Make Each Day Count

Some people live with the memories of a beautiful life and some live with the deep pain of regret. One of the saddest things to witness in a person’s eyes is the pain of regret. I once had a conversation with a woman who was confined to a wheelchair, nearing the end of her life. She told me, as she stared wistfully outside, that she regretted not running more when she had had the chance. She wished that she would have enjoyed her life more. When she looked up at me and said, “You can’t get the time back” it made me really think about my life. 

I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that the time to follow my dreams and make a difference in the world is gone. While I’m still breathing, I want to dream and work toward making all my dreams come true. Life is so short. It is like a vapor. We are young one moment and old the next. 

Time is a beautiful resource. We all get the same exact hours in every day. God gives us the freedom to decide how we will use our hours. Every day we get to decide if we want to use our precious time to serve others or waste it on things that don’t really matter.

The choices that we make every day will determine our future. Life is made up of little things, and it’s the little things that will either move us forward or hold us back. I’m so guilty of wasting my day. I hate going to bed at night without accomplishing anything. Each day is a gift and I desire to live each day intentionally. I would rather go to bed each night exhausted and drained than with a multitude of regrets. 

So how can we prevent this from happening to us?

1. Schedule the day. 
2. Be intentional about each day. Make it count. 
3. Serve others. Make a difference in someone else’s day.
4. Live joyfully. Slow down and enjoy each moment. Laugh more. Love deeper. Be grateful.
5. Ask God for guidance.

We should all strive to be the person that God created us to be. If we show up every day and ask God to guide us, then we will live an inspired life. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

The Power Of Our Focus

We have more control over our lives than we realize. Whatever we choose to focus on, will expand in our lives. If we concentrate on our pain and sadness, then we will welcome more of it into our lives. However, if we focus on gratitude then we will find more things to be grateful for. 

Have you ever bought something new and then you suddenly start seeing it everywhere? Before you bought it, however, you didn’t notice it because you weren’t looking for it. This always amazes me, and reminds me of the power of our thoughts and attention.

We create our own energy with our thoughts. If I’m in a bad mood then I will notice everything wrong in my world. I will pick out the bad parts of my day and magnify them. Without even realizing that it is happening to me, I will constantly be looking for things or ways to be angry, sad, hurt, fearful, etc.  

The same is true with good thoughts. If I find goodness in every one and every situation then my heart will expand with gratitude. After I do this long enough, gratitude will be my default emotion, and I will be able to see goodness everywhere. Even when people are mean to me or just hateful, I try to pray for them and send them love with my thoughts. 

Today I urge you to take some time and evaluate your focus. What do you spend the majority of your time thinking about? Is it helping or harming you? 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Allowing God To Guide Us

We don’t always see all the pieces to the puzzle of our life. Even what we can see, in our current moment, is often distorted by our fears and our perspective. It’s hard with our feelings and experience to view something beyond our beliefs. 

God, however, knows it all. He knows what we need, when we need it. In order to reach our full potential, we have to trust Him. 

If someone had told me few years ago that I would be a Beachbody Coach, and my job would be to help other people adapt to a healthier lifestyle, I would have laughed. At one time, I ate fast food two times a day and ate junk food the rest of the time. I didn’t exercise and I weighed less than what I do now. But I was anything but healthy. I will never forget the day that I sat in an exam room and was told by my doctor at the time that nothing could be done for me and he would make me comfortable with pain medication. I remember leaving his office numb and hopeless. Not once did he mention my nutrition or tell me to exercise. 

When I got home, I crawled in the bed and pulled the covers over my head. I cried and asked God to help me. And He did. 

God didn’t just speak healing into my body, but rather he told me what I needed to do. He guided me through the process. It was so hard to change my diet and kick my bad habits. The first workout program that I did was a Beachbody program. I cried the whole time. Instead of allowing the pain to stop me, I used it to push me. During the healing process, I have learned so much. One of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that our food matters. What we put into our bodies will either help us or harm us. God created everything that we need to be healthy. Sometimes we can’t find the solution because it is so simple that we stumble over it. 

All of my experiences have been preparing me for this part of my journey. I know how it feels to be sick and in pain. I also know the amazing feeling of overcoming it. Whatever your situation, there is hope. Let me help you. 

Love and blessings,

Candida 

Finding Peace In The Storm

The enemy loves to magnify our problems. He can take the smallest fraction of a problem or even a hesitation and turn it into a tragedy. Once he knows our weaknesses, then he will do everything in his power to use them against us. 

