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Doing the Absolute Most!

 

There are so many Rhymes & Rhythms to

understanding Peace and the Pursuit of it.

Before I jump into the discussion about people pleasing, I want to explain the concept of Acknowledgement to

strengthen your Spiritual Wellness.

Increase your Acknowledgement of what is around you in order to build trust, knowledge and foresight to manage your personal struggles.

There will be times when you do not understand why “a certain thing” happened in your life, and you will not know if it happened to you or for you.

There will also be times when you cannot seem to shake the residual effects of “that certain thing”    BUT

There are special promptings and messages that show up as direction for your journey.

Biblical Scripture is my personal compass because the content found within it has helped me to elevate out of various dark places in my life.

You can utilize whatever word inspires you to take action, you just need discernment to notice the direction that is found within the text. 

I’ve used the word direction repeatedly because the word that inspires you needs to have a layout of forward progression.

 

Take a look at the diagram above.

The Energy Enhancer/ (Scripture) is: Genesis 50:20-21

The direction found within is: “Don’t Be Afraid.”

The knowledge gained is: God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives

The Trust Factor is: I will provide for you and your children

The Personal Struggle Statement is: You intended to harm me

Acknowledgement of all the factors contained in the scripture allow you to freely move in Peace. You are essentially giving a head nod to the fact that the opposition had it out for you, they tried everything in their power to trap you, but the intention for your life is greater than any plan they could think of or imagine SO THEREFORE God’s word over your life cancels out their plan. 

PERIOD.

You will find your blessing (Peace) on the other side of your personal struggle.

Face whatever you need to face and deal with whatever needs to be dealt with. By doing so you remove its power over your life.

You were designed to be a creator, an innovator, a mountain mover and an overcomer.

It’s time to live!

Now, a quick word about being a people pleaser or as I sometimes refer to them as “a performer.”

 

  • Are you the type of person who feels like you always have to be doing something to gain attention or support from others

  • Do you often feel overlooked or isolated if you are not helping someone by providing a solution to their problems

  • Do you neglect your self-care needs by putting the needs of others before your own

If any of these people pleasing/ performer traits sounds familiar to how you move in this world, it’s time to have a long talk with yourself and make different choices.

Neglecting your needs to appease others is a quick way to achieve mental, physical and emotional exhaustion.

When we fail to establish boundaries with others and we willingly perform in order to gain their acceptance, we are merely acting, and just like in the entertainment industry, we are not showing up authentically. You are uniquely and wonderfully made. Acknowledge that and walk in the acceptance that your needs matter too.

I am sharing 3 tips to help you put down the script and stop performing:

  • Realize that your needs are important

  • Develop an Action Plan to prioritize what you need

  • Ask yourself this question each day: “Did I choose me today?”

I’ve shared a lot today so let’s seal it with a prayer.

Click here to hear this message in its audio version and to receive the special prayer at the end.

You know how to reach me if I can be of service to you:

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: (1) Melissa Rivers – YouTube

Sign up for my email list: Origins of Peace, LLC – Continuous Improvement Coach, Personal Development Mentor, Professional Growth Educator! (melissaarivers.com)

Purchase my Course entitled Create! and let me help you start your journey to Peace.

Peace,

Melissa – Your Creative Peace Coach

www.originsofpeace.com

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Tip #31 Do Your Best & Trust in God

Happy Thursday Peaceful Souls! I can’t believe we’re already at the end of Women’s History Month and on our last day of the #loveme2Peace Campaign. I hope you’ve gained some insight on how to attract more peace in your life through self-care, self-love and self-reflection. The whole point of the #loveme2Peace movement is to help you become more intentional with your thoughts, actions and words to positively influence yourself, your space and those around you.

Throughout the duration of our Campaign, I’ve experienced numerous opportunities to utilize the tips and advice that I’ve shared with you. I can honestly say that each time I faced a new challenge, I was able to refer back to the list of tips and intentionally chart a path back to peace. Let’s recap the list of tips and then I will share today’s final tip with you.

