My Unique Prayer Journal

   For the last several months I have binged on YouTube videos, Pinterest Boards, and read lots of blogs about prayer journals. I really became intrigued after putting together my own war room. Let me begin by saying... I love the idea of the prayer journal. The term prayer journal is interchangeable with prayer binder or war binder. As I researched the whole prayer journal idea, one question kept popping up. What happens when the journal is full of papers? Do they stay in their respective binders while the creator moves on to another binder? Are the papers removed and replaced with fresh sheets of paper? If so, what about the paper? What happens to the paper? Are the papers thrown away, never to be seen or reused again? As you can see, this was causing me a lot of concern. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice fresh clean crisp sheet of paper. However, I think my biggest concern was...what do I do with the completed sheets. After a few days, I had an idea! I decided to laminate everything!

    With my handy dandy Scotch Laminator and a 1-inch Avery durable binder, I began putting together my journal. I used color pages from an adult coloring book, and cardstock to make my tabs and pages. I choose to have blank pages versus lined (I felt as if the lines would clash with the coloring pages.) The tabs, pages, and stickers were all laminated. Sharpies are used to illustrate my journal. In the front of the journal, I added
Velcro strips to keep my Sharpies together and readily available. In the back of the journal, I made a pouch that holds 24 laminated stickers. The stickers have Velcro strips that can be placed on the journaling pages. Magnets work too!

   Having my prayer journal laminated allows me save my creative journaling by scanning the pages into my computer and transferring them into a pdf for later viewing. Once the pages are saved, I simply use rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and a cloth to remove the sharpie marker from the laminated pages. For me, this is a genius way at reducing paper waste, keeping the clutter down, and preventing ruined pages from hot cocoa spills. Like I stated before, I love clean crisp paper! I have nothing against those that choose to use paper for their journaling. 
I choose to use laminated pages because I am currently in the process of minimalizing my life. Just think for a second, if I journal every day in 2018...How many journals will I use? How many sheets of paper will be consumed? How much waste will I be responsible for? I am certainly not trying to judge anyone that chooses to use paper. I am clearly stating my opinion on how I feel about "my" paper waste. More than anything, my biggest concern was "How do I preserve my artwork without causing clutter in my house?"

 Of course, every great idea comes with some cons. First, sharpies should be used in well ventilated areas because they do have an odor. Secondly, the longer the marker sits on the pages, the harder it is to wipe off...not impossible, just a little harder.  Journal the way that makes you feel happy and comfortable. This is how I journal. How do you journal?

For a detailed video and demonstration on my laminated prayer journal, check out my YouTube channel. Video will be posted on Saturday night (12/9/2017).

Happy Journaling 😊

WHY I NEEDED A WAR ROOM

      The movie, War Room (also a book by Chris Fabry) inspired me to get serious about creating my very own.  I loved the entire concept of having a special room for prayer. However, that concept was short lived. It stayed nestled in the back of my mind for several months. Recently, the idea came back full force. Why? Because the struggle is real! I really struggle everyday, spiritually and mentally.
      My spiritual dysfunction has been an on again off again struggle for me. At the age of 12, my family and I began to immerse ourselves into the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church. We weren't strict SDAs; however, as I grew older, I strayed away from the church. For years after moving away from my parents, I considered myself a "non-practicing" SDA. Only after the death of my husband in 2013, did I revisit my commitment to the church. My boys and I were baptized on October 5, 2013. It felt so good to be back in the church. I remained on the path of righteousness for a little over a year. Unfortunately, I began to slip into old habits. I began missing church, I stopped keeping the Sabbath, and forgot to pray daily. Luckily for me, I have the greatest parents in the world. My parents pushed me to get back on track with God.
      My mental struggle involves my mood disorder. This year I was diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder. Cyclothymic disorder (Cyclothymia) is described as a mood disorder which has been thought to be a very mild form of bipolar disorder. My biggest issue with this disorder is the irritability. It is very difficult to fight the battle of being constantly irritated at life or becoming angry and/or irate at people for the smallest unnecessary thing. I find myself becoming more and more aggressive with bouts of insomnia, hopelessness and feelings of just giving up on life. The other side of Cyclothymia causes a lack of focus that keeps me from doing basic everyday life. Washing dishes, or light house cleaning takes forever because I am constantly distracted with my thoughts which then causes my anxiety to increase. It is helpful that I have the opportunity to work from home, however; I go through so many emotions just to get through the work day.
      This post is not about my mood disorder (definitely a future post) or my spiritual dysfunction, it is about how I have tried to cope with my relationship with God. In the past I was on medication and hospitalized. Medication did not work for me. I hated the way it made me feel. My plan this time, to avoid medication or hospitalization, is to focus more on God. Putting my spiritual life in order will in turn help me mentally. A week ago, I made a promise to God. I promised that I would read the bible for 30 minutes every night. Several mistakes were made in the first week. My first mistake created a ripple effect.

