Category: Uncategorized

  • Running Back To Jesus

    A lot of times, when we are struggling in life, we hear things like:

    • God is close to the brokenhearted.
    • Lay your head at the feet of Jesus.
    • Cast your anxiety on Jesus because he cares about you.

    Yet, when we need God the most, we often feel so alone, broken, and far from God. 😩

    Instead of God being our resting place, we reside in brokenness, fear, and depression because we fail to go to God.😩

    Instead, we go to things that promise peace and rest but really elevate our stress. 

    📱We run to things that numb our emotions like: 

    • social media 🎥
    • sex/porn
    • shopping 🛍
    • comfort food
    • wine or weed 🍷
    • gaming, books, etc.
    • overworking & cleaning 🧼
    • gossiping, talking to others, etc.

    They give us hits of dopamine in the moment, but unresolved things will ALWAYS resurface. 

    🌑✨Que, my Grandma Hazel, “What’s done in the dark will always come to the light.” In this case, what you try to shove down will always come back times 10. 

    ✍️ Write it Out: What do you use to numb your emotions?

    A Meeting Place With Jesus

    But let me tell you something: God intentionally wired us to feel deeply and have emotions because our emotions are a meeting place with him. 

    God IS near to the brokenhearted. He is literally there waiting for us to tap him in so that he can give us revelation and victory. 💖

    Distractions feel so good at the moment but often steal our victories. 

    ✨ God intentionally wired us to feel deeply!

    👀So, what happens when we run to distractions (social media, gossip, sex, weed, wine, and other things) that numb our emotions instead of running to Jesus?

    • RULED BY UNHAPPINESS: We struggle with gratitude and feeling discontent. So, we wander the earth aimlessly. 
    • CAN’T HEAR GOD 🎧: God’s voice gets smaller and smaller until we can barely hear him, while the voices of social media and naysayers get louder.
    • MENTAL STRUGGLES: We wrestle with depression, paralyzing anxiety, and make bad decisions. 
    • HEALTH ISSUES: 😴We struggle with sleeping, fatigue, and other health issues.

    See, God wants to be the place you run to. Yet, a lot of times we struggle to hear from God because we’re not going under his wing. 

    🏃‍♀️You will not hear from God by running in the opposite direction.

    By eliminating distractions, aka the things you run to when you’re struggling, you literally create space to hear from God. 

    ✨You will not hear from God by running in the opposite direction.

    LIVING IT OUT

    Today, I would encourage you to:

    1. Think about the things you’re running to.
    2. Intentionally create boundaries so you won’t run to them. 
    3. Trust that when you’re at your weakest, God is close and ready to speak. 

    ✨ EXAMPLES:

    • I do not drink wine when I am sad, struggling emotionally, or stressed. I will not use liquor to numb my emotions.
    • I try to be aware of my mind and set boundaries around what I do when my emotions are high.
    • In high-stress weeks/months, I limit social media, TV, books, and other things I will use to numb instead of handling my business. 

    ✍️Write it Out: What do you run to instead of running to God? How are you going to intentionally run to God instead?

  • 💖 Letter To Myself: Thank You

    Hey! I hope that something in this letter speaks to your heart, ministers to your spirit, and gives you the victory you deserve. 

    Happy ten years of being obedient,  

    It all started ten years ago when you made the choice to finally call the police on Donnie. At that moment, you decided that you deserved more: more love and more protection. 

    For months leading up to the call:

    • God showed you that the love you received from your family wasn’t enough.
    • God showed you that if you stayed in that house, you would die. 
    • God showed you that there was a standard of love, and then you decided to answer the door.

    ✍️Write It Out: What has God been showing you for months?

    ✨ You didn’t make a choice in naivety. You made a choice knowing that there would be repercussions. You made a choice knowing that you would NOT be chosen. You knew your family would NOT decide to choose you, but you chose you. 

