Hazina

I thought it would be a good idea to share my heart and the story behind Project Hazina.
Many of you are probably wondering what in the world this is all about. This will be a lengthy post so please, please read all the way through to fully "get" the heart behind it.
 Since returning home from Africa, this project has been stirring deep inside of my heart and I have been waiting for the right time to "launch" it. This has been such a sweet journey between me and the Lord and until now I have not spoken about it much at all. Ask my husband. He would ask me when I was going to move forward with this idea and I would just tell him that it was still just between Jesus and I. haha poor guy, he was so patient with me.
Anyways, I want to share the story of how I even came up with this idea. First of all, I will say that this idea was not from me but from the Lord. It literally dropped out of nowhere and hit my heart like a freight train. I did not ever see myself doing something like this, basically having a blanket ministry. There is some irony behind it though.  Ever since I was a young girl, I have always had a fetish with blankets. My mom can attest to this! She tells me I would literally take all of her couch blankets and sleep with them in my bed. If she couldn't find a blanket in the house, she would immediately know where to look and yes, find it in my room. I.Love.Blankets.
To me, blankets represent so much more than just a warm, cuddly material. Growing up, blankets brought me comfort in tough times. Security when I felt alone. My world was sometimes crashing down around me and I would feel at peace when I would snuggle up with a blanket. I truly believe that God used those blankets to "wrap me in his arms".  I find it funny that even when I was a very young girl, my love for blankets was birthing a future ministry! Little did I know! I just love how God works.

This past July I traveled to Kenya and Uganda for two weeks. That trip was full of many life-changing moments. I was taught thankfulness in a whole new way. Words.cannot.describe. I saw heart-breaking things that I cannot even adequately describe. Things you would have to see to believe. I met children that were living in orphanages simply because their parents had to pick and choose which children they could afford to feed. They were not chosen. I held young girls as they wept from the hurt of rejection by their parents. Many, Many of the children we met were orphaned because their parents died of HIV and a good amount of those children were positive themselves. It took everything within me to not weep with them but instead be strong and show them the Love of Jesus.
Out of all the life changing moments I experienced, one changed me immensely and literally shaped my future. This brings me to Project Hazina.
It was our last night in Kenya and we had been staying at an orphanage the whole week we were there. As a special treat, we were allowed to tuck the children into bed since it was our last night there and many of us were heavy-hearted with the daunting task of saying goodbye.
The whole week I had bonded with a certain group of young girls and I was so excited to get to tuck them into bed. I immediately pictured me tucking the blanket under their chin and saying a prayer over them. When we approached the girls' sleeping quarters,  I was immediately struck with something I did not expect. My girls had no blankets. No pillow. Nothing. Just a very dirty mattress yet they were so proud of what they did have. I tried to hide my shock as I looked at their bare beds. I began to feel almost "awkward" as I began to tuck them in. Like something was missing and I knew what that something was. Blankets. My heart broke as I watched "my" girls lay down in their bed and that was that. There was nothing to "tuck" in. They laid there and I prayed over them and they asked me to tell them a story. Side note: there are no bedtime books to read so this spoiled American had to come up with a story without using a book. This is a side note but I hope you can picture this and catch the humor as I painfully made up a goofy story. The girls loved it but it was a stretch for me! haha

It was during that moment of realizing they had no blankets that my heart not only broke but leaped because I knew that I could do something about this!!!

I realized that there are so many awesome ministries and organizations out there that focus on feeding children which is AMAZING and definitely the number one priority but I began to ask myself what about blankets and pillows? Was there someone who had a passion for that? That's when it happened. God began to clearly lay out the vision for my project and that chilly, starry night in Kenya I knew that God was calling me to do something to fix this problem. That night, Project Hazina was birthed.

You may think a blanket is not a priority and that this is a silly project but I would kindly challenge you to strip your bed of any and all comforts. No sheets. No pillows. No blankets. Add a cool temperature and limited clothing and tell me how you feel. These children are orphans. They have nothing.
No parents to tuck them into bed, no family to belong to. Can you just close your eyes and picture what a blanket could do for them? It will bring comfort. Security. Warmth.
I laugh thinking about what God is calling me to. I picture myself as the "crazy blanket lady" and guess what? I don't care :) If just ONE child can be comforted from a blanket and feel Jesus' love in that moment, praise God it was worth it.