   Mistake 1: Trying to read the bible while in bed!

This is a horrible thing to do, especially for someone like me...you know, someone who likes sleep. I would hop into bed open minded and heart ready with a timer in hand. Admittedly, the first night was not bad. However, during the second night and so forth, time seemed to shorten a bit. I really did attempt to stay awake and read my bible plan, but I was too comfortable.

   Mistake 2: No time set aside!
My days are usually planned. I plan everything from possible chores, dinner, and errands. I generally have a very hard time staying on a planned schedule. Even though I do not complete half of the items on my daily list, I do enjoy having it available. Not once did I list my bible study sessions. The assumed study time was before I went to bed.

   Mistake 3: No organization!
Maintaining an organized life is a huge must for me. Being the type of person that is easily distracted makes daily life very difficult. As organized as I am, I could not find the effort to organize my prayer room. Thanks to Pinterest and YouTube, I was able to find hundreds of ideas for organizing. With ideas coming from all directions I was able to come up with the perfect solution.

      After I took the time to organize my prayer room and my prayer journal, things just fell into place. I truly believe that having a prayer room has helped me in keeping my promise to God. Once my prayer room was organized and working wonders for my spiritual health, I began to focus on my prayer journal. More about that journey in my next blog.

Stay blessed, healthy and happy!

Reusable Bag Lady

Reusable Bag Lady  

         This first blog is about something I am very passionate about. REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS!  I've used reusable grocery bags for a little more than two years. This passion had nothing to do with the environment. I just became tired of the plastic bags. Those thinly made plastic things began to take over my pantry, kitchen drawers and cabinets. I had plastic bags of bags inside plastic bags, inside boxes of plastic bags. True story! After a while I just became frustrated with the piles. My three boys and I gathered them all up, shoved them into the trunk of my car and dropped them off at the grocery store. At that moment I was done with all the plastic! I have become so passionate about my reusable bags that I get nauseated and lightheaded when my groceries are put into those thin plastic bags. The only way to avoid that nasty nauseated feeling is to remember to bring mine with me! When I first began my "no plastic bag" policy, I had a very difficult time remembering them. Within a months time, I had over 20 reusables in my possession. They had become a huge part of my life.

         Reusable bags are great for the environment, very easy to pack your groceries into, they play well inside the trunk of your vehicle, and they are very sturdy. I can recall several times during my plastic bag years, having groceries thrown all over the back seat and trunk of the car. The cold items fighting with the boxes, cans of green beans sitting on loaves of bread, and produce getting bruised by everything. Not a pretty sight at all! Then you have the times when the bag just tears as soon as you get out of the grocery store. I've had a pickle jar, sauerkraut jar and a jam jar all burst out of a torn bag and onto my feet...all at the same time! Well, maybe not all at the same time. However, I knew there had to be a better way of transporting my groceries after the sticky jam jar incident.
         The key to a successful grocery store trip with reusable bags, is to remember the bags! In the beginning, I would remember to bring them 25% of the time. That meant, having to purchase one or two each time I forgot them. During the middle part of this transition, the cashier would remind me. I would stop the bagging process, look through my purse or go grab them out of my vehicle or send my boys back to retrieve my bags. In the end, I would walk into the store with bags in hand and grocery shop, placing everything I planned to purchase into the bags. When my bags became full..it was time to stop shopping! Once I learned how to remember my bags, I became known as the reusable bag lady. Whenever I walk into the grocery store, the cashier already knows...that I have my own bags. Currently, I have a grand total of 39 reusable bags. They have become an accessory. I like to match them with my purse or shoes. When I pick out my clothes, I am picking out my reusable bag too. They go with me to the grocery store, hardware store, library, farmers market, flea market, etc. According to my boys, I have an obsession with reusable bags. It's true, but more about that in my next blog! I've become so obsessed with bags that even when I have them with me, I'll buy more at the store. They come in so many different sizes, types, colors, designs, and from so many different places...I want them all! I guess I am a passionately obsessed reusable bag lady! I'm cool with that!


People tell me that they would use them if they could remember to bring them to the store. So here is a list of ways that I remember my bags.     

1) Keep them folded. A folded bag is easier to store in your purse or wallet.

2) Make sure to have plenty of bags (5-10). Place them in your pantry, in the trunk of your car, in the bottom of your purse.

3)  Keep them on a hook near the door you exit when heading to the grocery store. 

4) Just buy a new one. When you forget to bring them with you, just buy another one when you get to the store. Most of the time it'll only cost you $1 (really nice ones, insulated with zippers, can cost more than $15)

5) Place post-its on the refrigerator, front door or garage door.
6) Put a reminder on your phone. Just think of how many times you glance at your phone before leaving your house.

A huge reminder to those as passionate as I am about reusable bags:

Remember to clean the bags after each use. I spray mine down with Lysol. If they are visibly soiled, I will use soap and warm water to thoroughly clean them. This is especially important after handling a bag with dripping meats inside.




