Tag: Self Care Sunday

What Happens When We Apply Pressure?

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Good Afternoon my brother’s and sister’s in Christ. I pray you’ve spent your time living intentionally and with purpose. We are a few days post my usual Self-Care Sunday blog. Seems I’ve been transitioning out of the routine of posting every Sunday. Needless to say, behind the scenes of blogging I’ve had my hand in a few other projects. My last post talked about the foundations of a Christian Holistic Lifestyle. To sum it up it’s the decision one makes to live whole in all aspects of life. Spiritually, Mentally, Emotionally, and Physically. I provided some ideas useful for promoting more activity in those 4 areas daily. I pray they helped all of you who are interested in shifting the way you’ve chosen to live.

This past week I found myself feeling off balanced. In the past when this feeling would come over me I would resort to things or activities to make myself “feel better.” Fast forward to the present day I’m more interested in acknowledging an unsteady emotion while discovering the trigger behind it. This week I couldn’t figure out the trigger immediately. What caused me to be in a state of “Blah?” One thing I know is we can be so close to a situation we can’t see what’s in front of us. I spoke to my Spiritual Mentor and she brought clarity to my clouded emotion. With her wisdom, we were able to pinpoint a trigger of mine. Goals! Expectations! Time!

Have you ever heard the phrase, “I’m my worse critic?” Truly, this is something God is healing me from daily. I no longer bash myself verbally like I once did. However, the pressure I place on myself to produce in a certain time frame doesn’t always align with God’s timing. The pressure was my adversary in the unbalanced emotional state I felt earlier this week. I realized even though I’m growing I can’t speed up the process of my growth. With all my goals and visions there is a time and season for them to fully bloom. The Bible depicts this concept as seed, time, and harvest. I believe most of us throw the towel in right when the “time” portion exceeds what we had in mind.

This was it! I subconsciously started to feel defeat, because I realized the journey ahead of me wasn’t instantaneous. I understood in order for me to operate in the fullness of who God created me to be would take more TIME. We spend so much of our life living how we want then expect God to expedite our journey to our purpose. Reflecting, I’m not sure I really conceptualized what it would take to undo all the layers of who I chose to be before I gave myself to Christ. With each growth spurt, I experienced an additional discovery of hidden triggers. Who I was all those years produced layers of chaos and as they are exposed God is correcting each layer.

I had a dream a few nights ago. My local Pastor spoke to me saying,” You are in a state of Corrective Chaos.” When I opened my eyes I looked up the definition of both words. I had this revelation: Corrective Chaos is the state in which God corrects or counteracts complete disorder and confusion. The Holy Spirit calmed my uneasiness immediately. Jesus is correcting EVERY chaotic thing associated with me and my history. This is why I couldn’t speed up the process. He was undoing what I had done while allowing me to grow in my newness. My instruction during this time was to endure the process, have compassion for who I was, and fall in love with who I’m becoming. Thank you, Jesus.

Perhaps you’re on your journey to purpose and find yourself applying pressure where it isn’t needed. Maybe you’re growing weary in your well-doing. If so, I want to encourage you. I want you to stop applying pressure in the places God is correcting. One thing I know about working under pressure is you’ll never produce optimally. If you operate in a state of pressure you lose the clarity, and wisdom needed for the task. It’s time to stop pressuring yourself to produce a harvest out of season. It will NEVER happen. So take a deep breath. Listen to what God is telling you. Most importantly, endure the process, have compassion for who you were, and fall in love with who you’re becoming. Blessings!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

God Is Within You

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Good Evening my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray you’ve spent the week living intentionally and with purpose. It is Self-Care Sunday here on “Mindful of Me Moments.” I haven’t posted a Self-Care Sunday Blog in awhile so I’m excited to touch base with you all. As always I pray that this post inspires you to self-reflect and allows your heart to be open to what God’s Holy Spirit is showing you. Blessings.

Today, my husband and I woke up early to meal prep for the week. We tried out a new grocery delivery service which worked out great. We put some meat on the grill and I made all the sides. As the day progressed I found myself feeling blah. No particular reason at all. Just wasn’t myself. I could have dwelled in that feeling, but thank the Lord I didn’t. I got up about 7 pm, got dressed and went for a jog. While I was jogging I found myself worshiping Jesus while the music played in my headset. When I returned home I followed up with some weightlifting in my gym. I then ran my aromatherapy bath and caught a live feed from a fellow Christian Entrepreneur. I prepared my peppermint tea, meditated, and relaxed in my bath. What a Self-Care Sunday it was…..

