InstaEncouragements Blog

The Things We Tell Ourselves

5/15/2020

How Our Inner Monologue
Determines Our Outward Actions

Whether you’re a dramatic Disney villain ranting about insufferable princesses or a stressed-out mom picking up after your cyclone of children passing through the house, you’ve probably been caught talking to yourself at least once in your life. The truth is, we all find the idea of talking to ourselves rather funny. We have pictures in our minds of those people that usually take the form of absent-minded scientists or psychotic mental patients. Either way, they’re slightly insane.

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An Open Letter to Graduates During COVID-19

4/28/2020

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An Open Letter to Graduates During COVID-19

The Pressures of a College
Graduate During COVID-19

By Shelby Abbot

You had it all planned out. You were doing your research and fine-tuning your resumé. You were preparing for the future: graduation in May, summer internship that would go through August, saying “yes” to the dream job where you knew you could make the most impact, earn some money, get married, buy a dog, raise a family, change the world, die peacefully in your late 90s while holding hands with your great-grandchildren.

You know, normal life planning stuff. But then…

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Eating for Satisfaction and Enjoyment

4/24/2020

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As my husband and I have traveled to several different countries, we have done our best to try the various foods of the world. In Brazil we ate many kinds of fresh fruits, which were picked right off the trees, and tapioca pancakes (much like crepes) with various fillings and toppings. Israel introduced us to falafel and hummus with pita bread. We continue to try to reproduce the satay chicken with peanut sauce we ate in Indonesia. And Italy, maybe my overall favorite, had an abundance of food on every corner in every city—breads, pastries, pastas, and, of course, gelato.

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Learning to Stand Still in the Midst of Uncertainty

4/17/2020

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This world is a crazy, unpredictable place. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled with the fear of the unknown more than I have in the past few weeks. We are all going through a time when our natural reactions and even our solid spiritual responses to life are being turned around.

In times of crisis, our thoughts naturally turn to our loved ones, but in a pandemic, we cannot visit them.

In times of loneliness and fear, we are guided by the Spirit to turn to the body of believers to bring us comfort and point us to truth, but we can’t even attend church services.

In times of uncertainty, we fall back on our comfortable routines and schedules to keep our minds off of the hard questions, but right now many of us are left with little to occupy our time.

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4 Things We Can Learn From Our New Normal

4/10/2020

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4 Things We Can Learn From Our New Normal

The word background can be defined as:

“The area of scenery behind the MAIN object of contemplation, especially when perceived as a framework for it.”

“The circumstances or situation prevailing at a particular event.”

Both of these definitions hold relevance to the current path we all find ourselves walking.

Our days continually mirror the day before. What, just days ago, was our “main thing” has been placed in the “behind the scenes” of our lives, and not by our choosing.

Today, let's explore four things we can learn from being forced to bring all we once minimized to the maximum “front seat” position in our new normal routine.

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Supernatural Response to Trials

3/27/2020

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Everyone has trials at some time or another. Sometimes they are determined by our season in life:

Moms dealing with sleep deprivation or disobedient children
Career women working an unbearable job or for an unreasonable boss
A wife in a tough marriage relationship
Older women with health issues

There could be financial challenges, loneliness, fears, or a multitude of other such problems. And who knew we would ever be part of a pandemic and its ramifications?

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The Power Within: Are We Helpless Against Temptation?

3/13/2020

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The Power Within: Are We Helpless Against Temptation?

This is not the start of another self-help book. I’m not trying to tell girls to wash their faces or trying to empower women to reach their goals and fulfill their dreams.

Goals and dreams are nice. They are a big part of what makes us human. We are creatures bearing God’s image, and we are never satisfied to stay the same. We are always striving to grow. We want the next promotion at work, the next baby to make our family complete, the next financial milestone to be reached. Our goals and dreams can be very good things.

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