Category Archives: Motivation

daughters, Hope, Motivation, motivational, Quotes, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality, Women

15 Inspirational Quotes for Strong Women

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We all know a strong woman. Someone who has stood up and fought despite all the drama and heartache that comes with life. There are women who carry eternity in their hearts and bring life to whatever they touch. I have been blessed to know many of them.

Strong women inspire us and give us hope and courage. They remind us why we are here and that God isn’t finished with us yet. Strong women give us encouragement and help us look forward instead of backwards. They listen and help us heal from all the past hurts. They help us brush the dust off, shake our ‘manes’ , and get back up. I love them all – my daughters, and granddaughter, my moms, my friends, my sisters, and my fellow bloggers. You are amazing!

15 Inspirational Quotes for Strong Women

  1. “She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” – Proverbs 31:25.
  2. “Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  3. “Knowing what must be done does away with fear.”- Rosa Parks
  4. “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” – Maya Angelou
  5. “I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.” – Audrey Hepburn
  6. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
  7. “If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I’m going.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee
  8. “God is within her, she will not fall.” – Psalm 46:5 img_0068-1
  9. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  10. “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” – Helen Keller
  11. “And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire, and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.” – Mark Anthony
  12. In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.” —Margaret Thatcher
  13. “We are not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present.” – Marianne Williamson.
  14. ‘When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’. “– Erma Bombeck.
  15. “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her.” – Luke 1:45

God, Hope, Motivation, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

You May Think You are a Nobody, but God Made You a Somebody

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You may be like me. Feeling like a grain of sand of the beach. Buried in all the other grains of sand on the beach – feeling like a Nobody. But can I tell you, that is not who you are. God made you a Somebody. You matter. You have a purpose and a plan in this life.

Enlarge your vision. Like a pebble that makes waves when it hits the water, you are making a difference in the lives of those you touch. You matter. You were born for such a time as this. Your story is not over, God is not finished with you yet.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey of becoming. Your were made to give light and love to all you meet. You carry in you the hope of glory. You are a special treasure and the apple of God’s eye. Rest in who He says you are – beloved, treasured, loved, and chosen.

Motivation, motivational, Quotes, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

12 Inspirational Quotes to Bring in the New Year of 2018

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12 Inspirational Quotes to Bring in the New Year of 2018

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa

  1. “Remember who you are. Don’t compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.” –Lysa Terkeurst
  2. “Do not remember the former things,
    Nor consider the things of old.
    Behold, I will do a new thing,
    Now it shall spring forth;
    Shall you not know it?
    I will even make a road in the wilderness
    And rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43;18-19 NKJV
  3. “If you can’t fly, then run, If you can’t run, then walk, If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” –Martin Luther King Jr.
  4. “Hope
    Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
    Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” ― Alfred Tennyson
  5. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” –Francis Chan
  6. “Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” ― Brad Paisley
  7. HIS UNFAILING PRESENCE
    Another year I enter
    Its history unknown;
    Oh, how my feet would tremble
    To tread its paths alone!
    But I have heard a whisper,
    I know I shall be blest;
    “My presence shall go with thee,
    And I will give thee rest.
    What will the New Year bring me
    I may not, must not know;
    Will it be love and rapture,
    Or loneliness and woe?
    Hush! Hush! I hear His whisper;
    I surely shall be blest;
    My presence shall go with thee,
    And I will give thee rest.” –Unknown Author
  8. “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice.” ― T.S. Eliott” I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
  9. “My soul shall be joyful in my God;
    For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
    He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
    As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
    And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
    For as the earth brings forth its bud,
    As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
    So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” -Isaiah 61:10-11 NKJV
  10. “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller
  11. “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” –Abraham Lincoln

God, Hope, Motivation, motivational, Spirituality

Your Story Matters – Blog it!

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Your story matters. It may not seem so right now. But you are not the only one going through it, that’s for sure. One of the the things I really like about blogging is that you get to meet people all over the world who may be going through the exact same situation.

When I blog about depression, I get to meet others who are in the battle and learn what worked for them to kick out the blues. When I write about my past domestic violence situations I get wisdom from others who have made it out alive. When I write about finding hope in God I get to meet others who have found Him faithful and true. We are a tribe of men, women, and children who share our hearts with people we have never met. I love it!!!

tribe

I am more honest on my blog than I am with people sometimes. It’s really easy to pour your heart out when you just type whatever you think. There is a freedom in that. Your heart, your feelings, your hopes, dreams, failures – it is really addicting! It’s a total no judgement zone.

Do you blog?

What do you blog about?

Why do you blog?

I read my about page today – funny how you write that page and forget about it. It helped me remember why I do this:

My Purpose – To overcome adversity, thrive, and live an abundant life

My Mission – To encourage and teach others how to rise above their circumstances, enlarge their vision, and soar to new heights with God

My Calling – To use words and music to find and share hope is this crazy world

What about you? What is your vision? Do you have a dream? A calling?

I encourage your to write it down. It’s real then. It helped me focus on why I do what I do. It gives me vision. Without vision the people perish I read…

Plus, it’s really funny to read something you wrote like 3 years ago and totally forgot about. Blogging gives me perspective – on how far I have come, what I have overcome, and how faithful God is to His promises!

