Love Out Loud

Hey loves! Happy Labor day! This past weekend EVE hit the streets of Rancho Cucamonga to love on people. It was such a wonderful experience getting to interact with such beautiful people. We weren't just holding up signs with words on them, we were empowering those who have forgotten just how precious they are! Reminding them that they are worthy, loved, beautiful and enough. It brought me so much joy to see all of the smiling faces. We received a great response however, we also received some negative responses as well.

Find Joy in the Journey

Hey loves, Happy Tuesday! This weekend I had the privilege and honor of being a camp leader to some phenomenal ladies within our youth ministry. This was my third year at camp and it was by far the most amazing experience I have ever had.

It wouldn't be camp if we didn't have a friendly competition going on right? We were separated into team colors and our team color was Black. Our Black Team leaders went all out and bought black war paint and we made black tutu's with our girls, we were ready to lead our team to victory. Now, I would be lying if I said we dominated from the very beginning, we had a pretty rocky start. Saturday we came together as a team and decided that we were going to win this competition. It was definitely a lot of hard work, I mean it was crucial, we had girls burning their hands in scorching hot sand, running up and down crazy steep hills, getting dirty and wet, it was definitely a journey to say the least. But come Saturday night when they announced the winner guess who came in first???? BLLLAACCCKK SQUUUADDD.  You see it was a very hard and tiring journey but that journey lead us to victory. 

I looked up the definition of Journey and it means to travel from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time, it also means to progress from one stage to another.  This camp experience made me realize that we are all on a journey. Some, not as easy as others. Due to me being unemployed my husband and I have been on a financial journey. I would be lying if I said it hasn't been hard and very frustrating at times. I remember one instance in particular where I felt so frustrated and tired of being on this crazy ride. We were at the market looking for groceries to get us through the week but we had to make sure we wouldn't break the bank so we loaded up on tons of Top Ramen noodles. It may seem petty and small but it was a very humbling experience for the both of us.  I remember telling my husband to, "Soak it all in and think of it as us being on an adventure, this is just a place we are passing through".  Often times we get so caught up in our circumstances and we don't stop to embrace the struggles that we are going through, we just go through the motions. You have to change your mindset and decide that you are going to win this battle and come out of it victorious.

Today, I challenge you to find joy in YOUR journey. You may be going through something really tough right now and you feel like you're not going to make it but I'm here telling you YOU WILL MAKE IT & their is beauty in your journey. Make the decision to persevere through it. Find the beauty and the lesson in this journey and use it to encourage others.  You are going to come out of this stronger than ever. Remember every great adventure or journey has a beginning and an epic ending. Keep pushing forward until you reach victory.

XO - Mel

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Be an encourager

Happy Monday loves!!!! I hope everyone's weekend was absolutely amazing!! My weekend consisted of hanging with our awesome youth ministry at a Disney blowout party, church on Sunday and having a little houseguest over all weekend... my adorable Godson Pauly T. So I must say it was a pretty good weekend. 

This morning I woke up with some people on my mind and it was on my heart to encourage them today.  I simply sent them a text letting them know they were appreciated and just reminding them of how amazing they are. That was my inspiration for this post today. I think today is the perfect day to encourage someone, especially since my Instagram feed is already full of everyone's countdown to Friday. So, I think it's safe to say that most of you are feeling the "Monday Blues". 

There's so many people that you come in contact with on a day to day basis and you may not even know their name or their story. Maybe it's that coworker that always looks mad or just a random stranger on the street. I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and talk to that person, learn their story or just simply give someone a smile. That may be all they need to turn their day around. A couple weeks ago my husband came home feeling very discouraged, so of course I was trying everything in my power to uplift him. Well... it wasn't really received the way I wanted it to be, it felt like my words of encouragement weren't really doing what I thought they would. So, because I didn't get the reaction I wanted from him my mood instantly changed and I shut down. Now, if you know me then you know that i'm usually a bubbly person. My friends even joke that it's always rainbows and butterflies when i'm around. So it was definitely out of the norm for me to just shut down. Later on that evening my husband approached me and asked what was wrong, (because it was totally written all over my face). I explained to him how I felt and in return he said something to me that I will never forget. "Never stop being who you are and never stop encouraging others because you feel like they won't or aren't receiving it." So, today I encourage you to never allow the fear of someone's reaction to keep you from being an encourager. You never know how much of an impact your words and love may have on someone. 

Maybe you're the one who needs to be encouraged today.

For those of you who need to be encouraged know that you are amazing!!! You are an overcomer, you are not your past mistakes or your current circumstances. You are not a failure, you have a purpose!!! Know that i'm cheering you on in everything you do. Use your words to love on someone today and make today beautiful!

I want to hear all about how you encouraged someone today so leave your inspiration below!!! Love you guys. XO - Mel

"Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29