Stop Wishing Your Day Away.

    Many of us spend our workday watching the clock, waiting to go home. Or is that just me? Not just me? Okay, good. We do this even if we like our jobs.

    Yesterday, I was back in the primer booth, my favourite spot in the building. I haven't spent any real time there in ages because I have been training in the paint booth learning base and clear coat, which have been fun in their respects. But it was good to be back in my spot. By myself with an earbud in my ear listening to podcasts all day, heaven on earth as far as my workplace is concerned.

    But I was still watching the clock waiting for break time and so on. Out of habit, I suppose. A coworker encouraged me a few weeks ago to not wish my day away. She's right of course. You shouldn't spend your time waiting for the next day or the next big thing to happen. You should enjoy each day and each moment as it comes as much as possible. While I was in the primer booth, I went to check my watch and had to stop myself and remind myself to enjoy my day. I was in my booth listening to a podcast, what more could a girl ask for while working in a factory? Answer, not much. I thurally enjoy listening to podcasts, but in the primer booth is my only real opportunity to listen to them. We can't have earbuds in any other place in the building for safety reasons and I don't have much time or the ability to concentrate and listen to them in any other area of my life. Anyway, I'm not complaining, I'm just excited to have a day in the primer booth.

    I realized that even though I'm looking forward to going home at the end of the day and seeing my family, it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy my work day and be thankful for all the things God has given me and done for me. We aren't going to love every day at work, just like we won't love every day at home. But we can enjoy the majority of them and not spend our days watching the clock in anticipation of going home or doing something else. Plus, there is a good chance that you prayed for the job that you now have and therefore should be thanking God for answering that prayer instead of wanting to go home. It is a blessing to go home to a loving family, and a blessing to go to work every day. Both of which I am thankful for. So I'm going to start working on enjoying the moment more and not spending my days watching the clock while at work.

    How about you friend? Are you a clock watcher too?

    I pray this encourages and blesses you today on this Thanksgiving Monday. Hubby and I travelled up north to quickly visit my side of the family for the weekend and are now resting today to recover from all of the excitement from the weekend and in anticipation of returning to work tomorrow.

God Bless

~Hannah

Kivi Park, Sudbury, ON

Gel Nail Polish

    At the beginning of the year, I decided I was done with traditional generic nail polish. You spend an hour doing your nails only to have the polish chip in a day or two. I'm also not the girl to get her nails done at the salon. I started researching my options—gel vs Shalac. I landed on the gel. I went to Amazon and purchased a kit with everything I needed. Or so I thought. I tried it out and liked it. Soon after though, I noticed that the colour still wasn't lasting. The polish would peel off my nails a few days later.

    Eventually, through the summer I talked to a handful of people about it, including my mom's pedicurist. I discovered I needed to use a primer or a dehydrator on my nails before using a base coat. Mom's pedicurist told me that there was likely still oil in my nails, causing the polish to come off. She showed me the primer she uses and mentioned using rubbing alcohol as well before applying the base coat.

    I eventually went to Sally's Beauty to get the rest of the supplies. Before going I went on Google and double-checked what product I needed. I was under the impression that primer and dehydrator were the same thing. FYI, they aren't. I ended up walking out of Sally's Beauty with the dehydrator. Then I got home and realized that dehydrator is simply fancy rubbing alcohol and that I actually wanted primer and not dehydrator. I'm a little disappointed in Sally's Beauty. They had the perfect opportunity to upsell me on both products, but they didn't. They respected what I thought I needed and that was it. Basically, I'm thankful that they weren't pushy and at the same time wish they had been.

    On the following Monday, a coworker suggested that I just use the dehydrator and forget about the primer and see if the dehydrator would be enough. Friend, it worked. It has now been almost two full weeks and the polish is still on. My nails have grown a bit and are ready to be redone, but the polish is intact. I also struggle with brittle nails that break easily. One of the people I talked with also went to school for nails and said that doing my nails at home or at the salon would be good for them because the hard layer of gel will give my nails strength. A shield in a sense. Someone once told me that painting your nails was bad because it suffocates them and they cannot breathe. I don't know if they were correct or not. All I know is that my nails still grew while I had the gel on which suggests that they are just fine.

