My Journey: From Logic’s Grip to Faith’s Freedom

For the past year and a half, I’ve been on a profound spiritual journey with the Lord. I’ve granted myself grace to let it unfold naturally—a process that involved plenty of trial and error. Flipping through my journal now, I see the raw struggles: the internal wrestling between logic and faith that kept me up at night. Logic craves explanations, demands answers to every “why.” Faith, though? It trusts. It hopes and believes, even without seeing the evidence.

This clash traces back to childhood. To cope with daily trauma behind our home’s closed doors, I leaned hard on the logical side of my brain. Secrets no child should endure forced me to mask my emotions, burying them so deep I couldn’t even access them for guidance later in life. Making sense of the chaos meant analyzing it logically: understand the “whys,” hide the pain, and pretend it away. I’m sharing this to explain why a logical lens has dominated my mindset—and maybe yours too. Perhaps you’ve never realized how this analytical filter shapes (or limits) how you see the world.

The dam broke on a sweltering Texas summer day. I was driving home, trailing my husband on his newly tuned Harley, the air thick with heat. Leading up to it, I’d been devouring faith-based podcasts, grappling with my identity, coping mechanisms, and survival strategies—all built on logic. I’d just ended a call with an Alongside Nurse prepping me for my first dose of DMT (a treatment I’d sworn off but finally accepted to fight the autoimmune disease diagnosed three years earlier). My husband’s gentle words still echo: “I think you should try the meds. Your body could use the extra help right now.”

In that moment, I realized I couldn’t do it all alone—no matter how stubborn I was. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it (and honesty check: we always do at some point). But back to the call—I was wrecked. Disappointed in “bowing down” to medication after vowing natural healing only. Why now? Why this chronic illness? God! Hot tears streamed as frustration boiled over. Finally, I confessed what I’d buried: “I don’t trust you, God!”

There it was—raw honesty. Now He could work. The Holy Spirit began uprooting that deep lie of distrust. My wrestling softened from a grip to horseplay. “But I want to trust You,” I whispered. And so it began: little by little, I let go of logic as my idol, my false truth, my substitute god. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

I’d love to say transformation hit by fall—haha, nope. Emotional turmoil lingered, but I pressed on. I surrendered running life on my terms, ditching logic’s dictation for grace-fueled living. One day, one moment at a time. I dropped what I’d clung to: setting tough boundaries with loved ones, even stepping away from two ministries I’d poured myself into. In hindsight, I was shedding hides and retreating to a cave for healing. Weeks blurred into months—a full season. Just over a year since that confession, I’m still releasing logic for faith: trusting He holds the answers, freeing me from masking my true self.

In this season, it means slowing down, hushing external noise. Chasing logical “evidence” exhausts you—bombarding your mind with facts, or burying issues in busyness to avoid facing them. I promised myself grace to just be. No fixing flaws I hated, no overanalyzing. Live present: this moment, then the next. Until distractions crept in—meh, work in progress, right?

This summer brought the freedom I’d craved. I stopped self-demands, ditched expectations, quit performing for validation. My husband’s extended leave (a blessing from his company’s foster care support) catalyzed it all. We manage our foster child together, and his 12 weeks off felt like a gift.

Imagine life on a rigid routine, where alone time was your only relief to logically dissect shortcomings. Imagine believing unmet goals meant total failure—a downward spiral. Interruptions used to crush me: restart, do better, be better. Yada yada.

But after his first four weeks off—leaving me 5 pounds heavier, out of shape, house chaotic—I shifted. The next chunk? Pure enjoyment. I told the devil to shut up, kicked back, and savored lunches out, DQ Blizzards (worth every calorie!). No fear of his return or mental chaos.

Slowing down with him was a soul vacation. How to carry it forward? By releasing body image obsessions and cardio guilt, I stopped fixating. Truth hit: All we have is now. Yesterday’s gone; tomorrow’s not promised. Why obsess over future shame or past regrets? What’s the point?

Slowing down isn’t stagnation—it’s beholding the moment, making it count. We’re passengers in these earthly bodies. Why rush monumental tasks? Logic bosses us, craving control. Faith invites imagination, carefree presence.

