Category: Spiritual

Inspirational

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Why Journaling Works & How to Do It Better

Do you Journal?  If not, what’s holding you back and if you do, what keeps you going?

A lot of people journal to release emotion and organize their feelings. To be honest, we’re all out here experiencing about 27 emotions daily. That is quite a ride and it’s tough to manage it all. So, what we’re doing is taking the emotion adding to it our daily responsibilities plus the needs and expectations from others and then attempting to get through the day without a method to release. This is the perfect formula for a mental breakdown.

I get it, we want to appear like we have our stuff together with little resistance, add to that this whole self-care trend of “don’t kill my vibe, “don’t interrupt my peace” and “don’t bother me with that”, this leaves us feeling obligated to hold in our emotions.

I’ve found journaling to be a helpful outlet. During those times when I am overflowing with emotions, both positive and negative, journaling helps me to reflect on events, organize my thoughts, release some pinned up energy and even generate solutions. It’s one of the many tools that can be used to re-direct your energy.

There’s another benefit of journaling that very few people notice. Journaling helps you to identify trends. If you journal often and notice a trend of negative or low-energy words and phrases, it’s safe to say you are probably suffering with Imposter Syndrome, self-sabotage and maybe even low self-esteem. If this is you, it’s time for a change in perspective.

I deal with those feelings too. I doubt my abilities, second guess my capabilities and I will overthink a scenario to the very extreme. It’s quite exhausting but I’ve figured out how to manage those feelings.

If you’ve been a member of the Origins of Peace community for any amount of time, you know that our #1 goal is to empower you to get out here and Impress Yourself. There are two reasons why this is important:cropped-origins-of-peace-1-1.png

  1. If you don’t impress yourself, no one else will ever stand a chance of impressing you. This is important for business deals, relationships, money goals, all of that. You must set a standard and stick to it. Example, if you want to be in a loving relationship, you must first love yourself. Impress yourself by doing things you enjoy and going to places that make you happy. This produces impression and excitement. It’s mentally stimulating, and it gets you into the habit of Impressing Yourself so that you will know when others are meeting and exceeding your expectations!
  2. A whole lot of time is spent impressing other folks. You impress your boss when you show up for work and do an exceptional job, you impress your kids by showing up for them daily. It’s time to Impress Yourself!

For the month of November, I am challenging you to use journaling as a tool to change your communication message to yourself! There are 30 days in November. I am giving you 1 word each day to use as a prompt. You will reflect on how the word shows up in your life on that day and compose a journal entry. Your entry can be written or a short video that you keep on your phone. The words that I provide to you should evoke feelings of happiness, bravery, calmness, rejuvenation and friendliness.create-her-stock-office-beauty4

I would love to know how this challenge goes for you. You can find me on both IG and Facebook at Origins of Peace to get the word for the day.

You can leave a comment one either platform to get the dialogue started.

Oh yea, if you’re not on my email list, you should be. Our next gratitude offering winner will be announced on Monday, November 4th. You must be on the list to get included in the drawing! Visit www.melissaarivers.com to sign up. You can see the prize for Monday’s drawing on my IG page.

Let’s connect!

Melissa

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Grace & Mercy Have My Back!

If you are new to my page, my name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Creative Peace Coach! In everyday terms this means I am a Conflict Resolution Strategist. I use my gifts of creativity and communication to teach strategies that provide guidance to achieving mental clarity, embracing self-preservation and prioritizing service to others.

Today we are discussing Affirmation #3 from my Instagram 5 Day Affirmation Challenge –  “I am professing my boldness by trusting grace and mercy to follow me, believing that greater days are in front of me and knowing that God is for me.”

I am on a mission of intention to impress myself in all areas of my life every single day.

Screenshot_20190918-161237The inspiration behind the third affirmation is sheer determination. I am creating a new blueprint for how I manage my wellness dimensions, and trusting that things will be better than they’ve ever been.

