Current Blog series: Purpose

Posts tagged encouragement

Braving the Unknown

Braving the Unknown

Flashback to January 2020: I was in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival with my best friend and all we could talk about was the fact that 2020 would be our year—we would accomplish our greatest goals and find our true path in life. Only two months later, everything began to change. The world was hit with a pandemic and everyone’s lives were affected for the worse in one way or another. Unemployment, sickness, distanced from the people we loved the most. In the blink of an eye, we were all shaken from our everyday routines and forced to face a new reality.

Series Introduction: Holding onto Hope

Series Introduction: Holding onto Hope

I see you. You are not hidden—and goodness, you are so strong. Has anyone ever told you that? I know each new day brings its challenges—but I see you. I do. You’re pushing through the tears, whispering affirmations under your breath, doing whatever it takes to carry on. I know the chaos around you creates unwanted, unwelcome noise. So, you shut it out. You lie there, curled up in a ball in the middle of your bed, wondering if you got up and put on your brave face then would everything be OK? That’s normal. I get it. I’ve been there. I am there.

Affirmations for Combating Destructive Thoughts

Affirmations for Combating Destructive Thoughts

Every single day, we are bombarded with less desirable realities and circumstances. Things like heartbreak, fear and anxiety compete for our attention and at times it can all be a bit much, am I right? In those moments when we are on the verge of a breakdown, the lies begin to creep in. We begin to associate our circumstances and the emotions we’re feeling with our worth. When we feel depleted of our strength, we believe the whispers of words like “weakness” and “lazy”. When we lose our grip on our lives, we fear we aren’t tough enough to fight back. When we find ourselves sobbing in bed in the middle of the day, we put ourselves down for not having it together.

Stop Equating Labels with Your Worth

Stop Equating Labels with Your Worth

I found myself wanting to explain what I used to do. I wanted to explain what happened and justify my reasons for moving on. I recognized how badly I wanted to label myself as something I thought was cool. I felt embarrassed that I was babysitting at 30-years-old, instead of just getting a job with regular hours. Then I felt bad about that, because I liked taking care of babies. I didn’t want to feel ashamed for following my own path. It may not work for other people to have the unpredictability of random temp jobs, but for me back then it was exactly what I needed.

Banishing Fear and Finding Your Self-Worth

Banishing Fear and Finding Your Self-Worth

When you’re young, things are easy. You don’t think about yourself at a critical level. You’re in school, have friends, stick to your hobbies, and spend your free time evaluating the world around you and contemplating all of the opportunities life has in store for you. Then you grow up. Suddenly, you find yourself caught up in a world filled with self-doubt, deception and questions about what’s next. I don’t say this to be cynical—I really don’t. I say this because it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how much my own thoughts of myself and my talents were weighing me down.

Series Introduction: Mind Over Matter

Series Introduction: Mind Over Matter

I understand we’re all wired differently and this is an absolutely difficult time for all of us—how we handle it or what we’re feeling will vary person to person. But, at the end of the day, we all have the same choice to make; how much of ourselves are we willing to give up, as we give into fear and anxiety? I’m not telling you to avoid emotional breakdowns—they’re going to happen and it’s OK to feel whatever it is you’re feeling right now. However, I am telling you to filter your feelings and guard your heart. Choose which thoughts you breathe life into and which ones you sever.

Pursuing Honest Reflections of Love

Pursuing Honest Reflections of Love

Someday, you have to stop caring. You have to give up, and you have to move on. You have to stop looking to others to see your reflection. Someday, you have to stop looking at all the ways in which you need to be fixed and start to love exactly who you are. It’s not easy not to care. People are quick to provide their input and judgements, and you’ll never run out of critiques if you go looking for them. In the most formative times of life, you can forget who you are and spend your time obsessing over who everyone thinks you are. It’s a run of faceless days ruled by the labels given to you.

