Counting My Blessings

Today, I am again running through my list of all the things I have to be thankful for.  First and foremost I am grateful for God’s love and giving me the most beautiful gift I could ever ask for – my daughter Kaitlyn Morgan!  Through the ups and downs of my life my daughter has been my rock and the reason I strive to be the best mom and person I can be.  Whenever I’m down or not feeling the best I can think of her beautiful smile and it keeps me going.   Out of all the blessings God has given me in my life, she is the best gift I could have ever ask for.

I am counting my blessings for all the love I have from my daughter, my family and my friends.  The one thing I know is I never want to take any of them for granted or forget the lessons I have learned throughout this journey.  I don’t think it’s healthy to dwell on the past, however, I do think it’s healthy to remember the lessons we’ve learned and, in reflecting, it may help us recognize wrong choices we made we don’t ever want to repeat.

I thank God I am here today to be able to say I, too, got another chance in my life to live a life full of love and joy.  So while I am counting my blessings I am making sure I don’t forget the hard work it took to get here and the hard work it will take to live a full happy life.

To those who have stood by my side through thick and thin I am forever grateful!  To my angel Kaitlyn, you are more than I could have ever dreamed or imagined my love!

Today I challenge you to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the best future you can possibly dream!

God Bless

Visit us at http://www.holdheidishand.com!

Heidi

 

Pray Not Proud

In the world we live in today it’s easy to find ourselves in a place where we want to protect and cling tightly to our family, friends and even things in our life.  Trust me, I get it! The unfortunate part about doing this is you begin to live in fear.  I understand taking the correct precautions to live a safe and healthy life.  For instance, growing up, my dad, being a State Patrolman and cop, gave me the “what for” on walking in lighted areas, not walking down dark alley ways, etc.

My dad spent eight hours teaching me how to shoot a gun properly as he was a rifle instructor for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.  This being said, I don’t walk around with a gun on my hip.  Although I do believe there is a time and place for everything.  Some people do need to carry a gun on their hip depending on the situation.  My point is this –  There are a lot of things going on in this world we can’t control.  We can lock our doors, keep our homes as safe as possible, and protect our families and friends as best we can, but for me, most importantly, I PRAY and trust in God!  I’ve seen many situations turn out good by the Grace of God only.  I, myself, family members of mine and friends have lived through things that should have taken their life.  I do believe in the power of prayer and my faith in God first and foremost.

So as I walk through this week I’ve decided to kick fear in the butt! I choose to believe in good things, have faith in people, even those that I might not agree with and pray for them.  I do dream of a perfect world with everyone getting along, hand in hand, helping one another!  Call me a dreamer, all I can do is do my part to make a difference!

Keep the Faith!
God Bless

“Oh The Places We’ll Go” — Dr. Seuss

The ups and downs of life sometimes can make us want to resort to reading children’s books like Dr Seuss.  I believe we all feel like running and hiding in a hole when life throws us curve balls.  With that being said, remember,  “All things work together for those who love the Lord” (Romans 8:28, Bible).  At the time you or I are going through these trials in our lives we may not see through our own personal perspective what the lesson may be.  Let me give you an example; One day you have to follow a detour and you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, perhaps that detour saved your life.  Although you may be frustrated at the time and want to kick a tree or worse, little do you know God just re-directed you to miss an accident.

The book I referenced in the title of my blog is worth the read!  It’s subject is the ups and downs of life!  I truly believe the things that happen to us in life that we may see as a problem, may in fact be a solution.  If you never experience pain you wouldn’t know what it feels like to feel good etc.

This is where perspective comes into play as I’ve reiterated in previous blogs.  Look at the glass half full instead of the glass half empty!  Life is truly a gift but you must see it as such.  Nobody, no matter how it may look to you, has a perfect life however, we were all created perfect in God’s eyes.  We all sin, we all make mistakes but I believe it’s what we choose to do with those things that makes us magnificent creatures and builds the canvas of who we are!  I say let’s be the difference!  Let’s be the change!  Let’s go the extra mile!  Not for our own selfish reasons but because it’s the right thing to do!

Cheers to living with positive intention even when no body is looking!  I promise you the man upstairs is paying attention!

Check us out at http://www.HoldHeidisHand.com  – five years going strong!

God Bless

Heidi

To Our Journey

I am so excited to be coming up on our five year anniversary at http://www.holdheidishand.com!  My partner and mother, Claudia MacPhee, and I have been through the ups and downs of this journey, hand in hand, for the last five years. I’m proud to say I believe we’ve kept HHH to the intentions of my original plan and kept the integrity and purpose the same as day one!

