Little by Little

We've all done it. Done too much when we should have just started small. We have big ideas and huge goals and we forget to break them down into smaller and more attainable ones. We take on too much and then wonder why we get overwhelmed and fail.

As someone who tends to be "all or nothing", I am very guilty of this. I have bitten off more than I could chew on many occasions. Even when it comes to fitness and nutrition, I have been guilty of trying to "fix" it all at once and then ended up frustrated and gave up.

I think we all have done this before. We want to be healthy. We want to exercise and eat better, but we try to do it ALL instead of just focusing on small changes and working our way up. If you've eaten poorly for a long time, and haven't exercised for who knows how long, it's a little unrealistic to think that you are going to eat perfectly and run a marathon within a week.

Take things easy on yourself!! Star with small goals like "I'm only going to have one soda a day" or "I'm going to switch to diet soda" instead of trying to quit cold turkey (especially if you drink a LOT of soda). Eventually, you can work your way up to the bigger goal of not drinking it all. Just cut it down each day, then each week, until you eliminate it. Also, ADD in "I will drink 'x' amount of water each day." It's not enough to ditch the bad stuff. You have to REPLACE the bad habits with NEW ones or you will fall back into your old ways.

The same thing goes with exercise. Work your way up or you'll get frustrated if you try to do too much. Start out with a goal of 10 minutes a day or a certain amount of minutes per week. Begin with something doable and not too strenuous and work your way up to higher difficulty levels. Remember, safety first! If you need help choosing an exercise routine, I'm here to help you with that! Whatever your needs and goals are, I'm here to support you!

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Little by little, you'll get there! Keep making the small and positive changes that will get you BIG results!! Be infused!! God bless you!!

Focus + Change = Transformation!

Changes; I've been making a LOT of them lately. I can't begin to list them all, but there have been lots of shifts in my life; both big and small. For the most part, it has all occurred due to a deliberate change of focus. I've been bettering my life physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Physically, my fitness and nutrition has improved since drinking Shakeology consistently and doing the Focus T25 workouts. Mentally and emotionally, I have been purposely thinking and acting in a positive manner and concentrating on the good things of God's Word. I've been feeding my spirit with God's messages (which has also included listening to Christian music again) to fuel me and reshape my heart and mind; which has led to the better spiritual condition I've been in. I've also been actively searching for a new "church home" (I haven't been plugged into a church for quite a while).

As I reflect over the past couple months, I see how I've been transforming so much! More and more, I feel like I am becoming the person I am meant to be. These past three years have been the craziest and hardest three years of my life. It has been all the more difficult because I allowed my faith to dwindle and have gotten away from the kind of person that I used to be. Now, I feel like I'm truly rebuilding and beginning again. I have refocused on what's most important: God and Kingdom work!

Kingdom work. That's the thing that's been standing out in my mind and heart the most recently. I've thought about it all the more since visiting the church that my parents attend. They have had testimonies (particularly from the youth) where they state their name and that they're a "Kingdom worker." Every time I have heard one of those testimonies, it inspires and fires me up inside to be the kind of servant that we are all called to be (and the kind I always used to be). I am truly blessed by the kind of huge heart this church has for loving and serving others! There is such a sweet spirit of servanthood, ministry, and outreach to both the local and global community! Tonight, for example, they are having a community block party! What a great opportunity to serve and have fellowship with the community! I am going to take the kids!

I couldn't end this blog without talking a bit about the message at church today which was all about axing the excess in our lives. It fit just perfectly with all the changes I'm making in my life right now. It serves as an encouragement and affirmation from God that I am headed in the right direction. Pastor Sprinkle talked about focus and cutting out the excess in our lives that distract us from God. Whether it's having too much emphasis on our stuff, our activities, entertainment, or whatever else, we need to take a moment to shift our attention back to where it needs to be. That's something that I've learned in my workouts too as I've been doing Focus T25. Never before have I been so concentrated and focused on what I was doing. When you remember just how intentional you have to be in what you do, you get so much more out of it! I have been applying that not just in my workouts, but in all those areas of my life that I mentioned. I am AMAZED at just how more content, happy, and purpose filled I feel now! Focus + change = transformation!! It's awesome!

Grace and peace to you, my friends!! If you have been wanting change in any area of your life, you CAN achieve it if you really focus on it! Cut out distractions, commit to making changes (even small ones, which can ultimately result in big ones!) and really concentrate on what you're doing! Eliminate all the excessive things in your life that need to be cut out so you can devote more time to the most important things. Think about the limits and boundaries you need to have and redirect your time and energy to the things that matter most! As you can see, I have been pouring a lot of time and energy into Infusion 413 because I have a passion for helping people and sharing things from my life/heart that I feel God will use to minister to others. That is why I use my writing talent to blog, post statuses to encourage, and want to interact with people so they know that their coach cares about them! "My name is Melissa and I'm a Kingdom worker!" How about you? Be infused! God bless you!

No More "Sunday Blues"

The "Sunday Blues". That's what I used to call them. On most Sundays, for at least the past three years, I would usually end up feeling a little down. It was a combination of a lot of things; the past week, anticipating the week to come, and my life in general. More often than not, there had been a lot of busyness and lots of various issues to deal with. Most of the time, I felt like things happened so fast that I didn't have time to think about it until Sunday night when the week was over and I had a new week to wonder about. I can't even begin to tell you about the many times I would just sit and cry due to all the emotions that had built up over the week. I would just sit, think, pray, and feel sad, lonely, and overwhelmed; wishing that my life would change for the better.

However, the Sunday blues happen less and less often. There are a lot of reasons for that. Yes, I'm still busy and have a lot to deal with each week, but my attitude about it has changed. I am more focused, faith & purpose driven, and content. Why? Because I choose to be. It's all about choices! I've discovered over the years just how empowering it truly is to have the freedom and ability to choose to change your heart and mind for the better. Besides, I just don't have the time and energy to waste on the blues. Either I'm doing something productive, or I'm asleep. I don't have time for anything else lol.

I am amazed at my life's journey. Whether things have been good or bad, I've learned from it all and feel that I'm moving in the right direction. I'm finally seeing the changes I have always hoped for because I've done more than just "hope". I've taken action to make my hope a reality. Nothing occurs by just passively standing by. You have to actively pursue what results you're aiming to achieve! There's a lot of patience involved in the process, but it's worth it!

I'm enjoying being present and content in each moment. It's like what I wrote about a few years ago when I was initially in transition: I'm "living the dream"! If you don't remember that blog, you've got to read it! As I read over it myself, I see where I was three years ago compared to now. I see that my faith really has begun to rebuild and that I have overcome so many "bad dreams" on my way to these new dreams that are coming true in my life! Everything that I blogged about then has turned out to be true. I had to endure a lot of nightmares and things were really rough for a while. Now, that time has passed and the "good dreams" are on the horizon! I am a lot stronger, wiser, and more developed in my faith and character than I used to be. Through going through everything I have, I am now equipped to deal with (and receive) the new blessings to come! Praise God for His perfect timing and vision for my life! It was awful to wait and persevere through three tough years, but it was obviously necessary!

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Here's to hoping that you too can overcome any "blues" that come your way! Solomon said that there's a time for everything. If your time is a rough time right now, know that it won't be forever. That time (however long or short) will be over and you will have good times again. Maybe you feel like I did and that things will always be bad or be slow in  changing. Though, when that time finally ends, you will look back on it all and see the purpose in the grand scheme of things. That's what I'm seeing right now and I'm amazed! Live whatever dream you're in right at the moment and pray for God's strength to infuse you, help you be content, and persevere through whatever circumstance you're in. Be infused! God bless you!