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Encouraging Worship Music to Lift Your Spirits

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I was led to write this post because I searched for a playlist like the one I created and couldn’t find one. I wanted a playlist that was not just any worship music, but one where each song made my heart soar. A lot of the songs are worship songs that we sing at my search, but some are songs that have been important for me during different trials in my life and gave me hope and comfort. I hope this playlist lifts your spirits like it has mine.

On this playlist:

Make Room by The Church Will Sing. This song reminds me to surrender, let go and let God. Our worship leader wears a baseball cap at times that says “Let Go For Dear Life.” Yes! Instead of holding on for dear life to all our worries and struggles, we should be letting go of them and casting our cares on HIM.

Oceans by Hillsong United. This song has been a go to for me for years. “Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders…” I heard on a recent podcast that both faith and fear are stories we tell ourselves. If we are going to tell ourselves a story, it might as well be a good one so let us choose faith!

Lion of Judah by Elevation Worship ft. Brandon Lake; Gratitude by Brandon Lake. I was able to attend the Joyce Meyer conference last year and hear Brandon Lake live and in person. I love anything he does now, to be honest. He has a way of delivering encouraging lyrics with his voice that can get me out of any kind of negative headspace.

Rest On Us by Maverick City Music. This is a song we often sing at church, and I like to think that it’s a call for the spirit to come and join us in the space at church, but I also love it when I’m just driving down the road in my car. It reminds me that I’m never alone.

Graves Into Gardens, Runnin’, Oh Come to the Father by Elevation Worship. They had me at “You turn shame into glory.” (Ok, I could just listen to an Elevation Worship playlist, and that could be satisfying all by itself, but I really like a variety of artists and songs on a playlist so while they appear a LOT on this list, I hope you enjoy my attempt at variety.)

What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong United. I remember my mom telling my as a kid, that there was power in the name of Jesus. As I’ve gotten older I do also see the beauty. There has been nothing I’ve faced that he hasn’t helped me to overcome.

Hills and Valleys by Tauren Wells. I remember when my girls were babies couldn’t sleep (and therefore I couldn’t sleep) playing this song and it uplifting me. So it has a special place in my heart.

Overcomer by Mandisa. It isn’t possible for me to hear this song and not see my now 14 year old daughter at age 5 sitting in the back seat and singing it at the top of her lungs. We would sing it together over and over! And sometimes hearing her sing it would bring tears to my eyes because what better mindset could you want for your children?

Do It Again by Elevation Worship. “He made a way, when there was no way…” This one deserves its own spot on the list because over and over God has proven he will never fail me. His love is faithful and I know he will always not only provide, but deliver – exceedingly abundantly.

Victor’s Crown by Darlene Zschech. Underrated, and my favorite song on this entire list. It brings tears to my eyes each time with the truth and hope it brings. I can’t wait to see what you think of it, if you’ve never heard it before. You overcome!

Lord I Need You by Matt Maher. We can get so caught up the business of life and need to be reminded we need HIM every hour, every minute.

That’s it for now! My playlist is always evolving, so I am sure it will only grow over time. Here is the link to it and I hope it encourages you and lifts you up.

parenting · personal development · Uncategorized

Popularity is Overrated.

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(Written two years ago, and found in my Drafts. Not sure why I never posted.)

I had lunch with my 12-year-old daughter today. She wanted to talk about popularity and I think she wanted reassurance that it wasn’t something she needed to chase. We had the best talk.

We talked about what “popular girls” at her school talk about, and it wasn’t anything she was interested in talking about: talking bad about other kids, judging, gossiping, and talking about boys and dating which isn’t even on her radar yet, thank goodness.

One of the things she is finding most upsetting is hate talk. My daughter is friends with a lot of popular girls, and often overhears them agree with each other when bashing someone “yeah, I can’t stand her either,” or “I hate her too,” when she knows good and well the girls agreeing with these things really like the girls they’re referring to. They will look at my daughter as if she better not say anything.

She shared that when she is with her friends who are considered popular, and someone “better” comes along, and they drop her and act like she’s invisible. I wondered what she meant by “better,” but I could identify with everything she was saying because I’ve lived it too as a girl.

Side Note: When I was in school, I had friends who most people would consider to be "popular," and they were smart, kind, and amazing girls with strong moral values! I share this to say that there is nothing wrong with being popular, and I don't want that to be the take away from this post - for it to come across as I a put-down for popularity all together. It is great to be well-known and well-liked. I am all for that definition of popularity - popular leaders can be great role models. My concern for our young people today, is when popularity means sacrificing who you are, and friendships forged from mutual hate and cruelty in order to belong to a popular clique. That type of popularity sadly does exist in our schools and is the type my daughter is subject to. Think Mean Girls.

