Today was a glorious day. Nice temperatures. Good times with friends. Relaxing time with family.

It started off a little rocky, however. You see, I've struggled for the last 5 years to wake full of peace and joy. While it is hugely better now than it was just a year ago, I still am brought to consciousness every morning by my chattering intellect reminding me of all the things I did wrong the day before, the issues I need to be worrying about, and the concerns of the future I need to guard against. Some days are more challenging than others. Like today.

One of the steps in the Aroma Freedom Technique process is the Affirmation Step which is repeated every day for several days after an AFT session.  As I talked about yesterday, my daily affirmation this week is "Because I am the real deal and people love me, I receive $100,000 by November 30th for my AFT and Young Living expertise."

So after my morning tea and quiet time, I got dressed and did my affirmation for a couple of minutes, standing in front of my mirror in a power pose while inhaling my "Believe" oil. Almost instantly my spirits began to lift and my day took on a more hopeful outlook. I could feel the energy rising in my body as I smiled and declared my affirmation out loud with confidence and conviction. I felt empowered.

After washing the dog (poor thing encountered a skunk last night) and fixing French toast for my kiddos, I headed out the door to meet a friend for a walk at a nature park near our house.  It was the perfect day for a fall trek- a slightly overcast sky, cooler temps (we hit the record high for four days straight where I live, so anything less than 90 was feeling good…ha!), and good company.

As we walked along the trail, I began to notice the leaves scattered on the ground in varying shades and hues of yellow, brown, orange, and red. It looked like party confetti lavishly spread out before me. My spirit quickened at the thought. I felt the Lord smile and heard Him whisper to my spirit - "I threw this party for you. It's a pre-celebration of things to come."

After good conversation with my beautiful friend (the kind that feeds the soul) paired with some exercise, I met two other friends for lunch…friends I didn't even know existed until just a few short months ago. They represent the rich relationships I've recently been blessed with through AFT and evidence that God really goes above and beyond all I could ever ask or imagine. Hashtag blessed. #forreals.

I don't know where this journey is going to lead. I only know that saying "yes" to the adventure has been one of the best decisions of my life. You don't ever lose when you agree with God's plans and purposes. But I just had no idea how stretching and uncomfortable, how glorious and satisfactory, how expanding and extending this would all be.

And here I stand at the cusp of a new season, and the party has already started.

I can't wait to open tomorrow's gift!