    I'm going to take off the polish tonight (Friday) and then when I do a hot oil treatment for my hair in the morning I will give my nails the same treatment before I give myself another manicure Saturday morning. My next step will be to work on perfecting my polish application. I tend to be a little sloppy with the nail polish brush. So I need to practice doing that better.

    I wanted to share all of this with you because I was excited to finally have answers for all my nail problems and I want to share that with you and potentially solve you nail polish problems too. And now it is time to watch my nails grow to the length I want them and in theory maintain that length with the help of regular gel manicures.

God Bless

~Hannah

Sewing For Pleasure and Not For Profit.

 For the last few weeks, I have struggled to sew for my scrunchy and scrunchy barrette business. Hubby and I have had a few rough weeks with some health issues, but even on the days when I had the time and energy to sew, I avoided it. Then finally this Saturday morning, I was trying to build a website to sell my scrunches and scrunchy barrettes. I was feeling stressed. Hubby came and asked me a question, and I lost it. I yelled a few unnecessary things. Bless my husband, I think I married a saint. After apologizing, it occurred to me that I had no desire to run a business. I don't want to worry about inventory and everything else. I just want to sew, so that's what I'm going to do. Yes, you could make the argument that I could hire someone to take care of the business side of things, and I could enjoy sewing, but I don't want to do that nor could I afford it.

I don't need or want to work more than 40 hours a week. I want to come home from work and enjoy my family and my hobbies. I'm learning to stop trying to take my hobbies that could be used for profit (sewing and photography) and simply enjoy them and if the opportunity arises, make a few bucks and bless others with them.

I made the decision around lunchtime on Saturday and since then have done more sewing than I did for weeks. I made two pillowcases for hubby and me on Saturday evening. We needed new pillows and pillowcases but Walmart didn't have any pillowcases in the right colours we wanted. So I bought a twin-size flat sheet and made pillowcases. I also made a pen holder for my journal but it didn't turn out, so I made a new one to replace it on Sunday and then made an additional one on Monday. I also made myself another scrunchy, because why not, and because I have cute fabric. Lastly, on Monday, I made a protective sleeve for my book when it rides in my purse. I also have a list of other things that I want to sew over the next little bit.

Since making my decision on Saturday, I looked at my hubby several times and said how happy I was, and am about my decision to no longer sell scrunchies, scrunchie barrette clips and other homemade goods. It was fun in the beginning and I did make a few dollars of profit, but now it's time to sew for pleasure and not for profit. Thank you to my customers for supporting my little business. You are a blessing.

Not everything is about money. God blesses us with skills and talents. Some of which will be used to provide for your family's needs and others will be for your pleasure and to bless those around you. For me, sewing will be for my pleasure and to bless others. I'm going to maintain my social media pages because it's fun to post about my latest sewing projects and encourage others. A friend of mine posted about their sewing project a year ago and it was part of my inspiration to get back into sewing. So I too will post about mine for pleasure and inspiration.

God Bless

~Hannah

It's Okay To Not Have Or Want Children.

    The topic of children has been a sensitive topic in our home since day one. We have flip-flopped between wanting and not wanting them. We have always known that logistically we are not ready to have children. We have also known for years that we were not mature enough to have them. Hubby is now mature enough, but I still have some growth to tackle.

    We brought Blessing home five years ago and love being her parents. In many ways, she is our kid and has helped show us what our parenting styles will be when we have children. I've wanted to be a mother since I was a little girl, and Blessing has done a beautiful job of playing the role of my little girl.

