Shut up, MOUTH!

I am a procrastinator.

It's a terrible quality of mine.

I suffer from the 'I'll do it tomorrow' or 'I'll do it later' syndrome.

I'm not a believer or promoter of medication unless it's absolutely necessary....but....if there were a pill to cure my procrastination-itis....I would heavily consider requesting a prescription!

One of the worst things about my flaw is that I often leave projects un-done. I start something & very, very seldom actually follow through. Exercising, eating right, homework, household DIY projects, journaling, reading my Bible, etc. I have started 5 projects this year & have completed  maybe one none of them.

But the best thing about my flaw...the thing I constantly try to remind myself of....is that it leaves a LOT of room for improvement. It gives me a lot to work on and towards which gives me hope for "getting better".

One of the projects I started & never finished was my "confessions" project. GOD is so patient with us when it comes to changing us. With so many things to work on - so many areas of 'sin' - you would think HE'd try to fix you all at once. But nope - HE's a gentleman. Always has been, always will be. That's why HE established Grace - to cover what HE chooses to set on the back-burner while HE focuses on changing the things HE brings to our utmost attention. The area of focus & improvement HE's bringing to my attention this year (1 of 2 - more about the 2nd one in a later post) is the power in my words.

The Bible says that our words bring life & they bring death & that it's our responsibility as HIS children to choose life. Let me begin by telling you - my mouth has been known to bring me embarrassment, pain & regret. So this challenge has not been easy. GOD is greater than my struggle but I feel as though I'm giving HIM a run for HIS money. If I didn't believe in HIS perfect nature & strength...I'd be sure HE'd given up on me by now.

After much struggle & maaaaaaaaaaany attempts to take the situation into my own hands (I'm sort of a control freak - another great quality of mine. *Sarcasm intended* ) I finally gave this flaw up to the LORD & asked for HIS direction. "How in the world do I change the one thing that I use the most????" <---- The first thing proceeding out of my mouth, just smothered in frustration! Hahaha I was off to a good start, huh?

The LORD led me to Joyce Meyer's book: "Me and My Big Mouth". In her book she talks about the power of our words and mentions a "confessions" list she wrote years ago. I jumped out to her website & tracked down her confessions list. You can check it out here: http://joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=list_of_confessions_by_joyce_meyer.

I was immediately inspired. Yes! THIS is what I need! THIS is how I start speaking life & not death into my life!!!!

Being the organizational freak that I am, I decided the best way I was going to truly start teaching my tongue the PROPER way of the land was to put each and every confession on it's own flash card & start rehearsing each one separately. As if flash cards weren't dorky enough, I went out and bought COLORED flash cards! Yes, I'm sort of a Princess. So sue me.

I wrote down a confession on each card. I hung up a few around my house - one in my bathroom, one in my kitchen, one on my bedroom dresser. My goal is to read those cards aloud each time I'm in the room. Each time I enter the kitchen, I want to read the card aloud. Each time I go into my bedroom, I want to read that card aloud. Each time I enter our bathroom, I want to read that card aloud. The rest of the cards I stuck in my purse. My goal is to take the first card on top & for one week, read the card aloud everyday. After that week passes, I'll move that card to the bottom of the pile and start the week fresh with the one below it. Whenever I'm waiting for the bus, or at the gym, or waiting for a movie to start, or on my lunch break at work...whenever I find a moment, I want to read the card aloud. The more I read the card aloud, the more I'm confident that the words will be written on my heart & I'll start to produce an entirely different fruit in my life.

I'm not perfect. But I'm GOD's daughter & I have HIS grace to do whatever I set my mind & heart to. With HIS strength, I'll succeed.

I'm choosing "life" this year and I couldn't be more excited for the harvest that is to come from that.

Giving it over - not giving it up

The question was recently asked - how do I leave something in GOD's hands? What does it mean to "not do things in my own strength?"

It was a question that really got me thinking. When I say I'm 'leaving it in GOD's hands' what does that mean? What am I actively DOING that leaves it in GOD's hands? How do I not do things in my own strength?

Strength in the Websters dictionary is defined by: inherent capacity to manifest energy, to endure and to resist. Of all the definitions of strength, I think this one says it best. To have strength one has to manifest & exert energy. Strength is an ACTIVATION - an ACTION of something. I believe that when we do something in our own strength, it means that we are actively doing something in an effort to drive or obtain a result. We are pursuing something, whether it be a career, a child, a relationship, a breakthrough, a victory or a loved one's salvation.