4 Tips for Speaking Potential Over Her

4 Tips for Speaking Potential Over Her

Journals—my all-time favorite thing to collect. Although, now we could argue my obsession has escalated to typewriters… as I just added number nine to my collection (no lie). From a young age, I loved to scribble words onto paper while sitting on the floor of my childhood bedroom, spilling the latest schoolyard gossip and writing the name of my latest boy crush 57 times. As much as I enjoyed writing, it never once crossed my mind that I was good at it, let alone that people would ever care to read something I wrote. Until an angel of a middle school English teacher changed everything. We were assigned to write a collection of poetry and come up with a title for it, as if this was a legit published work of literary genius.

Endless Potential Through My Limitless God

Endless Potential Through My Limitless God

We are a people destined for great things. Not just the mundane tasks of life, but big things. We are meant to partner with God and His will for our lives, so He may bless our hands as we create. We are meant to dream with our Father, so He may answer our greatest prayers for this life. The best part about our God is He sets no boundaries. He doesn’t tell us what is possible and what is not. People told Him he would not be risen from the grave, so He came back after death to walk amongst the living again. He has NO limit to what He can do. In knowing my God is the source of my potential, I have set no limits for myself.

3 Keys to Reaching Your Full Potential

3 Keys to Reaching Your Full Potential

When God created you, He deposited within you many gifts and talents. Those gifts could be summarized in one word: potential. God has given you the potential to do great things, to serve Him fully, and to change the world for His glory. God did not give us fully developed gifts. Instead, He deposited seeds within us, and it is our job to care for those seeds, so they grow and mature, reaching their full potential. Many people get discouraged along the way. Their gifts do not develop as quickly as they would like. They do not reach their goals as soon as they had expected to. Often people end up settling for less, instead of continuing to push forward and reaching their full potential.

Believing in Your Own Potential When it Feels Like No One Else Does

Believing in Your Own Potential When it Feels Like No One Else Does

Knowing your true potential and the kind of person you want to become can be difficult. But once you’ve unlocked that side of yourself and figured out exactly where you want to end up in life, it’s the best feeling in the world. Knowing your true potential is so important in our modern culture and with women being given more opportunities in the workplace now more than ever, it is the time to shoot for the stars and make your biggest and best dreams come to life. But what do you do when people around you try to put you down? What happens when people try to make you feel less than and doubt that potential? What about when the people putting you down are the women who should be lifting you up?

Affirmations of Others Cannot Measure Your Potential

Affirmations of Others Cannot Measure Your Potential

Everyone has potential. We excel in different fields, but there is a place for each of us to succeed. When measuring out our potential, the greatest influence often comes from the observations and opinions of those we respect. If our boss says we have potential to move up in the company, our perception of our potential brightens. We strive for affirmation and encouragement from the experts. The problem is that human observation and opinion are often flawed. People make judgements based on subjective experiences, which don’t always lead to the best instincts about others. Basing our level of potential and worth on someone else's views can misguide us or even cause us to lose sight of our goals amidst our need to impress.

Series Introduction: Potential

Series Introduction: Potential

Potential. That’s a word with a whole lot of weight behind it. Parents, teachers, babysitters, tutors, bosses, spouses, you name it — they have all spoken to your potential. The funny thing about potential is the context can either be positive or negative. First scenario: you’re excelling and doing incredibly well, so you’re encouraged to stretch yourself and look within for untapped potential. Second scenario: you’re all about the bare minimum and you don’t challenge yourself. A.K.A. you’re not living up to your full potential. It doesn’t matter which scenario you find yourself in, as long as you’re aware of your potential. That’s key, girlfriend.

Nikki CharnstromJune 3, 2019potential, new series, theme, series, series introduction, blog for women, inspirational, motivational, new blog, christian women, girl boss, girl power, women who write, dreams, follow your dreams, inspiring, encouragement Comments

Grace in Which I Stand

Grace in Which I Stand

In my much younger, teenage years my greatest desire was to belong and be longed for. I found confirmation in the acceptance of others and their displays of love towards me, whether genuine or not. From wearing my one pair of clearance Abercrombie and Fitch shorts (because I was too cheap to buy an actual pair of pants) to carrying my school books in a purse rather than a backpack, I was desperate to be seen like every other “cool” girl. Come freshman year of college, seemingly all of that changed.