30. Don’t Take It Personally

29. Be Flexible

28. Do It Anyway

27. Love Always Wins

26. Don’t Settle

25. Believe There is a Bigger Purpose

24. Make Plans for your Future

23. Choose Wisely

22. Get Uncomfortable

21. Believe that your Efforts are not in Vain

20. Invest in Yourself

19. Laugh Often

18. Trust the Process

17. Consistently Pray

16. Know When to Be Silent

15. Consider the How

14. Be Honest With Yourself

13. Lend A Helping Hand

12. Re-evaluate Your Circle

11. Let Go of the Extra Baggage

10. Never Stop Learning

9. Stop Procrastinating

8. Live Your Life

7. Share Your Story

6. Set Your Heart Toward Peace

5. Take Time to Relax

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Dream Big

2. Believe that You Are Qualified

1. Start Each Day with Gratitude
Today’s tip: Do Your Best & Trust in God
No matter how good your intentions are, you only have a limited amount of power. Your influence and abilities are limited. You can only love so much, help so much and do so much.
The great thing about all of this is that God only requires a little from us. He never puts more on us than we can bear so what we have, we need to give.
After we’ve done all that we can do there’s this special formula called Grace that God extends to those who love him. Grace to face ever day challenges, Grace to love those who seem unlovable and Grace to help us along our journey.
“If it had not been for the Grace of God, where o where would I Be.”
My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Peace Empowerment Coach. I didn’t choose this life, God gifted it to me. Through various challenges, setbacks and bad decisions, God showed me how to Find Peace and Be Well. Today I extend that offer to you. If you are at a point in your life where you’re ready to actively pursue peace, allow me to help you.
Email me today at sugawellnessboutique@gmail.com to set up a confidential discovery call. I’ll help you create an action plan for peace and begin living life with intention and on purpose.
Thanks for hanging out with me this month. I’ll be back next week with a weekly blog post.
Find Peace and Be Well
Empty wooden deck table
Empty wooden deck table
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Tip #7 Share Your Story

Good Morning Peace Makers! It is day 7 of our #loveme2Peace Campaign and we’re just getting started. All month long I’m sharing tips and advice on how you can attract more peace into your life by practicing self-love and self-care.

March is International Women’s Month and we’re making history by challenging women all around the world to take care of themselves by setting their intentions toward peace. Some days may be more difficult than others to seek peace but I promise you that your efforts will be rewarded. Once you’ve mastered these techniques, you can mentor the next woman who may be struggling in this area of her life. I believe that we all hold the key or the solution to someone else’s challenge. We have to be willing to share our experiences with others to help them along their journey. I often tell my clients; your 2015 testimony is someone else’s 2016 goal. Speak up and share!

With that being said; today’s tip:   “Share Your Story”

There’s freedom, power and peace in sharing your experiences with others. As individuals we’re always either going into a challenge, in the midst of a challenge or coming out of one. No matter where we are in the process, our experiences can help others succeed.

I’ve been invited to be an Ambassador for the American Cancer Society. This title presents opportunities for me to share my story on a larger platform. Knowing that what I’ve experienced is going to benefit others and offer encouragement to someone else makes it all worth while.

How do I know this?

I know because God is not a waster. He is able to use anyone, under any circumstances, for his Glory!

Find Peace and Be Well!

Day 7 Share Your Story

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Tip #6 Set Your Heart Toward Peace

Good Morning Peace Seekers! Day 6 of our #loveme2peace campaign and I am so excited about the wonderful feedback that I’ve been receiving. Thank you all for reading the posts, being engaged and sharing the content with your family and friends. By the time we finish this campaign you will have a huge PEACEBOOK to refer to for proven strategies and techniques on attracting more peace into your life.

Today I want to focus on the following scripture: 1 Kings 8:18 “However, the Lord said to my father David, since you had your heart set on building a temple for my name, your intentions were good.”

Today’s tip: “Set your heart toward Peace.” In order to create peace your intentions have to be peaceful. In other words, your thoughts, deeds and actions have to be founded on things that are good and pleasing in God’s eyes. You can’t intentionally do wrong to others or have malicious thoughts and expect your life to be blessed. Life doesn’t work that way. Start each day of the week with positive affirmations and prayer and then make it a priority to seek peace in every encounter that you have.

Day 6 My Heart is set on Peace

Find Peace and Be Well.

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Who’s in your Circle?

Proverbs 24:6 After all, with the right strategy you can wage war,
            and with many advisers there is victory.

Screenshot_2016-01-18-15-41-02-1

Surrounding yourself with good people is one of many ways to create peace in your life. When you choose like-minded friends and companions you’re empowering yourself with the gift of “More”! More creativity, more spirituality, more support, more love and more possibilities are just a few of the benefits. There is power in unity but you have to be connected with the right people. As the word says, with the right strategy you can wage war and with many advisers there is victory.

I’ve created a short list of tips that will help you to build a tribe filled with friends who are necessary for your journey through life:

  1. Connect with people who share similar interests as you. Try volunteering at a local non-profit or community event to find people who care about some of the same things that are important to you.
  2. Join a group or organization such as a local book club or bible study group. Conversations about spirituality are a great way to connect with like-minded people.
  3. Get out of the house more! Make it your business to join a gym, take a class or attend local social events to connect with others.

Let’s face it, life is not meant to be lived alone! There is success, peace and power in numbers!