    Recently, hubby and I have had a few opportunities to go out for a day or afternoon and enjoy time together simply as a married couple and not as a family/parents to Blessing. It has been a blessing to go out with just the two of us and enjoy being husband and wife, for the first number of years of our marriage things were rough. We were young and had lots of growing up to do, so we didn't enjoy our marriage. Fast forward a few years, we both grew up and worked through some therapy and here we are now. I am heading back into therapy this fall and will continue working on my problems, including more growing up. We are now more in love than ever and enjoying our marriage. Yes, like every couple, we still have our bad days.

    One of our recent hesitations in having children has been the coming of the end times. Mark 13:17 "How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant woman and nursing mothers!" In Mark chapter 13, Jesus is talking to his disciples about the end times and what will happen. Hubby and I believe the end times are on their way and thus are hesitant to have children. It will still be a few years before we have them anyway because hubby is returning to school next year and I will continue working while he is in school, so kids do not make sense.

    Last Sunday on our drive to church I told hubby that I was not ready to have kids. I'm the one who has done the most pushing on this topic from day one. And like I mentioned earlier, I've wanted to be a mom since I was five. So for me to say that I'm not ready is a big deal. Hubby breathed a sigh of relief when I told him. Because even though he now wants kids, he doesn't feel that it's right to have them in the end times but didn't want to get my hopes up and then knock them back down again. My reasoning for not wanting them at this time is that we have been enjoying our time together as husband and wife and I don't want to add to that. By no means am I saying that children are a burden or anything. They are a blessing and a gift from God. But they are still not for everyone.

    The reason why I am sharing this is to encourage young women and maybe a few young men (based on my knowledge of who reads my blog) that it's okay to not want children. Society puts a lot of pressure on young people and women especially to have children. As soon as you get married you are expected to have children. And if God has put that desire on your heart that is wonderful. But if He hasn't. God bless you too. Or if you want them but you know it's not the right time, that's cool too. But it's okay to get married and enjoy your life together. Whether that be for a few years or forever. There is no guilt or shame in not having children. Or in not wanting them. I used to be the woman who would get jealous and cry whenever a woman announced a pregnancy. I have since grown in that area and now get excited and sometimes shed a tear of joy for that woman when she announces her pregnancy.

    Anyways, ladies. I want to encourage you that it's okay to either not want children now or maybe even ever. You are not alone. Also, when people ask you when you are going to start your family, tell them you did, on your wedding day. Children don't make you a family, your marriage license and covenant with God makes you a family. Children are simply adding to the family. I love you and am praying for you.

I pray this message encourages and blesses you today friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

    1st Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own?"

    It's a familiar verse to many. Recently the Holy Spirit reminded me of the important truth behind this verse. I have known this verse for most of my life but never really thought about all the implications surrounding it. One of which is the need to care for my body and seek medical attention when needed and not simply ignore my body telling me it needs servicing.

    Hubby and I were chatting with someone after church a few weeks ago and the principle of our bodies being a temple and being considerate of what we eat came up and that we should be mindful of what we eat.

    There are many different aspects to this Bible verse. The one that hits home the hardest now is my need to care for my physical health better. I'm the person who blatantly ignores my "check engine" light and says, "I'll be fine." A few weeks ago, I woke up on my sister's couch on my way home from my parent's house after a week-long visit. I chose the couch instead of a bed because the couch was closest to the front door and I wanted to sneak out at 3 am and finish the drive home. So I got up at 3 am and was back on the road by 3:30 am. I discovered a knot in my shoulder blade. I thought little of it other than it was funny because my sister mentioned having a knot in the same shoulder the night before. It's not the first time I had a knot there so I ignored it and finished my drive home. About an hr and a half from home, I started to feel a pain in my chest. By the time I got home, taking a deep breath was very painful. I ended up calling in sick to work on Monday because I was still in pain and didn't know why. Later that day I thought that I had a series of knots ranging from my shoulder blade, under my armpit and my chest. I was avoiding making a massage appointment for the knots because a) I'm stubborn and b) they are expensive. A week later, during the long weekend, the pain changed and it now felt like the pain I had experienced years ago when I popped my rib out. I didn't think it was my rib originally because I didn't feel a pop and because the first time it happened there was an obvious pop, so I assumed that ribs always make a popping motion when they come out of place. Turn out they don't and I should stop assuming things. The pain changing was the nerve becoming inflamed and angry. Ironically I tell people not to assume and yet here I am doing just that.

