enjoy dancing too so dancing with my little girls are precious moments I always cherish. I love their dance moves, their songs of choice, and of course watching their daddy get involved with the dance party! A huge plus is they don’t judge your dancing, they want to dance just like you! You see them focusing and copying what you’re doing and it just makes you want to squeeze them, they are so cute! OR, she might be saying “No mama, no, like this.” Either way…

She got it from her mama. 

5. The Gift Of Raising Your Best Friend

There is just something extremely special about a mother daughter relationship. If you are close with your mom I’m sure you two are even closer now that you have a daughter. Your daughter is going to teach you so many lessons and she is almost always going to come to you for advice, when her heart breaks, when she’s in trouble, etc. You are her rock and she is definitely yours. How special that you get to be apart of her life.

And can imagine all the mani/pedi dates, weekend getaways, shopping ventures, brunches you two will have together! Oh to have a daughter! The joy!

 

What’s something you enjoy about having a daughter! Leave a comment below.

@coffeewafflesandmotherhood