Okay....ladies. I had alot of goals for the month of February. 1. Write down everyday something I am thankful for. 2. Fast for the month of February. 3. Do 100 consecutive push ups. 4. Continue reading my bible plan to complete the bible in 1 year. 5. Right a post each day on my blog. So for the most part I was pretty consistent with all the above goals. I was distracted for a part of the month due to some new things happening in my life :) as well as dealing with some symptoms in my body. At times I did get off track, but kept moving forward. My push up challenge I got up to 40 total. But I am still going towards my goal of 100 consecutive push ups. I am proud of all my efforts this month and excited about what I will be doing in March. I will keep moving forward. Your "goal girl" [e].

I have always wanted to be in control of everything in my life. I think this is fairly common in women. If someone wanted to play a game with me I would need to know all the rules, all the details before we even start the game. Some of my leaders would just say why do you need to know everything, let's just start playing. I have had issues of trust, rejection, and abandonment. If I had plans with someone and they cancelled or wanted to change the plans, it brought me a huge level of discomfort and anxiety. But I noticed the more I was in control in my life, the less happy I was. For example, because I have been in some poor relationships in the past, me trying to be in control was I would make sure to protect my heart and put up alot of walls. But you know what? I couldn't experience the people in my present that loved me and supported me. You may think...when I am in control I can protect myself, but that's not true. God never asked you to protect yourself. He told you to ...

Everyday we get bombarded with a new set of challenges. We have a complete list of cares that will attempt to suck all the life out of our day and cause us to want to be worried and anxious. We think about the care of our aging parents, the bills that are due, and the mere fact you wake up one day older to ask "what am I doing with my life?" can bring anxiety. For me, sometimes I can wake up and feel so much pressure of the day that I just want to close my eyes and go back to sleep. But I have learned that I can't run away, but to cast away all my cares to God. The scripture that I have stood on regards to casting my cares is found in 1 Peter 5:7: Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you " (NLT) Yesterday, I learned just how far I have come in regards to casting my cares. I am a business owner and I was asked to quote on a project for a client. Normally my vendor is extremely competitve and I usually get the job. But this particular quote was a...

Remember ladies when I told you that my friend told me if things aren't working in your life.....to create your own breakthrough. Well I had a position that opened up for me at a job I am very interested in. :) From hearing those wonderful words to create my own breakthrough alot has changed in only a few short weeks. My career is going to change and I will be able to help young girls and women. So excited about this opportunity. I hope I get it! But whatever happens I am proud of my progress and I won't stop or give up. I will continue to more forward. Ask yourself: are you still going after your dreams in regards to your career, starting your own business, or have an invention that you know that the world would love. Resurrect you dreams and go after them, because you can have anything you say and believe in your heart. Your "goal girl" [e].

Hello, Ladies....As you guys know I completed the Insanity Challenge awhile back....if you want to read about my journey read "My Insanity Challenge". But I wanted to talk about this particular challenge and the potential injuries that can occur. Now, before I did this challenge, I considered myself in pretty good condition. I was used to doing Jillian Michaels workouts, which I thought were pretty challenging as well as a variety of other videos. So I thought I should do well with Insanity. One word of caution. The moves in the videos are very quick and you have to make sure you have good posture and form for each move or else you could potentially harm yourself. I would say within the first few days I noticed that during the warm up my right ankle would hurt. I thought I will not be able to go for the full duration of the 8 weeks challenge with this type of pain. At first I thought it was my gym shoes, so I went out and purchased a new pair of shoes. But the pain still occu...

photo: www.tumblr.com Yesterday, my older sister watched a self help show in regards to the effects of happiness in people. How their lives are easier, healthier, they feel better and get more accomplished in life by simply being happy. Did you know that a smile can contribute to your happiness in life. There are 15 wonderful facts that I found.  1. Forcing yourself to smile can boost your mood : Psychologists have found that even if you’re in bad mood, you can instantly lift your spirits by forcing yourself to smile. 2. It boosts your immune system : Smiling really can improve your physical health, too. Your body is more relaxed when you smile, which contributes to good health and a stronger immune system. 3. Smiles are contagious : It’s not just a saying: smiling really is contagious, scientists say. In a study conducted in Sweden, people had difficulty frowning when they looked at other subjects who were smiling, and their muscles twitched into smiles all on their own....