The battle goes on in or mind. In all reality, the devil can’t defeat us. Our souls belong to God. The enemy torments our flesh by causing us to doubt, worry, and over think. Then once we get in the right frame of mind, he sneaks in the lies. 

It’s a constant battle. Whenever we figure out the ways of the enemy, he changes his ways and comes at us in a different way. While we might be vulnerable and weak, our Lord can defeat him for us. So often we try to fight the battle on our own. When we really just need to take it to the Lord. He is our Creator and our Protector. Our God can stop the battle with one word. His power is greater than anything we can imagine. 

When the enemy is beating us into the ground, we need to remember how David defeated Goliath. The Lord stood up for David and He will take care of us as well. We have nothing to fear. Nothing can separate us from the Lord. 

John 16:33  (KJV)

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

During times of trouble, the best thing for us to do is take all to the Lord. When we give Him our troubles, our doubts, and fears, then He will give us His peace. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Living Inspired

Life is hard. It is filled with challenges and obstacles every day. Sometimes we get caught up in the negativity, and start believing the lies. If we will listen, the devil will fill our minds with bad thoughts. After all, his job is to torment us.

As my alarm clocked sounded this morning, the negative thoughts came rushing into my mind before I even got out of bed. Right away the devil tried to make me believe that this day will be horrible. In my sleepy and vulnerable state, I listened as I brushed my teeth. Then as the thoughts began to multiply, I stopped them.

This is the day that the Lord gave me. As the Bible verse explains, I will rejoice and be glad. When I started thinking of my blessings, I was able to silence the negative voice. Every day I want to live inspired. 

Every morning, when we open our eyes, if we can’t find anything positive or exciting about our day, then we need to create something wonderful. The day is a gift from God. Not everyone will receive this precious gift. Some people will never open their eyes to this day. So let’s enjoy it. Instead of thinking of all the things that we “have to” do today, let’s change our perspective and think of all the things we “get to” do. We have never lived this day before. 

Below is my three favorite ways to change the course of my day:

1. Gratitude. When I think of at least three things that I am thankful for, and really feel the emotion in my heart, it changes my state of mind. 
2. Pray and read my Bible. The Bible is filled with encouragement. When we read and reread it over and over, the word of God overcomes the negativity in our mind. 
3. Exercise. When we start our day with exercise it puts us in a better mood by releasing endorphins that are proven to make us feel better.

Have a wonderful day!

Love and blessings, 

Candida

When God Carries Our Burdens

Have you ever had a burden that felt as if you were trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? This happened to me one day last week. I was miserable. My every thought was doom and gloom. I struggled to smile and my mind constantly raced with thoughts and worst case scenarios for my problem. 

Until I reached my limit. As the tears raced from my eyes, God hear my prayer and picked up my burden. It literally felt like the weight was lifted from me. Every time I tried to think about my problem, God reminded me that I had asked Him to carry it and that He had it for me. He took away my worry and replaced it with His amazing peace. 

What a blessing it is that our Lord would carry our burdens for us. He hears our pleas and understands our tears. We are never alone. I am so grateful to know and serve this amazing God. It is during times and situations as this one that I am reminded of His wonderful love for me (us all). 

I may not know how to handle certain situations. I may become weak and worry about things beyond my control. Regardless of my situation or my faults and failures, my God always has a plan and He always helps me. For that, I am so grateful.

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Hard Work And Self-Discipline Pays Off

Today, I feel great! As in no pain, tons of energy, and a beautiful feeling of peace. Honestly, I don’t know that I have ever felt this amazing in my whole life. I wish God would give me the words to fully translate this beautiful transformation He has given me. 

For seven years or longer, I have woken up every day in pain. My thoughts were consumed with this pain and how to function despite it. Most days I felt drained and just unwell. It took every ounce of strength that I could find just to keep going. Sometimes people would ask me what I was going to do on the weekends and I would always think, rest and recover from the workweek, so hopefully I can do it again. 

Now, the quality of my life has changed. I find myself thinking of fun things to do with my kids. I laugh more, and enjoy things that I never enjoyed before. For the first time, deep in my soul, I am so excited about my future. I’m no longer worrying that I will get worse or that I will reach the end of my strength and end up giving up. And when I look in the mirror, I no longer see the deep pain in my eyes. 

All the early morning workouts, the healthy food, the shakes, and the discipline to do the incredibly hard things have paid off. It didn’t happen over night, but it was worth every effort and heartache along the journey. 

