Day 24: A Time to Remember (Joyce Meyer - Eat the Cookie...)

     In Nate's birthday card to me he made a list of reasons he liked me.  It was sweet and hilarious. He mentioned past memories of things I have said or done and things we have done together. It was special. 
Joyce speaks of continuing to do these things every time we celebrate. 
     Remembering the past is good for the spirit and is a way of bonding with each other by remembering what we have gone through together. If it's with a loved one it can rekindle passion and respect.  If it's with a mom or dad then it can strengthen the special bond between the two of you. Lastly, if it's with a friend then good feelings of trust can be reminded, strengthening your friendship.  Joyce says that, "If we don't know where we came from we usually don't know what direction to take as we go forward. If our history was good we can repeat it and if it was bad then we can avoid repeating it.  History, good or bad, is all educational."  Knowing our history and our friend's history helps us to understand each other better!  As Joyce's son would say, "Lets tell stories!"

Day 23: Celebrate through Giving (Joyce Meyer - Eat the Cookie...)

     In Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes, Joyce says to have an attitude of gratitude.  Your attitude shows a lot about your character as well as about other people's character. There is no good from an attitude of entitlement.  When something good happens (ie. progress in anything) be grateful for it.  Joyce reminds us to look at how far we have come in reaching a goal and not how much farther we have to go. Celebrate the progress.
     When we do have progress we can celebrate by giving to others. It always feels good to give to the poor or take a friend out to lunch.  It's a treat for them and for you. Another way is to show appreciation. A "thank you" is nice but there are other ways to show your thankfulness. Try doing something nice for that person or praising their good works in front of others.  To close, Joyce says "Giving brings joy to us and is a blessing to others."

Day 22: Celebrate your Progress (Joyce Meyer, Eat the Cookie...)

     Celebration strengthens us remarks Joyce in Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes.  She goes on to ask us some questions; Do you celebrate when your child stands for the first time or when your dog does a trick right?  What about celebrating yourself and your progress?  Did you wake up early and go exercise this morning?  Did you eat healthy all day?  Did you drink your recommended 8 glasses of water?  Woohoo if you did! Let's celebrate!
      When I was in my early 20's and I got mad about something.  I would get extremely mad to were I was irrational.  Now I am able to contain myself more.  This is progress.  I've matured to not get so upset about things.  Progress!
      Hopefully, we all progress everyday. We are probably less selfish, mean, angry, and more patient, loving and kind today than yesterday.  If this is what we work on.  Or you may be more efficient in your job role then when you first started out. The fact is as humans we progress, it's in our nature and it feels great.  Keep it up! What else would you like to progress in?
    Find ways of celebrating your progress instead of mourning excessively over your mistakes, says Joyce.  I get nervous speaking in a meeting at work with a lot of people. I've been pushing myself for the last couple of years to speak regardless of how many butterflies are in my stomach and light my head gets.  Sometimes I think what I have just said came out confusing and that I could of said it better once I thought it through.  Instead of getting down on myself I quietly celebrate that I spoke and congratulate myself for speaking.  Don't get down on yourself, look at the bright side of the situation and celebrate that!

Day 21: God likes a party

     Many celebrations take the form of a party.  We celebrated my sisters 33rd birthday last week with a party. A group of us friends got together, ate and talked outside by the bbq.  It was loads of fun and we were honoring her birthday!  Joyce points out that our source, God, wants us to celebrate and party.  Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine so the party they were at would not stop.  Every mundane daily task can be a party.  It's all about attitude.
     For example, I'm at work right now.  I have many large technical text books to read.  Doesn't sound like much fun, right?  In order to have a good attitude and celebrate that I have a new job and that I need to learn new things, I am imagining that I don't HAVE to read the text books but that I WANT to.  (I am learning about magnets.  Isn't that cool!)  Then, once I have learned the material I can impress people at a party...LOL!

