2016 Blessing

I just want to end the year with a post that encourages you to change your mind set for 2016.
I recently meditated on  the quote by Marianne Williamson:
                                                                  
                                                                 "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,

talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

We were born to make manifest the glory of

God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

we unconsciously give other people

permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

Our presence automatically liberates others.

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

And as we let our own light shine",

My loves, having a baby is a precious gift and you were chosen! Your life has just begun, and has not ended. you will find all the love and joy you need in your process of reflecting on the love of God and how he will lead you through each day. You are not forgotten about, you are worth more than a thousand rubies. You are so brilliant, smart and you will be extremely successful! It is your time! Shine!

Soul Assignment: 

Look in the mirror and say " I love you"  

-Arielle

Fighting For Peace

Hello Ladies and the guys too!!

I know I have not posted in about two weeks! Well a lot went on, I would say I needed a break. I actually changed my hours at work and was going though a test run to make sure the time change worked. ( And it will work) I need  to balance out my job and my career in a more healthy way. I spend way to much time worrying about my current job and not enough time with my family, friends, church and my career! I love my job, but dang! lol

Anyway this post today is to just let all the young moms know that  it is so important to balance out your life!
Do not over work yourself! It is not worth it trust me! Don't be scared to say No,,
 It is okay if someone get's upset with you, you are fighting for your peace at mind. We all know the devil hates peace. So anytime we are trying to fight to get it, he is going to stir something up.. he so so petty, petty, petty!! lol

Be focused, meditate, pray, fast, give and grow. You are such an important vessel. Take care of your mind , body and spirit. they all work together in your markup.


Soul Assignment: 


Define your definition of peace-

Define peace from a dictionary-

When do you feel most at peace?

Using your resources

It takes a village 

Guys when I tell you the saying “It takes a village to raise a child" is the truth I mean it!! 

Today was  a big wake up call for me. I was extremely tired, frustrated and overwhelmed. See I live alone. I don't have the luxury of having someone to  help me carry the burdens of life! I would not even call them burdens. I think it is just the load that comes with having a well-balanced and healthy life! 

Like I said in a past post. There are so many things that need to managing to keep yourself together, however, I failed to mention Family, Friends and Mentors! This has to be the biggest resources that you will need while raising your little one. You cannot do it alone! If the universe wanted you to raise a child alone, it would have allowed you to conceive a child alone. The universe makes no mistakes, everything is aligned perfectly and with purpose. 

A child needs love, family and freedom! You do too! You are still young, you need your family! My loves please don't think just because you are pregnant or a new parent that you have to do things by yourself,  NO!  Why should you? It takes a village! 

. Now I will say that having a child will require you to step it up. However,  You are going to need help and I really mean it!! You are going to need Mental, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Financial support. The wonderful thing about being a family is that there is plenty of Love and support. Love is unconditional! It forgives, it nurtures and it protects. Having a child may not have been a part of your plan right now, but that is okay. every child is a precious gift! 

Soul Assignment 

1. Who is in your village? (Name people you would consider your "loved ones" This can be family, friend’s co-workers, anyone you can confide in) 

2 How do you feel about asking for help?

3 Why do you think you feel that way?

4 Define Mental Health, Emotional Health, Physical health, Spiritual Health

- What are some ways to become healthy...Name the practices. 

Fun with your child

Bonding is something that I am working on. However, it is essential that you take a moment to really get to know your child. Not just recognizing the behavioral patterns of your child, but really have conversation with them and take the time out to 'be there friend" there is nothing wrong with building that bond with your child. I feel that it is necessary for a healthy open communication relationship. The love can be well balanced with respect. 

I would say that I struggle in this area. I feel that I am distant from my child. I feel that I don't spend a lot of time with her. I am not the type of mom who wants to "play" with my child. I love to comfort, love and nurture her but "play" not so much. However, I am going to have to stretch myself out a little more and try and do more fun things with my daughter. I am very affectionate with her, I love snuggling, hugging and comforting her, but I guess I am just no fun! lol.

