#theforgetterseye

[theloulette]

Sisterhood is healing

Women who enter into the depths of themselves

and lay out the treasure they find

gently, before

those of us not yet as brave,

to light our way

through the darkness that others have forced on us

are the most powerful magic of all.

(Thank you rupikaur franticcurls yagazieemezi rend-collective theijeoma @theforgetterseye)

[youngthatiam]

7 Tips for Journaling This February for #FREEINFEB :

1. Take your journal everywhere with you, where possible. Instead of reaching for your phone when you're bored, reach for your journal and write something down. Integrate inner reflection into your daily life, and slowly but surely you will see some results.

2. Write at least a sentence a day. The point of #FREEINFEB is for you to become disciplined enough to discover who you are, who God is and what the intersection of the two means for your life and your healing. So, sentence a day will eventually become a habit that will extend to other areas of your life. Try to stick to this as best you can - come the end of the month you'll read through all you've written and be amazed.

3. Don't be ashamed of what you write. Your journal = Your rules = Your very own written art. Own it, grow from it.

4. Be still and listen. A journal entry is a great way to vent, but more than our fleeting feelings and our many words, we need to listen. Let your heart speak to you, ask God to reveal. Listening too, is an art. And honestly, we can still come away feeling lighter/unburdened but that is not the same as having peace and consistent joy, both of which are things found solely in the Lord's presence.

5. Write out God's promises. Do you know Him? It's time to, purely because it is the most mind-blowingly incredible thing ever to know God and His undying love for you. As a former skeptic, I can't tell you how much peace I now have and how far God has brought me from where I was before. He knows you better than you know yourself. He accepted you before you thought to accept yourself. And if you're unsure who He is, guess what? He has a book about Him (and you) out :). Ask yourself, who does He say He is in the Bible? The power in and of our lives is greatly revealed by our understanding of God's power first outside of us and then within us. You want to change your life and the world? Find out how and why your heavenly Father says you have the right to do so. Check this and this and this out.

6. Download the Youversion Bible App, create an account and find a bible plan to join. For me, finding a bible plan has been my discovery of the year. I've had the 'Bible In A Year' plan on rotation (and failed) for years. It's way better to find shorter plans (some even 4 days long only!) which are themed e.g. relationships, appreciating the season you're in, identity, and so much more. There are loads, by different people from Joyce Meyer to John Piper to Rick Warren and more. Join a plan and make it interactive - find and follow other friends on the bible app (i'm on there as youngthatiam , Elo is on as eloosunde) and see what they're reading, set reminders for your plans so you remember to read them...and yes, you could even join the bible in a year plan (might as well) so you get sent a verse a day on your phone.

7. Open your heart and mind, and don't expect this to be easy. I am admittedly the sort of person who tends to base success on how easy I find a task. That logic is obviously flawed. Vulnerability before God is never ever a bad decision. Ever. And you know what? I love how patient He is with all the walls we put up around ourselves. All the times we almost knock one wall down and then heave it back up at the last minute because we are afraid. 

Freedom is uncomfortable at first. So be open with yourself, be patient with yourself.

Love,

-S.

Remember, you can email us about anything on [email protected] | [email protected] or anon ask on tumblr here or here.

[youngthatiam]

Journaling this week (Identity week) for #FREEINFEB has been more difficult than the last, but also deeply revealing and liberating. There are 3 more days left for this week's theme, so don't worry if you've been a bit behind with your journaling. To make things easier for you, here are the things i've felt lead/inspired to journal and reflect on for the rest of the week (see previous post for what I focused on today, shared via insta). Feel free to do the same! :)

Day 5 | Thursday | Unrooting Yourself From Your Own Misperceptions  [more info on insta tomorrow]

Day 6 | Friday | Your Mistakes 

Day 7 | Saturday | Your Hope, Your Future

More info will be on this blog and/or this blog for each day.

Also, as of tonight, we have a #MyHappyPlace photo trend happening on Instagram! Feel free to post your pics and hashtag if you'd like Elo and I to see! We're curious to know where your happiest place is :)

Love always,

-S.

Thoughts/Comments/Feedback/Questions? Email: [email protected] | [email protected]

[youngthatiam]

Really and truly, how do you overcome heartbreak?

Darling, who told you that heartbreak is a thing to be overcome? It is not. It is something to accept and to eventually heal from. Listen, when you’ve cut yourself by accident or are wounded do you regard the wound as something to overcome? No, you let it heal.You help it in the process as best you can: washing it, putting medicine on it,bandaging it. Sure, your use of the affected limb might be limited. That partof your body would also be sore. But what happens is that you trust your bodyto meet you along the way and heal itself. In the same way, I believe thatone’s heart is a thing to be healed…and that God is its only healer. Trust thatyour heart can be healed by Him because He is everything you need, and that healing is a miraculous process in itself.If you can accept this truth, you will breathe better through your pain.

