Finding Your Own Inner Strength

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It is so difficult to find a way out when we are suffering from disappointment in life; but we can find our own empowerment. In fact, finding our own empowerment or inner strength is what keeps us from giving up in life. It is what keeps us going. It is what leads us to where we are supposed to be, inevitably.

Often we continuously ask questions of ourselves. Why is this happening to me? How will I go on? How will I survive? While these are all very reasonable questions, and in the heart of our pain we will ask them, and more of ourselves. But really there is no answer. We don’t know why we must suffer in life to find happiness. We won’t ever know why some receive a lot and others just a little bit. Only after we realize this, will we be able to go on. Going on and letting go is the best present you can give to yourself.

You may sometimes feel like you are losing the battle; but when you push through the battle, you come out on the other side and feel like you’ve just won a war. Do you know why? It’s because you are empowered when you conquer life’s toughest battles. Only at these times of empowerment, do we grow into the people we are meant to be. Think about that for a minute. Think of all the struggles you’ve faced, all the tears you’ve cried in vain and realize, they got you where you are today. Who would you be right now, if it wasn’t for the struggles you have been through in your life?

For me personally, I constantly wish I didn’t have to go through the battles life has confronted me with- heartache,depression, financial difficulties, chronic illness and career change to name, but a few. But all of these things have turned me into the compassionate person I am today. It is through my pain, I found the ability to inspire others with my writing. I wouldn’t have ever begun to write, if my life hadn’t changed in the way it has. I’m not sure there is anyone that hasn’t experienced some pain that has made them grow into who they are today. In fact, would you really want to be without some pain? How would you ever know joy and happiness, if you never knew the pain?

We need to realize that our past has shaped us into who we are right now. We need to accept who we are and love who we are. Find the empowerment within yourself to just realize you are amazing, beautiful and worth love and affection, from yourself as well as from others.

Written by: Debbie A. DeVita

Twitter @ImSimplyDebbie
Facebook www.fb.com/imsimplydebbie
website http://www.imsimplydebbie.com

Be a Featured Contributor

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Best Gift Ideas – Christmas, Birthdays, Wedding, Inspirational

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It can be so difficult finding that wonderful and inspirational gift that is off the beaten path, that gift that you just might not think of normally when you are shopping. I know. I just went through it myself. I know that not every gift I give will be inspirational, but I do love to find a great inspirational gift when I can. I think they do more than fill up our valuable space, they give the gift of inspiration throughout the year. So I decided to share with you the gold gift nuggets that I found on my journey and will keep adding more as I go.

These are also great ideas for the difficult person to buy for!

  1. Inspirational Leather Cuff – The PERFECT Handcrafted Gift Idea! Give the gift that will inspire and encourage them all year long!
  2. Flameless Wax Candle – This just makes me feel good, and I don’t have to worry about forgetting to turn it off. Many flameless wax candles come with a remote and timer. How cool is that!
  3. The Things That Matter by Nate Berkus – A different kind of home design book
  4. Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – This is great for the person with a desktop, or a person with a laptop who works a lot on it and wants to get the keyboard and the screen placed more ergonomically. This one may not seem inspiring or comforting, but when you are a writer with carpal tunnel, or wanting to prevent wrist injury, trust me, getting your wrists and hands at the correct level while keeping your head and neck straight is a beautiful thing.
  5. Comfy throw – I purchased one last year or the year before from Target, that I’m pretty sure they do not sell anymore, and I love it so much! I have never loved a throw this much in my life.Stay tuned….as I find more ideas, I will be posting them. Please feel free to post your ideas in the comments! They might even make it to the list!
  6. A Special Box – I have loved special boxes since I was a little girl. It was like going treasure hunting, and to this day I am a huge fan of them. I have some the boys made for me when they were little, and some I have bought. I love them and use them all.

Also, take a peak at our recommended reading list for great book ideas.