So why was this important for me to blog about? I’ll tell you. All day I felt such a spirit of heaviness. I didn’t want to do anything except lay in bed and dwell in my discomfort. How many times have you allowed the spirit of heaviness, doubt, worry, or fear take over you? Don’t you know that those aren’t spirits of God? Instead of dwelling in those spirits I made a decision to get up and take care of myself. In the midst of that, I including Yahweh. He reminded me that, “We should never get so far from Him that we no longer see Him in us.” Wow! Even if you attribute how you’re feeling to an “off day.” We still have to remember whose spirit is within us.

Self-Care Sunday is more than just exercising, bubble baths, and relaxation. It’s about creating an atmosphere that ushers in the spirit of God. It’s about being thankful that Christ has given you another week to live out your purpose. It’s about acknowledging how valuable your existence is. It’s about taking a moment to appreciate this wonderfully made being that God has created in you. Don’t overlook how dynamic you are. Take the time to Self-Care. You’re unlike anything this earth has ever seen. Thank God for making you. Blessings.

Look how special you are,


“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.”

Psalm 139:14-16

Thank you to everyone who has followed me recently. If you have a blog I will definitely be checking out your content this week. I love meeting new bloggers and am very interactive. Look forward to meeting you all soon. I love you with the love of the Lord.

Who Has Time For Self-Care?

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Good Evening my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is the last Sunday in 2018. What a year it has been. I pray you’ve spent this year living intentionally and with purpose. We have made it to day 5 of “The Top 5 Things Yahweh Showed Me About Myself in 2018.” As a recap, I’ve shared how He showed me that I had no idea who I was, I believed in my own ability versus His, I struggled with unforgiveness, and how I placed everything except Him at the throne of my heart. Seeing as “Mindful Of Me Moments” was created when I received a revelation that God was mindful of me when I wasn’t mindful of myself. It was only right I ended this mini-series speaking about how He showed me that I was unaware of how to self-care. I pray that this post encourages you to self-reflect and if needed inspires you to alter your own ability to self-care. Blessings.

If you been following this mini-series the last 5 days then you have a good idea of the areas that I struggled with in my lifetime. You’re also aware of how Yahweh has healed me in those areas. I won’t spend time revisiting any particular instances where I didn’t properly consider the care of myself. What I will do is talk about how Yahweh has enhanced my knowledge of self-care as well as share a list of things that I do now that promote positive self-care.

If you’re anything like me then you’re use to always having something on your plate. No time to sit down. There is work to do. Clean the house, cook dinner, tend to my spouse, do schoolwork, respond to emails, attend church, attend family functions, be the mediator in friendships, and take care of the kids for those who have children. This year Yahweh showed me what my to-do list consisted of and guess what? I wasn’t anywhere on it. Out of all my obligations, I never considered myself as an obligation.

It’s amazing how we can make time for everything and everyone else except ourselves. The crazy thing about that is you spend the most time with yourself. When Yahweh revealed that to me I literally had to ask Him what I should do. I had no idea what it meant to have a positive self-care routine. Piece by piece He showed me. Before I list my self-care routine I want to mention that you will not be as effective to anyone or anything if you are not taking the time to self-care. You need a healthy mind, body, and spirit in order to function at your highest capacity. With that being said, here is my self-care routine.