For example: if we are seeking GOD for a different career or a specific job opportunity, we are likely praying for HIS 'favor', HIS provision, HIS 'will' - we are praying: "If it be your will Lord, please give me this job _______ or a job or a job in this field _________ ." In order to activate GOD's will, HE calls us to act. We should be putting in applications for that particular job or field. But activating in our own strength might mean that we are so sick of the job that we are in or so bored of the job that we are in that when an opportunity arises when a job that isn't in that field comes up....we take that job, without praying, without seeking the Lord's direction, and we take it simply because we're tired of waiting and 'atleast it gets me out of where I am now'.

If we are seeking GOD for a breakthrough in our lives - for example, a financial breakthrough, we are likely praying for GOD's provision, HIS financial blessing, a miracle! We are praying: "LORD, open the floodgates of heaven and pour down your financial blessing on us. Provide the money to save our house, provide the financial provision to buy a new car to replace our clunker", or "LORD - my electricity will shortly be turned off, please provide the funds to pay for my electric bill!" In order to active GOD's will, HE calls us to act. We should be withholding from spending any existing money we receive on careless things such as clothes, shoes, movies, cigarettes, eating out or going out with friends. Every dime we have & receive, we should be saving to all add up to what's required for our bill. But activating in our own strength might mean that two days after we ask the LORD for provision, we go out to get a PayDay Loan. Our bill isn't due for another week, we just prayed last night but we're just too afraid that we won't get what we need so we go out, we get a loan & we use that money to pay off our bill. We believe GOD can provide - we've seen GOD provide - but we just want to make sure!!! We just want to be sure that our APS doesn't get turned off. It's not that GOD won't provide for us, it's just that 'if I pay the loan back, then no harm-no foul'!

Maybe we've been waiting on a relationship - a husband or a wife. We are struggling because we've been faithful...we've kept ourselves pure...we've stayed in the WORD...we've served in the church....we've stayed away from things displeasing to the LORD...and yet, we see what feels like everyone around us getting married. Even those who are freshly saved are finding spouses! And we're still waiting. We are likely praying: "GOD, please! Please bring my husband/wife! I have been faithful! I've been patient! I've been pleasing to you! Please bring me the man/women you've promised!" In order to active GOD's will, HE calls us to act. We must continue to remain pure, we must continue to trust on the LORD...we must continue to support our friends in marriage while we wait for our own spouse. But activating in our own strength might mean that we say 'yes' to the first person who shows interest in us. They don't exactly line up with what we know we want in a husband/wife - they say they re a Christian but they don't regularly attend church, they're sexually active with other people inside and outside of the church, they are often found at bars getting drunk or they have a bad temper and often explode on people around them. They disrespect their mother/father, they watch racey movies & they dress provocatively. But they're interested in you - they say they love GOD - they raise their hands during worship & they pray over your dinner when they take you out. They say they love GOD so that should be enough. Everyone has sin, right? I can't judge them. I'm just tired of being alone and he/she is SO cute & so nice - I just want to be a husband/wife so I'm going to make this work. I'm not praying about it....I'm not seeking GOD's face to know if this is my spouse. I'm not listening to the LORD's voice when I see the warning signs. As long as I go into it knowing divorce isn't an option, it has to be right, right? They believe in GOD, which means we aren't unequally yoked. I'm just tired of waiting so it's fine!

