Healing with Harotian

February 9, 2018April 4, 2018

Funny Friday’s

Good day all!

This has been a trying week, but I refuse to be defeated. This joke is dedicated to everyone who has had a rough week, but is still kicking butt and taking names👊🏽👊🏽Keep smiling through the chaos🤪 😁 Don’t give up ☝🏽& tell a stranger you love them today ❤️

“Tricky Jar”

An 85-year-old man goes to see his doctor for his regular physical exam. The doctor says that the man needs to provide a semen sample and gives him a jar saying, “Take this jar home with you and come back tomorrow with a semen sample.”

The next day the old man goes back to the doctors and gives him the jar, which is as clean and empty as when the doctor gave it to him. So the doctor asks what happened and why there is no sperm sample in the jar. The old man says, “Well, doc, it’s like this… first I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still nothing. Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand – nothing; then with her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with the teeth in, then with her teeth out, still nothing. We even called up Maisie, the lady next door and she tried too, first with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezing it between her knees, but still nothing.”

The doctor is really shocked by all this and asks incredulously, “You asked your neighbor???”

The old man replies, “Yep, not one of us could get the jar open.”

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” -Charlie Chaplin

Joke borrowed from LaffGaff.com

February 8, 2018February 8, 2018

Journey to Forgiving Yourself

Please visit my sister site with my good friends, DeeKay and Roy to read how to forgive yourself and my very own personal experience.

The Journey to Forgiving Yourself By Ashley, is a motivational article filled with advice for those who wants to bring in a positive change in their lives. Click to read more.

via The Journey to Forgiving Yourself By Ashley — The Immortal Arts

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February 7, 2018February 7, 2018

Social Media Fast Update

2370150 Good day all,

So, you want to know how I’ve been doing on my 30-day Social Media fast? Well, I’ll tell you anyway 🙂 To catch up, click here My 30 Day Fast From Social Media to read the details of my social media fast and why I am doing it.

I was doing really well. I really was, until…I received a notification on my phone from the Apple News app saying, “Kylie Jenner reveals the birth of baby girl.” This was a trigger because social media has been in a frenzy since September due to pregnancy allegations. No one has been able to provide tangible proof of this “alleged pregnancy”, until Tuesday. I looked at the headline for about two minutes arguing with myself. I wasn’t sure if Apple News counted as “social media”. It is a news outlet, right? So, I clicked on the article.

After I read it, I felt a bit ashamed. I was excited that I had gone a week without reading celebrity gossip. I was able to convince myself that this is more of an announcement than gossip, so I hit the link to watch the video that she made during her secret pregnancy. I was so curious, but later felt robbed of the 7 minutes of my life that I gave to watching her video. It left no satisfaction at all.

I thought long and hard as to why I was so interested in this girl having a baby. Millions of women have babies every day and I’m not lurking on Apple News to read about their experiences.

I am going to take my little slip up as continued motivation to complete my challenge. Honestly, it has left a nasty taste in my mouth. I’m not sure what made me more upset, the sudden urgency I felt to check her pregnancy video or me giving in and watching the video. Either way, this incident has further proven why I NEED to do this challenge. I should have control over what I read and watch, not the other way around.

If you are trying to overcome any addiction right now, I am proud of you for taking the first step. I also want you to know that if you have a slip-up, forgive yourself and keep pushing forward. You may have thoughts of self-doubt, but give yourself some credit. You taking that first step to admitting that you have an addiction and setting a plan in place to subdue it is a lot more than many of the people living right now.

We got this!

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

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Photo Credit to http://goaliefights.blogspot.com/

February 4, 2018April 4, 2018

My 30 Day Fast From Social Media

*Yawn* I wake up, roll over grab my phone to see the time. I then determine how long do I have before I actually have to get out of the bed. If it’s more than 2 minutes, I scream “yes!” in my head because that’s enough time for me to hop on Instagram. Specifically, to check gossip blog pages. I know, I know, I have a weakness for gossip. I’ve been able to bring it to a halt in my personal life by living by one rule, “minding my bizness!” But celebrity gossip is a completely different monster.

When Beyoncé broke the internet by announcing her pregnancy (both times), I religiously checked the gossip blog sites for updates on maternity shoot photos and gender reveals. I was an addict. I found myself getting sucked into her life and drama. When I found out Beyoncé got cheated on, I was angry. When I found out she had a miscarriage, I was devastated. It’s crazy when I think about it because I’m feeling so many raw emotions for a person that I don’t even know! And I wonder why I’m depressed.

