Perfecting peace, staying sane…

Finding the right balance for your mind, soul and spirit in this hectic world…


It’s a great feeling to have inner peace and the fact of the matter is, when you’re ‘in a good place’ mentally, spiritually and emotionally, you’re not only helping yourself, but also the people around you. We live busy lives and it can be quite hard to find the time to gather your thoughts and sit down, but it is possible and it is a great skill to start practicing and perfecting! As one gets older, more responsibilities start adding to the ones that we already have and if you don’t know how to deal with the stressful situations you encounter now, then how will you deal with the more stressful ones as life goes on??

We want to avoid high blood pressure and other stress related diseases and troubles so here are some biblical based yet practical steps to help keep you balanced and at ease… 

• Know God
There is no better way in this world to experience peace than to do so through the epitome of peace Himself.

• Know yourself
Know what you can and can’t do! There’s no need to be forcing things on yourself, just because person A is doing heaps more than you, doesn’t mean you have to do all of that as well. You are your own person, do what you can.

• Stay positive
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Keep this in mind, it helps you to remain strong within. Remember I can, I can, I can!!!

• Stand your ground!
God has not given you a spirit of fear but that of peace and a sound mind. When you feel fear or those other negative emotions creeping up, don’t just let them take over your rationale! You have the ability to exercise authority and reject any negative thoughts or feelings! Stand your ground; don’t let your emotions stand over you!

• Have faith and be hopeful
It is possible to have inner peace despite whatever situation you may be in. Just remember that The One who called you is faithful and He will see every single situation that you’re in to completion. If there is a beginning, there will be an end. So even though the end may seem far don't worry, it will come.

• Tidy up!
Try and be neat and organised! If things around you are in a state then surely you will be in a state as well. Remember your environment determines your character so be tidy!

• Plan!
Make a note of what needs to be done and its importance. You will know what needs to be done as a matter of urgency and what you could leave for a few days or so. Some things will need to be done simultaneously, but don’t worry remember you can do all things!

• Small small Breaks, healthy eating, enough sleep!!
I am always saying this to family and friends. Please take small small breaks! This isn’t a ‘see how much I can do in 24 hours without taking a break and then falling ill by the end of the day’ life. No. You need to be in ship shape in order to complete your tasks to a high standard. Take care of you!!

• Keep good company
Good company around you really does help you remain at peace. A person that constantly nags, complains, moans and sees the worst in everything will definitely weigh down your spirit. No bad vibes allowed! Know who you’re associating with!!

• Pray!!
Pray and ask God for peace. If you don’t ask, you will not receive.

‘Be anxious for nothing but in all things by prayer, supplication and thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.’ Amen

Hope that helps!

Miss Bee
@cheriefrance1

‘Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’ (Galatians 6:9)

The majority of my readers at the moment will be in some form of examination or coursework period or at the end of a placement or year abroad and a lot of us may be extremely tired, drained, fed up and just wanting it all to be over but just hang in there!

As I’m sure you’ve all heard the final round of the race is usually the hardest because you’re so tired from running and you can see the finish line and you just want it to be over!! But.... if you just keep up the momentum, continue at a good steady pace and keep your mind focused on what you’re supposed to be doing, then you’ll be finished in no time!

This is not the time to be throwing in the towel and giving up. Like when a woman is giving birth and everyone around her is shouting ‘push, push, come on you can do it’, you need to be pushing. This is your own seed that you have planted in the form of your own hard work and I'm sure you want to see the flourishing plant that comes from it, but you can only see that plant if you don’t lose heart and you keep on striving.

It’s hard especially when there are usually so many other things on our minds but keep your eye on the prize and find your strength in the One that gives complete strength.

Encourage your friends, help each other, show support, smile, be loving, say hello, check up on your loved ones see how they are doing, all these things, they don’t cost money, but by doing them you are sowing those special seeds that reap the best fruits money can never buy. Try it and you’ll see for yourself.

As the title of this blog says ‘let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’.

Patience, Perseverance, Prayer

Let’s not forget those three P’s…

Lots of love,

Miss Bee
xoxox

@cheriefrance1

It's not you, it's me... part 1

I know this is a very clichéd phrase that we’ve all heard in movies, soaps and the like, but at times instead of seeming like an easy way to break up with someone it actually does harbour some truth. Well today, I’m not going to be focusing on the phrase as a whole, but instead home in on the last part ‘it’s me’.

Over the next few blog posts, God willing, I want to focus on ‘the self.’ Not in any psychological sense but just to give some inspirational, motivational and encouraging words and tips, with Biblical support, on ‘the self’, in terms of picking yourself up after a fall, learning to be happy and content, becoming whole, attaining your peace of mind and soul; just various things that can help you and me both, to grow as individuals and to learn new things about ourselves too.

