November 25: I’m thankful for sunshine! It gets dark so early since turning back the clocks a few weeks ago for the end of daylight savings. I am so thankful that despite the shorter days, we have been having sunny days recently!
November 26: I’m thankful for long quiet Sunday afternoon naps! There is no better way to start off the week than by taking a nice long nap on Sunday afternoon.
November 24: I’m thankful for the song Jesus, Thank You!
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend,
The agonies of Calvary.
You, the Perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son,
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me.
Your blood has washed away my sin,
Jesus, thank You.
The Father”s wrath completely satisfied,
Jesus, thank You.
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table,
Jesus, thank You.
By Your perfect sacrifice I”ve been brought near,
Your enemy made Your friend.
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace,
Your mercy and your kindness know no end.
Your blood has washed away my sin,
Jesus, thank You.
The Father”s wrath completely satisfied,
Jesus, thank You.
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table,
Jesus, thank You.
Here are just a few reasons
1) Speculoos ice cream and cookie butter: Um awesome, no explanation needed.
2) The people that work there wear Hawaiian shirts and are awesome and so friendly!
3) They have little child-sized carts. I can’t even stand how cute it is to see a little two or three-year-old helping by pushing around a little cart.
4) Awesome prices for great products.
5) Also these things…see below photos…
November 19: I’m thankful for Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.November 20: I’m thankful for Lauren Daigle. Her voice is so beautiful and her songs speak to my heart and encourage me to worship.November 21: I’m thankful for Caress Mystique Forever Body Wash. I’m obsessed! Long-lasting captivating fragrance released on touch!
The daily stuff, those responsibilities that seem more like a distraction, those things we want to rush and get through to get on with the better and bigger assignments of life, those things that are unnoticed places of service, they are the very experiences from which we unlock the riches of wisdom. We’ve got to practice in the everyday places of our lives.
Never despise the mundane. Embrace it. Unwrap it like a gift. And be one of the rare few who look deeper than just the surface.
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.”
No need for a lengthy introduction, I know why you are here, let’s get right into it…
1) Make the decision to change!
If you always do what you have always done, you will always be what you have always been. Make a decision to change and then do it!
2) Get honest with yourself!
Figure out your body fat percentage. Take your body measurements. Weigh yourself. Take “before” photos. You will be glad you did once you start seeing results so that you can compare how far you have come.
3) Set a goal, write it down, and put a date on it!
If you are serious about your goals, write them down and keep yourself accountable!
4) Find a role model and follow their example!
Choose someone that you know has a good health and wellness lifestyle and ask for them to mentor you! A little bit of encouragement, accountability, and guidance can be the difference between giving up and going on to succeed! This brings me to the next point…
5) Ignore the negativity.
Let’s be honest, haters gonna hate! It is human nature to try to bring other’s down to our level. Don’t let someone else’s negativity prevent you from becoming a better version of yourself!
6) Don’t give up!
Things are going to get hard! If it were easy everyone would already be eating right, exercising, and living a healthy life. When things get hard work harder. The end result of a healthier you is totally worth working through the hard times.
Every once in a while I stop and ask myself “Laura, why are you doing what you are doing?” I made a decision about 6 months ago to stop doing things for the wrong reasons. I decided that if something is not bringing joy in my life I need to stop doing it. I can’t say that in the last 6 months I have always followed that decision, but I have tried to keep a check on my motives.
Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives.
Psalm 139:1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
Jeremiah 12:3 But You know me, O LORD; You see me; And You examine my heart’s attitude toward You.
Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
“Why are you doing what you are doing?”
After making some changes, I have had more peace in the last few months than I have had in a long time. I will continue to ask myself “Why are you doing what you are doing?” and I will also continue to answer myself honestly. Sometimes being honest with ourselves about our motives is one of the hardest parts.
There have been times that social media has been more of a drain on me than an enjoyment, so I have chosen to distance myself from it. There have been people in my life that have been more of a drain on me emotionally than an enjoyment, so I distanced myself from them. The choice isn’t always permanent, but sometimes a bit of separation gives a chance to get things back into proper perspective.
Instead of letting others determine what we do, what we wear, how we decorate our houses, where we choose to go, we need to make choices for ourselves. We should only be trying to make right choices for ourselves and the people and things that are truly important to us.
Saying yes all the time won’t make me Wonder Woman. It will make me a worn-out woman.
I am not talking about becoming self-centered, I am talking about becoming secure in yourself and making choices for yourself, not because of what other people want or what “they” will think.**
I heard this song the other day and the message of it really made me think. It is so similar to what I have been pondering the last few months. What really matters is that when I am alone with myself, do I like the person that I am on the inside?!
Try by Colbie Caillat
Put your make-up on
Get your nails done
Curl your hair
Run the extra mile
Keep it slim so they like you, do they like you?
Get your sexy on
Don’t be shy, girl
Take it off
This is what you want, to belong, so they like you
Do you like you?
You don’t have to try so hard
You don’t have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don’t have to change a single thing
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try
You don’t have to try
Mm, mm
Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards
You don’t have to choose, buy it all, so they like you
Do they like you?
Wait a second, Why, should you care, what they think of you When you’re all alone, by yourself, do you like you? Do you like you?
When you’re all alone, by yourself, do you like you?
You don’t have to try so hard
You don’t have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don’t have to change a single thing
You don’t have to try so hard
You don’t have to bend until you break
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don’t have to change a single thing
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try
You don’t have to try
Mm, mm
You don’t have to try so hard
You don’t have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don’t have to change a single thing
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try, try, try, try
You don’t have to try
You don’t have to try
Take your make-up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don’t you like you?
‘Cause I like you
**A great book with a lot of great information about a similar topic is The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst. She is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the New York Times bestselling author of Uninvited. (Totally not sponsored at all, I just really enjoyed the information in this book.)
November 20: I’m thankful for Lauren Daigle. Her voice is so beautiful and her songs speak to my heart and encourage me to worship.
November 21: I’m thankful for Caress Mystique Forever Body Wash. I’m obsessed! Long-lasting captivating fragrance released on touch! 
Looking Joli Good 