What I embrace

By Cassie - Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve. You can learn more about her here. You can read all posts from Cassie here. 


So I fully planned on writing a post pouring a piece of my heart out about why I embrace life. In fact it's in my drafts right now. But I started thinking & when I start thinking it usually stops me from doing something. In this case it stopped me from publishing the post, because I'm sure it would ruffle a few feather's in my family. Maybe one day, but that day isn't today. So instead I'm going to tell you what I embrace in life.

{Via}

I embrace:

• Laundry - No matter how much I don't like it, it reminds me that we are blessed with clothes, that I take the time to make sure that my family has clean clothes..
• Dishes - It means we have food to eat.
• Vacuuming - It means we have home that is filled with four busy bodies that make messes. 
• Laughing - It's the best medicine.
• Kisses - You can never have too many.
• Cuddles - because one day those cuddles will come to an end.
• God - because we need and want him in our lives.
• Tears - It reminds me that we all having feelings.
• Sunshine - It reminds me that there is a light in the dark.
• Rain - Makes for the perfect lazy day.
• Wrestling - It reminds me that I have two boys that are already tough little guys. :)
• Waking up - It reminds me that God has given me another day with my family.
• Night time - As much as I don't like it, it reminds me that today is coming to an end and tomorrow is a new day.
• Date nights - They keep your relationship alive.
• Family days - Remind me to appreciate each one because we don't get enough of them.
• Working - It reminds me I'm doing something I love.
• Friendships - Remind me that someone cares about me as much as I do them.
• Writing - It reminds me of my passion.
• Love - Because I have so much of it in my heart to give

What in this life do you embrace?

First World Problems

By Sarah - Her blog is The Fontenot Four You can learn more about her here. You can read all posts from Sarah here.  
Last Saturday my husband, 7 year old daughter and myself went to a place called The Dream Center.  It's an  outreach of our church which exists to serve an impoverished part of town {we live in Charleston, SC}.  They offer people such services as a free clinic, "dream closet" {clothing donated to The Dream Center is handed out to people through this ministry}, a food pantry, a mentoring program, adopt a block, and so on.  On this day, many volunteers were participating in Cinderella Day.  Imagine not being able to attend your prom simply because you couldn't afford a dress or accessories.  Cinderella Day takes care of that for many of the young ladies in the community served by this outreach.  Take a look.


What my family participated in, however, was the adopt a block outreach.  We had never participated, but this is something I've been wanting to participate in for a while.  Everyone volunteering at The Dream Center that day assembled in the church before heading out to their assignments.  I met up with some women from our women's morning group and their families.  We headed out to a particular block consisting of a few short streets filled with dilapidated trailer homes.  They are situated so close to a freeway overpass and just on the other side of an embankment where the rail lines pass through.  I can't tell you how many times we've driven that overpass and seen these exact same homes and didn't give them a second thought.  That has all changed now.
Friends, I know there are times when I complain about things we don't have.  We live in an apartment, not a house.  The apartment is 2 bedrooms, not 3.  It's smaller than I'd like.  We deal with the noise of neighbors. We have a special needs child and have so many stresses related to that situation.  We don't have our other child enrolled in every after school program known to man.  I can't afford a box of k cups for my Keurig this week.  I don't have an iPhone.  I haven't had my hair cut in a few months.  We don't have a flat screen TV.  We live paycheck to paycheck a lot of the time because we're doing the Dave Ramsey way of trying to eliminate the debt from our life.  We've got problems.  Right?  Don't some of you have some of these problems too?
My eyes were opened last Saturday.  Now more than ever, I am taking the time to embrace my life because all of those problems I mentioned...yeah...the k cups...the TV...the iPhone???  Yeah, those problems are nothing compared to the problems faced by the people we visited on that day.  We talked with a very pregnant girl.  She seemed really young.  Not a teenager, but young.  This is her third child she's expecting.  Her home was so sad looking.  As I watched a 1 or 2 year old boy crawl up those rickety steps, dropping his sippy cup into the dirt, I couldn't help but think what if this was where WE lived.  The home was in such a state of  disrepair.  It was being renovated, although I'm not sure what all the entailed.  I don't imagine it was an extreme makeover enough to make the home "acceptable" by most people's standards.
I am embracing my life right now.  I have a roof over my head - even if it is an apartment and is smaller than I'd like.  I have a TV.  Three in fact.  And a laptop.  And a desktop.  And a kindle fire.  And 3 dvd players, 2 of which are also blu rays.  We have internet.  My husband has a respectable job.  My children are both being educated.  My k cup situation...maybe it'll be resolved on the next paycheck.  And, hey, I have a Keurig!  Sure, an iPhone would be nice, but I get by with what I have.  I have a special needs and medically fragile daughter who is alive.  I can say with almost absolute certainty that if she was born into the conditions we encountered, she would not be about to celebrate her 6th birthday in a couple months.
I am more grateful right now than ever for what we do have.  I want to do more to help this outreach.  I don't know what it will involve aside from this adopt a block once a month, but I want to do something.  Maybe embracing my own life means that I have to reach out and embrace someone else's because doing so themselves is just too difficult.