However, when I can I do bring her out to places and we do activities that I enjoy and she enjoys. Something entertaining for both her and myself.  I am not the type of mom who really wants to "fake it" I really would like to have fun too! I do not like boring play dates. I like fellowship! I like to be able to talk to a friend while my child plays I think that is a healthy balance.

Speaking on balance, this past weekend I learned there has to be a balance when it comes to spending time with your child and having your alone time. Being in my early 20s I tend to want to “turn up ” and go out, as much as I can without my daughter and just as a single woman. Just so I can go socialize with other people in my age group. I mean I am young, I want to experience young adulthood, it is mine to live! Yes, it is okay to enjoy your youth, it belongs to you, your life is still yours and it is up to you to live it. There just has to be a balance.

 ( And let me just say that my "turn up" is usually out with young Christians like myself. I am NO club hopper or bed hopper JSYK lol) {that is  another blog post}

Soul Assignment.

How do you guys bond with your child?

What are new some ways you can bond with your child?

Do you feel that you have a heathy balance with your child and you? If so please explain why, if not please also explain why..and what do you think you need to do to get that accomplished. 

Step Inside My Head!!

It will not be easy not for one second but here is a little bit of an example of what goes on inside my head.  Have fun guys!!! 

Here we go......................

Children - I love my daughter, I love being her mother. I love nurturing her, loving on her, I love shopping for her, reading her stories, taking her out with me, doing her hair shoot I just like staring at her sometimes… I always wish I could do more. I wish I could be more of a classroom parent at her school, and I wish I could spend more time with her! 

Home   When I moved into my apartment I did not realize how much goes into managing a household. The bigger the home, the more to clean. I have not cracked the code to keep all my room spotless for more than an hour! 

Education -   I had my daughter when I was 19 years old. I was a sophomore in college, so because of my embarrassment and lack of encouragement I dropped out of my school and took a year off. I then enrolled into an online university. I love going to school online, it is not for everyone but it is especially designed for a person who is trying to manage their life and education at the same time.  

Job/ Career -I don't work just your normal 9-5 my job requires so much more than that. It requires me to be creative, strategic and organized. Because of the requirements it is easy to fall into the "corporate America" mind set...which is similar to a robot! Lol   

Finances- This one is a fun time! Lol (Totally being sarcastic) I cannot tell you guys how many times I have written out my budget, I constantly do it...and then I come up with a genius financial  plan . But then somehow I just end up at one of my favorite stores and I say to myself "hmmm I won't miss $24.99" "oh this meal is only $10.00" "Oh just $5.99!?" "would you look at that sale 50% off" BIG MISTAKE! Budgets  are sooooo important to keep!

Spiritual Life - I am giving myself a pat on the back. For the last two months I have been in church every Sunday!!! I have also dedicated myself to be a part of the fine arts ministry! Having some type of spiritual balance is the most important for your soul. Let me tell you, being spiritually healthy is the key to keep this craziness together! Lol...Spirituality does not necessary mean church...but church is still a necessity, it will keep you in line. However spirituality should be done the most at home. It is mediating, reading, eating a healthy diet, spending time outside. Doing things good for your soul! 

Yourself having time for you! Sooo this really does tie into spirituality a lot. However you are a vessel that needs to make sure you take care of your outward appearance and things that make you feel good as well. I can't wait to get into this a little more and the balance it does take!!!

 Relationships - So I am not in a relationship...( not saying I want one,,,but not saying I would turn down the opportunity to meet Mr. Right lol) However, if you are in a relationship you want to make sure you take time for the relationship and really get to know your spouse. Relationships are important because it is your life support system. It is a wonderful thing to have someone like minded that can motivate and support  you to get all these things done plus more! 

