Hello and welcome back to Be The She Who Honors week 2 of the 5 week challenge. Be the she who honors God with her everything. I hope you were enlightened and blessed with week 1 putting God first. If you haven’t done week one, you can find it here.  
                                          Week 2 She Who Honors God with her thoughts.
     I am sure you have heard of the phrase you are what you eat. When we mostly eat junk and processed food all the time it will reflect in our poor physical health. When we mostly eat fruits, veggies, lean meats – whole foods we should be in good physical health. The same thing applies with what we think. We are what we think! When we think positive healthy thoughts about faith, hope, love, dreams, emotions, God, Jesus, ect that will be reflected in our daily lives. We will be happier, low stressed, have self - control, gentleness, exhibit goodness, (where are those terms from?) be healthier physically, able to deal with stressors or difficulties easier and other positive impacts healthy thinking does.
    When we think on negative or toxic thoughts like hate, jealousy, stressing out, anxiety, worry, fear, etc. these thoughts can have a negative impact on our lives. It can cause physical illnesses, we’ll be unable to handle stressors well, may be prone to addictions and no one will want to be around us (I’m sure you know of someone like this).
     God has created us with the ability to choose. We have control over your thought life. Choose to think healthy thoughts that are pleasing to God. If we think on negative thoughts about ourselves or others we are choosing to live in a direction that is toxic, missing out on why Jesus died for us: an abundant life full of growth, joy,peace and other blessings. 
    Phil 4:8 (NIV) says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This is a good verse to write down and remind us on what to place our thoughts on. When we think on things like the verse says God will put peace in our hearts. Who doesn’t like peace?
     What can make us think on certain things is what we watch or listen to. What shows, or videos are we watching? What type of music do we listen to? Many shows, videos, memes, music and other things out there have negative or dishonoring undertones to them. Be vigilant, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. (see Proverbs 4:23-27). I wrote a post on this topic of guarding our hearts click to read it. 
     Challenge: I want you to think about what you think on. Is it pleasing to God, is it something that you would be ashamed if others find out? Is there a negative pattern there? Is it mostly healthy and positive thoughts? Me mindful of your thinking and thoughts. Watch your thoughts, emotions and reactions. Be aware of what you give control to in your mind. Remeber God has given you the spirit of power. love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Use this gift through our Savior Jesus! Psalm 139 is good to read because it reminds us how God knows our hearts and thoughts. He knows our ways! This Psalm shows how He gives us the ability to choose.
      Thanks for taking this challenge! It’s deep! Please tell your friends, family, neighbors, small group, church, etc. about She Who Honors.  Tell me what you think! I love to read comments. Share. like, follow me! I follow back. Get your Love Letter Tee and rock your faith! 
Love ya!
Christina
Reference: Dr. Caroline Leaf, The Perfect You book. This book is on my recommended  list go here to find this and others.

    Welcome to the She Who Honors 5 week challenge! I pray this challenge will help you in your walk with God and your path to the abundant life he created you for. Although its just a 5 week challenge these topics should become part of your lifestyle. Try to pray, think and do these exercises daily until it’s a part of your daily routine. You will see a change and feel better physically, mentally and spiritually. 
 It's great to do this around Christmas time to put our focus more on God and the gift of Jesus birth and less on the material gifts that are part of Christmas.

​   When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you think about? Is it coffee, tea, more sleep, what you have to do today, your hubby, kids, yourself? Or do you wake up and say thank you God for another day? I must admit, I’m not a morning person and I may not be very talkative in the morning, but I do give God praise first as much as possible. There are times when I open my eyes and just lay there mind racing with thoughts, but I stop my thoughts from going crazy and just say thank you to God!
     When we put God first He gives us wisdom and access to kingdom living here on earth. Proverbs 3:6 (TLB) says, “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”
“He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.” 2 Chronicles 26:5
      If you read my blog you know I love defining words. The definition of prosper according to the Oxford American Dictionary is to be successful to thrive. The definition of thrive is to grow and develop well and vigorously. Vigorously means full of vigor. Vigor means physical strength and good health (dictionary.com)
      To sum it up, when you put God first He will make you grow and develop well and be full of strength and good health!
        Put God first in all you do. Pray and talk to Him first thing in the morning, give thanks to Him before you eat, Stop and praise the Lord throughout the day. Read the Bible daily, write down verses that jump out at you or give you a little heart flutter. Before asking a friend for advice on something, ask God and read the Bible for answers first. If your friend’s advice is in line with the Bible, awesome!  The Bible is your life manual. Pray, pray, did I say pray? Give Him all the praise and worship. When we worship God, He gives us wisdom. Keep your thoughts on Him and His word.
     Your challenge for week one is to write a letter to God every day. It can be any type of letter. After you write the letter read it out loud to God. He loves hearing your voice! There is a free printable letter head you can use to write the letter to the Lord.
       Thanks for taking the challenge. Please tell your family, friends, small, group, neighbors, everyone about the she who honors 5 week challenge! Please like, comment, share and sign up for the fabulous faith – filled woman list. Be the first to know about deals and blog updates.
Stop by the Love Letter Collection for glam tees to rock your faith!
                                                                                                                     Click for free printable letterhead
                                                                                                                          (watermark gone when printed)                                                                                            

