"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future"

• Fay Farm Rejuvenation Lotion
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"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

It's November! Which to me means colder weather and a new verse of encouragement! And I'm glad, because I could surely use one!

Last month, I told you guys about some of the stuff that I was struggling with and unfortunately, not much has changed. I've gotten a teeny tiny bit better about my posting schedule, but my health is still all over the place.

As some of you guys already know, I had a follow up appointment scheduled with my optometrist and my rheumatologist back in October. Well, they didn't go so well. It appears that I have the beginning signs of eye toxicity due to one of my medications, so I had to stop taking it immediately! Then, my rheumatologist sent me to a cardiologist who is now requesting that I get a title table test, a stress test, and a 30 day EKG test done, which I do not look forward to. So this month, I will be clutching to this verse like there's no tomorrow!

I've really been putting my faith on the back burner for a while now and I really think I need to dive back into it. And I think God agrees, because I was just sent a free bible journal for review and they even sent one for a lucky winner too! And since the giveaway hasn't started yet, I've made you a little freebie to hold you over! I hope you enjoy it!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I can't believe it's October already! I know I say that every month, but I really mean it! I started blogging in January and it's crazy to think that almost an entire year has passed!

I'm gonna be honest with you guys, this month has started off pretty rough. As I'm sure you guys have noticed, I've been a little behind on my blog post schedule. Normally, I post 5 days a week, but I've barely managed 5 posts in the last few weeks.

Per usual, the reasoning behind my absence is solely due to my health. I've been struggling with side effects of my Lupus medication, an IBS flare, a bout of depression, all four wisdom teeth pushing through, and a Fibromyalgia flare. I haven't told anyone this yet, but it's gotten pretty bad. The other night I fell, and I didn't get back up. I tried, but there was just no way that I could do it. It was so bad that I actually ended up asking my husband for a pillow and a blanket, then proceeded to sleep on the floor. And might I add, that did not help with the pain.

Overall, God's been testing me and I haven't exactly been passing with flying colors, but he says that's ok. Even when I forget it sometimes, God still has a plan for me. He still continues to love and support me through everything that I'm struggling with and he continues to push along right beside me. And for that, I am forever grateful.

It's hard to think about sometimes, that even when we aren't thinking about taking care of ourselves, there's still someone else out there caring for us anyways. Even when we don't see it, God really is working on us and creating a life for us. He not only gave up his one and only son to take away our sins, but he loves us unconditionally, he provides for us, he gives us strength, and he has a plan for us; and I'm so glad that he does.

For those of you that need this reminder, or are simply looking for new art to hang on your walls, I have created a beautiful printout of this verse that I'd love to share with you! I hope that this verse brings comfort to you and really resonates in your heart!

Each and every one of us has some type of goal or future success that we want to achieve. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy getting to where we want to be. That’s why it’s important that we stay motivated!

These 10 tips will help you stay motivated on your journey to success!

1. Create Helpful Habits
The difference between a regular habit and a helpful habit, is that one has a direct correlation towards achieving your goals. Creating helpful habits is just as important as breaking your bad habits. If you want to succeed, then you need to make sure you are doing what you can to do so. It’s been said that it takes 21 days to create a habit. What they don’t tell you is that those 21 days can be incredibly hard without the right motivation. Something that I started doing to keep up with my new habits is numbering 21 sticky notes and leaving them somewhere I’ll see them every single day. Once I’ve accomplished my task for the day, then I’ll rip the sticky note off and throw it away.

2. Dedicate 10 Minute Blocks of Time
If we’re being honest here, which we are, then I can say that starting tasks is my biggest problem. I know what I need to do, but I can’t ever seem to sit down and just do it. I overthink what might happen until I’ve talked myself out of it. However, once I started dedicating 10 minutes towards each task, I’ve seen a huge difference in my to-do list. Once I sit down and actually focus on the task, I’m able to get moving right along. Before I know it, I’ve either finished the task or I’ve gotten pretty close.

