Hi All! I am so excited about this free printable 7-Day Mindful Planner! Oh how mindfulness has changed my daily life. I mean…on the days I remember to embrace mindfulness and focus on the presence of God, I am so much more relaxed, and I make better choices. The days I forget to be mindful are a different story. My mindLESS days are a stressful blur and my choices…well, let’s just say I usually want a do-over by the end of the day.
I realized I needed to make mindfulness a priority so I decided to develop the 7-Day Mindful Planner.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
I love this planner!
The Mindful Planner
What is Included in this Planner?
The first page of the planner provides a mindfulness daily quick reference. Then the following pages include daily mindful Bible verses, space to include mindful exercise, as well as space for meal planning (mindful eating is a huge part of mindfulness).
My favorite part of the planner, however, is the mindful gratitude journal space. (A grateful attitude is also a huge part of mindfulness). In this section, you can reflect and write about the best parts of your day. What a fun way to end your day!
You can download and print as many of these free sheets as you need! I like to print enough for a month, and put them in a pretty binder.
The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook
The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook not only includes more mindful eating strategies and techniques, but this ebook also includes a detailed freezer meal plan and weight loss guide!
The “What is Preventing You From Living a Healthier Life?” interactive quiz
Mindful eating techniques and guide
A Complete Healthy Freezer Meal Plan: You will learn how to cook all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a whole month in ONE day. Don’t worry, I don’t just give you a bunch of recipes and tell you to cook them in one day. The ebook includes strategies and “Pro Tips” on HOW to efficiently cook your meals in one day.
The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:
More daily free time,
A decreased grocery bill,
Healthier meals for the whole family,
Less daily stress, and
Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance
Learn more about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook here.
“I have lost 17 pounds since I started eating these freezer meals. They are healthy AND taste great!!! We are now eating at home more, which has made a huge difference!” Chad, South Carolina
“As I read this book, I kept thinking, ‘this is so much more than a freezer meal cookbook! Lacy needs to be a life coach! She has such a positive outlook on life!’ “The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is so uplifing and encouraging!” Wendy, South Carolina
“I can actually see a decrease in my grocery bill since I started eating these freezer meals, and my kids love them! We are eating healthier now. Plus, we are eating more meals together as a family!” Nicole, South Carolina
Click here to learn more about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook
This article has been updated and is an adaptation from a chapter in 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This unique book was written by Lacy Ngo, a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit.
Before the Desperate Prayer
“I love you, God….”were the words that randomly pop in my head…except replace the word love with hate and you get what I actually thought. I still can’t bring myself to write it out. I never said those terrible words out loud. Even the thoughts I controlled were things like, “I love you, I trust you” and any other words I thought would “convince” God to heal my 8 year old son. I thought perhaps I could say the “right” things to MAKE God listen and intervene. We are suppose to praise God in the storm, right? But what happens if one day, you don’t praise God in the storm? This is a true story about a time when I prayed a desperate prayer, and how God answered.
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The Desperate Prayer
“I am So Sorry for My Thoughts, God”
I was eating breakfast that day those awful thoughts swiftly and briefly passed through my head. As soon as those words ran through in my head, I immediately panicked and said, “I didn’t mean that, and I am so sorry God. I DO love you.” And I was telling the truth. I did truly love God. In fact, I loved God so much that it hurt. In truth, I would not have been so upset with God if I didn’t love God soooo much. You know, we get more upset when we feel like the ones we love have abandoned us. I don’t feel nearly as hurt when a stranger does something I dislike, but when a loved one disappoints me…it’s painful.
Basically, I was being a child and having a temper tantrum with my parent. If you are a parent, you have probably heard at least one of your children say, “I hate you.” I know I have heard it a couple of times. When my kids have yelled these words at me, I always knew they loved me. I knew that what my child was really saying was, ‘I am angry and in pain.’ Although I will never stop feeling guilty for thinking those words, I know that in reality I was literally a child lashing out at my parent.
More Thoughts Ran Through My Head…
Quite honestly, those thoughts in my head scared me. I started thinking, “I really don’t want to make God cross with me so I better make sure I am saying pleasing things. I mean, look at all the pain I’m already going through. What more is God going to do to me now that I had this awful thought?!?!”
Please Heal Him
You see my perfectly healthy son developed a medical condition called Bronchiectasis. We battled this illness for 2 years until the doctors decided it was time to remove a lobe of my son’s lung. This surgery would hopefully cure my son’s bronchiectasis. We had the surgery in August of 2017. September was wonderful. My son played soccer and played like he had never had bronchiectasis.
Then in October, he developed a completely unrelated disease called HSP. HSP or Henoch-Schonlein purpura is a disease involving inflammation of small blood vessels. The inflammation causes blood vessels in the skin, intestines, kidneys, and joints to start leaking. My son’s hands and feet swelled and they HURT so badly that he needed to ride in a wheel chair to get to the doctor’s office. He also had bruises all over his feet and legs, and he had to get his kidneys checked regularly.
The scariest thing for me is that this disease could last for as little as 8 weeks to as long as several YEARS, and could potentially cause permanent damage. I just felt like I couldn’t take ANOTHER several years of battling yet ANOTHER condition. My son had just gotten through one, 2 year battle, now he has to go through another?!?! Why is this happening again, I thought?!?!
What Am I Doing Wrong?
It felt like God wanted my son to have a life long condition. It seemed like God was mad at us for trying to get rid of one problem so God gave my son another disease. As if God was saying, ‘Well if you take the bronchiectasis away, then I will just give your son something else.’ I kept thinking, ‘WHAT was I doing wrong? Was God punishing us or attacking my son?’ Yet even as I lacked trust in God, God seemed to never abandon me. I kept having these “goose-bump” experiences that gave me glimmers of hope.
When my son had bronchiectasis, I felt God’s amazing, awe-inspiring love, support and presence. You can read about that awesome experience here.
I Didn’t Put my Trust in God
You would think that I would have had more faith and trust after the bronchiectasis God moment…but I didn’t.
I was so terrified again…and yet again I had another experience that gave me a glimmer of hope.
You see, the day I was so mad during breakfast wasn’t my rock bottom. I was angry, but I still had faith and hope. I still continued to pray for God’s help. It wasn’t until a few days later that I felt like I was losing my ability to cope and function.
The Desperate Prayer
That night I prayed one of the most desperate prayers I had ever prayed. My children had just fallen asleep so I crept into the hallway near them and prayed with desperation and fear. I told God how I was feeling, and I cried, telling God that the pain and stress were just too much. I was not only worried about my son’s physical health, but also his emotional health as well. My son, who had handled the first condition with resilience, had started randomly saying, “I feel sad and I don’t know why.” Well I knew why. Being sick again was taking it’s toll on him.
During this desperate prayer, I talked to God about all of this. I was raw and honest with God about how I was feeling. After I had prayed this fox hole prayer, I went into my son’s room and prayed over him while he slept.
