Night Bus - Lucy Rose

INFJs

What I love about social media

             I love how social media allows us to know people on a deeper level. I know some may argue that it’s a, “fake level” or only a small snap-shot of the whole picture, but I disagree. Of course people mainly share their highlights and not their “low-lights”, but if you keep that in mind, it can be pretty insightful.  

                I’ve learned that I’m somewhat hard to get to know. I’m not an easy read.  I honestly never knew this about myself since I feel open, but looking back at all my friendships I can’t remember a single time when I’ve shared something deeply personal with any of them - even people I considered best friends for years. I kept all my struggles, fears, hurts and even greatest joys to myself. It’s not something I share freely unless asked or even pushed a bit. This is not something I take pride in. I can sincerely say it wasn’t aware.

Constantly trying to evaluate who and what is a safe space and who and what isn’t comes natural for me. It wasn’t until I started studying personality psychology and cognitive functions that I realized this about myself.  It was eye opening! It connected a lot of dots and made certain parts of my life make more sense. It also challenged me to open up a bit more and grow in this area. I think everyone should be invested in their personal growth because it challenges you in a positive way.

                As more people I know join social media websites they are learning things about me they never knew. It’s not easy opening up and sharing my pages, but I feel it’s healthy. They want to feel close to me, too. This is what I love about social media and blogs etc. You can get a better look into a person. It’s not everything, but it’s definitely something! You may not get an opportunity to get to know someone deeply with the casual conversations that lead nowhere, but friend them on social media and all of a sudden you go from level 1 to level 5, which will enrich your time together in person.

                Sometimes learning more about a person isn’t a good thing, but other times it helps us feel close. It helps us understand them and their lives. I appreciate those sorts of things, so that’s what I love about social media. I love SEEING you!

Quiet, Reserved, Serious

Ends of the Earth - Lord Huron

Keep a quiet heart

            I've been reading, "Keep a Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot and it's been a great encouragement. As a person who suffers from anxiety it can be hard to keep a quiet heart, but I'm finding as I remind myself daily to keep a quiet heart it's becoming easier to actually live it.

      This past weekend we had really bad weather with hurricane level rain and wind. Thousands of homes were flooded, cars ruined and people evacuated to nearby shelters. Some people were reported saying this was the first time their homes, streets and area were flooded in the 30+ years living there. Others said they just finished repairing flood damages from Memorial Day weekend and now they were being flooded again. It's been horrible. Even though the sun is out today many neighborhoods still have high levels of standing water because the creeks and bayous simply can't absorb any more. We received up to 12 inches of rain in 6 hours in the worst hit places. Many school districts and companies are still closed.

          Several times a year (not including hurricanes) we get hit with really heavy rain and our street floods. It's never been over our sidewalk though. The way the street slopes  the water rises diagonally up our driveway then hits our sidewalk. The normal heavy rains usually send me into a panic and prayer. My heart is far from quiet. But Sunday night as the waters rose slowly passing it's normal height and coming into new territory my heart did not panic. I kept reminding myself to, "keep a quiet heart because a quiet heart is one that trusts God." No matter what the outcome of the situation I could trust God! 

         I kept my breathing calm and stayed in peace all night, even though the waters made it more than half way up our driveway, covering our sidewalk and then hitting the trees that sit in the center of our yard (new bench-marker). Oh, and lets not forget the quarter size hail! For a brief moment I found myself enjoying the drama of the hail. The hail came falling out of the sky with such speed that it caused rather large splashes when hitting the flooded street. But then suddenly it started slamming into our windows and I was over it! I was snapped back into reality real fast.

        Let's just say my comfort zone for high water has been expanded! Even though I didn't sleep  because I was checking the street and the news, I didn't find my heart panicking or racing either. I had many opportunities to give into fear and anxiety, but I stood my ground in peace. I'm very proud of myself. I truly kept a quiet heart. I kept my peace. I kept my focus. I knew with God I could walk through anything.

         I find myself whispering to my own heart nowadays, "be still", "rest", "trust" and being more gentle with myself. We nurture other people, why not ourselves? Our inner child, our inner adult, our inner person needs nurturing as much as anyone else. To keep a quiet heart we must learn to shepherd our heart. 

Turmeric Update!

    Turmeric update! I've lost 21lbs since I started taking turmeric in February/March. I haven't changed anything else in my lifestyle. I feel for the first time in my life I'm seeing my workouts pay off and I credit this to Turmeric's inflammation fighting powers. I also gave up coffee over a month ago, which isn't a huge deal since I'd only have one cup per day. 

     I ended up gaining 2lbs back when I stopped drinking the Golden Milk and used the turmeric capsules. I'm assuming my body does not digest/absorb them the same way. So, I can't be lazy and rely on pills. I have to make the golden milk daily. Thankfully I lost those 2lbs and continued losing weight. It just proves weight loss is so much bigger than calories in and calories out. I mean, I knew this from years of experience, but many still remain clueless to this fact! It's all about inflammation and hormones! Our bodies were created knowing what to do, if they aren't preforming correctly there's a reason.

      I've eliminated so many things in my diet trying to stop inflammation all together, but nothing seemed to work completely. It's only when I started taking 1tsp of turmeric a day that I started seeing powerful changes. I'm more encouraged to work out 4-5 times a week because I'm seeing changes. It's easy to keep going when you are rewarded positively. I still remember when hubby and I fasted and he lost 10lbs and I gained 5lbs. I remember thinking it was some sort of joke the universe was playing on me, but again, proves there is so much more to weight lose then what the diet industry tells you. I eat so much more fat now then I've ever eaten and I'm losing more weight then I ever have. I eat one avocado every morning with low sodium Ezekiel Bread and I cook with coconut oil and my hormones are healing slowly. These fat free lies are hurting people! Good healthy fats don't make you fat!

       I'm so thankful God is leading me step-by-step. He has been so faithful in all of His ways. I have wondered why doesn't he give me all the answers at once, but if He did I wouldn't have learned so much along the way. The journey is always more important than the destination.

        Anyway, before starting Turmeric please research the pros and cons. Turmeric is a blood thinner and shouldn't be used with some medicines or while pregnant. Even though it's natural doesn't mean it's safe for everyone. <3