Ok… so, it will help us grow and learn about ourselves, but some of you may still be thinking why all of these things are important?

Well, these are our lives. God ultimately is the chief director, but we are the vessels. We carry out the parts and I’m sure that you, as well as me, want to have the best parts ever and enjoy our roles to the fullest, but we must admit that sometimes, this proves to be difficult. Very difficult in fact at times, especially if the script that’s in front of us at that particular time has a difficult situation within it.

But not to worry, all things work out for good for those who love Him, so I think I shall begin with my first topic: Getting up after being down. Hope this post encourages you *smiles*

We all feel down from time to time, we feel discouraged, we get hurt by the people close to us, there are even times that we feel down and we don’t have a reason for feeling down. This is life. There are times we are sad, there’s no need to be ashamed about it, even Jesus felt down at one point, but the important thing is dealing with that feeling. Overcoming it, getting over the situation and moving on from it. Not just resting in that same emotional disposition for a long time, allowing it to grow, fester and take over your life; that is when it becomes a problem, because how can you be genuinely happy or move on in life when you still bear the hurt of previous things? Like I said it is difficult but it’s possible to be happy and to let go and to move on.

Imagine this. You’re 7 years old, playing in the park with your friends happily, you fall over, cut your knee, it’s bleeding and everything, you’re really upset and it really hurts. You become even more upset because you realise you can’t play for a while, you have to stay at home and wait for your knee to get better. This is the healing period. After a week or so, your knee is fine, you have a scar but the wound is healed so you can now go back out and play and to top it off you get to show your friends your scar.

‘Oh wow Claire what happened to your leg?!’

‘I fell over in the park and it was bleeding and everything but it doesn’t hurt anymore, come on let’s play!’

Claire’s over it all. Good.

Imagine now if Claire, our lovely example, after her knee healed, decided that she still wanted to be upset because she fell down? Imagine if she still just wanted to be sad, staying at home, watching boring kids daytime TV? (because it doesn’t get interesting until around 3:00pm) Who is she hurting the most? Yes, her friends will be sad because she’s not coming out to play, but she’s hurting herself more! What exactly is she trying to achieve by dwelling on the fact that she hurt her leg. Yes she hurt herself, but she’s healed now. She can get up and go out again but she wants to stay in this sad sad state. Why?? This is the main point I’m trying to get out there, don’t stay down. Are you defeated? No you’re not. You are victorious in all things and God in His infinite glory will never take you through something He knows you’re not capable of coping with. Everything we go through, we go through, not only to help others when they go through it, but because He knows we can go through it and be champions. It’s not the end.

Do not allow the spirit of defeat, sorrow and despair, to dwell within you. It really and truly eats a person up inside.

I know the example of Claire falling over is very basic and simple, and life does tend to hit us harder than that, but I hope you can grasp what I’m trying to get across.

Ok so, how can I get out of feeling down?

• Surround yourself with people that will encourage you and lift you up, not those that will join in your self-pity party and make you feel worse.

There’s a difference between a friend that will come round, cry with you, meaning that yes they’ve acknowledged your pain, but who will still take you by the hand and say ‘you will get through this’, and a friend that will come round, cry with you and say ‘this is so bad, I don’t know what you’re going to do, you’re in such a mess, I’m so glad this is not me I don’t know what I would do.’

*Proverbs 27:17- as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.*
*Proverbs 27:9- ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.*

• Have hope,

Hope is something you can’t see. Hope is a feeling. According to dictionary.com, hope is ‘the feeling that, what is wanted can be had, or that events will turn out for the best.’ David, in Psalms 42, talks about how he was downcast in his soul and how he had cried in the morning and in the night but he said that he will put his hope in God. Referring back to my last post, He trusted in God, whom in the passage he called his ‘saviour and defender’, to bring him out of the situation that he was in. He had hope; the feeling that things will turn out for the best.

*Job 14:7- for there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again and that its tender shoots will not cease.*

• Remind yourself that your sadness won’t be around forever and that the ends is greater than the means

This is something one of my best friends always tells me and it’s so true. The beginning may not always be what you thought it would be, but by the end you’ll be in a better position that you wouldn’t have even imagined.

*Ecclesiastes 7:8- the end of a thing is better than its beginning, the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.*
*Job 8:7- though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.*

• Be assured that you are not alone- you have an Eternal father who cares and who is your strength!

*Psalms 73:26- my mind and body may grow weak but God is my strength, He is all I ever need.*

• Pray and search the scriptures

It’s not always easy to pray especially when feeling you’re down. You either, don’t feel like doing anything or you may feel as though God has deserted you, but just try and pray. In terms of searching the scriptures, there’s so much truth in the Word and it just uplifts the soul.