Maybe we are already married & our prayers have been for our spouse. We are frustrated - we need change in our marriage! Maybe our spouse is an unbeliever; maybe they have an addiction to drugs or pornography or drink; maybe our spouse doesn't help us around the house or has unforgiveness in their hearts or struggles with not wanting physical intimacy. We have been praying: "Please LORD! Please intervene! Change my husband/wife. Free him/her from this addiction. Make him/her more helpful around the house. Please change my husband's/wife's heart & make them more passionate, compassionate & giving. Restore our marriage - make us love each other again!" In order to activate GOD's will, HE calls us to act. We as wives should be submitting to our husbands - speaking in kindness, quick to forgive - no matter how often their faults. We should be free of nagging our husbands - we should be cleaning the house even if they never help. We should be hugging our husbands, kissing his cheek before bed and before we leave the house. We should be in our WORD daily, praying for our husbands, asking the LORD for change and we should be speaking to our husband in love, encouragement and respect. Husbands should be helping with the household and the children, going out of their way to love their wives even if their wife's response is sour & unkind. They should be holding our hands, cooking dinners, speaking in kindness & loving their wives as GOD loves them and HIS church. But activating in our own strength might mean that we as wives stop cleaning the house in an effort to 'show our husbands what we do everyday'. We get tired, weary of doing it all on our own so we stop cooking dinner for them so they can 'learn how much we do'. We are praying for that our husbands would put down the remote and pick up a mop but we just aren't seeing change so we take the batteries out of the remote, hide all the refills & hand him a mop and a bucket, telling him it's time for him to 'do something for once'. We yell, we call him a 'lazy man', & remind him of how much like his father he has become. We withhold sex from him when he desires us & we stop wearing dresses & live in our sweatpants. We know GOD can change him. We know that GOD has the power to change his heart & make him the man that we want him to be but we're tired - we're worn out - and quite honestly, we're angry. We 'deserve' better than this. We 'deserve' to be happy & we're tired....we're tired of being unhappy. So we 'motivate' our spouses by telling them every time they aren't doing what we want them to do. We are 'telling them how we feel' so that they don't have to 'wonder' and so they can't tell us they never knew.

I believe operating in our own strength doesn't always mean we purposefully cut GOD off & take control. We don't necessarily go into it having the motivation to 'be GOD' or take care of our own problems. Waiting with patience is one of the greatest challenges we face. We want things so deeply and especially if we see others around us happily enjoying what we want....it creates an opportunity for satan to use that as a foothold & a distraction.

I believe that when we turn things over to GOD, that means that we truly seek HIS face & HIS direction & HIS strength in providing or waiting for that thing we are seeking HIM for. I think truly giving over a desire to GOD - in HIS hands - is the difference between Sarai and Hannah. Sarai got tired of waiting - she had GOD's promise but she didn't see if manifested for years and years and years. She finally grew weary and she, in her own strength, gave her slave to Abraham to bore them a child. Hannah, on the other hand, had a word from GOD & mourned over her desire for a son. She waited & waited & waited & she kept her faith on the LORD, trusting in HIS timing, waiting on HIS provision, doing nothing but speaking HIS faithfulness....& GOD gave her a child - more than 1 to be exact.

I'm not denoting the antagonizing pain that comes with waiting. Especially if we've received confirmation from the LORD that HE does have a job for us, a spouse for us, a child for us...that HE will give those things to us on HIS timing.... I don't denote the excruciating pain & weariness & disappointment & sorrow that can come in waiting. You are not displeasing the LORD if you feel like giving up....if you feel disappointed....if you have a brief moment of doubt that your promise will be fulfilled. You are not displeasing the LORD if in frustration & down-right mourning you question the LORD in prayer, asking HIM if HIS promises will ever be fulfilled. You are not displeasing the LORD if you make a mistake and you DO operate in our own strength & you try to manifest your promise yourself. You are not displeasing the LORD if you have moments in your time with HIM when you cant bring yourself to say anything because...well...you're a little angry. You're a little angry at GOD, if you're honest with yourself, because you've been faithful in your waiting...for months...a year...5 years...10 years...25 years....40 years....60 years. You're angry that your daughter/son/wife/husband/mother/father/sister/brother/grandchild(ren) aren't saved. You're angry that you've been trying & trying & trying to conceive children - you've had word after word after confirmation after confirmation that HE will give you your hearts desire & you have yet to conceive - you're angry that you have been married for 5, 10, 20, 30 years and your spouse is still the same person & you're angry that you're doing all the right things & you still aren't seeing change.

Giving it to the LORD, & not relying on your own strength, doesn't mean that you won't THINK about what you're giving up. It doesn't meant that you won't LONG for what you're giving up. It doesn't mean that you won't WANT what you're giving up. It doesn't mean that you'll FORGET about what you're giving up. It doesn't mean that you won't be asked by GOD to rejoice in OTHER people getting what you're giving up. It doesn't mean that you won't be presented with something that LOOKS like what you want but you KNOW in your heart of hearts that it's not GOD's best. It doesn't mean that you won't have to wait another year, 2 years or 5 more years to get what GOD has promised you. And it doesn't mean that you won't make mistakes along the way...waiting for what GOD has for you.