I finally cried myself to sleep…
After the Desperate Prayer
Do you know the next morning my son’s bruises looked even worse! It was Sunday; yet another Sunday we wouldn’t make it to church. We hadn’t been to church in a month because of this painful disease.
By Sunday night, I was a wreck. I was not only angry, but I felt this shift in my faith and not in a good way. Feeling hopeless, I texted my friend. I told her I don’t think asking God for help does anything so I am going to quit asking.
I still loved God, but I didn’t think God was going to help us. Although, I had given up on God for help, God had not given up on me.
God Can Find Ways to Speak to Us
That faithful night I had pleaded to God to listen and answer me, and yet at the same time I didn’t make it easy for God to speak to me. Remember, I hadn’t been to church in a month due to this disease. I also had finished my devotional about 2 months earlier and hadn’t picked out another one yet. In the past, when I was going through something, either a sermon, a devotional or a Bible verse seemed to somehow speak about exactly what I was going through. In other words, when I was actively seeking God, God always seemed to communicate.
But I currently wasn’t reading or listening to anything about God…until that Tuesday.
A Little Background
A while back I had purchased these conversation starter cards as a Christmas present for my children. I always give my children a Christmas present around Thanksgiving. The gift usually has Christmas pjs, a Christmas movie, or Christmas books that the kids can enjoy during the season. I figure, if you wait until Christmas to give these kinds of gifts then they won’t get to enjoy them during the Christmas season.
I planned on putting these conversation cards into this Thanksgiving/Christmas present. One pack was called the The Art of Children’s Conversation and the other set was “The Art of Christian Conversation” starter questions. I love doing children’s devotionals with my family, and we had done similar conversation cards together before. These cards were able to get my children talking and thinking about how they felt. I write about how these cards started amazing talks with my children in this post.
God Does Listen and Answer Our Desperate Prayers
On Tuesday these Christian conversation cards came in the mail. My son was stuck in bed so I decided to give this Thanksgiving present a little early. We opened the present that Tuesday night. We decided to try one of the Christian conversation cards right away.
The first cards we grabbed said, “Have you ever prayed a foxhole prayer like the one Jonah prayed in Jonah 2:1?”
Although I had heard the term before, I decided to look up the actual definition of fox hole prayer. This is what I read: A fox hole prayer is a prayer you pray in utter desperation and fear like soldiers have prayed in the fox hole during war.
I was speechless! ‘What?!?! I just prayed this fox hole prayer, and I am currently struggling with the results of THIS desperate prayer. Because I felt like God was not answering my fox hole prayer, my doubts and fears were overwhelming me!’
Then my next thought was, ‘I wonder what the fox hole prayer was in Jonah 2:1.?”
I frantically looked up Jonah 2:1 which read, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: In my distress I called to the Lord and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry.”
I can barely describe what I was feeling when I read those words, but the first words that comes to mind is utter relief.
Let Me Just Recap for a Moment.
I prayed a fox hole prayer and “in my distress I called to the Lord.” By Sunday night I had decided God wouldn’t answer me. Then the next Bible verse I randomly read was about how God listened and answered Jonah’s distressed “fox hole prayer!”
I was humbled, ashamed, relieved, and encouraged all at once. I doubted that God would answer my fox hole prayer and then I felt like God said, “I will answer and I am answering your fox hole prayer.”
How could it be that the first scripture I had looked up in a month was THIS!
Even When I Fail, God Doesn’t Leave Me
God shows me over and over…and over that God is listening and answering. How quickly I doubt over and over..and over. You know what amazes me the most? God stays by my side even when I don’t deserve it, and God continues to show me love and devotion. God continues to guide me and comfort me no matter how many times I fail. What a comfort to know that whether I say the right things or wrong things, God still loves and leads. Whether I trust God or doubt, God is still comforting me. Again, I go back to the parent/child relationship. Even when our children mess up, we continue to love, comfort, and help our children. Looks like God really does do the same for us.
When my son was first diagnosed with HSP, I tried to pray the “right” things to MAKE God love me, listen to me, and help me. Turns out, even when I said the wrong things, I couldn’t MAKE God STOP loving me, listening to me, or helping me.
Whew, what a relief because although I will continue to try to do what God wants, I KNOW I will continue to fail over and over. I will be selfish sometimes; I will lack trust sometimes; and I will be quick to anger sometimes. And sometimes… I won’t praise God in the storm, but GOD IS CONSTANT.
Update: My son’s HSP has been in remission for 5 months now. Many times HSP never comes back.
About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC
Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation! Ngo is also the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.
Create anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, mood boosting, immune supportive meals that reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote cognitive function, focus, attention, and memory.
This site may contain affiliate links (see full disclosure here)
How to Start a Blog when You Feel Called to Blog
Starting a Blog from Scratch
In Mindfulness in Faith and Food’s call series, I have talked about finding your call by using the clues checklist. I explained how clues, signs, and circumstances lead me to believe blogging was my call. Perhaps you feel like starting a blog is your call as well, but you don’t know where to begin. Don’t worry; I can walk you through the steps I took to start a blog.
When I started blogging, I was starting from scratch. My blog facebook page and pinterest account had zero followers! I didn’t even have a personal Instagram account! I remember looking at my zero followers on my facebook and Pintertest pages and thinking, ‘how am I ever going to get people to read these blog posts? Jump to seven months later, and I am so surprised at how much the Mindfulness in Faith and Food blog has grown. Since I started from scratch, I thought a post about how to start a blog from scratch might be helpful. So here are the steps I took to start a blog from scratch:
Step 1: Pray
I believe we should remember to pray before every choice we make. When I pray, I ask God to lead me and help me know what is the right thing to do. Praying before working on my blog helps me feel closer to God and helps me remember why I started blogging in the first place. I also pray that I am careful with my words and write words that God would want me to write. I am sure I mess up at this sometimes, but I hope that I focus on what God wants me to say instead of letting my emotions, insecurities, and biases rule the blog.
Step 2: Determine your Niche
Your niche is the topic you feel knowledgeable and passionate about. This is the topic you are going to discuss in your blog. Your topic can be broad like “being a mom” or specific like “how to save money with a big family.” My blog is called Mindfulness in Faith and Food, and discusses nutrition as well as what I call my personal “God Moment” stories. I also emphasize the importance of mindfulness in our eating habits and in our faith journey. See why the name fits so well? You will pick your name in the next step.
Along with figuring out your niche, you should probably think about why you want to start a blog in the first place. Knowing why you are blogging will keep you motivated during the times when you aren’t making money or getting as many likes. When you are in a blogging slump, focus on your purpose.
So why are you blogging? Do you just want a place to record your thoughts? Are you hoping to help others by teaching, inspiring, or encouraging your readers? I am hoping my blog provides tools that are helpful to other’s lives, and I hope my ‘God Moment” stories provide hope and encouragement that just maybe God REALLY IS working in our lives TODAY. When times are hard and our faith and hope is weak (I have been there), I cling to these stories. I remember God really DOES care, LOVE us, and is truly INVOLVED in our life.
