When gratitude becomes an essential foundation in our lives, miracles start to appear everywhere. -Unknown
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So, let’s define gratitude as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness. Simply put, gratitude changes everything. Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside no matter what you might be going through in life. Gratitude changes the way we start the day, spend the day, and look back on the day. For me, my day always begins and ends with gratitude. How about yours?
Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway of grace. -Arianna Huffington
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Gratitude Affirmation – I am grateful for another opportunity that life offers me on today. I am grateful for a fresh start, a brand- new way of thinking and a positive outlook on life. I am grateful for the fact that I can learn from my mistakes, and then let them go. I am grateful for my mind, body, and spirit functioning in a way to inspire others using encouraging words from the soul. I am grateful to have God as my guide, my supporter, and my protector. I am grateful for my husband, children, close family, friends, and readers like you who offers me support every step of the way. I am grateful just to have another chance to get my life right and back on track.
Scriptures
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34 NIV
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57 NIV
Gratitude is a lifestyle that you choose. Overtime, choosing gratitude means choosing joy. It’s a choice that requires constantly renewing of your mind with the truth of God’s Word, setting your heart to inspire others with creativity from within, and disciplining your tongue to speak words that reflect God’s goodness and His grace. Honestly, I believe a grateful spirit, rooted in the soil of God’s goodness and grace, will impact how you view and respond to everything in your life. When gratitude becomes your default setting, life changes.
It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful. -Unknown
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Gratitude Journal
A gratitude journal is a diary of things for which one is grateful. Gratitude journals are used by individuals who wish to focus their attention on the positive things in their lives.
ACTION –Start a gratitude journal to include a personal reflection (goals, thoughts, feelings), affirmation, scriptures, poems, quotes, kind gestures (writing notes, letters, or making phone calls). Be creative and honest. This process will change your life in a positive and uplifting way.
Here are some Gratitude Journal Prompts to help you get started:
• What’s a simple pleasure that you’re grateful for?
• What’s something about your body or health that you’re grateful for?
• What book(s) are you grateful for?
• What’s a tradition that you’re grateful for?
• What’s one of your personality traits that you’re grateful for?
• What mistake or failure are you grateful for?
• What skill(s) do you have that you’re grateful for?
• Look around the room and write about everything you see that you’re grateful for.
• Write about some place you’ve been that you’re grateful for.
• What’s something that you’re grateful to have today that you didn’t have a year ago?
journal is a reflection of who you are, it’s a repository for all of the things that interest and inspire you. A journal provides a safe environment to experiment with your writing style and technique. Simply put, when you write in a journal it becomes your personal journey of creative and heart felt thoughts.
Stay patient and trust your journey
Now, let’s take the journaling process to the next level. How about using the journaling process to find yourself? Journaling is a way to capture ideas and keep your dreams alive until you can put them in motion. Ideas can be found all around you. Take a moment and look around you right where you are. Inspiration is not required to knock at your door twice. We have to be ready and willing to do what’s necessary to grow, to learn, and most importantly, to find yourself.
A little progress each day adds up to big results
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5 Tips for Capturing your Best Journal Ideas:
1. Take your journal everywhere you go to capture those special thoughts or moments as they happen. If your journal is too big, you can always buy a small notebook to use while you are on the go. Then, transfer or glue your notes in your journal at a later time.
2. Select a journal that feels right to you. You can purchase a beautifully crafted handmade journal, a hardcover book with unlined pages, a softcover notebook with lined pages, a 3-ring binder with loose paper, or just a spiral notebook. It really doesn’t matter your style, just make sure that your journal feels right to you and you can comfortably use it to capture your thoughts.
3. Handwrite your journal entries so you are unable to edit your thoughts. Handwriting keeps things more spontaneous and also gives you clues about your emotional state. If you’re anything like me, you can tell what you’re feeling just by analyzing the state of your writing.
4. Create an informal table of contents in the beginning of each journal. Number each page and try to list the topics covered as you go along. This makes finding stuff a lot easier down the road or when you just want to reflect on some of your past writings. Don’t worry about doing this each time you journal, but make sure to complete this step before starting your next journal.