    ✍️Write It Out: What consequences are you afraid to face? 

    More than that, you chose God. You decided to listen to him, trust him, and say yes.

    You didn’t know it, but that one choice CHANGED everything. 

    ✅ Choosing God

    From there, you constantly made other choices. You decided to believe God when he promised that you would go to college, that you would graduate, and that you would be great. Not only great in standing but great in impact. 

    And baby, you did it. 🥳

    2-3 JOBS: You worked two jobs in high school and three in college, stayed obedient, and impacted many people. 

    HOMELESS TO FOOD PANTRY: You dealt with homelessness in college yet decided that you would make things better for others and started a food pantry. That food pantry is still standing and will be impacting students for years to come. Congratulations. 🎉

    THERAPY: You went to therapy and still do therapy because you decided your trauma and pain wouldn’t hold you back or go to the next generation.

    ENTREPRENEURSHIP: You trusted God enough NOT to go into corporate America, turned in your car early, and made the hard decision to trust God even when you didn’t make any money. 

    You have spent the last 10 years serving God wholeheartedly, obeying even when it was hard, and choosing to have faith in God during the hard times. 💖

    ✨When we decide to choose God, everything changes. 

    ✅ Choosing Myself

    As you enter this next season of your life, I hope you know that I am so proud of you. I am proud of your dedication, hard work, and yes. I’m proud of your heart. I’m proud of the way you conduct yourself with integrity. I’m proud of who you are today, not because of what you do, but because of who you are. 

    💐I want you to know that if no one sees you, I see you. If no one knows how hard you’ve worked, I know. If no one knows the tears you’ve cried, the giants you’ve slayed, or the mountains you’ve moved, I know. 

    💐Thank you for deciding that you would be obedient to God and leave the rest to him. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for protecting me.

    💐Thank you for creating a standard of love. Thank you for deciding to heal. Thank you for not letting your pain destroy you.

    💐More than that, thank you for deciding that you would believe God, no matter what.

    💐Thank you for trusting God and showing up when it felt impossible.

    ✍️Write It Out: What are three things you are proud of?

    ✅ Choosing to Remember 

    As you enter this new season, I hope you know that you deserve it ALL. You have paid the cost. You deserve EVERYTHING that the Lord has given you and will give you. Do not apologize for the victory, blessings, or favor in your life. Do not belittle, criticize, or mock yourself. 

    🥊You deserve it all. Do not roll over. Fight. Fight for your victory. Fight for your family, and fight for women. 

    I know that sometimes you feel that your obedience doesn’t matter, but it does. Your consistent yes to God matters. It matters to your family, friends, and community, but more than that, it matters to God. 

    Your yes to God matters!

    Things to remember:

    • You are worthy.
    • God is with you.
    • You are equipped and prepared.
    • God would never let you enter a season he hasn’t prepared you for. 

    📣 I want you to know that you can try again. I know that as a little girl, you lost some of your voice, self-esteem, and belief in yourself, but you are safe. It’s time to explore, find your voice, and bask in the protection that God has given you. 

    You do not have to perfect, put on a strong front, or be put together. God rests in your messiness and calls you forth. Be strong, be courageous, be you. You are worthy, resilient, and exactly who you are supposed to be. 

    As a child, the devil tried to take your gifts, voice, and confidence. But baby, you’re still standing. What the devil meant for evil, was a stepping stool for you to become the woman God called you to be. 

    🥳 Congratulations on believing in God, congratulations on surviving, and congratulations on this new season. 

    Welcome to a new era of using your voice and sharing your lessons! Welcome to The Daily Way!

    👀 Letter To The Reader:

    Hey girl! I know that this is a letter to myself, but I want you to know that you should be proud of yourself. 

    You may not be who you want to be yet, but you’ve had to overcome obstacles to be who you are today. Bask, in your greatness. You have survived. You are trying to be better. 

    Be proud of yourself. You deserve it. 💖

    ✍️Write It Out: What are three things you are proud of?

