Thoughts After The Wild Fires in California

Hello there!

How your week has been so far? I am sure a lot is going on. Less than two weeks before Christmas and less then three before the New Year!

Our son graduated from college las weekend and going to the graduation made me realize once again how fast the time goes by…

As we were driving to our son’s college through Santa Barbara and other coastal cities we saw miles and miles of scorched hillsides, had to breathe in smoke we couldn’t escape and experienced this eerie feeling of darkness that surrounded everything in sight at noon, when the sun was barely visible through the ash clouds…

All of this made me reexamine not only last year but my life.

What is really important?

If you had to evacuate with only a handful of belongings, what will you take? We had to make this choice a few years back during a fire in Malibu. That fire burned over fifty structures, including homes and a beautiful church…
Our home was spared, yet the feeling of helplessness remained for quite some time.

As a life coach I was asking God what can we do during times like these. The answer I got was, we can pray, we can help others, we can reevaluate our lives, attitude and actions. We can start living our lives to the fullest right now.

I spent over twenty years studying human behavior and what motivates us. Need to avoid pain is by far a much greater motivator than desire to reach for something.

The older we get the more prone to overthinking we get. We become paralyzed by indecision. We spend way to much time being concerned and worried.

We are wired to be fearful, yet we are given the power to change that. How? By changing our ways of thinking. It takes time and effort, but it is attainable.

Controlling your mind is within your reach. There are numerous books, videos and seminars available today. You can even hire a coach, something unheard of in the past! It is so much easier now than when I first started, when personal development was not as popular and wildly accessible.

The choice is yours. Are you ready to make 2018 your best year yet? Invest in your spiritual and personal growth. Make a decision, put it on a calendar. You will be glad you did.

Setting INTENTIONS changes how you feel TODAY AND EVERY DAY!

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Do you know the difference between intentions and goals?

Today I was reminded that not everyone understands the difference between intentions and goal setting. In this post I will clarify the difference. I will also give recommendations on how to set your daily intentions.

Setting goals helps you to move in the direction of your dreams. You probably tried many times to set long term and short term goals. You set them for different areas of your life, with various levels of success in achieving them. As you were reaching for these goals you may have often felt overwhelmed or stuck. If you felt you were not making significant progress on your goals you probably got discouraged and quit. How about those last year’s NY resolutions?

Your goals can be achieved easier when you not only divide your big goals into small “bite-size” portions, but when you get clear on how you want to feel on any particular day, regardless of your progress on your goals.

That is the difference between goals and intentions: while goals are focusing on your compelling future, intentions are focusing on your feelings in a present moment.
Your intentions help you focus on what matters to you the most and they are deeply connected to your core values and emotions. With consistency and enough practice you can achieve emotional mastery and feel confident and empowered with any goal setting process!

By setting your daily intentions you are commanding your subconscious mind how you want to feel, regardless of your progress on your goals, external challenges or conversations you have with other people. Circumstances may provoke you to get angry or overwhelmed. However when you start your day by writing down “Today I want to be at peace and feel calm”, you’re going to face life’s challenges with a different attitude and mindset.

When you setting your intentions focus on how you want to feel on that particular day. Review the challenges of the past few days and decide what emotions you would like to experience.

You may choose to write: Today I intend to…
– feel and experience love,
– be joyful
– feel abundant energy
– be vibrant
– smile and laugh
– connect with myself and my desires
– connect with my partner on a very deep emotional level
– embrace peace
– claim my freedm
– claim my inner strength
– experience tranquility
– experience abundance ( if you are afraid of not having enough.)
To better connect to your emotions I recommend writing your intentions down. When you use writing utensils and stationary or a journal (instead of typing them up) you slow down your writing process your brain gets just enough extra time to process emotions you command it to experience.

To create a new habit of daily intentions I invite you to join a 21-day Gratitude and Intentions Challenge. Every day you will write a sentence about what you are grateful for and a sentence about what feelings you would like to experience.

To make this process easier print out a weekly Intentions and Gratitude sheet I created for you.
Get it here:  WORKSHEET

Setting intentions and then experiencing what you would like to feel takes some practice, but it is absolutely worth it and can be life changing!