What it all means....to leave something in GOD's hands & to "not do things in my own strength" - it means that we trust that GOD is bigger, GOD is better, GOD is mightier, GOD is stronger, GOD is greater, GOD is more faithful, and GOD is more true than what we are seeking HIM to do. It means that we trust that despite our circumstances...despite our emptiness....despite our waiting....despite our weariness...despite our imperfect jealousies, envies, and frustrations....that we trust that GOD is the same GOD who bore Abraham a child well after his child-bearing days, the same GOD who grew a child in the womb of a virgin, the same GOD who rose a man from the dead....the same GOD who created the world with simple WORDS - that this same GOD is the GOD who will give you your heart's desire & will give it to you in abundance - more than you could ever anticipate or imagine. It will be bigger, better & will far exceed your expectations.

I know the waiting is long.
I know the waiting is exhausting.
I know the waiting makes it harder and harder to believe you'll see GOD's promises.

But GOD is faithful.
GOD is not a man that HE could lie.
HIS passion for you burns deeply, deeply within HIM.
You are HIS child & HE only gives HIS children the very, very, VERY best.

Hold tight.
Your promise IS coming.

Spotlight - Stevie Estrada

I am so, so very excited about this post!!! I have had this stirring in my heart for so long and I am SO excited to finally have the opportunity to launch this vision!

One of the visions I have had for this blog is to highlight the stories of women GOD introduces me to & the impact they are making around them. I really want to showcase the hearts, victories, testimonies, and services of women who are using their pasts to make a difference in their futures and in the futures of those surrounding them.

I am very, very excited to kick off this vision by giving my first official “spotlight” introduction to one of the sweetest, most humble, GOD-fearing women I know. I first met this young girl at a church I attended in Phoenix, Arizona. From the moment this girl opens her mouth, the love & wisdom of GOD just pours out and infects everyone within ear shot. She has been a constant anchor in my life and has spoken wisdom beyond measure into the lives of so many women around her. She has a powerful, powerful story of GOD’s preservation, grace, redemption and a heart for others that is so big it bursts from the seams!

So, without further adieu, I introduce to you my first spotlight feature:

    Stevie Rae Estrada

Stevie Estrada is 20 years old. From the moment she was conceived in her mother’s womb, satan sought to destroy her.

“Recently, GOD renamed me ‘Little Warrior’, and looking back at these last 20 years, I think that name sums up my childhood. I have had to fight to live, survive, and normalize since birth.”

“I have a heart condition which requires me to live dependently on a pacemaker. This condition started when I was about 12 months old. I also have Type 1 Diabetes that was diagnosed when I was 10 years old. I have had my Appendix & Gallbladder removed due to complications, and I have a new form of colitis called Eosinophilic Colitis.”

As if her medical complications weren’t enough, Stevie experienced a heartache known all too well to many children of our generation.

“When I was 9 years old my parents divorced and left my brother (8), baby sister (2), and I without a Dad.”

One thing I love so much about the LORD is that even in the midst of the most traumatic, confusing, painful situations, GOD is in the process of working out something far greater in our lives.

“Very shortly after, my mom married the most amazing, high maintenance, craziest man on the planet. He IS my Daddy and I wouldn’t change that for the world. I do struggle, from time to time, with the thoughts of wanting my biological Dad in my life and wondering what it would have been like if my parents never split up.”

As many children of divorce often do, Stevie found herself angry, confused and unable to cope with the changes in her family structure. She found herself lashing out at the ones she loved most.

“Throughout my childhood (up until I was 18), I struggled with hardcore anger issues. I was incredibly mean to my family. My arguments with my parents and I always turned into screaming matches and me physically pushing my parents. My little sister had bruises on her arms and legs from how rough I would be with her. My teenage years and childhood had many trials & many, MANY dark days.”

I have found in my life, that even in the midst of our ugliest moments, GOD places people in our lives to speak comfort, wisdom and strength that may not manifest in our lives at that moment, but it plants a seed that later grows into the moment that forever changes us.

“One thing that my Momma always taught me was to serve others and to love them unconditionally. She had me serving in non-profit organizations from the time I was about 5 years old. I remember learning an appreciation for what I had in life because my mom had me volunteer with her at C.A.S.S. (Central Arizona Shelter Services.” Throughout all this volunteering, I began to grow a heart for the hurting and broken people.”

It was in that experience that GOD used to plant a seed in her that would blossom, years later, at an event with the Kingdom Discipleship ministry – a ministry flourishing under the leadership of Stevie’s mother & father.

On October 27^th, 2012, Kingdom Discipleship Ministry hosted an event titled ‘Queen For A Day.’ It was at QFD that Stevie saw her past & her present collide and saw the work of GOD move in the lives of women in her community.