Choosing Faith Today: Your Turn

I’ve decided: Let logic go. Manage time and energy by faith—it creates space to slow down.

How about you? Live the rest of today trusting God’s goodness and love. He values you without checklists or performance. He’s after the love He’s placed in you—steward that well.

What’s one way you can release control today? Share in the comments—I’d love to hear your story.

Much love,

Leigh Leigh

Full of life

Thought provoking question for you!

It is officially SummEr Time! Wooot, Wooot! ☀️

Thought Provoking question: If I am full of life and you are full of life in this present moment….then what are we doing with it?

Reflection from my perspective: I am cleaning out the cobwebs of the things that are not important, and don’t add value to my life. This list includes social media. I have a Scentsy side Business, so obviously I need a social marketing network connection so I can’t just jump off the bridge and delete the account. I have discovered thumbing down social media threads leaves me entertained and or excited but it’s only temporary, or I feel uninterested, annoyed, and………. with each passing second I without fail become olDeR!!! Sorry folks to disappoint, but I am NO time traveler. (That would be cool though!) I also would like to be more disciplined in writing. It is one of my creative outlets. I need to focus on letting go of toxic relationships and actually pour more into the cups of my family and friend relationships. I need to continue to pray for a positive renewed mind each morning and through out the day. I don’t have time to waste my life thinking things that do not align to the word of God. (So there goes all the complaining). I need to just keep pursuing Joy, and find things that make me laugh and smile and purposely surround myself with these things.

Your reflection from your perspective: You fill in the blank in the comments if you so wish, or privately answer on your own! 😜

Quarantine and Personality Type Tests

My quarantined heart has been receiving an overhaul the past two weeks!

I did finish my spring cleaning, and managed to escape my mini melt down from my last blog post.  My wheels have been spinning for about two weeks now. That restless feeling has creeped back inside my mind, that one that bullies me into starting a thousand projects because I feel like I must be doing something, anything but sitting still. So, with that being said, I have started about 4 doodle drawings, made beaded bracelets to give away, and I started what is going to be huge granny square crochet blanket. While all these creative outlets are being opened one by one, there is also this desire to write a book or really pursue my writing with my blog. Welcome to the secret life of Me! I am all over the place diving into new projects but never able to finish one. Ha, Look at this blog for example. My heart is to be consistent and really develop a voice, but I lose interest. I have learned through taking a personality type test that I am very FEELINGS driven. If I lose interest or no longer associate happiness with what I am doing, I must then move on and start something else. But I must stop this madness! I must try and attempt to be consistent and finish a project I have started! This will be one of the biggest challenges for me, as it is deeply rooted into the design of my personality type.

I would like to encourage you to at some point this quarantine to take a personality test and start to get to understand what makes you uniquely you! There are many different personality types. I went to http://www.16personalities.com and took a free test. I think these results are interesting because they have been so spot on, however with that said, I don’t believe that just because this test gives in depth information of our personalities we don’t necessarily have to continue to behave this way forever. I would just use the test results as a healthy self evaluation of yourself, and to better understand how others may perceive you. I find it fascinating that God has created us all each unique and one of a kind, and he uses every aspect of our personalities to love those who are in our lives. Think about how boring the world would be if we all looked, acted, felt, processed, thought, loved, and responded to others the same way!

For me learning that my personality type entails believing that I can make this world a better place is a huge validation to this restlessness I was talking about above, and the drive behind it all. I am just wired to always have the need to encourage, help, and fix things and people around me. I now also understand why it hurts me deeply when some people just refuse to let me help them and reject me.

If you find things about your personality type that you don’t like, you can take it to the Lord in prayer and have him walk you through changing whatever it is you don’t like. The Holy Spirit will always guide and reveal things to your heart out of love. If you have trust issues, or control issues, you can take these to the Lord and exchange them with his faith, his love, his control, his safety, his provisions, his guidance, etc.

Just know moving forward when you read my content, it is shaped through the lens of a woman who truly loves people, and truly wants to help encourage you! It is my hearts desire for you that you would be drawn to Jesus and grow deeper in your relationship with him.

