Becoming a Better me - Day 27

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Depression as define by Webster dictionary is "a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness and sometimes suicidal tendencies". What many don't know about depression is that it's often hidden, not discussed and masked behind a smile. Depression is common and definitely something no one should be ashamed of. Many times depression is brought on by stress, the need to be perfect, after childbirth, after the death of a love one and sometimes depression has no cause behind it at all.

Today is Day 27 for the #BecomingaBettermechallenge and I thank God for where he is taking me in life. My workout today with primary focus on my core included 25 Push-ups, 80 Squats using a resistant tube, 30 second Flutter Kicks, 20 Standing Bicycle Crunches, 40 seconds of Mountain Climbers, 20 Side Leg Raises left side, 20 Side Leg Raises right side, 20 Bicycle Crunches, 20 Clapping Crunches, 30 second Abdominal Stretch and 25 Sit Ups. My prayer has been done for today and the scripture I read was Psalms Chapter 46 NIV.

 As you work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme I pray that we all try our best to be the light in this world full of darkness and be true reflections of what God's love looks like. You never know how your positivity and beautiful spirit can help someone so #keepgoing #dontgiveup #yougotthis God bless #jointhemovement!

National Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK
Postpartum Depression: 1-800-PPD-MOMS
Depression Hotline Support Group: 1-800-826-3632

Becoming a Better me - Day 26

Real Love

Real Love

"Real love keeps your heart smiling!"

Nothing makes the heart smile the way that real love does. Love real love, is more than just a feeling but the essence of who you are. To say the words "I love you" means that outside of yourself you have decided to remove the lock placed on your heart to allow another person inside. Love real love brings out the best in you.

Today is Day 26 of the #BecomingaBettermechallenge and I feel bless and highly favored! My workout today while wearing my waist trainer consisted of a quick stretch, 25 Push-ups, 70 Squats, 2 minute Russian twist, 1 minute Leg Flutters, 25 Bent Leg Twist, 25 Cross Arm Crunches, 25 Bicycle Crunches, 30 second Plank, 30 second Abdominal Stretch, 25 Trunk Rotations, 35 Reverse Crunches and 25 Standing Bicycle Crunches. (Please consult with your Doctor before doing any exercise!) My prayer today was done and I was also able to enjoy praise and worship at Grace Christian Church. My scripture reading for today will be Job Chapter 20 NIV.

As you work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme I pray that we all learn to decipher what real love details and never settle because you deserve the best kind of love in relationships and nothing less. Keep in mind that as long you keep God in the center "real love" will always prosper! #jointhemovement #keepgoing #yougotthis #dontgiveup

Becoming a Better me - Day 25

Cycles are said to be "a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order". Are there cycles in your family history that you aim to break? Do you find yourself consistently back in the same type of relationships you work hard to avoid? Do you see yourself repeating past behaviors not understanding fully how you ended up back at step 1? Often in life people as a whole fight hard to do the opposite of what those before have done, especially if our experiences of them were not all good. We tell ourselves after we face turmoil, that we will never again do what we got ourselves in trouble doing. When we make mistakes we vow to never repeat those mistakes. When we have worked in a particular field that we didn't necessarily like we vow to never do that kind of job again. When we've dated particular types of individuals who were blankly not good for us, we vow to never put ourselves in those types of relationships again yet in still we end up back in those same similar relationships.

Today is Day 25 and I feel bless and energize! My workout today took place in the comfort of my own home (please consult with your Doctor before doing any exercises). Today's workout included a quick stretch, Trunk Rotations 20 reps, Standing Bicycle Crunches 15 reps, Reverse Crunches 15 reps, Cross Arm Crunches 20 reps, Bent Leg Twist 18 reps, Clapping Crunches 18 reps, 30 sec Plank, 30 sec Abdominal Stretch, 40 Arm Curls using two 10lbs dumbbells and 70 Squats using two 10lbs dumbbells. My prayer for today has been done and the scripture I have read is Matthews Chapter 12 NIV. Today I encourage you all to re-visit wounds on the inside that are still causing you pain and seek healing. Just as the Jonathan Mcreynolds song Cycles says "the devil he learns from your mistakes, even if you don't, that's how he keeps you in cycles." Check it out here! https://youtu.be/qlTw3Uz4_4Y Therefore, let us resolve hidden issues from within and aim to end those cycles as you work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme #jointhemovement #keepgoing #dontgiveup #yougotthis

Becoming a Better me - Day 24

A guilty heart leads to a guilty conscious which can lead to a guilty spirit. A guilty heart can feel like a stabbing pain that won't go away. It can also feel like you are suffocating and can't breathe to save your life. 

Image by www.wellspringworship.org

Today is Day 24 of the #BecomingaBettermechallenge and my workout today left me feeling beyond good! My whole body was the target today and LA Fitness was my bestfriend today. (Before doing any exercise please consult with your Doctor!) My workout today accompanied with my waist trainer included 15 minutes on the Elliptical, 40 Abdominal Oblique Crunches, 45 Hack/Squats with added weights of 25lbs on the Body Solid machine, 20 Push-ups, 2 minutes of Russian Twists and 40 Side Sit ups using the Hyperextension machine. I'm also still not eating bread or pasta and will continue to delete them both until the remainder of this challenge. My prayer has been completed for today and my scripture reading for today is Proverbs Chapter 21. If you or anyone you know is filled with guilt about something, I encourage you to cleanse your spirit by repenting first and asking God to help you and show you the way. Believe it or not but God is our only stronghold and just as he has the power to heal the body, he can also change your thoughts as well as your heart for the better. So as you work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme I pray that we all will learn to sin less and pray more! #jointhemovement #yougotthis #keepgoing #dontgiveup

Becoming a Better me - Day 23

Victory is within the eyes of the beholder and the one who decides that they will fight until they can't fight anymore. Are you victorious? Do you look at the things in life deemed to defeat you and say "I got this"? Life brings us many obstacles but the way we deal with them says a lot about how strong our faith is. We all know how to praise God when great things are happening but do we praise God doing the bad times as well? You or someone you know may be dealing with a sickness, rather it be mentally or physically. Right now there may be nothing else that can be done, at-least in your eyes. At this very moment you may have decided to throw in the towel and accept what is and not fight it anymore. You're battling with your toughest opponent and all you want is to be victorious...