Before, I lied to myself about saying deleting Facebook was enough, but my addiction to Instagram has proved otherwise. My husband made a snippy little comment about how much I love Instagram. I have to prove to him (and myself) that he’s wrong. So, I’ve decided to start a social media fast. It actually began at approximately 8pm (CST) this past Wednesday night and I’m jonesing a little bit. I’ve deleted all of my social media apps (except this one ☝🏽☺️) so I won’t be tempted to “check something really quick”. That’s usually how an hour long binge of trying to find out who cheated with who begins. Nah!

gossip Now, usually, when people decide to fast, they abstain from food. In my case, abstaining from food is not a problem since I’m limited to what I can eat. So, I am offering Instagram as my sacrifice because it really is something I enjoy, but it’s bad for my mental health and just simply a waste of time. I could be doing something more conducive to my recovery. I want to be able to use social media for business only. This is what I pray that I will accomplish at the end of my fast.

My faith teaches me that fasting, or “to abstain from” pleasurable things will bring me closer to Christ through prayer(1 Corinthians 7:5) which is what I want to accomplish as well.

fasting-monks-250x179 But I believe the idea for fasting should be an open idea for anyone who wants to evolve from depression and anxiety. Maybe, abstaining from some of your desires will give you a sense of control and pride when you accomplish it. Plus, it’ll help you focus on something other than your own thoughts. Making such goals and sticking to them will be awesome for your recovery. It’ll give you pride and self-worth. Most importantly, it will feel grrrrreat! I’m more than positive that taking this step will boost my mood overall and I can’t wait!

Here are the tips that I plan on using to fast:

1. Find something else to do when I get tempted

2. Consider the personal and spiritual consequences if I give into the desire

3. Don’t think about it, pray about it.

If you guys have any tips I can use, please drop a comment below. I would greatly appreciate it. Wish me luck 🤞🏽

“The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves the better to free ourselves. To fast is to identify our dependencies, and free ourselves from them.” -Tariq Ramadan

February 2, 2018April 4, 2018

Funny Fridays

A frog goes to a fortune teller to find out if he will ever be lucky in love.

The fortune teller reads his palm and tells the frog, “I have good news and I have bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

The frog asks for the good news first.

The fortune teller says, “You are going to meet the most beautiful girl, who is going to be very interested in you and will want to know all about you. She will want you to open up for her and you will give her your heart.”

“That’s great!” says the frog. “But what’s the bad news?”

“Well, you’re going to meet her in Biology class.”

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!

Story borrowed from SunnySkyz.com

February 1, 2018

Come, Destiny (Reprise)

Timeless Classics

Come Destiny, thou wild haired, wanton wench!
Thou wouldst as soon destroy as e’en behold
Come pluck me from this wooden student’s bench
My soul with awesome, windy wings enfold!

I see thee, waiting near me in the wood
So vigilant — I never see thee sleep
Thine rapier drawn, on this side of it good
The other evil far away to keep

Yet should I slip upon the twisting path
Or fail to see a sign, or miss a door
I know I should incur thine instant wrath
Nor be permitted earthly light the more

For ’twas to thee that I was consecrate
When midwifed by the iron hand of fate

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February 1, 2018

Last call

Megha's World

We all are waiting for that final call, aren’t we?

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”
― Isaac Asimov

What are you made up of
strong metallic armor
with a toned body
covered
with a warm
beating supple heart
and love undefined

Did that iota of the primordial
gell still flows in your veins
and you descend from the
family of warriors and fighters
and still, lay your claim

To the thrones
which are marked by the
scars and washed with
the proverbial blood of the
those who broke
their backs and bent their bones
to resurrect your existence

What are you made up of
your pallid face
and the defeated broken soul
which tries to
lay itself in the deep slumber
never to be awakened
those bent and broken fingers
which still long
for the
warmth in the womb

That single ray of light

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February 1, 2018

Thoughts And Memories

Walt's Writings

Everywhere I look
To the left, to the right
In front or in back
You are there
Smiling at me
Like only you can

I am filled
With thoughts of you

Renewing our vows
At the top of Whiteface Mountain
The wonder in your face
As we rode the chairlift to the top

Your childlike radiance
As you watched Cirque Du Soleil
Perform La Nouba

Hearing your nervous laugh
The first time we sat in a hot tub together

Watching you play
The new Martin guitar I bought you
As you sang songs you had written