This list is what helps me remember my bags. Please post any creative ideas you have!


Thanks for stopping by and reading my thoughts :)
Angelia

Vegetarian...again!

Well, it has been 3 years since I last decided to become a vegetarian. Once again, during the month of October... I'm a practicing Vegetarian! For me, the struggle has been... not eating meat! Ha, I miss chicken, turkey, duck, venison and...did I mention chicken! There are a few stages in the transition from meat eater to plant eater. Before I get into details about that, let me clear one thing up. I am, what real vegetarians call a pesco-vegetarian. Basically, I consume a semi-vegetarian diet by including fish and/or seafood with my meals. This makes it easier for me to meet my nutrient needs while still consuming a mostly plant-based diet. Now, back to the stages of torture I've endured for the past three weeks.

Stage 1: I CAN DO THIS STAGE! At this stage, I felt like anything was possible. I spent the first day dusting off my vegetarian cookbooks, browsing the internet for amazingly easy veggie recipes and scoping out Pinterest for dinner ideas. There are tons and tons of recipes for vegetarians! While my newly dust free cookbooks ended up full of multi-colored post-it notes, my grocery list began to grow. Grocery shopping and pantry cleaning was the most difficult part of this stage! I despise grocery shopping and pantry cleaning with a passion. More about that in a later blog! Unfortunately, this stage only lasted 5 days...I couldn't even make it one full week with the gung-ho attitude!

This is a great beginner book! It contains more than 150 recipes that provides healthy ways to give up meat while keeping the wonderful flavors your mouth so rightly deserve!                                                                                            

                         


                              

The $5 A Meal Cookbook is a wonderful resource for those that love the challenge of saving money. Get the entire family involved with grocery shopping at Dollar Tree. I have done this in the past when my boys were younger. Letting children participate in the choosing of the meals helps them understand prices, cost and healthy eating habits.                                                        

     
Stage 2: EVERYTHING LOOKS AND SMELLS LIKE CHICKEN STAGE! This stage is a combination of drooling at the TV during Popeye commercials, smelling your children as soon as they come home from school, or playing Farmville and thinking about how yummy it would be to just pick one of those little cows or chickens right out of the phone. I would almost salivate during any fast food commercial, especially Popeye's. It got to the point that I thought I could smell the commercials... anything food related, of course. My boys would laugh at me because I would hug them and tell exactly what type of meat they had at school that day. I would ask them to describe how it tasted or what it looked like. Of course, they would laugh and not give me an answer to my question. Farmville was a delicious game to play; however, Cooking Fever really had me wanting to lick my phone screen. The variety of foods, the graphics, and the fact that I can't cook half the Cooking Fever dishes had me so hungry. Did I quit playing the game...No, I'm a level 115! Why quit?! This stage lasted about 9 days.


Stage 3: I SEE CHANGES! THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK STAGE! Seriously, being a vegetarian becomes easier if you can make it to this stage. After 2 weeks, I began to see physical, mental and financial changes. Physically, I lost 6.2 pounds in two weeks and my jeans fit better! Ok, I know most, if not all, was water weight. However, it was exactly what I needed to stay onboard with my meat free diet. After consuming my meatless meals, I didn't have a weighed down feeling but I felt full. Another physical change involved my monthly cycle. Menstrual cramps became the thing of previous months. In the past I had horrible cramps that required me to pop pain medication like candy for the first 36 hours of my cycle. However, during my October cycle, I only popped pills for the first 12 hours. Another interesting thing about my cycle was...there was literally no period odor. Not to get too graphic or gross, but normally there is a period smell. It was never a vomitus smell that caused the gag reflex to be in overdrive, it was just the smell of blood. After 3 weeks of practicing vegetarianism, my cycle had no smell. Enough about that! 

         Mentally, I felt better. As someone who struggles with depression, I noticed that I was calmer, and not so stressed or depressed. Only time will tell for long term results. Financially, there was a huge decrease in my grocery bill! I would normally spend more than $150 per week on groceries (I live with 2 teenage boys). When grocery shopping, I tend to purchase 80% from the produce section of the store. Fruits, vegetables, pastas, rice, beans, and fish (only tuna, sardines, salmon, and whiting) can cost less than $80, especially if you shop at Aldi's (or somewhere similar). You will be amazed at the amount of groceries you can purchase for less than $100...truly amazed!

         Overall, the journey hasn't been so bad. I'm still learning and trying to figure it all out. If you are interested in a meatless diet, do your research and take baby steps. Personally, I find it harder to plan meals without meat. But, I have learned that with a little hunting around via various sources (print, internet, or TV) you can find hundreds of recipes for great meatless meals. Remember to take baby steps. Try reducing your meat intake to 3 times a week or make certain days "meat days" or "cheat days". Have fun with it and good luck!  

A. 😉