    I finally made a chiropractor appointment and got it put back into place. Then I accidentally popped it out that night. I had already booked a follow-up appointment at the end of the week and with everything going on with hubby and his rash I left the rib out of place for another week and waited for my next appointment.

    Friday finally arrived and I got it fixed again and then spent the weekend figuring out what movements to do and not to do. I started practicing actively listening to my body. When I felt the need for rest and a heating pad I took a break and when I felt the need to move I moved. My chiropractor said I would be in pain for a while because there is a nerve that runs along the top of one of the ribs that I popped out of place. Because it was out of place for an extended amount of time the nerve was inflamed and angry. Monday morning came along and my ribs still felt tender, but as the day went on I could feel the rib and nerve calming down and settling back into their respective places. By Wednesday I had all but forgotten to watch the movement of my torso and the nerve pain was almost gone.

    The moral of the story. Is that if I hadn't been so stubborn, I could have avoided three weeks of pain. On Wednesday I felt something in my back where the rib popped out in the first place, I wasn't sure if it was a knot or the rib coming back out of place, so I quickly made an appointment for this coming Monday. I'm practicing listening to my body and taking care of God's temple properly.

    Rereading this verse has reminded me of all the other ways God calls us to care for our bodies and renewed my perspective on my health. Particularly in regards to food and exercise and that on the days when I don't want to make the "right" choices, by making the right choices, I'm honouring and blessing God and myself.

    How about you friend? Are you honouring God with your temple and listening to your body when it tells you what it needs? I pray that you are or that you start now like I am. I pray this blesses and encourages you today.

Happy Saturday friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

The Spirit of Overwhelm

    It has been a rough week. On Tuesday, hubby discovered a rash on his finger that spread to spots on his arms and legs. At the time we didn't know what it was which made him concerned, especially about it spreading to me, which meant that we started going through much more bedding and towels than normal, which meant that the laundry pile was growing faster than I could wash it.

    Enter overwhelm. I quickly started feeling very overwhelmed by all the laundry. I would go to work and do my job. then I came home and did laundry for the evening. Thankfully that only lasted two nights, but between those two evenings, I did six or seven large loads of laundry. I also didn't know how long it would last. We hadn't seen the doctor yet so we didn't know what the problem was, or how to fix it. Would the pile maintain its size for a week or would we be fine and it would end after seeing the doctor? Needless to say, we were both anxious for the answer. I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't able to think or do anything else. Hubby was equally stressed because he didn't know what was happening to his body.

    For two nights I went to the shop and did several large loads of laundry. Work kept me distracted during the day, but as soon as I arrived home the feeling of overwhelm would hit me like a ton of bricks. No, I was never mad about the excess laundry. I was upset that I had to care for hubby but that's a whole other issue. I was simply overwhelmed by the pile. Thankfully the pile did come to an end after the dr apt. Looking back it was only two nights of endless laundry and overwhelm, but when you are in the middle of it and have no idea when it will end, it's hard.

    On Friday morning, after arriving at work I was feeling very overwhelmed again. I don't recall if the Holy Spirit prompted me or if I thought it on my own. But I remembered how we as believers don't fight our battles on a human level but on a spiritual level. So I decided it was time to pray and send the spirit of overwhelm packing. And it did. My heart and mind felt clean and clear again, allowing me to enjoy the rest of my day. And make a grocery list and menu for the next week. Usually, that's Thursday's chore, but on Thursday my brain was in laundry mode and nothing else.