Smile

By Cassie - Her blog is Live.Laugh.L0ve. You can learn more about her here. You can read all posts from Cassie here.  

{Via}

One of my favorite things to do is smile & laugh. So today I want you to smile! 

• Smile at yourself in the mirror.
• Smile at your spouse.
• Smile at your kids.
• Smile at a perfect stranger.
• Smile at whoever you see today

Smile because you are happy, smile when you want to cry, smile because you woke up today, smile because the sun rose, smile because your coffee taste great, smile because your alive!

Smile because it could change a person's day!

My Happys

By Digger - Her blog is Digging Deeper. You can read about her here. You can see all posts by Digger here.  

Imagination

Source: piccsy.com via Pixel on Pinterest

I have a very vivid imagination. I have very real dreams at night (sometimes this is a Happy, sometimes it is a Sad, sometimes it is a Scary.) I am always imagining things; daydreaming. I imagine how my walls will look with shelves, I imagine how my blog will look with a new color scheme or layout, I imagine my future and my family and my career.

Sometimes my imaginations are so real I forget I'm not actually best friends with Reese Witherspoon and Hugh Laurie.

Work

Source: someecards.com via Bert on Pinterest

I pride myself on knowing how to work hard, thanks to hard-working parents who were my first examples. I don't do anything half-assed. (I can say that, right? I mean it's not swearing because an ass is a donkey and using half a donkey doesn't get the job done. So per my definition I can say it. Half-assed.) Having the ability to do a job thoroughly makes me happy.

Taking Risks

Source: healthful.tumblr.com via Susan on Pinterest

Doing things that scare or intimidate me gives me a weird sense of euphoria. Whether it's doing something on my own that is unfamiliar or sticking my foot in a pile of hot coals, I feel incredible once it's done. If you dare me, I'll probably do it. I'll try just about anything once.

Compliments

Source: inspirationfeed.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Both giving and receiving.

Part of me thrives on a little ego-stroking every now and then. Compliments truly make my world go 'round. I also love giving compliments. As weird as it may sound, it makes me feel better about myself when I can tell other people how fantastic they are.

Smells

Source: boodapug.tumblr.com via Candice on Pinterest

OK. This may be a bit weird but I don't know what I would do without my sense of smell. Smells are magic. In an instant they can transport you to a different time and place. Pine trees smell like Christmas morning. New flip-flops smell like summer. All of my sentiments are related to smells and I am an incredibly sentimental person.

Learning

Source: google.com via Jay on Pinterest

I am intrigued by so many different things and I am always wanting to learn "how". How to crochet. How to make a new recipe. How to take a great picture. Whether I'm learning from experience or instruction, it is absolutely fascinating to me. I'm a nerd like that.




Words

Source: imgfave.com via Bailey on Pinterest

I'm a words girl. I have a memory for numbers, but I have a passion for words. I like to read them, write them and speak them. Ironic that I can't find many words to describe how happy words make me.

Music

Source: piccsy.com via Daphne on Pinterest

Music has and always will be a huge necessity in my life. If words can't express it, music can. Even though I love to speak words, I would much rather sing them. 

People

Source: iheart-stolenimages.blogspot.com via Claire on Pinterest

I love making new friends. If a stranger makes eye contact with me long enough, I talk to them. These people might think I'm weird, but I like learning about people. I also love to people-watch. This is why I attend sporting events. Hubs likes to watch the game, I like to watch the people around me and wonder what their lives are like.

Opportunities

Source: designismine.blogspot.com via Pinju on Pinterest

I know this is a broad category, (they've all been pretty broad) but I love knowing that there are things I get to do in my life. I don't have to do anything, I get to. And that thrills me.

What are your happys?

Introducing Kimberly

We have another new writer here at EYL! You can see Kimberly's very first post here! Please show her a warm welcome! =D

Hey Fellow Bloggers!

My name is Kimberly Bonham. I blog over at Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl.
Poking around my blog you will find that I write posts about some of my interests which include my faith, fashion, crafting, food, and everyday life lessons.

A little bit about me...I am outgoing, caring, loving, talkative, and love being around and meeting new people.
My faith is the foundation of my life and it's what keeps me going every day. I am so thankful for the relationship that I have with God. Having faith and hope brings peace, joy and pure happiness into your life. It gives your life meaning and purpose. These were all things I never had...and now I do.