If you are not familiar with the Dimensions of Wellness, they are: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Environmental, Intellectual, Social, Occupational and Financial.

I am deconstructing each area and authentically rebuilding. I am shaking things up, moving things around, possibly leaving things behind and definitely welcoming new experiences. My faith walk and “works” are in full affect.

I am trusting God to create new opportunities and new spaces for me, but I also understand that my reasonable service is to put in the work to acquire the newness.

I am definitely ready.

Just the other day, I signed up for a personal development class and mistakenly showed up to the venue on the wrong day. I walked into a room filled with women discussing wealth and investments, professing their love of God and sharing personal success stories about their finances. These were definitely my people.

This diverse group of women welcomed me in to their sacred space and made room for me at their table. Grace & Mercy had my back!

Not too long ago, circumstances made it necessary for me to cash in my retirement savings to pay for routine expenses; mortgage, healthcare, groceries, and all those other things you need to survive. This was an extremely uncomfortable time for me because I held the belief that retirement funds should only be used for living expenses during retirement. I quickly learned that “change is the only thing that is constant,” and I now appreciate doing the work to have the funds available when I needed them most.

When the time was right, I began rebuilding my retirement fund. I prayed for guidance and instruction on how to strategically rebuild my account.

In return, God sent me to this group of women who will educate, encourage and support me along the way.

This was a gentle reminder that miracles happen when awe & expectancy intersect. As the affirmation declares, I am boldly trusting grace & mercy to follow me while believing God that my greater days are in front of me!

So here’s what’s important. Everyone experiences times in life when a shift is necessary. If you’ve noticed yourself feeling stuck, stagnant, unmotivated, unimpressed, disgruntled, conflicted or simply not in the mood for alot of *______* (you fill in the blank) it’s time to shake things up.

It’s time to get your energy up, increase your creativity and start doing and enjoying things that add Peace to your life!

So here’s your chance to get involved and start the process of intentionally impressing yourself every single day! I challenge you to take out a piece of paper and make a list of all the people, places, things and experiences that add peace to your life. Be intentional and truthful about what you add to it. Exam your list and take notice of the types of items that are on your list.

Which categories show up the most and which categories are lacking?

For now, just do the work to develop your list and I promise to discuss this process in more detail at a later time. If you have question feel free to shoot me an email at: info@designedbymelissarivers.com

If you haven’t already subscribed to my blog and signed up for my newsletter. I would love to have you join my Peace Community!

  • Simply head over to www.melissaarivers.com
  • When the pop-up form appears, enter your name and email address to subscribe to my newsletter
  • You can subscribe to my blog from the About Me page in the bottom right corner
  • You can also follow me on Instagram at: @originsofpeace and Facebook at: Origins of Peace

My 2020 Vision Board and Goal Setting Circles will start next month. Details coming soon!

Until next time,

Peace, Love & More Peace!

Melissa

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When Good is No Longer Good Enough

Peace Up! It’s been a while since my last post. In my absence I hope that life has been good to you and I hope that you’ve been good to yourself. I pray that you’ve taken time to indulge in things that you love and that you’ve experienced happiness and joy. As the saying goes, “life is not a dress rehearsal,” so get out there and live it!

Since my last post, I’ve turned the big 44. This is a huge deal for me because my birthday signifies another year of surviving and overcoming. Along with my 44th birthday, I celebrate being 4 years cancer free and 4 years free from a troubled marriage.

Life is good.

Life is really good but in this next year, good is no longer good enough. I’m ready for the exciting, adventurous and spontaneous.

I’m ready to start living again and experiencing new things. I’ve been in maintenance mode for far too long. Protecting my peace and preserving my happiness has been defined as making sure problems get solved, ends meet and opportunities are realized. I need a new definition. I need to incorporate things that I love such as: relaxing by the lake, driving to the mountains, hanging with friends and making time for self-care.

This one life that I’ve been blessed with, deserves an overhaul.