Soul Assignment 

1. What is your daily routine?

2. Where do you want to see the most improvement?

3. How do you think you can improve?

4. What can you do to improve it?

5. Please erase all the (I ) in question  4 and replace them with (We) {you now have support}

Some Assembly Required

There is no way that I am perfect. I am on a new path of higher consciousness, being consistent, working on not being fearful, having a better honest prayer life… list goes on. However, on this journey I am discovering how jacked up I really am. I doubt myself a lot, I break down, I hide all my emotions inside very easily, get frustrated, overwhelmed and scattered brained. I am 100% human with tens and thousands of emotions that I may or may not even know about!

My question in those difficult moments, would be what to do when you realize things about yourself that are not the most positive? My answer to that would be to pray. Keep praying. Don't stop, pray every day as much as you can! Pray, Pray, Pray. I realized that my emotional self is honest for the moment but it’s temporary. In the moment of me breaking down, I cry out to God. I am practicing to speak to go when t I am frustrated, overwhelmed, scattered brained, I let him know. You see I can't hide from God. God knows me in and out. The power happens when he opens your eyes to who you are, and you pray on it and ask God to change your heart, your mind and your ways.

Fear: Fear can hold us back from being truthful.

Lets work on being honest!. What are something you have noticed about yourself that may not be the most positive? I’ts okay really..

You can anonymously write them down, your utmost deepest problem. Let it out, let it be free, let God wash it clean. The more I spoke about my problems with Fear and being consistency, the more God helped me.


My newest up most deepest issues :

I get frustrated, Overwhelmed and scattered brained. I am all over the place! I need God to give me rest, and a consistent thought process a honest peace.


Soul Assignment:
Write: What do you need from God?
Task: it by your bed, and pray for that each night this week.
Discuss: Confide in someone you trust and speak it out.




Love you All,




-Arielle :)

The Beauty in your Imperfection

Stick to what you believe in. Self-discovery is so important in the journey of motherhood. I want you all to take rest in knowing you do not have to know it all and that is okay.

I was speaking with someone the other day, and I said I felt becoming a mother was the best and worst thing that could have happened to me. I felt it was the best thing because I was able to actually become a mother. I never would of thought I could love someone so much! I finally understood what it meant to be in unconditional love! This little baby is my everything.

The reason why I felt it was the worst thing that could happen to me is because I honestly wasn’t ready. I had my daughter when I was a teenager. According to the University Of Rochester Medical Center the rational part of a teen's brain isn't fully developed and won't be until he or she is 25 years old. Sooo I was 19! Lol, how am I honestly supposed to give this beautifully child a healthy happy life and I am not fully grown yet!!?? Yea see the problem?

I then struggled a lot with trying to be perfect. I tried to balance out a teenage life with an adult/parent life. I tried to do it ALL! I did not want to admit I did not know it all. (Something I am still working on) This turned into a true melt down and identity crisis! I was aggravated, stressed and confused, I love my baby, but I also have an urge to love myself and be young.

I am here taking rest in "I don't know it all". No one does ...and that is okay. We are all imperfect however we serve a perfect God.

The bible has tons of verses that lets us know that God cares for us! He will not give us more than we can bare! God wants us to cast all anxiety on Him because He cares for us. In Matthew 11:28 it says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Let’s take God up on that offer, and pray that all of our troubles are not our troubles. God is faithful and he will provide. Trust God with your life, your troubles and your imperfect self. He has a perfect plan! Take rest!


Soul Assignment:

If there is something holding you back from being free? if so, What is it?
Let's practice the art of release, by just typing it in the comment box below.

Mine is: Fear

Once you have typed in your setback, take a deep breath, pray on that set back.


God is waiting!






-Arielle :)

Walking in regret

Hi Ladies, 

You ever have moments that you regret it all? You just do not know how you got to this point. How in the world did I end up pregnant? What happened?  "I was so happy before all of this"!! Is this you? It was me.

You see its so funny that now I am able to see how great of a your lady I was before I got pregnant. I was unable to also see how  easy I actually had it. I did not see the value in being able to just get out of bed and go straight in the shower, put on some clothes and go to school.  I did not see the value of just leaving my house with my purse that was just filled with a wallet and lip gloss.  I did not see the value of my mother handing me my lunch money.I did not see the value in going out to dinner with friends and not having to worry about going straight home I did not see the value!

Now I have to get out of bed to calm a crying baby, I have to feed, clothe and do my daughters hair before I even think of looking in the mirror in the morning.I have to find someone to watch my daughter before I go out to dinner with any one, I have to pack a diaper bag, I have to budget my money enough to get through the week. Wooh..That is not even close to the amount of work that is being done before yourself

With all this extra work, it is so easy to feel regret. Especially if you are doing this alone. Can I tell you there is nothing for you to regret? You did nothing wrong. Forgive yourself.

Soul Assignment: 

Reading- I would first like you to read this article on forgiveness by Berkeley college
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/forgiveness/definition

Write -What I would like you to do is write  the definition of forgiveness on a post card . It does not have to be from the dictionary, it can be based on your readings

Question
Have you ever suffered with regret? If so please answer the following
1. What is going on around you when you begin to feel regret? ( name 3 emotions you feeling  and explain your surroundings)

Discussion Question: 
Why do you think we are discussing regret and forgiveness?

Flawless

Hi Ladies,

Do you know that you are FLAWLESS?
Once in a while I like to get dressed up and add a extra umph to my step,
Don't forget to treat yourself once in a while. Sometimes we have a tendency to worry so much about bills and the babies that we forget about ourselves. Here is a tip that we can start doing at least twice a month. Every time you get paid try to spend at least 10+ dollars on yourself. Anything whether its new shirt or a new pair of shoes. Do it for you. However, The only rule is you can't use the money on food. It has to be something materialist, something that you can always see. Something that will always remind you that you did something nice for yourself!

Question: How often do you treat yourself?

You are loved,

Arielle

" I miss my daddy"

Today, My heart sank. I believe for the first time my daughter expressed her true feeling about her awareness that daddy does not live with us. I was putting her to bed as normal, kissed her goodnight when about 10 minutes in to a silence room. My daughter started to scream and then cry. I said "Kori whats wrong?" No answer I then said it again "Kori are you okay, whats wrong honey" My three year old then screams " I miss my daddy" Woooh...I did not know what to say..in complete shock I said "Kori what did you say?" still crying "I miss my daddy" I always feel guilty that I am no longer with the man that I had a child with and I really have no one to take his place to be a father figure. However, no one can take his place. He is her father. There are time I blame myself about it, actually still do, however I have to learn to forgive myself an there was nothing I did wrong. I tried to keep it together but you need two people who want a relationship not one. So I went to my daughters bed side and wiped her tears and said would you like to call daddy? "yes mommy I want to call daddy" Kori said. So, we called him however, believing he was at work he did not answer the phone. So, I asked Kori..do you want to call someone else? She then said a name of one of my male friends. However, he did not answer the phone. So, I asked Kori again "Kori would you like to call someone else?" "No" as she put her head down. I can tell she was disappointed. So I said Kori lets call on our father god! We can pray and that is what she did! We prayed. I told her, sometimes when you don't know who to call on , call on Jesus and God and she said "Okay mommy"

So My encouragement is to teach your children to rely on God! We prayed together, and we will pray together every night going forward. I want her to understand that God is our father who never lets us down.

Question for you ladies: What do you do when your child ask "Mommy where is my daddy" What can you say to each other for encouragement? Looking forward to hearing from you!

You are loved!

-Arielle

Exercise

Exercise! There you have it! That is my secret. It was short weeks ago that I was just so fatigue. I could not for the life of me do anything! I suffered body aches, headaches and the hardest depression. I was and still fight with the struggle of doing this parenting thing by myself. It is not easy. I get angry. How is it that the man who helped create this child get to live his life while I am stuck!? He gets to get up in the morning and just put on his clothes and just go to work!? That is not fair! Not at all! I will and still do on a bad day. Dwell on that tactic. So after praying to God to just give me some help, I was invited to start an exercises class. I was scared and nervous at first however, I was and still am so desperate to get a break! And it has helped me a ton! I have not had any anxiety since I started working out and eating right! It has been a big help! Ladies I encourage you tomorrow to drink only water and eat healthy foods , no candy, chocolate or white breads. Have healthy meals all day. Remember you are a CHAMPION!! Please let me know how your day went, and how you feel at the end of the day. Why not try? Email me your responses arielleswright@gmail.com

Here is a link to help with meal ideas! http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans

-Arielle

It's All Just Way Too MUCH!!!