Step 3: Determine your Blog Name and Domain
After you determine your niche, you need to pick a name. You may want to make a list of possible names in case your first choice is taken. You can use this name to come up with your domain name. This is the blog web address. The web address is sometimes a variation of your Blog name. Fortunately, my blog name wasn’t taken so my blog domain name is www.mindfulnessinfaithandfood.com. I registered my domain name through the hosting company, Bluehost.
Step 4: Pick Your Host Site
I picked Bluehost, and I am so happy I went with them. After researching, I felt Bluehost was the way to go. You can use other free platforms, but if you even think you MIGHT monetize your blog one day, I would go with a selfhosted platform like Bluehost. Self-hosted means you own your blog and the content. I also like Bluehost because I can take care of several steps on one site. I was able to register my domain through Bluehost and install WordPress. Plus you can get your domain name for free if you decide to use Bluehost! Since I was just starting out, I picked the least expensive Bluehost package. I figured ‘why spend a bunch of money before you are making money?’ If you want to look through the great Bluehost plans click here.
Step 5: Install WordPress
Next I installed WordPress. This is WordPress.org NOT wordpress.com. WordPress is a website creation tool. In other words, you build your blog through them. You can install WordPress through Bluehost. You just need to login to your Bluehost account adn click the wordpress icon to install!
Step 6: Select a Blogging Theme
Now that you have WordPress you can play around and customize your blog. You do this on the WordPress Dashboard. I would first select a theme. Again, I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on this blog since I wasn’t making any money yet, so I picked one of the free Themes. I picked the “Twenty Fifteen Theme.” I think this is a nice free theme and seems to work well for blog style websites.
Step 7: Pray and then Write a Post
Again, I pray for me to know what God wants me to say, and that I remember that my true purpose is helping others. Now you can write your first blog posts! I decided to write several posts in draft form before going live with my blog. I wanted my blog to have a little substance and depth before the blog was viewable. Having 4 or 5 post already written before going live just looks nice and more established.
Step 8: Write an ‘About Me’ Page
You don’t have to do this yet, but I think having a place where readers can find out about you and your topics helps establish your blog’s identity. You can always write a short ‘About Me’ page, and go back to make changes as your blog evolves.
Step 9: Add Plugins and Play around with the Appearance of the Blog
Now you have to play with the appearance of your blog and add plugins. A Plugin is software that can add specific features to your blog. Plugins are a BIG part of creating your desired blog, and many plugins are free. I recommend adding plugins for “sharing buttons” so that readers can share, pin, and like your post by simply clicking a button. I used the “Ultimate Social Media” plugin for my sharing buttons. “ImageInject” was one of the first Plugins I added. With ImageInject, I am able to easily search for free images and photos and insert them into my blog.
I also installed a subscriber sign up form through Mailchimp. People sign up to receive email updates whenever I publish a new post. These are just three of the many plugins available.
You are Now a Blogger!
Setting up my blog takes time. I played around in the WordPress dashboard until I was satisfied enough with the blog to go live. I am still often making changes here and there as I learn more and more.
That is it! Now you have a blog! The next steps are to promote the blog and look into monetizing your blog.
So you have a blog, now what?Check out my blogging work schedule to see what things you should be doing each month, week, and day as a blogger.
Did you find this post helpful? Did you decided to go with Bluehost through the links on this blog? If so, let me know so that I can celebrate with you by being one of the first to promote your blog through one of my social media accounts!
This is an adaptation from a story in the book, Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition. You can get the digital copy or the paperback version of the book here.
This post contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here)
Seeing God’s presence today through little signs from God.
I Noticed a Change in Me
After I prayed THAT prayer from part 3… the one when I told God I was ready to do what God wanted instead of what I wanted), I first noticed a change in me.
I truly wanted to know what God wanted me to do each day. Since that prayer, I TRY to remember to pray EVERY morning. Each morning I ask, “God, please help me see the needs of others today.” Do you know God did start giving me little opportunities to serve throughout my daily life? Check out the blog “We Ran Out of Gas” for one example.
I also started trying to pray in the car and pray before I entered any new environment. I started trying to be more mindful of God’s presence in every room I entered. Notice my blog is about Mindfulness? Do you see where all these circumstances are leading?
After Praying THAT Prayer
Because I am more mindful of God’s presence, I have noticed more “God Moments” in my life, and now I have even more “God moments” to share on this blog! If you read part 3, you will remember all of this started because I read a book called The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). This is a fantastic book about a man praying and waiting for God to lead him in almost every aspect of life. I highly recommend reading The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures). Because of this book, I started incorporating prayer and listening to God in my everyday moments. (I truly think God lead me to read this book because God knew the reaction I would have. You can see this story in Part 3)
You can read more specific “God Moment” stories by clicking on the links below:
Should I Share My Personal “God Moment” Stories with Others?
I was so thankful that after saying the big prayer, God seemed to be showing me small ways to serve throughout my day, but I also felt like God was leading me to do something specific (part 3). But what? Would I get any signs from God? While I waited…well, I became impatient. I decided to actively write down a list of some of my accomplishments and talents. ‘Maybe I can use some of my talents to serve God,’ I thought. I jotted down that I enjoy writing and had written nutrition columns for the local newspaper in the past. But how in the world could I use this to serve God? Blogging wasn’t even on my radar at the time.
Still I thought, ‘well I do have several personal God stories that may encourage others. What if I could somehow share some of these personal experiences I have had with God through writing?” Could sharing these personal “God Moments” be my calling? But how would I know that this is something I should do? My goodness, I could do so many different things, how will I EVER know what God thinks I should specifically do?
Signs from God: The Answer is “Yes, Share these Stories.”
Then Sunday rolled around again, and I went to church. Guess what the sermon was about? Our pastor did a sermon on telling your personal call or God story. Well if that wasn’t an answer to my question, I don’t know what was.
In the sermon, the pastor said that a person’s personal call or God story has one of the greatest impacts when you are telling someone about God. In fact, a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about your faith. How amazing that as soon as I thought about sharing my personal stories and experiences with God, our pastor started talking about how important it is to tell YOUR personal story! So I decided I did want to write my personal stories down in one place so that I can use them somehow later.
Another God Moment: Finding the Time to Write
The next obstacle was finding the time to write. You see, I couldn’t write while the kids slept because I slept in the bed with my 3 year old (I know I should never have started that habit, right? I was just so tired of the nightly sleeping battles, and I just gave up. My son would go to sleep easily if I was lying with him. Sigh.)
The problem was that if I got up for anything, even to go to the bathroom, he would wake up and cry, “hold mommy, hold mommy!” How was I going to get up and begin writing again? I wanted to not only write, but also, pray and read God’s word more often. Do you know that when I decided to get up to write, my son didn’t wake up! I was able to write, pray, and read about God while my son slept! Could this be yet another of the many sign’s from God?