The word Hazina means treausre in the African language of Swahili and this name literally came straight from Jesus. I was praying about a name for this project for weeks and had come up with nothing. I told God that I didn't just want any name. I wanted a name that HE gave me and that was special and meaningful. I told God that if it were up to me, I would love an African word and as silly as it sounds, would love for the word to have a "Z" in it. Don't ask me why. haha  I waited for several weeks and one morning during a quiet time with the Lord he so sweetly whispered the word "treasure" in my heart. I immediately looked up the Swahili word for treasure and that's when I found it: HAZINA. I was soooo excited! Not only was it a meaningful name because we are going to give these children a Treasure and God sees those children as treasures BUT it had my Z!! :) God is good, don't ever doubt him for a second!

I cannot do this by myself.

I need YOUR help! Please don't just read this or see my project and think that I will have enough people already helping me because the truth is, I don't have one blanket donation yet :) I am still working out a ton of logistics and with my full time job and list of a million responsibilities, it takes a long time but I will get there! I have never felt more excited about something in my life. This is what I was created to do. My heart for missions and people all tie into this project and I am just SO excited!
Please "like" Project Hazina on Facebook to follow my journey! If you would like to help me financially, my first goal is to raise $3,780 for new pillows and blankets for all of the children at the orphanage in Kenya. For just $18 dollars a child can have a brand new blanket and pillow! There are 210 children at this orphanage so the total needed is $3,780. These blankets will be purchased in Kenya and delivered to the children! :) I am working hard to set up my official non-profit organization and name so your donations can be tax-deducatble but for now I am just asking you to help me by donating to my personal paypal. I can promise you that every penny you give will go straight to buy a new blanket and pillow. Will you please consider sponsoring a child for $18? Eighteen dollars is all it takes!!!!
I just need 210 people to sponsor one child.

Click the link to PayPal to pay online! :)

https://www.paypal.com/

Our info to send money via paypal:
Chris Gunn
cwgunnn@gmail.com (note the 3 n's)
(904)742-2788


OR if you prefer, you can mail us a check(made out to Chris Gunn) and send it to:
P.O. BOX 52124
SARASOTA, FL 34232

I am so excited and I love you all!
If you made it through this long blog post, thank you!!!

Love,
Jessica Gunn
Project Hazina

"Happiness Happens"

My sweet husband sent me this story on Friday and wow, was it inspiring! I have always dreamed of doing something like this and this story may have been just what I needed to step out and just start! I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. Let me know your thoughts! :) ~Jess~

"The Business 9 Women Kept A Secret For Three Decades"

--by Lori Weiss

Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women -- or "The 9 Nanas," as they prefer to be called -- gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine -- a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. They have one mission and one mission only: to create happiness. And it all begins with baked goods.

“One of us starts sifting the flour and another washing the eggs,” explained Nana Mary Ellen, the appointed spokesperson for their secret society. “And someone else makes sure the pans are all ready. We switch off, depending on what we feel like doing that day.

“But you make sure to say Nana Pearl is in charge, because she’s the oldest!” she added with a wink and a smile.

Over the next three hours, The 9 Nanas (who all consider themselves sisters, despite what some of their birth certificates say) will whip up hundreds of pound cakes, as part of a grand scheme to help those in need. And then, before anyone gets as much as a glimpse of them, they’ll disappear back into their daily lives. The only hint that may remain is the heavenly scent of vanilla, lemon and lime, lingering in the air.

Even the UPS driver, who picks up hundreds of packages at a time, has no clue what these women, who range in age from 54 to 72, are doing. He’s just happy to get a hug and a bag filled with special treats. What he doesn’t know is that he’s part of their master plan. A plan that began 35 years ago -- when the “sisters” got together for their weekly card game -- something their husbands referred to as “Broads and Bridge.”

