Life! What can I say? God is good. Life is hard, and we keep fighting the good fight of faith. No complaints here, but if I would’ve written last night then it would’ve been sheer misery. Why? I guess I was in my feelings. It gets like that sometimes. But over the years, I’ve learned that we have to be very careful to not follow our feelings because they can steer us in the wrong direction. (I’m not talking about that gut feeling, type of feeling, but the “in my feelings” type of feelings. Hope that make sense.) I’ve also realized that to reach anyone and to minister to people through our testimonies, we just have to keep it real and be transparent. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve written something, and deleted it, because I was concerned how it would be perceived. I was worried the “cookie-cutter” version of myself might get a tainted image, and by God that just can’t happen!! Lol 🙂 Well, I’m not going to unleash it all in this post, but I’m just going to be me. Who better to be than who God has created us to be right? Flaws and all.
So anyway. I wanted to write last week about something that was on my heart. Foundation. I have so much to say about this topic. Wow. Okay so I will write on any type of paper I find, if a thought is in my head. (Envelopes, receipts, kids old school work, etc.) That’s why most times I have a journal in my purse. Well at the beginning of the year I drew a little triangle, that symbolized my foundation. (I’m going to see if I can take a picture and upload it so I can show you, but right now I will tell you about it.) For me the the bottom of the foundation meant what’s most important to me in my life. That “thing” holding it all together, my rock, the foundation of my foundation. Well, let me share with you my results.
The first version of this foundation had 7 parts. The first was my relationship with God, then my husband, then my kids, then organization of our home, then my relationships with my family, friends, and other people, next was using my talents, and at the top was walking in my purpose. Well, the reason why this was my first version is because I noticed something was missing. Can you guess? Before looking at the answer in the next sentence, read over it one more time, and try and guess what’s missing. Okay. Well, if you guessed taking care of myself then you guessed right. Then that opened up a whole other can of worms and questions. Where does it go in order of importance? Aren’t we supposed to care of others more than ourselves? But isn’t our body the temple of the living God? Questions, questions, questions! Before creating the other version, I dissected the first version. I realized that I had two BIG missing links. 1. I don’t take care of myself much. 2. I need a lot of work in keeping our home more organized. Now, I believe I’m doing a good job, so I’m not beating up myself, however there’s one person you can’t lie to, and that’s yourself. Basically I know I can do better in both areas. I realized that these 2 areas of my life are both something I’ve struggled with for years. From that realization I came up with a quote. “One can’t build something of value if the foundation is not solid.” Keeping in mind that all 7 parts are representative of what I consider my foundation to be made of. I realized I had 2 missing links. Now I know God will use us despite our flaws. However, I believe he made me realize this for a reason. I believe before we can be a light in this world, we have to be a light in our home. I believe before we can be a light in our home we have to be a light to ourselves. I believe as a woman with multiple hats that it’s imperative that we make time for ourselves. I believe that we shouldn’t pour from an empty cup, because we will get burned out. I believe self-care is not selfish it’s smart, necessary and needed. I BELIEVE ALL OF THAT! But what do I do about it???
I’ve learned over the years it’s not about what you know, it’s about what you do with what you know. I just discovered this about a month ago. It’s been on my heart ever since. Now, I’m writing about it, and sharing it with whoever is reading this. I’m taking actions now. I’m hoping I start working towards doing better in both areas. I’m hoping some other women will read this, and I can see that they too have issues in taking care of themselves so I won’t feel like I’m alone. Or I hope there are some other women reading this who feel like they have that part taken care of, and can offer some advice. I don’t know what the heck will come of this post, but I just wanted to put it out there.
Okay so here’s the best version of myself in my head. I wake up worship, pray, and read. Not out of obligation, but because honestly I genuinely find peace and purpose in that. Then… this is the part that I’ve skipped the past decade. After doing that I spend about 1 hour doing something for me. I’ve done it here and there over the years, but I’ve never been consistent at it. During this time, I want to run, stretch, write, do a HITT workout, SOMETHING FOR ME. The key is consistency. However, I go from reading and praying to getting the kids ready. Or sometimes I sleep in too late and James takes the kids, and I wake up pray and read, and get right into my things to do list for the day. It’s like I know what I have to do. I know what I want to do, my goal is I actually start doing it. I think taking better care of myself will bring more peace and energy in my life.
The other part is the organization of our home. We’re not horrible, but I know I can do better. Bathrooms, laundry, bedrooms, cars, can all be a little bit more on point, and it all boils down to consistency. Not perfect by any means, but a lot better. My one word for 2019 was consistency. I chose this word because this is an area that I REALLY need to work on. I’ve realized I need to be more consistent in taking care of myself and taking care of the organization of this home. That’s all part of building my foundation. It’s hard to build on a foundation when you have missing links, so my goal is to spend more time on those areas.
Well, this post is going to be really long if I keep going. Because I was going to share with you that despite my shortcomings God still chooses to use me. I will save that for the next post though. I will share with you and be super transparent about the behind the scenes of following your dreams, it’s not all peaches and cream. However, it’s a journey filled with a lot of trust in God for me. Today I just wanted to encourage you all to take the time to build a solid foundation for your life. Make sure you figure out what’s important to you, and make sure you are spending your time in those areas. For me my relationship with the Lord is what is most important to me. That’s what makes up the foundation of my foundation. It reminds me of these lyrics, “I will build my life upon your love, it is a firm foundation.”
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that in my 2nd version I did include myself. It was right after my relationship with God. I truly see now through years of trial and error that we have to take care of ourselves in order to pour into our spouses, kids, families, friends, businesses, dreams, goals, careers, talents, and purpose. Hopefully, this encouraged someone, somehow. In my attempt to encourage others it doesn’t mean I’m perfect and have all the answers, because honestly in this post I’m looking for some answers….lol :)… I said this before, but I truly believe we are all beautifully broken hot messes, that have a lot to offer through our testimonies, realness, and transparency.
Hope everyone has an awesome week, and I hope you take the time to build a firm foundation. Be honest with your shortcomings, and ask God to help you with it. God Bless!