  1. I find moments of quiet time daily. Doesn’t matter where I am. I can be at work, at home, in the car. I make it a point daily to sit in quiet and meditate. Sometimes that consists of a 15-30 min breathing technique. That helps me to focus on my breath instead of my mind running all over the place. Other times I recite positive affirmations over and over.
  2. I write daily. You don’t have to be gifted in writing to write. Even if no one ever reads what you wrote it’s a healthy habit to keep a journal. Writing has always been therapeutic for me. It allows me to put my thoughts, ideas, revelations, and goals on paper. Out of my mind and on paper.
  3. I use aromatherapy scents daily. I have a diffuser that sits on my nightstand. If I need to relieve stress I’ll drop some eucalyptus. If I need to calm my spirit I’ll use lavender. To wake up I use orange or grapefruit in the morning. I also use aromatherapy in the bath along with Epsom salt to soothe my body. I have aromatherapy body oils that I put on depending on how I’m feeling. Our sense of smell sends triggers to our brain. If you don’t currently use some type of aromatherapy I encourage you to try it out. It helps.
  4. I drink tea. I have a complete section in my kitchen that’s dedicated to tea. I have my electric tea kettle, mason jars filled with loose leaf tea, and a pitcher of bagged teas. I probably have about 30 different teas. Tea is RELAXING. I drink it daily. If I’m sick, if I need energy, if I need to sleep, if I need to be calm. Tea is a big part of my self-care routine.
  5. I eat healthily and workout. This is something that is on my 2019 Vision Board. I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure earlier this year and am currently working towards getting off my meds. This means that the way I eat has now become a goal for me moving forward. If we are unhealthy in our physical body then we for sure limit our opportunities. Along with that comes working out which should also be a priority in our ability to self-care. How we feel in our body affects what we do.
  6. I monitor my thoughts and speak life into myself. There is life and death in the power of the tongue. We shall have what we speak. I have become very cautious about the things that I allow to come out of mouth especially about myself. Our thoughts determine how we feel about ourselves. Being mentally sound stems from what or who we listen to, and what we say about ourselves. So be conscious of what you’re thinking and saying about yourself.
  7. I spend time with myself outside of the home. That’s right. I get a break from home and work. Lol. Majority of the time I do this while getting a mani and pedi which again is, RELAXING. Other opportunities include getting a facial, massage, shopping, or getting your hair done. Any activity that relieves stress or anxiety I’m all for.
  8. I listen to music. Music is another avenue that alters your mind. I listen to a lot of gospel, worship, and Christian rap. When I’m looking for a chill/funky type of music to zone out or write too I listen to, Sango Radio on Pandora. Go check it out if you haven’t. You’re welcome in advance. It’s a VIBE.
  9. I buy myself something every month. Sometimes I get expensive things. Sometimes I buy something as simple as a new journal. This is something that my husband taught me to do. I use to be very frugal. I still am in some respect. What he taught me was I should not work just to pay bills. Now we’re wise when it comes to finances. However, it’s important to treat yourself consistently not just for special occasions. You don’t know how many women and men I’ve come across that can’t remember the last time they bought themselves something. I promise it matters in your self-care routine.
  10. I invest in my spirit daily. Understanding that the Holy Spirit lives within me. It was important to implement a self-care routine for my spirit. I read the word of God every day. I pray every day. I deny my flesh so that my spirit can be strong every day.

As you can tell there is a common theme among my top 10 self-care techniques. The theme being anything that I can do to promote relief, relaxation, growth, and appreciation for me. All of the techniques have made a tremendous difference in my ability to self-care. I’ve learned what I like, what I don’t like, how to relax, how to wake up, how to focus on me, and how not to forget that I have an obligation to myself to be healthy enough to be effective.

This year has been the most impactful year that I have had to date. I’ve acquired so much new knowledge of Yahweh and myself. I’ve grown in my relationship with Him and with me. All of which has made me more effective in my marriage, friendships, business, and ministry. In less than 12 months I’ve reached a level of intimacy with Christ that I never knew I could, I learned my true identity, my purpose was born, I faced my greatest fear, my marriage completely leaped in progression, I started a business, I fell out of agreement with things and people that blocked my spiritual growth. For the first time in my life, I finally started living intentionally and with purpose.

Thank you, Yahweh. 2018 Blessed Me.

  • Quiet time in my prayer area.
  • Writing and Bible study.
  • Aromatherapy DIY Bath Salt Cakes.
  • Aromatherapy Bath Night at Home.
  • Facial at Home.
  • Tea Corner in My Kitchen.
  • Eating Healthy.
  • Working Out.
  • Good Blood Pressure.
  • Spending Time Outside the Home. Nail day.
  • A Vibe!
  • My December Purchase.
  • My At Home Office Space I Use to Write, Read, & Everything In-between.
  • I Invested In Me!

Do What You Love

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Good evening my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray you’ve spent the week living intentionally and with purpose. If you haven’t listened to my audio about my “Perpetual State of Worship.” Check out my prior post from this week. I pray that it will encourage you to become more cognizant of the time you spend in worship with God.

Today is another edition of Self-Care Sunday. This is my weekly Sunday post where I get to provide further insight and tips on how to become more conscious of your ability to self-care. In the past, my posts have typically dealt with our state of mind and allowing God to lead us in our lives. As a baseline, all my posts will be intertwined with growing in God then building upon that relationship. Now that we’ve got that disclaimer out the way let’s talk Self-Care.

I love to write! I can’t tell you when I started writing but I have journals that are 20 years old. When I write I pour everything I’m feeling into what I’m writing. It brings me happiness, it relaxes me, it’s a great stress reliever, and it comes naturally. When I was praying for God to reveal to me what this weeks Self-Care Sunday post should be about; He told to write about what I love to do. He told me to ask His people, “What is it they love to do and does that thing edify Him?” I can remember a time that I use to love to drink alcohol and party. It provided no lasting fulfillment, but every weekend I was out with my girls. Even in the midst of my emptiness I always found myself writing. From poetry, songs, blog posts, and soon to be books writing is what I love to do.

Self-Care is about investing in yourself. Your inner self first then in all other areas. When was the last time you spent time doing something that you love to do that was just about you? Not you and your friends. Not you and work. Not you and you’re significant other. Just you and the thing that you inherently love to do. Don’t forget to ask yourself does it edify God?

The more I grow in Christ I understand that the thing that I love to do so much that is natural to me is a gift God gave me. Even though it brings me so much joy and satisfaction it ultimately isn’t just for me. My love of writing is my God-given contribution to the Kingdom. When He told me to ask you does what you love to do edify Him. He wanted us to gain perspective. When Christ gives you an ability He expects that ability to grow. When cultivated properly not only will it grow you but it will grow those who come into contact with you. Ask yourselves, “Does what you love to do grow you and those around you? Or does what you love to do prevent growth within yourself and others around you?”

The word of God says,

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.“

(Ephesians 4:11-13)

This means that we were all given a gift to do something. God is so gracious that He allows the gift He placed on the inside of us to also be the thing that we love to do. When you love to do something it isn’t a chore. It’s the thing that you will invest in, the thing that will build you, and grow you. It’s the thing that will change the lives of people who come in contact with you. Your gift is impactful. Your ability to do it is unlike anyone else. It was specifically planted on the inside of you and is awaiting the opportunity to be birthed and grow. God sent me here to tell you, “Don’t allow life issues to stop the growth of what He planted on the inside of you.” Develop that thing that you inherently love to do that edifies Christ. Invest your time in it. Allow it to blossom. Don’t hold up someone else deliverance by your stubbornness to not grow what God gave you. When you do that you are forfeiting your right to be connected to the vine.

The Bible tells us,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from m,e, you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

(John 15:1-8)

Have you been cut from the vine, because you’re choosing to not grow your God-given gift? If so, I challenge you to reconnect to the vine, which is Jesus. Dig deep. As Him to reveal to you what He placed on the inside of you. Maybe you have been so estranged from the Father that you can’t remember what that thing is. Ask Him to restore your gift. As you seek Him more He will do what you asked. When He does don’t miss the opportunity to grow the gift He planted. Remember, we all have a gift. Yours is unlike anyone else. No one can do it like you. The Kingdom is waiting for you to do what you love to do. This is your sign to do it. Blessings.

What Are You Committed To?

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Thanks for stopping by this week’s Self-Care Sunday Post. Before you read press play and take a listen.

In May of this year, Yeshua told me that I needed to change my priorities and commitments. He gave me a list in the following order of importance:

  1. My relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Understanding that at the root of me you would now find the presence of God.
  2. My covenant with my husband. Knowing that we made the biggest commitment to each either when we chose to commit to God.
  3. My level of influence in the Kingdom. Accepting that I will not be the Woman of God who keeps God’s glory to herself. I have an obligation in my position to draw all men and woman to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

These three things were the priorities God gave me. He told me that in order to thrive in these relationships I needed to learn how to commit to them. I needed to become disciplined in order to invest time and be consistent with my commitments. He gave me Matthew 7: 7-8 as my foundation for this journey. The text which reads,

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This scripture is the cause and effect when we are committed to God. Yeshua told me that if I were to become disciplined and consistent in my relationship with Him that I would find everything that He has for me. Needless to say, I did just as He instructed me to do.