“Pearl says it was all her idea,” Mary Ellen teased, “but as I remember it, we were sitting around reminiscing about MaMaw and PaPaw and all the different ways they would lend a hand in the community.” MaMaw and PaPaw are the grandparents who raised four of the women, Mary Ellen included, when their mother passed away; and they took in Pearl as their own, when her parents needed some help.

“MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died,” Mary Ellen remembered, “and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?

So the ladies began brainstorming.

“One of the sisters suggested that we should all start doing our own laundry and put the money we saved to good use. I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.”

And then the women started listening. They’d eavesdrop -- all with good intentions, of course -- at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries. And when they heard about a widow or a single mom who needed a little help, they’d step in and anonymously pay a utility bill or buy some new clothes for the children.

“We wanted to help as much as we could,” Mary Ellen said, “without taking away from our own families, so we became coupon clippers. And we’d use green stamps. Remember those? We’d use green stamps and we’d make sure to go to Goldsmith’s department store on Wednesdays. Every week they’d have a big sale and you could spend $100 and walk away with $700 worth of merchandise.”

The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note that simply said, “Somebody loves you” -- and they’d be sure to include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes.

The more people they helped, the bolder they became.

“We gave new meaning to the term drive-by,” Mary Ellen said with delight. “We’d drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes that had fans in the window. That told us that the people who lived there didn’t have air-conditioning. Or we’d see that there were no lights on at night, which meant there was a good chance their utilities had been turned off. Then we’d return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.”

For three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected -- that is, until five years ago, when Mary Ellen’s husband, whom she lovingly calls “Southern Charmer,” started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash being withdrawn from their savings account.

“He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!” Mary Ellen said, recalling the horror she felt. “I tried to explain that I had bought some things, but he had this look on his face that I’d never seen before -- and I realized what he must have been thinking. I called the sisters and said, 'You all need to get over here right away.'”

So 30 years into their secret mission, the 9 Nanas and their husbands gathered in Mary Ellen’s living room and the sisters came clean. They told the husbands about the laundry and the eavesdropping -- even the drive-bys. And that’s where their story gets even better -- because the husbands offered to help.

“They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.”

It wasn’t long before the couples decided it was also time to tell their grown children. And that’s when happiness began to happen in an even bigger way. The children encouraged their mothers to start selling MaMaw Ruth’s pound cakes online, so they could raise money to help even more people. And it wasn’t long before they were receiving more than 100 orders in a day.

“The first time we saw those orders roll in, we were jumping up and down,” Mary Ellen said with a laugh. “We were so excited that we did a ring-around-the-rosie! Then we called all the children and said, 'What do we do next?'"

That’s when the 9 Nanas moved their covert baking operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons, where they can sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff comes in. They even hired a “happiness coordinator” (whose code name is “Sunny,” of course). Her identity needs to be a secret, too, so she can help out with the eavesdropping.

“We swore her to secrecy -- her parents think she works in marketing. And, really, if you think about it, she is doing public relations and spends a lot of time looking for people to help at the supermarket!”

These days, The 9 Nanas are able to take on even bigger projects, given their online success. Recently they donated more than $5,000 of pillows and linens and personal care products to a shelter for survivors of domestic violence. And this August, they’ll celebrate their second consecutive “Happiness Happens Month” by sending tokens of their appreciation to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community.

And that million dollars they once wished for? They’re almost there. In the last 35 years, the 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community.

But that doesn’t mean they’re too busy to continue doing the little things that make life a bit happier. Sometimes they just pull out the phone book and send off pound cakes to complete strangers. And if the Nanas spot someone at the grocery store who appears to need a little help, it’s not unusual for them to start filling a stranger’s cart.

“Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong.

“So this is our way of giving back,” Mary Ellen said. “We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.”

---

To learn more about The 9 Nanas and Happiness Happens or to purchase one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes, you can visit their website: Happiness-Happens.com  .

55 Gentle ways to take care of yourself

I found this article through a friend and it REALLY helped me! Take time to read through all 55 ways, you won't be sorry! This article is taken from  www.thefreedomexperiment.com 

"55 Gentle ways to take care of yourself when you are busy busy busy"

We all have times in our lives when we just have too much stuff going on. There are always deadlines, exams, due dates and just too many priorities to juggle. And when everything is going wrong, the world is screaming for your attention and you just don’t have time – the last thing you need to hear is to “just take a day off”. So here are 55 gentle ways you can take care of yourself when you’re pressed for time and attention. Enjoy! 

