Join the #5AMClub

Hey! I know I have been a little MIA for a minute but I just needed to settle a little bit into this new season of my life. I actually got a promotion and I have been traveling and just continuing to be inspired. The beginning of February when my life got really hectic I started to realize the only way I would have time with God and time to myself was if I got up at 5AM and made it all happen. This was the birth of the #5AMClub. The Time I spent in the dawn hours praying, journaling and spending time with God as well as me time at the gym getting healthier. I can’t explain how my life has changed so much for the better by starting my days off with this practice. Nothing quite sets the tone to your day like enriching your mind, body and most importantly your spirit.

Through #5AMClub I realized that I am filled with more joy daily, I greet my coworkers with so much energy and I struggle less with doing the right thing because I have already invited the spirit of God into my life early in the morning. I don’t know about you but I have to die daily to many of the behaviors and speech I am asking God to change about me.

Becoming a 5AM’er has not been easy. To be honest I have wanted to be a 5AM’er for years. I struggled so often when my alarm went off- I would press snooze. I prayed to God for months and it was my only New Year’s goal; being able to wake up at dawn. God really blessed me with the grace and energy to live out that goal and he can do the same for you! Since I have gotten the hang of things I thought I would share the love and inspiration. I know schedules and life can be demanding but setting a daily time aside is so crucial to success. What ‘s encouraging is that some of the most successful people in the world all have said they take the time daily to pray and enrich their lives early in the morning; it becomes a habit.

So I challenge you today to join the #5AMClub! You can subscribe for updates here. Also stay up to date with daily scriptures and work out inspiration via instagram: Paparoxi or tumblr. 

Spirit: I was a victim

I spent a good portion of my late teens and early twenties being hurt. I was heart broken by relationships and choices that I had made. I didn't understand why life was treating me so unfairly. I was mad at my boyfriends, parents and environment for not living up to my expectations. It was easy for me to maintain a perfection persona, if I allowed myself to be the victim of my circumstances. I wore the mask of perfection for many years but I only fooled myself. I willingly made choices that put me in circumstances where I felt as if I was a victim. I choose my friends, I maintained relationships with men that were less than ideal and I choose not to work hard enough for my goals. It was me. In order to heal I couldn't continue to blame someone for breaking my heart, I had to take responsibility for breaking my own. Its human nature to go into defense mode after we have been wounded. We say things such as:

 “He hurt me”

“She lied to me”

“I could never trust them”

“They wouldn't accept me”

However, we have to recognize the part we play in our victimization. The root cause of the problem lies in the esteem we have for ourselves. Do we believe that we are great and wonderful people? Or do we just accept what is handed to us? For so long I operated from the bottom up. I took the scraps, I was happy to receive minimal treatment from people. I couldn't articulate beyond my appearance why I was a worthy human being. That was because I found my worth in people and things instead of my God given qualities. It took a serious and purposeful series of investments in myself to bring out the self worth I now have today. Those investments included getting healthy, spending time volunteering and building a relationship with God. It was only when I removed the mirror of my worth from men and people and put it in the hands of my creator in whose image I was made in.

When we realize how beautiful, talented, special, healthy and wonderful we truly are we don't open the door to allow people to crap all over our lives, thus we don't become victims. When we understand and value our worth and we wont just let anyone come in and take that from us. God gives us discernment about people and situations that will compromise the strength and the love within us. No one is perfect and we sometimes fail and let the wrong person in, but just like cheating on a diet we have to take that responsibility. We can't be so willing to become victims for the sake of our egos.

Let's tap into a higher consciousness of our self worth and take responsibility for our destiny!

Share you thoughts. Have you ever played the victim like me? How were you able to find your inner strength and talents? What challenges do you have with letting people in your life?

