Becoming a Butterfly

Hi loves! I apologize for falling off the planet for several weeks, I've just been going through a weird spot in my life the past few months. I'm at a place where I need to make some decisions on some things & honestly, I'm really unsure of what to do right now. I feel so confused with my VA Business because I don't seem to be attracting my ideal clients and to be honest, I really miss working a normal 40 hour work week instead of putting in 80 hour weeks on my business to try to make it perfect, not to mention I would like a dependable income. I was so frustrated yesterday that I ended up taking the day off today to just let my mind rest and do some praying.

I honestly love what I do everyday but I don't love having to market myself (I'm an Introvert so I hate hate talking about myself!) & the need to constantly update my brand. I think the worst part is how much time it consumes from my life and I feel like I don't have time to spend time with God like I want. I had people try to give me advice, recommending me go back to school, but this confusion doesn't come from not having enough knowledge because God knows that all I do all day is read & take classes/webinars constantly. And I've done the college thing already, believe me!

I think the problem is that I have always been the one that works behind the scenes and serves others. I don't like being on the front line and the center of everything; it's just not what I love. I really would love to work for an amazing company that offers great benefits + perks where I can continue to work from home. I don't know if it's just me wanting to hide in my cocoon and maybe God is wanting me to step out into the spotlight or if it's just not meant for me. I hope that I find the clarity that I need soon.

Speaking of cocoons, today I was listening to worship music & organizing my Pinterest boards when my eye caught this image of a butterfly. It brought my mind to the process that butterflies go through in their stage of life. First, they are born and then they form into a caterpillar where they lose their skin many times as they grow. They increase in size up to several thousand times before the next step (which sounds painful). Next they turn into a pupa (chrysalis) which is the resting stage and lastly they become a beautiful butterfly!

If you look at it spiritually; it looks like this:

First, we are created by God and are in the cocoon stage, then we are born and then we go through the growing stage thousands of times (life). This can be quite painful, being stretched beyond the point that we would like at times. After that, we get to a stage of rest (thank goodness for this stage) After growing to the point where we need to be, we reach the stage of becoming a beautiful butterfly!

When I started really thinking about it, it made me think back on my life and that's in nutshell what my life has looked like. I've gone through growing moments to where I am stretched and stretched to my breaking point. I can definitely relate to Job of the Bible. For the past five years especially, I have been through so many tests + being stretched in a way that I have never been before and I've held strong to God through it all. Forming into a beautiful butterfly is painful and it isn't pretty in the beginning stages. Have you actually seen larvae up close? Not pretty at all. But it takes time to form into a beautiful butterfly; it doesn't happen overnight.

Lately, through songs, quotes, sermons, I've had God giving me words to just hold on, that restoration is on it's way. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 (I heard these words the other day at the end of a song that I was listening to). I literally just prayed & cried listening to it over and over. I know that God sees my heart and that I have been faithful to him through everything and he will reward the righteous!

I'm getting ready to emerge into a beautiful butterfly soon; just you wait and see! A lovely thing about butterflies for me; is that my husband is really the person that introduced me to the beauty of butterflies when he took me to Callaway Gardens at the age of 19 and I fell in love with them! I have always said that I should have been a butterfly because they live in the warmth, float around & drink the nectar of flowers and fruit juice. What a beautiful life.

Anyway, I expect to be back here soon to share some amazing blessings with you guys because God never goes back on his promises! Blessings + love to all of you!

What are you going through right now that you are praying over?

Getting Ready for Restoration!!

Wow, where do I start?! So much has been going on and the hubby and I have been working insanely crazy to the point of exhaustion. We are both in need of a much needed break; but before we get to that, let's talk about what we were able to accomplish the past week!

