Dance

It doesn't take long before people learn that I love to dance. Dancing is a type of freedom with a feeling that should be almost unexplainable because it's just that ethereal. However, if I were to honestly describe the feeling of freedom when I dance, I'd say it's a freedom from anything people really think or what they have to say in critique or praise. It's a form of expression for me and it's really awkward to have people judge it to say it was good or bad simply because it comes from my heart. It's genuine and honest so there really is no good or bad to it, in my opinion.

I love to dance because it make me feel good. That freedom is a great feeling but I also feel like when I dance, I get to share another part of who I am. I love the sweat equity and the feeling that hard work brings after such a creative process. I really enjoy seeing a final product after hours and hours of long, intense practice. I also really enjoy seeing how my body adjusts and I improve on certain moves that at one point, I would never have been able to do without falling. I also love it because aside from the hard work to learn new moves, many moves just come naturally to me. I dance when I'm really happy about something especially really awesome food (greedy, I know) or a really good deal! ;-) I will literally do a jig in my seat in front of some really good food or over the stove, if I'm cooking it.

My first memories of developing a strong passion for dance started as a little girl in the living room of my parents' house. Billy and Sarah Gaines were a Christian duo that I danced to A LOT. Think a more edgier version of Bebe and Cece Winans or if Michael and Janet Jackson if they sang about Christ. I used to wait for everyone to clear out of the living room and I would LITERALLY dance my heart out. I'm not kidding. I would dance so hard that if someone walked in the room, I'd be embarrassed because I was SUPER into it and there was no way to play it off like, "Oh! I was just jogging in place!" No, ma'am. I was definitely doing the Running Man. This is too funny to even write about it because it was such a bizarre habit and shame on me! I still do it. Not as often as I used to but I still enjoy my solo dance parties.

So right now, I'll practice three times a week. I also practice with the group I am teaching praise dancing to. We meet once a week on a Sunday and it feels awesome. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I really wanted to grow as a dancer so I decided to enroll in dance lessons. The goal is to take both modern and tap dance lessons this year. I really want to get good at modern dance and I really want to at least BEGIN tap dance. I chose modern dance because the dancers are so incredibly graceful and it looks like something I could really be great at. While in undergrad, one modern dance gym class showed me that I would love really master it. I also chose tap dance because as a kid, once I was ready for church, I used to go downstairs by the door and pretend I was a tap dancer on the tile floor. I used to love the little Sesame Street tap dance "commercials" with Savion Glover and was hooked. I never took lessons though. Well, now is the time and I look forward to the experiences. Modern dance class starts next week! ;-)

Nothing Else Matters

Nothing else matters. Nothing in this world will do. Jesus you're the center and everything revolves around you. From my heart to the heavens, Jesus be the center. It's all about You. Yes, it's all about You. 

That song is one of my favorite worship songs to sing and listen to. Israel's music is incredibly beautiful. The words are simple and the music really sets the tone for worship. I really do want Jesus to be the center of it all in my life. From beginning to the end, it needs to always be Jesus. 

What does it look like to have a heart for Christ? I think that oftentimes, we believe that when we see someone worshipping, lifting their hands or expressing emotion during worship songs, that means they love God and have a heart that longs to please Him. It could be true but man looks at the outward appearance and God looks at the heart. I'm not judging anyone to say that their walk is determined by how well they praise God in public. I do believe that having a heart for Christ goes further than what you see in a public worship setting. 

Having a heart for Christ can be manifested in your thought life and your morals. Even though most people are aware of what a Bible is and how to get access to it, the most potent way to share the Bible is by living it out. It's easy to sing along with songs that prick your heart but it's harder to live out a life that reflects the conviction you've received about who God is and how you should live as a result of knowing Him. The world doesn't read Bibles. The world reads Christians. As a Christian, does your life reflect the heart of God? We are sinful human beings and we will mess up. Let's be clear. However, God grants mercy and while it shouldn't be taken for granted, it is imperative that we recognize our need for Him in order to live a life that is pleasing to Him. 

In the past, I've struggled with giving some guys the time of day because even though they may be in church, it's painfully apparent that there is not a interest in the things of God. Our heart's desire bleed through. If you have a heart's desire for basketball, tv, work, multiple women, status, etc., it will eventually show itself. It will show through your behavior, the conversation you keep and the friends you have. It's kind of ironic because even in the social media age, where everything is now public, people completely expose themselves through their online content. I've been in many conversations where people will suggest that their social media accounts don't accurately express the things they're interested in. I beg to differ. There are certain subjects you will never see discussed on my accounts simply because I will not entertain them. They are grossly ungodly and it's really difficult for me to give anything a platform that proclaims Satan as the leader. I do my best to lift up Christ. In addition to that, I won't put out certain comments on my various accounts simply because that's not where my head is at. When I listen to some of the songs that are out now, I literally have to google some of the words because of the way slang and vulgarity have continued to develop. 

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 

Make sure your mouth reflects a heart that is desperate for Christ and filled by His love! 

Gratitude

I remember a sermon my senior pastor shared a couple years ago about giving thanks and gratitude. It was the Sabbath right after Thanksgiving in 2011. That was an incredible message about cultivating a lifestyle of thanksgiving and gratitude for what God has done and is doing in our lives. Tonight, I'm going to focus on the things that excite me and things that I'm grateful for in this present moment. 

1. I am thankful to be alive. Life is truly a gift and the fact that I have a pulse is a sign that I am able to make things better for myself and for those around me. Service is the rent you pay for living. 

2. I am thankful for the wonderful invention of audiobooks. I was stuck in a little bit of traffic this evening which made the commute a little bit longer than usual. The audiobook I am currently listening really helped to make the commute a total breeze. The book I'm listening to is called So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport. 

3. I have a working car that can take me from Point A to Point B safely. I am very grateful and thankful for my car and I love it very much! 

4. My reading list so far is so incredible. I am really excited about one of the books I am reading called Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. I am really enjoying the book and a lot of the information is more like a stimulant for my brain which is a good thing. I don't want to be stimulated by coffee :) 

5. God's hand of protection is constantly over me. God has been removing people from my life that are no good for me. And I'm grateful because some of these people are folk that I wouldn't have the strength to leave myself. So God is doing it for me. 

6. God put it in my heart to start a dance ministry and I have wonderful dancers! They are excited to dance and be a part of the team. In addition to that, I've been getting more and more ideas of how to create more of a familial environment so that my members can bond more with one another. I know it will happen with time but I just want to make sure I'm facilitating an environment that encourages that. 

7. I have the opportunity to serve as an Elder-in-training at my church. I really see it as an opportunity to grow and go deeper in my relationship with Christ. My mentor is so awesome and I'm excited to see what this year will bring with this new role. 

8. This challenge is forcing me to stick to something and really push through even on the days when I'm tired. I fell off the wagon over the weekend but I made sure that I did the catch-up posts so I wouldn't fall behind! 

Okay. That's it for now! I'm going to call it quits for tonight but I like this list. I'll do this from time to time as the challenge continues. 

The BEST Part of Waking Up...

Americans have been hoodwinked by advertising. For years, we have been told that the best part of waking up is Folger's in our cups. The Millennials took it a step further and made it super cool to have Starbucks in our cups. It's pretty scary to think about how addicted I once was to white chocolate mocha lattes. I needed one when I went into work that morning and depending on how bad the day was, I would get one at lunchtime. It was pretty crazy. I was hooked. I gave it all up a couple years ago after an amazing concert. The artist inspired in that concert to zone into Christ and find my energy in Him and not coffee. Random, I know but it's the truth. 

However, recently I've learned that the best part of waking up is a green smoothie in my cup! I'm going to have to go to the grocery store and get more green smoothie ingredients because I'm all out at this point. I have enough to make one more smoothie tomorrow morning and then it's back to the store I go. The awesome thing is that I bought all the ingredients and then separated the ingredients into their own freezer bag. So all I have to do in the morning is pull out a bag and pour the contents into the blender. While it blends, I go and make my bed. When I'm done, I have a delicious smoothie to drink for breakfast. It's so simple and nutritious. Incorporating this simple habit into my routine has really been encouraging me to keep searching for ways to tweak what I'm doing and step it up a little bit more. I know that breakfast is supposed to be the heaviest meal of the day so I'm wondering if I should save the green smoothie for the evening or do one in the morning and one at night? I've gotten so used to it in the morning and I really look forward to it. 