*Jeremiah 15:16- ...your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart…*
*James 5:16- ...the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.*

• Know that whatever it is will make you a stronger person!

*Ecclesiastes 7:3- sorrow is better than laughter for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.*

(It’s not saying we should be sad all the time and not laugh, just that through being sad we get stronger)

There are so many more examples I can give, but I’ll be here forever! Lol. Guys I’m sure you get the drift. Life is hard enough as it is, we don’t want to make it tougher for ourselves by dwelling on things for too long and making ourselves feel worse. Like I said, we want to make this life as enjoyable as we can.

One translation of Proverbs 17:22 says ‘being cheerful keeps you healthy; it is slow death to be gloomy all the time.’

Key points to remember:
• Remember that when we get out of the little sad period it is important that we do not cling to it. This is emphasised in Isaiah 43:18, ‘Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.’

And finally…

• Remember guys ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning’ (Psalm 30:5) No matter how long your ‘night’ period may last for, it’s a matter of fact that after night comes day so be rest assured that you will get through, you will get up again and you will have joy!

Be happy, smile always.

Miss Bee
bee.inspired@hotmail.com

Trusting Him... part 1

First and foremost, God is just so great. 

It is so hard at times to trust in the people that we see on a day to day basis let alone trusting in what we cannot physically see and hold, but to put our trust in God is literally one of the best decisions we can make in our lives.

Question: Why should I put my trust in God?

There are so many reasons as to why one should put their trust in the Lord and within this piece some of these reasons will be shared. I will only mention a few of them though, because if I were to mention them all, then you’ll be reading this blog post forever lol!

• God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19)

This is a great reason I feel for putting your trust in God because unfortunately, in this world, there are webs of lies and deceit everywhere. Some people just love to lie. There are deep lies that can break up families and there are other lies that may not be as deep and profound, but can still cause disappointment and hurt. Why let yourself go through all of this? Constantly trusting in someone to do something for you, to then be constantly let down by that person? Don’t get me wrong, sometimes there are genuine extenuating circumstances as to why one can’t carry out what they said they would do, but there are other times when it is just down to sheer human laziness.

If you carry on reading this verse it says that ‘Has He said and will He not do?’ This just emphasising further that whatever God has said concerning your life will come to pass! If He’s said it, He will definitely do it! Whatever promise God has made to you, yes even though it may take a while to manifest, just hold on and be patient because it says that God is not a man that He should lie (this is further emphasised in Hebrews 6:18 where is says ‘it is impossible for God to lie’) and He will surely bring His Word concerning you as an individual to fruition. So just trust Him! We need to be aware that God works on His own timing. He won’t give us something that He’s promised us at the wrong time because He knows us better than we know ourselves, and if we have something at the wrong time, it could just bring destruction and ruin. There is a time and season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1) so just keep cool and pray for patience. Good things come to those that wait.

• Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5)
• Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established (Proverbs 16:3)

If you read this, it could appear so easy! One could think all I have to do is put what I want to do in God’s Hands and trust in Him then all my dreams will come true. Yes simply that is what is being said, but I’m sure you’re all aware of the saying ‘it’s easier said than done.’ It says ‘commit your way to the Lord’, not just dash what you want to do to God but to commit it to Him. There are many definitions for the verb to commit but one of them I liked was ‘to entrust’*. Commit is a very strong word. It comes with a lot of emotions because if you think about it, to commit something to someone would be hard, because whatever it is you are entrusting that person with will definitely be of extreme emotional value to you. Why are you going to commit something to someone that is capable of changing their mood in a split second when you can commit it all to God who never changes? (Hebrews 13:8) I feel that it is so important to commit things to God because I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow but God does. I want to be able to commit things into hands that I know will make whatever it is I’ve entrusted in them, flourish! Learn to commit everything to God. See I said learn, because it is a process, it does honestly take time to wholly commit something but it is possible.

For example, God I commit my health and my families health into your hands. I trust in you that even though sickness may come, you will see us through and the good health you promised us will come to pass in our lives. Amen.

God I commit my work into your hands. You said that whatever a man sows he will reap (Galatians 6:7). I am sowing seeds of hard work and I trust in you that everything I am doing will not be put to waste. Amen.

Commit all things to God: your relationships, education, children, finances, and future. Just everything. You can't go wrong.

Question: I want to trust in God, but I feel as though God wouldn’t want me to trust in Him, because I’ve just done so much wrong.

