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In our journey through life, the path isn’t always straight. We stumble, take detours, and sometimes stray. It's never a question of who does this, but when and in what season are we failing because we ALL fall short of the glory of God. We are all imperfect and often, our harshest critic is not society, peers, or family, but ourselves. To live a life filled with joy and peace, it’s crucial to embrace every version of ourselves, including our younger, less experienced selves

In today's fast-paced, social media-driven world, external validations often take precedence over self-love and self-worth. Societal pressures can cloud our vision, causing us to stray from our authentic selves and the essence of who God created us to be. However, falling in love with ourselves is paramount to uncovering our divine potential and shedding the weight of societal expectations. When you deeply connect with and appreciate yourself, you gain a clear understanding o

Last week, our Willow wasn't acting like herself. She was withdrawn, quiet, lethargic, hardly eating or drinking, & uninterested in her normal motivators. The only time I could get her to smile was on our hikes which she would retreat from with sleep. I was scared & nervous because I had no idea what was wrong until I found a shredded magic eraser in one of her hiding places. My husband & I were relieved at finding out it wasn't toxic, but it had me questioning why she wou

Most claim there isn’t scientific research to support the “magical” properties of essential oils. I’m convinced after reading this, you will see otherwise. To begin to understand how essential oils are beneficial, one must first begin by exploring the anatomy of the human body. Our bodies, like any other living organism is comprised of cells. A cell is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing. On average, the human body is comprised of about 10 trillion

I love you so much! I love that you are always there for me. When I’m happy you celebrate with me. When I am sad, you cry with me. When I’m angry you vent with me. When I feel empty inside, you fill me up. You bring me closer to my friends & family because everyone wants to be with you. I want to be with you. I chase you down & stalk you all the time. I look for you everywhere, everyday. In fact, I plan my days around you. I love that you come in different forms at different

I am seriously all caught up in my feelings today with gratitude & self-love. This world is such a crazy place right now. But, I’m reminded that I’ve been created for such a time as this, Esther 4:14. This season has me reflecting on things I’ve done wrong, people I need to let go of & the good God makes out of it all. I’ve spent so many years trying to be what everyone else thought I should be & truthfully it’s only led to more disappointments. I’ve lost relationships with

I get to choose my limits. I get to choose whether I want to take a walk in the rain by bringing an umbrella, getting wet or allowing the rain to stop me altogether from what I wanted to do. I get to choose my limits in my marriage. I get to choose whether I want to complain about him not making me happy or whether I want to step up & treat him the way I wish he would treat me without any expected reciprocation. I get to choose my limits. I get to choose whether I want to ea

I had never put much merit in to holistic alternatives. I always lived a lifestyle of convenience and fast foods and believed without doubt anything the doctor told me about my body. It was a perfect concept, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. When ailments popped up, I simply went to the doctor's for a pill that would take away my pain or illness so I could resume life as usual. It was magical and easy. I assumed whatever was wrong with my body was fixed when my symptoms

Suicidal ideations happen to everyone at some point of time, whether serious or incidental. You have to admit you have thought this world or your world might be better if you were dead at some point in time. But what does that mean to someone who truly means it? What is running through a person's head who feels hopeless in everything? How can a normal, healthy thinking individual help a loved one survive suicide without some real understanding of the irrational thoughts t

I am a victim, but I am not victimized. My confidence and voice have been stolen from me for more times than I would like to admit. I have been molested as a child, silenced. Abandoned by a parent for years, silenced. Date raped as a young adult, silenced. Feared for my life in an abusive relationship, silenced. Contemplated and planned suicide numerous times, but silenced. I have allowed others to mold me into what they wanted me to be and kept my voice silent to fulfill the

I half expected my husband to say no when I asked him if he wanted to drive 2 ½ hours to hike up over 1,000 steps. It seemed like such a good idea. Until it was time to go, lol. I had my doubts about how I was going to be able to physically handle climbing 1,000 steps because saying I am not in the best shape of my life is a huge understatement. But there was no way I was going to be the one to back down from this challenge. I have a few friends who have made this climb &

Witch Hazel Trail proves there’s much more to Dead Man’s Hollow than ghost stories and the remnants of a beautifully grafitied old building. I had no idea this trail existed and stumbled upon it unexpectedly because it’s where the GPS took me when I plugged in, “Dead Man’s Hollow.” I parked on Calhoun Rd. Anyone walking this particular trail would find it incredibly hard to believe any of the many foretold murders and paranormal activities that haunt these 400 acres of woo

I have been walking and biking Cedar Creek trail for a couple of years now not knowing that it’s actually a 1.5-mile loop thanks to the Alltrails app! I always thought it stopped as a dead end at it's 2nd bridge which is awesome because my only complaint about hiking here was that the trail was always too short. This trail is amazing! You can get there a couple of ways; either by vehicle in which you park in a lot adjacent to the Youghiogeny River or taking a detour from the

I have a list of 60 local trails I’d like to hike this year. I gave my husband my list and let him chose our path. On this 90-degree day, he chose what he thought would be a somewhat easy 4.1-mile hike which rounded to be 6 miles via Alltrails. I have driven past the Bear Run Nature Reserve numerous times. I never knew there were over 5,000 miles of hiking trails hiding behind it! We parked in a big lot behind the building and quickly found the trail entrance. There is o

Can we just take a moment to dissect one of the most important life changing scriptures in the Bible that gets little to no attention from Colossians 1:21-23 please? It is important because it let's you know that you are to live like you're forgiven because you are! It reads, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, w

I am seriously all caught up in my feelings today with gratitude & self-love. This world is such a crazy place right now. But, I’m reminded that I’ve been created specifically for such a time as this, Esther 4:14. This season has me reflecting on things I’ve done wrong, people I need to let go of, the good God makes out of it all and the realization that I and you weren't created to be the sacrifice, He was. I’ve spent so many years trying to be what everyone else thought I

It’s not REALLY about the scale. At least it shouldn’t be. There is so much more to being healthy than the number that represents the earth’s gravitational pull on your body. That number that society claims as “healthy” should not be what gets to determine any part of how you feel about yourself. Personally, I know larger built women that are much healthier than some of my skinniest of friends, but society wouldn’t look at them that way. Wholistic health is defined as, “the h

As Christians, we need fed differently through out our walk with God. As newly saved Christians, we need a Pastor to feed us the milk of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, "Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it." That is the foundation upon which Christianity is based. We typically start with the book of John