It all started with one decision to change my life, and many prayers along the way. If we show up, willing to do whatever it takes to have a better quality of life, God will guide us in the right direction. He will put the right people in our lives, at the right time, with the right information to help us.  

If you’d like to know more of what I’ve done, please send me a message. I’d be happy to answer your questions. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Withstanding The Fire

We never want to go through challenges. If given the choice none of us would elect to endure the trials and tribulations of life. Nevertheless, they will eventually come to us all. Usually, they catch us unaware and bring us to our knees. The sooner that we can look up and cry out to our God, the sooner that we can get back up.

We cannot control situations. Nor the things that happen to us. But we can control how we respond to it. 

When my life feels as if it is whirling out of control and I become fearful, I try to remember that God is always with me. He is the Master of the Universe and He loves me. While He might not prevent me from going into the fire, He will be with me. If I seek His guidance continually, He will always lead me the right way and help me overcome each obstacle. His love doesn’t stop there, however, He will walk with me every step of the journey. And when I feel defeated, alone, scared, overwhelmed, etc., He will pick me up in His arms and carry me. 

The trials and tribulations are necessary. It is by and through them that we are able to grow and become more fruitful for the Lord. Without them we would never fully understand His love for us. 

Whatever you are going through, just remember this too shall pass. It all comes in seasons. The pain you are experiencing today, will give you the strength and wisdom that you need for tomorrow. Hang in there. God will love you through this. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

The World Needs You

Regardless of what we do or don’t do someone will still criticize us. We are not all in the same place in our lives at the same time. Some people will have more wisdom and knowledge than others, and instead of learning from the wise person, some people will resent them. The same is true for happiness and wealth. Sometimes we focus so much on what someone else is doing or saying that we stop being the amazing person God created us to be.

I used to live by the opinion of others. If someone criticized me, I took their words and opinions into my heart and nurtured them. Therefore, allowing someone else to control me. While some people are happy to take our dreams and break our spirit, no one bears our burdens or feels the sadness of our hearts but us. 

So often we place a greater importance on failure than we do success. Have you ever noticed how we will dwell on our failure for decades and celebrate our success for only moments? If we even acknowledge it at all. We need to learn from our failures and then release them, and continue striving to accomplish our dreams. When we learn to celebrate each step on our journey toward our goal, then we will cultivate daily gratitude. This process will help us to enjoy the journey.   

God created us all for a reason. Greatness is within us all. We just need to find it and release it into the world. When we learn to be ourselves, regardless of the hard words and critics, then we will be able to live joyfully. When we love and accept ourselves, then our authentic joy will shine out to others. 

Today, work on being the person God created you to be. He has a plan for your life. Ask Him what His plan is for you, and then work toward accomplishing it every day. Even when it’s hard. Even when you want to give up. It’s not accomplishing the goal that helps us to grow, it’s the journey of accomplishing the goal. 

Love and blessings,

Candida 

Knowledge (Followed By Action) Is Power

At some point, we have all found ourselves in uncomfortable situations. When the problem seemed so big to us, and the solution was unknown. The more we learn about our condition or situation, however, the better equipped we will be to help ourselves through the hard times. 

When my health problems first started, I researched them continuously. Even when I was told by several doctors that I wouldn’t get better. I refused to believe the bleak prognosis. While it would make me sad for days or sometimes weeks. God would always give me the desire to get out of my bed and search for a solution to my problem.

Once I started researching possible solutions, it immediately helped me because I felt as if I had some control over the situation. It’s the hopeless and helplessness that is so hard to deal with. Over the years, I have learned that my health and wellness begin with me. It is determined by my actions, decisions, and beliefs. 

When we research whatever we are struggling with, we give ourselves the knowledge and opportunity to overcome the hardship.

Today, I encourage you to research whatever is bothering you. At our fingertips is a wealth of knowledge, and testimonials of people who have already overcome the problem we are struggling with now. If we find out what they did, and do the same thing, we can overcome it, too. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Mastering Self-Control

Mastering the art of controlling one’s self is probably the hardest skill to master. The flesh is consumed with sin, therefore it wants to partake in the things of the world and indulge at every opportunity. In truth, my mind never wants to do the things that need to be done. 

From what I’ve read, our minds are constantly searching for ways to get us out of pain and into a pleasure state of mind. We hate pain and discomfort and fight against it at every opportunity. We tell ourselves when the alarm clock sounds that it is painful to get out of bed. Therefore, we have linked pain to getting up early. Every time we try to get up early, we have to overcome the pain—until we change our mindset. 

