Coffee Confessions

I do not always participate in Lent, however this year I decided to give up coffee. It’s better for anxiety to be caffeine free; caffeine increases you heart rate and makes panic attacks more likely. So, I decided that 40 days without coffee would be a good start for going caffeine free.

So, I thought the first week was going to be the hardest because of caffeine withdrawl. However, that was not how things panned out. It was difficult to transition at the start. After that it got a little easier. Then, when it was two weeks away from Easter, I began to crave caffeine again. It was almost as if my body was saying: “you can almost have coffee again!” Fighting with your own body isn’t very fun…

Almost immediately after the fight with myself, my personal life took a nose dive. Suddenly I had much more to worry about than not drinking coffee. So… that was a good thing, I guess? Not really, but hey, life hasn’t been all bad. This year has already had its good moments as well. Right now I’m having a rough time, but that happens in life. Life is not always a bed of roses, sometimes winter is long. I just have to keep holding on until spring comes and surround myself with the positive and supportive people in my life.

Anyways, this was not meant to be a depressing post… so here are some pictures of Boston Terrier puppies to give you good feelings.

As you can tell, I love Boston Terriers. I’m a little biased because my family owns one. But I’m not crazy, they are sweet, loving and have great personalities! Cuddling with my Boston is one of my favourite ways to feel better when I’m down.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! What are your favourite ways to get out of a downward spiral?

Thursday Thoughts – Good Morning

Good morning! It’s still morning where I am, so I can say that. And it’s a pretty cold today… even for August. Personally, I’d like to keep the cold weather away until at least September. I feel a bit ridiculous sitting in this coffee shop wearing a big sweater jacket and sweat pants while drinking tea. Also am self-conscious considering that there are others here in short sleeves. But oh well, I guess I’ll be the warm one today.

I love tea. One thing that’s great about tea is there are so many kinds and they all do something different. Tea can help easy anxiety, relax you, detox your system, keep you awake, and more.

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To be honest, I haven’t had the best start to my day. It’s been a fight against stress and anxiety, so that’s how I ended up in a coffee shop drinking a soothing peppermint tea and eating a bagel.

I’ve been learning that you can’t always change your circumstances; sometimes things won’t go your way. What I do have control of is how I react to situations and issues that come up in my life. So today I have chosen to not best myself up for having a moment of weakness or being anxious. I’m going to go slow and take the time I need for myself.

God won’t always solve every problem in life, but He has promised to be by my side every step along the way. This morning and today I’m living in that promise, that God is walking with me through my trials. In the good and the bad, I know that He never fails. I am so glad in my ever-changing life, that He is my rock and fortress, my shield.

If anyone of you are having a bad day, or week, or are in a low right now, know that you’re never alone. There are many others who feel the same way as you and are struggling too. And God knows what you’re going through. So be encouraged and encourage those around you. Let’s walk through life together.

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

-A

Sunday Morning Madness

I know I haven’t posted anything in a while. As you probably have guessed by now, life has been a bit crazy and distracting again. However, I still feel bad for losing my consistency in blogging. I wish I could say it’s been a nice and restful break from writing, but to be honest it’s actually been quite stressful. I have a long list of things to do and a lot of pressure to get it done, but now I’m back to writing. Maybe it will be therapeutic and help ease some of my stress.

Anyways, my morning has given me a lot to write about; it was actually very embarrassing for me. I woke up with a headache, which I’d like to think was a contributing factor to my incompetence today. First of all, I forgot that my church switched to one service time for the summer… unfortunately, by the time my brother caught my mistake, we were already going to be very late. Since I was so embarrassed and was afraid to go in knowing that people would see me enter so late, we ended up turning back. My brother found the whole incident extremely amusing and was mostly just laughing at me. Instead we stopped at Tim Horton’s because my brother insisted that I needed a very large coffee. Then we made our way back home where we watched a sermon by James MacDonald, Walk in the Word. The sermon we listened to was on biblical friendship; at the end, when James started praying, my brother proceeded to comment that I smelled terrible and sweaty. Well, that’s true biblical friendship right there everyone. Thanks buddy for being honest with me even when it hurts.

One of my highlights of the morning, and something that actually went well, was singing along to a few worship songs with my brother. I guess something I’d like to challenge myself with this week is to be more courageous, unlike I was this morning. I’m very thankful that God’s grace is new every morning. So I can turn over a new leaf and start again.

What is something you want to challenge yourself with this week?

Watch the sermon here: http://www.jamesmacdonald.com/tv/the-power-of-biblical-friendships-c/

What If We Were Bold?

It’s story time! So get comfortable, listen and prepare to be challenged.

A girl sits in a coffee shop. Visibly upset, she fumbles around on her phone texting. She leans back in the chair and stares hard at nothing in particular. Giving up, tears fall down her cheeks and she looks down in defeat. Frustratedly she checks her phone again, swiping back and forth to different pages. Momentarily she notices two women sitting in a booth beside her. She doesn’t pay much attention to them, but soon enough she notices they’re talking about faith. Time feels like an eternity as it passes by. Still struggling, she gathers her things, disappears into the washroom and wipes away her tears. Then she passes by the women, still talking about church and faith, and leaves the coffee shop.

This story really struck me hard today. Know why? It’s because that’s actually my true story. I am that girl, struggling and crying in the coffee shop, feeling overwhelmed with the stresses of life. But how many times have I been like those women? Have I talked about my faith with a friend or family member, when there is someone around me hurting? I’m sure there have been times I haven’t noticed or even ignored people.

We’re all so busy now that we don’t have time for others. We don’t notice. Now in order to get help we have to book an appointment with someone whose job IS to listen to you.

The challenge for myself and for you all is this question: what would happen if we were bold? What if we took time to look around us? If we listened to others, and reached out, despite it being abnormal or awkward, what impact would we have on our neighborhoods and cities? What if you are the one, that by reaching out, changes or saves someone’s life?

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ~Gandhi

-A

Tasteful Thursdays!

Let’s talk about coffee. There a lot of coffee addicts out there. Like my brother, for example, who is definitely a coffee lover – he even has his own small one cup coffee maker in his room now. However, and don’t hate me for saying this, but I’ve always been more of a tea person. But I’ll save my love for tea, for perhaps, a different post.

Though lately I’ve been in the habit of drinking one cup of coffee per day, there’s one big reason for that. There is one kind of coffee that I would say I LOVE.

Two words. Can you guess what it is?

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French Vanilla!

I first tried this sweet drink at Tim Hortons, of course. (My favourite coffee shop)! Can you tell I’m Canadian? Anyways, ever since then, it’s been the only coffee I can truly say that I enjoy. I like it because of its great taste, and it’s not bitter as I find most coffee.

What’s your favourite coffee beverage? Or are you more of a tea person?

-A

P.S. Referring to the picture shown above. It’s probably not French Vanilla coffee. I tried finding a specific picture, but all that came up, for some reason, were french fries.