Category: Uncategorized

Affirmation: “Nothing is impossible!”
Journal Prompt:
How can I say YES to myself more?
??? Self-Care Ritual ???

Affirmation: “I am a friend to myself.”
Journal Prompt:
How can I care for myself more?
Self-Care Ritual:
I’m sure some of you have seen this writing before, and I hope it impacted your life as it has done for me. I share it here, so others will know it’s power.
REASON, SEASON, LIFETIME
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you will know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When someone is in your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person or people involved; and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships, and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being a part of my life.
~ Brian A. (Drew) Chalker
I’ve always been able to make friends, no matter where I was. My mom used to say I could make friends with a fence post. And to this day, I still don’t know a stranger. I am always willing to start a conversation, or lend a hand to someone in need.
But as I read the affirmation, and opened my journal to write from the prompt, I began to ponder whether I’ve always been a good friend to myself. I began to wonder if I’ve managed to rise up for myself in the reasons, seasons, and in this lifetime I live.
And the answer, sadly, is no.
No, I’ve not always been a friend to myself.
I’ve lied to myself.
I’ve cheated myself out of time, talent, and treasure.
I’ve neglected my hygiene, my health, and my heart.
I’ve denied myself attention I desired, so as not to impose on others.
But that all stops now, right here, today.
There is nothing wrong with needing attention…
It doesn’t make me selfish!
It doesn’t make me desperate, or a burden, or weak!
It makes me human!
We ALL need to be seen, heard, and valued!
And we ALL deserve to have those needs met!
And YOU ARE NOT EXCEPTION!!!
You deserve to be acknowledged, and loved, and cared for!
You deserve to shine!
Don’t let anyone else, including yourself, convince you otherwise!
And the most important lifetime relationship you’ll ever have…
The ONLY TRULY lifetime relationship you’ll ever have…
Is with yourself!
YOU ARE YOUR OWN BFF… Best Friend FOREVER!!!
This is YOUR life!
YOU own it!
YOU MATTER!
It’s time to protect, nurture, and care for yourself!
Today’s self-care ritual, is for you to take all those things you wrote about in your journaling, and treat your BFF to a special date!
You have this one life.
How do you want to spend it?

Affirmation: “I am patient with myself.”
Journal Prompt:
Where has “being patient” shown up in my life?
Self-Care Ritual:
If someone asked you to describe yourself, is “patient” a word you’d use?
Let’s be honest here… it’s not likely you would.
We’re usually pretty good at showing patience to others, but it tends to run thin when dealing with what comes up in our own lives . I know for sure, it’s not something I’ve always been able to say about myself.
Patience isn’t something we’re born with.
In fact, a newborn baby is anything but patient; they’re actually the exact opposite! They’re completely helpless at birth, in need of another human to do everything for them. And they’re unable to communicate in any other way, except to be impatient. It’s only as a child matures, as they grow and learn, that patience becomes part of their regular behavior. And how they learn patience… the context in which they learn it… can have drastic effects on the trajectory of their life.
How YOU learned it, and in what context, effects everything about your life today!
A patient parent is tolerant, and enduring in nature.
A patient parent uses a child’s mistakes and errors as an opportunity to help the child learn, so the same mistake can be avoided in the future.
A patient parent has an attitude of gentle support, and caring guidance, that improves their child’s learning and self-esteem.
If a child grows up with an impatient parent though, it’s likely they learn blaming when they make a mistake. And then they learn to be fearful of making more mistakes, creating impatience and intolerance in themselves, and setting the stage for perfectionism, or even deep despair.
As adults, when we’re impatient with ourselves, we create stress. When we continue in that pattern, we create a life full of anxiety. Our body becomes flooded with extra cortisol and adrenaline, contributing to physical health issues, including sleep problems, and even mental health concerns.
When we learn to be patient with ourselves, we begin to manifest peace, inside and out. A patient attitude creates greater self-worth, deeper self-love, and strengthens our inner stability. It’s absolutely vital to cultivate a patient attitude, as we never outgrow the need for gentle, supportive guidance, especially from ourselves.
And we CAN learn to be more patient! That’s why today’s self-care ritual is suggestions for doing just that.
One great way, has been part of this challenge from the start… journal about being impatient. Do your best to be non-judgmental, but be honest about where you see impatience in your life. Knowledge is power, so the more you become aware of the harsh, relentless inner voice that creates your impatience, the easier it will be to silence it.
Rumi said, “The art of knowing, is knowing what to ignore.” When your inner Helga starts spewing her harsh, intolerant opinions, it is important to listen. That’s how you’ll begin to know what the real issues are. With that knowledge, you can take a few deep breaths, decide what the truth of the situation REALLY is, and begin the counteroffensive. It’s YOU -vs- YOU every time, so make sure the right you wins!
It can also be very helpful to create a “patience” mantra; something supportive and uplifting. You might begin by saying the affirmation for today, “I am patient with myself.” Repeat your mantra whenever you’re feeling impatient with yourself.
I know all of this seems difficult, but it’s not really hard at all; it’s just scary, because it’s contrary to what you believe you deserve. So be brave! When you’re feeling impatient with yourself, think of the patience you would give to a small child, and give yourself that same patience.