  • 4 Ways to Save Money Grocery Shopping

    🛒Groceries are sky-high right now, so I have put together four tips and tools I have used over the last five years.

    ✨The tools together and in isolation work well to help you be more strategic with your time, save money, and provide healthy and good food for your family.

    👀Identify Your Family Staples

    Knowing the staples your family uses will:

    1. Save you time
    2. Save you money
    3. Make sure you have a foundation to cook a good meal at any time

    💬 Staples are food items you use regularly to prepare and cook.

    For example:

    • Staples in my household include tomato paste, chicken broth, rice, black beans, brown sugar, oatmeal, turkey bacon, shrimp, minced garlic, sour cream, etc.

    Things to keep in mind:

    • Your staples list is on what your family eats regularly, not what you wish you would eat.
    • Your staples may rotate during seasons.
    • A family’s staples are personal, don’t focus on what others do.

    🧠 Choose Your Store Wisely

    It is so important that you know the typical cost of specific staple items at the different local stores you shop at so that you can get the items most cost-effectively.

    ✨Keeping a list of the typical cost of your staples will help you know where the best place to buy something is, which will save you time and money. It takes more leg work up front but saves you money on the back end. 

    ✍️ wRITE IT ouT: wHAT ARE YOUR STAPLES?

    For example, I’ve learned that:

    • Aldi has the best prices for meat in my community
    • Walmart has the best prices for dry goods
    • Kroger has the best sales for dairy, chips, butter, and ice cream

    Things to keep in mind:

    • You can stock up on specific items from one store once a month to save the time of going to multiple stores regularly.
    • You may decide that you are trading convenience for money, so only go to one store. If so, I recommend choosing the best store based on your research.

    💰Buy Food In Season

    🍓You can buy food and store it in preparation for its future use.

    ✨For example, I cut fruits and veggies my family uses regularly and then freeze them for later consumption. So, a step I will be taking in the upcoming weeks is buying, cutting, and freezing strawberries, peaches, and other produce that’s in season (and cheap) so that we can save money in the fall time.

    Side note: My family drinks smoothies every week and it is cheaper to buy fresh fruit from my local fruit market and cut it than buy frozen, so I choose to trade my time with convenience.

    🥫Buying Food Promoted During Certain Seasons

    Each season, there is typically seasonally promoted food you can buy cheaply.

    For example:

    • Right now, hotdogs are super cheap, which means it’s a great season to stock up if you/your kids eat a lot of them. 
    • In the early fall, beans, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and sauce tend to go on sale, which is when I will stock up on them. 
    • During the fall and winter holidays, butter tends to go on sale. 

    ✍️ wRITE IT ouT: Are there any items you need to grab?

    🧺 Waiting on Great Sales

    Once in a while, there is a great sale, which provides a great opportunity to stock up on items.

    For example:

    • Arm and Hammer 50 oz Laundry Detergent goes on sale to buy one, get one free at Kroger every few months.
    • At face value, it doesn’t seem like a great sale, but getting 100 oz (50 +50) for $5.99 is a STEAL because 105 oz is almost $9. But if you stock up, you can save money in the long run. 

    ✍️Plan Around Your Income

    ✨Monthly, you may not have the same amount of money to spend on groceries. Or it may be best to buy most of your groceries during certain times of the month. By strategically planning grocery shopping with the future in mind, you’re able to:

    • Stress less
    • Make wiser decisions
    • Balance the type of food you’re providing

    For example:

    • It’s easier and wiser for my family to set aside money the first week of the month but spend it the second week. 🧡
    • If we have an expense coming up next month that will dramatically impact our budget, like a ticket (😭 REAL LIFE), we may decide to spend a little bit more money on food this month because we may not be able to afford to spend a lot of money on food next month. 

    💬 Do you have any tips to save money grocery shopping? Please share them below!💖 ↓