    We had an apt with a walk-in clinic on Friday afternoon where we got helpful answers and a treatment plan. That appointment relieved all of our anxiety. We still had some relational stresses to deal with that were a result of the rash. but over time they were relieved.

    It has now been just over a week since this all happened. Hubby's rash is cleared up and the treatment plan has come to an end and life has returned to normal.

    The moral of the story friend is to pray. Something I'm preaching to myself as I type this up as well. Yes, I remembered to pray on that Friday morning over the spirit of overwhelm, but we also need to remember to pray about everything that is going on in our lives on a daily basis and to remember that we are not fighting against man, but against the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6:10- 18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the word of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

God Bless

~Hannah

Hubby and I took a day trip to Goderich yesterday and enjoyed their beautiful beach.

Lucky's Bridge

    Growing up I always wanted a dog. We briefly had one when I was 10, but then she passed away. So I made do with my stuffed dog Lucky. From the age of 8 when I received Lucky and into my teen years Lucky went everywhere with me. Okay, I did not bring her to school, but everywhere I travelled she was right beside me. On long car rides my mom would lovingly use her as a neck pillow. As a child, she went everywhere with me. I would put plastic baggies on her feet, made her a harness and leash and walk her like a real dog. I would bounce her on the ground trying to make it look like she was real.

    One day my family and I were walking along a suspension bridge on a hike an hour away from home. As usual, I was making Lucky walk/bounce beside me. Lucky is a Dalmatian the size of a Shih Tzu. While walking along the suspension bridge a couple with their Shih Tzu walked up behind us. Their Shi Tzu who was on a retractable leash, so they had more freedom than a standard leash came up behind Lucky and sniffed her butt thinking that she was real. A moment later everyone realized what had happened. The owners of the dog were embarrassed and apologetic. We all had a good laugh and it made for a funny and special memory that I will always remember.

    After bringing Blessing home five years ago I decided that I needed a picture of Lucky, Blessing and I on the bridge. Which I now call, "Lucky's Bridge." It has taken me five years to get this picture because I live 7 hrs away from that bridge, I don't get that far north very often, and I kept forgetting to pack Lucky.

    A few weeks ago I was up north visiting my parents and on my way home from my visit, I was finally able to stop and get a picture with my real and stuffed dogs.

    I'm proud of myself for finally getting this picture taken. This picture represents my inner child and my adult self coming together. I'm a big believer in the concept of our "inner child." I named mine while I was in counselling years ago and am looking forward to returning to counselling shortly and working on healing some of Mini Me's (inner child) trauma. Both Mini Me and Adult Me are both proud of what this picture represents. Mini Me always wanted a dog and was content to enjoy Lucky all while knowing that one day adult me would get a dog once I was an adult and had a family of my own. And I am proud of my adult self because not only did I finally get this picture taken, but I was able to take care of Mini Me's dream of having a dog. I am also proud because I have a bad habit of saying, "I'll do it/get it next time." For example, I will be at the store doing groceries or something and see something I would like and tell myself that I will get it next time. Simply because I do not want to spend the money on it, even if I have the money to spend. I struggle to spend money on myself.

    I haven't intentionally put this picture off all these years. I mainly forgot to bring Lucky with me over the last five years when travelling to my parent's place. This time though I finally remembered to pack her. On the way up north I was thinking of taking the picture before I arrived in Sudbury, but then realized that my camera batteries were dead. So I thought I would take it on the way home. when it came time to head home I was feeling homesick and just wanted to get home. So I contemplated skipping it all together. I got into the car and put the GPS on for the bridge and decided that I would decide how I felt once I arrived there. As I approached the bridge I reminded myself that it wasn't going to add that much more time to my travel and that I would still get home on time. I also reminded myself that I don't do a whole lot for myself and needed to do this. From the moment I was taking the picture and likely for the rest of my life I will be thankful, grateful and proud of myself for stopping and taking that photo.

I pray that this memory of mine triggers some happy childhood memories of yours and blesses you today.

God Bless

~Hannah