Affirmation: “I am proud of myself.”
Journal Prompt:
What am I proud of about myself?
Self-Care Ritual:
Today’s affirmation and journal prompt spoke about being proud of ourselves. And I don’t know about you, but it sure was a difficult question for me to tackle. I came to the realization that it’s really more about the things we say to ourselves, in our head and out loud.
For most of us (me included), it’s much easier to pick out negative things. We get caught up in the thoughts and beliefs like:
* we’re not enough
* our bodies aren’t right
* we don’t earn enough
* we can’t do things a certain way
* we don’t look right
* and the list goes on, and on, and on.
We don’t realize, or sometimes even see, the amazing things that we have going on in our life. But it’s our job to be our own best friend, our own cheerleader, and our own biggest fan!
Today, our self-care ritual is to practice the art of “complimenting ourselves.” At first, it’s likely to feel uncomfortable, but after a few attempts, I know you’ll get the hang of it. Just do your best to be truly kind to you – by paying attention to the amazing person you are, and all the “good” you’ve got going on.
And here’s the really great part – when you focus on the good, you’ll get more good! So, acknowledge how great you are! And here’s a bonus challenge – be super brave, and leave a post in the comments, so we can all be amazed, and you can receive the bonus benefit of how others acknowledge it too!
Love and light to you!

Hey there everyone! I hope you’re all staying warm, and safe, and well fed today. We are well, all things considered. I’m sure you’re probably wondering where I went yesterday, since there were no posts. And to be frank, I didn’t really go anywhere, because I live in Texas, USA, and we’ve had some crazy weather going on down here.
To preface, we’re not used to below freezing temps where I am, and definitely not used to having them for days on end. We’d already had several really cold days, at least by Texas standards, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then a winter storm advisory came down, saying an ice storm was headed our way.
Those cold temps we’d been having dipped even lower, and froze some of our plumbing overnight on Wednesday/into Thursday morning. We were dealing with that, when the weather forecast said temps would be dropping even further, and snow was coming.
Having grown up further north, we’re well versed in how to handle winter weather. The tote of cold weather gear came out, and we drove into town to refill our propane tanks.
Then, during the night on Friday,… In the early morning hours of Saturday, to be more precise,… my husband went to check our propane, and heard water running. LOTS OF WATER!!!
It was coming from my Dad’s RV. So my husband had to pound on his door, to wake him up, and they set about trying to figure out the problem…
His incoming water line had frozen, and split. It was gushing water out everywhere, so we had to shut it off. He said he was fine, he had some bottles of water to drink, and jugs for flushing the toilet, so he’d ride it out.
Then, just a few hours later, the power went out.
It was only off for about thirty minutes, but it was enough to blink the inverter on my dad’s RV, and nothing was turning on again. (Did I mention we live on 20 acres, in a 5th wheel RV? And as I said, my dad has his own RV.)
Anyway, light snow had started falling by then, so we made the decision that my Dad needed to come stay with us. I didn’t want him going back to sleep in his own RV, just in case the power went out again. (I can’t have my 77 year old dad freezing to death in his sleep!)
And the power did go out again, a couple hours later. This time though, it didn’t come back on. So my husband bundled up, and trudged out into the now inches deep snow, to get the generator going, so we’d be able to keep things livable.
That was about 430am on Monday.
Without power, there is no internet. And using data on our phones is expensive. So, we spent a lot of time, reading regular old books, and sitting around chatting, and napping. And the power didn’t come back on until just a few hours ago… nearly 18 hours after it had gone out.
So, in the interest of keeping my word, I wanted to jump on, post about yesterday, and tell you that I’m just going to keep going. I’ll be posting the Day 16 affirmation, journal prompt, and self-care ritual shortly.
If you’ve read this far, please give a like. Leave a comment too, sharing your crazy winter weather stories. And as always, love and light to you!