     It’s an unseasonably cold 25 degrees outside, snowing and my lawn is filled with crisp white snow.  A beautiful view outside, with a stillness that comes with falling snow. The perfect day to spend in pajamas and snuggle under a fluffy blanket watching a good movie, reading a book or looking on Pinterest. Also, perfect to cuddle up with my hubby in bed, too.
    There is something about the late fall, winter months and pending holidays that get people in the mood for “love”. They look for someone to spend these cold winter nights with, share in the holiday festivities and keep each other company. AKA cuffing season and/or Netflix and chill season (yes, I’m going there). Cuffing season is when people who are single or maybe serial daters desire to be in a relationship with someone for the late fall winter season. That is the loose definition, there are some definitions with more vulgar terms and I won’t repeat those on my blog. I won’t define Netflix and chill, I think you might know what it means (if not google it).
    If you are a single woman who is lonely, sad, wants to be with someone for the holidays or even thinking about cuffing or Netflix and chilling with a man, I pray you take your time and think things through before you make a life altering decision. I speak the truth with grace and love. Much more goes on inside your brain and body than you realize when you cuff or Netflix and chill with someone. I learned a lot from the women I helped, educated and loved on through their life altering decisions and consequences, while working 6 years in a women’s ministry.
    We have a hormone, Oxytocin, and one of its jobs is to help us bond and build trust with others. It’s really active when a woman and man are engaged in sexual intercourse causing a woman to desire and bond with that man more. However, oxytocin has no values, logic or knows right from wrong. It is doing its job and will help a woman to build trust and bond to any man. The more a woman is with the man the stronger the bond and “trust”.
    This bond is a physical bond and if broken it will literally and physically hurt. The broken bond, from a break – up for example, can cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, sadness, loss of appetite and other toxic and negative emotions and feelings. It will take time, but the woman will eventually feel better. Especially is she doesn’t bond with another man soon after, she has a group of positive people to help her, stays in prayer, talk to a professional, etc.
     Be careful who you touch or let touch you and who you get close to. You don’t want to bond with a toxic person. If you want a relationship with someone it takes time. Get to know the person, observe their characteristics, guard your heart. More of this and more about love and relationships in my soon to be published book. Read my blog post, healthy relationships for more tips.
             Here’s a list of things to do to this season (to keep you out of the cuffing zone):

1. Read the Bible daily.
2. Trust and Obey God’s word.
3. Pray the scriptures. When you read the Bible write down scriptures that resonate with you at the moment. Pray out loud those scriptures over your life. It causes a shift in the atmosphere.
4. Read books. Reading causes us to think deeper.
5. Write in a journal daily (Bible verses, your thoughts, prayers, etc.).
6. Start a hobby.
7. Join a gym/Exercise.
8. Start on that goal or dream you always wanted to do.
9. Hang out with friends who are supportive.
10. Pray again.
11. Go outside and hike or pick up a sport.
12. Start a blog, vlog or podcast. (click for resources on starting a blog)
13. Start writing a book.
14. Volunteer.
15. Join a small group at church – most have a singles group and I know of a few people who have met their husbands there!
16. Cook a new recipe or go to a new restaurant.

    Hey ladies, we are fine china. Sister’s in Christ we are God’s masterpiece, we are precious in His sight. We all are important and shouldn’t settle for less.
    For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT
   Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles and wild deer,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.  Song of Solomon 2:7 NLT
    Love takes time. Take your time.
    Thanks for reading. Please share this with a family member or friend who may need this. Join the fabulous faith – filled woman list for blog updates and deals. Stay warm for those of you experiencing these frigid temps!
 Love ya!
Christina