One of my greatest desires is encouraging and inspiring others. It means the world to me to be able to write posts that will uplift, encourage and inspire others. It touches my heart when I get emails from readers commenting about my posts saying that is exactly what they needed to hear. When I first started my blog, I was really hesitant as to what I would write about. Then one day it clicked! I wanted my blog to be based around helping others feel good and making them smile.

I hope to encourage and inspire others to grab a hold of this wonderful life and take it all in. I know that we all go through trials and challenges, but the beauty of those trials and challenges is that in the end it makes us grow and become stronger individuals. There is joy and blessings in each of our lives. Sometimes its so hard to see the blessings when we are going through a trial or challenge...but I promise you there are there...all we have to do is really look.

I embrace my life by living my life to the fullest each day and being content with where I am at. I know with all my heart that God has a plan and a purpose for me and I am at peace knowing that He is by my side leading and guiding me throughout my life.

Blog/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Shop/ Bloglovin'

figuring it out

By Skye - Her blog is Neathering Our Fest. You can read more about her here. You can find all posts by Skye here.  

when cassie asked me to write for embrace your
life i was thrilled and honored. immediately a million post ideas ran through my head - too fast
unfortunately for me to catch any of them and write them down. they were good ones too.



i've made several attempts to write this post. the words don't flow like they normally do. it is so
frustrating. and then i read cassie's thoughtful posts and digger's amazing words and wonder how they have it all figured out. how do they know so
much about embracing life? why can't i just embrace life like they do?

i'd love to dance in the rain, have a leisurely cup of coffee with a friend or just be able to sit for ten
minutes and enjoy my back yard. my brain just will not shut off for things like that. dancing in the rain
just makes me worry about having to wash and blow dry my hair afterwards. i can't fathom the idea of
having a cup of coffee without talking business. and in order to enjoy my back yard i would actually have
to go out there. who has time for that?

i suck a embracing life the way that normal people do.

(truly i use the word "normal" loosely here. i consider all these things to be pretty normal and accepted
ways to relax for most people. i'm the abnormal on here.)

this isn't revolutionary news to me. i have always been terrible at relaxing in a bubble bath or tune out
while i am getting a pedicure. i'm constantly thinking of what is next on my to do list or what i could be
doing instead of just sitting there. but i really tried to approach writing here as a way to figure out how i
can embrace life by slowing down and relaxing.

and i just can't. and accepting that is the first part of figuring it out.

for me to truly embrace the life i've been given, i have to participate in it. do something. go somewhere.
make something. cross something off a list. that feeling of accomplishment tells me that i have
embraced life a little more today. exhaustion at the end of the day reminds me that i have done
something worthwhile. that limb-numbing anxiety to get something done makes me feel alive.

so just because you might be reading all of these wonderful posts and wondering, like i was, why you
just don't get it, don't be discouraged. think about what makes you happy. do that.

A new normal

I am so excited to be sharing the space over here at Embrace Your Life with some lovely ladies!
I decided to write today about a major turning-point in my life.I shared a little of this in a blog post I wrote on my own blog on February 5 of this year.When my daughter Peyton was born, I should have begun embracing life with incredible fierceness, instead of being saddened, broken-hearted, and walking a lonely road into the unknown.I wish I could go back to that point with the faith that I have now.Oh, how things might be different.
But that wasn't the plan for me.I am where I am today because of the challenges God placed in my life.Almost 6 years ago, at her birth, I began an incredible journey of faith,even though I scarcely realized it at the time.
We were in a study of the book of Galatians at church.  The series was called "The New Normal".  In reading Chapter 1, verse 15 really struck me at the time.
"But God had special plans for me and set me apart for His work even before I was born..."
The photo above is of Peyton taken on May 17, 2006.  She was two days old.  This was also Ron's birthday.  On this day, we were reeling from the news that our precious baby had multiple brain malformations, had cataracts, had a heart murmur, and had hip dysplasia.  We hadn't yet found out that she was going to be diagnosed with moderate to severe hearing loss.  That would come within a few days.  This was the start of trying to figure out what our family's "new normal" was going to be.  Almost six years later, it's still a work in progress.  Many new issues have come up with Peyton and our "normal" continues to evolve.
We had no idea what was in store for our family before Peyton was born.  But God knew.  I have often said that Peyton has taught us more than we could ever possibly teach her.  I know there is something very special about this precious child of God.  I know that He is using her for His purpose.
What is "normal" in our family is probably so far beyond what may be "normal" in yours.  Or maybe you have a similar story and know where I'm coming from.What it means to "embrace life" for us may be completely different from your definition -and that is o.k.To live a full, rewarding life with each other and for the Lord means making a lot of unique accommodations for our special needs child.  Doing things as a family is very challenging, if not impossible.But I want to move forward in this life doing these things with joy, with love, for for Christ.