❤️ Ash’Leigh Harris

Live a life fully dedicated to God

Exciting

Journal entry April 15, 2020

These scriptures come from John 17.

Passion Translation Bible.

Jesus dedicated his existence to God to save us! In return we get this awesome opportunity and privilege to dedicate our lives to God as well so that we may lead others to Jesus, the Savior! ✝️👑🔥❤️

Ramblings of a Quarantined Heart

Journal entry: April 13, 2020

Where there is no vision, the people perish; Proverbs 29:18

I have a vision. A vision that overwhelms me!

This reset has had me restless if you will. What should I be reflecting on Lord? What do I need to let go? I keep praying, waiting on the answers.

The thought occurred to me this morning that I am busy, I am so busy, but the reality of this issues is I MAKE MYSELF and KEEP MYSELF Busy ON PURPOSE. I am always searching, always looking, never able to find rest. Do you feel this way?

Let me clarify. I am not even necessarily busy doing things of importance. Busy checking social media, busy occupying my day with things that stimulate me, busy snacking, and busy keeping myself entertained.

So as I look around my home this morning I am starting to feel like I am becoming suffocated because of my business.. My loose ends, my unattractive flaws of always having my hands in something for the sake of feeling in control are officially caving in on me, and I am about to SCREAM!

But I don’t know how to stop!! I don’t know how to not keep my self busy doing things to keep me busy for the sake of it. I do not know how to simply this life I live. I am clueless, I am dumb. I need help!

I need to absorb some grace for this in this season. I need prayer for this vision, and wisdom to be guide.

More to come!

 

Shelter in Place

Journal entry 3/26/2020

The World has gone Mad!

Journal entry 3/26/2020

The World has gone Mad, we are experiencing a toilet paper shortage crisis, and Moms and Dads across the country are trying to not lose their ever loving minds and their patience homeschooling their children.

We have been hankered down in our home for almost 2 weeks now. I technically have not been to work, and the children have not attended school for almost 3 weeks now! Our spring break was just about wrapping up, when our School District announced we were not allowed to return until April 6th. I just received a letter this morning that we are now not allowed to return until April 13th. We shall see if this continues to get pushed back or not in a few weeks I suppose!

For documentation purposes I must state the reason our world has been flipped upside down is because of this little nasty virus called COVID-19. When first released in China the media was calling it the Corona Virus, but now we call it COVID-19. There has been speculation that this virus came from a bat. I however believe that this was man made in a lab, and used as a bioweapon to attack the general population of the world!

Maybe in the near future truth will be revealed, until then, I will just keep trucking along doing my part to not spread it.

I have been making good use of my time in worship and prayer, keeping up on the house work and laundry, homeschooling my daughter because my son has outgrown my help with his Middle School education, doodling, reading, taking walks outdoors, sleeping in, working a little from home, enjoying time with my kids at home; think movies, puzzles, games, cooking, etc.

I plan on dropping some pretty cool to me revelations I have received over the past year from the Lord. They are safely stored on my phone, patiently waiting for me to edit and transfer here onto my blog, aka their SPOT LIGHT!

I would love to hear how this historic time in our lives has effected you personally and what you are doing to stay sane not being able to have the freedom to do what you normally would do; work, shop, seek entertainment, etc. Please drop a comment below, and as always, feel free to follow me on Instagram.

Wasting your time

Value of the present

If there is one thing I feel like God has been trying to teach me in the past year it is the value of time, but not only that, specifically the value of time in the present. Your present tense right now, not this afternoon, or next weekend, but right now, right here in this very moment. Each breath that is taken before each exhale is precious and it is purposed for this moment. Sadly most people don’t realize the importance of the present to actually spend their time wisely and earn a dynamite return on their investment if time was money.

You see when we are waiting for the big dreams to happen we put so much stockpile into savings, hoping that when the big moment happens we will cash out all we have in exchange for happiness. Meanwhile, we are hoarding what we could be given along the way. When God gives you a dream don’t you think he will supply all your needs until payday comes?

Do you feel like you are always anticipating what is on the horizon? Are you fastened in feeling that your missing your purpose today?

Ask yourself these questions:

What can I do at this moment to glorify God?