I also want to make sure I am drinking a whole lot more water. I make sure to carry water in my trunk so I'm never without it. I've tried to carry around the big 64 oz jug but that really felt crazy. I need my water in increments. 

I have had many people tell me that I looked as if I were getting smaller over the past couple months. When I got on the scale, I was 15 pounds lighter. I think it was a mix of chasing after kids/pushing a stroller and grazing. For months, I've been eating granola bars, applesauce, and little random healthy snacks that I can just have on the go. I also noticed that I wasn't eating a lot of bread at all. I've never been one to shy away from bread or pasta because I really like those foods. There is, however, a difference in the way my clothes fit and the fact that I haven't been living to eat. I've been so busy that it's been more of an "eat to live" situation. 

The Devotion that lasted all day

I love that God is so incredibly detailed when it comes to our lives.

He loves us so much it's overwhelming and we can't fully comprehend it. Last night, I really wanted to wake up during the 5am hour to get my devotion done and get a earlier start on the day. My alarm clock decides when it wants to work so it's not the most dependable source. I prayed and called it a night. Do you know God woke me up at 5:30 this morning?! I felt well rested and ready to get on into my devotion. It's almost as if God was saying, "Wake up, Dani! I really want to spend some time with you." That makes me feel kind of special. Little things like that make me feel like God really does pursue me and love me. Spending the time with Him at an earlier time felt even more intimate than usual. It really really was awesome and set the tone for the rest of my day. It was crazy because I got stuck in HORRIBLE traffic on I-495 this morning. There was a really bad accident. I really hoped no one died. The unexpected traffic turned 495 into a parking lot. I am not exaggerating. What is usually a 45 minute commute took me two hours this morning. The crazy thing was that I continued to have worship in the car.

I've been listening to Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy a lot lately after seeing them in an INCREDIBLE concert at Brinklow SDA a couple months back. So, I had "Do It Again" and "Deep Enough" on repeat. After a while, I listened to an awesome podcast by Heather Lindsey. Heather Lindsey and her husband, Cornelius are a dynamic duo located in Atlanta, Ga. Cornelius is the pastor of The Gathering Oasis church in ATL and Heather leads the Pinky Promise Movement. I really like their ministry and look forward to meeting them in a few weeks when they come to the area to preach! I'm really excited about that! I was almost finished with Heather's podcast when I finally pulled up at the job. The kids were so happy to finally see me and even though they can't formulate too many words yet, I could tell they were wondering where I was and what took me so long so that I could pick them up. haha. I'm thankful for a boss who is more concerned that I get to work safely and couldn't care less about the traffic. Can I just say, "Hallelujah!" I'm definitely not on pins and needles at work. While the kids were playing with one another, I kept an eye on them as I sat in the kitchen, ate my lunch and continued my devotion. I just keep trying to steal a little bit more time in reading. I was in Romans 4 where Abraham believed God at His word. I want to believe God. A couple days ago, I talked about my knowledge that He loves me and cares for my every need and concern. I just want to truly believe it with my heart. I guess you could say it was one of those "I believe! Help my unbelief" situations.

I am a work in progress. He's (thankfully) not finished with me yet. 

Day #12: Caught-Up

I've been playing catch up for the past two posts so now I'm on the post for today- day #12. I actually enjoyed sleeping in today. I slept in until 8 this morning and then I stayed in bed for another 2 hours. It felt great! I was supposed to have a meeting at 9:30 this morning at church but it ended up being cancelled. I still went to the church for dance rehearsal which started at 1pm. 

Can I just say that dance rehearsal was awesome?!? I'm super excited! It was such a great reunion and rehearsal. I hadn't seen all the dancers in one place in a while. We also have two new dancers. One dancer wasn't able to make it today but the other dancer came and she was so good! I was really happy because we were able to open up with a great devotion which really spoke to us in a way I really couldn't have planned. Afterwards, we stretched and then got started learning the moves. I'm really excited about this group. The girls that I have are committed and I know that they will do an incredible job! 

Our first opportunity to minister at our church will be at the end of March. I decided to take things up a couple of notches this go round with the choreography. Last time, the choreography was pretty simple but that was just to get a good introduction. It was also so that I could get a good gauge for where each dancer's skill was at. Now, they know what to expect from me. I know what they're capable of and I will push them to better! I can be a teeny tiny bit of a drill sergeant when it comes to the details. I'll go over a certain part over and over and over again until they get it right. I'm not mean and ruthless though. I know when to quit. Needless to say, I am pumped and the girls know that we are officially in work mode. 

One of the things I will be pushing for also is consistency. We only performed once as a group last year. The other two times the church saw a dance ministry was from me as a solo. At first, I was REALLY against the idea of doing a praise dance solo. I really really didn't want to do it. Now that I've done it twice, I can how I don't mind getting on us a regular schedule so that we have more than one performance for each season. Our downfall was the summertime/fall back-to-school time. So, if that were to happen this year, I'd at least be more comfortable doing a solo dance until the girls are ready to go again. I think it's important to see praise & worship in different forms beside singing especially since Heaven is going to be a place of celebration. I can't imagine standing in Heaven and not jumping, leaping, and twirling for joy at the fact that I made it. Then add the factor of wings into the picture. You can forget it. Can you imagine the choreography I could do with wings? Lol! Ok. Let me not get carried away. It was a great day and I'm happy about it. :) 

Day #11 Catch-Up

Day #11 was the Sabbath. I promise you the Sabbath went by soooo quickly. It's been doing that lately. It's really crazy. Then again, my days seem to be going pretty quickly as well. The fact that the sun sets earlier in the wintertime doesn't really help things.

So, on this particular day, I went to my home church. I was scheduled to sing on the praise team. When I was getting ready that particular morning, I decided to switch things up a bit and instead of wearing my "twist and tuck" low bun, I decided to do a high bun. I really do want to be better about switching up the way I do my hair. I always do the same thing because it's an easy protective style. As soon as I walked into church, one of the ushers immediately noted my new hairstyle. She was an usher that I don't usually get a chance to have conversation with so when this happened, it threw me off for a second like, "man! is it that noticeable?" haha. whatever.

It was my first Sabbath not singing with Metro Praiz (sad face). I was scheduled for praise team that Sabbath so it was so weird to see everyone getting robes and I wasn't getting one too. Closer to the end of last year, I decided to leave Metro Praiz so that I could really dig my heels into REALM. Even though I still really want to sing in the choir, I just don't have any more energy for choir rehearsals. To expect to show up and sing the day of as never been my style and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it now. I was missing tons of rehearsals leading up to the Metro Praiz concerts because of things going on at home. With the combination of family issues and the involvement I already have in church, I decided that I was going to have to start cutting some things. I reasoned that Metro Praiz has an abundance of altos so even though I enjoy singing with them, there's no dire need for altos. There is a need for consistent people on praise team and those rehearsals are once a month, so I can definitely agree to something like that. Besides, I can't cut out ALL the music in my life. That woudn't be cool! So whenever MP sings, I'll just sing from my seat in support.

I did get to sing praise team and that was cool. It was my first time singing under our leader, Michael. He is one of the new praise and worship leaders at my church and everytime he lead out, I was usually in children's church so I never experienced him as a leader. He was great. I really admire the talents & gifts of my minister of music and the praise team leaders. Leading the church in worship is not an easy task. As a worship leader, you have the ability to set the tone of the service. It's so vital that whoever is leading is in direct connection with the Holy Spirit because you never know what burdens people are coming to church with. A testimony in song could be the very thing to get them through the next week. So it's a challenging task that I applaud them for and I'm happy that I can serve as support to help lead the congregation in worship. It's a blessing.

