Weekly Blog

Good afternoon to you all! I hope that the holiday season and new year brought you a lot of joy and happiness. Much like new life and changes begin and surface during the Spring season, so do many other issues. As such, today, I wanted to talk about perseverance. 

As defined by Merriam-Webster, Perseverance is: "continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition: the action or condition or an instance of persevering: STEADFASTNESS." 

Since November 2020, I have been making sure to persevere. There are so many moving pieces in my life, some good and some not so good, but I will never give up. Every day that I get to wake up and see the sunlight, take a breath, see my son's smiling face, and more, I remember why it is so important to keep pushing. Between school, daily life obstacles and tasks, experiencing people who energize and drain me alike, I keep going on top of living daily with PTSD, GAD, and MDD. It is not easy by any means, but it is worth it. There are a lot of great days. There are a lot of great moments, minutes, and seconds alike. There are goals that I want to maintain and newer goals to reach. To accomplish this all, I must persevere. 

In just realizing this about my personal experience, I thought it would be the perfect time to encourage any of you who may be completely overwhelmed, unsure of your next move, or close to giving up to KEEP GOING. You are failing a class, are on your last write-up at work, but are also a Mother/Father, and have very little support? KEEP GOING! You're so close to reaching your goal and experience one setback that can feel like the world has now caved on your dream? KEEP GOING! No matter what is happening in your life and environment, you can persevere. You can achieve all of your goals and objectives. Anything in this world destined for you will not pass without coming to you. It will be yours! That doesn't mean that you do not have to work for it, though. 

So get up, pray, plan, practice, and push yourself to work for all you want. Remind yourself every day that you are a unique and fantastic being and accomplish anything you set your mind to do. Anyone in your circle is trying to talk you out of your dream?  Keep them out of your goal business. You do not need that negativity. Fill your mind and spirit with positive affirmations, food and drink that is beneficial, and above all else, be steadfast. 

I believe in you. There is no trial unconquerable. Set your goals, activate your plan, and PERSEVERE. We are all in this together, and there is always A Blessing In The Storm ⛈. 

~Shoshana

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Hello, hello! I surely have missed you all! I cannot wait to fill you in on all the happenings! Between all the new challenges and changes happening in my life, I have had no time to get on and check-in with you all. 

This pandemic has bought about a lot of change for all of us as a nation. In all of this uncertainty and change, I have made some significant strides towards healing. I have since enrolled back in college, and Claven has returned to school on a hybrid schedule. That has afforded us some normalcy amidst the abnormal. I still attend therapy sessions twice weekly, and that helps with a lot of the anxiety that occurs as a result of such a full schedule. I know back in April, I disclosed that someone very close to me had passed away from Covid-19. Since then, I have begun the grieving process with my son by making a memory box and putting some sentimental items for closure inside of it. That memory box served a great deal of purpose. It provided me with the closure that I could handle at the time. Later on, when there is more room for the emotional stress that can come with grieving, I will revisit the topic and see what new closure can come, if any. 

With all of these great things happening in my life, I now smile more than a few short months ago.  I am also mindful of the time of year that is now upon us; the holiday season. It is during this season that a lot of people, including those who suffer from mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder, and other diagnoses, can be severely affected by holiday blues. 

With that said, I wanted to encourage you all to embrace your loved ones, friends, and others who may be struggling at this time. Holiday blues on top of pandemic fever can be difficult for people who feel alone. If you know someone who could benefit from words of encouragement and love during this time, share that kindness with them. 

If you would like some tips on how to deal with the holiday blues this year, make sure to click on the picture for this blog. There are some great tips listed that can help to combat the blues and loneliness this holiday season. If you are reading this blog entry and feel like you have nowhere to turn, please click on the resource link tab to be directed to national hotlines for suicide prevention and other resources available to help. 

I want to wish you all an amazing, happy, and joyous holiday season. Stay tuned this week for exciting recipes, new fit tips, and items from Jatoj, and more! If you'd like to comment or share your stories, please click the comment button below to go directly to the ABITS Facebook page or email them to shoshana@ablessinginthestorm.com.