Say no to anything that is not important to you

Laundry, phone calls with your mom, demanding girlfriends – this is not the time to be nice and “responsible”. Give yourself the permission to focus on what’s important. Getting the unessential responsibilites off your schedule will not only create som extra time and space, it will also lighten the burden you’re feeling to keep up with it.

Ask for help

There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, and you’ll quickly learn that most people around you actually love to be asked! It makes them feel useful and important. What usually helps the most is to get help to do the normal things; cooking, shopping and regular every-day tasks. However, don’t underestimate how important the people in your life can be when it comes to feedback, motivationand supporting your self-confidence regarding the important work you’re doing.

Get enough sleep

An oldie, but a goodie. This old advice is not only essential when it comes to self-care, it is also absolutely essential when it comes to being able to do your best. Particularly important when it comes to exam periods and work stress, sleep will help you achieve. It’s easy to think that a few extra hours of work will do you more good, but it won’t. Sleep will.

Drink tea

Coffee will only get you that far, before it sends you down into tiredness again. While still being hot and comforting, tea (and especially the herbal kind) won’t make you dehydrated and shaky. If you’re feeling tired and think you need a coffeine boost, go for cold water (or iced tea) instead. Cold water will help wake you up!

Listen to your favourite music

Calm music will help you calm down and upbeat music will help you up your game. Pick music that won’t distract you (like music without lyrics or in a foreign language). Your favourite music will boost your mood and keep you happy, no matter how tired you are.

Eat healthy and green food

I know it’s tempting to order pizza, but it really pays off to take your time to cook and eat nutritious and healthy food. Not only will it help you achieve better, it will also boost your mood! I truly recommend heading over to The Stonesoup for some quick and easy recipes. Most of these recipes can be made in less than 10 minutes!

Take 5 minutes in the morning to just stretch and breathe

If you start your day in a stressful way, you’ll probably feel stressed for the rest of the day as well. Make sure your morning starts with 5 minutes of silence and ease. Stand up and stretch your body to make you as tall as you can be. Then bend over and touch the ground. Stretch again. Try to just feel your body and pay attention to your breath. Starting the day in a way like this will make you more relaxed as well!

Walk everywhere

You might be busy and think that every minute is valuable time to put into your work, but some extra minutes of walking might be a better way to spend some time. If you live close to where you’re going, it’s better to walk than to use public transport (or your car). Not only will the exercise be good for you, you also get some important fresh air and daylight. If you have to commute, get off public transport one or two stops too early, or park your car further away than usual. The extra minutes of fresh air will save you lots of time when you start working and feel more focused.

Take 5-minute mini-breaks every hour

You can’t stay focused all the time. No matter how efficient you work, you’ll always get distracted, let your mind wander or end up spending time reading e-mail (and blogs) instead. A better way to spend this time is to get up from your chair, walk outside and take a 5-minute break. The change of place, the change of physical posture and the movement will make it easier to start again when your break is over. You’ll also give your brain a chance to relax and process information, which is essential for your well-being.

Break your self-care habits into smaller tasks and do one each day

No need to look like you’re constantly running after your life, even if you are! Just break up your routine into smaller, and more achievable chunchs. Shave your legs one day, paint your nails the next day, wash your hair the day after, etc. This approach also works with keeping your house tidy – just do one little chore every day and you’ll stay on top of everything more easily.

Make a plan of everything that needs to be done

Instead of juggling all your to-do’s and must-remember’s, write them down on a piece of paper. Then make a plan of how you are going to manage everything before your deadline. You may have to schedule a lot of tasks on certain days, and it may seem like too much to do, but at least you’ll know that everything will get done. Make sure you stick to the plan, every single day. Don’t fall for the temptation to start on tomorrow’s tasks today, trust that the plan will take you there, and enjoy some free time on the days when you finish your tasks early.

Make sure you keep in touch with your friends

Just a few text messages, tweets or the occational coffee will make sure your friendships don’t suffer. You will feel much better when you focus on something else entirely, and it will prevent you form becoming a workaholic hermit. You don’t have to keep in touch with everybody, most people will understand that you’re having a busy period. Just make sure you stay in touch with the people that make you happy and inspired.

Make room for rest

This one’s important. Make sure that whenever you plan to rest – really rest. That means that you will have to make a conscious effort to push all work-related thoughts and worries away. It’s also important that you rest your mind as well as your body. 5 minutes of stillness is better than 30 minutes in front of the TV!

Surround yourself with inspiring photos

Put up some of your favourite photos where you can see them when you work. Whenever you get unfocused, you will feel much better if you can rest your eyes on something pretty, rather than everything that reminds you of how busy you are. If you can’t put up photos at work or in a study hall, bring a scrapbook or use Pinterest on your computer.

Write a daily gratitude list

A daily gratitude list is really helpful to shift your focus and help you appreciate the situation. It doesn’t have to be long, a few sentences will do. If you keep a gratitude journal, you can also look back on your previous entries whenever you need a little boost of happiness and motivation.

Spend your lunchtime as sacred you-time

… and enjoy your healthy food with a little journaling, blog-reading, or people-watching. See it as a way to nourish your soul on several levels. It’s important to eat, but it’s equally important to be inspired, creative, silly, whimsical and happy.

Write a worry-list

Stress makes us more vulnerable, and worry can be a nasty side-effect of a busy period. If you find yourself worrying a lot, it’s a good idea to write a daily worry-list. Whenever you catch a worrying thought, write it down and save it for later. Spend 5 minutes in the morning and 5-minutes in the evening worrying about whatever you put on your list. It may sound simple, but postponing your worry will actually make it less worrying whenever you sit down and actually think about it in peace and quiet.

Take a run or a long walk

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Any sort of excercise will release endorophins, your body will thank you + it clears your head so you can focus on all the important work that lies ahead.

Keep a planner and shedule no-appointments time

To make your life less chaotic, it’s a good practice to keep a planner. Make sure you write down every single appointment, to save yourself from unwanted surprises and missed meetings. Just remember to schedule time for yourself. Honor your appointment with yourself just as much as you would keep an appointment with anyone else. Just make sure you schedule time with yourself first – anyone else needs to come in second in your life.

Keep track of your achievements

It may seem like you’re never going to get over a busy period, which is why you should keep a list of achievements close at any time.Whenever you hit a milestone – write it down! It will be very useful when you’re feeling tired by the end of the day and know that you still have several more hours of work before you can call it a day.

Wear your pretty clothes

… and be busy with style! If you dress nicely, chances are you’ll feel better too. All it takes is 5 minutes in the morning, and with your most powerful, wonderful and pretty clothes on, you’ll feel like a million for the rest of the day.

Go to a yoga class

…Or do some yoga at home. Even ten minutes of savasana is better than nothing, and will recharge your batteries (and your mind).

Take a hot bath

Nothing helps you relax like a hot bath. Use your favourite bubbles, turn off the light, light some candles and you’re good to go. One hour in the bath in the evening may be the best way to relax because of this simple fact – you can’t take your work and your computer with you.

Light candles

Candles have a relaxing effect, especially gently scented ones. If you can’t light candles in your workplace, make sure you light them when you get home. Lavender and cedarwood are scents that can help you relax.

Write support-thoughts and affirmations

Support-thoughts are thougths written down when you’re calm, that can support you when you are really busy and tired. For example, a gentle reminder of why you’re doing all the work, a short pep-talk, or a reminder of how wonderful you are is an amaxing way of taking care of yourself.

Craft an emotional emergency plan

Ideally, you should have this written down before you enter a really busy period. If everything goes wrong, and you’re maxed out, panicky or just plain exhausted – who do you call? what do you do? where do you go? Planning this in advance is self-care on a high level.

Breathe

Do I need to say more? When stress builds up, take five seconds off and just breathe. Deep.