Riding horses together
Through the woods and the fields

So many memories
Flooding my mind
Happy and sad times
Through the last 15 years

Falling in love with each other
Over and over
Together forever
For thousands of years

In so many lifetimes
We have found each other
Again and again

Our love is…

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February 1, 2018

26. Having a Hobby, or ‘A Thing’

Marigolds and Gin

I’ve never much liked the word hobby. It’s always tended to conjure up images of groups of 80 year olds sitting in a draughty church hall doing crochet, undoubtedly wearing large polyester floral skirts with elasticated waists and discussing the merits of their husbands vegetable patch ……

I’ve had single girlfriends who have secretly joined Salsa evening classes, until a few weeks later they can’t talk about it enough. Worse still, they have tried to coerce me into joining them. Err, no thanks! Raving about the liberating joys of learning something new and meeting different people. Why on earth would I want to do that?

Why would I want to risk making a complete fool of myself, standing on the edge of a roomful of Fred Astaires and Ginger Rogers, whilst nobody picked me to have as their partner. Oh nooo! Besides, I had friends. Why would I need any…

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February 1, 2018

Be Strong💪

Unoma Banor-Uzoma

Often when we hear ‘Be Strong’ our brain quickly dashes to the physical strength, but does been strong all about the physical strength? No, of course. It’s way more than the physical strength. It equally includes the emotional and the spiritual strength amongst others. Life is a struggle. Have you discovered that about life yet? Well, if you haven’t I bet you will when you sit back and check how life the past years had unfolded for you and guess what? You will attest to these words which I wrote 2016 when I turned 25:

To live is to fight battles, emerging from one either a loser or a winner to engage in another; a continuous affair so long as breath remains in the lungs.

And greatly agree with what Nelson Mandela stated about life:

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to…

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February 1, 2018January 31, 2018

Time for A Celebration!

Picture me, sliding across a wooden floor in white tube socks like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, because I just realized I’m at 365 followers!

All of you, each and every one, is awesome sauce for hitting that follow button. You guys are the real MVP’s, seriously. You inspire me everyday with your blog post, likes, comments, award nomination, etc. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

In celebration, I would like to share the wealth. I want each of you guys to know each other. Most of us follow the same blogs, but here is a chance to meet someone knew. I’ve meet remarkable people with different religions, backgrounds, ethnicity, etc. Its been a beautiful experience. I encourage you guys to do the same.

My favorite feature of the WordPress community is we all have at least two things in common; we’re all human and we all have something to say. I love that I can share my thoughts and struggles without being judged for my race or social class. I’m just one person amongst billions trying to make it through life.

I came across a wonderful blog, CharlieCountryBoy and he reblogged a wonderful idea from Dream Big, Dream Often blog that says IF YOU DROP A LINK IN MY COMMENTS, I WILL REPOST YOUR BLOG! And I want to participate.

So, I want to you to drop a link of your blog in the comments below. I will reblog it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will also try to remember to reblog this for any new followers.

Let’s all help each other. Drop the link below to get a little exposure. We’re all here for a reason, right?

Stay blessed loved ones! And thanks again!

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018

Black and White Photo Challenge Day 7

I would like to thank the lovely Shreya Jindal for nominating me for this wonderful black and white photo challenge.

Rules are:

Seven days
Seven black and white photos of your life
No people
No explanation
Challenge someone new each day.

Thank you so much for sticking with me though this challenge. It was a little difficult because almost everything in my life has an explanation in it or people in it. I guess that’s what made it a challenge. 😉❤️

January 31, 2018April 11, 2018

How I Got Rid of Toxic People In My Life

hb1tf1a About ten years ago, I allowed a close family member to break my heart. So, much so, I was bedridden with grief for about two days. It was hard for me to overcome because I couldn’t wrap my head around why she would betray me. I didn’t do anything to her to deserve it. She saw an opportunity to take advantage of my kindness and took off with it like she was Usain Bolt. It left me feeling worthless because, at the time, I truly felt like she genuinely wanted to build a relationship with me. It was all I was praying for; understanding and love from someone I grew up with.

42-23039081 Needless to say, that wasn’t the case. Fast forward to 2017, this same person needed my help again. I should have said no. She is a toxic person. You couldn’t deny the energy in the room turning sour once she entered it. It was a stench that you couldn’t ignore. She was someone that couldn’t be trusted, but I thought that was in the past. So I helped. Sometimes, I ask myself why did I bother. She would only turn around and do the exact same thing she did years prior. This time, it hit me even harder. I was already going through and hard time and bam! Here she was with her shenanigans.