Doubt and Fear and then More Signs from God
Now, if I was stronger I would not have needed another nudge from God, but unfortunately fears and doubt began to creep in. I had written some of my stories, but I began to think, ‘do I really want to SHARE these stories with others?’ Just when I started backing away, God called me again. Literally right after I started backpedaling and doubting, two of the sermons talked about answering God’s call and even emphasized telling our own personal stories. The words and phrasing used in the sermons spoke to me so clearly that I had chills. Were all these coincidences signs from God again?
Finally Ready to Take Action
Okay, finally I was willing to take action. I still didn’t know what to do, but since our pastor had inspired the idea, I decided to send my written stories to our pastor. This was a total leap of faith. I don’t normally do things like this. These stories were personal, and I felt silly just sending them to someone. This was several years ago, and I still wasn’t familiar with blogging yet. In fact, the pastor was the one who mentioned blogging. (He is a lot younger and more tech than me 🙂 ) Turns out, the pastor had been contemplating starting a church blog, and he was even more encouraged after I sent in my stories that our church should start the blog. Maybe even the pastor was receiving signs from God?
And so a church blog was started. I became one of the admins for the blog. I didn’t know anything about blogging, but I wanted all the amazing stories from church members to get shared somehow. Church members would send their stories, and I would post. Now church members had a place to share their personal call story. After all, like the pastor said, “a person’s personal story is only 2nd to the Bible when you are trying to tell someone about God.”
More Coincidences: The Leap to Starting MY Personal Blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food”
This church blog was established years ago, but I still never considered starting my own blog. Then two things happened…
I was still writing down all my “God Moments” as well as any lessons I had learned over the years. I decided I wanted to organize all these stories for my children. So I started working on a little book that I would only give to my children. (See there I go, writing again!) I wanted my children to feel inspired and have hope that God is there even in the tough times.
“Hmmm, Should I Start My Own Blog?”
As I was organizing all of this for the book for my children, I thought, “hmm, some of these stories are so encouraging and give so much hope; I wish I could share them somehow. Well, I could start a personal blog? Then maybe a few more people could see all this ‘stuff’ God has done.” Just like most thoughts, at first I didn’t think much of the idea. But the next circumstance would make me think much more seriously about blogging…
Our Church Combined Faith with Nutrition
I was still working on lessons for my children’s book when one day a church staff member asked me that since I am a dietitian I would be willing to become the coordinator of a new church wellness program. The program was called “FAN: Faith, Activity, and Nutrition”. The goal of the FAN program is to promote, encourage, inspire, and provide opportunities for a healthier life within the church. The FAN program focused on helping the whole person: body and soul. I loved how FAN incorporated scripture, spiritual health, and physical health into their messages. I usually didn’t get to incorporate my professional background in dietetics with my faith in this way, and I loved it!
Again, “Hmmm, I Could Start a Blog?”
When I became the FAN coordinator, I dusted off my nutrition materials (I was currently a stay-at-home mom) to see what I could use for FAN. As I was looking through all the handouts, articles, and client books I had developed, I thought ‘this information is not helping anyone just sitting on my computer or in my desk! I need to find a way people can have access to this!’ Again, the same phrase ran through my head, “hmm, I could start some kind of nutrition blog! But if I started a blog, I would also want to talk about my faith and God experiences. Would combining faith and nutrition even work as a blog?Wait! Look at the FAN program, this program incorporates both!”
Signs from God: Everything Was Falling into Place
And this is how the idea of a faith-based nutrition blog was formed. Everything seemed to be falling into place for me to start blogging. I was already organizing nutrition and faith articles for FAN and my book for my children, and I was already incorporating faith with nutrition at church. The fact of the matter was I was already writing about faith and nutrition, why not go ahead and blog? The timing just seemed right.
My Vision for the Blog Seemed so Clear
The next part might be harder to explain, but I will do my best. My vision for my blog seemed so clear. Let me explain the opposite of clear, so that you can understand what I mean. When I was trying to decide on a name for my private nutrition counseling, I struggled with finding a name and my brand. For one, I wasn’t being true to myself. I settled for something generic, but I cringed when I said the name. The name wasn’t bad; the name just didn’t ever feel right.
When I decided to blog about God and my passions, the name almost immediately fell into my mind. I wanted to call the blog, “Mindfulness in Faith and Food.” I am still relatively new to blogging. In fact, I have only been blogging for about half a year, but this blog still just feels right.
The Creation of Mindfulness in Faith and Food
So I decided to do it! I started a blog. All my past writings- journal entries, nutrition handouts, God stories, and partial books have found a home on this blog. Who knew that I was writing for this blog for so many years and didn’t even know it!
Signs From God: The Ripple Effect
Now, looking back, I can see the ripple effect from each of these events that lead to writing a faith and nutrition blog. Each, by themselves, may not seem like much, but you put everything together from part 1-part 4 of this series, and the sheer number of signs and coincidental circumstances are impossible to ignore!
A Recap of the Ripple Effect
My passion for writing since childhood (See Part 2)
My weight struggles as a middle school child that initiated my interest in nutrition (See About Me)
Even more signs from God? Just when I was contemplating that perhaps sharing all my personal “God Moment” stories is my call, the sermons were about sharing your personal God stories (Part 4).
The church blog was started after I took a leap of faith and sent our pastor all of these God stories (Part 4).
I started organizing all my God stories and lessons for a book for my children. This gave me the thought, “Maybe I should share these amazing stories in a blog?” (Part 4)
Meanwhile I was introduced to the FAN program, which combined faith and nutrition. I loved this, and a concept of a faith-based nutrition blog was born. (Part 4)
Have you noticed any signs from God or coincidences that you think are leading you to your calling? Are you feeling God’s call to serve in some way? Maybe you are even feeling called to blog?
Do you feel called to blog, but don’t know where to begin? My next post goes through the steps to start your own blog. You can check it out by clicking on this link: “How to start a blog when you feel called to blog.”
About Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC
Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC focuses on how to live your healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life through faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. Several branches fall under the Mindfulness in Faith and Food, LLC umbrella. One is Mindful Vending, which is one of the few dietitian owned and operated vending companies in the nation! Ngo is also the author of several books including Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition, Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals and The Nourishing Meal Builder. You can also find evidence-based nutrition articles, recipes, convenient healthy snack lists, inspiring faith stories, and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.
This is an adaptation from a story in the book, Faith, Mindfulness, & Nutrition. You can learn more about this inspiring book here.
Signs of God’s Presence Today: Signs and Coincidences
Recapping Part 1 and Part 2
As I mentioned in Part 2, writing kept creeping up in my life. Even as a child, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I would put the thought of writing aside, but years later I would find myself writing again. Part 1 of this blog series talks about the 4 clues to finding your purpose. One clue is you have a God-given passion for something. Another clue is that you keep getting signs over and over… and over. Sometimes your passion keeps finding its way back into your life. I think this reoccurrence of you passion could be a sign in and of itself.
(*An important note: Just because you have a passion, does not mean you are called to pursue it. Also, every passion we have is not a calling. After all, we often have passions for not so good things. Passion is just one clue. We need to look at every clue to figure out a calling. Another clue is that your passion matches up with God’s teachings. This series looks at several pieces to “What is your Calling.”)