So how do we change our mindset? We have to link a new feeling to the action. Instead of linking pleasure with sleeping in, I’ve learned to link pleasure with getting up early and mastering my morning. Now I link pain to sleeping in. 

It’s the same with exercising. I no longer view it as a chore or something that I have to do. Now I see it as something that helps my body. The pain, for me, is not exercising. When I don’t exercise, my muscles become stiff and the stiffness leads to pain. So when I consider skipping my daily workout, I remember the pain that it will cause me in the future, and it helps me to persist beyond my excuses. 

My diet is another example. If I have a moment of weakness and eat gluten or dairy, I might enjoy it in the moment, but afterwards the pain of eating the food will last in my body for weeks. Once I eat the foods that I’m allergic to, there is no way to reverse it, therefore I have to suffer the consequences of my actions. 

Sunday we celebrated my husband’s birthday with chocolate chip cookies. We had two different kinds. Gluten/dairy free and the regular ones. I allowed myself two cookies and enjoyed them. I knew, however, that I would want to eat the rest of them later, so I helped my future self out. Instead of keeping the cookies separate, I mixed them in with the ones containing gluten. By contaminating the cookies, I prevented myself from eating anymore. If we know we have a problem with self-control in a certain area, then we need to figure out a way to help ourselves out. 

Every day is a new opportunity. Set your intentions for the day. How will you conquer your day? 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Silencing The Excuses

It would be so easy to go back to bed this morning. If I crawled back into the bed right now, I could sleep for another two hours before time to get ready for work. While it is tempting, I am not going to give into my temptations when I’m sleepy. Before my alarm sounded this morning, I had already set intentions for my day. Going back to bed was not part of my plan. I will not trade the immediate satisfaction of a little more sleep for my dreams. When I set my alarm, I did so for a reason. This is the only time of this day that I can fit in an hour to write, while everyone else is asleep, and the house is quiet. If I don’t write it now, then it won’t get written. I know this from experience.

If it’s important to us we will find a way, if not we will find an excuse. Have you ever heard that expression? It’s so true. The force guiding us has to be stronger than the one trying to stop us. On the mornings, when I really want to go back to bed, when I don’t feel like exercising, and when I don’t have a thought for a blog, I have to think about why I do this. When I get a clear picture in my mind of why I do it, then I can summon the strength to take the next step. 

Our flesh is weak. It always wants to take the easier path, but God gave us the power of choice. Today, I choose to chase my dreams. Today, I choose good health. I will not put off my goals and dreams for another day. 

Today is a new day. Today is the start of a new week. Let’s make it great! We can surrender our bad thoughts and set our intentions for the day. Today can be anything that we decide for it to be. If we decide to have a great day, then we can have a great day. This morning as I was yawing and rubbing my eyes, I thought of the song my niece loves. Once a few lines of the hot dog song ran through my head, I was ready to jump up and receive my brand new day. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

God Loves Us Right Where We Are

We can’t hide from God. He knows where we are in our lives, right down to our thoughts and the intentions of our soul. While others may accept our excuses and believe our lies, God knows the truth. We can’t fool Him, nor keep secrets from Him.

The best way to serve Him is with honesty. Ignoring our problems and hiding them will not make them go away. It will only create more problems. We just need to put aside all of our excuses and thoughts, and go to Him. He understands our pain and shortcomings, and He has the power to help us overcome them all.

The farther away we get from the Lord, the easier it is to believe the lies of the enemy. The enemy wants us to believe that we are hopeless and that our lives are hopeless. However, that is not true. God loves us unconditionally. He might not be pleased with our ways, but He loves us all. Regardless of what we do. If we had to earn His love, we would all be in trouble, but God loves us all right where we are. 

We don’t have to earn His love. God just wants us to accept His love. When He dwells in our heart, it makes us to want to be a better person. Something inside of us wants to learn more about Him and His ways. Our soul desires the presence of the Almighty God. So today as the devil gives you a long list of reasons to not go to church, I pray that you remember the one reason why you should go. God loves you. 

Have a wonderful day!

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Tomorrow Is The Day Of Failure

How often do we put off today’s chores for tomorrow? I do it all the time. Procrastination is often the thief of my success and peace. In my heart, I know the things that I should be doing, and yet I save the task for another day. Then, when the day finally comes, and all the chores need to be completed, I feel overwhelmed. 

Not anymore!

I will not allow the devil to steal my success and inner peace. Every day I want to do what needs to be done as well as the things that I want to do. Life is too short to live with regrets. While I am sitting around regretting the things I didn’t do yesterday, and contemplating what I will do tomorrow, I lose again. Because we lose today when we focus on yesterday and tomorrow. 