Day #10 Catchup

I'm so disappointed because I missed both Friday and Saturday posts for the challenge. Even though I was really tired, I should've scheduled it in. I've been waiting until 11 pm to remember to do the posts. On both nights, 11 pm came and went and it was completely out of my mind.

Friday was an interesting day. One of my closest sister friends was driving through Maryland to get to Atlanta. Actually, this friend was the same one who designed the graphic at the top of this blog. Anyway, she came Thursday night and left on Friday morning. We were having a conversation on Friday morning about life, purpose and how God's love ties into all of it. It's interesting because even though I know God loves me and have heard it a billion times in songs, scriptures and in church, there is still a large portion of me that hasn't fully received that in my heart as fact. There is the underlying belief that God is ready to condemn me based on what I'm not doing right. I feel like everything I have is a result of God being nice to me but He doesn't always have to be nice. So I should just learn to accept the good that comes and expect the bad because I'm a sinner so I deserve any evil that comes my way. When we really took the time to break down what we believed, it was heartbreaking and pretty sobering. Crazy thing is that I also treat God like a genie. If I rub God the right way, He'll give me everything that I want. If I read my Bible, pray, love and serve, then I should be able to get everything I want. NO! NO! NO!!! This is the way that I try to control God. It sounds awful. I know. I'm not doing it on purpose. I don't know if that makes it any better though.

Reading my Bible, praying, loving and serving are natural habits of someone who loves God and is committed to Him. It's hard to understand how God loves fully and it may always be hard. However, I want to make sure that my love is sincere and true. I never want to give expecting something in return. I want to give from a place that is grateful and really desires to make God happy. It sounds corny, but I really do want to make God smile. I want to be pleasing in His sight. I don't want to run on autopilot in any part of my relationship with Him. There are so many times when my prayers say the same thing. How would you feel if when you talked to someone,  they always came with the same conversation? Things will get stale pretty fast. It's important to talk about other things in conversation. Reciting the "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food we eat. Amen." prayers only work for so long. There have been plenty of times where my prayers were stuck on autopilot to the point where I would wonder if I had prayed that day. Yes, I probably did but it was a mindless prayer. Mindless conversations benefit no one. Mindlessly asking God for safe traveling mercies on the road isn't cool. If anything, God's mercy in spite of me is what keeps me safe on the road.

Maybe I'm looking too deep into it...

nah. I'm not.

time to do better. period.

Testimony.

My church splits up the prayer meeting by age range. In the few times that I've gone, I've sat in the young adult prayer meeting. It's pretty awesome. However, today I sat and fellowshipped with the seniors in my church for prayer meeting. To hear their perspective, transparency, and fervor for Christ was both heart-warming and refreshing. The encouragement of the older generation is so important and so vital. If we, as the younger generation, can know that there is someone who has run the course and is rooting for us, it really helps to make the journey even more worthwhile. 

Tonight, I heard so many testimonies and prayer requests. However, there was one line in one of the testimonies that stood out to me so much. One member thanked God for her sister's death because she is now beyond the reach of the enemy. Man. I've never ever heard someone articulate death quite that way. 

Even though we miss our loved ones terribly, it is a comforting thought to know that they are beyond the enemy's reach now. The enemy is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Well, bless God he can't devour them. 

However it makes me think a little more. Technically, those of us who are in Christ are beyond the enemy's reach in that he can't devour us unless we don't surrender to Christ and allow Him to take over. When we look at the story of Job, God asked the devil if He had considered Job. The devil just wasn't allowed to devour him. In the end, Job was still out of the enemy's grasp because he made the decision to follow Christ all the way. He famously said, "though he slay me yet will I trust Him!" 

I'm making a conscious effort to work on my emotions. The goal is to make sure that I am not being emotionally led. I always want to be God-led in everything I do. I will admit that if I went through what Job went through, I can't honestly say I wouldn't try to die. Job's wife encouraged him to curse God and die. I'd rather not curse God (at least not intentionally) but I'd probably try to die only because after all Job went through, you'd expect a "kill me now and I don't believe you love me God" attitude. There were some bitter times in this story but at the end of the day, Job knew he would trust God no matter what. 

