Start Thinking About....and winner of the giveaway!

Start thinking about what your convictions are. What do you believe in or believe so strongly that you are willing to stand up for? This is one of the questions we will be asking on Monday when we look a little deeper into ourselves.

The winner of the journal this week is Nicole. Please email me at smsummerville@hotmail.com your address and I will send it off to you next week.

I am out of town and will be home by Monday so the picture of the new giveaway will go up then. All you need to do to be entered into the drawing on Friday, May 1st is to post a comment between now and Thursday the 30th.

PLEASE make sure you are writing your answers in a notebook or journal. It is very important to write these answers down as we will be referring back to them later in this series.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Peace,
Susan

Let's Get Personal

In today's assignment we are going to concentrate on the personal area of our life. We all have different areas (vocational, relational, spiritual) etc that we want to work on and I promise we will get to all of them, but for the next lessons we will not move from this area. There personal area includes all the areas of self: your beliefs, your strength, your weaknesses, your health, your diet, your values, your convictions and your character.

Today I want you to examine your beliefs. Do you have a belief system? Are you a Christen?, A Jew?, An Agnostic? Why do you believe? Were you raised this way or did you make a choice as an adult to believe a certain way. If someone asked you about your faith, would you say that it was strong, weak or lacking.

These are private questions for your journal..you may share if you wish but you are not being asked to.

I would like for you to share with me how you felt after writing these things down and if anything was revealed to you.

Friday I will draw the name to win the journal from all the post from the last three entries.

Peace,
Susan

What about this question?!

It is always good to force ourselves to find things that we appreciate about ourselves. All too often we look only at the areas we perceive ourselves to be lacking and ignore all the areas that we are gifted in. That is why it is so important for you to write your five things down in a journal. I will challenge you to add to the things that you like about yourself or that you feel that you are gifted in as it is revealed to you.

Today we will make another list. What are five things about yourself that you are not happy with..JUST FIVE. My guess is that I will get more responses to this question than I did with the first.

Here are my five:
1. I procrastinate
2. I don't always weigh my words before they come out of my mouth
3. I am not happy with my weight
4. All of my boundaries are not defined
5. I am a writer but I am not writing

We will be making list for several days and will be working off of them during this entire session of Becoming a Better You. So if you are just starting.please go back to day one and catch up.

YOUR TURN....What are your five things?

Just Five Things or Unpacking baggage!

We start our series on (Becoming The Best Me) today. Over the next few weeks we are going to look deeply into ourselves and unpack some of the areas in our lives that have been thrown into that baggage we carry along with us everywhere we go . We are going to lighten our load and at the same time discover things about ourselves that will encourage and inspire us to grow into the BEST we can be.

We will begin today by writing down (yes it is important that you write it down on paper or in a journal somewhere) 5 things that we like about ourselves. If you have a difficult time with this as some of us will..try looking at the areas your gifted in . I want you to POST here on the blog when you have done this. You do not need to share the five things but I would love it if you did.

As I share before, I will never ask you to do something I am not willing to do myself.

Here are my five things.

1. I am an encourager
2. I am a good Mom at this time in my life and a GREAT Nana
3. I am a good listener but working on being a better one
4. I am willing to do the work I need to do to overcome and become the best I can be.
5. If you ask me to pray for you ..you can be assured that I will

Your Turn!!!

REWARDS FOR WORKING ON YOURSELF!!!

The biggest reward will be the results you get...but I will also be having weekly drawings for blog giveaways. The prizes for this weeks drawing is pictured at the upper right hand corner of the blog. The drawing will take place on Friday, April 24th. All you need to do to be entered into the drawing is post here on the blog..If you post each day you will be entered in 6 times. In other word the more you post the more your name goes into the drawing. If you recommend the blog and this series to anyone and they post they are here on your recommendation you sill receive a gift from me as well as another entry into the blog. I just feel that this series is important enough to share with those you love.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Forms and Giveaways

As promised:

http://www.betterbudgeting.com/

This website has a wealth of information on HOW to budget and includes free down loadable forms to fill out.

The other tip that I feel I must share with you is freecycle. Just type in freecycle and the name of your city or state in the search area and it should show you where to sign up. People list items they have available and items they need..Everything is free!
It is AWESOME. Be careful and never let anyone into your home that you do not know. I also suggest taking someone with you when you pick up an item. This is the world wide web you know.

Winners of the giveaways (a journal {raisingalexis} and three calligraphy markers {Beth}..please email me your addresses at smsummerville@hotmail.com

Thursday starts a new series and a new giveaway. Tune in then to find out more. Here is a hint..The giveaway is going to be a papercrafting scrappy giveaway...and the series is going to be all about becoming a better you!

Below , in the precious post you will find a youtube link. Just click on it and enjoy Susan Boyles..let her beautiful voice rock your world. She is singing one of my favorite songs from my all time favorite musical. You will not believe your ears.

My Gift To You!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Watch..this will bring a smile to your face and encourage your heart.

A Simple Approach

On April 15th I will hold the drawing for the last two gifts to be given away during the series on Saving Money and budgeting. I will also list all of the rest of the resources I have on budgeting and saving money. This series has not been very popular with the masses so I will close it on the 15th instead of the 30 as originally planned. I will be starting a brand new series on the 16th. Stop back in to check it out. Remember to qualify for the drawing you need only to leave a comment or a prayer request. The following is my gift to you today. It helped me through this day. I pray it does the same for you. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. —Matthew 11:28-30 One of the definitions of simple is "easy." With that in mind, take a look at Jesus' words in the passage above. Notice how often the words "ease" and "easy" appear. First of all, Jesus said, "Learn of Me." I believe He meant, "Learn how I handle situations and people. Learn what My response would be to any given circumstance and follow My ways." Jesus was not stressed out or burned out. He was not controlled by circumstances and by the demands of other people. In John 14:6, He said, "I am the Way." His way is the right way—the way that will lead us into righteousness, peace, and joy. Remember that in John 15:11 Jesus prayed that His enjoyment would fill our souls. That is not going to happen unless we learn a different approach to life and its many different circumstances. I could write about various things that we need to simplify, and the list would be endless. But if we can learn to have the simple approach to everything, that is far better than learning to be simple in some things. No matter what you face, if you will ask yourself what the simple approach would be, I believe you will be amazed at the creative ideas you will have. The Holy One lives in you; and although He is awesomely powerful, He is also awesomely simple. The Holy Spirit will teach you simplicity if you truly wish to learn. From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.