This post may contain affiliate links (See full disclosure here)
The Call Became Stronger
True, my passion for writing was a nice little clue, but standing by itself this clue really means little. The call became much stronger later…
We had just joined our church, and my husband and I were in the process of visiting Sunday Schools. One Sunday, we randomly visited a Sunday school class called “Open Doors.” During the class, the teacher off-handedly mentioned the book, The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together (International Adventures), which was about a missionary named Brother Andrew. I thought to myself, ‘that sounds like a good book to read.’ Almost a year later, I still remembered this specific Sunday schools comment about this ONE book, but I couldn’t remember the name of the book. It’s funny how one small comment will just stick in your mind, isn’t it? One day I saw the Sunday school teacher, and I asked her again for the name of the book. This time I didn’t wait around. I quickly purchased the book, and my journey began…
One Book Changed the Direction of my Life
Brother Andrew’s story was inspiring to say the least! The things that he accomplished when he listened to God’s call were amazing! When he was truly doing something God seemed to ask him to do, God took care of every one of his needs to get THAT job done. (I thought this was interesting because we sometimes use God as a wishing well, but when we are truly following God’s wishes to help others; then, he will help us do THAT job). In other words, if God tells us to do something, then God will help us get it done. If you want to read some truly amazing God moments, I strongly recommend this book.
Awesome “God Moments” from the Book, The Narrow Road
Some of the amazing things that happened in the book were:
* Brother Andrew had an injured leg that leg hindered a particular mission work he felt called to do. In fact, he felt the leg would nearly make the mission impossible! One day Brother Andrew talked to God about not being able to do this mission work due to his hurt leg. His leg was healed immediately!
* Brother Andrew felt strongly that he was suppose to take Bibles to persecuted countries, in which Bibles were not allowed. One time some guards stopped him. The smuggled Bibles were right on the seat of his car and the guards didn’t see them!
* Once or twice the money for missionary school was about to run out, and the exact amount came to him in peculiar ways just in time.
My Favorite Brother Andrew Story: This is GOOD!
One of my favorite stories took place during Brother Andrew’s time at missionary school. Brother Andrew and the other students were asked to do local missions as an assignment. They were given no money, food, or housing and they were told that they were not supposed to ask churches or anyone else for help. They were asked to trust that God would provide. This was an exercise meant to teach them how to trust God completely. This didn’t mean that the missionary school thought that people/charities should not ask for donations; the school just wanted them to practice putting all their trust in God for this particular exercise.
The students were also expected to tithe! The students were divided into two groups. Brother Andrew’s group tithed at the beginning of each week no matter what challenges they faced. The other group planned on tithing if they had enough after they fulfilled their own needs. Interestingly, the group who tithed no matter what, always had enough for themselves and the missions. The other group constantly ran out of money and supplies.
They Needed Cake, and They Got a Cake in the Mail!
God seemed to always answer the needs of Brother Andrew’s group no matter how small. For example, a church asked Brother Andrew’s group to come to a church event. The church also asked the group to bring a cake to this event. Remember, they have no money! The group panicked about how they were going to get the money for this cake. They even considered doing something they hadn’t done yet, which was ask people for donations. Just when the decided against asking for other’s help, they received a package in the mail. Do you know what was inside the package? A cake, sent to them by a loved one! The giver did not know they needed a cake; she just thought it would be a nice gesture!
The Prayer that Started it All
This book inspired me! Like Brother Andrew, I wanted to experience God’s power and presence more regularly. But was I willing to follow God’s will no matter what? I decided to pray. Instead of praying for my needs, I prayed for God to show me what God wanted me to do. I told God I wanted to follow and serve God, and I wanted my life to be about serving God and others, not myself. (Yeah, I’m still working on that.) I asked God to please tell me God’s will. I figured if I really listened AND followed, I would see some amazing things happen just like Brother Andrew. Basically, I was asking God to call on me. Then God started talking…
God’s Call: Signs That God Was About to Answer My Prayer
Before telling me my specific call, God seemed to be telling me that my request was heard, and is being answered. Messages about God’s call bombarded me everywhere.
In fact, RIGHT after I prayed for God to call on me, our church started “The Call” series, which was suppose to help us learn how to hear and answer God’s call! Even our church band played songs about hearing God’s call. But here is the kicker; the band did not know the sermon topics when choosing songs!
After church, I experienced another coincidence. After church, I grabbed a veggie tales movie for my son to watch not knowing that out of all the Bible stories; this movie was about Jonah trying to push away God’s call!
Finally while I was putting my son to bed, I was showing my son pictures from his Children’s Bible. He was young, so we were just looking at pictures instead of reading the words. The bottom of each page had a one liner prayer. I finally randomly glanced at one of the prayers. The prayer was literally asking God to help us listen to his call!! Out of all the prayers, why was this the one I randomly read?
I asked God if God would lead me because I was ready to do what God wanted instead of what I wanted. God seemed to answer immediately. God seemed to be saying through signs, ‘Of course, I have been waiting for you to ask this! I will lead you to what I am calling you to do.’
But the next questions was, “What IS God calling me to do?” Check out part 4 for the answer…
Lacy Ngo is a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit. and faith-based mindfulness techniques on her blog, Mindfulness in Faith and Food.
Part 2: Did God Give you a Passion for a Reason? If so, What is Your God-Given Passion?
Does God Give Us a Passion for Something for a Reason?
Blogging is my Passion. What is Your Passion?
I had the hardest time picking a title. I am hoping this post will be helpful for anyone searching for their God-given passion and calling, but I also want this to help people specifically contemplating blogging. Although I talk about my passion for blogging, this post is about so much more than blogging.
This Site contains Affiliate links (See full disclosure here)
Ask your Own Questions as you Read
I hope this post is helpful to you. As you read my story, I hope you can begin thinking about your passions and where God might be calling you to serve. Although I am using my call story as an example, I really hope you to use this post to think about your call story. As you read, think about your God-given passions. Is writing one of your passions? Look back on your own life. Do you see your passion continue to pop up throughout your life? Is there a group of people your heart breaks for whom you want to help?
My Call Story
So here is my call to blog story…
When I think about my call to blog, I have to go back and I mean way back. Isn’t it funny to realize how God was putting your call into place even from childhood?
My call to blog started even before blogging existed. When I was little I would say, “I want to be a writer when I grow up.” When other kids wanted to be teachers, athletes, princesses, singers, and firemen, I wanted to be a writer. I was often reading and writing. In 5th grade my first “published” work was a short story printed in our local newspaper.
By high school, I realized becoming an author wasn’t practical so I put those thoughts aside. I started looking into more practical careers that would still fit my interest and heart. Being a school councilor or a dietitian sounded appealing. (Read here to find out about why nutrition became important to me). Ironically, I am now a dietitian who writes about faith, nutrition, and spiritual growth. How amazing is it that I get to write (my passion) about my other passions!?!?