Fast Forward six months and so much has changed in my life. Just last week as I was in morning prayer and Bible study I heard the Lord say, “He is adjusting my values and my list of importance has now changed.”  Immediately following this I heard a pastor say, “the enemy attacks what you value the most. He does it in efforts to get to our Faith in God.” WOW! It made me think about all the things that I valued above my relationship with God. The things that were first prior to the last six months of my life. It made me reflect on how the enemy attacked those things and those relationships. How those attacks affected my Faith in God. I received so much revelation about commitment this week. I came into the understanding that when God is the person you value the most above everything else in your life; the enemy can’t attack that. He can attack our finances, our marriage, our jobs, our business, our faith, but HE CAN’T ATTACK GOD. So if the thing that I value the most is the thing the enemy can’t get too; why wouldn’t I commit to that before anything else?

What have you valued more than the Lord? Is it social media, relationships, money, appearance, gossip, people, recreational activities? Yeshua wants the first fruits from us. That’s our best. What have you been giving your best too over God? Get your pen and paper. Let’s write it down. Now that you have your list let me walk you through a few definitions before I share how I became committed.

  • Self-Discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weakness; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.
  • Value is the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
  • Consistent is unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time.
  • Commitment is the willingness to give your time and energy to something you believe in, or a promise, or firm decision to do something.

One thing that I learned about self-discipline is that it’s a decision. We have to decide if our weaknesses will continue to control us or will we control our weaknesses? I understood that I can only find the strength to become self-disciplined in Yeshua. So the base of my success was contingent upon my commitment to God. Here’s how I went from putting everything and everyone before God. To putting Him first and completely altering my life.

  1. I was tired of the trauma from my past spilling over into every area of my life. My past was prevalent in my now, and I didn’t want to live with it anymore. So I made a decision to seek God wholeheartedly. It caused me to expose areas that I was trying to hide, but in the end, God fixed what was broken. It was hard but His grace and mercy towards me reigned. Now my life, marriage, and my level of influence have forever changed.
  2. I changed my priorities. If I was going to put God first then that looked like something. Every morning I get up at 4am to spend an hour in prayer and Bible study. I do this seven days a week. Throughout my day I find moments to give God praise. I pray, read the word, listen to sermons, and journal often. I had to edit what I was allowing my ears to hear, my eyes to see, and my mind to think. I invested time with the Father before I invested time in anything or anyone else. Doing these things showed me how to form a habit of discipline, consistency, and commitment. Understand that if you can become disciplined and consistent in your relationship with Yeshua then you can become disciplined and consistent in anything.
  3. I got comfortable with the fact that as I became committed to God I was going to fall out of agreement with things and people. I gave up some “friendships” when I became committing to God. My interest changed, my thought process changed, my values changed. Some of those old relationships were no longer conducive to who I was becoming in Christ. To be honest, the more I grew the more I saw I didn’t really like certain things that I thought I did at one point.
  4. I didn’t stop when things got tough. This journey is a life-long journey. Submitting to Yeshua is something that you have to know that you will be doing the rest of your life. In doing so, every illegal spirit that has been lying dormant in your life will come up and come out. You’ll have to revisit some hurtful moments, but God is a healer. You’ll have to let some people go, but He’s a friend. You’ll have to relinquish your comfort, but He’s a great comforter. You’ll have to put all your trust in Him, but He’s faithful. When you think you’re losing everything on your journey you’re really gaining more than you could imagine.

To sum it all up I had to get tired of living an unpurposeful life, I had to change my priorities, I had to give up my life so that I could gain life, and I didn’t give up my pursuit of growing in my relationship with Yeshua when things became tough.

If your priorities are out of order and you lack commitment to Christ I challenge you to take a stand for yourself. Lack of self-discipline and commitment is a lack of self-care. Don’t you know that God desires to take care of you and show you how to take care of yourself? Don’t spend another day living life with no structure. You will only find transformation in your ability to commit to the Father. Once you do then you’ll truly be able to tap into everything that God has for you. Blessings.

Man on chair