Affirmation: “I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Journal Prompt:
What messages is my body trying to send me?
Self-Care Ritual:
Today’s affirmation speaks about the power of our mind. And our journal prompt is about the messages our body sends us. So how does the power of our mind, and messages of our body, come together?
Mindfulness
So what is mindfulness?
The dictionary defines it as a mental state, achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist tradition explains mindfulness as a skill one develops through meditation or other training,focusing one’s attention on breathing, bodily sensations, and mental relaxation.
Simply put, it’s a mind/body process that leads to a state of self-awareness. And while it’s a seemingly basic practice, it can:
1. Reduces Your Stress Levels – Many studies prove, practicing mindfulness daily can alleviate stress in no time. It will greatly enhance your mood, making you less worried.
2. Strengthens Your Attention and Focus – meditation helps you to quiet your mind, concentrate on your present moment, so you’ll be able to perform better.
3. Improves Your Immune System – It helps in the production of “antibodies” which destroy viruses and other harmful substances that can cause chronic illnesses.
Mindfulness isn’t just amazing for your mental health but is miraculous for your physical health as well. So, your self-care ritual for today, is to take a time out, and mediate, with the aim of becoming more mindful.
And I’ve attached a link to a short, simple meditation, to get you started. If you’re interested in more, send me a PM, and I’ll gladly share some others.
https://youtu.be/WUASVHlfXeI

Affirmation: “My life is beautiful!”
Journal Prompt:
Where do I see beauty in my life? How can I create more?
Self-Care Ritual:
When we’re able to see beauty in the world around us, it becomes easier to see the beauty in ourselves. So today, your mission is to seek out the beauty in your surroundings!
Look around your life, and find the beauty that is already there.
Open the curtains, and let the light into your room.
See where the sunlight falls, and watch the beauty of the dust glittering in the air.
Seek out the beautiful things you have around your home. Photos of your loved ones. Treasures and trinkets from trips you’ve taken.
A piece of jewelry you received from your grandma.
Go for a walk outside, and take the time to notice all the sights and sounds that surround you. Even in the city, there are beautiful things, hiding in unexpected places.
Take the time to really immerse yourself in how being around these beautiful things makes you feel. Embrace the sacred magic in them, and the power they have to transport you to another time or space. Allow your mind to absorb all the emotions of seeing the beauty, and hold it there, like a secret treasure. Then, when you start to feel a bit down, you can pull it back out, and feel the warmth of it all over again.

Affirmation: “All is well in my world”
Journal Prompt:
What would my best life look like? Dream big!!
Self-Care Ritual:
When is the last time you wanted something for yourself?
Not just a coffee, or a new sweater, but something REALLY big, like a new house, or a new job.
Remember the feeling of the “you” who had those dreams?
She’s still in there, you know?
Your self-care ritual is to start a conversation with her.
Take the time to really listen to what she has to say.
Make the effort to allow yourself to be fully expressed in what you dream.
Do you want to dance?
Do you want to paint?
Do you want to write a book?
You have the power to make your world everything you dream it to be. All can be well in your world… the world you dream of living in.
How?
Dream it!
With as much depth and specificity as possible.
Be your own muse, and dream your dream!
Do the work for you!
The desire itself, is where the power lies!