5. Don’t worry about format, grammar, or spelling. Remember, this is your personal space and a written account for how you feel right now in this very moment. Don’t worry about following your traditional writing rules, just write.
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Here are 10 reasons why you should use journaling to find yourself:
1. To ponder and pen your big dreams – Your journal is an ideal place to write out all of your desires and dreams. If there were no limits, what would you want to become? Who would you want to meet? What would you have? Where would you go? Write it all down, describing in detail what your success would look like. By doing this, you can begin to put the laws of success attraction into motion.
2. To get clarity and solve problems faster – When you are unable to see a clear path in your life, it’s better to jot down all those thoughts swirling around in your head. Writing things out gives you the accurate perspective necessary to attract the right solutions. Take a moment to write down questions related to your problems. In fact, you should have an attitude of expectancy that you will find the right answers.
3. To chart what works – Journaling about your ideas, successes, and even failures empowers you to backtrack to see what’s working in your life and what’s not. It’s important to be honest with yourself and be willing to make the necessary adjustments where needed to live a rewarding life.
4. To track your past victories – Take a moment to celebrate your victories and write when and where you have excelled in life. It’s easy to remember your every mishap, but also make an effort to note what’s going right in your life as well.
5. To plan and strategize – Use your journal for both short-term and long-term planning. This process will allow you to work through specific strategies on how you will accomplish your goals. Plan everything from the week ahead to the entire year in your journal.
6. To create a success action routine – Your success action routine should consist of time for meditation and visualization, speaking positive affirmations and reviewing your goals. Visualize yourself completing your goals and feeling the benefits and rewards of doing so.
7. To take control over your future – Journaling about your ideal life and begin to act as if you have that life right now. Be descriptive and detailed in your writing. This will help you prepare for an opportunity that doesn’t exist yet, and ready yourself for the victory to come.
8. For self-improvement – Your journal is a safe place where you can truly be honest with yourself. This is your book, your story, your journey. You have no limitations or boundaries. Your journal is private so you can express yourself and get to know who you really are and what you truly desire.
9. To help you through the decision-making process – In your journal, you can list pros and cons when you are faced with having to make a difficult decision. Write out every possible outcome and use this to guide you through the decision-making process.
10. To keep you in a state of gratefulness – As you go through the process to find yourself, stay grateful throughout your journey. Express gratitude in your journal. Slowing down to make note of what you’re thankful for can relieve you of anxiety, stress, and help you to enjoy life to the fullest. In addition, the act of gratefulness also draws more positivity your way, helping you to create a cycle of success.
Still stuck in a rut and have nothing to write, here are examples of ideas to include in your journal:
• Reactions to personal situations and world events
• Goals you’re working toward (weight loss, career, personal)
• Inspiring quotes or affirmations
• Poetry that moves you
• Pictures from magazines or photos you love
• Books to read
• Music you’ve heard that you may want to purchase
• Websites to explore
• To do lists or reminders
• Topic research or exploration
• Relationship successes or problems
• Travel plans
• Dreams to explore
• Feelings, thoughts, or emotions
One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day
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Journal Prompts are given to inspire you to write freely and to help you think about mind, body, and spirit as you write. But today, think of journal prompts as a thought provoking exercise to help you find yourself.
• Name 5 things that you love about yourself.
• What did you learn about yourself this month? this week? today?
• What are you inviting into your life with your actions?
• Has your mind spent more time today focused on the past, present, or future?
• What feels like a struggle at the moment?
• What do I want to accomplish in my life today? tomorrow? next week? next month? next year?
• What has been going well in my life lately?
• How can I create more acceptance in my life?
• What traits do I like about myself?
• What are my character strengths?
• How have I been holding myself back?
• How can I take a step forward?
Dream. Plan. Do.
So, grab your journal and write your ideas so you’re able to retrieve your thoughts whenever needed. Your journal holds all of your pertinent life information so you can remember and reference at any time in your future. Remember, you shape your world for success. Begin to imagine and dream. Don’t be afraid of goal setting and planning. Have courage to move in a positive direction toward your personal growth and advancement.
