Gratitude

God never gives you a season without a reason.

What season of life are you in right now?

Sometimes raising children isn’t easy (at least for me anyway). We try and try and never seem to measure up to what we think we should be as a parent. Comparing, relating, trying, failing, succeeding. Or maybe you are rocking it and feeling beyond confident that your kids are and will be the best. 

 Or maybe our marriage doesn’t quite look like we thought it would when we dreamt of it long ago. Or maybe it is the life you have worked so hard at and are sharing it with your best friend by your side. 

Or maybe we don’t see our life measuring up to what we had hoped it should be.  Or we are accomplishing our dreams and aspirations and yearning for much much morez 

Or maybe our friendships and relationships aren’t as strong a deeply connected as we want.  Or possibly they are just as perfect as you had hoped and you have the best of friends that you share life with. 

Whatever the case is for you on your life journey, it is so important to find Grace in the moments we have and share with others. It may not be perfect or look the way we dreamed, but it’s what our life is made of.

Parenting isn’t easy and every new day presents challenges that we must face and overcome. It also has so many joys that we also need to slow down and breath in before its too late. When your first kid is on the way EVERYONE tells you- time goes by so fast enjoy it. And to be honest you kind of roll your eyes at it... until one day you wake up and see your 5 year old dressed and ready for school and think (silently and in awe) all those people were right.

Marriage takes work EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. God didn’t intend for married life to be easy and happy and no work at all. He gave us every tool possible to search for Him and develop our marital bond into the strongest relationship we can possibly have with someone because of His love. Find a way to make your high seasons higher and your low seasons less frequent. Take the time to say I love you. Take the time to share, truly share, your life with your spouse— not just the every day hustle stuff. Remember every day why you chose them to spend forever with. 

Make your life goals a priority. So many moms (myself included) have gotten lost in being a mom or a wife or student or whatever title you have and we don’t know how to move forward into what our heart desires. This is sad for us! Take time in every day to discover who you are, what you enjoy, and what you desire from life. It WILL make you more patient, loving, caring, and present when younallow yourself a mental break from the grime and feed your soul. 

friendships.. oh y’all do i struggle with this one. It’s sad truthfully. We all of course live life and we are “busy”... but won’t we always be busy unless we MAKE the time for them? Isn’t it important to carve out time for ourselves, spouses, children, & our friends? These are the people we look to for guidance, comfort, laughter, and so much more. As I get older and I discover more about myself, I know just how much having a true friend that you can always call on means. Seek out friendships that challenge you to grow, be the best version of yourself, and are willing to catch you when you stumble (ya know, cuz you had too much wine!)

If we stop comparing our life to others or to a fairy tale, I am certain, we would all find our life is amazing and fulfilling in the ways that make our heart happy. Some of us love the beach, while others the mountains, and still others somewhere in between. 

Be grateful for every moment.

Give thanks to the good

Enjoy the little moments

Think of all the people you are grateful for, have you thanked them? Do they know how much they impact your life? What’s stopping you from telling them right now?

Oolala Oils

There is a great group of women who have come into my life. Some more recently than others, but each still hold an important place in my heart. Over the last two years, we have grown closer and developed a future path. Some of us are bloggers, some of us are philanthropists, some work a full-time job, but all of us are passionate about essential oils as an alternative to modern medicine for our wellness. Our mission is simple:

We believe in the transformative power of an intentionally balanced life. 

We value a conscious creation of freedom that builds space in our lives for the things that matter most in our hearts. 

We imagine a world in which people empower one another to discover their purpose and passionately pursue it. 

We commit our talents and resources to creating balance, freedom, and purpose in the greater world around us.

We are Oolala Oils and you can visit us at www.oolalaoils.com.  

Our Young Living team is a special group of women and men who seek to empower each other to live better, more complete lives. If you aren't a part of our team and you want to be, just follow this link or fill in the Contact Me info and I will get back with you on more information on how to join us on this incredible journey.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi

Building a better me

Anyone ever get the urge to do more with their life? To be somewhere better than where you currently are?

Well, I did! The combination of some big things happening (cannot discuss in detail now, but more to come on that later), an executive leadership course (one of the final courses in my Adult studies program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University), and a desire from within to use my degree and knowledge to really make a difference in my life and my daughters life.

So.. now I had this urge and some things that could potentially be of use to me in my life, but it wasn't/isn't so simple. I need to have a plan and a purpose and a WHY for whatever path I choose to take. That is where the leadership course and a book written by Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl, Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World comes into play. It is a great quick read and with a little effort ( okay a lot of effort on my part) I can make changes every day to a greater good, a more balanced life, a dream world so to speak. The leadership course made me realize the things that interest me in life are far from my grasp and the book has lead me to a belief that with the right path and discipline I can achieve my goals.

Digging a little deeper: a little over two years ago, I lost my best friend, my love, my partner, my daughter's father, and my fiancé. I had always believed we should live each day to the fullest, but that became a more prominent task after realizing this life can be cut short when God says it's time. This event has sparked a desire to live a balanced and healthy life. Over the last two years I have grieved and mourned and had to be strong for our daughter. Was it easy? Absolutely not. But finding a way to balance the way I was feeling with the needs of my daughters seemed to push me to continue every day.

So over the last month I have been reading the Oola book and want to continue to balance my life out. They suggest seven keys areas of life are worth balancing in order to stay healthy and happy. The areas are Fitness, Finances, Family, Field, Faith, Friends, & Fun. Towards the end of the book they give a three step method for living a more Oola life (this can also be found at www.oolalife.com ) .

Step 1: Fill out an Oola Wheel. The areas I need to focus on the most are Field, Finances, Fitness, Faith, and Fun. I am not sure what their basis for areas needing improvement, but for me it was anything with an average less than 7 out of 10.

Step 2: Develop a plan to change the key areas where you are wanting to make changes. start with small goals and work up to a bigger goal so that daily we are improving and making progress to a better me.

Step 3: Follow a path- make a conscious choice and write it down for a path that I will take to obtain my goals and alter it with any changes that need to be made along the way.

Just wait for it-- give me a year and I will be a much more balanced and developed version of me.