I Kept Going Back to Writing
Saying writing has always been my passion doesn’t tell the whole story. Writing feels more like a need. I have kept journals since I was little, and I have little short stories and unfinished books from childhood still sitting around my house.
I would push this God-given passion aside and say journaling is just a hobby, but I kept finding myself writing in different areas of my life.
After college, I was dealing with something difficult. I just couldn’t make peace with broken friendships and my lack of trust in men after experiencing broken promises. I just couldn’t get past this, so I asked God to help me make peace and move on. This next part is so hard to explain. Suddenly, as if a whisper in my mind, I thought, ‘write your story.’ I had not thought of writing in years, but this thought popped in my head. The thought was strong and immediate.
So I got up from my prayer position, went to the computer, and started writing everything that happened. In fact, I wrote about every experience I could think of in which I felt God’s presence.
My story started in middle school and ended after college. I not only wrote the story, but I also wrote how God helped me through different challenging times. I wrote about the lessons I had learned, and the mistakes I had made. Writing down my story brought me peace, and writing down the moments I when I felt God in my life, helped solidify those moments into my memory. After writing those stories, I was able to easily remember and share those stories with people in conversation, and I have even shared written portions of those stories in my blogging.
My Husband Based His Marriage Proposal Around my Writing!
Do you know that writing is such a part of who I am that my marriage proposal was based around it!
When I wrote this particular story, I was dating a really sweet guy (He is now my husband). I mentioned to him that I had written a story, but I hadn’t finished it yet. I told him that one part of the story was about my lack of trust, and I even told him that I had a hard time trusting even his words. After all, I explained to my boyfriend, people say they will love you forever and then change their mind. I was scared that everything my current boyfriend said would turn out not true, and I was scared that eventually he would change his mind about the way he feels and break promises too.
My boyfriend knew I had written about this so when he decided to propose he chose to write what he said was the ending to my book. The night of the proposal, he had left pieces of paper and a flower on a park bench. When I saw those pages on the park bench, my now husband said “I know you haven’t finished your book so I wrote an ending for the story.” He made me read the whole thing. He wrote that I had finally found someone I can trust, who would be committed forever. At the end of the page he wrote, “Will you marry me?”
What is your God-given passion?
Still Writing as a Dietitian
Again I never connected my writing hobby as a possible calling. And yet, I continued to feel an urge to write. As a dietitian, I found ways to write. I wrote a full book for my weight loss clients, and I gave each of them this book when they hired me. I also wrote for a nutrition column for our local paper.
Throughout my career, I would write about nutrition just so that I could organize my thoughts and ideas.
Writing Personal “God Moment” Stories
I also wrote anytime I was humbled and awe-struck by something that God did. I kept what I called “God journals,” and I would write out my prayers, my questions, and my thoughts in these journals. You can find stacks and stacks of these journals in my home. Again, it never registered that writing could be a calling.
Looking Back, Now I See It!
NOOOW that I blog, I see it! When I look back at my old journals, I realize how much writing has been a part of my life. I keep coming back to writing over and over.
My passion for writing now feels like it was the first of many clues that writing was my calling.
Why Passion Might Be The First Clue to the Question, “What is my Calling?”
So what is the lesson in this?…
Well the Lesson is…Having a passion may be the first hint to your calling.
1 Corinthians and Romans tells us that God gives us spiritual gifts that will help us do God’s work. Knowing your gifts may help you determine your call. However, I think God not only gives us gifts and talents, but God also gives us a passion for where we are being called to serve. If we don’t have a passion, we are probably not going to give the job our best efforts. If we are not passionate, we may do something only halfway.
When we are passionate, we feel driven to do the best we can do. The Bible seems to back this up through example after example. Most people in the Bible, who were called by God, also had a passion for their calling. Moses, Paul, Mark, John, Isaiah and of course, Jesus, all were passionate about what they were called to do.
You May Have a God-Given Passion and STILL Not WANT to Do It
Passion doesn’t mean we won’t have to step out of our comfort zone. We may have a passion for something and STILL not want to do it. We may have a passion, but feel too busy or too scared. Take those same people in the Bible who had a passion for their calling. Many still felt scared and even incapable at first.
Take Moses for example. He didn’t want to step out of his comfort zone and into danger by leading the Israelites out of slavery. But you could see he had a passion for helping the Israelites fight this injustice. My goodness, he even attacked a man for beating an Israelite. Luckily Moses started following God’s lead instead of JUST his passion after God called on Moses. Some had such a passion for God and others that they even gave their own life. They didn’t WANT to give their life, but their passion for God and others gave them strength.
Whew, You Mean I Don’t Have to Do Something I Despise?
Understanding that I will probably have a passion for my calling was such a comfort. Before I began to think about my calling this way, I would say ‘yes’ to everything. As crazy as it sounds, I even felt like I should be slightly miserable as I served. I felt like I should ALWAYS sacrifice my happiness since Jesus had sacrificed so much for me. What a relief to realize that God gave the people of the Bible a passion for their calling. I could really focus on a few ways to serve instead of saying ‘yes’ to everything. I could give my all to those few areas instead of spreading myself too thin. By saying yes to everything, I was not being very helpful anywhere!
Let me add here that sometimes we feel passionate to do something, but don’t love every aspect of the calling. Yet our passion drives us to push through. Maybe you feel passionate about helping the homeless, but you don’t love all the early morning hard work that goes into working at a certain organization. Your passion and calling can drive you to do the less appealing stuff. Does this make sense? Jesus certainly didn’t enjoy the pain he endured on the cross, but because of Jesus’ passion and love for us, Jesus suffered the pain for us.
Blogging is my Passion. Could Blogging be Your Passion Too?
So when trying to determine your calling, first look at your spiritual gifts AND your passions. (You can see more about Spiritual Gifts in Part 1 of this series.)
So my questions for you:
Do you have a God-given passion?
Do you have a love for something? Perhaps you have a love for reading and writing? Or do you have a love for something else?
Is there an area or need you feel passionate towards?
Although God Gives us a Passion for Where We Are Called to Serve, Not Every Passion is from God
One more little side note. Just because you have a passion, does not mean you are called to pursue it. Also, every passion we have is not a calling. After all, we often have passions for not so good things. Passion is just one clue to look for. This series looks at several pieces to “What is your calling?” One of these pieces or clues is that your calling and passion matches up with God’s teachings. Make sure you weigh your passions against God’s teachings when trying to determine if your passion is a God-given passion.
So the take home message is that every passion is NOT a calling, but your calling MAY be one of your passions or will become a passion.
Your Calling Doesn’t Have to Be Your Job
Sometimes our jobs are different than our calling and even passion and that is okay. Some people feel called to volunteer in certain areas. I love how Bob Goff, a lawyer, looked at his job. In his book, “Love Does,” Goff said he viewed his job as fundraising for his mission. We can also view our jobs as a fundraiser for our passion to serve other. Our calling can even be how we feel we should live our lives. For example, maybe you feel called to be an encourager, so you try to encourage others wherever you are. You encourage your co-workers, your family, or random people at a store.
Keeping a Journal May Help you Figure Out Your Passion
Even if you are not a writer, I think keeping a journal might be helpful. Sometimes writing helps us organize our thoughts. Writing your thoughts, ideas, spiritual gifts, talents, and listing your God-Given passions in a journal may help you begin to contemplate what your calling might be. I find that I am more open to hearing God’s call when I pray before I write. You can also use a journal to write your prayers and write down your awe-inspiring God experiences. I am able to remember those amazing “God moments” in my life when I write them down as soon as they happen.
This Site contains Affiliate links (See full disclosure here)
About Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN and 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life
Lacy Ngo is a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit.
What is God Calling you to do? How to find your purpose?
Part 1: What is God Calling you to Do?
I have always longed to know what God wanted me to do. Does God have a specific plan or call for me…for us? This is not an easy question to answer, and sometimes knowing the answer takes time. Perhaps callings even change over time. Recently, I began to notice interesting clues, coincidences, and circumstances that made me feel like perhaps God was giving me a few nudges to help me determine my call. Of course I am human, and I sometimes get it wrong. But here are 5 clues that I felt lead me to my calling. Perhaps they can help you determine your calling too.
(Note these 5 clues are based on my personal experiences so please take what I say with a grain of salt. I think God reaches all of us in different ways)
In the Bible God seemed to give others a passion for whatever God was calling them to do. Like in the Bible, I think God gives us a passion for where we are being called to serve. If we don’t have a passion, we are probably not going to give the job our best efforts. When we are passionate, we feel driven to do the best we can do. So are you passionate for certain needs or causes? Did something happen in your life that seemed to develop that passion?
2. You have Certain Spiritual Gifts and Even Talents.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 Says
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Romans 12: 6-8 Says
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
1 Corinthians and Romans tells us that God gives us spiritual gifts that we are suppose to use to serve God and others. So knowing your gifts may help you determine what you are being called to do. If you are curious about your spiritual gifts, you can find several spiritual gifts surveys online. I won’t provide a link since there are so many different types, and many are available through churches. Pick which survey appeals to you.
You may not fully know your gifts after taking a survey as the answers to the survey do not dictate these are your spiritual gifts, but maybe the spiritual gifts quiz can lead you in the right direction. These surveys ask questions to help you self-reflect. Pray for God to guide you as you learn about yourself. Sometimes God not only gives you the spiritual gifts listed in the Bible, but God also gives us talents we can use to serve God and others. Do you have certain talents you can use? Perhaps brainstorming and writing your talents down in a journal will help you move closer to understanding your call.
3. Signs and Coincidences Keep Pointing You in a Certain Direction
This one makes me nervous. As humans we can often see the signs we WANT to see. I know that I sometimes do! Or when I am feeling pessimistic, I see signs I DON’T WANT to see. HOWEVER sometimes the coincidences are just too unbelievable or signs are occurring one after another. When the signs are just too amazing, maybe we should take notice.
This book motivated me to ask God to lead me even if it was scary. And my life changed after that…
Read more about how this book changed my life here!
4. Your “God Calling” Matches with what Jesus Teaches.
This one is soooo important.
Matthew 22: 36-40 says
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So does your call line up with these two commandments and the other teaching of Jesus? God calls us to help and serve others. Does your call help and serve others?
5. Your Calling Doesn’t Have to Be Your Job
Sometimes our jobs are different than our calling, and that is okay. Some people feel called to volunteer in certain areas. I love how Bob Goff, a lawyer and writer, looked at his job. In his book, “Love Does,” Goff said he viewed his job as a lawyer as fundraising for his mission. We can also view our jobs as a fundraiser for our call to serve other. Our calling can even be how we feel we should live our lives. For example, maybe you feel called to be an encourager, so you try to encourage others wherever you are. You encourage your co-workers, your family, or random people at a store. Sometimes we feel called to do something, but don’t love every aspect of the calling. Yet our passion drives us to push through. Maybe you feel passionate about helping the homeless, but you don’t love all the paperwork that goes into working at a certain organization. Your passion and calling can drive you to do the less appealing stuff. Does this make sense?
As you contemplate your calling, you may want to keep a journal. Sometimes writing helps us organize our thoughts. Writing your thoughts, ideas, spiritual gifts results, talents, and listing your passions in a journal can help you in your search for your calling. I find that I am more open to hearing God’s call when I pray before I write. You can also use a journal to write your prayers and write down your awe-inspiring God experiences. I am able to remember those amazing “God moments” in my life when I write them down as soon as they happen.
Just in case you are looking for a good journal, here are a few beautiful inspiring journals.
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This is part one of a five part series. Part 2 talks about clue number one, which is finding your Passion. Sometimes the fact that a passion keeps surfacing throughout your life is a sign in and of itself….
This series is meant for anyone searching for God’s call. However, if you are contemplating blogging or think blogging might be your calling, you might find later posts particularly helpful. I go into not only my blogging journey, but also the steps I took to start a blog.
About Lacy Ngo, MS, RDN and 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life
Lacy Ngo is a dietitian nationally recognized as a top expert in faith-based mindfulness and evidence-based nutrition. She shares the exact steps that, based on science, produce the most dramatic health and weight loss success in her book, 18 Weeks to a Healthier, Happier, More Purposeful Life. This book is like nothing you have ever seen before. It combines faith and science. Both are crucial when it comes to producing real change because real change involves the mind, body, and spirit.
One of my favorite ways to spend time with family is by doing random acts of kindness for others. My childen get so into it, and get to experience how great giving feels. These Kindness Matters Cards – Box of 100 – Kindness Is Contagious Challenge Card are so sweet and full of great random acts of kindness ideas. My children and I love doing these random acts of kindness together throughout the year!
Coloring Inspirational Cards
I don’t think children know how much the gift of their art means to others. When I get a colored picture from a child, my heart melts. One of the most meaningful acts of kindness a child or even an adult can give is a colored encouragement card. This is why I love the Bundle of Christian Art Gifts Inspirational Biblical Color-In Note Cards. Families can color cards together and deliver them to family members, friends, nursing home residents, or anyone who needs a little lift. The opportunities to spread love with these cards are endless.
Family Time Conversation Cards
I love spending quality family time. So I enjoy anything that brings my family together. This is why I love family time with GOD products like The Art Of Christian Conversation cards. My children received similar conversation starter cards during Vacation Bible School this year. I must confess that I looked at the cards and thought, “those are cute,” and then sat them aside for a while. One night we picked them up and randomly decided to read a few before bed. I was hooked!!!! The great conversations my 7 year old son and I were having were unbelievable. I have come to cherish these conversations. When we finished the cards, even my son was disappointed that the cards were finished. The cards not only got us talking about random everyday things, but these cards also found a way to teach us too!
Although these cards are not geared towards Christian conversation like the above cards, you may find Christian topics come up when you get your children talking.
Lastly, I don’t want to write a products post without mentioning how to save money on many Amazon products plus products from a huge list of other stores. I always check three free apps before I buy anything.