This is something that a lot of people go through. They want to get close to God, they want to commit their way to Him and trust Him but they feel that because of all the things they’ve done, they can’t get close to God. They feel guilty. No. No. No. These are the dirty lies of your mind. These are the thoughts that hold you back. You as an individual need to be strong to fight against such thoughts and forgive yourself! If you continue to think and believe in such things then you will never move on and up in life. It’s not physical things that we struggle with. That’s not the battle that we need to fight against. You need to fight against the things that go on in your mind and in your soul. You guys know I always always talk about the mind but I only do so because it’s so vital to living a happy life! Your mind can cripple you! But anyway, don’t think that because you’ve made so many mistakes, God won’t accept you and you can’t trust in Him. God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) Mercy is compassion and showing pardon to an offender.* God is forgiving. He’s already forgiven you, you don’t need to burn no sacrifice, your heart itself is a sacrifice and acknowledging that you’ve done wrong. Saying sorry and showing remorsefulness is all God needs (Psalm 51:17)

We all make mistakes guys. All of us, so please, no harbouring unforgiveness towards yourself (and others). God wants you to trust in Him, because He wants you to experience the good things He’s said concerning your life so stop holding yourself back and just go ahead and trust Him.

I could go on and on but I’m going to have to round up here. So many more reasons, so much more to say but I think I’ve made my point. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t trust anybody on earth, of course have your trusted few, but ultimately put your trust in The One above. The One who never disappoints, never leaves, never lies, always loves, always makes true and you can’t go wrong.

Miss Bee xoxox

e-mail me if any questions!
bee.inspired@hotmail.com
*all definitions from dictionary.com

Some thoughts for the New Year...

Everyone is different you can't use the way one person has acted towards you to evaluate how the other people will. Some people are quiet, they don't show their feelings but it doesn't mean that they don't care. Some people talk a lot but it doesn't mean that they care more. You as an individual need to be patient to learn the way in which the people around you show their feelings towards you, and you also need to learn how to mesh both of your different ways of communicating together to create a beautifully orchestrated symphony.

Learn how to come to a healthy balance, don't force anything, and just let it flow. Be honest and be open from the get go. Trust me. It prevents heartache and emotional distress. Honesty and truth hurt, we all know, but it is better to have a small cut than to be living in a lie and have to heal a gaping wound. Don’t commit yourself to something that you’re not ready for, it’s not fair on you and it’s not fair on the other person either.

If you can, pray together. It strengthens the relationship as well as you both as individuals. Anything founded on the Word of the Lord will forever remain. Yes I know, trials will come, tests will happen but nothing can split apart what the Lord has ordained.

Learn to love yourself. If you are content within, with whom you are and you know where you are going in life then you won't need to look for contentment, fulfilment and a sense of belonging in other people because you are already happy. If you are already content then other people will only add to your joy but they won't make it. If you are not happy within, then you will end up going to another person, hoping for them to provide you with happiness and when you realise they can't give you what you desire, you become frustrated and then cause issues in the relationship. It is also unfair on the other person as they will be trying their best to give all that they can.

It is hard to love somebody that doesn’t love themself, because all the love that you are giving will not be enough for them. If this is your situation, you need to know that you are not the person’s Saviour, only God can save and deliver someone and give them the love that they truly long for within. You just need to pray for that person, that one day; their eyes and their heart will be opened to see that the love they need is actually within them.

Don't get into anything you are not physically, emotionally and spiritually prepared for. If you are going to compromise your beliefs and what you stand for, then is it really the right thing for you? If you know you are not yet emotionally strong and that you would crumble to pieces, then is this really what you want? Be patient and wait until you know you are ready. You know yourself. Don’t need to be rushing because everyone else is rushing.

I know we are all meant to share and love and everything and I’m not disputing that because it’s true that’s what we should do, but there are times when we need to be selfish in terms of your heart. Your heart needs to be guarded ferociously with everything you have, because it is out of your heart that the issues in your life spring forth.

If you let someone into your heart that does not appreciate you, respect you, care about you, then what do you think is going to happen? Ok yeah, you may smile in public but who’s the person that will be crying by themselves in the midnight hour? Do you understand what I mean? Just guard your hearts please. It’s not a happy meal toy; you can play willy nilly with.

Anchor yourself firmly in the faith that life will get better. The trials you go through now are only a means of making you stronger. The sickness and ill health that you may be facing will heal in time. Be patient and hope for things to come. We can’t see hope, because who hopes for things they can see, you hope for the future so keep persevering but remember to take it easy. One day at a time. Rome was not built in a day. You are only human. Do not cause yourself to have unnecessary hypertension. Yes work hard, but work smartly also*

It is well guys, God is forever in control.

Happy New Year,

Miss Bee xx

*quote taken from my friend Bola Prestige