Tag: #thoughts

Enjoy Your Life – 5 mistakes I made

Posted on by Crystal King

I remember thinking of praying for what I have now. I remember trying to negotiate with God, if he gave me this, I would do this. If I had this, I would do that.

Truth is you can’t negotiate your way with God nor rush his timing. Funny thing is you think you know what you want until you have it and then you’re like ummm…nope.

I feel like I need to share the 5 mistakes I made trying to live life my way instead of God’s way. Of course everyone has a testimony to give however that is how you learn, through others. O encourage everyone to share their stories, share your struggles, so we can learn from them as well and grow closer to God.

No one is perfect, however if we can help the next person not make the same mistake, well then we’ve done a good thing.

  1. Relying on yourself – For the longest I went through life doing what I wanted to do and not once asking God what I should do. I would do things thinking it would be ok or it would work itself out. I would base my decisions with the amount of money that could come from it or where it would take me. I was a single mom of 1 son and a dog and they needed me. Higher position meant more money and I could make. I didn’t truly believe that but for the time being it worked. I would later ask myself “why did I do that?” Being able to be independent is great but you need God to show you the way so follow him. I knew money was important, it’s what you need to survive, however the Bible does say he will always provide, and I failed to trust him on that.
  2. Don’t move before asking – everything isn’t for you. Although it may look good at the time, in may not be what is best for you in the long run. “Everything that glitters isn’t gold.” Never make permanent decisions with our praying first. Ask God and keep asking God until he gives you the answer. I would ask God but I never waited for his answers, and a lot of times it got me in a lot of trouble. Going through life with out following the teachings of the one that matters is a scary thought.
  3. Never make decisions based on feelings – one of the worst things you can do is make your decisions based on feelings. It took me a while to learn this one. I would always react first and then look back and think, why did I do that? My mouth was quicker than my thinking. Lack of faith and immaturity played a huge part in this as well. At that time saying sorry was difficult. With growth and a lot of prayer, I am not able to think more logically and not react so quickly. Self control is plays a huge part in this. You can only control what you can control. My favorite saying is “I’m saved, but these hands work.” I’m still growing as you can see.
  4. Thank God for the bad as well as the good – too often we thank god for our blessings but how often have we thanked him for lesson? I remember praying for something and then receiving it and never thought twice about saying thank you. I have also blamed God so many times for my down falls. I forgot somewhere along the way I did make my own choices and it got me no where. Also, for the unexpected times things didn’t go my way, those are the lessons I am talking about. Those lessons make you stronger, they make you wiser and when you come out of those lessons, you see life differently. You’ve gained so much growth from that lesson that you are now at another level to handle anything that comes your way. Learning is leveling up. So keep learning and keep going.
  5. A negative mind will never give you a positive life – so you listen to the bad before the good. Oh you don’t, name one thing about yourself right now…was it positive or negative? If it was positive, YAHOO to you!! You’ve accomplished what many of us struggle to do, give props to ourselves. If you said something negative about yourself, let’s turn that thinking around. If you think negative of yourself you will soon see the world negatively. It’s not easy to talk great about yourself, it took me more than 20 years to realize I am diamond, let it not take you that long. I am a child of God and he makes no mistakes, I have a purpose and I am a blessing to others. Challenge yourself everyday to say something good about yourself. Then once you have that down, go out there and make others feel that same way. We forget about ourselves and try to help others, but keep this in mind, “you can’t pour water from and empty pitcher.” Don’t be the empty pitcher, take care of yourself so you can take care of others, start by being positive and the positivity will change how you see things, and this will change the whole outcome of the situation.

Enjoying life the way God wants you to enjoy it is a blessing some don’t get the chance to see. I encourage you to look at where you are now and see what you can do to make things easier for you and live the way God wants you to live. Set backs will always happen, things won’t go as planned, however depending on how you look at the situation will determine how you will handle what comes along.

Think positive. Live Positve. Be Positive.

Blessings.

You are enough…

Posted on by Crystal King

You are enough! Tell yourself that daily. Look in the mirror and say that 3 times.

Too often we get lost on what the world wants for us and lose sight of what God wants for us.

We try to find outlets in food, sex, money or even alcohol. Those things are truly only temporary and bring you false hope or give you a moment of satisfaction.

God wants the best for you and he wants you to know him and know how much he loves you.

I dreaded sharing my story for fear of what others thought. I know my life decisions have not been the best, I use to use the excuse of well God will forgive me so why not? Yeah I know, pretty crazy right?? IMG_0437

The truth is, your past does not define you as the person you are today. NO decision you have made before this moment matters. You have the choice to change everything you were used to doing. You can say right now, my past is over and I choose to live life with a different outlook.

I have learned a few things along the way of making my mistakes:

  • there will never be another you
  • you are different; thats perfectly fine
  • only you can offer what you have
  • you do matter no matter what someone else thinks of you
  • time heals only if you decide not to dwell in your past
  • WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES
  • learn from what you’ve done
  • never allow your emotions to cloud your judgement

Tell yourself today that you are no longer the person you were and you will step into today with a positive mind set, focusing on your blessings and giving no attention to the negativity. Tell yourself you are more than enough and can conquer anything with God right there with you.

I encourage everyone to share their story, someone needs to hear it.

Blessings.

My Jar of Blessings

Posted on by Crystal King

For the last few years, I have made a jar of blessings. This jar is very special to me, because it helps me recognize my blessings.

Not just any blessings, the blessings of that day.

Good times and bad, I date them and put them in my jar. Through out the year, I can go back and reflect on these thoughts and then remember how good my life is and how blessed I am. As I have always said, positive or negative, blessings over burdens.