Past Week Accomplishments: 
>> I have been picking up limbs and sticks for an entire week from Hurricane Hermine
>> Ordered 18 tons of dirt and helped hubby with filling dirt for our concrete drive for the garage
>> Hubby framed out and dug for the well house and the garage drive
>> Cleaned Roof
>> Cleaned Deck
>> Ordered Propane
>> Ordered Tub Tool
>> Ordered Lawn Mower Blades
>> Ordered some healthy food items, drinks on Amazon and Jet
>> Ordered a Kate Spade iPhone charger (when our electricity was out, I really relied on my back up chargers! Plus, they are great to have while on vacation & there is no access to an outlet)
>> Hubby cut wooded area
>> Purchased a new Ryobi weed trimmer- amazing!
>> Ordered a replacement Keurig + some kcups
>> Picked out our new Kitchen Backsplash- Natural Color Hexagon
>> Booked Hotel for Beach Stay! ( I'm so excited for some R&R, including some delicious seafood, beach, reading books & shopping!)

I have to tell you, something is going on behind the scenes and God is working!! This scripture keeps showing up on my Pinterest, Facebook, etc and I wanted to share. I read it aloud to the hubby and felt God's presence around me. God has seen the struggle that my husband and I have gone through for over 5 years now. There were several things that Satan stole from us but I have been diligently praying for restoration and for God to bless us with seven-fold what Satan has stolen from us.

I really don't discuss our problems or things that we go through with anyone or share via social media- that's why I have my blog so that I can safely write here. I hope that writing about the things that I go through, will somehow help someone else and at the same time, allow them to see how prayer works and how good God is!!

We have been through so much throughout these past 5 years when all we had to depend on was God, when everyone else walked out. We went through losing our dog of 15 years, losing half the money on selling our home, losing half of a salary that we were accustomed to, my husband losing his Father, his job. We had to work a hard job on the road for almost 8 months and it was not easy, but we worked hard and trusted in God for our future. We went through struggling with almost 8 months of unemployment- literally, no one would hire us. It got to the point that we didn't know how we were going to make it but God got us through until the last few dollars and he performed a miracle and I got a great job and soon after the hubby did as well!

God has been beyond good to the husband and I throughout the years. It has been a struggle for us, but it has made us depend even more on God to get through things. I have watched him heal our dog when he was completely paralyzed, I have witnessed being on our last few dollars and he deliver us with jobs and money, I have watched God help us financially when things have gotten rough. But I don't complain that we have gone through any of these things. Yes, we lost money on our home, yes, we don't have the same financial lifestyle that we had before and we have had to make sacrifices but God has taken care of us every time!

Everyday, sometime during the day I go on a walk up and down our drive and I talk to God about what is going on in our lives and I pray over our future. I pray mostly about God restoring what Satan has stolen from us. I watch my husband every day, diligently work even though he deserves more and is meant for greater things, but he never complains. My heart hurts for him and I pray over him daily for God to bless his future and for him to be successful and be in the favor of God. One thing that I really love about my husband is that he is extremely intelligent but he is never boastful or proud about it.  In this day and age, that is extremely rare. I have been watching God bless us in the past few weeks about some things that I have been praying over and I know that he is working on our future. The hubby and I talk about things that happen and we both know that it is God working! Right now, I couldn't be more excited for our future and the blessings that are on the way!

What are you praying/trusting in God for today?

Working towards my Goals!!

Life has been crazy lately, but in a good way. We have been working hard this year so that we can leave 2016 with a bang! 123 days left to work on those goals!

So my main goals to finish by the end of this year are:

1.) Reach my happy size- I don't care what the scale number or clothing size is, I just want to look and feel amazing! Muscle ways more than fat- seriously, just look at the photo below to see my point! Seeing this has seriously changed my mindset from focusing on numbers to focusing instead of being healthy and toned!

I recently switched from the Ketogenic diet back to the Whole 30, only because I just can't keep up with eating so much fat each meal. Also, because I was really missing eating my fruit and the Keto diet discourages eating too many fruits.

via mysweatlife

2.) Finish the house construction! The only thing remaining is the interior trim, kitchen backsplash, well house and the concrete pour for the drive for the garage. We do want to also work on landscaping later and another project that we want to work on is to do pallet walls for our garage + some organization.