Also:

1. I wrote a short postcalled “10 things to do when you are broken” and it’s based on simple things Ilearnt to do in my own heartbreak. Read it.

2. Start to consider theposture of your heart. Ask yourself, “what is my heart focusing on?” Towardswhom (or what) is your heart rooted upon? What things do you give power to inyour life? What do you believe? These are some of the big questions we are asking ourselves in #FREEINFEB. That aside, unless you ask Jesus into your life, your heartwill remain focused on things that will keep breaking your heart. Sometimes, we choose thisdance. So we learn this the hard way. Again, and again. Over, and over.

3. If the acceptance ofother people is one of the things you have been bound to in the past, it is especiallyimportant that you use the time you have now to learn to love yourself. Thatcomes over time and by truly trusting God in this process. He understands yourpain better than you think. Psalm 34:18 in the Bible says that “the Lord isnear to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” It goes on toencourage us, that yes “many are the afflictions of the righteous…” – i.e. nomatter whether you have chosen to believe in and accept Jesus into your life,heartbreak is something that will happen to you as long as you are human –“…butthe Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all [our] bones; not one ofthem is broken.” I love that verse. Pain may bend us, thin us, wear us down butit cannot ever break those of us who place our trust in God. Do you believethat? And after having believed that, do you still think heartbreak issomething to overcome or something to surrender?

4. Rejoice and forgive inadvance. It is in our brokenness that we find out what we are really made of. So don’t fear yourheartbreak! Don’t regard it as an enemy because that gives it power over you. Let itbe used by God to build you into something magnificent. A long time ago, I wasthe most heartbroken I’d ever been in my life. I only knew this when, after atough decision, I found myself sobbing in the shower but couldn’t recognize thenoise coming out of me. It was – at the time - the deepest sadness I had everknown or heard. I didn’t know my heart could break that way until I could hear it formyself. And still, God told me torejoice. Literally, one day I found a bible verse on some paper thathad been left on a path I was walking on to get home. It was Philipians 4:4. I was confused and annoyed,among other things..rejoice?!? now?? Aboutwhat?!

 But you see, we do notrejoice because we love the agony. We rejoice because He is in control of thatagony. We rejoice because He is not submerged by that agony. We rejoice becausewhile we shake and break, while we lie in bed unable to lift our heads, Hebreaks and holds us too. We rejoice because heartbreak is not the end of us,but the beginning of another great story of God’s strength displayed in ourlives despite our mistakes, our loss, our failures. We rejoice because God never ever gives up on us and He never ever fails. We rejoice in faith that He is the healer of all hearts. Psalm147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines thenumber of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord,and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” This is the God Ibelieve in and serve. This is the power He has over mine and your circumstances. Do youknow Him? Do you want to know Him? Time to find out, sugar. This is your time.

5. Place your hope andyour heart in the hands of a great and personal God who loves you so deeply andwants to be a bigger part of your life. Focusing on God doesn’t heal your heartquicker – there is no quick fix for heartbreak – but the focus sure does makethe process a lot easier. Do you want to breathe again? Get your focus right.

6. Mourn your heartbreak.Also, be silent when your soul warrants it. For some time your spirit will bewounded and sore and you might find yourself unable to physically rise fromyour bed – I can relate. But one day that phase of the healing process willhave passed, and it will be time to rise. You will know when it is such a time.It will be time to breathe again, laugh again, meet people again, wait again, trust again and eventually love again.

7. Give your spirit time.Heartbreak is an inevitable part of being human (Jesus Himself was and still isheartbroken by so much every day). Rely on Him because your life depends on it.And if your heartbreak is to do with a relationship, posture your heart towardsloving your ex as best you can, i.e. do not hate them. This will not happenovernight, but posture is the start ofmuch. It is possible.

8. Believe that you can bemade alive through your heartbreak! I started this blog when I was in a placeof heartbreak and I have looked back many a time since, but I have not quit. Heartbreak can be a platform forprojection. Great writers, artists, dancers, musicians are those whohave found a way to tap into deep pains to create art. The greatest ones are those who have gone beyond that to find a way not to be trapped by that same pain they thrive on. God creates from chaoswhile man creates from shortfall. So let God complete you. LetHim guide you through this. Let Him create from your chaos.

Hope this helps you. You can get through this. Don’t believe me, believe Him.

Love, 

-S.

[youngthatiam]

it is not that it takes courage to say “i am free.” it is that it takes all the courage to believe it.

Silvia Anie-Akwetey, wahala

[youngthatiam]

You wanna change the world? Stand in front of a mirror. Start there.

all the things he said to me, Silvia Anie-Akwetey