Urgh. You ever just feel that way?  You had a long day. You got up early and your probably going to bed a  late!
If you are like me, you worked all day, picked your kids up, Cook dinner, wash up dishes, get homework done ( the kids, not yours of course lol)
Give baths, wash hair, put clothes out for tomorrow and give kisses good night. Sometimes I feel like I am always in a race. There is just so much to do in one day. I know it can get very frustrating,

 However, I have found a method that seems to be working well for me.
Tune it tomorrow for my secrets to stress release!

Question for you ladies..Do you ever feel just a little overwhelmed? If so, What do you do to calm yourself? Lets talk about it! From one Young Mom to Another!

Please Email me your answers to  arielleswright@gmail.com Your emails are important! We all need to hear from you!

-Arielle

Introduction

Hi Ladies,

My name is Arielle. I have been wanting to start a blog for sometime now. Its been about three years of me back and forth trying to figure out what I want to do. First It was cooking then baby toys, then   young woman website and now I am here. I am literally "just jumping out on a ledge"  I am going to take this blog in the best direction that I can. Please also know that I am not the best writer, grammar has never been my strong suit. So, I do apologize for that in advance. Do not hesitate to email me any corrections with spelling or grammar. I am open for correction! lol

There maybe days I am just not sure what I am doing, But I will do my best to be consistent. I am at the time of my life where I notice that I need to  work on my consistency. So, here it goes. Blog 1.

The Title of this blog is "From one young mother to another" So, for this page, my audience is directed towards mothers who are teens or in there early 20s or 30s. However, My hope is it to reach to anyone that would enjoy it.

So, I am currently 22. Every time I speak that number out loud I don't really believe it my self! Seems like I have had such an experience life, that I feel much older than I am. However, that's how God made me, and I am sure it is for his reasons. I have a beautiful and ambitious 3 year old little girl. I am a single mother still in college, Work a full time career and manage a home. Being young and having so many responsibilities can be very challenging. I would say because the work load of your daily life is not what the typical life is like in your early 20s. Most woman our age is still in college, in a dorm room studying for a final, working part time, no kids, may not have their own apartment just yet, maybe graduating maybe just getting a great internship. There are so many independent things that happen when your in your early 20s that a young mom maybe not be able to do because here direction is towards her baby. 

Instead woman with children in their 20s. Are waking up if your lucky at 6:00 a.m, feeding the baby, measuring bottles, washing bottles ( oh I do not miss that one) Planning what to eat for the rest of the day, making grocery list, trying to find things on sale, in the paper, getting the baby ready to do something because wants that baby is fed and clean there needs to be some interaction. ( At this point its probably 6:40 a.m) Getting your self dressed, if there are any clean clothes for yourself, because all you have been doing is thinking about baby lol. Also just thinking about your future, where will you live? what job can you get to support if your on your own? Its a lot. I know. This is why I am here at this moment. I want to talk about it! I want to support you, I want you to support me. Wow. So much to lay out on the table. So many topics!

What I would hope to get from this blog is a fan base that are supporting each other. I want a place that young mothers can come to vent, pray, encourage and share ideas. I would love to even have meet and greets!  I want this to be a safe environment where we can talk, cry, pray, encourage, heal, learn, grow and most importantly give the best lives we can for our children :)

Thank you, Thank you Thank you for taking your precious time to read this first introduction. I am so excited about it, I hope you are. Please, Please, Please email me if you have any questions, ideas, anything. ! If you need prayer, I can pray for you, please pray for me! I will talk to you beautiful strong ladies tomorrow. Stay blessed, Stay encouraged, Stay Strong. You are Loved!

-Arielle :)