Tag Archives: encouragement

Book Review: Don’t Overthink It

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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I received a copy of Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel from BakerBooks in exchange for a review. I also purchased a copy.

The delightful and bookish Anne Bogel did not disappoint with this book. It exceeded my expectations, giving me ample content to contemplate and apply to my life. In an early chapter she writes, “When it comes to overthinking, the same thing is true for many of us. We’re bothered by it, but we don’t do anything about it because we don’t know change is within reach” (28). She continues to share common obstacles and highly accessible and desirable information to make tangible progress. Using careful research within the chapters and leaving prompts and lines for reflection at each one’s end, she invites readers to do just that. Reading this felt like having a discussion with a mentor, and each time I set it down I felt a renewed encouragement for continued growth and even affirmation for some of the habits I already had in place. I highly recommend this book as well as the reflection and application sections (I know I sometimes gloss over them or intend to return to them later).

 

I am also a member of Anne Bogel’s Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club and recommend that community as well. It feels so good to be among those who are reading. We share the joy of reading and a mutual desire to make the most of our reading lives.

Book Review: She’s Still There

14 Thursday Mar 2019

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Chrystal Evans Hurst’s She’s Still There: Rescuing the Girl in You lays groundwork to help you set and reach goals while standing strongly on your faith. If taken slowly and done with the help of a mentor, it can serve as groundwork for making progress on the path to fulfilling your purpose. Hurst honestly shares her own experiences while providing practical advice regarding how to take action toward making desires into reality, make use of a support system with specific types of encouragement, and keep your focus on the right aspects of life. I have soaked in this information and found myself referencing it again. My accompanying workbook still has exercises to do, and I’d like to go back to the book to instill some concepts I’ve flagged there, most importantly the support system. I recommend this for someone looking for some extra encouragement or ideas on how to structure goal setting and support system creation.

A Winsome Woman’s Wisdom: Pink on a Wednesday Birthday

09 Wednesday Jan 2019

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The girls in Mean Girls wear pink on Wednesdays. Though we think we leave drama and teenage angst behind when we graduate high school, the world continues to hand us lemons. We still struggle with maintaining a firm foundation of our values, discovering our identity, pursuing our purpose, developing relationships and more. The teenage angst lives on; therefore, we can still learn from young adults as they come of age. Let’s take a look at some ladies as they’ve forged their way into adulthood.

 

29 birthday

 

My birthday fell on a Wednesday last week, and I got to celebrate the start of another year in my new pink attire. My best friend made us personalized shirts for our book club duo. In high school, she recommended Twilight to me after we realized our common reading interest in journalism class. The friendship only grew from there, forged in immortality right alongside our Edward Cullen Pop! mascot (on the shelf behind me).

Books make great friends, but the people who join us outside the pages make our own lives better. Like the stories we read, we experience continual teenage angst, the flutters of a budding love and the disappointments and victories in stepping toward dreams. The people beside us join us for encouragement, laughter and support. I’m so thankful for my best friends and all my bookish friends.

Book Review: Pelican Point, A Hope Harbor Novel

11 Sunday Nov 2018

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I received a copy of Pelican Point by Irene Hannon from Revell in exchange for a review.

Reading Pelican Point gave me the uplifting book boost I sought after reading and watching a few heavier stories. This sweet small town romance provides a fun story and encouragement for moving through life’s tougher situations. Though this book comes as the fourth in the Hope Harbor series, it makes sense as a stand alone novel. I fell right into step with the residents in town as I followed army doctor Ben there as he returned for his grandfather’s funeral. He and the other characters each face decisions on how to best move forward after loss, moves, and career changes. As they forge friendships and open themselves to possibilities, they find themselves improving their situations and relationships.

As many of us cue up the feel good Hallmark Christmas movies, I equate this with a similar style story. This does not involve Christmas, but it does end with a November wedding. So I say the timing for my reading could not have been better. Like the characters, I face decisions of how to move forward with my career, school and long term living situation. This story reminds me we all face difficult decisions but don’t have to do so alone. In this case, everyone gains confidence as they work together to save a lighthouse. The town coming together as a community to save a community landmark emphasizes the importance of a support network and connection to the world around you. With a little extra encouragement, we can pursue our potential. Sometimes what we need stands within our reach and we simply need to get out and open ourselves to the possibility.

 

This is my first Irene Hannon book, but it definitely won’t be the last. I’d like to go back and read the others in this series and look forward to the fifth releasing next year. As a Missouri native, I enjoyed the tid bit about her attending universities in Missouri and living there. I also found it interesting she chose a town in Oregon not far from where my brother lives and included a character transplanted from Texas, my last state residence. I look forward to returning to Hope Harbor to visit these characters again.

#Write_On Challenge: Letter 2

02 Saturday Apr 2016

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Egg Press and Hello!Lucky promote National Letterwriting Month through their Write_On Challenge. They even sent me a card kit to get me started on more letters and included a zine for inspiration. The zine has 30 ideas for letters, and I’d like to give those prompts a whirl here.

Letter 2 is a letter to my future self:

Dear Kayla,

I hope this note finds you doing well. I want to remind you of the good in your life thus far and encourage you to keep focused on that good. The continued shift in focus helps you grow and fulfill your dreams and purpose.

By now I’m sure you’ve found your name in print another time or two, maybe even finished one of those books. If not, keep working on them. Dedicate a regular time each day or week to write. Those projects are worthwhile. I know how happy you felt as you began that young adult novel and spent Sunday afternoons at the library with Sheila. That, your children’s novel about Kensia and your hero idea all have potential. That depth you put in the pages through genuinely sharing your imagination and experience create hope and inspiration.

Keep up your work and don’t let those doubts in your head have any validation. They only come from voices who spoke curses or lies over you. Your words have a purpose, and they will find their way out.

I hope the rest of your life is going well also. You have so much going for you. Whatever you chose to pursue for school and career in terms of counseling and teaching, I hope you find fulfillment in your job and that it has the right balance of writing and engagement with people and ideas. Best of luck in all your endeavors. I love you more than you know.

Love Always,

Kayla

Meetings Follow-Up

22 Monday Feb 2016

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This week has started well, especially as I mentioned the importance of meetings in my last post. I made it to church yesterday morning and my support group this evening. As I’ve ventured out from my dip in isolation, I’ve found several supportive peers and friends eager to see me and encourage me. Tonight especially, I was repeatedly reminded that I need not travel this healing road alone and that sharing my struggle (as well as my victory) frees me and opens the lane for others coming down the same road; the content of the lesson on principle 8 associated with the twelfth step in the 12 Steps, which focuses on sharing God’s word and work by example, and a personalized word of encouragement from a woman who shares a similar experience as me have made me realize a truth that’s been on my heart: I need to continue forgiving and sharing my hurts, habits and hang-ups. I NEED to take this action.

Fortunately this action can make use of my spiritual gifts of writing, encouragement and teaching…and that’s just from sharing it via writing. Here’s to sharing my recovery journey, me seeing my healing and others seeing God’s light shining in and through it.

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Moving from Common Living to Dream Fulfilling

27 Monday Apr 2015

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            I just have finished reading a chapter in Max Lucado’s book The Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot about joining God’s family of friends through church community. He emphasizes the importance of each member having a specific role to play, using his gifts, and how we come together as one body to support each other.

            The church as a hospital for hurt people is a common image used for Christians. This chapter demonstrates how the community helps its members by providing physical and emotional needs during difficult times. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m taking a course on healing from past wounds at a nearby church. We have spent the last couple weeks sharing our backgrounds and starting a healing process that begins with forgiving people who have hurt us and relinquishing lies, etc. I have immediately seen a significant difference in how I feel since I’ve had my turn in the “holy seat” on Monday evening. Maybe the true beginning really is as simple as acknowledging that certain people have hurt me and forgiving them as well as acknowledging and renouncing lies or curses I have believed as a result of those situations. Nothing has changed the past, but I have started to loosen its negative grip on me as I live in a healthier present.

            Feeling better has made me feel more equipped to start tackling some of my goals again, big and small. I have shared this readiness and some of the dreams on my heart with my group, and I have received enthusiasm and encouragement. Immediately, one friend wanted to introduce me to a writer at the church who currently seeks young authors. Then the group as a whole is happy to see me healing and reaching out to fulfill God’s calling for me.

            That’s exactly what the church family of friends does for each other. These wonderful women have stood beside me as I have started healing and as I shared my scars. I never once felt judged, rather felt lifted up and seen in a positive light for who I am rather than things I have done or that have been done to me. They are helping me get plugged into the church, eager to see me use my gifts. Each week, I am reminded that there is no such thing as coincidence and that God placed me in this group for a purpose.

            As Max Lucado points out, the church is a family of friends. It can come together to serve each other through sharing burdens as well as connecting people for community and getting people plugged into the right place to use their gifts. I am not a member of a church in my area yet, but I am encouraged to keep getting involved to receive further healing from the church as a hospital as well as use my gifts to lift people higher and bring them closer together in fellowship.

Happy Father’s Day

15 Sunday Jun 2014

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As I’ve ventured into the “adult” world, I have learned to appreciate my dad even more. Chasing my dreams and figuring out how to structure my life successfully for myself presents its challenges. My dad has always been my biggest supporter, reminding me to conquer all the necessary details in college and before so I would have a foundation later. Today, I look to him when I need to remember I have more potential than I realize. He encourages me so matter-of-factly, making it known my talent will make my dreams possible. Yet he loves me enough to be happy for me if I were to choose not to pursue them any longer (though that won’t happen because I know there’s more for me because my dad has shown me that). With his support, I continue to progress with knowledge that I have what it takes to have the life I want.

A Simple Smile Takes You The Extra Mile

06 Sunday Apr 2014

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Sometimes I fake it. I don’t even always realize it. The actions come pretty naturally. Take my customer service job. I see a customer, I smile, I provide assistance. Maybe I feel that happiness with the joy in my heart. Maybe I don’t. I’m there to make those people happy. Ultimately, it makes me feel good too.

Sometimes I need to make it my job to make myself experience happiness. I possess such a natural joy, but that doesn’t mean I always feel happy. My joyful disposition pairs with my sensitivity (to keep me balanced I suppose). I need to remind myself not to get lost in the sadness after I mellow out. Those feelings can escape and get replaced with happier ones as I smile through each situation.

I smile to all customers in an attempt to keep them satisfied, the curled lips a symbol to them and a release for me. The gesture releases natural endorphins. It brings a certain authenticity to even the forced smiles. That’s probably what keeps me from getting bogged down by the rude and mean customers.

I just need to maintain this practice in my everyday life. My life gives me so many reasons to smile, but it’s still life. It comes with its own obstacles. They weight heavier on me right now.

Yet I can still smile. I just need to get some good face time to show it. That involves a variety of acts and reminders. I take the time to take care of myself, even simply looking at myself in the mirror as I make myself presentable for high standards. I use my own social media to share positive messages with everyone that I myself need to consider. My friends take time to maintain correspondence with me as we write letters and talk on the phone. All these words and reflections make me smile. The smile ultimately shows happiness that matches the joy in my heart.

Flashback Friday: “Bigger Than My Body” Above The Pavement

04 Friday Apr 2014

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We all want to soar when it comes to life to dreams to love. In “Bigger Than My Body,” John Mayer declares, “Someday I’ll fly/Someday I’ll soar/Someday I’ll be/So damn much more/’Cause I’m bigger than my body/Gives me credit for.” Let us not forget that we have the ability to soar and that others possess this potential as well. Keeping this bigger picture in mind helps us reach our goals and encourage others as well.

Often times we hold ourselves back because, simply, it’s easier to accept the status quo. Most people understand that the rock stars we hear on the radio, the anchors we see on TV, the best-selling authors we read exemplify rare cases. Yet the poets who share their pieces with writing communities online also find success. They take the first step toward flight. Maybe it leads to a full-blown writing career. Then again, it might never lead to any published work. Emerging from their shell, no matter how slowly, marks the path to success.

Mayer points out the possibility that “Maybe I’ll tangle in the power lines.” Lifting ourselves from our foundation involves more risk. Obstacles surround us overhead, and the solid pavement remains below. It provides stable ground, but it also hurts as a landing spot after a tumble. The firm aspect serves as the core or the heart of the quest, the “more to learn.” We can always stand on this soil.

Then we can “shed this skin I’ve been tripping in/never to quite return.” For we continually change as we grow into our new found successes, even if that entails healing from scrapes or bruises along the way. Let’s stretch our wings as they allow to see how we soar. Remember there is always more than what meets the eye as we don’t see one’s full reach in one glance.