Out With The Old, In With The New

At the beginning of this year, I decided to do one thing per week that is bothering me. Whether it is to clear space in my closet or take a new course to learn something new, I want to move forward this year instead of merely treading water— trying to survive. I hate when I adapt the barely-get-by mindset. Not only does it affect me, but it also affects everyone around me. It makes me feel bad and causes me to act in ways that I don’t want to act. 

Ever since I made the declaration to myself, I have acted on it. I’ve realized as long as we hold onto the old, we can’t welcome the new into our lives. Especially when the old things take up our space. My phone wouldn't work properly because it was out of space. I had tried all sorts of ways to fix it, but nothing worked. When I decided, however, to delete the old off of it, I suddenly acquired plenty of space for the new things to be added. It’s the same way with my closets, drawers, and cabinets. Most are just clutter anyway. When I started going through them, however, I realized that I had forgotten about half of the stuff inside them and the other half was not serving me in any way. It was just taking up space in my life.

It’s the same way with our thoughts. As long as we hold onto our old thought patterns, then we can’t welcome new ones. In the same way, I examined each piece of clothing in my closet, I am examining my thoughts and asking myself these questions:

1. Does this help me right now in my life?
2. Does this limit me or inspire me?
3. Am I reacting with faith or fear?

When I break down my thoughts and only react with faith, then it brings more peace into my life. However, our fears don’t just disappear. They rear their ugliness in my life all the time. Last night before I went to bed, I decided to journal about my fears. With the first word, tears were falling from my eyes. I continued writing and crying for several minutes. When I finished writing them down, I asked God to help me overcome them. This morning, nothing on my list seems as devastating as it did last night. When we acknowledge our problems and become willing in our hearts to work on them, then I believe God will provide the way. Most often times we just need to turn our worries and fears over to Him and trust Him to help us deal with each one. Worrying about tomorrow’s troubles only takes away today’s peace. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida 

New Year, New Opportunities

It’s always exciting for me to start a new year. I love the opportunity to start over—with a new journal, the new list of goals, and as a new person. When the old year comes to an end, I am not the same person as I was when I started the year. In many ways, I’ve grown and changed and experienced so much more. Every obstacle and challenge has prepared me for the new year. Therefore, I want to do my part and do everything in my power to live the best life possible. 

I feel the best way for me to ringing in the new year is with prayer. I need God's guidance to be able to do what He wants me to do. The fact that I am alive means I still have a purpose. God is not finished with me yet, so I want to make sure that I am on the right course. When I evaluated my life in 2017, I was disappointed with myself. While I made progress in some areas of my life, I still know in my heart that I could have done better. Why? Because I did not give my all.

My focus word for 2018 is...success. My definition of success is showing up every day and giving my best effort—while doing the things that God wants me to do. I want to go to bed every night knowing that I gave everything that I had to give to that day. I want to know that I lived well, loved unconditionally, and used the gifts God gave me to make a difference in some life, in some way. I want to receive every day as a precious gift. I want to plan and use the most of it. I want to live intentionally, and take the time to love and be loved—instead of just aimlessly drifting through my day. I want to write more and share more of my life with you. 

At the end of this year, as I sit down to review my goals, I want to know that I gave my best effort toward accomplishing each one. The outcome isn’t as important to me as the effort. Because I know true success is when God blesses my efforts with His will. That’s when I can shine my light on Him and when I feel the most joy and peace in my heart. 

Do you have a word to focus on this year? I’d love to hear it and why you chose it. 

Happy New Year!

Candida

God Blesses Our Efforts

God wants a relationship with us. He wants to lead us and guide us along our life and He wants for us to live every day with purpose. Sometimes, however, we get confused about His role in our lives. God will not allow us to use Him or to take advantage of His grace and mercy. We can’t just live however we choose to live and expect God to bless us—according to our will. That’s not how it works.

For many years, I used prayer as a way to tell God what I wanted and then expected Him to give it to me. Now, however, I have learned to ask for His guidance. Then when God instructs me on what to do, I do it. That’s how my body healed. I didn’t just pray for healing, but I did everything that I could do to acquire it. I changed my diet, changed my lifestyle, reduced my stress, and exercised regularly. Then when I did everything in my power, God blessed my efforts. 