‘There were 55 women there from Watkins Women’s Overflow Shelter. Watkins is a place for single women without children or disabilities to come and fight for a place to sleep. It is an overflow shelter because these single women are not supported by the government and are thrown into the streets to fend for themselves.”

“We picked up these ladies at 7 in the morning and brought them over to the Dream Center where they were escorted to a room for a homemade pancake and sausage breakfast. My mom spoke to the ladies right after breakfast about their beauty in GOD and how HE sees them as royalty. Lizzy Vandenboom gave the first message to the ladies after the first worship session in the sanctuary. She rocked it!!! This 13 year old spoke on every princess story out there and how each princess was faced with trials and tribulations but in the end, had their ‘happy ending’. She reminded all of us that we strive to have the happy ending but don’t want to go through the process to get there. She said that every Princess has to go through hard times in order to be a Queen. She turned it back around to Jeremiah 29:11 and spoke into the women’s lives that they are not defined or finished by their circumstances and that their happy ending is coming. My mom gave a little of her testimony about the time she was homeless (when she was pregnant with me). She spoke of GOD’s redemption and how we are not defined by our circumstances.”

They set up stations around the auditorium for makeup, nails and hair services. Stevie, her mother, sister and other Kingdom Ladies pampered these girls, all out of a service of genuine and pure love. The lives of several women were changed that night – not because of flashing lights or a fancy preacher. Women were touched because someone took a moment out of their lives to cater to the hurting and otherwise unnoticed.

“Being involved with Kingdom Discipleship, both as a student and a servant, has definitely given me a better mentality of taking the focus off myself and putting it on to others. GOD has been softening my heart to hear the needs of others. Now, I am in no shape to say that I ‘have it all together’, because I definitely do not. All I am saying is that the more I purposefully take the focus off of myself, the more I feel my heart softening towards GOD.”

Stevie had the privilege of participating in ‘Ladies Night of Worship’ – an event that followed Queen for a Day. At the event, they set up a variety of different stations around the room. One station in particular they named the ‘Marking Station’. Inspired by Song of Solomon 7-8 ‘we have marked you as a seal upon our hearts, as a seal upon our arms’, ladies marked their arms with words that they felt GOD’s spirit placed on their hearts. Stevie felt the LORD speak “FREEDOM and REDEEMED”.

Stevie had been asked to share her testimony that night & had anticipated hearing others shared along side her. When she arrived and looked at the program schedule, she was humbled and shocked that she was the only one listed to share what the LORD had done in her and where she had came from. Stevie also had the opportunity to use a talent GOD birthed inside of her recently to touch the girls in a very unexpected way – she did Sign Language during Worship. The impact was explosive! Women were touched in marvelous ways.

Women like Nicole, who came to the events broken, pained and hurt found redemption, healing and peace at these events. Nicole gave her life to GOD and wrote in her journal that she was thankful for Stevie’s mother. Some women came with brokenness we could never imagine, like a women whose mother was shot in the head and survived. After hearing Stevie’s and other girl’s testimonies at the events, she was able to admit she could see that GOD had HIS hand on her from day one. A little 13 year old girl was so touched by Stevie’s testimony that she re-dedicated her life to GOD. She told Stevie that she was living in sin and no one but GOD was telling her it was wrong & that there was a way out until Stevie spoke.

Stevie says in all these events there is one thing the LORD has shown her: “The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but you encounter the Fear of the LORD in worship.”

It’s funny how GOD works. When we step out and we make a conscious, sacrificial effort to touch others, we see GOD touch us in return. Stevie remembers a time when she made choices in her life that put a strain on her relationship with her family. She remembers being so distant from her family, suffering in sin & disillusion, that she wasn’t sure things would ever truly be like they were, again. But as Stevie gave her sin to GOD and allowed HIM to work in her, and despite her pain reached out to others in need, she found GOD restoring what was broken in her life. Once so distant from her mother, she now finds herself looking at her mother so tenderly and realizing…it’s her mother that has always been her biggest advocate and will always be her biggest hero.

“One thing my Mom always says is: “I can’t give up on you, Stevie. You were painful to bring into this world, and I am not going to throw away the gift GOD has given me in you”.

GOD also spoke to Stevie that night about her future and HIS plans for her life.

“Missy told me that GOD is bringing my Sign Language to a new level…that when I pray/intercede for a person, HE will lay on my heart a sign to teach that person so as to break strongholds and lies in their lives.”