The picture above was taking at the Carolinas Breast House in Charlotte, NC back in December of 2015. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew that I had to connect with people who understood how I felt and those who were just as determined to live and beat the disease as I was. Pictured are just a few of the people that I have had the privilege of connecting with along my journey.

There is strength in numbers.

After you’ve finished reading the blog post, check out today’s podcast. I interview  a dear friend of mine, Rashida Gittens. Rashida is a domestic abuse survivor and she credits her faith and her support system for helping her to find and realize her self-worth.

I invite you to take a listen as two friends hold a candid conversation about the power of being connected to the right people.

Find Peace and Be Well!

Melissa

 

 

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Recognize

Inspired by Genesis 29:17

Hello Peacemakers! Happy Thursday to you. I hope all is well and things are going great for you this week.

If you recall, I published my first book in November of 2015 entitled, From God, With Love.

This book is a culmination of challenges that I’ve experienced and overcome. I share it with the world as a tool for healing and deliverance. The book is doing well, sells have exceeded anything that I could have hoped for so I want to say thank you to everyone who has made the purchase. To those of you who have not, I invite you to head on over to Amazon.com and download this awesome tool. It’s a quick and relevant read. Right now it is only available as an e-book but be on the look out for the upcoming audio book with the companion study guide.

Today I’m going to share one of my featured poems from my book. The poem is entitled Recognize:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

God is the final word.

His lasting decree spoken over me

A young woman of radiance, love and beauty.

Established by the power released from His right hand

Unlocked potential to achieve more than most can

For my reach is far greater than many have seen

I’m secure in myself with high self-esteem

My worth is far greater than rubies and gems

I’m talented and confident, I’m liberated from within

Community is important, I encourage those in need

To live a better life and my advice I pray they heed

Live up to your potential and never settle for less than best

Show up for every challenge and deliver nothing less

Offer all you have to give and your dreams will be fulfilled

Build your life on God’s foundation and your future will be sealed

Accept the blessing of His promise and make an oath to live His way

Grasp the beauty in each moment and always seize the day!

Peace and Wellness,

SuGa

 

 

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What a Year!?!

Greetings to you all! I pray that things are peaceful in your life. This has been quite a year of new opportunities for me. I’ve learned a lot things and lost a few things along my journey but I have to say I am better for it. Hopefully as you reflect over events in the last 12 months of your life you can say that things are a bit better for you as well. I am so focused and determined to embrace all things that celebrate who I am as an individual and release those things that do not serve a worthy purpose for me.

This will be my last blog entry for 2015. For the remaining three weeks of the year, SUGA Wellness Boutique will be closed for the holidays! During this time, I will be celebrating life, loving on my family and thanking God for his favor. I have so much planned in an effort to come back refreshed, revitalized and rejuvenated for 2016!

I will return on January 4th, which is just in time to fill you in on all the latest and greatest offerings from SUGA. As you know I have a Goal Setting and Vision Illumination project coming up on January 9th. I’ve received an overwhelming response to make the event virtual, so we’re going for it! No matter where you are in this big, beautiful world of ours, you will have the option of attending my workshop. Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for more information!

Before I bid you goodbye, I would like to address one final topic for the year:

What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas?

For years I dreaded being a single woman during the holidays. On Thanksgiving night when I would hear the classic song “Silent Night” by the Temptations, I would bawl uncontrollably!! Reason being, I knew that I would be spending yet another Christmas without a companion. Fast forward several years, I married, moved into a picturesque house and still felt lonely. My point is that we cannot depend on people or things to fill a void in our life. Individually we all have to find out what feeds our soul and then we have to do those things! Happiness is something that comes from inside each of us and it is a gift that should be shared with others.

This will be my first Christmas as a divorced woman and I sang “Silent Night” when I heard it come on the radio this year! I was so excited to hear it. I’ve finally come to realize that the peace and love I searched for, was within me all along.

I love you all and I pray that your Christmas is Merry and Bright!

Peace and Wellness,

SuGa

 

 

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Thankful to the Fullest Measure

yes lord

I WISH FOR YOU the happiest Thanksgiving Day that your heart can hold. I pray your day be filled with love, joy and gratitude for those you love and have responsibility over. I hope that you will laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and love a lot deeper. May your troubles be few and your victories countless. I pray that you are filled to the measure with unspeakable joy.

This year I found the joy that I searched for, for so long. It’s awful that it took divorce and cancer to get me straight but it worked! No longer do I devalue myself or discredit my worth. I’ve completed some pretty deep soul searching and I found out that I am a pretty awesome lady and above that, I’m a survivor!

