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

Living With Positive Intention

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I want to talk about the affects living a positive life have on our mental and physical bodies.  I recently watched a documentary I highly recommend on netflix called “Heal”.  I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will tell you what I got out of it.   The power of the brain and positive influences through thought and emotion are absolutely incredible.  The power our brains have to heal our bodies without medication, without surgery, merely by your thoughts alone is absolutely unbelievable!  Which leads me to the point about positivity I reiterate on a daily basis.

If we can heal ourselves from disease, etc. imagine how your choices on a daily basis to focus on positive things can change your overall well being.  I, myself, am constantly working on being the best I can be spiritually, mentally and physically.  So for me this was just another reminder of why I shouldn’t sweat the small stuff and really live with positive intentions.  This, just like everything else in our lives, is merely a choice.  So, for instance, when something unpleasant happens in our lives, we have two choices;  Dwell on it, spread it to others and really focus on it and watch the unpleasantness grow into giving you more unpleasant things.  On the contrary, if you decide to let it go, decide to start your gratitude list of things to think on that you’re grateful for – from the small things to big things – (I’m thankful I have two legs to walk on, I’m thankful for my eyes to see, etc.,  you and I can truly change the outcome of our daily lives just by learning how to control our minds and thinking habits!  I am totally into the scientic facts that back up my beliefs.   When I see people who can literally heal themselves of cancer by meditation, positive thinking, etc., it reafirms my belief in living a positive healthy life.

So my personal goals are even more focused now to not allow others negativity or bad attitudes affect my emotions.  One bad emotion can begin to polute your entire body.   On the other hand one good emotion can release things like endorphens and happy chemicals into your body.

I truly believe that we our the masters of our own destinys and we can decide to live lives full of joy and happiness by choosing what we focus on and choosing our thoughts carefully.  The mind is so powerful and for me personally I believe focusing on, not only positive things, but prayer and my belief in God are top priority.

I encourage you to do the research and truly understand the power you have to make your life a beautiful happy place to live.

God Bless

Heidi

Love, Loss, Miracles & Life

A month has passed and, with the time I took away from blogging, there has been both miracles of life; my nephew, Solomon, came into this world, and loss; my Papa Jay passed away.  It reminds me of the circle of life which is so beautiful at times, and also very painful.  With one life entering this world and one life leaving this world it’s hard to not think of how precious and delicate life really is.  It’s so important to make sure we live each day knowing there may not be a tomorrow.  So I’ve spent the last month reflecting on life, love, loss and Gods grace.  I have also made some great memories with my beautiful angel Kaitlyn and I cherish our time together so very much.

As I’m growing as a person and life is going on I truly am so thankful for the grace that God has given me and the ability to continue my life in the direction I’m going. I enjoy living a life filled with positive healthy choices and something to be proud of.  I honestly believe what you put out into the world is what you will get back.  Living with intention to do good things, be a good person, make right decisions is such a beautiful thing.  To wake up each day and know that you did the best you could to be all of those things really feels good.

So, as the month is almost over I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.  I’m feeling good about life and excited to see all the miracles God has in store.  I’m believing all the things we have set out to do to help others with http://www.holdheidihand.com is going to continue to grow and surpass our dreams.  For me personally, my life is so much more fullfilled when I know I can help others in need and be a light for someone else when they need it.

Yes, the circle of life is sometimes hard to take in, but as lives come and go one thing is for sure – life truly is a gift.  Without pain you wouldn’t feel joy, without loss you wouldn’t have life.  The more smiles you put out there the more happiness you will bring to others and in turn happiness inside yourself.  Cherish the days you wake up and are able to get out of bed and see the beautiful sky God created for us to see.   Don’t let the little things get you down – life is far too short to be filled with negativity over things you can’t control anyway!