I wish you the best on your journey to success and happiness.

Strive to live joyfully!

Lena

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Originally posted on Pastor Scott's Blog:
Liliya Yatsenko I have the pleasure to share with you about our office manager Liliya.  She has worked for God’s Hidden Treasures for 13 years.  Like many of our staff, she came to know Nita through one of Nita’s Bible studies.  God would change her life, and through…

How to overcome procrastination and fear of visibility for female entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur you know how important customer service is. You know how important it is to be personable with your clients and customers. You like seeing them in person and talking to them, providing the personable service you are so good at.

You also would like to reach more people who may become your loyal customers.

For a while you have been thinking that being visible on Social Media and speaking about your business in front of even small audiences has a potential of bringing in more clients and growing of your business. But you just can’t bring yourself to do it. 

 

What is holding you back? What are you waiting for? What kind of self-talk are you using that still keeps you on the sidelines?

You see other people using social media and other venues as great tools to reach out to potential customers and create loyal followings. May be you even became a follower of other business women who ventured out. You watch them, you admire them, you criticize them, you think it will be nice to do something like that, but you want it to be just right, you want it to be perfect. After all, the WHOLE WORLD is going to see you!

So you do nothing to challenge this fear of being visible on social media. Well, you write posts on FB and are learning how to use Instagram and LinkedIn and Tweeter to grow business, but you freeze in front of a camera or paralyzed by an idea of standing in front of an audience. You know you want to record a few videos or speak at a trade show or a convention, you are positive it will really help your business, nevertheless you procrastinate.

You have great ideas, but they come and go. You don’t record them to share with your potential customers. You still run your business the old way.

You want to improve your business and skills, so you read books, purchase self-study courses, attend seminars… yet the business growth you would like to see is not there.

How can you get over it? There are a few suggestions I can make: practice, practice, practice. Start by recording yourself on a smart phone over and over again. If you like the video you made– post it, if you don’t like it– erase it. You are not using film, its digital for crying out loud! If you persevered, my dear perfectionist you, and recorded about 10 of those, its time to post the best one on Social Media.If you want you can create a small FB group with only a few viewers ( your friends and family, for example), to make it an easy transition.

I want to encourage you to be visible. You have something to offer to people who would not know about you if you don’t step up and step out. You don’t need to be the world’s best kept secret.

I also was afraid in the beginning when I had to deliver a speech or a presentation. However with practice it became more familiar and less scary. I encountered similar challenges with recording videos. It was even more difficult as English is my third language. Still, I persevered. I overcame fears of being judged, having a panic attack in public, forgetting what I had to say or making a complete full of myself– just to name a few! I want to show you that you can overcome your fears as well.

Being visible is a challenge and it can be uncomfortable. 

You are an entrepreneur. You are a strong and courageous woman. What is the price of you not getting out of your comfort zone and becoming a known face of your business, your brand if you wish? People are interested in what you have to offer, really. You are created in a unique and special way. Only you can do what you meant to do, use your gifts and talents to the fullest! Let them shine through your unique message.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9, NIV

Words of Wisdom

 

Greatness

“Though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.” Job 8:7, ESV

Have you ever thought that you were created for greatness? Not the pompous kind, but the one that reflects God’s one-of-a-kind design for you, your Destiny. Greatness and perfectionism are quite different when you look at achieving from the angle of pleasing your Creator, not yourself or others.

What has been prohibiting you from achieving something very special, something you know deep in your heart you were created to do? Are you afraid you’re not good enough, that you don’t measure up? Do you question your strength? Are you concerned what others might think? Are you busy surviving?

Striving for greatness can be tricky. What does it mean to you, to achieve your life’s purpose? What are the dreams you had as a child? Do you think they are silly and there is nothing to them, that the life is tough and the reality has no room for dreaming?

Do you know how to discern God’s purpose for you? Do you have a habit of constant communication with your Creator, The God of the Universe?

By praying and asking God for guidance you will be encouraged on your journey. Pray for Divine appointments along the way. Make a decision to move in the direction of your dreams and desires, take action and keep going forward. You can tap into ultimate source of power, the one that created you for the purpose only you can fulfill.

True friends

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)

 

Weight-loss challenges

I belong to a group of people who likes variety. Sticking to just one weight-loss strategy, even a well-proven one, would not work for for me long- time. I like variety otherwise I get extremely bored. Some people prepare and portion their meals for a week in advance. I’m sure it’s a very good strategy and will produce great results. I may try to do that for one week but after a while I will need to switch to something else.
My friend Stephanie Boyer went on her annual master cleanse a few days ago. The way I remember it is basically drinking lemon water for a number of days in order to detoxify. I did cleanses before but this time I really wanted to take it easy on myself in a beginning…
Diet-wise one of my favorite ways to eat right is having home-made healthy soups. I don’t use any cream or butter/oil, but I do use broth for most of them. I don’t follow recipes most of the time as I like to be creative with my cooking. When my concoction is not particularly to my taste- c’mon, it’s often only boiled veggies!- I blend it and than soup goes down easier. Today I made beef bone broth, than chopped celery, carrots, onions, mushrooms, broccoli and brussels sprouts. I added some spices that were on hand: thyme, ginger powder, basil, salt, pepper and a mix of dry seasoning. I used my handy-dandy immersion blender to whip it up in a purée. If you want to try it but don’t like the texture of a blended soup just leave your vegetables intact.
For next few days I think I will stick with just soups and maybe raw veggies blends.
I haven’t stepped on my scales for months – big mistake. When I finally did this morning and saw a number it scared me. I gained about ten pounds in two months! I’m going to lose weight not only for vanity but for health reasons as well.
I know how to develop a strategy and produce desired results. I’m going to apply it to this particular problem. I know my girlfriends will keep me accountable, as well as my life coach, Kathleen Brooks. Ladies, I need you! Yesterday I went to a party and cheated… It was very difficult to pass on an amazing cake (and usually I am quite picky with my desserts) and blintzes with caviar- c’mon I’m only human! It always have been easier to eat right when I ate my meals at home. Starting a new eating plan is always a challenge for me. I often slip into old eating habits easier in the beginning, before I develop new eating habits.
Anyone wants to join me? Share your strategies for this challenge?
If you would like to make a comment- comment button is on a very bottom of this post in a right-hand corner.

Seeking Guidance

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

Story of Erik Weihenmayer, who went blind at age 13, is a story of courage and perseverance. In his interview with Oprah Eric recalled how a bus driver who drove the van for handicapped children taught him a very valuable lesson. The boy hated blindness and was complaining every day that he doesn’t belong on a disabled children bus, that he should be riding with normal kids- his friends. One day the bus driver, who heard Eric complain day in and day out stopped the vehicle and told the boy to get out. Driver didn’t leave him on the side of the road though. He climbed out as well and surprisingly threw a basketball at Eric. The ball bounced off the blind boy… But then driver told Eric to stretch his hands out, warned him when to catch the ball and Eric did just that. The lesson learned there was to allow somebody to guide you if you can’t see.

This event had a profound effect on Erik’s life. In some way it prompted this young man to achieve what may seem totally impossible under such circumstances. He became a wrestling champion in High school, and later a Middle school teacher and a wrestling coach. Among other things like skiing, white water kayaking or skydiving Eric scaled seven highest mountains in the world- one on each continent. He became the first blind person to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest- the highest peak in the world.

Hearing Erik’s story reminded me how God can lead us to victory, even if at times we can’t see how it can ever be possible. We can accomplish even the unthinkable when we seek guidance and wisdom. God is the one who first gives us vision, equips us with abilities and gives courage and strength. When I listened to “Walk With Me, O My Lord” by Estelle White I was reminded to follow my Ultimate Guide.

Psalm 27:1-6

The Lord is my light and my

salvation-

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of

my life-

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil men advance against me

to devour my flesh,

when my enemies and my foes

attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then will I be confident.

 

One thing I ask of the Lord,

this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of

the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his

dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his

tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted

above the enemies who

surround me;

at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with

shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to

the Lord.

 

Psalm 27:1-6