So this year, I am grateful that I still get to be mommy to my beautiful daughter and auntie to my six nephews. I’m thankful that my two brothers can still call and bug me about nothing. I’m thankful that I can call my mama anytime that I want to and listen to her talk about whatever is on her mind. I’m glad that I can still receive the occasional text message from my grandma and answer when my aunt calls me by the nickname “Luc” (short for Lucy). It’s an awesome feeling to understand that all of this could have worked out differently for me, but I’m still here! I’m still living and I still have the ability to answer when my name is called! But most of all, I’m thankful that Jesus Christ saw fit to intercede on my behalf and heal my body of a disease that has claimed far too many lives.

With all this thankfulness and gratitude, I reach back to the next woman who may be feeling discontent about life and confused by current situations. Whatever you may be experiencing right now is only a bump in the road. There is peace and fulfillment on the other side of hurt and fear.

Don’t lose hope and let me know if I can help.

Peace and Wellness,

SuGa

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Protecting Our Elders

Keeping our elders safe is a “peacekeeping” tactic that everyone can embrace. As a community it’s up to each individual to watch out for the safety and well-being of one another. Numerous stories in the media detailing how trusting elderly citizens are falling victim to scams and losing their life savings to the fake promise of love are becoming very prominent. Dr. Phil has featured many of these stories on his show to help raise awareness and equip people with the knowledge of this cruel and heartless scheme.

Sweetheart Scams are known as the act of preying upon a victim for financial gain, while deceitfully promising them love. These cruel acts of intention can be played out online or in person. The perpetrator convinces their victim that they are madly in love and then plays on their emotions to cheat them out of large sums of money. It’s sad to say that many elderly men and women have fallen victim and lost millions of dollars.

The recent story of Georgia Muller caught my attention. Ms. Muller, a great grand-mother who loves to paint and post her pictures on Facebook was targeted by someone online pretending to be the Captain of a ship. The more they communicated with one another the more Ms. Muller developed an emotional bond with the pretend Captain. He would send her poems and love notes and she enjoyed the attention. When the time was right, Ms. Muller was asked to wire several hundred dollars to the Captain. Luckily for Muller her internal instincts alerted her that this was a case of fraud.

My appeal to you today is to become more active in the life of an elderly person. Take a vested interest in your loved ones to ensure that they are not falling victim to the schemes, strategies or plots of the enemy. As the bible says, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities and power in the dark places. The enemy attacks us at our weakest moments and wages an all out war on our self-identity and our emotional being.

Send me a comment and let me know how you plan to become more active with the elders in your family and community.

There are several different ways that the elderly are being deceived out of their money. Some of the tactics that are being used are threats and deceit, pressure tactics, jury scams, computer scams, financial planning scams and home renovation scams.

If you suspect that and elderly family member of friend is in trouble there are three things that you can do to help.

  1. Go to IC3.gov. The FBI runs the site. It lists various scams and even buzzwords to listen for.
  2. Go to FBI.gov.  It also lists scams and how to spot them.
  3. Report your suspicions to the local authorities.
Peace and Wellness,
SuGa
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Identity Crisis

By now, you may have seen the awful pictures that detail the scars and bruises that Nicole Holder suffered at the hands of Greg Hardy. These photos are a terrible reminder of the physical abuse and terrifying situations that many women find themselves faced with daily. Statistics reveal that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women, more than vehicle accidents, muggings and rapes combined. It’s disturbing to know that a woman is abused every 9 seconds and even more disturbing is the fact that 1 in every 5 teenage girl has reportedly been threatened with violence or experienced harm if she decides that she no longer wants to be in a relationship with a boy. Even more shockingly for the Christian body, 25% of Christian homes witness abuse of some kind. Spousal abuse is just as common among church goers as it is with everyone else.

So what can we do? There are tons of causes, organizations and awareness campaigns that are aimed at raising awareness for domestic violence. As a society, WE ARE EXTREMLY AWARE. We have the desire to create change, knowledge of the issue but we lack the ability to make real change and challenge what is seen as normal in many households. I’m under the opinion that we need to introduce some type of identity intervention program to challenge those beliefs and misconceptions that women and young girls hold about themselves, while we deal with the issue of abuse.

Truth is, we have to recognize things for what they are. Human beings are experiencing a lack of love and compassion toward one another, and this goes against everything that God says in his Word. Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

As heirs of Christ, our identity is established in love. Until we are able to deal with those issues that make us doubt our ability to love others and the things that keep us from fully receiving love, we will always have the issue of domestic violence

“If I were your enemy, I’d devalue your strength and magnify your insecurities until they dominate how you see yourself, disabling and disarming you from fighting back, from being free, from being who God has created you to be. I’d work hard to ensure that you never realize what God has given you so you’ll doubt the power of God within you.” (Excerpt from, Fervent, A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer).