So, how are you … really?  Do you even know?

We are asked all the time how we are.  Most of the time we give a pat answer that we are fine.  We go from meeting to meeting, activity to activity, job to job, etc. often times stressed without realizing just how stressed we really are.

Honestly?  That is where I have found myself recently!

I have started The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on facebook where a bunch of us have started a 30 day challenge together.  It has just started on Monday.  Even though we are only a couple of days into the challenge I am personally amazed with just how much pressure I have been putting on myself, ignoring what all is going on inside … in body, mind and spirit.

So, how are you … really?

When was the last time you checked in with yourself, when you stopped to get quiet long enough to get an answer back?  And when was the last time you asked yourself what you needed and actually gave it to yourself?

We get caught up in life with all of its ups and downs.  In doing so, we tend to ignore, deny, and even mask what is going on inside of us and unless we take the time to stop and listen, we end up in a numbed out state just going through the motions of life.  And I know from personal experience how that state can lead to depression and illness.

I ask you, where’s the joy in that?

So, how are you … really?  Are you living in joy?

I encourage you to stop right now and give yourself a check in.  How full is your cup?  Take some time now to fill that cup of yours up with love and joy.

I invite you to join us at The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on Facebook for a 30-day challenge.  It’s only 15 minutes a day.  You’ll get support there as well and you’ll get to read my personal journal.

Love and hugs to you!!

Today is the day of love.

My dear women of wonder, today my heart is full of love and compassion for all of you.  On this day of love, I send you all the love that I can muster up because you are so worth loving.

The Wonder Woman Challenge has always been about stepping off of the merry-go-round of life a few minutes each day in order to love yourself … to fill your empty cup with love SO THAT you can joyfully give to those around you.  We must learn and practice giving from a full cup.

Today is the day of love.

Regardless of what anyone else does for you, what are YOU going to do for YOU?  Don’t miss this opportunity to express to yourself just how much you do care and love yourself.  Your spirit will leap with joy!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~ I Corinthians 13:4-7

I encourage you to not only apply this passage of love to those around you, but also to yourself in a balanced and healthy manner.

Today is the day of love.

“What women need is to learn how to nurture themselves. We need to shower as much loving kindness on ourselves as we habitually shower on loved ones, and even not-so-loved ones. We need to be loved for our fully formed selves, not for our dependent, appeasing selves. And the only way we can have fully formed selves is by granting ourselves the same tenderness and fierce protectiveness we’d otherwise reserve for a beloved child.” ~ Alice D. Domar, PhD “Self-Nurture”

I love you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shileen

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do!  Why wait and hope that someone will recognize you on Valentine’s Day when it isn’t necessary?

Valentine’s Day can be a fun holiday, it can be a bummer of a holiday.  As women, we always hope that our loved ones will recognize their love for us on this day.  The waiting can be unnerving … will he/they do something or won’t they?  Will someone think of me?

Let me ask you… who really needs that?? I sure don’t!

Many years ago I decided to take Valentine’s Day into my own hands making it whatever I wanted it to be.  I thought about what would bring me great joy on this day.  How can I express love to those close to me that would also fill my own love tank?

I started by giving a tea party to my family, which consists of two boys and a hubby.  You are probably wondering how I pulled that off.  Although at the time they would not admit it, they all loved it!  It was food!  Tell me what boy or man who does not like food!!  =)  Plus they knew it was important to me and we always enjoyed conversation around family time (we still do).  Our tea parties over the years have always been very lovely and meaningful.

It has been a few years since I have thrown a Valentine Tea party.  I will always recognize my guys on this day and they typically do me as well, but I seriously count their recognition as a bonus.

Listen, it is just as important to love on ourselves as it is to love on others.  When we love on ourselves it frees others to love on us.  While you are recognizing your loved ones on Valentine’s Day, what can you do to recognize yourself?  Plan a special tea for yourself, a bubble bath, buy yourself some flowers, take some time to work on a hobby, etc.  Think of a way to treat yourself special, something that will bring you joy.

Here’s a fun idea!  While I was putting together a gift for a friend, I put one together for myself as well.  I love it!  It is simple.  I always say it is the simple things of life that bring me the most joy!

I made a cute set of Valentine’s Day coasters, bought a new mug (I am a sucker for a cute mug!), made up some of “My Famous Hot Chocolate Mix”, and added some of my favorite tea.  It is so very cute!  Just looking it at fills me with joy!

The coaster idea came from one of my favorite websites Cupcakes and Crinoline in an article called Sew Happy 30 Minute Coasters.

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do.  In the end everyone feels blessed with a full love tank.

Do you have any Valentine’s Day ideas to share?

As I sit at the window seat with a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket, I am gazing out at the wonders of His hands.  The beauty that bestows me is breathtaking.  There is a peace, a calm that has blanketed the earth.

Yes, I live in an area that has been hit with the winter storm which, left us with two feet of snow.  There are issues and problems at hand to deal with; yet, I have welcomed the storm in all of its beauty.  It has allowed me to step out of the rat race and the norm to be in the moment in order to take care of the simple things of life in which we need to survive.

Being snowed in reminds me to be grateful for all that we have.  Although we have not lost power, we did lose our TV, phones, and Internet for a while.  It was a strange feeling to not be plugged in to the outside world, but it felt good at least for a short time.  I suddenly became so grateful for all of our technology today as it has only been a few short years ago that we all lived unplugged.

In these moments of quiet stillness, I cannot help but be in awe of His beauty.  What I am seeing out of my window is His masterpiece. Who can create such a masterpiece as this?  Truly a reflection of  His glory.  After all, anytime an artist creates a piece of art, that artwork is a reflection of the one who created it.

When I ask, Lord, what parts of you are you reflecting, all I can hear are things like, quietness, peace, stillness, beauty.  And then I hear, “Be still and know that I am God.”

If you have never seen the work of Snowflake Bentley, you are in for a real treat. He has an amazing story that will leave you thinking about the awesomeness of God our creator.  Enjoy!