We can’t acquire more knowledge without reading our Bibles. We can’t obtain wisdom without hardships. When we bow our heads, show up every day, and pray for strength and guidance, then God will walk with us. He won’t do everything for us, but He will show us how to do things for ourselves.

If everything came natural and easy for us, then we wouldn't need God nor be appreciative of the blessings when they come into our lives. When things are hard, but we still manage to overcome them, then the blessing becomes greater to us because we attach a greater importance to it. 

For example, running is my nemesis. It is so incredibly hard for me because of the instability in my foot and pelvis. When I’m able to do it despite the hardships and challenges, then I feel so accomplished and strong. The enemy tries to defeat me every day. He continuously places snares in my way. He wants me to just give up and accept defeat—without even trying. God, however, wants me to give my life everything that I have to give. When I reach the end of my physical, emotional, and mental strength, then God will take over. My problem, however, is that I usually give up, when I still have so much left to give. I don’t persevere to the end of my strength. I quit and then expect God to just do it for me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. 

When we have a desire in our hearts to do something, then we need to do everything in our power to obtain the object of our desire. After all, God is the one who places the desire in our hearts. Each one has a purpose and will benefit our lives in some way. Sometimes we don’t always understand our desires. I certainly don’t understand my desire to run, when it is so physically challenging for my body, but I trust God to teach me through the process. Faith is taking the first step when we are unsure about the journey that awaits us.  One day I’m sure I will look back on the whole experience with a new understanding and be in owe of my Lord. He knows what we need when we don’t. We just have to trust Him. 

Yesterday, He blessed me to do something that I have never been able to do. I was able to run/walk six miles. While I wasn’t able to run the whole time, I pushed myself. And when I reached the end of my strength, I walked for a while. I didn’t just give up, but I completed the six miles—even though it was challenging. This morning my body is sore, but I have a victory that the enemy can’t take from me. Despite my circumstances, I was able to do something that I’ve never done before, and accomplish my goal. 

As I was trying to decide whether or not to do it yesterday, I had a thought that helped me to make up my mind. I would rather look back on an experience and know with absolute certainty that I couldn’t do it than to always wonder what would have happened if I had only tried. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Breaking the Cycle

Sometimes we forget that we have a choice. This is our life. While circumstances might try to derail us or even destroy us, at the end of the day no one can take away the way we chose to see our lives. Ultimately, with every thought and action, we declare whether or not we are a victim of our circumstances or an overcomer of them.

Perspective is a beautiful gift. Especially when we ask God to give us the right lens upon which to view our lives. For so long, I wasted precious time crying over something that I could not change. When I changed my thoughts about the situation, however, my situation changed. Every day is a new canvas for us to paint the picture we wish to see in the world. We can be consumed with the evil and heartaches of the world, or we can choose to see the joy and love. It’s all around us. Whatever we focus on will manifest in our lives. 

We don’t have to wait for great things to happen in our lives to be happy. Right now, we can choose to see our situation with different eyes and a new understanding. When I am struggling with something, I like to ask God to help me see the situation as it is—not how I have chosen to see it. Most often our brains automatically jump to the worst-case scenario. It takes practice for us to learn to examine our thoughts and discard the lies. Once we replace the lies with the truth, then we are able to see the bigger picture.

Journaling helps me to see things with a different perspective. Just getting our thoughts on paper will help us to see them truthfully. When they are just in our head, then the devil has a way of magnifying them. Usually, by the time I write my problem out in detail, my feelings about the situation has already changed.

Most of the things I worry about never actually happen anyway. It is just problems that I create in my mind. I have a special talent for turning one little thought into a tragedy within minutes. Especially if I feed the fear and worry in my mind. To stop the tragedy from occurring in my mind, I tell myself that I will allow myself to worry about the problem when it actually happens—and not before then. When I recognize what I am doing, then I am able to stop it. 

We can’t change the past nor the future with worry. It is a waste of energy. Sometimes just stopping my thought pattern also helps. When I notice the repetitive thoughts going crazy in my mind, then I can stop it by reminding myself that I am worrying. Then I occupy my mind with something else. Scriptures are very comforting. When I meditate on a promise from my Lord, then my troubles don’t seem as overwhelming. 

John 14:27 (KJV)

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Love and blessings, 

Candida

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)

8 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.