These apps are Ibotta, Coupons.com, Ebates, and Swagbucks
Ibotta and Coupons.com
Ibotta and Coupons.com are very similar. I simply go to the app, select the coupons I want to use before I shop, and then I shop. I can either shop through the app if I am shopping online, or I can shop in a store and scan my receipt after I shop to get the rebates I selected. You can also add rewards cards to your app and the rebates are used automatically when you scan your store rewards card. For example, my Food Lion Card is on the app. I pick out the coupons I want to use on the app before I shop; then when the cashier scans my card at checkout, the discounts are included.
These apps are totally free. To sign up for Ibotta, click on the link below:
I also like to use Swagbucks. For this app you get points for shopping at certain stores. The store selection is huge. I can buy items on amazon or a birthday present for my daughter at The American Girl store and earn points. You can also earn points by answering daily questions and taking surveys through the swagbucks app. You can use the points to get gift cards!!! And these are legit great gift cards. You can get $25 gift cards to Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Walmart and so much more! It is pretty amazing. Start getting swagbucks as my referral by clicking on the link below:
The final app I use is ebates. You can buy all kinds of products and save. Again, this app gives you discounts to a huge number of popular stores like Kohl’s, “Bed, Bath, and Beyond”, and of course, Amazon. The list goes on and on. Whenever I am about to buy somehting online, I check this app along with the other three apps to see if a coupon or rebate is available. You can download this app as my referral by clicking on the Ebates button below.
You know, I tend to make better choices throughout my day when I take the time to spend a little quiet time with God. During this time, I love to snuggle up in a cozy spot, read the Bible and often devotionals or books, and write in my journal. I also enjoy lighting a sented candle and sipping on some relaxing hot tea. I try to focus on the moment and be truly mindful of God’s presence in this moment. Oh wow, how amazing does this sound?
Make a Quiet Time with God Basket
I love my quiet times and yet I often let the business of life get in my way. I need to make this a priority. If I notice my actions and choices are better when I take the time to do this why do I keep pushing this time aside? I have recently decided to try to do this almost every day. This is a goal I have set for myself. To help me achieve this goal, I want to make my quiet time as convinient as possible, this is why I have a quiet time basket ready to go.
What to include in the “Quiet Time with God” Basket
I like my basket could include little gems like a my Bible, prayer journal, relaxing tea and a inspirational mug as well as a calming sented candle and a scripture coloring book. Somtimes I have the latest book or devotional I am reading in the basket too. Below I have listed some of my favorite quiet time basket products.
This uplifting scripture scented Candle – Rose Of Sharon Scripture Tin – 8oz fits in perfectly in the “Quiet Time with God” Basket or is a nice gift to give all on its own. Various scriptures and scents are available.
I hope you liked these ideas. Do you have a favorite?
Save money on These and Other Products with These Four Apps
Lastly, I don’t want to write a shopping post without mentioning how to save money on many Amazon products plus products from a huge list of other stores. I always check three free apps before I buy anything.
These apps are Ibotta, Coupons.com, Ebates, and Swagbucks
Ibotta and Coupons.com
Ibotta and Coupons.com are very similar. I simply go to the app, select the coupons I want to use before I shop, and then I shop. I can either shop through the app if I am shopping online, or I can shop in a store and scan my receipt after I shop to get the rebates I selected. You can also add rewards cards to your app and the rebates are used automatically when you scan your store rewards card. For example, my Food Lion Card is on the app. I pick out the coupons I want to use on the app before I shop; then when the cashier scans my card at checkout, the discounts are included.
These apps are totally free. To sign up for Ibotta, click on the link below:
I also like to use Swagbucks. For this app you get points for shopping at certain stores. These store selection is huge. I can buy items on amazon or a birthday present for my daughter at The American Girl store and earn points. You can also earn points by answering daily questions and taking surveys through the swagbucks app. You can use the points to get gift cards!!! And these are legit great gift cards. You can get $25 gift cards to Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Walmart and so much more! It is pretty amazing. Start getting swagbucks as my referral by clicking on the link below:
The final app I use is ebates. You can buy all kinds of products and save. Again, this app gives you discounts to a huge number of popular stores like Kohl’s, “Bed, Bath, and Beyond”, and of course, Amazon. The list goes on and on. Whenever I am about to buy somehting online, I check this app along with the other three apps to see if a coupon or rebate is available. You can download this app as my referral by clicking on the Ebates button below.
You can Show Random Acts of Kindness on Social Media Too
I love Random Acts of Kindness. My family did a year of Random Acts of Kindness once, but that is a post for another day. Since, I have been a blogger, I have noticed that Random Acts of Kindness can extend to Social Media as well. Sooo here are 3 Social Media Random Acts of Kindness Ideas.
If a positive thought pops in your head about the post or picture you see as you scroll through your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram feeds, share it with the person! If we keep the compliment to ourself, we will miss a chance to lift someones spirits.
2. Write a Positive Review
If you love a store, restaurant, or business, go to one of their social media pages and leave a nice review or comment. Make sure to mention by name any employees who were particularly helpful. This will not only put a smile on the employees face, but could also potentially improve their chances of getting a raise or promotion.
3. Uplift a Blogger
I never realized how much heart, sweat, and soul a blogger puts into a post. I just never thought about all the work that goes into a post. Now that I know, I try to comment and show my support for any blog post I find helpful. Sometimes, when I am in between books or devotionals, I use Christian blog post as a way to do little” devotionals.” I simply read and take notes on Christian blog posts. When I do this, I try to leave a comment to let the blogger know their post was used in this way. In fact, when I use a tool or product a blogger recommended or I follow a bloggers “how- to” steps, I try to let them know in the comments as well. Sometimes just this little comment of encouragement, is just what a blogger needs to stay motivated.
and the other set was 
. This is a fantastic book about a man praying and waiting for God to lead him in almost every aspect of life. I highly recommend reading 
is a really good read. His wife, Maria Goff, wrote a book as well called 
. I have read and enjoyed both books.
are so sweet and full of great random acts of kindness ideas. My children and I love doing these random acts of kindness together throughout the year!
. Families can color cards together and deliver them to family members, friends, nursing home residents, or anyone who needs a little lift. The opportunities to spread love with these cards are endless.
cards. My children received similar conversation starter cards during Vacation Bible School this year. I must confess that I looked at the cards and thought, “those are cute,” and then sat them aside for a while. One night we picked them up and randomly decided to read a few before bed. I was hooked!!!! The great conversations my 7 year old son and I were having were unbelievable. I have come to cherish these conversations. When we finished the cards, even my son was disappointed that the cards were finished. The cards not only got us talking about random everyday things, but these cards also found a way to teach us too!
. Love it!
. You can even color with your children WHILE praying or talking about God.
or this 
would look great in the “Quiet Time with God” gift basket.
to the “Quiet Time with God” basket. This tea would go great witht the mug!
fits in perfectly in the “Quiet Time with God” Basket or is a nice gift to give all on its own. Various scriptures and scents are available.