I’m sure that I’m not alone. Have you reached a placed in your life that no longer represents who you are or what you stand for? Are you ready to create new memories? Is good no longer good enough?

Now’s the time.

It’s time to choose different and to choose better. Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but also the inclusion of all the things that celebrate who you are!

Challenge:

  • Make a list of the things that make you happy but you seldom experience. As a child I loved gymnastics and ballet. I haven’t participated in those activities in years but the memories always make me smile.
  • Once you’ve compiled your list, be the first person to send me your list in an email and you could win a free sample of my Peaceful Herbal Tea. Send your email to:info@designedbymelissarivers.com.
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A Place To Breathe

Good Morning PeaceMakers. I pray that today holds all the peace, love and acceptance that your heart can hold.

If this is your first time on my site, My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Creative Peace Designer. That means I use my gifts of creative writing & teaching to help others manage conflict and create mental space for more peaceful opportunities in their lives. My motto for today is: “peace starts with a made up mind.”

So let’s get to it:

My intent for this post – I’m writing this morning at 4:30 am because writing/ journaling settles my mind and helps me to organize my thoughts. I guess you could say that I am at peace when I create a short narrative, or inspirational message. Writing is one of my Origins of Peace and my place to breathe. It’s important for each of us to find what helps us breathe deeper and a little easier. The sweet aroma of creativity helps us not to take ourselves so seriously and as adults that can be hard to do.

What’s important for you to know: You gotta breathe. Close your eyes and visualize those activities that you participated in as a kid. Did you dance, sing or take piano lessons. Maybe it was art class or violin practice. Whatever it was, did it provide a few minutes of relief and escape for you? Along with writing, I absolutely loved ballet & gymnastics class. I can remember practicing my back-flip and no-hand cartwheels for hours on end. I’ve never really been great at ballet, but I can remember putting on my pink ballet slippers for the first time along with my white tights and black leotard. I was free to be me.

What matters: You were created to be serious and carefree at the same time. Life will impose it constraints and restrictions upon you but you cannot let that stop your creativity. Your foundational purpose is found in the weeds of your place to breathe and your responsibilities. Intentionally show up for yourself each day in a creative way. If not, you’ll get lost and be afraid of who you truly are. You have too much goodness, purity and creativity to be anyone other than yourself.  Show up for you & breathe.

I offer a session called Peace Mapping where I help you identify areas of conflict in your life and design a strategy that helps you to make different choices and create mental space for a more peaceful lifestyle. I would love to help you find your place to breathe.

To book a session, simply click here to get started.

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Link to Donate

Sorry, there was an issue with the link in my last post. If you would like to donate, please use the link below:

https://secure.info-komen.org/site/STR?pg=informational&fr_id=5686&type=fr_informational&sid=5055&pc2_page=center

Peace and Wellness,

SuGa

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No Longer A Servent

John 15:13 NKJV No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his Master is doing; but I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for calling me friend. I am so grateful that you have chosen to share your life with me. It is because of your belief in me that I can walk in confidence knowing that you trust me with the will of your Father and that you have given me specific purpose into your plans for my life. I thank you that you have left nothing to chance but you have hand-crafted every situation that I will encounter. I thank you that all things concerning me are deliberate an intentional. I feel confident knowing that those things are working for good in my life. Even in trying times I trust you and as your word says, weapons will be formed but they will not prosper in my life. I am grateful that you love me enough not to leave me in my current state and that I am getting stronger and wiser in you with each passing day. Lord you have been so good to me and I love you. Thank you for giving me the gift of friendship and teaching me how to be a true friend.

With humility, open-mindedness and willingness, I will collaborate with you on this day.

In Jesus name.

SuGa

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He Sees Me

Genesis 16: 13-14 NKJV Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her. You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees ; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?