3.) Clean some more in the Garage- I have really focused on decluttering this year and have gotten rid of SO much! But I do still have a few things that I would like to go through and sell on swap and shop. I'm a little OCD when it comes to being organized, so I'm not your typical person. I just want everything to have a place.

4.) Possibly trade in owning a business for a 9-5 I have to be honest, I miss having paid vacations, sick leave, etc. When you're the boss, you don't get paid for the hours you work or the time off that you take which can be a huge downside.I never thought I would want to go back to a 9-5, but after running my own business for almost a year, I really don't think it's for me. And that's okay, I'm very glad that I followed my dreams and honestly I have learned so many new things that I can apply to my new job! (I will talk more about my decision/reasons in a future blog post).

5.) Fit in 1-2 more weekend vacays and relax some. We do have a December week long trip planned, but we have been working so hard that we need some mini-breaks.

6.) Girls Shopping Trip!  Once we reach our fitness goals, my sister and I are planning a shopping trip for possibly this November. I'm so ready to go shopping for some cute clothes! Honestly, I haven't bought much all year because I have not been happy with my weight.It's the one thing that really motivates me to get up early and work out every day!

Here are some things that I have been working on the last couple of weeks to work towards our goals!

>> Successfully completed HIIT workouts every day of the week! On my 4th week of working out without missing a day!
>> Eliminated dairy products starting last Wednesday- I want to see if it helps me in my weight loss, allergies + toning
>> Added social media share icons to my Blog (feel free to share via social media, email!)
>> Hubby fixed the 2 deck caps
>> I painted behind the deck columns and touched up the base trim + touched up 2 last areas
>> Finished painting all of the house + windows!!! If we ever build again- it definitely needs to be a single story or have someone else paint it- I'm so over painting!
>> Listened to some amazing sermons last week & had a clarity moment which helped me so much!
>> Have been working the past 2 Saturdays & made some extra money working with the hubby to put in ceiling & wall project for my brother

I also may have some very good news on one of our huge goals that may be coming to pass soon!! I have been doing so much praying over our future this year and leaving everything in God's hands. I know that God is working on things, even when we can't see it! I honestly am beyond excited to finish 2016 off strong and start the new year with an amazing start!

Major Spiritual Breakthrough!

  

 
Something really amazing happened today and I am so excited to share! I had one of the biggest spiritual breakthroughs that I have ever had in my life. I won't go into all of the details, but God sent me deliverance from a spirit that has been attacking and hurting me for about twenty years of my life. I prayed in the spirit for over an hour and I felt the power of God working all around me as I felt the weight lifting off of me. It was one of the most powerful prayer sessions that I have ever had. This thing/person can no longer hold me in fear, because I know that the almighty God is on my side and no matter what Satan throws at me, he's already defeated! God has already taken care of this situation- I don't need to fear my future any longer!

I have to tell you that if you have something/someone in your life that involves fear, manipulation, guilt, selfishness, insecurities, narcissistic behavior, boasting, lies; it's not of God. I don't care if that person claims to be a Christian or who they are. God doesn't put guilt on you, threaten, blackmail, lie or manipulate. That's Satan- period. End of story.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."- Ephesians 6:12

Before I could pray for deliverance, I had to repent of several things that I was guilty of such as insecurities, rejection, fear, wanting to be in control, allowing gossip in my presence (ouch). It's so easy to be consumed with things that are not of God that slowly creep in without us noticing. Satan is constantly busy at work, so we have to stay on guard at all times.

I feel so blessed that God chose to discipline me, because it just means that he truly loves and cares for me. And to be honest, I didn't realize that I was being ungodly in several ways until he showed me.

"For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights." Proverbs 3:12

I am so excited to see what else that God has planned for my future! I know that without a doubt, there are so many wonderful blessings coming my way soon!

Have you ever had a major spiritual breakthrough or deliverance?

Remembering What is Most Important in Life..

Happy Tuesday Loves!!

My week is off to a great start! I started my Monday with cleaning the house from top to bottom- vacuuming, mopping, washing sheets, rugs, cleaning lights, emptying trash, etc. Late Monday morning my sister messaged me to come by for coffee to catch up, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and hang out with her. One of the main reasons that I love being my own boss!

