Love You, so you can Love Others Properly

Something I believe we all tend to forget, but shouldn't is this:

You must first love yourself, to truly love someone else. 

The whole "Love God with all your heart and love people as yourself" thing doesn't work if you can't love people. 

If God loves you, which he does or he wouldn't have sent his son, You should Love You too. Even with your obvious (and not so obvious to others) flaws. 

Then, whenever you've accepted yourself for who and whatever you are, you will have the capacity to love one another "as yourself" 

#truth #godthoughts #loveyourselfbecausehefirstlovedyou

Southern Belle in a Redneck world...

What an image! She's so graceful in the midst of a bunch of modern Cowboys. 

True story:

I laughed out loud one day when a friend told me she referred to and thought of herself as a "redneck woman." She was tall, curvaceous yet thin, dressed classy and always looke immaculate. Not the image I envision as a "redneck woman."

Truly, I hope to see more women decide to be like her... So full of grace and poise. A Modern Southern Belle if there ever was one. 

Good manners, smart dress rolled up with unfailing kindness and generosity: Southern Women got it down. 

-love you CW! You'll always be the most beautiful woman in the room!  

Nurturing with Nature

True story: 

Recently I was out with my kiddos and (per usual) the little one knocked over her cup of Cheerios just to watch them scatter. This is a common occurrence with tiny humans, so I calmly began picking them up to return them to the container, with the assistance of the kind woman seated next to me. She mentioned retrieving some fresh cereal from the other room and I felt compelled to be honest, "Don't trouble yourself! She eats worse than this off of our floor at home!" Truth.

This morning I find myself sipping coffee while the boy runs rampant within the confines of the chain link, and baby girl discovers the texture of fallen leaves and twigs. Both playing outside; sweating in this Texas heat, and listening to the birds sing. 

I've encountered some who balk at my naturalistic parenting methods, yet in my opinion the benefits far outweigh the risks. Yes, my children will have encountered more germs, allergens, etc than their age equivalent peers, but they've also been incredibly healthy through it all. 

Seeing as how the majority of other littles I come across are perpetually ill in one way or another, I figure I'm doing alright by mine. 

Fact of the matter is: it takes all sorts to make the world an interesting place, so if you'd rather sterilize your baby's pacifier than suck it clean of debris, feel free. That's your prerogative. 

Much love, 

A Hippie Chick Momma

"Beginning a new chapter"

... A great phrase to use whenever there is a large shift in your circumstances that inspires hope for the future, but how do you do it? How do you make a change to the Story of Your Life? 

Do something. 

Not everything at once. 

Just. One. Thing. 

Something that actively shifts you closer to your "end game goal." 

I've heard it said, "There is only way to eat an elephant; one bite at a time."

Truly, the change you make doesn't even have to be something you will Continue to do forever; just something simple and small. 

It could be intentionally rinsing your dish whenever you've finished eating; a simple way to make the dishwashing process less time consuming. 

Perhaps it is more difficult, like putting your phone down for an hour to go visit someone in person, rather than on social media; offering the physical contact to yourself and others so necessary to a healthy psyche. 

I can feel something in the wind. I'm making different (hopefully better) decisions and seeing more Positive Results. 

I pray you can too, if need be. 

#physicalfriendships #lifegoals

When The Boogie Man Attacks

We give the devil all this credit for being such a badass when he's already been defeated in God's dimension....

We give place to false beliefs of ourselves and others in response to his cunning ways. 

Sneaky snake!

Dead snake!

My heavenly big brother already stomped that head!

Testimony of the Goodness of God today:

My car wouldn't start. 

Sounds bad right? Turns out, it was a blessing in disguise. One of those strange things what ends up being a good thing even though it seems like it super duper sucks at the time... Yeah, one of those. 

I was pissed. The madder I got the worse the situation seemed... Worked myself up and was all sorts of angry over something I literally could do absolutely nothing about right at that moment. It's a Sunday & my tire shop isn't open... 

As my patient husband proceeded to diagnose and attempt to rectify the problem, I unclipped the baby and headed into the house, but before my feet crossed the threshold I felt a calm. 

Peace. 

I immediately recognized what my pastor is always going on about, that we're so oblivious to, as humans... The power of my emotions and the need to redirect my thinking. 

Whenever I CHANGED MY MIND. When I decided to be THANKFUL instead. That's when things changed. That's the moment the enemy lost his grip on my mind and I began to recover from my tantrum. 

I chose to be thankful my husband could do what he could, so I could take care of the baby. 

I later realized I have more to be grateful for... We have the money to purchase the replacement battery. Not all of my friends could say that if theirs went out...

More good:

My mom, a friend and our kiddos all plan to meet for the day at a water park, something we're all looking forward to, including the kiddos. That was why I was initially so upset. I hate letting people down, and especially my kiddos. 

THANKFULLY the car malfunctioned in my driveway, rather than in the big city, in 100* Texas heat, with my two little ones...