Today is Day 23 of the #BecomingaBettermechallenge and my workout was short today. I did 15 minutes of Cycling with my RPM above 95, 60 Squats using two 10lbs dumbbells and 20 Push-ups. (Remember to consult with a Doctor before doing any exercises.) I've also took away bread and pasta to help push things further along and I'm still wearing my waist trainer during each workout. My prayer has been done for today but remember there is no limit for the amount of time you spend with God, the more the better. The scripture I will be reading today is 2 Corinthians Chapter 10 KJV/NIV. I pray that if you are in a battle right now internally or physically that you will continue to pray and fight a little longer. No one knows what the outcome will be but for everything there is a purpose. As you continue to work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme know that God will always be right beside you, helping you to stay lifted. Even when you think God is not near, trust that he always is. So I encouraged you to get others to #jointhemovement and for you to #keepgoing #dontgiveup because #yougotthis

Becoming a Better me - Day 22

The good, the bad and the ugly in being honest is that the heart is always involve. Honesty as described by Wikipedia "refers to a facet of moral character and connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc." Being honest is the one thing that many people struggle with. I feel that it is a struggle because no one wants to intentionally hurt someone. It's also a struggle because many of us care a lot about how we are viewed in another person's eyes. Many of us are afraid of the outcomes when it comes to being honest. 

"The worst part about being lied to is knowing you weren't worth the truth."

-Quote by Unknown Source

The irony of it all is that everyone deserves honesty yet it is rarely ever given. Proverbs 12:17 says, an honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies. So why is it so easy to lie, especially when it comes to the people we claim to love? Yes, being honest can hurt in more ways than some but isn't the saying still true that...(to be continued)

Today is Day 22 of the #BecomingaBettermechallenge and I repeated most of yesterday's workout with a few additions. My workout today consisted of a quick stretch, 50 Jumping Jacks, 60 Squats using two 10lbs dumbbells, 30 Push-ups, 3 minute Russian Twists with elevated feet, 1 minute Plank, 1 minute Leg Flutters, 1 minute Scissors, 50 Crunches, 50 Reverse Crunches, 30 Arm Curls and 40 R/L Leg Lifts. My prayer for today has been completed and the scripture I will be reading today is Proverbs Chapter 12 NIV. We have all fallen short when it comes to honesty because even the "white lies" as we call them are lies. Or even if we chose to say nothing at all in relations to situations that would call for us to be honest, we are still choosing to with-hold the truth and that is still lying. As you work on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme, I pray that we will all developed the strength of honesty because the truth will always set us free from anything holding us bondage such as guilt, shame, hurt and more. #keepgoing #yougotthis #dontgiveup and please continue to spread the word and get others to #jointhemovement God bless!

Becoming a Better me - Day 21

"Kindness" as defined by Pastor Richard Patterson III is "hearing and then doing what pleases others"(Chapter 1 pg. 2 of "This is the Kindness"). With that being said, to be kind is to simply be selfless. In most cases, one must be willing to set aside their own personal gains and be willing to do what is best for another, even if it doesn't necessarily benefit them. For example, if there is someone in your life that is not necessarily the best person to you, in fact they may be plain out mean, "Kindness" is saying that despite of how you are treated by that person, you will choose to be nice anyway. "Kindness isn't about lowering your standards, it's about being thoughtful enough to look outside yourself and create a new standard, perception and position of kindness."(Chapter 2, pg. 7 of "This is the Kindness")

Becoming a Better me - Day 20

Death is inevitable, for we all know that someday we will leave this Earth. However, death is something we are never prepared for. Losing a love one can be devastating as well as heartbreaking. We never want to imagine life without someone dear to us. We never want to imagine leaving those that we love behind. Often times death occurs unexpectedly but even when it is expected, the anguish of death is still the same.

Today I did a quick stretch, 5 minutes on the Stair Master, 10 minutes on the Treadmill, 60 squats using two 10lbs dumbbells, three sets of 15 on the squat/hack Body Solid machine with an added 20lbs, two sets of 15 on the Lat Pulldown machine with the pop pin on 75lbs and I ended with 45 on the Shoulder Press machine with the pop pin on 65lbs. My prayer for today has been done and the scripture I will be reading is Revelation Chapter 22 NIV.

My hope for us all is that we seek and know God for ourselves. I pray that anyone reading this who is not saved will turn their lives over to God and allow God to renew you. God is not looking for us to be perfect before giving our lives to him, God wants us just the way we are. We are all flawed, we all make mistakes, we all sin but if you allow God to be your personal savior, then you will forever have peace in knowing that when your time is up, heaven will be awaiting you. As you continue working on #BecomingaBetteryou and I work on #BecomingaBetterme lets us continue to spread Gods truth and create more disciples. #yougotthis #keepgoing #dontgiveup