It was so nice chatting with my sister and visiting with my niece (we played on Snap-chat- obviously!). I decided at the last minute to go to town with my sister and we did a little shopping, which was exactly what I needed. I tend to work way too much and not take time off to relax and it was really nice to get out of the house. I ended up finding some cute summer clothes and a new coffee mug. I picked up the hubby some dinner from Subway- it was so nice not to have to cook and dirty up dishes! Sometimes, I forget that it's the little things in life that can make the difference!

Later when the hubby got home, he hung the mirror for me and mowed 1/2 of the lawn. Between last week and today- the hubby painted all 3 exterior windows on one side. We are planning to paint some more this week. My husband's birthday is tomorrow, so I am planning to surprise him soon with a weekend trip to the beach! 

This morning, I listened to a couple of sermons online and have been catching up on some client work. I will be working on some website updates later and then I have a potential client meeting at noon. I also paid off a credit card bill so that always make for a great start to the day! I really am blessed that I get to work from home and make money to pay the bills and go on vacation. 

I was talking to my sister yesterday, about how life is such a rat race and how I really want to slow down and enjoy life more and work less. My motto has always been work hard, play hard, but lately I've been working too hard and not playing enough. After talking with my sister, I realized that I need to play more and take some me-time. It's easy to run around like crazy trying to make extra money and make plans for my future. But, then I remember, it doesn't matter how much I run around trying to do it all on my own and be successful, in the end, God is in control of it all anyway! What matters is that I enjoy life and I remember to help others along the way by showing generosity and kindness towards others.

Lately, I have been noticing in society, more self-centered actions and an all about me mentality. It makes me extremely sad to see when people are self-serving and worried about all that they can get, until they forget that life is really about helping others. You can make all of the money in the world, but when it comes down to it, you can't take it with you. Nothing in life is guaranteed, not money, not our tomorrow; it's all in God's hands when it comes down to it, no matter how much control that you believe that you have. I pray every day that I can do something in my life to bless someone else- whether they are feeling down or if they are having financial issues. It's amazing what a little bit of kindness and prayer will do for someone. Life is not about what you can get, it's about what you can do to help someone else.

When you sow good things and give unselfishly of your time and resources to those that need help; God promises to multiply those resources to that you can continue to be a blessing to those around you. You might look at what you have and think, "I don't have much to give." But have faith that when you are faithful and give God what you have, he will turn it into more than enough!" Just like Jesus fed a crowd of over 5,000 people with a small lunch, he can multiply whatever you have in your hand too!

Matthew 25:34-46 Then the King will say to those on his right, "come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."


What can you do today to help someone else? Maybe give some of your time, talent or finances to help someone else who needs it?

Trusting in God!

 

Hi lovies, hope your week is going well so far! I'm still trying to get adjusted after being back from a week long cruise. I've been busy trying to catch up with things and to be honest a little overwhelmed with life.

Lately, I have been listening to sermons while I work during the day and noticed that the same message seems to keep coming back to me. I have seen it on social media, quotes and listening to several sermons. I know that it's God speaking to me and I wanted to share in case this speaks to you or maybe you're going through a similar situation.

The message that I have been receiving is"Stop worrying, God is working everything out." I won't go into details, but I have been going through some difficult things in my life- this specific trial is something that I haven't been through before and it's been really hard and has caused me to stay awake nights worrying and being stressed. It's gotten to the point to where I worry and think about it constantly. I have even had several anxiety attacks to where I have had to calm myself down so that I could catch my breath. I have been praying more and trying to turn it over to God. I just can't do this on my own- I need God to take over. I have been worrying too much, when I should have been praying more and trusting in God to take care of things.

I'm not saying it's easy, especially when you feel like your life is out of control and you work so hard and help others yet still your life is a constant struggle. It's really hard to sit back and watch people who take advantage of others and it seems like life is going so amazing for them. That really frustrates me and makes me want to throw in the towel and quit. Why can't the kind and giving people be rewarded? Why does it seem like the ones that are dishonest and take advantage of people and are full of greed get rewarded? It's something that I struggle with understanding.