What can I do at the moment to share Christ’s love with others?

Even the cheapest thing you own, a smile, can change another’s attitude and make their day! No matter what you may believe each time you share love you are bringing the Father glory!

❤️-Ash’Leigh Harris

Freedom in the hurting

Dear Girl who has been hurt by people over and over again, this post is for you.

I pray right now that the Lord would move over your heart and your mind as you read these words because you are so fearlessly authentically made by God the creator of the whole universe; the one who spoke it all into existence with the sound of his mighty voice, and you my sweet girl are no accident, you were created for a heavenly eternal purpose.

We have an enemy on earth who comes to kill steal and destroy , but Jesus came to give you life, true life to the full! With out accepting Christ in your heart (no offense) but, you along with me, and everyone else is literally the walking dead.

“O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.”

Psalms 10:17-18 ESV

The walking dead are who the Bible calls orphans, or the fatherless. God wants to adopt you and make you his daughter. I know it may sound crazy but until we receive Jesus Christ in our hearts we are missing the inheritance that is from our Heavenly Father God and what his son died so brutally for us to obtain and use! Freedom from your past and true freedom from the pain caused by others is included in your inheritance!!!

God can supernaturally heal every brokenness inside of you in the blink of an eye!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:3-14 ESV

I’m actually really excited you have reached a place to where you can experience the pain caused by others. I had a lot of pride and it hindered me from allowing God to heal my hurts and pains once and for all. It’s okay and normal to feel the consequences of actions caused by others, what’s not okay is to stay in that hurt and live in a victim mentality!

(Not saying you are.)

Father God I pray right now Lord that you would allow her to feel your presence and your love as you are calling her out of the darkness and pain and into the light of your loving arms. The arms of a father who will never ever let us down, you promise a Good plan for our lives, you promise to never leave us nor forsake us, father I pray that if she doesn’t know your son Jesus that you would remove any confusion Satan has blinded her heart and mind with and receive your love, your light, your joy, your happiness, and peace that passes all understanding.

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Romans 10:9-11, 13 ESV

Father I pray she would accept your invitation to be adopted by you and receive a life of freedom through your son Jesus! In Jesus name I pray, amen!

Wrestling with Silence

Silence….

Something that can sound so beautiful to an over worked, under appreciated, and over frazzled Mom.

I look forward to moments of silence.

Moms you know that awkward but yet peaceful silence that comes after the last child leaves your sight racing to the School doors. The peaceful silence that follows a loud and busy weekend, after the last child is tucked into their big cozy bed.

The silence of just being alone. It’s golden.

However lately I have been wrestling with the silence in my head.

I wanted to pursue my passion for writing.

I wanted to pursue a deeper intimate relationship with Christ.

I wanted to accomplish some goals in the gym.

I have prayed Freveretly over all these ambitions, these wants and desires I would like to see come to completion.

But nothing…

Just silence in my head.

I know even when I don’t feel like God is listening, He is always there.

I know that even when my mind is silent, I still have creativity bottled inside.

I’m at the tip of the hard and bumpy diving board. Bouncing slowly as I gain my momentum to take the plunge into the heavy waters of faith.

Silence for now. Silence as the crowds await as the diver plunges off the diving board to make a beautiful specitical of flips and spins we only dare dream of making, falling ever so gracefully as to not even make a big cannon ball splash upon entry of the cool pool.

Silence now… Waiting… Getting the courage up.. For the special performance followed by the loud rip roaring cries of the crowd when we finally dare to go all the way! Shouts and hand claps!!

Maybe your ecstatic crowd is a loved one, family, a friend, or maybe the crowd is just you.

Silence…

Maybe it isn’t just a bad thing after all wrestling with the unknown of what lies before us.

Maybe it’s God’s ways of making us become still and know he is God and he is in control.

❤️

24 Hours of NO COMPLAINING Challange completed

 

 

3set

Let me first say, there were ample amounts of moments where I literally had to force my hands over my mouth to keep quiet!

I witnessed a little anxiety along with slight anger rising up in me yesterday as I completed tasks on my to do list with four children. So what did my day look like exactly? Let me explain!