Do something silly

Don’t forget to have fun! Who said you can’t laugh, even though you’re busy! Make jokes, engage with you co-workers, read comics and just allow yourself to be silly for a little while. I promise it wil boost your mood, your co-workers’ moods and a little laughter every day will help you through a really challenging time.

Single-task

Now is not the time to play superwoman. Be nice to yourself and let your brain tackle one task at a time. Rumours have it that this is more productive in the long run…

Read Focus by Leo Babauta

This book is quick to read (and there’s a free version!) and it will change your work habits and make it much easier to be you. Enough said.

Take the last evening off

The last night before your big D(r)eadline is the night to relax. Panicking in the last minute isn’t a very good way of taking care of yourself. And you don’t want to oversleep on your exam day, have dark circles under your eyes on presentation day or distroy everything in the last minute because you spent the last night cramming. Take the last evening (or even the last day) off and relax. You’ve done your best, there’s nothing more you can do. Pat yourself on your back – you made it.

Keep a tidy workspace

It will make you more focused, relaxed and less overwhelmed.

Create some routines

When work or studies take all your focus, it can be useful to create some new habits or routines to take some of the burden off your back. Make it a habit to cook a larger batch of dinner on day 1, and eat leftovers for the next two days. Use Sundays to prepare what to wear for the next couple of days. Wear your hair in a ponytail five days in a row. This is not the time to expect yourself to find lots of different and exciting outfits, hairdo’s or recipes.

Write things down

When you’re mind is working over-time, let it relax by helping yourself remember everything. Write down any ideas, to-do’s, must-remember’s and other things you have to remember. This way, you don’t have to carry the additional stress of remembering everything you need to remember.

Accept a little clutter and mess

Just let it be. Some dust and a little dirt has never hurt anyone. Focus on what’s important to you, you can always clean up the mess later. Just don’t go around and feel bad about it on top of everything else!

Allow your emotions to come to the surface

If you’re tired and sad, cry it all out. If you’re stressed, don’t try to put on a mask and hide it. Get it all out, all the frustration, the overwhelm, the anger and the fear. You’ll feel much better after.

Honor your limits

Set some limits and stick with them. A lot of tasks when we’re busy don’t have a set limit, like when you’re studying and being creative. It’s easy to feel like you’re never quite done. Set some clear limits for yourself and honor them. Say to yourself; “when the time is up, I’m DONE”.

Take the weekends completely off

If you’re under constant pressure over an extended period of time, it’s good practice to keep the weekends completely sacred. This means no work e-mail or calls, no appointments or catching up.

Gather your support group

Call your mother and ask her to help you take care of the house, tell your girlfriends what you’re dealing with, seek out others in the same situation as you, and make sure your partner is on your team. Not only can they help with practical tasks, they will give you lot’s of moral support and you’ll feel less alone.

Outsource

Outsource what you can, for example your home cleaning, laundry or bookeeping.

Delegate

If you’re working on a team – make sure you don’t try to do everything yourself, delegate as much as you can to lighten your load.

Get more sunlight

Especially if your busy period is happening in winter, make sure you get your daily dose of sunlight if you’re spending a lot of time in gloomy libraries and workplaces.

Take your vitamins

This won’t even take you a minute – just go for a multivitamin paired with your breakfast. Especially important if you’re eating a lot of processed and unhealthy foods when you’re busy, but remember that vitamins don’t make up for an unhealthy diet.

Eat fresh fruit and vegetables

Keep some fruits and nuts close by and snack when you’re hungry. Don’t forget the veg, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and carrots are great snacks!

Use scented oils in the shower

Lavender to relax, or a little peppermint to wake you up – all you need is a drop or two of essential oil in the shower.

Resist the urge to be productive all the time

You can’t be equally productive every single waking moment, so you might as well schedule some off time right away. Be nice to yourself and don’t expect to accomplish as much in the late evening as you do in the morning.

Limit your media consumption

… because your brain can only process a limited amount of information. When you need your focus to be on work, don’t overflow your brain with tv news, newspapers, magazines and books.

Meditate in the morning

Ten minutes of stillness can make all the difference.

Block out distractions

Need to get some work done? Consider to pull out your internet cable, switch off your phone and lock the door. If only for a few hours, you won’t miss out on anything, and you’ll feel a lot better afterwards.

