Spread Your Love Week

Victoria from Garden of Eden Designs and Lindsay from Scenic Glory have declared this week "Spread Your Love Week"!!  I am so excited about this campaign and knew right away that I wanted to participate and help spread this beautiful, positive message:

I love myself. Three simple words, that unfortunately in today’s world are seldom heard. We are always trying to fix those little problems that we think are wrong with us rather than embracing what the universe has blessed us with. You should love yourself whether you are tall or short, or thick or thin… remember that you are beautiful.

To help spread this message and help every woman realize her true beauty, myself and Victoria Hughes of Garden of Eden Designs, have asked our fellow bloggers, designers, crafters, and writers to come together and share why they love their-selves. And I am so honored to be a part of this movement. We as a community should show that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. It is our spirits that should shine through.

I love my SMILE.  It is big and bright and unafraid.  It is a window to my soul and shines through to the people around me.  It is a bit crooked, just like my dad's.  My smile is one of my trademarks and my friends often pick on me that I can turn it on in an instant.  I see my smile in both of my daughters.  My grandmother always told me to smile, because frowning causes wrinkles.  My husband says that my smile was what first drew me to him.  I like smiling because it makes my heart feel warm.  

Having a healthy self-esteem and a sense of confidence is something I struggled with as a teen and young adult.  I didn't believe in myself or the beauty God so graciously blessed me with, I didn't appreciate my own special qualities that made me uniquely me.  With time, however, and the wisdom and experience that comes with age, I learned that if I want to receive love, I must first love myself.  If I want others to view me in a positive light, I must promote a positive and loving spirit.  I must value and appreciate myself, for I was made in His image.  When Shawn and I were dating, he once gave me the most valuable piece of advice that has stuck with me to this day.  He said, "What are you afraid of?  That people won't like you, that they won't want to be your friend or approve of you?  What do you have to lose?  If someone doesn't like you or value you for who you are, that's their loss!  You are amazing and a blessing to all who know you.  You have to walk into every room knowing and believing that rather than being afraid of rejection".  And so that is how I began to live my life, unafraid and full of hope.  It is my personal mission to give that same sense of self to my girls, to instill in them a healthy view of who they are and what they stand for.  As women, it can be very difficult to accept ourselves for who we are rather than constantly trying to live up to society's standards.  But, with each passing year, I have learned to love myself simply for being me.  And, no matter how hard my day may be, SMILE.  Remain present in your moment and make it all that it can be.  Because you are you, and that is enough.