Insert foot in mouth

I will admit that one of my biggest struggles is controlling my mouth. I can think of all kinds of lovely things to say when I am mad, hurt, or just down right pissed off. A lot of the time I will say what I am feeling with absolutely no filter. Over the years I have become aware of this and tried to tame the beast, but once in a while it rears its ugly head. Today was one of those days.

I got news from my friend earlier today telling me that one of her friends she has had since 3rd grade passed away from cancer. She left behind a husband and baby who is not even one years old. This broke my heart. I had been highly aggravated from some of the days events, but this just stopped me in my tracks. All the anger and frustration from these little, ridiculous issues calmed down and I realized how dumb it all really is in the long run. How selfish am I? I should be thanking God for this very day and appreciating the fact that my almost one year old isn't going to lose her mommy to such an awful disease, and instead little nonsense stuff is burdening my thoughts.

This information sobered my mind and I realized that I don't need to defend myself or my family to anyone. All the judgements that people put on me are just going to fall at their feet. I am not going to throw my pearls before swine. No more. I am not going to open my big fat mouth even when I have something that I think is REALLY good. I know that I have placed my life, health and family in God's hands and at the end of the day he will fight for me, and do a much better job.

Beautiful you.

Women these days have such distorted physical images. Many people blame it on Hollywood, or the media, and this is all legitimate, but I think the real problem lies within ourselves. We are constantly comparing ourselves to someone else. We can never be content with who we are because there is always someone better.

Today I was in the grocery store and this lady says to me, "Wow, you are gorgeous." I was caught off guard  at first and said thank you, but it was a genuine compliment and made me feel really good. Now, if I had the same comment from a man I would have probably said thanks and quickly moved the other direction. I realized that the best kind of compliment is one that comes from a woman. Why? She will not gain anything from it. She is confident enough in herself and has enough to share.

What if we as women all decided to start loving ourselves, and seeing beyond our insecurities? What if we could see someone beautiful and instead of being envious, appreciate their beauty and be comfortable enough to tell them? I bet women as a whole would be a lot more secure if they heard a genuine compliment once in a while. Don't get me wrong, it is always great to hear my husband tell me I am beautiful, but there is something special about hearing it from a total stranger.

Ladies, I challenge you!! Next time you see a pretty girl, tell her in your own way. It will take you out of your comfort zone, but I guarantee it will empower her and make her day! Confidence is contagious, pass it on!