Try to look at the good side of things and not the bad.  We all  have trials in our lives and we all have loss in our lives but when you start living in positivity you will realize there are miracles around you each and every day.    Life is so much better when you fill yourself up with good thoughts and focus on good things.  I know things happen in life that try to get you down but they don’t have to take control over you or how you live your life.  Let those things go and realize there’s so much more to be thankful for than to be upset about.  The fact that you get another day to wake up and start again is a miracle in itself!
God Bless

Heidi

This beautiful thing called life!

Today I’m realizing, yet again, that we truly decide our happiness.  There is always going to be that person that tries to mess up our peace of mind.  The one thing I have to remind myself of is that I have the control of how I’m going to react to whatever situation presents itself.  As long as I know I’m doing everything in my power to do things right, live a good healthy life with integrity, make good decisions, etc., I know as it says in the bible, “Having done all I stand”.  Once you have done everything possible to rectify the situation whatever it may be, we must give it to God and let him handle it.  Yes, I know – trust me – that that is one of the most difficult things to do.  However, I also know from past experiences it seems to somehow work out in the end.

When it comes to things that are truly the most important things in your life, sometimes  it’s very hard to trust that God’s got it.  I have to work on this today and know that, no matter what, I’ve done all I can do.  I have to believe that everything will work out in Gods time – not mine.  We don’t always understand the entirety of all situations because there is always another perspective.   So today I’m thanking God for where my life is, believing for the best things to continue to come into my life and situations of the day to work themselves out!

I am thankful for my beautiful daughter and my family and friends.  I’m grateful for this beautiful thing called life and the happiness I’ve recently found.

God Bless

Heidi

Feeling Good

I’ve decided that feeling good in your life really is a choice!  When we wake up we have the opportunity to choose to look at the bright side of life instead of the bad.  I personally make it a point when I open my eyes to begin to recite in my mind and sometimes out loud, all the reasons I have to be grateful.  The moment my mind starts trying to feel bad or guilty or travel into a bad place, I immediatly say no way!  I’m safe, I have a roof over my head, my family loves me etc.

The beautiful thing about life is, it’s ever changing.  We can’t see all the great things to come and how in one moment things can be totally different.  A few months ago I was praying to find a job that I liked and what happened next was pretty cool – my mom says to me, “you watch you will have a job in one day.”  Well, she was exactly right, I put it out there, got a call and got hired on the spot!  That’s my point, we truly have to trust that God is working on our behalf to give us everything we are praying for.  It takes us deciding to trust in him and walk it out.

I’m not saying everything in your life is always going to be perfect.  What I am saying is that it really does come down to perspective.  When you finally decide to look at all the things you have to be happy and thankful about, it fills those gaps of unhappiness.  Sure, we all have things that could be different, better etc.  Sometimes it’s those times we have to wait or we have trials that make the moments things do work out so much sweeter!

Today I am so grateful to be in Colorado, to have an amazing family who loves and believes in me.  To have a beautiful healthy daughter that loves to paint and do fun healthy things.  I’m grateful for what’s to come because I believe in my heart God knows exactly what I need to have a full beautiful life.

I would challenge you to turn your focus today, and the days to come, on all the things you have to be thankful for.  Its amazing how shifting your mindset from dwelling on the bad things to gratitude for all the small things really does make you feel happy! Happiness is a choice and it’s possible for everyone.  There was a time I couldn’t tell you what it felt like to be happy.  I was so consumed in what wasn’t going right and what I didn’t have, that I couldn’t see past it.  Now, like I said, from the moment I open my eyes I make it a conscience effort to start my gratitude list until I feel happy and blessed.

Cheers to happy healthy lives for all!
God Bless

Heidi

Surrender to Happiness

There’s that feeling we get when we reach our goals and achieve the things we’ve set out to achieve and, for a moment, we get so happy and excited.  The thing is though, when you’ve been struggling for so long to reach your goals (and have had a heck of a time getting there) it’s almost like you don’t know what to do when things finally are ok.  For me personally, I have decided that I absolutely must surrender to the idea of being happy and decide it’s ok just being ok.  What I mean by that is understanding that it’s ok not to always have a struggle or an obstacle to fight through.  Truly, sometimes we get so used to having to fight so hard we almost don’t know what to do when we finally find that happiness we were seaching for.