I was talking to one of my friends today about the difference between guys and girls. As women, we have to know what is going on, figure it all out. We generally know how to handle alot of situations, we have the ability to figure people out, and multi-task multiple things at once. But.....when it comes to men it is a totally different situation. We can ask..when you go to the store can you pick up some milk...they come back with ice cream. My one friend said she was running a group and they were having spaghetti night. Each person was to bring something to complete the meal. She asked one of the guys to bring the pasta..and guess what he brought....a box of uncooked pasta to the group! Well this is where the men would need a "play by play", When you talk to a guy it needs to be broken all the way down to...."Bring 3 boxes of cooked pasta to the group at 7pm." If you need something specific from a guy, write it on a list or text him..that way there will be no confus...

I remember reading a devotional plan in regards to weight loss, but it also made me think about other areas of life. As women we compare ourselves all the time to other women. We wish we had her legs, her arms, her figure, her hair, or outright her life! If you are overweight you wish you could be the skinny girl that dresses so cute all the time you perceive has the perfect life, she may deal with anorexia issues and depression. The successful business woman that seems like her career is at its highest peak and she has accumulated alot of financial wealth, deals with loneliness and wants to be married and have babies. You may be the person people are looking at because it looks like you have the perfect life! Perceptions can lie to us all the time. We sometimes perceive them as truth. You never really know what a person is going through in life. I remember I went up to my Pastor and he told me this......"Ericka you have it pretty good in life. You really don't have any issues...

I remember when I saw this scripture Proverbs 14:30a "A relaxed attitude lengthens life. With all the hustle and bustle of the day....life can get really hectic at times. We have our daily routines...constantly striving to be better and manage to squeeze in one more thing before the end of the day. There was a survey that was taken several years ago for senior citizens. One of the questions that were asked where if you were young again, what would you do differently. I remember the response of one of the seniors. He said that he worked very hard for his family, so he was in the office all the time and worked long nights. In the twilight years of his life he said the last thing he wanted to think about was those office walls, and the first thing he wanted to think about was his family. He said he would have worked less and enjoyed his family more. Because really that is what is most important in the end. So I challenge you today.....to just slow down a bit. Don't get stressed o...

We have all heard the scripture that says...."it is better to give than to receive". But how many believers actually know how to receive? I know for me this had been an area of pride and extremely humbling to receive from those around me. I guess because I had to fight so hard for all that I have in my life, when someone wanted to bless me, be kind, or considerate.....in some ways I didn't know how to handle it. Birthdays and Christmas used to be such difficult times for me, because it was all about giving and receiving. I would have to take a deep breath, sometimes break out crying before reading all the cards and looking at the gifts. I battled such low self-esteem. I would think to myself, why would someone want to give me something or write these kind words to me. I had beat myself up in so many areas of my life. All the mistakes I made, failures, and disappointments. But I realized that God loved me more than my mistakes. All of the giving I was doing and having issu...

I remember taking a class called the Gabriel Call several years ago. It taught us different skills on how to be a successful business owner. I remember hearing the term "The Art of Negotiation". Peter Daniels a billionaire was speaking about some of the techniques he has used when it comes to negotiation. He said that when you have cash that you have more power to negotiate. I also learned that if you talk to one person and they don't give you the answer you need, always try again and talk to another person. Well I just used this technique when it came to my current cell phone bill. I got a new phone in November of last year. It only cost me $0.99 less than a buck! Which was a great deal....considering it was over $600.00 phone. But the bad part was that it increased my bill over $100.00, when my bill was $82.00. I called last week to see if I could get a better deal, especially since I have been with my cell phone provider for over 9 years. But the best that representati...

Hey, Ladies. Just wanted to give you a quick update of my push up goals challenge. I am up to 40 push ups. I did take a break this week from working out and the push ups. But I am back on track on Monday. I was given some wonderful advise from a fitness trainer that told me how to tackle my goal. He told me that the fact I can do 40 push ups as a woman is very impressive because many woman don't have strong upper body strength. So I feel pretty accomplished by what I have already done. :) I do need to be careful, because I do not want any injuries. So I am pushing towards my goal, but with wisdom. So....have you girls tried to do at least one push up (man or woman)?. Come on and give it a try. You have a week and half left. Your "goal girl" Ericka

I found this information about training the mind as a muscle. I did not write this one, but wanted to share. Train your mind like a muscle. When multitasking is the norm, your brain quickly adapts. You lose the ability to focus as distraction becomes a habit. "We've trained our brains to be unfocused," Rock says. Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and committing your attention to a single task. Start small, maybe five minutes per day, and work up to larger chunks of time. If you find your mind wandering, just return to the task at hand. "It’s just like getting fit," Rock says. "You have to build the muscle to be focused." (http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225321)

When things work together for the good...it is a beautiful thing. :) You know how you feel when you get to the end of a workout and you fall out on the floor due to exhaustion...with sweat rolling down your face, but your body feels so good. Or when you finished writing a research paper that took weeks of research and writing but in the end you got an A. Although at first it may seem like your goal is to hard to complete just remember the after....that "ahhh feeling"...that feels so wonderful. A sense of accomplishment rolls through you and you look for another goal to get that same kind of high. I believe we can say that is how we walk by faith. Remember all the times in your life when it just seemed like you could not handle one more disappointment, failure, stress or fear, but you can look back and see how far you have come. It is the same with your goals....each day you accomplish one or several goals...you will look back and see just how much you accomplished and it star...

One thing you will realize about me is that I love to be transparent. I will tell on myself in many areas and share my failures, faults, and triumphs. If I find out something that helps me in any area of my life or what hasn't helped me, I will gladly share it with those around me. Do you share with others different things that have helped you to be a better person? Don't be selfish and keep it all to yourself. Share it, because you never know how it can equip them for their life. I just had someone close to me share some news with me about something that could appear to be devastating news in their life. When I heard the news I first thought...will they be able to handle this? Will they get into fear or be discouraged? But I remembered that I had just shared with them the week before about casting your cares. My mom (Pastor Nancy) taught me that in my weekly healing life group when I call in. She said everyday when you wake up write down all your cares on a piece of paper. The...

Okay...well you girls all know that I have alot of goals going on right now in my life. Some of the goals I fell behind with just like this blog :), but no reason to beat myself up...I just keep moving forward. Now I am reevaluating some of my goals and seeing if I can keep up the pace. And the answer is yes. Ask yourself can you keep up the pace of all your current goals. If not maybe you need to make some adjustments. I noticed I needed to make some changes to my schedule to make sure I can do all the things I wanted to accomplish on a daily basis for the month of February. So if you have fallen a day or two behind in your goals. Take some time to reevaluate those goals. If some of the goals need to have a longer timeline to accomplish it doesn't mean that you failed. I have realized life is too short to beat yourself up. So just reevaluate and keep moving forward. In time you will get there. Your "goal girl" [e].

I have a friend of mine that always says to me "do you". If I say, I want to wear this or that outfit, but I just wore it two days ago....she would say...Ericka "do you". If I wanted to make plans to go to my families house instead of going out to eat..she would say "do you". I remember when this saying began to  minister to my heart. So many times I was always trying to be somebody else because I did not think being me was good enough. How many times in life are you just going around trying to be everybody else, except yourself? Worried about what others think or what they are going to say. "Do you" is who God created you to be. He has a plan for you, a purpose for you, and future for you. He created you with all your unique abilities, talents, look and shape. So my challenge is for you to love and celebrate who God created you to be. Somebody is waiting for and needs you to "be you" in their life. Your "goal girl" [e].

"Do Something".....these words were on a bracelet that I was given at a financial conference at my church by my loving Pastor and it was awesome. It was extremely productive and a wonderful investment for my life. I learned about finances of course, but I understood in a greater way how to grow those finances in practical ways. I also learned a wealth of knowledge in regards to relationships, breaking poverty mentality, getting a will, trusts and how to reduce debt. We also were given a huge package by one of our guest speakers Garret Gunderson that will further prepare me for my future. I have so many goals and ambitions that I have had in my heart for several years and I will finally be able to make those things happen this year in 2013 with everything that I learned at the conference. I finally will see "new things" happen in my life by "doing something" about it. Is your life in order? Start now by cleaning up all the areas in your life that have been...

I have been believing God for many things in my life, but I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.....my breakthrough is on the horizon! I have been walking through the wilderness...it seemed like forever. Wondering when would I ever make it to the other side and then...bam! I walk another step and I am out the forest. I went to a financial conference tonight, not expecting to run into my Pastor. But when I did....he began to talk to me and ask me questions about a part of my life. Then he began to talk to me about other areas as well. Everything he said was accurate and confirmed in my heart by God. I finally know what I need to do with certain decisions. I finally know what direction to take. I have times in the past when I would have extreme pressure hitting me at every corner of life then my breakthrough would happen. The answered prayer would come to pass. I told you girls in January that I was fasting something every month this year. This week was a very tough week for m...

The Bible says to write down the vision and make it plain. (Habakkuk 2:2). God was first in the business of teaching us the importance of goal setting. It is so important to recognize what captures your attention everyday. What are you looking at? What are you pursuing? How do you use your time? When you have goals that you have written down, your mind is subconsciously trying to figure out how to accomplish them and you will use all your time, energy, resources and effort to figure out how to get it done. Take a look at some interesting statistics in regards to goal setting. Study 1 According to Dave Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech: People who regularly write down their goals earn nine times as much over their lifetimes as people who don't. 80% of Americans say they don't have goals. 16% do have goals but don't write them down. Less than 4% write down their goals and fewer than 1% review them on an ongoing basis. Study 2 Psychology professor, Dr. Gai...

I completed the Insanity challenge in August 2011. It was a great experience. It was a total of 63 days long, 6 days a week. I took my before pictures, front, side, and back views. I remember the first day I did the fit test. It was intense, but I thought I can do this Insanity challenge. My goal was to get the Insanity shirt that was promised at the end. Can you believe that I did a crazy challenge just to get a shirt. Yes!!!! I did a 63 day challenge to get a shirt...haha. It was the focus, a reward. I love rewards and you must make rewards for any goal you complete. It will keep you motivated and excited. One of my rewards after I finished the challenge was to get a professional photo shoot. That is where this Insanity photo came from. :) Anyway, the second day of the challenge I did the video that was listed on the workout calender which was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I say within the first 5 minutes I thought to myself....what have I gotten myself into. I then continued for th...

Everyone knows that voice, that still small voice that speaks to them everyday. Some say it's your conscience, others say its your intuition but really it is the Holy Spirit. I want you to look over your life and ask yourself this simple question...."Have you always obeyed that still small voice in every area of your life?" Has God shown you how to be successful at work, or be a better employee? But you did not do it. Did he give you a creative idea or invention and you did not go after it. Did He tug on your heart and say....read your Bible or get up early to spend time with Him, but getting those extra 10 - 20 minutes of sleeping in the bed seemed more advantageous to you at the time. Has he said don't eat that cake, eat an apple. That is not just you thinking that, that is God helping you to make a healthy decision so you can live longer to accomplish the plans He has for your life. God is talking to us all the time. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our ...

Ladies make sure to create SMART goals for yourself. ;) SMART is an acronym for a way to develop goals that are easily trackable and accountable. SMART stands for: S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable R = Relevant T = Time-Framed When you include all the attributes listed above, you create a goal that can be objectively tracked and measured, which can make it easier for you to see progress on the goal, and easier for others to evaluate your performance on the goal. (Goal SMART info sited from https://performancemanager4.successfactors.com)

Alright......I did 32 push ups today and it was very hard, but nonetheless on my way to the 100 push ups mark. :) I just want you girls to know that I am not a fitness guru, I'm not a personal trainer, or a health nut with my food. I'm the everyday girl trying to improve in life in every area. I had to start somewhere and I just kept moving forward. So with all that said, I am doing somethings currently in my life that is really taking me out of my comfort zone. Some of the goals that I will be pursuing will create major changes in my life...and I'm sure those around me won't like some of these decisions, but it will be the right thing to do. It will cause me breaking free of past pains and hurts and taking me places that will be peaceful and healing. Do you have goals that will cause you to face pain....remember that when you break new ground it can be unknown and scary to you, but once you adapt you will see it is a beautiful and peaceful place. Break free in God. You...

Although my post is a little late in the day....it still counts. :) It is interesting.....all the attacks I was getting today to just quit, throw in the towel of all the goals that are in my heart, but I made a choice to continue to move forward. I was even attacked in my thoughts regarding this blog. Who is reading it? Who cares what I have to say? Then I open up my email and see someone posted a comment tonight. We all need encouragement, whether it is encouraging ourselves and/or others....but we must remember to keep moving forward no matter what. Job 17:9a says, "The righteous keep moving forward". There will be days when you want to give up on everything, but that is the time when your breakthrough is right around the corner. It's right there...don't give up! And if you say, "Well, I have already failed at one of my goals, I missed a day". Just dust yourself off and get back up again. God is right there beside you walking you through every step of the ...