Category Archives: Health

June 24, 2020

The Habit of Positive Thinking

By Christina

Happy Wednesday!!! We are so excited summer is here. We get to spend more creative and innovative ways to enjoy or family, friends & fatherhood. Here are a few things I would like to encourage you all with:

Stay focused. Stay faithful. Stay purposeful and lastly… stay positive. Positive thinking is a habit.

Habit is defined from dictionary.com as:

  • an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary;
  • customary practice or use;
  • a particular practice, custom or usage;
  • a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality;
  • addiction.

Leaning to the positive aspect –we want to create healthy additions.  Healthy habits to improve ourselves in areas so that we can succeed in life.  We can succeed at home, in our relationships, our businesses and even our workplaces.  This positive information I received today from one of my colleagues and I quickly asked if I can “borrow” some of this for my women’s encouragement.

He reminded us with a weekly Positivity Highlight —

circumstances

When building a habit, it helps to have a conducive environment, repetition/practice, and support from others. But starting any habit begins with a decision, a choice, a commitment to yourself.

Thankfully, we’ve helped each other develop our own positive-thinking habits right here! We may not express it out loud all the time, but we share positivity to support each other in several ways.

For us believers, it can be through our testimonies, scriptures, passages, quotes, appreciations, music, exercising and encouraging one another, studying together, sharing our successes and challenges, surprise birthday celebrations, time for holidays, special acknowledgements, listening to each other, and the list goes on.

What we practice becomes more permanent, so take every opportunity to practice gratitude, mindfulness, and positive thinking. It also helps us to create more deeper & meaningful relationships. Let’s honor and value the ones God gave us in every way.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,
just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11

So let’s make this a new habit for ourselves.  Let’s throw around the positivity like confetti.  We are in a new season.

Happy summer! As we continue to fight & come out of this pandemic! We are making the most of a whole new way of being with our thinking and living wholeheartedly. Enjoy today and enjoy this start to better weather. We all need it. ❤

#StayPositive
#HealthyHabits
#CultivateHonor

With love,
Cruz-Mendez Chris

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Encouragement, Family, Fellowship, Health, Inspiration

June 3, 2020

Connections Are Built on TRUST

By Christina

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WOW! Another great week of Women’s Wednesday –thank you to Pastor Yeskeila Rivera from EIM Church that shared such a great word for us to ponder on.

Connections are built on TRUST!

Text of what we are reviewing:
“Craving Connections 30 Day Challenges for Real-Life Engagement”
By (in)courage community.

We have been diving in week after week and here are the highlights below.

“And finally He said to me, “My grace is enough to cover and sustain you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” So ask me about my thorn, inquire about my weaknesses, and I will gladly go on and on—I would rather stake my claim in these and have the power of the Anointed One at home within me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 [VOICE Translation]

It is okay to not be okay –it is okay to be tired sometimes.  There are weakness misconceptions and we can be using it as a means to build us.

As a pastor there is no room for weakness –not sharing.  This has been our experience.

But we need to be okay with being able to share on a platform that is safe and one that is build of trust.  The biggest lie that we can tell ourselves is that we are always “okay” or “fine” when the reality is we can be experiencing something completely out of the ordinary where we need that avenue to release.

There is a term called “Mind Traps” where we stay stuck in that false belief.  Take the should statements out that appear as a list of rules of how people should behave. I should act like this.  I should be farther than I am at today.  I should respond this way.  I should be a better this or that….

That paralyzes you.  It limits you.  It imprisons you.  It keeps you in a state like “I’m not good enough.”

God’s word doesn’t tell us that we should.  It says that we are –we ARE a children of God! Tear those false thoughts down in the “should” realm. God is our Father and we can be open and transparent with Him.  We can be open and transparent with others.  That is what this challenge to connection is all about.  Since God is relational He wants us to be able to connect and work well with us.  That is what love is all about.

Listen –being weak is NOT a weakness.  God is expecting us to trust Him –we end up overthinking things and over analyzing.  We start to say what people are thinking –we jump to conclusions — we have polarized thinking {black or white/yes or no}.  The mind has a tendency to flow to worst case scenario rather then the best case! Another MIND TRAP!  The mess in the minds where it becomes a personalization.

This leveling of the burdens –sense of freedom and support mechanism that we should use is to allow ourselves to open up when and where we need to.  That safe place.  Among safe people. With your brothers and sisters in Christ.  In a mature group of grounded individuals –that’s where.

We become burnt out because we want to be –that is not how we have to be or the way God designed us to be.  We need those outlets –YES God comes first and is our source.  But He has given us the power also in relationships.  It’s a beautiful thing.  Friendships are powerful!

We are not meant to carry it alone.  We weren’t created to be alone –it is about building connections, building relationships and leaving a legacy.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18 [NIV Translation]

The risk is with love — we can’t love halfheartedly.  We love with our whole heart.  That is a part of it.  Connections are built on TRUST!

We cannot be afraid of people’s perception of us. We don’t need to pretend.  As Apostle Paul stated…

That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10

Do we create environments that force people to keep their masks on???

Remember: God is concerned with your feelings!
Busola Adun — Women’s Wednesday 5/20/20 recap

We need to create and find that safe place.  Not everyone knows your thought process, so be willing to talk it through.  As you mature, you find those people that you will connect with.  As Jesus found three out of Peter, James & John –you will find yours as well.

BUILD MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS because we all need relationships!

Leave a comment | posted in Fellowship, Health, Inspiration, Relationships, Trust

May 16, 2020

Outdoors

By Christina
Overflowing

Hope everyone is able to safely enjoy the outdoors in this fantastic weather we are having. Went walking today up the parkway and didn’t get very far. Fully covered, masked, sort of prepared except I didn’t have my walking sneakers and socks on. By the first mile I already felt the blisters boiling. 😞But I kept on.

We did three miles at least. I will definitely be more prepared for next time! I need to listen. Even with the blisters, gotta keep moving. That’s just the way it is when things don’t always work out in your favor you have to walk it out anyway!!

Heard today by Stella Wariso on “Finding Hope in Community” instead of saying “Why Me“ say “Try Me!” In the face of our adversary & in the face of adversity. Stand encouraged.

As we are to be as bold as ever approaching outdoors. We can walk again. We can run again. We can laugh again. We can love again. We can work again. And lastly… we can succeed again & again & again! Just keep walking toward the goal.

God is taking stuff out and putting stuff in us. So that when we are out there again, we may still get bruised and blistered but we will keep going and growing —stronger than ever before. This is a great season for us to flourish! Inside & outside! Indoors & outdoors. Internally & externally. Internationally & domestically.

Time to bring what we have stored indoors —> OUT!! It is beautiful outdoors! So much opportunity! Let’s get it!! Let’s go!! Let’s try it!!!

“but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

1 Comment | posted in Celebration, Emerging, Encouragement, Faith, Health, Hope, Inspiration, Peace, Reset

April 10, 2020

Day “I Don’t Know” On Quarantine

By Christina

I think this is getting to everybody already. I have rearranged my “home office” again and made it more welcoming and work friendly for myself… what can I say. Sometimes we don’t always anticipate for these things to go this way but they do. And when they do, we try our best to do our best. It’s a fight to stay in the fight right?!

So far today it’s a better day –now Good Friday. I think it took me a couple weeks to just put this one blog together. I want to write, then stop, then move over to do something else. I have all these plans of what I want to do but then adjusting to work from home “requisite” status –another impromptu I got to make the most of this.

That said, I am coughing, uncomfortable, getting pimples and eating a whole lot. I tried workout remotely through Zoom this week and I think I blew out my legs and butt muscles! LOL I will see if I can do some walking later because I need to find a much better pace then these crazy radical moves here. I’m just somewhat of a mess is what I can say. On Zyrtec, Allegra D, Robitussin and more…. Lord HELP! Just HELP us all!

We are praying more as a church and I hope that will make things better for us. Praying for as many people impacted by this situation as they say we are now going to be hitting the apex of this crisis in the next couple days! Let’s all just hope for the best –and that this adversity catapult us into our next best season of healing and OFF of quarantine. I think we are ALL learning a lot here. We are all in this together until we get better. ❤

#stayhome #staysafe #stayconnected #stayengaged #keepthefaith #keepactive #keepgrowing #riseabove #risehigher

With Love,
Christina

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in Encouragement, Faith, Health, Inspiration, Prayer, Recovery, Reset, Transition, Trust