Compliment yourself

Positive self-speech can seriously impact your mood. Instead of adding to the monkey-brain thoughts of not good enough, too stressed and panic – tell yourself you look good, that you’re doing great and that you can manage everything that comes your way.

Do the dreaded tasks first

There are always tasks you’ll love to do more than others, and it’s tempting to do those first. However, it’s a good idea to do the hardest tasks first. That way, you’ll save yourself from all the dread!

Brighten your day with colourful pencils and pretty stationery

It doesn’t have to cost much, but it will make a huge impact on your happiness – especially if you’re a stationery and design geek… (well, who isn’t?)

Reward yourself

Maybe not the best overall habit to get used to, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If you need it to get through – reward yourself with gifts, chocolate and breaks whenever you finish a task. Just don’t make it a habit to kick yourself if you don’t make it. Maybe you need the treat anyways?

Postpone all major decisions

… This is not the time to move houses, quit your day job or break up with your spouse (however tempting any of those changes are). Save the big stuff for when you’re calmer and can think clearer.

Accept yourself as you are

Let yourself off the hook and accept that you are only human. You are doing your absolute best, and you are doing exactly what you need to do. Trust your instincts and keep doing whatever you’re doing. You don’t need to change anything about yourself – trust that you are perfect just the way you are.

Being REAL...seeing results! :-)

Last week I blogged about being REAL with one another and what that would really look like. 
I had such a wonderful and encouraging response so I want to say thank you to everyone who encouraged me or e-mailed me to tell me that it inspired you to be REAL. That is my heart and my goal for blogging. I want to challenge myself and invite you all to hold me accountable and take different challenges with me. Of course there will be some fun, light-hearted posts along the way too. ;)

So the past week I really reflected on my blog post about being REAL and what that looks like in my own life. I will be honest and say that as soon as I hit "publish" I kind of freaked out. I knew that by me writing that post, I would be held accountable to be real in my own life and I also knew that people would be watching me closely to see how I was putting into practice what I said.

I did not really have an opportunity at church this week to ask anyone how they REALLY were because I was working in the nursery and dealing with two year olds but I still tried hard to love them better than my flesh felt like loving them! :) 

However, saying that I am SO excited to share that I had an opportunity to get realllllyyyy REAL with someone close to me. At first I didn't want to share who the "someone" was but I feel like I need to....well, be real ;) This someone happened to be my beautiful Mom. For a long time now, probably about 6 months there have been some unspoken things between us that had began to cause some hurt and resentment. My mom and I are and always have been very close. I am extremely blessed to have her as my mom and she is my hero in SO many ways! But, let's face it, we ALL have hurts with family members that we don't take directly to them but instead begin to harbor hurt feelings which then begin to turn into bitterness. It's crazy how resentment, hurt and bitterness slowly begin to overcome you and soon you don't even realize how much it's effecting your relationship with that person! That is what happened with us.
There were some things in both of our hearts that we simply did not share with each other but yet we both felt the tension and strain on our relationship. It's sad that we let it go this long but there are lessons to be learned in this. Amen :) 
So Sunday afternoon, while soaking in the sun at her pool (we are so lucky!) we got REAL with each other. It was not necessarily comfortable, fun or easy. In fact, I kind of wanted to swim away several times, hah! But guess what? THERE WAS SO MUCH FREEDOM AND HEALING AFTERWARDS!!!! After we got everything out in the open and shared our hearts with one another, there was an immediate weight lifted off my shoulders. Whew! I did it!!! I was real with some issues that were extremely hard to be real about. It was hard but NOT impossible! :) The end result was hugs, asking for forgiveness and vowing to do better! WOW! :) 

I am sharing this little story with you to hopefully inspire you to go to whoever it may be that you need to just get real with. Maybe it's a parent or a friend or maybe it's a spouse. I am asking you to please allow God to speak to you about this topic of being REAL. I am just an ordinary person but through God's grace he is helping me to conquer this area in my life and I am officially seeing results!