7:10am I woke up to a text message from my dear Step Son. He didn’t make it to practice this morning and had requested a ride to the gym at 6:50am. I did not receive this message because I was off in dream land. When I hurried to get ready to take him, he decided it was too late and didn’t want to go.

I also woke up with this huge painful bump on my left arm pit (What? Really who gets a bump on their arm pit?) I shrugged it off, oh well, it will eventually go away I decided. No complaining over a painful bump.

8:41am After closing my notebook after writing my blog vowing to not complain for the next 24 hours, I grabbed my phone to check the email.  My phone had completely froze as in it was not powering on at all. In a panic I began to push buttons to reset it, nothing, it was lifeless. I know it wasn’t dead because I had like a 86% charge when I woke that morning. I kind of chuckled to myself and proceeded to plug it up, of course it came on and I was able to check my email.

I spent the next 3 hours cleaning my home. We just returned from a week and a half vacation and I do not clean on VACATION! 😉 The house was very much out of order and needed lots of TLC on my part to nurse it back to a soft place to land for dear Husband when he would arrive home from work in the afternoon. During the course of these three hours I got to listen to my children complain about several things. I just kept going, kept positive, and focused on completing the house cleaning. While I was cleaning up the living room, my cat, Thaddeus, decided he wanted to act like a crazy monkey while I was vacuuming. He jumped on the table beside my couch and knocked over my new lamp. As it went crusading to the floor, I thought, NOOOOO, please, please don’t tell me it broke. He has never done this before. I knew right away it was a trap to get me to stumble. I quickly set the lamp up and proceded to straighten the metal part the lamp shade sits on. It was very crooked after the fall. The lamp shade was going to survive the fall. (yea!)

*I should have recorded this with a picture, but my camera was in the other room and of course taking a picture was the last thing on my mind!

I surived the complaints my children made over the lunch I prepared for them. “I didn’t want ham, I wanted turkey.” “Mom, she got more chips then me!” The list of complaints continued. I gritted my teeth, and smiled. After all it was just 12 o’clock, I got this I thought to myself! Piece of cake!

Then it happened, you know the realization of knowing you have to take your taking children into PUBLIC and removing your children from the confined walls of their fortress! If your a Mom then you know what I am talking about. Once you escape your safe fortress your children turn into the creatures you can’t quiet recognize in public settings, the Nice Mommy face comes on and they know they are about to get away with murder!!!

 Yes I was about to attempt the unthinkable………….Doctor appointment with four KIDS!

waiting

 

Dear Step Son had to get his Physical for the upcoming football season so we got to wait on him for about 45 minuets. Incase you are wondering when we left this building it was around 2:15pm. I got to literally listen to my 7 year old Son complain for the whole duration of the wait. “Mom, I am so bored. There is nothing to do here!” I am not exatruting when I say, this rant was repeated over, and over, and over again. The anxiety was about to start setting in. Could I sit here and watch them make the waiting room into their own personal circus ring? I mean a few fish in a tank can only occupy these crazies for so long! LOL Crazies because that is what they turn into when you take them to a waiting room! Although I am very proud of myself. I feel like I kept my composure and with the exception of my 7 year old, no one was embarrassed. We survived and no Mommy complaints. ZIIIING!

Our public outings where not complete after the doctor visit. Now it was time to tackle the Grocery Shopping for this week! Again, as a Mom, you know how well behaved your children will act while Mommy shops diligently and gracefully for groceries. (HA)

store

 

I believe this shopping experience lasted about 45 minuets. I did however have the lovely opportunity to have my dear Step Son step on my flip flop, causing me to almost face plant right smack on the floor, however I am thankful to add that there was no planting of my face that day. One flip flop went flying out infront of me, and my other foot got a boo boo where the flip flop thong rubs against your big two and that toe beside it, right in front of two Ladies having a conversation in the middle isle of Wal-Mart. Mean while I can hear something of the sounds of Dear Step Son yelling “OH flat tire, and Sorry!”  Needless to say I was embarrassed as I hurried to grab my shoe and place it back on my foot, so I could go hide in a hole somewhere. I Didn’t react to it, I was just ready to be checked out and headed home.