I also use this to reflect on how many times God has come through for me, when I have a hard time trying to figure things out. Trust in him!

Supplies Needed:

  1. a jar or box – I recommend you decorate the jar or box how you want it; something that will always catch your attention and remind you of your blessings IMG_2984
  2. pen and paper – use your favorite color pens, but black or blue work just as well, post-its work but I have a small pad I use to add my messages, something easy to tear away
  3. a positive outlook to recognize your blessings and more blessings

What I do is on the top of each paper, I will put the date and then write down the blessing for that day. I don’t do this everyday, but when something really stands out to me, believe me, I’m jotting it down.

For instance, my son and I go on vacation every June. When I get back, I always write a blessing and a thank you to God for allowing my son and me to travel and return safely.

I add the date, so that I keep in mind that on that date this great blessing happened. I will continue this because sometimes I do fall short, and I need a reminder of how great my life is, and what a blessing it is to be alive.

My first thank you to God looks like this:

  • Date: January 2, 2018
  • Traveling grace to and from Georgia for the New Year
  • allowing me to see 2018
  • family and friends

I sign all blessing with an “AMEN” and “THANK YOU”

Give it a try, if you don’t want to do the entire year, try it for 3 months. See how many blessings you recognize for yourself and family. At the end of the three months, read your blessings and see how much God has blessed you and you also recognize how much you have to be thankful for.

God bless!

 

Seeing the Best in Everything

Posted on by Crystal King

Have you checked your attitude this morning?

My favorite one is, have you checked your face?

Those two questions are what I ask myself before walking out the door. Your attitude is determined by how you think and how the rest of your day will go. It’s the outlook on what your life represents.

I can fake my attitude however my face not so much.

I can sound like two totally different people, “nice Crystal” and “you get on my nerves Crystal” lol, but my facial expressions are so hard to hide. Im praying on it though.

In the past I have had the worst attitude about life. I hated how things would go my way or how things would turn out.

The truth is, it’s all about how you see life.

When you see something that you like, you are happy, enlightened, and you’re smiling, but if it doesn’t go your way, what is your reaction?

I call those unpleasant thoughts, venting, rants, negative comments….adult tantrums.

I have learned that adult tantrums absolutely help nothing. They actually make things worse and they block your blessings. I can remember not liking someones attitude and it completely gave me a not so pleasant attitude. How that person saw things instantly rubbed off on me and then my attitude continued to go down from there. I am not blaming that person, it was my fault, I let it happen. It was a choice I made.

Having your thoughts and attitude in check with God, not only helps you realize how blessed you are, it doesn’t allow the devil to come in and take over. Focus on GOD.

Remember these couple things:

  1. Focus on your blessings. It may not be in the package you wanted it in, however the blessings is still there and you should embrace every blessing God gives you.
  2. Continue to pray continuously about your short comings. What better person to talk to than God. He knows you, he created you and he doesn’t make mistakes. Know that he loves you and want the absolute best for you.

I use to find it very hard to see my blessings and to be happy with whatever situation I was in. I couldn’t understand it then but I sure do now. I look back not to look at my faults, but to look how far God has brought me.

He knows we make mistakes, he knows we are not perfect, he knows we need him, but we have to trust him completely with whatever season we are in. The good, bad and the ugly.

As you go on with your day, try to pay attention to your attitude but also focus on your blessings. Don’t allow a bad situation to ruin your positive, godly, attitude.

Blessings.

 

10 day Fast from Negative Thinking

Posted on by Crystal King

So beginning tomorrow, I am starting a 10 day fast from negative thinking. For me this is such a big deal because it is so easy to think of negative over positive. I haven’t quite understood why though?

I try to do this before Thanksgiving because it puts me in such a better mood. I’m not one of those people who dread the holidays. I love the holidays! Family and friends gathering together. I love to give so I do a lot more giving this time a year.

I was the absolute worst thinker. I trained my brain to see my problems not my blessings, and man was that a difficult habit to break. Constantly reminding yourself of how to focus on the bad luck or the bad turn out, that takes a toll on your emotions, your thoughts, and your decision making. Although at the time I didn’t see that. Feeling sorry for myself seemed much easier to do at the time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe everything happens the way God intends it to, but I also believe that I have a choice on how I respond to it. I would always respond negatively whether it was in my favor or not. Yeah, what a horrible way to be.

Now I have a grasp on my thoughts and words, and I have a stronger relationship with God and this has what has continued to help me change my thinking to seeing the good in everything.

Here are some quick tip on how I prepare for my 10 days.

  • Prayer. I pray more than I usually do. I stay in contact with God through out the day and when something negative comes to mind, I quickly pray it away. This is my way of staying ready.
  • Journaling. This is one of the best journaling books I have come across. It promotes positive thinking and shows you what you should focus on. I enjoy journaling because it gives me a chance to reflect on what I’ve done.
  • Documentation. You have to document the bad and the good. The most effective way to be sure this works is to document it all. Note what negative or not so pleasant thought that crossed your mind, and what you did to get rid of it.
  • Exercise. I put in a little more exercise to push myself to a better me. I find that when I am healthy and feel great, it is much easier to think positive. I am currently training for a half marathon so the exercise this time is definitely there.
  • List my blessings. Make a list of all your blessings, and when you feel your self getting to a point where your thoughts aren’t going in a positive way, pull that list our and remind yourself of how blessed you truly are.

I hope a few of you will try this 10 day challenge and let me know how it helped you. I also encourage you all to go past the 10 days as well. Positive over negative is always the best way to go.

Blessings.