So my goal is to live in today. Every morning we should praise God for the gift of another day. And then proceed to live as if we will never see another day. Can you imagine how our life would really change if we did this? Then, tomorrow if we are blessed with another day, we should receive it with joy and gratitude. And stop taking it for granted. 

In life we are either growing or dying. When we adapt the dying mindset, then our lives are filled with fear, regret, and disappointment. If we continue with a negative mindset about life and failures, after a while our hope will diminish. But the amazing part is that we can decide to change it today. 

Today, we can do that thing we’ve been putting off. Today, we can give and receive more love. Today, we can pray and speak to our God about the plans He has for our lives. Today, we can take action and change our lives. 

Thank you Lord for the beauty and power of today! 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Why I Write A Daily Blog

Writing this blog, consecutively for over 100 days, has been one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Regardless of how I feel physically, emotionally and mentally, I still sit down and try to capture my thoughts. Sometimes I feel as if I have nothing to give, but I still put forth an effort. Honestly, I don’t know what is inside of me that needs to come out until I sit down and pull it out.

So why do I do it? Why do I write a blog when I could be writing a book? 

I know how it feels to need help. As a little girl, I often cried and asked God to send me someone to help me through my challenges. I felt so alone. My troubles seemed so big and my mind couldn’t figure out a way to escape from the pain. As an adult, I have experienced the beauty of realizing that we are all the same. We all have thoughts of doubt, question our self-worth, feel as if we are not good enough, and struggle to find out purpose. As times, we all feel a little broken. 

If I could possibly help one person by sharing my journey, then I want to do it wholeheartedly. I want to shine a light and be of service to as many people as God will bless me to help. That is my heart’s desire. Yes, it’s hard to share my insecurities, fears, doubts, pain, trials and tribulations with others. But it is also hard for me to see other people suffer—especially, when I have experiences that might help them. 

It’s all comes down to one thing. My life is not just about me. If it was, I could just journal and keep all of my thoughts to myself, while still releasing them from my mind. God, however, wants me to share my journey. So, I do. Every day as I hover over the publish button, and my mind lists all the reasons I should just delete my post, my heart hopes that my words will reach the one person who needs to read them. And I hope that it helps them in some way.

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Why I Read The Bible

We are not born with wisdom or experience. Every trial and hardship is new to us and can be incredibly scary without the knowledge and guidance to get overcome it. So God gave us examples of how others have endured and learned to overcome the same type of struggles to give us encouragement and hope.

These stories, however, cannot help us if we don’t know them. When we read and study the previous examples of good versus evil, and see how God has always delivered His people, it gives us hope for our own lives. We know that He doesn’t have respect of persons. If we do what they did, then we can overcome the same type of hardship as well. 

He has a solution for our every problem and comfort for our every heartache. I love reading how He has always taken care of His people. It is such a comfort to know that someone else has had my feelings, dealt with my same obstacles, and still came out of the situation victorious. Every time I open my Bible, hope and love fill my heart. Reading about God’s love for me makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to live my life so that through me someone else might see Him. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

Real Talk: Where Do I Go From Here?

Lately, I have felt as if there is something that I need to be doing, something I should be focusing on that I am missing. The problem is that I am not entirely sure what that something is. Yesterday, I sat down at my desk and looked at my various plans and started researching different options. After a little while, I became frustrated and overwhelmed. 

People ask me all the time when I’m going to write a new book, and I’m just not sure. While I am writing every day in this blog, I don’t feel the urge or need to write a new book at this time. When I write a book it usually gets a hold of me and won’t let go until I write it. I dream about it, think about it constantly, and have a deep need to write what is on my heart. I do feel a need to write daily, but it’s for this blog and not a book. 

Yesterday, it seemed overwhelming to me because I felt like I had to figure it all out right then. Sometimes the beauty, however, is found in the exploring and dreaming. Perhaps God wants me to explore different options and try things that I haven’t tried before. Right now, I just feel I need to open my heart and spend more time with Him. It’s the thinking and questioning and listening that helps me to discover the path He wants me to take. 

Sometimes I get frustrated with the journey, but I trust God to help me. He has blessed me with an amazing career and I know in my heart that He’s not finished with me yet. Because I still have a deep desire in my heart to help others. In the meantime, I will continue to write, explore, dream, and show up every day. Then one day, when I least expect it, He will bless my efforts. And we will all marvel at His greatness. That’s how it happens. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida