Statistics say Christmas and Valentines are the highest recordings of suicide and depression. People feel unloved, unseen, dismissed, forgotten, used and lonely. Thanks to the commercialism of the holiday, men and women alike find themselves feeling left out in the absence of being romantically noticed.
Back to the holiday....
you can’t be all things to all people
you have to prioritize all the to-dos and don’t set unachievable expectations on yourself 
it’s better to function in community rather than control
no one is perfectly handling life
to find moments of grace breaths throughout the day
to stop overthinking
that the world is not watching every step for me to fail
my family and dearest friends love me right where I am and God Loves me more!
Do you ever find yourself wanting to say No but feel you simply can't?!? I get you!
As someone with a heart for people and gifts in hospitality....and deeply rooted in the old ways Insecurity taught me...saying No was HARD! It felt rude and selfish and yet all the years later, I have come to realize saying No is a humble thing to say.
Culture has a constant demand on our minds, buy this, apply that, go here, join them, automate here... Hobby Lobby and ChickFilA got it right! They follow what God suggested: say No one day a week!
Sometimes we don't realize we are doing but so often we do know it but we don't know how to say NO! Let's practice saying it...."No. No Thank You. I appreciate you thinking of me/asking me, but I have to say No."
There it is!
We don't say No just to be lazy or get out of things, and if you're like me, you're not trying to! It's quite the opposite...we want so badly to say YES!!!! When we become everyone's yes, it means we are saying No to something else by nature. What is being avoided or ignored if we don't guard it's yes to it?!? Sometimes it's just our sanity, lol. Other times, we are depleting ourselves to the point of never being able to serve in our mission or calling because we are so busy serving every one else's. I think sometimes people say Yes without even considering it wasn't theirs to say yes to and are stepping into a place meant for someone else.
When our morning prayer is " God lead me today into the Yeses YOU have already prepared for me and give the wisdom and courage to stay focused" we are more easily able to find the right answer at every ask.
So whether you need to be saying Yes or No, may you seek first what His answer is and follow along His lead! (God doesn't always say Yes to everything we ask either - can we get an AMEN to that!)
Lord, Thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit to lead and gird us up for our day. In a world of so many opportunities and temptations alike, we surrender our Yes to YOU ALONE so that we can say Yes or No to the world. Give us Your eyes to see the path laid out for us! Amen