Nikki CharnstromMay 27, 2019identity, truth, real, advice, christian women, christianity, christian blog, Jesus, God, relationship with Jesus, encouragement, word of God, high school, college, inspirational, real stories, scripture Comment

Threads of Identity

Threads of Identity

Identity is at the very core of who you are. It’s what makes you… well, you. How you identify yourself shapes your personality, your “look”, and ultimately your heart. From a young age you have had the choice to become and grow into the person you hope to be. Of course, over the years your idealistic self changes and evolves. That’s natural, healthy even. Although, there is one thread of your identity that can never be pulled, ripped or frayed. This seam is strong and without give. The best part is, it exists within you and me.

Nikki CharnstromMay 23, 2019identity, jesus, relationship with Jesus, stay true to yourself, love yourself, honest, inspiring, encouragement, new blog, christian blog, christianity, christian women, blog for women, women who write, real stories, God Comment

Why God Must Be at the Center of Our Quest for Identity

Why God Must Be at the Center of Our Quest for Identity

Growing up, I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about my identity. I didn’t sit at home and ponder why I was the way I was. I didn’t spend much time contemplating my decisions or trying to be a certain way. I was just me. For the most part, I really liked who I was. But as an adult, I began to process my identity more and more. Why did I act a certain way? Why did people say hurtful things about me? Why did that situation bother me so much? Why was I the way I was? What was my identity?

Stop with the Negative Self-Talk

Stop with the Negative Self-Talk

For the month of April, I did 30 days of prayer and fasting. I focused on trying to find my identity in Christ and figure out where my relationship with God is. If I’m being honest, it has been a struggle. Finding my identity in Christ has been such a journey. One thing I want to say to all the people reading this is… finding your identity and who you truly are takes time. You’re not just going to discover who God created you to be overnight. Hair, makeup, clothes, and stuff like that is NOT your identity. Your identity is who you’ve chosen to be in life and who you’ve decided to be in Christ.

It is Christ Who Knows Me

It is Christ Who Knows Me

Before opening up my phone to find out this month’s topic, I found myself talking to my sweet friend Julia about where we find our worth/affirmation. We were discussing times we strived to get the approval of those we felt reflected the Lord through their lives most. Leaders, friends, you name it. We came to this common realization that we felt like we had been letting down the Lord when the leaders in our circle weren’t calling out the good things we did or the kind people we are. It was as if the people we admired had the authority to judge us in the same way our God does, but not because God said so. We had given them this power.

Nikki CharnstromMay 6, 2019identity, God, Christ, christian women, christianity, christian blog, inspirational, real, honest, christian, Jesus, relationship with Jesus, encouragement, truth, advice for women, new blog, women who write Comment

Morning Routine for the Busy Woman (FREE Printable)

Morning Routine for the Busy Woman (FREE Printable)

Lately, my morning routine has been a work in progress. I want to rise feeling rested and ready for the day. Especially now that I work most days from home, healthy morning habits have never been so important. In order to have a successful day, it all begins with the first hour. Setting ourselves up to have a productive, goal-crushing day should be a priority for every girlboss, mother and hard-working gal out there. Here are a few things I’ve learned recently that propel me into having better days.

Cultivating the Habit of Happiness

Cultivating the Habit of Happiness

Happiness hasn’t been my best friend lately. I’ve been walking through a pretty gloomy season of grief, loss and some might even call it depression. Although, even in the darkest moments, happiness finds me like a ray of golden sunshine. When it does, oh my goodness do I cling to it, girlfriend. Times of sadness are unavoidable, and frankly, we can’t be happy every hour of every day. So, what am I saying? While we might not be able to control the times when we experience real happiness, we can begin to nurture and love ourselves into it. Becoming aware of the importance of being happy is the first step to allowing the light to obliterate the darkness.