Give-us-clear-vision

 

 

Motivation, motivational, Quotes, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

10 Graduation Quotes that are not Dr. Seuss

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I have been to 4 graduations this month. And out of those 4 there have been 3 of them that the teachers use Dr. Seuss quotes. Can I ask why? The kids that are graduating are either from High School or College. Do you know the last time they read Dr. Seuss? Probably when they were like 3.  Very strange. Maybe I’m just weird.

graduation2

10 Graduation Quotes that are not Dr. Seuss

  1. “Be bold, be courageous, be your best.” – Former Rep. Gabrielle Gifford
  2. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs
  3. “In the game of life, when the final buzzer sounds, the only stat you carry with you is the number of assists you made. So help other people put some points on the board.” – -Mayor Mike Bloomberg
  4. “What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.””- Ralph Waldo Emerson
  5. “Don’t buy society’s definition of success. Because it’s not working for anyone. It’s not working for women, it’s not working for men, it’s not working for polar bears, it’s not working for the cicadas that are apparently about to emerge and swarm us. It’s only truly working for those who make pharmaceuticals for stress, diabetes, heart disease, sleeplessness, and high blood pressure.” – Arianna Huffington
  6. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” – Mark Twain
  7. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” -Henry David Thoreau
  8. “To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States.” – George W. Bush
  9. “There is no script. Live your life. Soak it all in.” – Dick Costolo
  10. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Hope, Motivation, motivational, Quotes, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

10 Inspirational Quotes on Not Giving Up

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10 Inperserverancespirational Quotes on Not Giving Up:

  1. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou

  2. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

  3. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather

  4. “When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” – Author Unknown

  5. “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

  6. “The best way out is always through.” -Robert Frost

  7. “If you are going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

  8. “When you cstrength3ome to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

  9. “When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that’s just the place and time that the tide’ll turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe

  10. “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.” – Author Unknown

 

“ Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” – James 1:2-4 MSG

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“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” – Romans 5:3-5 MSG

 

enjoy the water

“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.” – Galatians 6:9-10 MSG

faith, God, Motivation, Religion and Spirituality, Spirituality

You Are an Arrow

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As we sit here watching Lord of the Rings, I can’t help but think those were hard days to live in. There was always an enemy knocking at your door. There was always a battle to fight. People had to fight for their protection for their families, for their land,and fight to keep what they had. 


According to the dictionary: ARROW is

  • a shaft sharpened at the front and with feathers or vanes at the back, shot from a bow as a weapon or for sport.
  • synonyms: shaft, bolt, dart
  • a mark or sign resembling an arrow, used to show direction or position; a pointer.
  • synonyms: pointer, indicator, marker, needles


Characteristics of Arrows

  1. They fly above the earth and its circumstances
  2. They destroy the enemy
  3. They must be pulled backwards under great tension
  4. They are supported by the Bow
  5. When the Master lets go they fly


God calls us His Arrows. He hold us in the palm of His hand. He points us in the right direction.  He hides us in His quiver until the time is right for battle. At just the right time He chooses us out of His quiver. Tensions increase as He loads us in His bow. Just when we think we can’t take it anymore He releases us and let’s us fly forward. He uses us to point others in the direction of His Kingdom. With the Word in our mouths we defeat enemies of God. He created us to show us His Glory!


Listen to Me, O islands and coastlands, And pay attention, you peoples from far away. 

The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He has named Me.

He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden; 

And He has made Me a sharpened arrow, In His quiver He has hidden Me. 

And the Lord said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.” – Isaiah 49:1-3


Motivation, motivational, Spirituality

7 Steps on How to Stop Treading Water and Set a Goal

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Have you ever watched a person tread water? Moving those arms and legs furiously but never really getting anywhere? It’s exhausting just to watch.  I mean with all that effort shouldn’t they bee halfway across the ocean by now?  Yet, this is exactly how I feel right now.  Like I have been treading water for years getting nowhere.

 

Then I realized why. I had given up on setting goals. I had given up even trying to get anywhere. And just like that swimmer, after my energy was gone I sank. Right in the spot where I had worked so hard for so long.  How about you?  Have you ever given up on goals?

 

I’m not sure when it started. It’s like when does water really start to boil? When the water first gets hot, or is it at the first bubble, or do you need a bunch of rolling bubbles to call it boiling? Either way it is hot! And either way I just quit doing it.

“A person without a goal is like a swimmer just treading water.  You use up all your effort and energy and get nowhere.”

– Diana Rasmussen of Prayers and Promises

 

duck

7 Steps on How to Stop Treading Water

and Set a Goal:

  1. Stop using up all your energy on useless things. Stop beating yourself up over the past. Stop waiting for others to do what you think they should do. Stop treading water.

  2. Pray and ask God to open your eyes to what He has for your future. Get a bigger picture of the ocean than the pool you call life.

  3. Be open to change. Change isn’t easy – but it will be worth it. God promised us all an abundant life – let’s be done settling. Wouldn’t you rather swim in the ocean anyway?

  4. Look for new opportunities to swim in other places and further than you have before. There are plenty of bodies of water to explore.  There is way more than the kiddie pool in your back yard.

  5. Focus your energy on moving forward, not turning back.  It is much easier to do the breast stroke forward than the backstroke backwards. Some people spend their whole life looking backwards and living in condemnation and regret. Set your vision ahead my friends. The Son is rising upon you – He has called you out of the boat!  It’s time to start this water walking stuff!

  6. . Take a deep breath and think of one goal and write it down. What is your vision for your life? What is your calling? What is your purpose?  Take 5 minutes right now and write it down somewhere. Anywhere. Even a napkin if you have to! Here is mine – About Me. (P.S.  I have been writing for 4 years now and I just wrote this today, lol!)

  7. Get back in the water. It’s really hard to swim on land. Now straighten out your body, take the first stroke forward, and kick your feet. Trust that the rest of you will follow. Yes, God did make these bodies to swim and even float and walk on water! And like Dory says:

dorie

 

 

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. – Philippians 3:12-16 MSG