We also talked about how quality is so much more important than quantity. She mentioned one of her favorite popular friends in particular who seems obsessed with being friends with every girl in the “popular” circle and she can see how this is changing her friend. I could tell it makes her sad because she really likes this girl, but she was also able to articulate that this friend must be insecure on some level to exert so much energy on how she is perceived by others. I told my daughter that it is a much happier and healthier path to have a few friends who accept you for exactly who you are than to have a lot of so-called-friends who require you to give up pieces of yourself to be who you think they want you to be. That must be so exhausting!

As we were leaving the restaurant I left feeling like she got my message that popularity is overrated. I reassured her that she was fine to wait on boy talk, and that she has her whole life ahead of her to think about that. She’s ok to be a kid. She said, “that’s what I thought,” with her sweet smile. I let her know that as long as she is true to who she is and is kind to everyone, that she’ll never be without friends; to make it her goal to have friends in every social circle because she will need to get along with all types of people in the real world.

I am so proud of my girl and the close friends she is choosing. They are great kids, kind, down-to-earth, grounded, true to who they are, and care about how they do in school. I don’t know if they’re popular and don’t really care. I know they love my daughter and she loves them. I am also proud of her for continuing to love all of her friends whether they have a label of “popular” or not.

Are You Ready for It? What to bring to a Taylor Swift concert…even if it rains…
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Are You Ready for It? What to bring to a Taylor Swift concert…even if it rains…

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If you’re planning to see Taylor in concert, it’s a huge event in your life! You want to make it as memorable as possible, and for everything to go as smoothly as it possibly can. Being in a stadium with thousands of other fans can mean being on your feet and also stuck at times, whether that’s waiting in line or at your seat. You want to be as comfortable as you can because you’re there for awhile! Here is our thoughtful list of the items you will want to have on hand at the show, especially if you’re in an outdoor stadium with a rain chance!

Earplugs. It can get really loud at a concert! The screaming of those around you may take it’s toll and may even induce a headache. You can still hear Taylor through these while blocking out unwanted noise nearby.

Travel Blanket/Shawl. We bought this for a flight to Hawaii, but it was perfect for Taylor’s show! It’s extremely lightweight, but just perfect to stay warm when temps drop in the later hours of the show.

Speak Now Purple Dress, Evermore Shacket. Sparkle rhinestone fishnet tights. It is fun to dress for one of Taylor’s eras! These two items are just a couple of ideas to get you thinking about which era you might choose.

Lanyard. This was a great solution for our debit card to keep it handy but also protected at the show.

Hot Hands. I questioned if we would even use these, but it did get cold enough to appreciate them!

Portable charger. This was my favorite thing that we decided to bring. This is a two-pack on Amazon and you can have one for yourself and one for a friend or family member. You can take pics and videos throughout the show without worrying about your phone dying.

Clear bag two-pack. Most stadiums and arenas allow up to a 12x12x6 bag and these are precisely that size. They worked perfectly!

Portable flats. These darling ballet slippers fold and take up very little space in your bag. They are perfect for once you are settled at your seat and want to slip out of your shoes and give your feet a break.

USB short cable two-pack. To use with your portable chargers. These are lightning cables for iphone.

Rain coat/rain poncho two-pack. You can never be too prepared. We used our multiple times. So grateful for these! I also saw those around us come back to wet seats and they were able to sit on their ponchos.

Waterproof phone pouch. This was another extra item that I questioned if I would use. There was about a 20 minute period that it did rain hard enough to use this! I was able to keep taking pics in spite of the rain.

Here is the Amazon link to all of these items. This is an affiliate link for which I may receive compensation.

I appreciate you reading my post. Please like and comment below with other suggestions for the show that I may have left out.

Check out my Instagram story on what to bring to Taylor: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr89BPcJS7X/?igshid=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA==

Madeline, Age 9
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Madeline, Age 9

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On the way home from school, I asked Madeline what her top 10 favorite things were right now. I fully expected her to take some time to think about it, and tell me later. But she was able to name 10 for me in less than 5 minutes. Here they are in what I remember being the correct order, although I may have shuffled a few from what she actually said.

10. Her friends

9. McDonald’s

8. Watching Dance Moms and YouTube

7. Playing games on her ipad

6. Riding horses (and Girl Scouts ties because Girl Scouts is what lets her ride horses)

5. Animals

4. Soda

3. McFlurry

2. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream (the rest of our family eats healthy so her list is making me cringe a little!)