All I know is that I have to continue being kind, lifting up and encouraging others. I will continue to love and help those less fortunate and the broken in spirit. It may not seem like it right now, but God is busy behind the scenes working things out for me. I just have to keep trusting in him and know that the plans that he has for me, are for good and not evil. Plans to prosper me and give me a hope and a future. I don't know the exact plans that God has in store for me, but I will continue to trust in Him. I have followed God for most of my life and he has never let me down. I love and adore Him because he has looked out for me my whole life and has been there with me when everyone else walked out the door.

I hold on to the faith because I have witnessed countless miracles from God. I have witnessed our dog, Roscoe, when he became paralyzed and depressed for 8 months, later begin to walk and play like a normal dog again. I watched God deliver my husband and I out of bondage in situations where people were taking advantage of us and place us in a much happier & healthier situation. I have witnessed having extreme health issues and God restoring health to my body. I have witnessed a child that was having traumatic emotional issues receive healing, with extreme prayers for bondage's to be broken over him. I have been a part of all of these miracles; some I prayed for days and some took years to come to pass. But every time, God came through on his promises.

I love being a prayer warrior for God and helping others receive deliverance and healing. God is good all of the time and I will once again trust in him that he will work everything out for me as well. I have faith that I will be back soon with a testimony of victory and deliverance! So stay tuned :)

And we know that in ALL things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Are you going through something and need prayers? Let me know and I'll be happy to lift you up in prayer.

Finding the Silver Lining//

Hello y'all! Sorry for disappearing- usually when I don't blog, it's because there is just so much going on in my life. I hope that changes soon, because I really love coming here to write. Remember when I wrote about how I had been sick? If you haven't seen the blog post, you can check it out here.

The good news is that for the past week, I have been feeling much better! Not all of my symptoms are completely gone, but the really serious ones have not come back after 7 days- so I am claiming the healing! I still do not know exactly what was wrong with me, but it was something extremely serious and I know that because of  the prayers from friends and family- that God heard our prayers and healed my body. I could feel whatever it was, constantly eating away at my insides and losing weight rapidly- definitely not a good feeling. But I never stopped praying and never stopped believing that God was going to heal me. When the enemy tried to sneak in with words like stomach cancer and pancreatic cancer, I refused to claim it- I prayed and declared healing over my body. Jesus said, "For truly if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

To be honest, I didn't realize how much my health truly meant to me, until it was being taken away. It is extremely devastating to be in my thirties and having to deal with health issues. It has been a huge wake-up call for me to make some changes in my life. I am still unable to eat gluten or soy without having reactions like my throat closing up, so I have had to eliminate them altogether. Dairy and sugar still aggravate me as well so I am looking into changing over completely to stevia and possibly coconut milk, hopefully that will help.

So, you know how I always find the silver lining in every trial? Well, the silver lining to this trial is that now do I not only appreciate being in good health, but also that I finally lost the weight that I have been trying to get off for the last couple of years. I have lost 17 pounds in a 2 month time frame- there is no way that I could have done that without being sick. I was not planning on giving up my pasta and cheese anytime soon- I can't help it, I'm a major foodie! So if there is something to be thankful for through this trial, that would be it! On top of all of that, my faith has become even stronger, if that is even possible. I truly believe that with faith and prayer, that anything is possible!!

I just want to say thank you to the ones who checked on me and prayed for me- the support means so much to me. It's such a blessing to have my health back and I beyond grateful. To celebrate, the hubby and I are going to Seaside tomorrow to take a much needed break! Plus, we are going to celebrate his birthday since we didn't get to celebrate last Monday. Speaking of, I need to go & pack a beach bag- we are leaving early tomorrow morning!

I did some research on Seaside, FL and they have lots of cute little shops and foodie trucks. The Truman Show was also filmed in this little town as well as the Food Network. I am so excited to sample from all of the different foodie trucks!