Through our trials and tribulations this has been an amazing journey and I believe in the next five years we are going to be embarking on  great opportunities! I believe we will  be collaborating with some wonderful charities and becoming an even better resource for those in need. Our goal is to be a trusted “one-stop shop” for everything from finding a good church to attend; or a charity to support; to finding a great group of people to unite with!

I am so thankful today for the partnership I have with my mom and the feedback from our readers thus far.  As I said when we decided to launch HHH, if we can help only one person get through a hard time they are going through with what we are doing then we have done our job!

I am so thankful for our dedicated readers and followers as well.  We have so many exciting things in the works so make sure to stay tuned!

First and foremost I thank GOD for bringing me through to the next chapter of my life! I have so many things to be thankful for it would take a full day to talk about them all!

Please make sure to keep your heads up and keep that positive spirit going!  I promise you, you are making a difference in just being you!

God Bless

Heidi

Let’s Keep it Real!

Do you remember a time when there were no cell phones to instantly call your friends?  A time where you had to pick a spot, name the time and show up?  Where people actually interacted with you face to face, eye to eye!  I personally miss those times so much.  When people actually showed up and were totally present.  So instead of dwelling on a technology, application driven world, I ask myself how can I help change this?

The answer is simple, be an example!  When others see you or me leaving our phones in our pockets and truly engaging in conversations, undistracted by random beeps and dings from our phones, they begin to see the excitement and light you bring to the table.  No robot or application can offer that human spirit and authenticity of just a genuine good interaction with another person!

I believe its so important for us to get back to that grass roots side of us who knows better.  One by one, hand in hand, we can make a difference!  I challenge you to start with simple steps and start putting your phones down.  Important things or not, most things can wait.  What’s more important to you, missing a chance to tell a friend or family member you love them before they head out the door or replying to a text that you have an urge to send RIGHT NOW?

I understand there are many tools and applications that can simplify things for you and I say “go for it”!  But as far as letting a cell phone, application, or an interactive tool rule your life, I personally am going to OPT OUT, no pun intented! Ha!

I’m going to choose to OPT IN to my life and valuing my relationships face to face, eye to eye, hand in hand.  One step at a time I, too, am going to work on putting the phone down, investing my energy and time into building lasting relationships that are built on keeping it real!

Cheers to getting back to the Grass Roots of where we came from!

God Bless

Heidi

Wise As A Serpent, Harmless as A Dove

I truly strive to be many things as I’ve said in previous blogs, one of which reflects the title of today’s blog.  There is a fine line of balance most of us are trying to find.  I believe there are many pieces and parts to truly being in a good healthy balance.  Mentally, physically and spiritually.  My dream would be that all three of those things are in sync.

So as I go through my life with my days getting busier and busier by the minute, it’s that good, steady, healthy balance I am finding and, more importantly, learning how to maintain.  That is my balance in sleep, social things, work, my blog, etc. Jesus told his disciples to be “as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove” – in the quest for overall wholeness in my life,  I truly want to find that balance as well.  I want to be assertive, yet kind.  Passionate, yet not abrasive.  This is where I believe trusting in your heart and following that little voice inside of us is key.  There’s a fine line, but finding your true balance in day-to-day stress;  the overall well-being of yourself, physically and mentally, while truly caring for others is the goal, but, let me warn you, it all takes work!

As I continue my journey to my best self, every step I take now, I try to make sure these things are in harmony and it is working!  For me, personally, I like to pray before making big or small decisions and I do find the answers I am looking for.  “To Thine Own Self Be True” was always one of my favorite quotes by William Shakespeare and still is. My take on Shakespeare’s famous words is making sure you are okay before giving too much of yourself to too many things.  It can be dificult to find that sweet spot, but I promise you if you take a step back, take a deep breath and give yourself a break you will be able to make better decisions, sleep better, and, in turn, be a overall healthier individual, inside and out!

Cheers to having whole lives!

God Bless

Heidi

Peace & Understanding

I’ve been asked the question on different occasions what does Hold Heidi’s Hand mean exactly?  If you haven’t taken the time to  get on my website and read why I decided to start the website nearly five years ago & you have been visiting just the blog site, I will explain.   I was at a place in my life, just getting out of a two month stay in a hospital in Virginia and I prayed about how I could possibly take where I was at in my life and somehow be able to use my experiences to help others so they didn’t have to go through such a struggle – this meant I was going to allow myself to be completly vulnerable and expose the truths in my own life about what I was going through in real time.