Parking lot, shoes, Bubble Gum. Yup you guessed it. Can you believe that on the way to the car I actually stepped in ABC Gum? LOL (Already been chewed) I remember ABC gum was a topic back in my childhood days. Sorry, getting off track focus Ash’Leigh! FOCUS! It just all seems so humors to me now! 🙂

gum

 

When I took my first step and it stuck for a slight three seconds longer to the pavement, I knew I had felt that heavy sensation before. I had stepped in bubble gum. As you can notice from the image above, I didn’t just step in gum! No, this gum was apparently alive and decided to JUMP on my flip flop. It was a sticky mess. Immediately I just laughed. Not a little chuckle or a giggle, no this was like a Panic Laugh. I think I really wanted to cry but all I knew to do was laugh! Laugh hard, loud, rambunctiously. It had quickly become a very stressful day, but I REFUSED to give up on my challenge! I scrapped my shoe across the parking lot, hopped in my car, and drove home.

photo 4 (6)

 

Here are my kids leaving the store, as you can see after the doctors appointment and grocery shopping trip they were as worn out as Momma was!

3 O’clock was our present living time. I gave a 60 minuet warning to my girls to finish cleaning the upstairs. Mind you this was a task that they had been working on all morning and still was not even half way complete!

4O’Clock Yea my Husband is home from a hard days work. This is where I needed to pull out the tape to tape my mouth shut because there is just something wired in a woman to want to spew every hardship she encountered that day with the children while Daddy was away. I smiled, grinned, kissed, and hugged him, keeping my lips super glued.

This took a lot out of me, but it was do able!

photo (22)

5pm Gym time. I encountered my friends that I haven’t seen in over a week and a half.  It was so nice to talk to each one of them. However, I picked up very quickly how hard it was not to complain about something that had happened over the trip, or anything else for that matter. We are quick and sneaky with our complaints. Heck, half the time I don’t even realize we are saying them. But again, I quickly focused on other things to talk about and kept it positive! No complaining from me! 🙂

7pm dinner and baths.

10pm BED!

I woke up this morning at 5:20am to make my husband a lunch for his day. I had to wake my smaller children up around 6:30 to take big brother to summer strength and conditioning practice. I prayed, prayed, and prayed God would give me the strength this morning to make it until 8:40am. It was quiet hectic early morning and so to my surprise, when my daughter used my kitchen towel to clean up some cat poop that some how made its way on her leg,

I lost it! Out it came.. “Why do you always get Momma’s good things dirty!! I use this to dry my hands off in the kitchen while I am preparing meals. NASTY!!”

How she even got cat poop on her leg is way beyond my reasoning at this point. I knew I had just complained out loud!

But guess what!?

It was 9:00am WHEW

I MADE IT!!!!

 

I will blog tomorrow about my reflection of this challenge. I have learned so much and I most certainly recommend everyone to take this challenge. If you took this challenge with me and were successful I want to know! If you weren’t successful I want to know too! Did you learn anything more about yourself or others?

Don’t forget to stay in touch! Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/leighleighspeaks Tweet me http://www.twitter.com/ash_leighharris or sign up for email updates on new posts here!

xOxO

-Leigh Leigh

 

Why keep a Journal?

journal_

 

I journal A LOT!

I don’t really use my journal for a record of my daily life or the physical events that took place that day. I usually journal more about the journey of my spiritual life. I record my feelings, emotions, events that would change my circumstances, and the reactions to these life changing moments that happen every single day. I record what the Holy Spirit is guiding me through, or teaching me. I have learned that I can really see how God is moving in and through my life as I glance back and read forward.

It is a great way to learn more about myself. After all, I didn’t create me and I love the fact that the bible tells us that God knows us better then we even know our own selves. We shouldn’t be so quick to trust our own hearts and our own feelings. Feelings are fickle and change instantly. When I journal my reactions and feelings it helps me in the future how to better handle a situation more gracefully. You would also be surprised at how much God speaks to us every day through the word, devotionals, social media, friends, songs, etc.. I am sure to record all these little messages as well!

I am warning you this can also bring light to your nasty little monsters that live inside!!! You know, jealousy, bitterness, strife, envy, anger, unforgviness, but that is a good thing because in order to KILL a monster you gotta STARVE it to DEATH! :0) When I journal I can quickly see what is in my heart as I am spewing it out onto the paper. This is a good time to reflect and pray for what ever area I am struggling in. My hope is that by sharing with you some very intimate truths about me and my life that you may be able to see the truths in yours and let the Holy Spirit guide you through the same issues you might be facing.

There is beauty in all of our messes!

xOxO

-Leigh Leigh

BEWARE…Trap straight ahead

Yes you can count on it! If you start to become self centered or self absorbed, you will fall into the trap of SELF PITY!

trap

The Self pity trap, we have all been there and been caught in that! Well, at least I know I have been. It’s actually quiet embarrassing to admit when we are snatched up in it, but thankfully I realized today that I had fallen and I needed some help getting out! I can’t even believe I let myself fall into it in the first place. Self pity doesn’t tend to be a little hole, nope its usually more like a gigantic crater we get stuck in and we never know for sure how to get out of it because its so big and monstrous in size we don’t realize we fell in to begin with.

Let me be a little more specific. It all happened about a few weeks ago. Well let’s back up to Easter. I was on a really good work out regimen, I was very strict with my eating and the inches were falling off. I was running daily and felt very good.  My husband took a leave of absence from his job, and I started back full time at my part time job. My life was completely thrown out of my regular routine and it completely through me for a loop! I lost my motivation to stick to my diet, I lost my self control, I lost my discipline! I did however continue to work out as much as I could! The scale started going up, and my self esteem started crashing down. My jeans felt a little more snug. I also have a extremely bad habit of stress eating. I was stressing because I was trying to juggle it all with he husband home. Who knows how much stuff really gets completed when the husband is home!?  Yeah, that is right, nothing!! 🙂 I am not complaining though, I have loved every extra minuet I have spent with him over the last month!

 

Stop

 

The words coming out of my mouth were harsh and criticizing about myself, and I had finally had ENOUGH of my own self. I’m sharing this all with you to help you dig yourself out of the hole you might have accidentally fallen into as well! So here we go. Let’s dig out together!

 

 

hole

 

 

Tips to climb out of the monster hole of SELF PITY:

  1. Take a moment to put YOURSELF in CHECK!!! It sounds a little something like this, “Girl I don’t know who you think you are, but seriously, you really need to get over yourself! All we have thought about lately is you, you, you. I look fat, I don’t feel good, I am a loser for quitting, I always quit, I just can’t do anything right, I have no self control, whaa, whaa, whaa!” Repeat after me, “THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND ME !”
  2. Have a come to Jesus talk. When I have a come to Jesus talk mine start off like this, “Dear Lord, please forgive me for being so negative and critical of myself lately. I know it has turned into self pity and I know that you do not want me stuck in that self destructive mind set….etc…” Talk to Jesus and let him know that you are struggling right now and that you need his help. Self control is a fruit of the spirit, just start watering that seed that you already have inside your soul! You are not a loser, you are a child of the ALL MIGHTY and everything he makes is GOOD! Confess out loud that you are an overcomer and you will rise above this self centeredness, self doubt, and self pity. Remember you can do all things through Christ who gives your strength. (Confess that out loud as well.)
  3. Forgive yourself and move forward. I may have skipped out on morning runs and made choices to eat everything in sight, but it stops right now. I am consciously aware that I have a self centered problem which leads to self pity and I will not be stuck in that mind set any second longer.
  4. Don’t forget self pity is a trap that Satan uses to keep you down and insecure which makes you powerless and useless in God’s Kingdom. You do not have to be insecure, because you are a child of God and you do have the power given to you by the Holy Spirit to say, “Get the behind me Satan your sorry lies will not take up residence in my mind any longer!”

Psalm 51:12 ESV

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

 

Self pity steals your beauty and it starts to make you ugly, but it starts from the inside and transfers it’s way to the outside. Joy will come back to you if you are willing to dig yourself out!

DON’T LET YOUR BEAUTY GET STOLEN!!! 😉

 

BIG HUGS,

Leigh Leigh

 

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