At the beginning of this post, I said I allowed her to break my heart. I say I allowed it because I feel that people will only do to you what YOU allow them to do. I knew how she was (both times), but I thought that she had grown into a better person. I was wrong. She played me like a cheap violin. While she was basking in the glory of my pain, I was letting out the real pain of betrayal and heartache.

I had to figure out, what does God say about toxic people? How do I NOT allow them to affect me so much? What do I do about them? How do I get “over it”? I prayed every day to become the kind of person to brush things off as easily as she brushed me off, but I had to learn to get through it and here is how.

I came across a book that would answer most of my questions. It’s called How God Sees Your Struggles by Lynn R. Davis. In the first chapter, she makes explains how God wants us to handle toxic people and their foolishness. Below are the lessons that I learned to get rid of her and other toxic people in my life and here is how you can too:

Stop allowing yourself to get worked up about what other people think, say, or believe about you.

“There are some people who always seem angry and continuously look for conflict; walk away. The battle they are fighting isn’t with you. It is with themselves.” -Anonymous

You are a beautiful creation of God. The only opinion that matters is His and His alone. God wants you to know that you were not created to be abused, used, mistreated, or mocked.

“What is the price of two sparrows-one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid ; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows?” -Matthew 10:29-31

You will never have peace if you do not overcome your need to please people and expect to maintain your health, peace, and sanity.
Do not allow yourself to get sucked in by other peoples foolishness.
Do not allow them to pollute your faith.

“Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense. Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.” -Proverbs 18:1-2

Toxic people will try to make you stoop down to their level. Do not allow them to do this. It will only cause more stress and heartache for you in the end. Although it’s hard, walk away. Only speak in love, let it go, walk away, and pray for them. They are miserable, not you. Give it all to God.
Do not waste your time and tears on toxic people. If you do, you will never have peace. Only God can change their hearts.

“When a wise man has controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.” -Proverbs 29:9.

Stay encouraged for doing the right thing. As long as your heart is right with God, so will your actions. Don’t worry yourself about how to get back at the people that attack you. God will deal with them as He sees fit.

“The way of the Lord is a stronghold to those with integrity, but it destroys the wicked.” -Proverbs 10:29

Toxic people bring destruction on themselves. Spend time in prayer and meditation so you don’t allow yourself to get sucked up in their chaos. Once you’re sucked in, it’s hard to get out. You will then find yourself reaping the benefits of their turmoil.

After following the do’s and don’ts of dealing with toxic people, I can say that I have peace. I love my close family member, as I should, but that is as far as our relationship goes. I pray that she is able to let go whatever is causing her so much misery, but until then, I can’t deal with her and now that I know my worth, I refuse to. I used to feel bad about it, but now I don’t. God says that I have to love her and pray for her. He doesn’t say anything about me taking abuse from her or anyone else. Sometimes I have to ask God to give me the desire to pray for her. That way, I can heal from her destruction and move on.

I hope you are able to let go of the toxic people in your life. Trust me, you will be better off. If you are interested in reading her book, you can find it on Amazon by clicking HERE. You can read it for free by downloading the 30-Day free trial Kindle Unlimited by clicking HERE. It’s worth it and honestly, this is how I was able to read it. Thank you for reading my thoughts. God bless you all.

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018

Love Me, Do Ya?

Joann with This Is My Florida Blog, Daman with Above and Beyond the Infinity Blog, and Gail with Gail Love God Blog were all wonderful enough to nominate me for 3 very different, wonderful blog awards. Thank you all so very much. I am moved every time I open my notifications and see that someone has nominated me or liked or commented on my posts. Your recognition motivates me every day to share wonderful content with you guys. You inspire me to get through the bad days. You all are so much a part of my life and I love you very much for it. I wish there were enough words in any language that I can use to describe how much you guys mean to me. We’ve never met, but I will never forget the people who helped me get through one of the toughest times of my life. So, I will just simply say, Thank You! Each and every one of YOU!