Needless to say, I had a picture in my mind of a group of people holding hands together, helping each other through the rocky spots, smiling and nobody was fallen down.  This is ultimately my goal with my website and for my partner and mom Claudia MacPhee – to help anyone with whatever challenges they may have facing them.  We will be those people you can reach out to and help as best we can to offer timely information and help direct you to the resources that may help you.  We are here to write inspirational words to encourage you as you go through your day and root you on!  My dream is help as many people as we can link up and, hand to hand, help one another with all different types of needs.

So the next time you are out and about I encourage you to start with a simple act of kindness to someone else and watch the shift you see in the world around you.  Even the smallest things, like opening a door for someone or letting them have the closer parking spot – little things like that.  It’s funny, everyone keeps looking for the big secret to reaching people but most people are truly just searching to be loved, appreciated and noticed.  So what’s the harm in passing along a nice little gesture.  One by one, hand in hand, we can and are making a difference.

Through my faith in God, my belief in being kind and understanding of others, no matter what they are going through, without judgement, I believe we are making a change and even if we help one person what we are doing is worth it!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs – so many more great things to come!

God Bless
Heidi

Guarding Our Hearts

In the world we live in there’s so many chances for us to become filled with fear and thus allow fear to project into our every day lives.  For me this is something I work on continuously as I really try to live in peace not in fear.  When we choose to live in fear, even without knowing we are doing it, we will, in fact, see the “seeds”, per sa, grow that are fear based and affect every area of our lives.  In turn, if we decide to kick fear in the butt and live in peace, gratitude and thanksgiving these seeds will grow!

So for me today I’m again assessing myself, my life, my attitude and looking at what I’m personally putting out into the world and how I can personally improve at, not only projecting happiness, faith and love, but also guarding my heart against feeding those who choose to live in fear.

The other thing I am choosing to work on is allowing myself to speak words of fearful things, negative things, etc.  I believe, for the most part, I’m a very positive person however I am far from perfect and I am constantly wanting to improve.  With that being said even small complaining is something I try to work on daily.  There’s an old saying you are what you eat.  This to goes for words you speak as well – good or bad.

Today I am thankful for the blessing of getting out of bed and having another day to give it a shot!  That’s all we really get anyway… until we don’t.  So while I have the chance to improve and become a better person I will give it my best!

To those going through fearful situations, as we all do, I pray for you to have courage and strength to get through whatever is headed your way!  Whoever you choose to believe in God, the universe, I know one thing is for sure – having faith in good things you can’t go wrong!  Half the battle, or more, I believe, is in the mind and how you perceive any given situation.  Some things we may see as a battle or a disaster to some may be a blessing.

This morning Karla my roomate and friend pointed out to me my little strawberry plant has three buds!  To some this may be such a silly little thing but to me it’s awesome!  I have never really planted anything since I was a little kid planting a bean in elementary.  To see something so small as a strawberry plant grown into a sweet little bite to eat is pretty darn cool.   I should have three little strawberry’s any day now.

I choose to see beauty in simple small things!  I hope no matter what you are going through in your life you will decide to see that little spark of light.

God Bless

Heidi

God Works In So Many Beautiful Ways!

Today, yet again, I am reminded of the power of faith and Gods presence in my life.  It’s amazing to me how things in my life unfold in such a way that I personally can’t deny my faith in God.  I met a beautiful couple named Joe & Kim Garza who are a wonderful couple from Las Vegas who have inspired me and given me great advice over the last few days.   Joe’s related the story of his personal hardships, losing his child and many other horrible experiences all at the same time; he told me he still remained the happy, kind person he is today because of his faith in God.   It really made me think about the difference in truly trusting in God and having real honest faith.  One of my biggest fears in life would be to lose a child and Joe told me of course he was sad but, because of his faith in God, he could remain the smiling, happy, kind person I see today throughout all of these hardships hitting him at the same time!

I believe God leads people into your life at certain moments to deliver a message, help you along the way and for many reasons.   Thing about it is, you must pay attention!  For me personally I find messages in ironic circumstances.  For instance, I’m thinking of someone and all of the sudden I come across one of their favorite items at work.  Some might say that’s just coinsidence and that’s fine, but either way you can see all things as a miracle, as Albert Einstein said, or nothing as a miracle.  I personally choose to believe in the latter!

So, no matter who you choose to have faith in – whether it’s God or you call it the universe, I see no harm in taking in the little blessings and moments that remind us of a friend, a brother, whatever it may be – to me it’s a little treat from God saying you’re on the right path keep up the good work!!  Or, hey, maybe you should give this person a call?

I promise you if you choose to look around, whatever you want to say it is, whether fate or coincidence, slow down a tad and take time to appreciate all the wonderfull little blessing around you – I promise you will, if nothing else, give yourself a moment to take in the little things.  No matter what your current circumstance there’s always something to be happy about!

God Bless!
Heidi