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Monday, November 20, 2017

Why We Need To Reprogram Our Minds


Have you ever spent the day with someone who is negative? When we are around negativity constantly, then it has a way of sneaking into our minds as well. I once worked at a facility where the majority of my coworkers complained and were often in a bad mood. Every time I opened the door and walked inside I could feel my mood changing. Their negativity brought me down. Going to work made me feel bad. It was then and there that I decided to become the kind of person who lifts others up, instead of tearing them down. Needless to say, I didn’t stay there for long. 

Now I am cautious of who I allow into my life. I want to surround myself with positive, encouraging people. If we don’t have those types of people in our lives, then we can read encouraging books. Every day we need to do something to fill up our cups. We can’t drink from an empty cup. When we give away our time, our love, and our energy without replenishing it in some way, then we will find ourselves overwhelmed and drained. 

Limiting beliefs have a way of sneaking into our minds. If we are not careful then we will start believing that our lives have limitations. After my surgery, when the pain in my hand was hard to deal with, I listened to encouraging words and hummed hymns. Because I knew that I was in a vulnerable state, I listened to the same inspirational video about overcoming every day until I believed the message in my heart.

 When I start my day by praying and reading my Bible, then I am replacing my thoughts with God’s word. The world is filled with heartache and pain, but God’s word is filled with peace and love. It reminds me to not let my heart be troubled or afraid. God has grace for our every need. We have nothing to fear. 

One of the things that I have learned to do is to examine my thoughts. Then I decide whether or not the thought is the truth or a lie. While I might feel like no one loves me at times, it is not the truth. In an effort to counteract the lie, I might make a list of all the people I know that truly love me. This helps me to reprogram my mind with the truth. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of the good in our lives. The world will constantly give us a hard time. 

Gratitude is one of the best ways to change our lives immediately. When we pause and feel gratitude for all of our blessings each day, then it turns what we have into enough. God loves hearing from us. It pleases Him when we pause to thank Him for our gifts—especially when we feel it in our soul. When I realized that I was going to have surgery to get a thumb, my heart was overjoyed. Randomly I would burst into tears and praise Him for the thumb I was going to get.
photo credit unsplash

When we constantly feed our minds God’s word, think about gratitude, and live in the present moment, then we are able to break free from the negativity. I’ve learned, it’s harder for me to have a conversation with the devil when I’m talking with the Lord. 

Philippians 4:8King James Version (KJV)

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

My Health Plan

Did you know?
Inflammation is the root cause of many diseases. In fact, arthritis is really just inflammation of the joints. The same is true for heart disease. It is inflammation of the arteries. If we adopt a healthy diet and add in foods to help us eliminate inflammation, instead of consuming the foods that actually cause it, we will be able to dramatically boost our health. 

At one point, my whole body felt swollen. So I eliminated the top inflammation causing foods. I stopped eating dairy, corn or soybean oil, gluten, nitrates and cut back on processed food and sugar. Also, I don't eat fast food. If I do, I pay for it.

Then, I added in foods to help me fight inflammation. Turmeric is a spice: therefore, in my opinion, it is food. I take a supplement of 1,500 mg daily. Drinking a superfoods shake for breakfast has also helped me to add in more of the antioxidants that I need to fight the inflammation. I strive for 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, 4 servings of lean protein, and 1 serving of the good fat through avocados and nuts daily. I try to keep my complex carbohydrates to 2 servings daily. This is the best combination for me. 

If I eat dairy, too many carbs, and too much sugar, my body responds with inflammation. This causes me pain. I have learned the better that I eat, the better I will feel. 

With the weather changing, it is even harder for me to stay out of pain. The cold weather really affects my muscles. So I have to work harder to feel better. Yoga has become my best friend. I woke up yesterday morning with my sciatic nerve bothering me. It comes on suddenly. Before I went to work yesterday, I used a foam roller to work on my achy spots, and then I did yoga for pain relief. This morning I feel so much better. Sometimes we just have to experiment and find out what works for us. 

In the last few weeks so many of you have inquired about my health plan, and this is it. If you’d like to discuss it further or if you have questions, please let me know. It would be my pleasure to help you! <3

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Monday, November 6, 2017

Despite Your Circumstances


Regardless of what we do or don’t do, we will have to go through trials and tribulations. It’s part of life. While we don’t get to choose our hardships, we do get to decide how we are going to go through the trials. Are we going to give up at the first sign of trouble or are we going to keep getting up—despite how many times we get knocked down? 

In my experience of hardships, there are three steps to overcome any hardships. First, we must know why we want to overcome it. What is at stake for us if we don’t overcome it? When I was very sick and told that I was disabled, I realized that I had a choice. I could accept the doctor’s prognosis and believe that I would never get better or I could do everything in my power to get better. Thankfully, I chose the latter. 

This was my why when I was fighting to get better….

I want to live my life and plan my days based on what I want to do, rather than how I feel. I want to enjoy each day and be able to spend time with my kids doing fun things. Never again do I want a doctor to pat me on the shoulder and say, “ I’m sorry. There is nothing else we can do for you. We will keep you comfortable with pain meds.” Nor do I want to be told to sign up for disability to be able to feed my family because I am unable to work. Lying in the bed for months, I discovered the value of my health—and let me tell you, it is priceless

Next, in order for me to make the necessary changes, my pain of remaining in that state had to be greater than the pain it caused me to change. Once I raised my necessity to change, then I started looking for a plan to help me. It required me to work on my mindset, my physical body, and my spiritual relationship with God. 

Finally, once we know what we should be doing, then we must take consistent action. I went on a strict diet, adapted an exercise routine, starting reading self-help books, and spending more time praying and seeking God’s guidance. 

During the first few months, I had to constantly remind myself why I wanted to change. It was so hard. Not only is it difficult to change something about our lives, but the enemy always shows up to make it harder on us. He can’t make us quit, so he tries to persuade us to quit. 

With God’s help, however, we can overcome the trial as well as the enemy. When we decide to work on the person underneath it all, then we will develop the necessary skills to be able to overcome it. I believe the trials come into our lives to teach us things. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. 

Today, I encourage you to adopt the mindset of an overcomer. Regardless of this trial, you can overcome it. When we go through the hard times with the Lord, we get to see another degree of His love for us. I have faced many trials with my Lord, and He has never let me down. It might not always work out like I wanted it to, but it’s always for the best. 


Love and blessings, 


Candida

P.S. If you haven’t already, please check out my latest book by clicking here. Despite Your Circumstances shows us the power of the mind as it embraces a positive and thankful attitude, and demonstrates how to build a rich life filled with meaning and joy. The author uses seemingly impossible situations in her life to prove that you can be an overcomer despite your circumstances.

Author shares message through Zippy the zebra