I am exhausted and I'm really not sure if any of this is truly making sense. Lol! 

Singing some of the old hymns in the senior prayer meeting was really nice. I learned one or two more hymns that I didn't know. I loved how it was a given that no one skipped verses. Everyone sang and knew all 5 stanzas BY HEART. It reminded me of when my parents had family worship with us early early in the morning. One of the things I remember from family worship was the fact that my parents made sure I knew all the words to songs like Lord in the morning. My sisters could hum but I had to know the words. To this day, it doesn't seem very fair but that song has grown on me and I can appreciate the beautiful words and melodies of hymns. 

Tuesday.

Right now, the main thing on my mind is snuggling up under the covers and pinning stuff on Pinterest. It's been quite a day and 500 words seems like it will take forever. But, here were some of the highlights of the day: 

1. A few weeks ago, I bought a bunch of spinach, frozen fruit and fresh bananas. I made smoothie bags. Smoothie bags are all the contents I would need for one smoothie frozen in a ziploc bag. When I'm ready for a green smoothie, all I do is pull a smoothie bag out of the freezer the night before and place it in the fridge. The next morning, it's ready to be placed in the blender for a delicious morning blend! I was so excited about my smoothie bags and then I broke the blender ;-( So I've had a ton of smoothie bags just sitting in the freezer waiting for a new blender. Well, I finally got a new blender this past Sunday and used it this morning for my smoothie. I knew I needed an extra boost and this drink totally did it! It was delightfully delicious. I'm already looking forward to my smoothie for tomorrow morning. I think this is a really good ritual for helping me get out of my warm bed in the morning. Don't you? ;-)

2. I was excited about layering up today. In Maryland, the temperature was in the single digits. When I left the house to go to work this morning, the weather was 5 degrees! Intense, uh? So I wore two pair of leggings, one pair of really loose jeans, a camisole, a turtleneck, a blouse and a hoodie! To keep the moisture in my hair, I wore a plastic shower cap, cotton beanie and a another knitted beanie on top of that one. I was LAYERED! The only place where I felt a bit of a chill was on my actual face. I didn't want to wear a face mask though. I thought that would be overkill! When I got to work, my boss couldn't help but laugh because I was clearly not playing with the cold. 

3. I made it to work safely and didn't get stuck in any traffic! The roads were super clear! I'm thinking a lot of people must have telecommuted to avoid the low temperatures but it made my morning and evening commute a complete breeze! 

4. I have a warm bed and heat to come home to. To be living in this winter weather is incredibly brutal. I just pray that any homeless people were able to get transported to shelters these past couple nights. It's unreasonably cold and incredibly dangerous out there. I really try not to take these blessings for granted. It could easily be the other way around. Have mercy. 

5. I was pretty discouraged about a few things this afternoon and God truly encouraged me. I called a friend and I got to a point where I almost deleted my blog, my social media presence for the blog and quit it all. I was really upset and was asking God to give me something to tell me not give up and that my hard work and sacrifice wasn't all in vain. He used a few simple messages to encourage me and one of them was from Jeff Goins. How ironic? It's almost as if God was rubbing my back and saying, "it's gonna be okay. Keep doing what you're doing."

so I will :-) 

Natural & Relaxed.

Today was an unusually long day for me. I had a major task to check off that had been on my to-do list for two months. I finished part 1 of the task. So I still have pt.2, 3, and 4 to do. Prayerfully, I will have it all done by the end of the week. I'm helping my dad move a ton of books to a used bookstore. So right now, books have taken over the entire backseat and floor of my car. I didn't know that my dad dumped the books in the backseat so when I got in the car, I saw that my backseat looked like I was a major hoarder. It's super super cold outside tonight. It's actually 27 degrees. But I was so grossed out at the sight of all those books strewn across the seat and floor that I actually stopped and stacked up all the books in a somewhat "neat" manner. I couldn't leave the books like that in my right mind. Tomorrow is supposed to be 7 degrees outside so I might have to ride around with these books for another day since I doubt any bookstore owner would want to bring a cart out in the frigid cold to help me move the books. That wouldn't be very nice to ask of any employee.