Affirmation: “I am lovable.”
Journal Prompt:
Who or what makes me feel most loved?
Self-Care Ritual:
lov·​able – \ˈlə-və-bəl\
variants: or less commonly loveable
: having qualities that attract affection – the hero’s lovable sidekick— Terrence Rafferty
In an ideal world, we’re delivered into the arms of loving parents at our birth. They assume full responsibility for our survival and well-being, and tend to our every need. All their attention and affection are ours, assuring us that we have value, and deserve love. We are bonded to them, in a loving relationship, and thereby learn we’re indeed lovable.
But in the real world, things often interfere with that loving bond. As humans, we have the greatest of intentions, but life sometimes distracts us. And the distractions of those who were supposed to care for us, can cause painful family dynamics, and inconsistent attachments. If this happened in our childhood, we’re likely to doubt we’re lovable, in favor of insecurity, and carry that doubt into our adulthood.
We end up searching for love, as if we’re on a mission. And we often end up in very unhealthy relationships, filled with jealousy, strife, and possessiveness. We suffer abuse, and victimization as well, because we feel it’s better to be in a bad relationship, than to be alone. We believe that even our bad relationship, is proof that we’re worthy of, or possess the qualities that attract, love. We also believe that when someone withholds their love from us, we’re not worthy of, or even able to receive love.
We’ve forgotten that we’re all born lovable.
If a bad childhood led you to feel unloved and unworthy, it’s a lie.
You ARE lovable.
If you feel ashamed due to past failures and mistakes, it’s a lie.
You ARE lovable.
If you’ve been rejected or abandoned by someone, it’s a lie.
You ARE lovable.
Being lovable is inherent.
It can’t be earned, and it doesn’t depend on the approval of another person.
You’re forever, and for always, lovable.
This is why self-love is so important!
In the practice of self love, we learn what feels good to us, and what doesn’t, so we can determine our path forward. It doesn’t simply rise up though, it takes effort, just like any other relationship we have. Which is where the journal prompt comes in…
Who or what makes you feel most loved?
How your life feels, is more important than what it looks like. Don’t think about what love looks like to you, think about what it feels like. Feel all the emotions of your life… even the bad or sad. (If you can’t allow yourself to feel sadness, you will not be able to feel happiness.) Embrace them all fully, seeing your own value and worth in each emotional experience. Keep what makes you feel loved and full of light.
And from the attention you give to loving yourself, you’ll naturally begin to attract people who recognize your value and worth.
And you deserve that, because YOU ARE LOVABLE!

Affirmation: “I have balance within me.”
Journal Prompt:
How can I celebrate myself more?
Self-Care Ritual:
Have you ever enjoyed the thrill of watching a child take their first steps? As a momma, auntie, and gammie, I’ve seen it many times. Each occurrence is still so exciting!
You see the little kiddo, standing on their own. They’re mustering their courage. And as the adult, you know what’s around the corner for them, so you’re likely adding fuel to their energy frenzy, with cheers of encouragement.
And suddenly,
they wobble,
they teeter;
one little foot lifts,
they lean the opposite direction,
and now you’re holding your breath.
Your cheers are silent now, as you watch and wait…
That first foot goes down,
they teeter the other way,
their other foot lifts up,
and down it goes too,
and with a burst of excitement their of!
Their feet begin alternating,
apparently without effort,
and in the blink of an eye,
they’re across the floor,
having taken several steps on their own!
We cheer, and laugh, and maybe cry a little. And the child is elated, knowing they’ve elicited such a response. So now, they want to do it more, and garner that praise and adoration.
What sometimes happens though, once those first steps take place, is that we forget how special it really was.
We forget how long it took to reach the walking milestone.
We forget all the milestones that came along, on the way to walking.
There was this tiny newborn, who needed everything done for them. And then they could hold their own head up, and rolling over became the goal.
And once that was accomplished, there came the hands and knees rocking, and the commando crawling, and then hands & knees crawling.
And once those were mastered, baby could get to the table, or the sofa, and pulling up to stand was the new task. I can recall that moment vividly with my oldest child, and it still brings a catch to my throat, seeing it in my mind.
Then, once they were upright, came learning to stand alone.
And all of them had to be mastered, before those first steps could be taken.
And there are many others that come after it too, like running, and talking, and school, and the list goes on and on. And before long, we’re get caught up in all the other markers of progress.
We grow older, more bogged down in the trials and tribulations of living. And we start to get anxious about not doing it all perfectly. We get a bit hard around the edges, and start to feel like progress isn’t even begin made.
We need to step back, and remember just how much work went in to learning to walk in the first place. And how even once we were walking, we weren’t super stable at first, let alone running. That skill didn’t come for a bit longer.
We need to find a way back to where we celebrate every baby step we take, as a major milestone. Or at the very least, as the forward progress those steps truly are.
So here is your ritual for the day –
Go through your journaling, and select a few of the ways you can celebrate yourself, and make a plan to do them! Make the time to stop, smell the roses, and celebrate just how hard you’ve worked to be walking at all!!!
Love & light to you!!!
Tara