We are all in this together and there is ALWAYS A Blessing In The Storm ⛈.

~Shoshana

Hello you guys! What a month it has been! I hope you have all been well.

I feel like I have been running a marathon! There are so many changes that have been taking place in my life that I am so excited about. 

In between August and today, I had my surgical procedure on my back that has given me a huge relief from pain. I am starting classes next week, and have so many wonderful things lined up for A Blessing In The Storm!

There are more self-love and wellness tips to come, aromatherapy candles, and items from YLC Candles,  gourmet recipes, beauty tips, and more to come. 

I have received a lot of feedback and testimonies from people who are open to sharing their stories with us.  I cannot wait to start the feature stories and see how that helps to continue to motivate, encourage, and uplift you all going through your own healing as I am. 

It hit me today that throughout all of the changes and positive happenings, that I am evolving. It is literally like going through a personal metamorphosis. I love it!

It seems that when I felt like I was at a point of impossibility, I was actually cocooning and preparing to become a butterfly. 

I look forward to sharing weekly experiences as they are taking place and hope to hear more from you all as well! Remember, we are all in this together, and there is ALWAYS A Blessing In The Storm. 

~Shoshana 

Good morning,

Happy Sunday you guys! I hope you all have been doing well. I have missed blogging the last couple of weeks, but guess who's back! So today is special. Not only was I blessed to see another day, but I am here to talk to you all about the power of positivity. 

Simply put, positivity is the act of being positive, fully assured and, confident in opinion or assertion. (definition: dictionary.com). Positivity is such a powerful tool that we are ALL capable of.

Thinking positive will change your life. Some days you may have to look a little harder to find the positives in certain situations, but I assure you they are there. You woke up late this morning and now feel like the day isn't going to go as planned? Then change your thought process! Some people didn't wake up at all! God could have saved you from a horrible accident that happened along the same route that you take every morning. There is something positive in every aspect of life. 

I have shared with you all before that I suffer from different mental illnesses (Complex PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, Panic Disorder, etc.), but guess what, God is using me to share my journey with you all and that alone is a positive. My journey is being used to help countless others to begin their healing process, to not be ashamed of the different mental health issues they have because of stigmas and more! 

So I have plenty of positives to be appreciative of, even when some days don't feel like it. 

I have spinal stenosis and a tumor on my spinal column, and just when I felt like I was being defeated, God is making a way for this tumor to not stop my daily life. I can walk even with pain, I am seeing some of my states TOP specialists getting me through this. In addition to all of the things happening in my life, I have now added college student to the list.

 That's right I am going BACK to college! I have decided to take courses that will not only allow me to understand more in my healing journey, but will allow me to also help others to understand more about what their aggressors did to them, making their healing journey that much easier. 

So, I could complain about things but what will that do? Let me answer it: it was cause more grief, strain, and chaos. Instead, I am choosing to think positive, speak positive to myself and others, remind anyone I can about the power of positivity. 

Whatever is happening in your life right now, whatever has you feeling defeated and beaten down, whatever you think you cannot get through, I PROMISE YOU, YOU CAN!  You are blessed, highly favored, and a fighter! Look for the positives in every situation. You woke up late? Good, you avoided disaster. Your interview didn't go well and they gave the job to someone else? Good, God opened the door and windows to something better! You wanted to open that storefront but they gave the building to someone else? Good, God has a building in store just for you that will elevate you higher than you even dreamed possible! Whatever has you down, think on the positive about it. It all works out in the end and you are not alone.

We are all here for reasons, we are still standing despite what's happening around us. 

If nothing else today, remember YOU HAVE THE POWER TO THINK AND FIND THE POSITIVES IN EVERY NEGATIVE THAT OCCURS. 

I love you all, and we are all in this together. Please remember that there is ALWAYS A Blessing In The Storm. ⛈

~Shoshana

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