The case against YOLO: Discipline

You may be familiar with the term that rapper Drake has made very popular YOLO meaning “You Only Live Once.” The philosophy behind the popular use of YOLO goes beyond stating the obvious, but delves into day to day decision making. Should I save my money now or blow it on a new pair of shoes? Answer: YOLO. Should I stick to my diet or eat this large slice of pizza? Answer: YOLO. Should I hook up with this guy that is totally wrong for me or wait for someone who is worthwhile? Answer: YOLO. You get my drift. I am all too familiar with the YOLO lifestyle because that’s how I used to live; I even based a whole relationship on the principle. After years of living my life making decisions based on a whim I was left depressed, fat and broke. The down side of YOLO is not so glamorous.  

I can see this flawed philosophy in so many aspects of our culture. When did we stop fighting for our lives? When did mediocrity become so popular? I say this with the best of sentiments as I was someone who was a slave to YOLO. I broke free from that mentality when I understood how great my purpose in life was; and how my desire for an amazing life outweighed the pleasure of any instant gratification. I received strength and peace from God; I got clarity about my purpose through Christ. This life isn’t easy and I couldn’t do it on my own.

Discipline

The aspect of YOLO I do like is the reinforcement of our limited time on earth. If we want anything great we have to have the disciple to work hard, sacrifice and the ability to focus on goals. It’s a little comical that the same affluent successful people who are talking about YOLO are the same ones that had to sacrifice and discipline themselves to excel at their craft.

There is no magic pill to conquering a goal. When I was 65 pounds overweight and trying to lose, there were moments when I just wanted to go to KFC and order a bucket of chicken and say YOLO with my middle finger in the air. Yes, all that food would have made me feel happy at the moment, but then I would feel depressed about my lack of discipline. Discipline your life and get serious about your purpose. Discipline and self-control is a gift from God. I seriously believe it is something we forget to realize when we run around thinking the devil and people are sabotaging our lives when it is us the whole time.

There are still areas of my life I am still learning to disciple, but I am working to be better every day. What area of your life is hard to discipline? What is your take on the term YOLO? How have you conquered a goal by being disciplined? Share your thoughts and comments. 

Woman: From Good to Great

There is an unspoken war fare going on with the self-esteem of women today. From every angle I am bombarded with images of decorative nails, intriguing hairstyles and snap shots of our daily “looks”. Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with taking pride in our appearance, the problem is when that alone defines us; when we become nothing more than a long weave or a creative nail. When our worth is wrapped up in our appearance and the better we look the more highly we think of ourselves.

What is the motivation? Maybe it is for men. So they will look at us more? So that we can captivate someone long enough to sustain a relationship? Or we can gain value from the abundance of attention that we receive? That was me. For many years I was wrapped up in my appearance that I failed to define my worth. I was so focused on looking amazing that my attitude sucked. I didn’t understand why my relationships were failing and why things were not working out. When I gained weight it was the end of the world because my appearance which I used to validate myself was crumbling. I no longer had a foundation to stand on. Embarking on the journey to becoming healthy was only the beginning of my lesson in self-worth. Even when I lost weight I still looked for validation from people especially men. I could never have admitted this at the time but it was true. I had a false sense of confidence that was eroding every day. I battled with deep depression and hurt.

I wish I could say that it was my triathlons or healthy eating that saved me, but that was only a bi-product of the ultimate solution. It wasn’t until I built a real relationship with God and accepted Christ into my life that I began to know my worth. It was quite fascinating because God began to open up little pockets of worth all over. I started training for races and became athletic which built up my physical worth. I started writing and began sharing on this website which built my creative worth. I began to cook and take an interest in healthy eating which built up my hospitable worth. More recently I took up gardening or as I like to call it farming and built up my collective worth. There are so many more facets of me. Now my worth doesn’t lie in how great my appearance is but how wonderful I am through God because he has revealed MY special gifts.

Now I am a woman who can grow my dinner, cook it into something delicious and eloquently share my testimony on how it all happened. I say this all to say: Don’t put your worth in things that fade. All around us society tells us how to look and act but God calls us to be different and unique.  Embrace that!

Please share your thoughts and comments.