3. Remind Yourself of Your Goals
Sometimes it can be easy to fall into the rhythm of doing the same old thing again and again. We continue working on these mundane and tedious tasks without remembering what we’re doing them for. It’s important that we remind ourselves of our goals, so we can stay on track. It’s easy to get distracted when we aren’t passionate about the small steps that it takes to get to our ultimate goals. Just remind yourself that each thing you cross off of your to-do list, is one step closer to success.

4. Set Incentives
Incentives are my favorite part of goal setting! I don’t know about you, but I like getting stuff ☺ When it comes to setting incentives, you can go as big or small as you want as long as it’s realistic. If I’m doing a small task like reading or writing, I usually treat myself to candy or sweets after I’m finished. If I’m working towards a goal that spreads over a long period of time, then I will treat myself to bigger and less frequent incentives. For example, if I was working towards losing 30 pounds, then I might set an incentive for every five pounds that I lose. These incentives might include: new workout clothes, a gym membership, a new yoga mat, and so much more. Incentives are completely personalized for you, so there’s no way you won’t want to earn them.

5. Plan Ahead
I am a firm believer in planning ahead, maybe even a little too much. I have two different planners that I use on a daily basis and I’ve got to-do lists scattered all around the house. Planning ahead is something that works for me, so I definitely recommend it! Something that I’ve learned over the years is to create my to-do lists at night. It makes it so much easier to get up in the morning and get to work because I’ve already got everything planned out.

6. Visualize Yourself Succeeding
I was a varsity weightlifter for four years and this is a tip that I used at every single meet that we had. Before each of my lifts, I would imagine myself successfully performing each lift. I really think that visualizing it working actually helped me succeed in my competitions. The only time that it didn’t really work was when I imagined myself in place of someone else and then they didn’t make their lift. So, now I try to visualize myself reaching each and every one of my goals.

7. Prioritize Your Tasks
Once you have planned ahead and made your to-do list, it’s important that you prioritize your tasks. I like to do this two different ways. First, I organize everything by deadline. If I know that certain things need to be done by a certain time, then those tasks go first. When it comes to the tasks that can be done at any time, I like to organize those by the amount of time it will take to complete those tasks. I normally will try to get the harder and more time consuming tasks out of the way first. That way I don’t procrastinate doing the larger tasks while I’m working on the smaller tasks. I also use this method to ensure that I don’t run out of time either.

8. Focus Yourself
While a majority of these tips are simple changes that you can make in your daily routine, this one is not. It is important that you are continuously refocusing yourself and your life towards your goals. If you are really interested in achieving success, then you need to make sure that your actions are showing that. Of course, it’s ok to have some fun every once in a while, but ultimately you need to make sure that each of your choices are leading you down the correct path.

9. Publicize Your Goals
I’ve always had a hard time with this one. It’s been a little bit of a combination of not wanting to jinx things and not wanting everyone to know if I don’t accomplish something that I set out to do. Of course, that’s exactly why we need to publicize our goals. Not only do we receive encouragement from others, but those same people also keep us accountable. By not wanting to fail the people supporting us, we are motivated to succeed in the things that we set out to do.

10. Keep Track of Your Accomplishments
I know I said that incentives were my favorite part of goal setting, but keeping track of my accomplishments is my favorite motivator. As I mentioned earlier, I have tons of to-do lists scattered all around my house. Occasionally, a to-do list can be a little intimidating and overwhelming. I know that when I start to write down everything that needs to get done for the house, my blog, and myself, I end up filling up an entire sheet of paper. Then even when we do cross things off of our list, it doesn’t feel like as big of an accomplishment as we thought it would. So in an effort to keep myself motivated, I keep a journal of my accomplishments. Each day I write the date and everything that I accomplished that day. It helps me remember that good feeling of crossing something off of my to-do list over and over again. It also helps me stay motivated because I want to have more accomplishments than I had the day before.

I don’t know what it is that you’re trying to accomplish, but I really hope that these tips help you stay motivated in order to accomplish it!