Hello 2018.

I have been buying Bath and Body Works scented wall plugs for what?…20 years now? Seems like it…might even be longer. I recently took advantage of the end of year clearance and bought all new flavors knowing it was time to change them. I have my favorite scents and part of my nesting ritual is deciding where to plug them in so the entire house has a little smelly good in all areas…usually one per room.

We’ve been remodeling and shifting some things around here and I moved the wall plug in my living room to another outlet. Days passed and I couldn’t smell anything…I thought perhaps the fragrance I chose was lighter and also blamed my stuffy nose and this cold that won’t quit. Not the case. I removed it and with the vacuum cleaner nearby plugged it in and turned it on…nothing. The outlet was to blame.

I googled what to do if an outlet does not work:

Switch the circuit breaker off until you’ve located the problem. In most cases, a tripped circuit breaker is caused by a temporary overload on the circuit or a short circuit in some device plugged into the circuit. But in rare cases, a loose wire in an electrical box could be causing the problem.

Tripped up. Temporary Overload. Short Circuits. Loose Wires.

Made me think…

I wonder how many dysfunctional things we are plugged into that are keeping us from doing what we were made to do.

It’s a new day. A new year. Ready to make some changes? Ready to get your power back?

I am!

Here. I’ll even make us a little starter checklist…

• Look at your circle. Okay. So we all have people in our lives that can be difficult. You might want to eliminate them all together but let me offer something that has worked for me. Just step away and while you’re away, work on you and be an example. You can’t change anyone, but you can change you. Someone else’s decision making is their decision and your decision not to participate is totally up to you. Bullying is not limited to school yards. Adults can be mean. You know it. Be kind to everyone and pray for those who hurt you. Don’t exchange mean for mean. God can change hearts and perspective. I’ve witnessed this too and it’s beautiful. Please….if you only read one book this year, read Boundaries. Here’s the link…
• Eliminate the negative thoughts. Stop beating yourself up. You are a work in progress. Everything takes time. Be good to you. Speak life over your life. If you don’t love you…why should someone else? See?
• Unfollow.  You have all the power in deciding whose life you want a peek into. That’s all social media is…a virtual look into another person’s quick visual. Following means someone else is leading…let’s look at who we allow to lead us.
• Delete some apps.  Clear the clutter and look up from your phone. If it’s not making you smarter, kinder, healthier or more productive get rid of it. We are captivated by our phones…our screens…technology…information. We look like a bunch of zombies. It’s sad. I don’t want to look back at my life and see how much time I wasted on things that were trivial and mundane.  Can it get worse? Yes. Can it get better? Absolutely. But it’s totally up to us.
• Be intentional in what you watch on tv. Look. It’s good to be informed and we can’t live in a bubble of oblivion but get the main points and turn it off. The banter will drive you nuts. You do understand the news runs for 24 hours around the clock and they have to blab about something…stop giving them your ears.
• Pray for, more than you moan about your country.  Trump won. Let the man serve and pray for him. He won’t be president forever and the unrelenting and uneducated demands at bringing down our leader make us, as a country, look foolish(er). It’s wasted energy. Are you in office? Are you planning to run for president? On that note…begin now praying for our next president.

I haven’t always practiced what I’m preaching here. The lessons have come at a price. And in regards to reformatting your circle of influence…let me add…there was a time in my life that friends I’d known and loved stepped away from me. Yep. And for good reason. Not my proudest moments. I was the one acting a fool and they in all their wisdom had to create boundaries that they felt were best for them. Ouch. Even thinking about it hurts.

Flashback…

I remember a time, just before my divorce…I was living with my sister and my life had dramatically shifted. I’d messed up. Big time. Lots of cold shoulders…and I’m not talking about the fashion trend that invaded our closets in 2017. My little world was turned upside down in a small town with one grocery store…One night the doorbell rang and my sister came to my room…”Gina, someone is here to see you.” I went outside and there she stood beside her suburban. I had yet to hear what she thought of me…I’d yet to hear anything from her. She handed me a plate of chocolate chip cookies. “Here. You need to eat.” I said thanks and she continued… “We don’t hate you. We don’t. We’re just mad at you. We’re mad at you for showing us it can happen. We are all struggling to keep our marriages in tact and if it can happen to you…it can happen to any of us. You are reality and we can’t look.” I took my cookies and went back inside. I wrote down her words and cried. They can’t look. I understood now. I had created a life that was hard to watch. They needed to step away.

It’s okay to step away…

I’d love for you to tell me your plans for 2018 in the comments section below. I will forever be the girl who loves January 1st…who loves fresh starts and new beginnings. THANK GOD FOR NEW BEGINNINGS. I am looking forward to the next 12 months but intentionally living in this very moment. I don’t want to be so plugged into something so dead that I miss finding my true purpose and power.

I pray 2018 finds you plugged into the things that give you back your power…things that allow you an opportunity to shine and emit a sweet fragrance of peace that naturally draws us into your presence and positive energy.

If you enjoy my content and support my efforts to keep blogging, I’d love to have your support! You can do so by using the following link! Whether you do or don’t contribute, I want you here! I love my readers!

https://www.patreon.com/rabbitmartinis