WAYS TO INVEST IN YOURSELF
1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR CURRENT SEASON
Despite your current circumstances or season you're in, use this time to embrace your obstacles. Take this as an opportunity to discover who you are and what God is calling you to do. Take this opportunity to grow."That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am made strong." (2 Cor. 12:10)
2. SELF-REFLECT
Making time for self-reflection is so important. It takes humility to admit our faults and work towards becoming a better person. Yet, this process is so freeing and rewarding at the same time! For me, self-reflection has led to a renewing of the mind, body, and soul. This process can help you discover a life full of God's abundant love. "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Cor. 9:8)
3. BE PRESENT
I know its hard in today's society with technology and social media to sometimes be present, however, it is so necessary to do in order to have a life fulfilled with love and contentment. Stop trying to take pictures to capture every moment for social media. Start ignoring your phone and technology devices, and actually live in the moment.
4. REMAIN HUMBLE AND BE THANKFUL
I put the words humble and thankful together because you can't really have one without the other. You can't possibly be truly thankful for everything around you, unless you humble yourself and observe all of your blessings. Every little thing we have and surrounding us are gifts. Our health, our loved ones, the sounds of nature, children, the choice to be whomever we want to be in this life, and the list goes on.
5. FIND A FRIEND
Find a friend who is going through the same season of life as you. Find a friend who can be encouraging and positive with you. Knowing I have a friend who I can walk through this season with, confide in, and regularly meet with has really helped me find contentment. God brought us together at the exact time we both needed a true friend. I will write about God's timing in another blog post, so stay tuned for that!
6. START READING
Start reading... even if you aren't much of a reader. If you would have told me I would have read a total of 15 new books 4 years ago...I would have laughed and said yea right. Reading books has helped me evolve and grow in ways I could have never grown before. Books can make such a huge impact on our lives. I am so excited to share all the books I've read with you.
7. START YOUR DAY OFF RIGHT
Start your day off right. Leave a little extra time for yourself in the morning to have your coffee, read a devotional, or do anything that breathes positivity. This can change your view on the whole day ahead.
8. START JOURNALING
Start Journaling. How cliche'...I know, but seriously this tool helps so much as a healthy outlet to express your deepest thoughts. This is a way to help you navigate through your feelings and self-reflect. Self-reflection can lead to discovering what we can change, who we want to be, and God's direction for our life.
9. TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH
Keep in mind what we put in our bodies has a great influence on how we feel. Eating healthy and exercising can eliminate a lot of stress on our bodies and add to our quality of life. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Making sure we are setting time aside to meditate, pray, and take a breather is extremely important.
10. JOIN STUDY GROUPS
Join Bible studies at your local church or start one of your own. This is a great way to meet other women, share your experiences together, and explore God's truth. For me, joining bible studies has been so freeing, and at the same time convicting, which has allowed me to become a better person, mother, wife, friend etc.
11. JOIN MOPS (If you have preschool-aged children)
If you have the time you can join MOPS, which is a wonderful program for Mothers of Preschoolers, children ages 0-4 (click here for more info on my resources page). This program allows you to drop off your children with trusted childcare workers for a couple of hours while getting time for fellowship with other moms that are going through similar experiences.