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you do keep a journal, please share some of your organizing tips and techniques; pros and cons of journaling; journaling tips that help you continue your journey. We learn from one another so your comments are necessary in order for all of us to learn and grow. I look forward to reading your feedback!
Welcome back to Renew Inspiration! Despite what is happening in your life, right now in this very moment, you are destined for greatness. Do you believe that? I’ll give you a moment to think about it, but as you are thinking, why don’t we start our journey.
Let’s depart from this place and begin to visualize our journey to greatness. When it seems like you will not make it, take some time to reflect on positive thoughts and some of your personal accomplishments. Always remembering that storms may come in your life, but what matters most is that you make it through the storm without wavering your faith. Similarly, negative thoughts may come, but you must believe in your heart that you are destined for greatness no matter what.
Believe deep down in your heart that you are destined to do great things. You are greatness. -Unknown
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Since you had a moment to think about where you are right now, do you believe you are destined for greatness? Remembering that we are human and when negative thoughts show up make sure that you tell yourself that negative thoughts have no place in your mind and believe it. We have to start conditioning our thought patterns differently so we can regain control of our inner being. Because our inner being defines who we really are.
Surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it in yourself. -Unknown
Here’s another thought to think about while on your journey to greatness. People may come and go throughout your life time, but always remember that you are destined for greatness no matter how that person or people may treat you.
Don’t allow the world to define your greatness because most of this world is blind. -Unknown
Unfortunately, we live in a mean and cruel world these days. People can be harsh and say unkind words to you, but you have to shake it off and keep it moving in order to make it to that special place called acceptance. Yes, to be destined for greatness is to not only accept yourself, but to believe in yourself no if ands or buts about it.
The most defining moment in a woman’s life is when she discovers her own greatness! -Unknown
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If you are struggling in this area along your journey, just begin to write down your thoughts (positive or negative) in your journal or in a notebook. It’s important to be honest and to focus on what matters most to you in your life right now, in this very moment. Keeping in mind that the enemy always fight the hardest when he knows God has something great in store for you. Before you know it, you will begin to take charge of your life again and know in your heart that I AM DESTINED FOR GREATNESS!
Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character. -Unknown
JOURNALING TO GREATNESS
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Did you know that journaling can help you along your journey to greatness? Journaling is a positive way to help release what’s held captive inside you. Journaling allows you to say things that you would probably never say out loud. People cannot define journaling the same way because it is a personal written journey. You are the author who writes the beginning, the middle, and the ending.
Positive benefits of journaling:
• Helps us make space for our hearts
• Turns memories into reality
• Gives us time to process our personal experiences
• Helps to create an energetic and visual level of comfort
• We are allowed to fully express ourselves
• There are no boundaries and no limits set to what we can write
• There is no set format, just write, write, write
• We are able to be creative with no set criteria or instructions
• We are free to write until our mind, body, and spirit are one
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• Define your biggest dream.
• Share a vivid dream.
• How do you see the world?
• What is your vision for the next year?
• Discuss one way you would like to grow in the next year.
• What is your goal/goals for next week?
• What were your highs and lows this week?
• What did you do today that brought you closer to your dream?
• Discuss at least one lesson you learned today.
• What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
• What behavior you need to let go?
• What makes you proud?
• What is my proudest accomplishment?
• What is my biggest failure?
• What do I do to show myself self-compassion and self-care?
• What new activities am I interested in or willing to try?
May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you -Psalm 25:21
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Happy Sunday and greetings to you! Let’s talk about hope on today. Hope is another one of those words that can be defined on a personal level and may change from situation to situation; or person to person. According to the Webster Dictionary, hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; a feeling of trust.
But what does hope mean to you? Do you hope for anything great on today or in the near future? When I think of hope, I think of beauty and positive vibes. Hope is like a beautiful flower that thrives on sunlight and water. In a spiritual sense, hope relies on your daily commitment to God’s Word, meditation, and prayer.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13
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Now, the flip side of this conversation is how pain can bring about hopelessness in our lives as the enemy relentlessly attempts to destroy us. But God holds His hand out to us every day. The wonderful hope of God’s good plans for our lives, hope that is rooted in God’s amazing love for us. My hope for you today is that you will work on building and strengthening your relationship with God for the rest of your life. This process will increase your confidence in God’s love for you and will nurture your hope in Him, hope for this life as well as for life eternal.