  1. Her family and her friend Charlotte. (tie)
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One Day You’ll Be In a Position to Give More at Christmas – Claim it!

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This is a prayer for the mama who either has enough money for a few of their children’s reqeusted Christmas gifts, OR all of the obligatory giving.

You are a very giving person, so it pains you when you can’t:

  • Give more to your child’s teachers. You would love to give each of them a $50 or more gift card. They so deserve it!
  • Get all of your coworkers gifts, and nice ones at that.
  • Contribute to the donations for your bosses and custodial staff. There is no extra money at all, But one day there will be. Claim it!
  • Give money for the coworker getting married, having a baby and who just lost a loved one.
  • Buy exactly what your nieces and nephews want and give them money or gift cards to get anything else their heart desires.
  • Get your child everything they asked for in their Canva presentation,
  • Get all of your children’s coaches and music teachers gifts.
  • Get all of the holiday decorations your children have begged for.
  • Give more to your church, homeless population and initiatives in your community that feed the hungry.
  • Get your child the Australian shepherd puppy they want which is the only thing they asked for, and cost anywhere from $500 on upward.
  • Get a new home so that you can and your children can be proud to have friends over.

Say a prayer right now, that one Christmas VERY SOON, you will be able to do all of these and much more. God hears our prayers!

Lavender: Young Living Starter Bundle
essential oils · natural lifestyle · Uncategorized

Lavender: Young Living Starter Bundle

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Lavender. It is known as the Swiss Army knife of oils, and for good reason. It’s probably best known for sleep and anxiety. But did you know lavender also helps with soothing the skin, and even promotes hair growth?

Lavender is also a main ingredient in so many of our favorite rollers: seasonal roller, face roller and focus roller!

Here are some of my favorite uses:

1. Add to diffuser along with cedarwood to promote a good night’s rest.

2. Add a few drops to coconut oil to make a soothing rub for sunburn or dry skin.

3. Make a mermaid hair spray by combining with cedarwood and rosemary. Eight drops of each these added to an 8 oz spray bottle, then fill rest of the way with water.

4. Add to diffuser along with lemon and peppermint to help support clear breathing when everything is blooming. This is our seasonal blend.

5. Apply it to back of the neck (brain stem) along with vetiver and cedarwood to help with focus.

6. You can benefit just by inhaling lavender directly from the bottle. It will help with anxiety and calm you.

If I was stranded on an island and could bring only one oil, it would be lavender. So grateful for this amazing oil!

What’s your favorite use for lavender?

Embracing Your Introverted Nature
introvert · personal development · Uncategorized · wisdom

Embracing Your Introverted Nature

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For years, I tried pretending I was something I wasn’t. I was an introvert, but trying to represent myself as an extrovert because I desperately wanted friends. And I didn’t just want friends. I wanted everyone to like me and I wanted to please them all. It was exhausting. I always felt like I had to be “on.”

Then I read a ton of research on being an introvert and the advantages of being an introvert. I learned that being an introvert could actually be an asset. Then I decided to embrace my true nature and live life as me – a real introvert.

I’ve learned so much about myself in the past few years, and made life changes that I will most likely continue for the rest of my life. Seeking alone time each day, setting boundaries, and learning to say “no” are just a few of the changes that I will take with me.

By embracing my introverted nature, I have realized that I avoiding crowds, shopping early in the mornings, and taking lunches by myself are all things that recharge my battery. These are coping skills I’ve fine-tuned and plan to embrace my whole life. By giving myself space and alone time, I am energized and able to be a better friend and family member to those who mean most to me.

One of the most challenging skills I’ve refined is being in a conversation or group setting, having something to say, and being able to remain focused, present and still, but not need vocalize every thought in my head. I’ve learned to be comfortable remaining quiet. Before, I felt like I needed to have something to say, and being socially awkward, I would rehearse things I might say! Does that sound silly to you? Introverts struggle with jumping into the conversation because we don’t want to be rude and interrupt, and we aren’t as assertive about speaking our minds. I would find myself nervously waiting for my turn to speak instead of listening to what the other person was saying, only to find when I did speak, the other person was going to say what I was trying to say anyway, or saying the wrong thing altogether because of my social anxiety.

There have been so many things about my past year that were freeing, but I also found myself lonely. I went from feeling known and acknowledged by everyone I knew, to a life where I was alone and disconnected from everyone I had made so important. Looking back now, I can say that neither extreme is how I would choose to continue. I don’t care to go back to people pleasing and carrying on like I’m outgoing when I’m not, but I also know that living a life withdrawn from everyone else isn’t what I’m after either.

My goal going forward is to strike a balance. I know now that it’s ok to be quiet, and in the few years, I’ve had others tell me what a good listener I am more than any other period of my life. But I also know that it’s ok to take up space and speak my mind. I know that I have value and I have to remember that my voice has as much right to be heard as anyone else’s. I think that’s a pretty healthy space to be, especially for an introvert.

Check out my blog post 6 Healthy Ways to Process Emotions as an Introvert.

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Beach Hopping on North Shore Oahu

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The Honolulu/Waikiki beaches may be more popular on Oahu, but you should definitely consider exploring the beaches in the North Shore part of the island.

Our family visited 4 beaches in one day, and each one was so unique. It’s amazing how just traveling a few miles along the coast can make such a difference in current, sand texture, types of trees, rocks, or mountain view.

Banzai Pipeline

The first beach we visited was the Banzai Pipeline, also known as Ehukai Beach. This was the most impressive to us because the waves were huge! We love seeing “pipeline” or barrel waves and watching how powerful they were as they crashed on the shore. Banzai pipeline is known for drawing world class surfers, and national surfing competitions are held here! My daughters and I had watched several surfing movies before coming to Hawaii so it was really fun to see some awesome surfers in real life. The sand here was soft, but there was a steeper slope down to the water than what we were used to due to the current. I didn’t let my kids get in the water here. We liked that there was a restroom and a place to rinse sand off your feet.

Papa’iloa Beach

This was my older daughter’s favorite. The sand was soft, and the view was stunning. To your right, palm trees, and to your left, mountains. The black rocks added more dynamic to an already picturesque landscape. We came to this beach in hopes of spotting sea turtles but never saw any. It is not as well known as some of the more popular ones for sea turtles so this is the one I was most excited about. I was hopeful we could spot turtles and have a really pleasant experience since it wouldn’t be as crowded. I wish we had talked to my friend who lived on Oahu before our trip – she shared after we returned that you can easily spot them under rocks or when snorkeling. I guess we were expecting to just spot them on the beach area. We should have looked more carefully!

You can find it by entering the name of the beach on your GPS, however, the parking lot is in a very nice neighborhood where you will see a “dead end” sign. But keep driving and you’ll see it on your left! The parking lot itself looked a little foreboding with a “lock your car, high theft area” sign and the cars in the lot were very old and run down looking. You couldn’t rinse off your feet here, so in hindsight, we would recommend bringing a jug of water on your visit.

Laniakea Beach

Laniakea Beach is a very popular beach known for spotting sea turtles. We drove by the day before we actually visited, and saw a huge group of people huddled together making videos with their cell phones, We assume it was to video the turtles. When we visited ourselves, there were many cars parked in the lot across the street but it was easy to find a spot close to the beach path. Be careful on your way down and along the beach. Some of the rocks are slippery. We even saw a girl slip and fall pretty hard while we were there. We didn’t see turtles, but as I explained with Papa’iloa Beach, they like to be near the rocks and we didn’t explore very long since my crew was tired from exploring the other three beaches. i would recommend allowing more time here and think we would have seen turtles if we had just stayed longer and looked more closely. I also read in a blog post that they are more easily spotted late afternoon, like after 3pm. Although there was high potential for spotting turtles, with it being so crowded and all the rocks (large and small), I wouldn’t recommend it for snorkeling.

Oahu for Foodies: Best Grocery Stores
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Oahu for Foodies: Best Grocery Stores

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When our family travels, one of the things we research before visiting is where to find the best grocery shopping. Lovers of fresh fruit, shellfish, good steaks, poke and really foods of all kinds, it’s important to us to procure the best food available since we tend to cook a lot when we travel.

My husband is a classically trained chef, and on the rare occasions we’ve paid major bucks to eat out when we travel, my daughters and I will often feel that dad could have made the food better and we should have just eaten at home. Hence the importance of finding the best groceries!

We have a Foodland 3 minutes away from where we’re staying in North Shore, which is super convenient for staple items and interestingly, the best tuna poke. But when you’re on Oahu and looking to do the most of your shopping, you’re best bet is to go to Honolulu.

In Honolulu, we were delighted to find two of our absolute favorite grocery stores that we frequented often when we lived in San Francisco: Nijiya and Safeway.

Nijiya is a Japanese supermarket and an absolute gem. We love to grab ikura (salmon roe) and tekka maki (smaller sushi rolls, and we adore raw tuna). We can’t wait so we usually just consume in the car! Just do it! We have also appreciated finding some harder to find produce there such as daikon, and enoki mushrooms. I love their miso and edamame as well as sake.

