Practicing Abundance

Diamond, by Strive to Be, Nik Day "You are, you are a diamond So bright, treasured and priceless A timeless work of art We see the gleam in side your heart When you feel under pressure It's just making you stronger Remember you were born for this You are a diamond" This song was playing while I was stretching this morning and the Spirit nudged my heart to write. The concept of this song is not new to me - I've been a fan of Hawk Nelson's song "Diamonds" for years. But something about this one, this morning, brought the Spirit to my heart and illuminated some of my path.  The result after pressure is designed to be a priceless thing of purity and beauty.  When hard things happen - when we are scarred by trauma or death, haunted by fear, or feel trapped and unable to proceed or to live out our desires - that's certainly not what I think of first. In these moments, the thought that "this is making you stronger!" can feel way to preppy and insu...

  I committed to writing courageously here, to not hiding the good or the bad. And then I disappeared for over a month. It's been a little turbulent over here, I admit.  But somehow, it's also been fascinating.  Let me explain.  In the past, since Daniel died anyway, winter has been very painful. I don't know why holidays are so painful. There are many reasons I've thought of, but I also have the feeling that there are many more reasons I haven't thought of yet.  But this year has felt different. It's still painful, perhaps even more so than before, but there has been less emotional 'drama'. We did not travel for Christmas, and we didn't agonize about it until the last minute like usual. We just decided we wouldn't and left it at that. Sweet relief! I dread the process of trying to figure out Christmas plans. It's not that I don't want to see family - it's just complicated.  Another new thing this year was that I woke up the day befor...

This summer I read a fantastic book called The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good For You And How To Get Good At It. It was a life-changing, fascinating read and I learned SO much I will probably read it again soon.  One thing that made a lasting impact on me was the concept that stress could be defined as when a perceived challenge outweighs one's perceived resources.  One: that makes stress largely about perception , not events. Interesting.  Two: if we take Jesus Christ at His word, we definitely have the skills to learn to stress less. Jesus promises that He will be with us, He leaves us His Comforter and Spirit, and gave us multitudes of scriptural stories of followers learning to trust and lean on Him - and succeeding. "I am with you always" , He says.  Jesus Christ is our strength . He is our Resource. Our Reserve. What perceived challenge can outweigh us now?? What earthly power could be stronger than The Creator, Lord, and Savior of our world, not only the...

  I have been hearing about this verse a lot lately.  It is the youth theme for youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the year 2023.  It is part of our study of the New Testament this year.  And it fascinates me with its layers. For such a short verse it has caused me a good deal of consternation. If I can do all things, why can't I get good grades on my homework? Or, why can't I keep the house clean?! Get to appointments on time? Never say snarky things??  Something must be wrong with me .  Not so.  I heard in a conversation recently that "it says you can do all things, but you can't do everything".  *lightbulb* Ahhhhh. That feels better. I had really wondered over the years why we would be told we could do everything when clearly I wasn't the only human feeling like I could barely get through the day sometimes.  Then, I was reading the book of Phillippians as part of my study of the New Testament this year.  I sa...

  There was bad news about the car. Again.  Really? As I heard the news I felt the competing emotions arising in my heart. One part was despaired and angry that things just couldn't work out; the other saw the situation as it was, and calmly chose to trust that all would work out.  For possibly the first time, I was observing and noticing the diverging path in front of me, rather than reacting to an event faster than I could think about it.  I had heard a discussion recently where a group of people were discussing this concept - something happens and you feel like you are flipping between opposing emotions or responses - like exhilaration and terror.  I had always thought that this vacillation was just how it was, and I would just be caught between the two until the situation was resolved. But these people said no - that is your moment of choice . You get to choose between exhilaration and terror. You can choose between faith and fear.  Right then, when you...

  $50 I earned babysitting just days after setting my goal to earn $100 in the month of September You may have heard - I have been building a private speech-language therapy practice. It's been a long, sometimes beautiful, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes incredibly frustrating ride so far and it's far from over.  I took the first few months away from my school job to really focus on letting my mind and body recover. It had been a painful, hard year as lupus, allergies, overwhelm and unacknowledged grief surged like the proverbial beach ball of emotions after being held underwater for too long. I was exhausted.  I also recognized how incredibly, exquisitely blessed I was (am) to be in a position to leave my job without intense financial repercussions. As I started to feel like I had found a daily rhythm and care routine that helped my body be well, I also started to feel enormous pressure to "make money" (I do realize this was all from the stories in my head. But it ...

  This week I started reading The Lupus Book by Daniel J. Wallace, MD. It's a little bit of a milestone for me, as I feel it shows an increased level of acceptance and non-reactivity to the idea of or even the word 'lupus'.  The title sounded a little ominous at first, but it isn't nearly as intimidating as The Lupus Encyclopedia , which is much, much larger.  That one is coming up on my book list.  So here's to applying my new strategy for reading books on a new type of book.  This feels like a step in a good direction and I am grateful for the divine courage to take it.  Also, the weather today is my kind of perfect 😊🍂 Welcome, fall weather!!