Peppermint Tea

While sipping on some peppermint tea in hopes of fighting off the sore throat I woke up with, I am reminded of the simple things in life. As cliche as it sounds each day is a gift and while most of us are busy 95% of the time we are awake, we are truly blessed to be living the lives we live. Second, tea is extremely comforting. Not only for my sore throat but for my soul. I drink peppermint tea because of my sister. She is a huge advocate of peppermint tea and I am now learning why. There is something calming about the cool refreshing mint taste delivered in a steaming warm beverage.

I have to be honest and say that I have not lived up to the expectations I set out for myself in this journey. I am not discouraged because I know that in these moments of struggling I am learning more about myself and who I want to be.  I have come to the realization that I have heard from my mom for years: I am really hard on myself. Regardless of what I am doing I like to be doing things to the best of my ability and I get upset when I fall short. This reminds me that I am human. I will not have enough time to have coffee with every friend or finished every project at work in one day. Part of being able to do things to the best of my ability is by saying no. This is hard for someone like me who likes to make everybody happy. By saying no I am allowing myself to be more invested in the things I do say yes to. I am able to be more present in the time I spend with others. I often catch myself saying "Sorry I missed your call" or sending a text back to a friend "Hey I was away from my phone when you texted me" when did apologizing for not being available 24/7 become instinctual? I want to challenge myself to become unplugged from the craze of social media and technology.

One verse that was repeated in the sermon this weekend was Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."I am saying yes to this. People often say if you want to know what a person cares about look at their calendar and wallet. The expression is used to imply that people are "who and what they invest their time and money in."  I want to be invested in God. By choosing this I am choosing to say no to the customs of this world (Romans 12:2) don't worry I am not going to run off and join a third world refugee project. I believe that God has called me to be where I am. This does mean that I am going to make choices that may look different than those of my past and I am asking those in my life to support me in this uncertain time. I am scared of the crticisim a choice like this can cause. I am more scared of what my life would look like if I don't make this choice.

Nov 1st

If you know me well you know that today is much more than the first of the month... today is the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year!

I believe it is no coincidence that today is the first day of the AIM Commitment. Today as I was reading about others doing the challenge starting to achieve their goals I was fired up to chase after mine. I have to be honest and say there was not enough time to do everything but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. Today I was able to read in the New Testament (spirit) and squeeze in a 45 minute workout at the end of my day (body). I plan to dedicate some time over the weekend to my first mind goal- passing my LEED GA exam.

Today was also the first day of RED Starbuck cups. Now if this doesn't excite you I'm not sure what would! I went out of my way to grab a drink before a small group tonight and it brought just as much joy as I remembered! While sipping on my Vanilla Steamer I realized that the happiness I was experiencing should not be limited to a sales gimmick at a coffee shop. I have decided to have a mini-challenge within the greater AIM Challenge.

For the next 30 days I will refuse to be unhappy. I know what you're thinking, sure I'll be happy until the first early morning arrives or snide comment gets thrown my way. Nope not this girl! For the next 30 days I will live in the joy that we are given everyday by being alive. I am not saying my life is going to be filled with bliss over the next 30 days but I will refuse to get down. I will however keep a list of everything that would normal alter my mood. At the end of 30 days I will reflect over my list and if I feel I still need to get upset over the item then I will deal with it then. My guess is by the end of 30 days I won't remember the items from the first 15 days and the last 15 days won't matter. I believe being happy is a choice we all can make. Who wouldn't want to be happy?