Hence, the title of todays blog; it’s time to surrender – all the time we spend trying to look a certain way or be a certain way, there comes a time when you finally just need to look in the mirror and decide “I’m happy with who I am!” I have to say what a great place to be in your life when you can accept yourself for who you are and love yourself just as you are!  I know that I have recently gotten to a place where I’ve decided to be happy in the skin I’m in.  That doesn’t mean I don’t have goals to better myself each day, but what it does mean is I’m done beating myself up all the time!  It’s a conscience effort to decide to forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made, humble myself for the place I’m at in my life, choose happiness instead of regret, see beauty when I look in the mirror instead of every single flaw I can find.  It really is a choice just like everything else.

I have found that by accepting myself the way I am and deciding to be happy with where I’m at, I actually started looking and feeling better.  Happiness is attractive!  Have you ever noticed someone that isn’t the most “good-looking” person, maybe not the skinniest person, but somehow they have a way of lighting up a room with their happiness and it makes them totally beautiful?  I absolutely love that!  That’s the way I want to be.  I want my positive, happy energy and happy attitude to shine.  I can tell you this, the most attractive person physically can be a very ugly person depending on their attitude.

So, when it seems life is good and we are in those moments when we don’t exactly know how to feel, it’s ok to be happy!   Accept it and roll with it!  If you need to set a few goals to better yourself in some way – do it!  But why not enjoy the ride to getting there by loving yourself the whole way? You will begin to notice, as I have, when you feel better and take better care of yourself – because you are happy with who you are – the goals you have set out to achieve, like losing weight for instance, will just start happening!  Why?  Because when you love yourself and are happy with who you are, you start treating yourself better.  You start enjoying eating good foods because you respect yourself enough to do so.  You start taking better care of yourself and it reflects in your daily countenance.

My prayer for all of us is, no matter what shape or size we are, or how we look,  we can look in the mirror and love who we are!  That, instead of constantly beating ourselves up and stressing out over every little flaw, we can see all the beautiful blessings we have to offer!  That, when there’s nothing to stress or worry about,  we can smile and be thankful for that!  It’s a very sad thing to waste time not enjoying who and what we are and then looking back ten years later, wishing we would have just been able to see what everyone else saw in us.  My challenge to myself and you is to decide you are going to be happy no matter what!  To decide it’s time to fully live life in the skin you’re in and be proud of it.

Cheers to happiness!
God Bless

Heidi

The Game of Life

I’m working part time now and really enjoying my new job, however I had to get settled so I can make the time to continue doing my daily blogs and make it all work.

Last night I was laying in bed thinking about life and I started relating it to playing sports.  I realized that it truly is about believing and focusing on things just like when you try and make a basket in basketball.  You have to believe you will make the basket, aim, throw it and have faith!  That’s where I’m at in my life.  I’m doing the best I can, putting one foot in front of the other and trying to do better each and every day.  I’m believing for this year to be all that I expect and more.  I’m hoping to see my wonderful daughter more, get into great shape and just overall live a good life.

I’m so thankful for my family and friends and I truly will never take them for granted again.  It’s those small choices each and everyday that make up the canvas of our lives.  For me, personally, I know the things I can and cannot do if I want to continue having a good life.  It really is a choice and you can have a good life if you put your mind too it.  Choose to think about the things you are grateful for, choose to smile over the little miracles you see.  Decide no matter what you will choose joy!

