Authentically Joycelynn

Living Whole in the Kingdom of God

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Persistence Like a Praying Mantis

This morning as I left work to come home, I noticed a HUGE Praying Mantis on the back windshield of my car. He/she (not a bug expert) was about 6 inches long and I will refer to it as a he. In Ohio, these were commonplace. I don’t recall seeing many here in North Carolina. I opened up the back door of the car to place my bag. Closing the door rather hard, the thought was I would disturb this little creature, and he would leave my windshield before I needed to take off. It didn’t budge. So, hopping in the car, and pulling out, you would think the movement would disrupt this little fella, and he would just leave. Would you believe almost 5 miles later this little fella let go? Watching as best I could while driving, I could see in my back mirror this little guy hanging on like someone in an amusement park on a fast ride without a seat belt. He changed color. His wings flapped. His little legs ever so slowly moved and the windshield looked a little wet, like hanging on brought on all types of bodily functions. The wind appeard fierce on his little body. I was amazed and inspired. He knew what he wanted, and he didn’t let go without a fight.

To watch something so incredible! My mind started thinking right away how this little guy reminded me of how we need to be persistent in what we are trying to accomplish. Think object lesson! He finally let go, but I am sure he got up and found another place to light. How persistent are we when we know our path is right, but the way gets rough? Do we give up as soon as the door slams? Do you find yourself giving up when a little movement starts that may be contrary to where we know we are to be? Do you hold on for dear life to the goals and dreams even with setbacks? How persistent are we when it comes to our own resolve. What does it take to make you give up?

If you have set your goals, and believe you are on the right path, don’t let anything break that resolve. So, you say, there was a set back. OK. Get up, and get going again! Don’t let the setback be the end-all! Be persistent. Be steadfast. Hold on to the vision, dreams, and goals. Don’t let go. The wind will come.  If the wind blows you off coarse, get up and don’t look back. Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary describes the word persist as:

1 : to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning

2 obsolete : to remain unchanged or fixed in a specified character, condition, or position

3 : to be insistent in the repetition or pressing of an utterance (as a question or an opinion)

4 : to continue to exist especially past a usual, expected, or normal time

What areas do you need to be more persistent in?

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The Frog Didn’t Know that he Didn’t Know

There is a story about a frog  placed in a pot of cold water on the stove. Slowly the heat was turned up under the pan, until the water boiled the frog to death. The frog stayed there, oblivious to the doom sealing his fate. Had the frog been thrown into a pot of very hot water, he would have realized the horrible situation he was in, and jumping to safety would have been instantaneous. The water temperature had been turned up so slowly, the frog didn’t even notice he was cooking to death.

So it is in our lives. The changes are so subtle, and over so many years, they go un-noticed; until a severe health crisis hits. For most, in our youth, we ate whatever was served, we played, and ran, and didn’t even think about those events being exercise. As children, we had energy, and felt invincible. We entered high school, and then college. In college we stayed up late, drank coffee to stay awake, ate pizza and whatever cheap snack food we could find. During this time we may have gained a few pounds, but nothing to really think about. Then comes the new job, relationship ups and downs, marriage, children, holidays, stress, and a few more pounds. We start feeling tired, and blame it on stress, bills, lifestyle: everything except how we are treating our bodies. Yet, there is no correlation made.

New symptoms arise. Re flux, excessive belching, bloating, or other gastric symptoms become common place. We pop tums, or get prescriptions for medication to alleviate the stomach symptoms. Our blood pressure starts creeping up and we blame this on stress. The correlation between blood pressure and the growing belly is not made. Medication is available for stress, weight loss, high blood pressure, diabetes, stomach ailments, and any other physical problem we can think of.

Slowly through the lifespan, the stress and negative symptoms on our bodies make it’s toll, and yet we sit. Unaware. We don’t know that we don’t know. Or, we don’t want to know, because once we know, we are accountable, and we might have to change. And, we don’t like change. Not rapid change. But we feel sick and tired. We don’t know how we got there. Just like the second frog, if one day we went from feeling great and the next day we woke up with pain from arthritis, and 50 pounds heavier than the day before, and we open up the cabinet with the 10 medications we now will need to take everyday just to exist – I think there would be an immediate jump to find out how to get back to the previous day.

How do we bring attention to these subtle changes in our lives? Begin to take inventory of what it is you really desire in your life. Do your goals and desires line up with what you are actually doing? Are you doing what you are passionate about or are you just living day to day, hoping things will improve on their own? What small steps can you make to pull yourself out of that pan which is beginning to heat up in your life?

“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that is becomes spiritual in calling ~ Vincent Van Gogh. ” The frog didn’t know that he didn’t know. He didn’t realize he was in trouble before it was too late. My contribution to myself is to take care of my physical, mental, and spiritual well being.   Being an entrepreneur, networking with others that share a similar passion for health and life, spending time with my family, and at one with God. It doesn’t get any better than this…

Authentically Joycelynn

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Being Fulfilled

Do you just long to live a life of being fulfilled? Over my lifetime, I have followed an interest in many things. While in my mind they are all connected, these areas are huge just in themselves. I love to make soap from scratch. I love to mill my own flour from whole grains. I love the study of herbal medicine and aromatherapy. On the side, I make aromatherapy formulas for everything from headaches to stress relief formulas. Did you know you can make your own non toxic cleaning products and use pure essential oils because a pure oil is anti-bacterial?

Teaching others how to live healthy and eat healthy is another passion. In my mind, these are all one, and interconnected, because it all falls under the umbrella of living naturally and healthy. I was a speaker in 2009 at East Carolina University to the North Carolina Nurses Association and to the Holistic Nurses and Physicians students union, and I was able to speak on these varied topics. I have taught classes on aromatherapy and making whole grain breads for several years now. This is VERY fulfilling to me. As fulfilling as these areas are for me, and I can justify in my mind they are the same subject; they are not the same. I am also preparing spiritually to work along side my husband in ministry as a Christian motivational speaker.

So, how does one go about doing all this at one time? Prior to meeting Jeffrey St. Laurent, I was working on all these areas. After all, in my mind, they all went together. Even being a speaker. Jeffrey is a great friend, life coach, health coach, motivational speaker, best selling author, husband to Jennifer, father to the cutest little boy, entrepreneur, and business owner. And Jeffrey is very athletic!I know, he wears many hats. But only one hat at a time. For those of you who want to really improve your health, your relationships, and your business but don’t know where to start, you really need to invest in his book “Being Fulfilled”. For me, (the person who tends be here, there, and everywhere, and still not accomplish my goals) Jeffrey has been very instrumental uncovering the ability that is already within myself to focus, set goals, and accomplish more.

Although all the areas I mentioned are things I love, I cannot possibly focus attention on all these areas at one time and have the outcomes I desire. Jeffrey’s book “Being Fulfilled” is a very insightful approach to being more fulfilled in several areas in your life, more specifically in the areas of business, relationships, and health. The principles can be applied to other areas in your life, as I add the area of my personal relationship with God, and how it applies to ministry. I won’t divulge too much of his book. If you decide to add his book to your collection, I can promise you won’t be disappointed.

You can find Jeffrey’s book at his website www.BeingFulfilled.net. Let me know if you get this book, or if you have already read it! I would love to know what you think about it. Jeffrey is a really down to earth, open and honest person. I think you will connect with him. In my own life, I am learning to focus and prioritize those areas I chose to be most important to me at this time in my life.