Gratitude

183:758967567 (Alicia Clendennin) — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 01:27:21 GMT

A Different Perspective on Life's Tests

It’s Thanksgiving and like so many others who have been posting on social media all day, I have so much to be grateful for. I decided the essential oil that would be perfect for today was “Gratitude”. After inhaling it I spent some time meditating on all the things I am grateful for.

As I was baking pies to take to dinner at my parents’ house, I found myself thinking of the many “tests” I had faced during my life. Instead of feeling resentful or angry I felt my heart warm with a different type of gratitude. I experienced a growing feeling of thankfulness for the many things I had learned with each test, and for the woman I have become as a result of each one.

I have always looked at life’s tests as an opportunity for my faith to grow. Each test has seemed harder than the preceding one to the point that I would think I couldn’t possibly survive another one. My life growing up was pretty much a storybook life. I have wonderful parents and two equally wonderful younger brothers. We were brought up with a strong sense of faith, family and commitment to each other. This does not mean that my brothers and I always got along. I was a wicked older sister who would have nothing to do with them. It wasn’t until I went away to nursing school that I realized how truly special my family was, especially my brothers.

I was pretty naive about life in general, as I had not experienced many hardships. I was fortunate to have a college education and a career as a nurse. I had married my college sweetheart and thought that life couldn’t possibly get any better. Talk about rose colored glasses!! It is good that I didn’t know what my future held, or I might have not gotten out of bed ever again!

The next 30+ years proved to be a rollercoaster of events, each one more difficult than the preceding one. Two divorces, my father (who is my John Wayne) having colon cancer, multiple miscarriages, a baby with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, my older son paralyzed in a freak accident as a teen (he made a full recovery) ……you name it, it happened. Remarkably, as each test got harder, my faith grew stronger and I learned many valuable life lessons.

This morning as I looked out the kitchen window, I found myself smiling at how great my life is and how fortunate I have been. My most resent test is by far the hardest and longest of them all. I guess I haven’t learned all that I need to learn! It has provided me with opportunities in my life that I would not have had. One of these opportunities is my involvement with Young Living. I am fascinated with all that I have learned since starting with essential oils in 2014. My life has changed on so many levels as have the lives of the people I work with. Truth be told, I would give just about anything to have this test concluded. But, by the same token, I would not change anything that has happened over the past five years.

Recently I’ve started looking at life’s test as “opportunities”. They are opportunities for growth on so many levels. I will admit that they are challenges that can be daunting at times, but the final outcome is so much better than anything I could have ever dreamed possible.

My business and life coach (Becky Mashuta – everyone needs her, trust me) gave me the most wonderful tool ……………. Whenever I’m facing a particularly challenging “opportunity” and I feel overwhelmed, I simply ask myself “is this something that I can handle with my God?”. The answer is ALWAYS a resounding YES!!

What opportunity are you facing today and how are you handling it?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Alicia

www.alicia-anne.com

www.myyl.com/alicia-anne

Welcome to the Journey

Sun, 18 Nov 2018 21:11:21 GMT

A Snapshot of What to Expect

Hello and welcome to my first blog! I am excited that you are here and even more excited to share my life and life tips with you to help you lead a life free of physical, emotional and spiritual toxins. My posts will range from silly little tidbits, to in educational pieces and will be based on what is going on in my life that is inspiring me to blog at that time.

I am a faith filled woman who loves to learn. I find my studies these days are drawing me towards topics related to Quantum Physics and how the power of the mind affects our lives. You might be thinking “Quantum Physics! That sounds so boring.” Honestly, I thought the same things until I started to study it more and realized how truly it fascinating it is. The aspect that I am most interested is the power of the mind and our ability to control our environment with our thoughts and beliefs.

I was raised by a wonderful set of parents and am blessed to still have them in my life. My mother repeatedly said (you will find me quoting her frequently throughout my blogs) “ you are what you think ” and “ there is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it ”. She also repeatedly advised us to “ live with passion ”. I have bestowed these wise teachings to my two sons and to anyone who will listen.

Life has provided me with many challenging opportunities. One of the things that I love about each challenge is that there is always something new to learn with each of life’s events, IF you are open to it. So, I begin a new chapter in my life here in this blog, sharing and growing with each one of you.

I receive the thought of the day every day in my email and I also am blessed with a message from God in my daily email! Yes, I get emails with thoughts from God. Pretty cool if you ask me. Today’s thought from God inspired me so I am going to kick off my first blog with it and share it with you….

When you are at a loss of what to do, do nothing. Doing nothing can be very wise. When you pause doing things, you become more aware of God's presence, and often an unexpected solution to your question will arise.

With that quote, I leave you with something to ponder.

Have an awesome day!!

Alicia

http://www.alicia-anne.com

https://myyl.com/alicia-anne

Young Living ~ Living Young

Gratitude

A Different Perspective on Life's Tests

Welcome to the Journey

A Snapshot of What to Expect