When asked what bible verse sums up her life right now, Stevie replied with: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold all things are made new!”

2 Corinthians 5:17.

I’d say that’s just about the most appropriate verse to describe Stevie. What was meant to rob, kill and destroy Stevie in her past (sickness, the splitting of her family, anger & sin) was used by GOD to restore life, hope and a future to the women of Phoenix, Arizona.

It is with great, great honor that I can call Stevie Estrada my friend and that I can showcase a small portion of the beauty GOD created when HE breathed life into her.

It’s the stories like Stevie’s that I wish to showcase with others; stories of women who do not allow their pasts to define them, but allow GOD to use their pasts to touch the lives of others in a way that no one else could.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..”

Jeremiah 1:5

Teapot hot chocolate

Saturday's are my favorite day of the week. Not just for the simple fact that I get to sleep in until 8am but for the sole fact that it's the day hubby and I have our breakfast/coffee date. I'm not sure how this became a tradition being that I have never been able to acquire the liking for coffee or tea. But I've been able to shift an addiction from caffeine to becoming addicted to the time we get to spend together. Nothing beats sitting across from that man and just enjoying being in the same room as him. Sometimes we don't say a single word to each other but I leave feeling like we better understand each other.

Our typical Saturday mornings are spent in the company of Starbucks baristas and venti plastic cups. Today, however, hubby decided to switch it up and introduce me to his neck of the woods - the adorable little coffee shop in his work office: Half Pint Cafe. Today was a special day for them - today they officially extended their typical M - F service and are now opening up on the weekends!!!! It's an adorable little weekend hang out spot tucked away in an old elevator shaft of hubby's office. We were greeted by two incredibly friendly baristas. It became quickly apparent that my husband must be living a secret caffeine-indulgent second life, as "Chris". Every question started or ended by the barista calling him "Chris." My hubby (Alex) insists the barista knows his real name. So the mystery of hubby's dual-identity still remains :)

I'd say the loveliest surprise this morning was the delivery of my hot chocolate. Hot chocolate typically arrives to me one of two ways: in a grande Starbucks paper cup or in a glass mug. Today, my hot cocoa arrived in a glass mug AND a teapot!!! Yes, you read that right - an adorable teapot! I could not be MORE excited to drink hot chocolate!!! I couldn't wait to finish my first pre-filled mug of cocoa so I could tip the pot over and watch the cocoa drain into my mug. It was the loveliest, most sophisticated delight of my morning. Never be tainted enough to lose joy over the little things. They lay the glittery foundation of your entire day!

Today will proceed with laundry duty, dish duty, cleaning duty and hopefully nap-duty somewhere in there. But the tone has been set for my entire day - in the company of my sweetheart and our monstrous puppies, today will be a lovely Saturday full of little surprises thanks to a tiny teapot filled with cocoa.

Happy Saturday! Find the "teapot cocoa" in your day, today; that little something that makes your Saturday sparkle.

Will you be....yours?

On a day notorious for celebrating those in a relationship, I'm taking a step back & intentionally positioning the spotlight on those of you who find yourselves single on this day. So often you get buried in the aftermath of lovey-dovey status posts, pictures of bouquets posted on Instagram, behind the over-kill of flowers on your co-workers desk or squished beside the giant teddy bear your sister's boyfriend/fiance/husband surprised her with & sat beside you in the back seat of the car.

It's a day that isolates those of us who are waiting for our "the one", who just dumped or got dumped by our "i thought you were the one" or "im ok with myself - i don't need the one to make me happy". Whatever stage you're at on this day, I'm celebrating you because you deserve to be recognized, remembered & celebrated.

I want you to know that you are beautiful.
I want you to know that you are special.
I want you to know that you make others around you happy & that you bring joy and laughter to this life.
I want you to know that of all the Valentines out there this year, you are the very best one!
I want you to know that this world would not be what it is w/o you and w/o what you bring to it. Your uniqueness is what puts the blue in our sky, the light in our stars and the beauty in our 'all around us.'

While everyone is celebrating someone else on this day, take some time to celebrate yourself today. Buy yourself some chocolates, pick yourself some flowers, draw yourself a bath and write yourself a love note. The very best person we can celebrate on Valentine's Day is ourselves.

Be your own Valentine.
Trust me - you'll be the best Valentine you'll ever have.

Happy Valentine's Day :)