It’s an absolutely amazing feeling to see God and to be seen by God. If we allow ourselves to slow down from our hectic schedules and seek God, we will find him in everything. The sunrise and sunset, a child’s laugh or the simple beauty of nature, God can be seen in everything that is living and active.

How about those times in our lives when we realize that Good sees us too? For instance have you ever prayed a specific and deliberate prayer and your answer unfolds in the most unique way that leaves you saying, “only God could have done that.” What about when you ask the Lord to make his presence known to you and you feel a gentle rush of wind on your cheek or you smell a sweet aroma fill your room. How about when you’re up praying and crying about a situation and an instant calm comes over you and you start to rejoice. All of these things are proof that God sees you!

My prayer for you is that you will experience God in an entirely new capacity this week. I pray that he shows up for you and makes his presence known in the most unique way. I pray that you are blessed by seeing God in all things and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that he sees you too! Now do me a favor and pray the same for me!

May you walk in peace knowing that God has his eyes on you!

Peace and Wellness my friend,

SuGa

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The Almighty Encourager

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

In my weakest and most troubling times, God has always sent a clear direct message of comfort, encouragement and help to me. I am thankful to be loved so greatly by him. To those who know me personally, I make it a point to speak positive affirmations into my life and into the lives of others….

…but sometimes the encourager runs low on encouragement.

Sometimes my light may not shine as bright as it should, my attitude may need a tune-up, I just may need to find a quiet spot and still away for a few minutes or I may need to pull the blinds call it a day and start all over tomorrow.

I’m human and it happens.

In those times, thank goodness we have the Almighty Encourager to lift our head, our heart and our spirit. If it wasn’t for the weak moments, how would we be able to praise God so immensely in our victorious seasons!

God made it a point to send two wonderful ladies my way today to help lift my spirit and offer words of encouragement to me. I am grateful to be so loved authentically. No prerequisites required!

Make it a point to check on the people who God has given you responsibility over. God needs you to be a vehicle of encouragement to others!

Peace and Blessings

SuGa

Opportunity: Here at SUGA we are expanding the brand! Our focus is to help you live an empowered, peaceful life full of successful moments. What better way to kick of our new initiative than with an online, interactive bible study discussion. Click here for information on the study of choice.

To join the group click on the Contact Us button at the top of the page and enter your name and email address in the comment box at the bottom of the page. Once you submit your information we will add you to the list of those eager to take part in this life changing opportunity.

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God’s Hand of Blessing

Psalm 18:35 NIV You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great.

I’ve often referred to the Hand of God as my hand of protection. It wasn’t until reading a recent devotional from Pastor Joel Osteen that I began to meditate on the phrase “God’s Hand of Blessing.” I’ve witnessed countless interventions in which God has protected me from dangers seen and unseen but somehow my mind always connected those valiant acts of kindness as protection instead of blessings.

Several weeks ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and much to my delight, I was diagnosed in the very early stages of development (blessing). On April 8, 2015, I had planned to spend a fun-filled spring break day with my daughter but God had other plans for me (blessing). For several weeks I had experienced a constant nudging to have a mammogram performed (blessing). I’m so thankful that I obeyed the Lord’s instructions, which led me to the local mammogram mobile unit in my community and several follow-up appointments (blessing).

I’m ecstatic over these series of events because: 1. I didn’t have an authorized referral to get a mammogram, but God saw fit to give me favor with the nurses and they granted me access to what I needed. 2. Through numerous test and observations, it was concluded that the cancerous cells were confined to one location. 3. I was able to have genetics counseling which paved the way for my daughter and future grandchildren to be aware of any threats. and 4.I’ve learned the value of true friendship. I understand now more than ever why it is important to surround yourself with wise counsel. We all need friends to laugh with but we also need those friends that will cry with us, pray with us, encourage us and hold our hand as we take a walk of faith through a stormy season.

I’m so thankful for the many blessings that God has given me by simply waving his hand in my direction! To God be the Glory!

Peace and Blessings,

SuGa