Safeway is a wonderful and large grocery that we love for two reasons: It has just about everything you could possible think of and need so you can accomplish most of your shopping there, and it’s fairly affordable! There is plenty of parking on the lower level and the store itself is on the top level. They have an outdoor patio on the upper level where you could grab a bite at the deli and eat outdoors. but it was closed when we visited due to Covid. You will also need to wear a mask anywhere you venture indoors (as of the date of this post, July 2021).

I saved the best for last, Foodland Farms. I have heard Foodland Farms referred to as “the Hawaiian Whole Foods, and also as “Whole Foods on Steroids.” Unfortunately, it also shares higher prices as a characteristic of Whole Foods, and as a result, we only bought some specialized items there such as crab legs, shrimp (amazing!!), some fruits, and a few pantry items. The wine section was epic, and also wine can prove to be harder to find on North Shore since it is a dry county. So stock up here!

It is important to note that Hawaiians are huge on respect and the environment. You will want to purchase some reusable bags while you’re there as they frown on waste and you will bag your own groceries as well. They also are on island time, and view someone rushing around, impatient and in a hurry as rude. So just relax!

These three stores in combination are the reason my eyes light up each time I open up our fridge or look in our pantry. It’s so fun having this bounty of foods available to us that we can’t find back home.

6 Healthy Ways to Process Emotions as an Introvert
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6 Healthy Ways to Process Emotions as an Introvert

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Processing emotions in a healthy way looks very different when you’re an introvert. Where extroverts may vent and confide in others or go to therapy, introverts can be more at risk of keeping things in. So we have to have strategies and coping skills to allow us to process our feelings too. Here are 6 techniques that any introvert can use to process and move through emotions, and can even help you move to more positive emotions.

1. Quiet time. While someone outgoing can feel replenished by talking with others, it’s draining to an introvert. Quiet time, and especially meditation can help you to recharge your battery and feel refreshed, especially if you have a job or other situations on a daily basis that require you to be social.

Meditation isn’t nearly as complicated or hard as you might think. Just sitting in a quiet place and clearing your mind of thoughts is a form of meditation – no need to chant or repeat a mantra necessary. If you are experiencing negative emotions, clearing your mind and shifting to no emotion will provide you great relief. And if you find sitting and meditating challenging, take a nap!

2. Journaling. It’s so important to have an outlet to express how we feel. Journaling is a great and safe way to release and process our thoughts and feelings. Not only is journaling amazing for releasing and sharing the things that have happened to us, it is a good way to help us create and plan for what’s ahead.

When you’re journaling, a great technique is to make a list of positive aspects. Whatever you’re having negative feelings about, try shifting to thinking of positive qualities about that topic or individual and it will provide you with relief. There aren’t many concepts that don’t have positive aspects.

If that seems too difficult, or you’re too upset to write on that topic, consider making a general list of positive aspects – things that are going really well in your life or things that you are grateful for. Sometimes you’ll find you need to completely change the subject to feel some relief.

3. Get outdoors. When emotions are getting the better of you, there is no better distractor than Mother Nature. Taking a short walk or just standing outside and watching the clouds move across the sky or the trees blow in the breeze will soothe you and calm you. Grounding is effective too. If the weather is nicer, try taking a barefoot stroll: this is grounding. It shifts your energy and can be very relaxing.

4. Tap into your five senses. By tapping into one or more of your five senses you can calm yourself pretty quickly. Take a deep breath, and if you’re at home, feel the texture of a nearby blanket or fabric. If you’re at work, feel the smooth surface of your desktop or workspace. If you’re driving, just feel the texture of your steering wheel with your fingertips. Have a healthy snack or a drink of water. Turn on one of your favorite songs, or sometimes it’s helpful to turn the music off and listen to the air conditioning or heating unit which may sound like white noise. Look around you and notice your surroundings. Tapping into your five senses may sound simple, but it forces you to be present and stops the momentum of your worry or concern.

5. Self-care. Indulge in a form of self-care. For you, maybe that’s a relaxing bath, getting your nails done, or making yourself a cup of tea. Do whatever you know brings you peace and calms you.

6. Get crafty and be creative. Creativity is one of the best outlets we have available to us. Whether it’s creating art, music, writing, or maybe a craft like knitting or baking, it gives us a way to express ourselves and in the act of creation we feel a sense of renewal. You may or may not consider yourself to be artistic, but regardless of that, you will find that expressing yourself and making something new will force you to be present and be in the here and now.

In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews’s character Maria sings “My Favorite Things,” where she recounts the things that bring her joy, and help her cope when she is down, and to her list I would add all of the above. I hope this list inspires you and brings you hope, calming and peace.