Ham & Rice – From My Casa to Yours

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I was asking around to see if anyone had ever baked ham and rice and found that a lot of people had never had ham and rice. So I never found anyone had baked it, but someone asked me for this recipe on the Be a Leading Lady Facebook page, so I thought it would just be easier to add it here. I am not a food expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy cooking. And eating. This was the first year I cooked it like this with the Uncle Ben’s, and it was the bomb diggity bombdiggity.

Please excuse the horrid lighting. I make an awful food photographer, because I eat late at night when the lighting is bad, I take pictures with my phone, and most importantly, I don’t like to watch my food get cold.

Simply Ham & Rice

2 Box Uncle Ben’s Original Wild Rice
1 Box Uncle Ben’s Herb & Chicken Wild Rice
Ham
Ham Hock or Neck Bone
6 3/4 Ham stock or water
Butter

Place your ham hock in water. I used 2 ham hocks in a large pan and filled it about 1/2 to 3/4 with water and added pepper. Bring it to a boil and simmer on low for hours. This step can be done the night before. I have also omitted it completely if I didn’t plan ahead.

I am not a ham eater in the true sense of the word. I like lean and thin, well-cooked ham. So I take thin slices and pan fry them until golden and add a little pepper to them while they are cooking. Chop this up and set aside.

Add 6 3/4 cup water from the stock to another large pot. Add butter. Add seasoning packets from your rice. Use less if you don’t like a lot of seasoning. Add ham. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cook approximately 25-35 minutes on low until water is absorbed.

That’s it. Eat and enjoy!

Leap! Great Things Are Ahead

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What we do when we are at crossroads in our life or during difficult times tells people a lot about who we are. But it is even more telling about where we are going. Rough times are not the time to give up. They are the time to leap, because great things lie ahead. Our life is a series of ebb and flow, ups and downs, and many of the best things come after a difficult time or life-changing experience. But as we all know, these times are difficult while we are going through them.

At these times in our life, we get to decide who we are going to be. When we have lost something in our life it can place us us at these crossroads. It could be a lost relationship, job or something else that meant a lot to us or something that we felt defined us or something that we never thought we could live without. But we usually find that we can. And not only that, there is most likely a better job, or better relationship, or better life experiences waiting for us. Sometimes the growth alone by the choice of how we decide to walk through it is a big part of the amazing new life that awaits us. And sometimes these experiences are the catalyst to bring about a good change in our lives that we might not have been brave enough to bring about ourselves.

I was watching the new show Malibu Country with Reba McEntire and Lily Tomlin last week. It’s about a woman whose husband cheated on her, and she left him, so she left Nashville and moved to Malibu with her two children and mother to start her life over and to reignite her own singing career. At one point, everything seemed to be going wrong, and she was ready to pack up and move back to Nashville. And her mother offered her these words of wisdom:

“Oh baby, you gave up your voice once and here you have a chance to find it again. Don’t you go back just because it’s hard right now.” -Lillie Mae (Lily Tomlin) Malibu Country – Reba McEntire’s new show

So when we find ourselves at these crossroads, remember to leap, because great things are ahead. Stop resisting and use this opportunity for growth and change.

This is where I am at in life right now. Things aren’t easy and haven’t been for a few years. Things were so bad two years ago that I left myself two sticky notes, one reminding me to breathe, and the other reminding me to take one day at a time. Thinking too far ahead was, let’s just say, a hyperventilating experience. I didn’t have to think about any of that that very second, just today, and to just breathe.

It’s three years later now, and I have survived, even learned to be happy and found my joy, even though my circumstances haven’t changed. I also like to think that I have grown. A lot. I like who I am a lot more now. I guess in these moments, we only have two options, to go up or to go down. Staying the same usually isn’t one of the choices anymore. Now my daily reminder is on my bracelet, and it says….Leap.

This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve learned in life that the tough times are going to come, and I’ve also learned they are great opportunities to take us to new and better levels. Past experience has taught me that this is always true.

So right now…I’m choosing to be brave and to leap, to leap into being who I was destined to be, to leap onto the stepping stone that God has provided to something even greater.

What will you choose when at the crossroads of life? What will you choose today?