Day 20: You are Worth a Little Waste

     Joyce reminds us in her latest book, Eat the Cooking, Buy the Shoes that "Nothing is wasted if it is used for a right purpose, and blessing yourself at times is right and necessary."  If you have just completed a project at work, then celebrate.  If you are sad because of a break up then go do something nice for yourself.  It's not a waste to buy something for yourself if you can afford it and it helps to make your day a celebration instead of an ordinary day.  Every day is special.
     A few days ago I was feeling down (just one of those days).  I was at the grocery store and was waiting in line to pay for my things.  I usually don't buy the magazines on the shelf at the check out because I think they are a waste of money or I won't have time to read it.  I decided to buy one that day in an effort to cheer myself up.  When I got home I sat down and read it for a little while.  It helped.  It was a positive, upbeat magazine.  I felt better because I gave myself a small gift and I took time to relax.  At times, it's worth spending this time or money on yourself.  It can make a glum day into a better day.

Day 19: Happy Birthday! (Joyce Meyer)

     Remember turning 10 years old and how excited you were for your birthday party?  It was a big deal.  Most people as they get older stop celebrating their birthday because, "It's just another day."  Why do we stop the celebration of life?!?  Joyce, in Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes, says perhaps we stop because, "We lack understanding on how truly awesome we are."  We all have ordinary days full of errands that need to get done, floors to clean at home, and kids/dogs to feed.  During an ordinary day such as these take a few moments for you. Then you can feel rejuvenized for the next task instead of feeling anger or frustration.  I think I understand what Joyce is saying. When I was getting ready for my trip to Asia there were tons of things to do to get ready; pack, buy missing clothes, lose weight etc.  Amongst all this I got a pedicure (for the trip as an errand I needed to get done) but afterward I felt so good with myself because I unintentionally palmpered myself which rejuvenated me to finish getting ready for Asia. 
     Some ways to celebrate on an ordinary day; eat a cookie, buy a pair of shoes, have lunch with a good frend, sit in the sunshine, go for a walk, or put whipped cream in your coffee. Why?  Because you cleaned the house or you went to work or you took the dog out.  Just because you can!  To close your source wants you to enjoy life.  Otherwise there wouldn't have been so many amazing, enjoyable things created. 

Charissa

Day 18: Giving yourself permission to lighten up - The Cookie (Joyce Meyer)

     Joyce Meyer in her latest book, Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes, starts out telling us about an incident between her and her husband.  She was at the end of one of her weekend long speaking conferences and she had one more speech to give.  She saw a plate of cookies and took just 1/3 to give her enough to walk through the finish line.  Her husband witnesses this and confronts her.  They had started a strict exercise/ diet program and he decided to call her out.  To him it was a violation while to her it was just a part of a cookie that she felt she deserved after a long weekend of hard work and one more speech to give.  A friend saw what was happening, came over to Joyce and said, "You deserve that cookie, and if I were you, when this last session is over I would go and buy a pair of shoes with it."  She understood that the cookie was meeting an emotional side not just the logical left brain side.  Joyce says "There are times when we all need to eat the cookie and buy the shoes in order to help us finish what we have started or as a way of celebrating something we have accomplished."  The cookie and shoes are anything you enjoy (ie. a new book, mocha coffee from Starbucks etc.)  
     Joyce could have let her guilt, brought on by her husbands comment, consume her.  Instead she decided to be confident in her choice as she also encourages us to be the same.  People's comments can bring guilt and take away our joy when making these choices that mean so much to us.  We are not built for guilt, says Joyce, "Your future has no room for your past.  How much time do you waste feeling guilty?"  Guilt is feeling that you have done something very bad.  Eating thecookie was neither a good or wise choice because of the regement they were on but it wasn't a sin!  We need joy along the journey.  This is what fuels us to finish with a sense of accomplishment and not with a chip on our shoulder. Guilt is not from God.  Life is to be celebrated and enjoyed all along the way!  I know I feel this way once I get home from work.  What needs to be done before I can sit down and relax?  Then the whole night is done and its time for bed.  Why is it so hard to relax and celebrate the accomplishments of the day?