So I got home and after dinner, a short convo with the sis and a little organizing of my own stuff, I decided to continue the battle of moisturizing my hair. My hair has been reacting negatively to the elements. It gets really really dry to the point where I contemplate cutting it all off. I've been wearing a bun for literally MONTHS. My hair has just been so frail that I don't like wearing it out in fear that the weather will suck the moisture out of it. So, I've been actively doing my best to get into a nightly routine of moisturizing and sealing my hair. I've been doing it for a long time but I didn't do it faithfully on a nightly basis. I would do it every other night or just twice a week. After watching a YouTube video about it, I've decided to up the ante and make it a nightly routine. So every night, I now spritz a teeny bit of water, finger detangle (lightly) and add Jamaican black castor oil to my hair with special attention to the ends. After that, I braid it up and it feels so soft and moisturized. This makes me both happy and it's actually pretty relaxing for me. I feel like it's a chance for me to unwind and show myself a little TLC.

After my hair is in a few plaits, I cover my head with a plastic shower cap and a silk scarf. It creates a greenhouse effect where my hair is getting a little bit of conditioning & moisturizing throughout the night. Last night, I massaged my scalp with some rosemary essential oil and I can still smell it in my hair. It's a pretty strong scent but it makes me feel like something must be getting some moisture up there.

A part of me wondered if I was being a bad steward of my time to take time to do this routine but I've decided that's not the case. I'm being a good steward of what has been giving to me. I need to do the same with the rest of my life and make sure I make myself & my well-being a priority. It's easy to put work, family, church and people ahead of yourself. And I know I'm making sure to put myself on the list in a lot of good, unselfish ways!

And I think I'll end my random rant here for this evening :-)

Les Brown Makes My World Go Round!

One of my favorite motivational speakers is Les Brown. When it's time for me to get up and get moving on something, I usually enjoy listening to him because his voice is so encouraging and I learn so much from him about achieving goals. I used to listen to him when I was in grind mode with work 2 years ago. I was working really long hours with this former job and I got to a point where I was breaking down. Listening to Les Brown really helped me get through that period. However, once I got out of that period, I stopped listening to him. I got comfortable and thought I didn't need motivational messages anymore. 

Here's the thing. We live in a world that is naturally sinful and prone to focus on the negative. Just look at the news. If you indulge in the negative conversation, it becomes your reality. Les Brown often speaks of changing the conversation in your head. We have been programmed to believe certain things about ourselves. In order to deprogram our minds of the garbage and reprogram them for success, we have to tell ourselves a different story. Joel Osteen is an extremely positive motivational speaker. Speaking words of encouragement are his forte.  Listening to positive messaging is really great for changing the conversation in your head even while you're doing humdrum work or sitting in the car in traffic. Some of my other favorite speakers to listen to include Tony Robbins, Lisa Nichols, Pastor Steven Furtick, Oprah and Eric Thomas. I like listening to the podcast of Curlbox Founder & CEO Myleik Teele. She focuses a lot on personal development. I'll also listen to informative podcasts on NPR and different TED talks. Those two channels never cease to inspire me! It's critical to make sure you are surrounding yourself with a positive conversation and encouraging people. I've heard that for every negative comment you hear, you need 5-7 positive comments to counteract the negative. That's an obvious sign that it takes work to be positive and see the good in every situation. It's possible though. 

In the past couple years, I've been learning how to see the good and squeeze the lemon juice out of the lemons so I can use it. Lemons have so many great qualities beside providing tall glasses of ice cold lemonade! Lemons can be a great cleaning agent for household items like the refrigerator. If you push a lemon rind in the sink and turn the garbage disposal on, it's a fantastic deodorizer. Drinking lemon water is a fantastic way to help purify the blood.  Lemon juice can soften skin.  If you want to brighten up your complexion, rub a little bit of lemon juice on there. The uses are endless! It's the same with your negative situations. If you choose to focus on God and what He can do through you in those difficult times, He will show you different ways that the trials can be used as blessings to enhance your life. The rewards, a lot of times, are countless and priceless!