Time for Spring Heart Cleaning

It's customary to do spring cleaning in your home. How would your life change if you also did some inner spring cleaning?

Do you have anyone you need to forgive? Who has hurt you in the past? What baggage do you want to drop in order to have more fun? See this person with a smile on their face. Say a silent prayer for both of you. Remember forgiveness is for you not the other person. They might not even know you are carrying a grudge.

Who do you need to get in touch with? A quick hello and how are you is all it takes to reconnect with a friend you've neglected. Buy a few post cards and snail mail them. It takes time and effort that won't go unnoticed.

In what ways do you withhold love from yourself? You may punish yourself by overeating, shopping for things you don't need or too much television. Set aside a couple of hours every week for pampering. Get a manicure or masage. Buy yourself some flowers or take a walk outdoors. You are deserving of the best care. You're responsible for giving it to yourself.

Look for Love Today

Being bombarded with bad news about the war, the economy and our seemingly lack of values by the media can leave one feeling hopeless and discouraged. Therefore I encourage everyone to keep their eyes open for signs of love in the world.

Every day people like you and me do and see loving things. It just never makes the news! So look for love in the world today. Notice when you see someone doing good. It can be as small as someone holding the door open for you or as big as someone helping a neighbor put a roof on their home.

We get what we look for so look for love. Look for love in a smile, look for love in the grocery store, look for love in crowded places and look for love in family faces.
It is there and it's about time we take notice and talk about it. It will help balance the negativity in the world! So look for love in the world today!

Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy!

Have you given anyone the power to upset you today? Who pushes your buttons? Who are you with when you want the last word? Are you brave enough to walk away from conflict? Do you rerun a conversation over and over in your head defending yourself?

If you allow others to control your emotions you also allow them to take your joy.
If you decide to be happy you are also joyous. My mother used to call me a "kill joy" when I wanted to rain on someone else's parade.

I bought a joy journal a couple of months ago. I fill it with joyful memories. My joy is priceless. I won't let anyone kill it or steal it.

Common ways allow to others steal our joy:
Bad moods
Accusations
Gossip
Control
Jealousy
Withholding love
Lack of follow through.
Carless driving
The price of gas
Being Demanding

The next time you find yourself reacting to someone or something negative don't allow them to take your joy. Be strong. Stay happy. Life is to short for anything else.

Fearless Living: Let Your Soul Soar

It's more tempting than ever to fall into fear these days. In fact you need to be vigilant with your thoughts, recognizing when they are fearful and stop them immediately.
One step you can take is identify your current fears. List them one through ten. Then write down the worst thing that could happen if the fear came true.
Let's say you fear you may lose your job. The worst thing that could happen is things may be a little tight financially until you found another job.

You could reverse the fear and tell yourself, "If I lost my job I would be free to begin again in something completely new."

Other steps that help with fearless living:

When you are afraid stop, reflect, and get quiet with a journal. Breathe. Write down some solutions, answers and affirmations.

Pray and re-center yourself as needed.

Ask others for support. Make a list of people who are on your side. Put your list where you can see it regularly. Know these people wouldn't let you down if you really needed them.
Remember God is at work in the middle of your difficulties.

Continue to take positive action. Take care of yourself and nurture youself.