Last night I am excited to say that my mom & I met for dessert and went out to a movie and it was such a light-hearted and different experience than it has been lately. Before our talk, we of course dearly loved each other but we were just surviving not thriving. I am extremely excited because we are now thriving once again and our relationship is only growing stronger. 

This would not have happened if we were not REAL with each other.  All it takes is some swallowing of our pride and stepping out of our comfort zones. I promise you, when you take that first awkward step, God will meet you and help you!! 

So, once again--I encourage you to pray about who it is that God is leading you to go be real with.
I would absolutely love to hear the testimony of what happens! :)
We are all in this together and through CHRIST, we can do ALL things! 

Let's keep it real!
Jessica Renee

Stained glass masquerade

Lately I have been thinking a lot about being real with people. What would this really look like?

I will be the first to admit, the very thought of being 100% real with someone is enough to make me shudder. I will also be the first to admit that sometimes I really, really stink at being real with people.

Yep. I said it. I have a hard time letting people know how I am really doing. 

This is an area in my life that I DETERMINED to conquer. Preferably this year. ha! Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a deep dark secret or a really messed up life that I don't want people knowing. I'm talking about heart to heart, every day things. I so often find myself quickly answering "I'm great, how are you?" when someone asks me how I am. Sometimes, I am great but sometimes, I'm struggling. Sometimes I need to have a good cry and share what I'm struggling with. Sometimes I need prayer. Why are we as humans so quick to just give an easy, cheesy answer of "I'm great!"? 

In addition to working on being REAL with people, I want to work on something else as well.

I don't want to just ask people a predictable "How are you?!" and accept a casual answer. What would happen if we all started looking people in the eyes and asking "How are you really doing?" I have done this several times already and the results are usually quite awesome. The person more times than not, will end up sharing something they need prayer for or something that they need wisdom on. How cool is that!? I need to step this up, so keep me accountable! I have such a desire to look people straight in the eyes and ask them if they are okay. 

I feel like churches are the worst place for this. Yes, I just said that :) I need to preface this and say that I am NOT speaking badly about my church. I absolutely love my church and the people there. I'm just saying that week after week I go to church and see the same people. Week after week I feel like we all "go through the motions" but never really bother to ask how each other are really doing. It's "Hi, how are you...good and you? Oh good, life is busy but good" that's the same SHALLOW answer I say and hear all. the. time. Sure it's out of our comfort zones to actually ask people if they are really okay or if they need prayer but HELLO are we not called to this??! If we can't be real with each other in church, than how do we ever expect to minister outside of the walls of our churches? Please know I am speaking to myself here too!!! :)

Just two nights ago, I had the opportunity to step way out of my comfort zone and be real with two friends of mine. It was awkward and uncomfortable. It was not what I would call fun, but guess what? IT BROUGHT ME SO MUCH FREEDOM! After sharing my heart with these two wonderful girlfriends, I immediately felt a huge weight lift off of me. Ahh I did it. I was real with someone. Not only did I conquer being real, but in return I got SO much encouragement, advice and support! It may not be comfortable but I promise you, it will be worth it! 

I feel like I  have a few wounds that still need some healing in order for me to conquer this completely. Wounds from my childhood. Wounds from hurtful friends. Wounds from being hurt by people I trusted to not hurt me. But just because we have wounds (and we all have wounds, you are not the exception!)  that is not an excuse to shell up and not let our guards down with one another. 

I challenge you! :) I challenge myself! Let's be REAL with each other! If you're hurting, tell someone! If you're struggling in a certain area, tell someone! If you need prayer, ASK! I truly believe that if we did this, we would see a huge shift in not only our own lives but in the church as a whole. Let's stop being fake christians who act like we have it all together because newsflash, we don't! :) I am a broken person, you are a broken person. We are all broken people who without God's grace are nothing. 

Will you join me in being real? If you have any cool stories that come from doing this along with me, PLEASE share them because I would love to hear! :)

In closing, I would like to share some powerful lyrics from a song I know most of you know. It's an old school song by Casting Crowns (oh my gosh they are old school?!) but the Lord laid it on my heart today and it goes along with what I'm sharing :)

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who's traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Let's Be real,

Jessica