I just really am so thankful for my life; getting on track and continuing to stay on track. It seems like it should be easy to do, once we know those things that hurt us, but, fear, depression and hopelessness are terrible masters!   Yes, I’ve made mistakes in the past and there’s things I cannot change.  However, it’s those things and those places that motivate me to continue on the good path and never look back! I’m building my best life one day at a time.  Last night I really began to see where I want my life to go and started putting my list in my mind of all the things I hope to achieve and have in my life.  I look forward to being here for my daughter’s High School years and watching her grow into the beautiful young lady she’s becoming.  I am believing for us to be closer than ever and have the future we’ve both been dreaming of.

So, as we play this game of life, make sure you realize the steps you are taking today will determine the outcome for tomorrow, good or bad.  I’m a perfect example of playing the game the right and wrong way.  I look forward to playing the game with integrity, honesty and humbleness and having the best win ever!

God Bless

Heidi

Having Faith

Having faith in things when the outcome is unknown can be very difficult.  It’s hard to believe in the things we may not understand and we cannot see.  I know for me personally it’s a choice I have to consciously make and set my mind too.  We must trust that God ultimately is watching over us and knows exactly what we need to live the best life ever.  I do think that half the battle is finding the strength to truly believe and trust in God.

That is why I believe in saying your prayers, making it known what the desires of your heart are, and then trusting and believing for those things to manifest in your life.  A big part of this is following your heart and when those thoughts come to mind and you get what you believe is direction, it’s important to act.  That’s the difference;  having NOW faith instead of someday faith!

I do understand that sometimes it’s hard to believe in things you cannot see.  I have to remind myself of all the blessings and miracles that have happened prior in my life.  It’s those moments when you just so happen to get the last ticket, or you have a delay that saved your life, not getting something that you may have wanted but getting better than you dreamed.  It’s filling yourself full of gratitude and remembering where you came from so you never go back.

Today, I challenge you to believe and trust in something bigger than this world.  Trust in God and have faith that all of your desires of your heart will be met.  I, too, am going to challenge myself to focus on Gods unwavering love for me.  No matter what it looks like in the physical world, I’m going to believe in the spiritual world that my angels are out working on my behalf to bring the best life I could ever ask for to me.

I am grateful today for all of God’s mercy and grace, for his wisdom and unconditional love.  I am grateful for my family and friends and those who have stuck by my side through the ups and downs.  I’m grateful for another opportunity to be a better person and shine for someone who might need a little extra light in their life.

Keep shining bright!

God Bless

Heidi

Unspoken Love

Today I received the most beautiful Mothers Day card from my daughter and it made my day!  As I read her note in the card, I got to hear the words I’ve been longing and hoping  to hear, that unspoken love between a mother and a daughter you can’t explain.  These are the moments when you realize the things that you thought were never noticed were cherished all along.  Sometimes we just need to hear, “I will never stop loving you” but it’s believing when you don’t hear those words and knowing that the unconditional love is there no matter what.

I am so grateful for my daughter being a brave and amazing girl.  I love her with all my heart and I couldn’t be prouder of her.  She is such an inspiration and a happy sweet person.  She has a heart of gold and I couldn’t ask for more.

Today I’m focused on my family and the bond we have between us.  I’m focusing on how grateful I am for each and every one them.  I’m thankful for the unconditional love they give me and the fact they’ve believed in me and never gave up hope.  I’m grateful for second chances (and third and fourth:) and the fact that I had another opportunity today to wake up and keep going.

I thank God for carrying me out of the hard times and bringing me back near my dear angel Kaitlyn.  I believe, as she said, in the future and all the great memories we will soon be making.  I couldn’t be more grateful in this moment today.  I can’t say that I am sad, but there is a sense of tears for the joy I feel.  The last few months have been pretty hard, but there’s a sense of peace now that everything is going to be ok.

Each day we are given the opportunity to rise again to the challenges that we might face and overcome the obstacles that come our way.  I pray for the wisdom to continue to do well and continue to grow and learn each and everyday – to be the best person I can be and make sure I’m taking care of myself along the way.

Have a blessed and amazing day!
Heidi