When the world says, “give up.” Hope whispers “try it one more time.” -Unknown
Did you know that having hope will give you courage in the midst of a storm? Despite what you may be experiencing in your life right now, never stop believing in hope because miracles happen every day. The importance of hope is immeasurable. Many of us need to look forward to the future. Hope is what helps us deal with grief, find positives in our current situation, help us continue searching for something better, and to have faith that everything will work out.
A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning. -Unknown
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
-Winston Churchill
Reflections:
Hope is seeing light in spite of being surrounded by darkness.
Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.
Hope is the ability to hear the melody of the future. Faith is the courage to dance to it today.
Journal Prompts:
• How do you define hope?
• What do you hope for each day?
• I feel hopeful/hopeless because…
• Name at least 5 things you are hopeful for. Then, take a moment and reflect upon each thing.
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Hope Journal:
A Hope Journal is a small binder full of cards, notes, prayers, inspirational quotes, bible verses, songs, or photos that is meant to cheer someone up during hard times.
When I first started the Renew Inspiration blog, my thought process was to write inspirational pieces that would not only inspire you, but also would keep you thinking of ways to overcome life changing events, such as the death of a loved one. Honestly, I would love to have a real dialogue with you concerning this topic. Do you think that it is possible to overcome grief in your life time? Now, I know that’s a deep question and I am sure that everyone reading this blog would probably give a different answer. For me, I often ask myself if I would ever overcome the grief that I feel each and every day. I do realize that everyone handles grief differently, but the pain of losing someone you dearly love can be overwhelming for most people. Would you agree?
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalm 18:2
When you are broken in pieces and experiencing so much pain, God can seem distant and even uncaring while you are in this vulnerable, yet lonely place. But before you throw in the towel or choose to give up on living life to the fullest, know that God promises in His Word to be with you always and to give you comfort in the midst of your storm, so whatever your feelings are suggesting to you in this very dark moment, know that God is with you always.
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. Psalm 48:14
Here’s another twist to an already complicated situation, but it is something for you to think about. While you are trying to overcome grief and wondering if God still loves you, then comes the faith concept to help put everything in total perspective. As we venture through our lives on Earth, we have faith in a God that we cannot see. I have always been taught to have faith in God, to read my Bible, and to say my faith-based prayers, but deep down inside I have always wondered how strong my faith really was in a God that I could not see. When my mom passed away in December 2015, my faith in God was tested to the fullest! I read my Bible, prayed and meditated until I received my break through. Then, I started writing in my journal constantly and that’s how Renew Inspiration was created.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
So, what is faith and how do you define it?
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
Faith can be defined as confidence, trust, assurance, conviction, and belief. Faith means trusting that God is in control, even when our faith is put to the test. In other words, faith is not just what we believe in our hearts, our religious doctrine or denominational creed, but also and more importantly, faith is a solid conviction within that what we believe and whom we believe in are worth staking our lives on. Would you agree?
For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7
Along this journey called life, we have to open our hearts and minds to a true understanding of life’s many challenges and faith, of what it is and what it is not, in our lives and abroad. It’s important to know that faith is something to be experienced and exercised, not defined, categorized, and neatly packaged on a shelf. Faith rests on a solid foundation. The evidence is everywhere before our eyes. Go ahead, look around you right now, in this very moment. God is able to persuade our hearts and our minds to put our trust in Him. When we find faith, we will know it because God will open our spiritual eyes to see that faith is our loyalty and devotion to God. So, when you are wondering how strong your faith is, just look up, smile, and say that I have faith in God that everything will be okay!