At this moment, I have a lot going on in life, but I promised that I would at least post my answers to the questions that you guys have for me. I feel it’s the least I can do. In the future, I will try my best to repost each nomination (if I am blessed to receive any more) because I really want you guys to know how much I appreciate you thinking of me. Out of the millions on blogs, you chose mine. 🙂

If you would like to participate in any of these awards (I strongly encourage that you do), please click the blogger links above for how to participate. Or if you don’t want to participate, click their names anyway. Each blogger that I named above have the most beautiful souls and it illuminates through their writing.

Joann’s Questions: Real Neat Blogger Award

Where are you from? St. Louis, Missouri
Why did you start your blog? I originally started my blog to sell soy wax candles. But then, it started to turn into something different. Now I see that I am supposed to use this platform to motivate and inspire other people who may be going through the same life challenges as I am.
What is your favorite book and why? My favorite book right now is called Shattered Promises. It’s my favorite because he has a lot of actions and it’s sci-fi fiction (which is my fav genre).
What place would you most like to visit in the world? Honestly, Rome. There is so much history I would love to bask myself in. But that answer may change next week after I watch National Geographics.
What is the best place you’ve ever visited? Denver, Colorado. I’ve never met nicer people in my life. Everywhere we went, everyone was pleasant. We didn’t run into one rude person to the entire week we were there.
What is your favorite season? Fall. The weather is always perfect. I feel as though you can really see Gods blessings during the fall. You see in infinite beauty everywhere from the night’s sky to the leaves falling to the ground.
Favorite candy? Black Licorice

Damans Questions: Liebster Award

What is love to you? When I’ve been asked this questions before, I would give a long description, but if I could sum love up in one sentence, it would be, Love is when my husband offers the last of his dessert because he knows how much I love cake.
What brings you to blogging? I’ve always loved blogging, but this is the first time I’ve taken it seriously. I’ve had a couple of failed blogs, but this one has my heart.
What is your favourite word and why! Mvemjsunp because it reminds me of the order that our planets are in.
Why wordpress? It was the very first site I used to start a blog about ten years ago. When I decided to start this one, I used WordPress because I was familiar with it already.
Who is the most important person in your life? I don’t have one particular person. My children and my husband are the most important people. I couldn’t imagine my life without any of them.
White sauce pasta/Red sauce pasta? White. Red gives me indigestion
Who is your present crush? This sounds so cliche, and I laughed out loud when I thought it, but it would have to be Jesus. 🙂 I want to know everything I can about Him. Every time I learn something new, I love Him even more. So, yea, right now, good ole’ Jesus.
Heart/brain? I want to say brain, but my heart is telling me to say heart. 🙂

Gails Questions: The Awesome Blogger Award

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be? Rome
What is your biggest accomplishment? Raising three other human beings.
What is the most amazing blog you’ve ever come across? All of them are really awesome in their way, so I don’t have a favorite. Every blog brings something different “to the table”. There is so much diversity, I love it all.
Chocolate or Lollies? Chocolate
What is the nicest thing you’ve done for someone? I’m not sure how to answer this. Everything I do is out of love. I do it because I need to or want to, not do it because it’s “nice”. So, I don’t know the “nicest” thing I’ve done because I don’t really think about it. Make sense?
How do you stay positive? I try to think of the upside to any situation. There is always a rainbow after every storm. I try to look forward to the rainbow during the storm.
What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you? Someone told me to never give up on writing. That I was too great at it to let it go to waste.
What’s one book you’d always recommend and why? The Bible because it is the best self-help book ever written.
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Vanilla bean
What is your dream job? To run my own non-profit organization helping underprivileged children succeed in life through encouragement, self-help classes, and maintaining a healthy diet while providing affordable resources.

Again, thank you all so much.

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018

Quill Commander Award

A few days ago, I was nominated by a wonderful blogger, JGomez, Journey of Reflections for The Quill Commander Award created by Dronstad. Thank you, good sir, for thinking of me. I love how inspirational your blog is and how much love you always show to your readers. Thank you for being awesome sauce! If you have a chance, check out his great blog.

The purpose of this award is to promote patriotism and unify bloggers from different countries through tolerance and appreciation of their nationality.

Unified by our love for writing and reading, this reward is a token of that love.

The rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog
List the rules of the award
Post a photo of your National flag and anthem
Leave a favorite quote
Nominate a few loyal bloggers

One of my favorites quotes is (because of course, I can’t just have one)

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” -Maya Angelou

You guys should know by now that I do not like to nominate any particular blog. I would like to nominate everyone who is reading this. I would love for you all to share 🙂

Thank you all so much for your time.