I choose faith over anxiety hope over worry love over fear -Mary Davis
God has a purpose for your pain, a reason for your struggle and a reward for your faithfulness. Trust Him and don’t give up -Dave Willis
Let your faith be bigger than your fear -Unknown
Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, so loved, so missed, so very dear -Kay Berry
Journal Prompts:
• The area where I need to put more trust in God is …
• I find I feel God’s presence most when …
• God is leading me to make the following changes …
• Sometimes I get angry with God about …
• I feel most distant from God when …
Happy Valentine’s Day! On today, I want you to concentrate on self-love. Self-love is taught to us as children and as we grow we begin to nurture everything within us, both good and bad. Self-love requires you to be honest about your current choices and thought patterns. Self-love is not selfish, but it forces you to undertake new practices that reflect self-worth. Now, here’s something to think about. Self-love, self-respect, self-worth…What do these words have in common? There is a reason they all start with “self” because you cannot find them in anyone else. Remember, you cannot truly love another person until you know how to love yourself. Loving yourself enough to realize you deserve a happy and fulfilled life. Well, I challenge you today to practice self-love and appreciate yourself just the way you are. When you learn to love you, then others will love you the way you deserve to be loved in return.
SELF-LOVE OPTIONS
• Find some ME TIME
• Write in your journal
• Read an inspirational book
• Take a long walk
• Exercise
• Take a nap
• Take a hot bubble bath
• Relax and do nothing
SELF-LOVE PEP TALK
Look in a mirror today and say these words out loud – I love myself today because I am beautiful, I am strong, I am powerful, I am fabulous, I am unique, I am blessed, I am smart. Repeat 3 times.
Now, be creative and create your own personal affirmations to describe yourself. Allow this to be your pep talk in the morning, repeat it throughout the day, and you can even post them at home/at work.
7 DAY SELF-LOVE & JOURNAL PROMPT ACTIVITY
For this activity, you will need a journal or notebook, something to write with and honesty. This is a time for personal reflection. I guarantee you will learn something new about yourself.
Day 1 – Journal Prompt: What do you think about you? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Day 2 – Journal Prompt: What are you feeling right now in this very moment? What makes you happy?
Day 3 – Journal Prompt: What are your values? What do you believe in?
Day 4 – Journal Prompt: What are you grateful for? List at least 5 things and tell why.
Day 5 – Journal Prompt: What are you having a hard time accepting? Why is it hard to let go?
Day 6 – Journal Prompt: Write yourself a love letter. Make sure to talk yourself through a struggle.
Day 7 – Journal Prompt: How can you create space for self-love in your life right now and in the future?
QUOTES
When I accept myself, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me -Dr. Steve Maraboli
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are -EE Cummings
Have you ever tried journaling for good health? For those of you who are not familiar with the term journaling, here is the definition:
Journaling is a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use (diary).
When you decide to do some journaling, make sure to start with the date and start with small talk. If you are stuck, just ask yourself a question to get started. For example, “what was the best thing that happened this week”?
Journaling Tips:
1. Slow down and write down how you really feel – Be realistic, be honest and hold yourself accountable
2. Journaling is a life worth living – Personal journey – Your life’s story
3. Journaling is time for reflection and to find out who you are
4. Journaling offers you an opportunity to leave a written legacy to those around you
5. Giving yourself balance – putting everything on paper to get it out of your heart and mind
Journaling is a way to express yourself on paper. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Just write. Write all the time no matter where you are. Write yourself out of creative blocks. Write even if it’s complete garbage in your opinion. Just don’t stop writing. It’s important to write what you want to write. Not what others expect you to write. Don’t let people’s opinions shape your first draft. Remember, this is your personal journaling experience so what are you waiting for? Let’s get journaling for good health!
Journal Prompts: Mind Write down everything in life that gives you pleasure or joy. What in my life makes me feel alive and energized? What are your successes and struggles?
Body Dear body, I love you because… When I look in the mirror, I feel… How do I connect food with my body?
Spirit What do I need more of in my life? What words do I wish someone would say to me right now? How can I give that to myself today…this week…this month…this year?
Quote:
Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open. -Natalie Goldberg
Have you ever tried journaling for good health? For those of you who are not familiar with the term journaling, here is the definition: