GoodAdvice4Life

Money! Money! We all need it, want more of it, and can manage it better.  What is it? Clearly, it's money.  Is it really the root of evil today, as some claim? Absolutely not ! This common misconception of money as evil is cleared up by going to the source .  (1  Timothy 6:10 )  “ For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."   However, we are equally admonished for not providing for our loved ones. (1 Timothy 5:8 )    “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”   The Bible clearly calls for us all to be good financial stewards . (Proverbs 13:16)  “A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and even brags about it!” (Proverbs 21:5)  “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (Proverbs...

The Gift You Must Give Yourself!  'Tis the Season to give, love, count our blessings, wish, and dream of Peace.  It is also a time for assessing the year, perhaps you had to account for your work contributions in an annual performance review.  Maybe you have been reflecting on everything you accomplished, or meant to - oops!  I want you to give yourself the gift of letting go.  It's the perfect time to reflect on what is working for you in life and in relationships.  Who is adding joy and love, and who is draining you? What is adding value to your life and what needs to go. Time for the gift you must give yourself: Let it go! (Sorry parents, I know this  song will be stuck in your head!) Not sure where to start? Feeling overwhelmed or exhausted? I got you! Step One: Write down a list of everything you cannot control (this includes people and their perceptions/opinions).  Let go of other people's expectations, of unrealistic expectations, and of t...

The “I – Style – U” Personal Style Method  Style! Do you have a fabulous style? It can't be bought, but it can be cultivated. Where to begin?  The “ I – Style – U ” method, created by myself, is your key to creating an informed, intentional, intuitive, and inspirational personal style. These four I’s are key to the four U’s : unlocking, understanding, unleashing, and utilizing your personal style. The four I’s :   Look at the four I's and how they resonate with you (journaling encouraged!)   Informed: Your present situation, lifestyle, body, and daily activities inform your style base. Be honest and unashamed of your present reality and needs.                        Intentional: Your purpose, plans, and desires guide where you want your style to take you. Be courageous in admitting what you really want!                             I...

Soulful Style: Expressing Identity Self-Reflection Questions:    What's your style?  How do you express yourself?  What makes your soul sing?  How do you show up? How do you want to show up? Let's not confuse style with something else. Fashion is not style. " Miranda: You have no sense of fashion. Andy: I think that depends on… Miranda: No, no, that wasn't a question." 'The Devil Wears Prada'. - Clothing itself is not style.  Garments provide a covering for our bodies, so perhaps you don’t think what you wear is important beyond comfort and protective use ( check out knight armory ). Style is the  how and the why , it represents the attention and expertise behind how and why something is done, which gives it both purpose and meaning . Think of style as a statement, an illustration, a representation, or a symbol of something else. Think of a military uniform, a physician's white coat , a queen with her crowns, jewels, velvet robes, and a scept...

Let Your Inner Child help you to Discover your Personal Style Take the free and fun short quiz here ! Discovering your own unique personal style is a journey, but it should feel as familiar and safe as it is exciting and unexpected! Your unique personality and gifts are your compass to finding your authentic style. Of course, we don't fit neatly into one box, and that is a good thing!  Once you have taken the above quiz, I invite you to reflect more on the questions from the quiz and write down more detailed and accurate answers that are true to you.  Your style journey is a journey of self-discovery, self-healing, self-love, and self-expression.  The more comfortable you are with your unique strengths and preferences, the more accurately and effortlessly you can express them through your style, and in doing so you create a safe and welcoming space for others to express their authentic selves. 💗Wishing you Amazing Love & Awesome Style P.S. Clicking the links in my ar...

 Confessions of a Life Coach Five Common Questions Q: Is life coaching a scam ?  A: No, but you should be clear about what it can and cannot offer. Q: Is life coaching a replacement for therapy? A: No, and you should know the difference .   Q: Is life coaching expensive? A: It depends, but it is an investment  you make in yourself and your future. Q: What can a life coach help you to accomplish if you feel stuck or don't know where to begin? A: A life coach can help you to  clarify your needs and work with your strengths, to set achievable goals. Q: How would you know if a particular life coach would be the right fit? A: It is important to consider life coaching  compatibility .  Top Ten Questions for Life Coaching Compatibility   Does this person have a life that you like/respect/admire?    Does this person have a worldview and values that you agree with?    Does this person have the training and qualifications to coach?...

Stop Struggling. Be Transformed. You do not need to improve.  You are the best you will ever be, and ever were and ever shall be on your own. You don't believe me, but how then have you grown? We all need to be reading more  poetry  apparently. Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and you wished for nothing so much as to change. If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from what is alien; so one must simply help it to be sick, to have its whole sickness and to break out with it, since that is the way it gets better.” ―  Rainer Maria Rilke,  Letters to a Young Poet We have forgotten to be sick, to be depressed, to be miserable, and to embrace our whole human lives.  We have forgotten that our sickness, our depression, and our misery are healers, teachers, and sages. We have given away our power and peace in exchange for easy answers and pois...

Are You Under the Law? Government: We have thousands of laws in the United States of America.  Federal  laws... State  laws... But, what about The RULE of Law ? "The most important demand of the Rule of Law is that people in positions of authority should exercise their power within a constraining framework of well-established public norms rather than in an arbitrary,  ad hoc , or purely discretionary manner on the basis of their own preferences or ideology. It insists that the government should operate within a framework of law in everything it does, and that it should be accountable through law when there is a suggestion of unauthorized action by those in power." Government is not the law. The government is not supposed to behave as  tyrants or  oppress the rights of citizens or violate the Constitution . The government is supposed to be constrained by the established laws and held accountable by the people who are also under those same laws.  The p...

Spooky Season won't Disappear! Have you noticed?  I love Autumn, and Holiday fun as much as the next pumpkin-spice latte-girl . There is an eery chill in the air. Halloween is around the corner, according to vast retailers.  Some darkness lovers have already decorated their houses and lawns with gruesome scenes.  Horror  movies  have drastically increased, but is that the cause or effect of human fascination with  evil ? Is it a growing lack of human empathy  coupled with our need for more stimulation? There are real  zombies  everywhere. They are usually on their phones .  We all are battling the "need" to have our phone in our hands (or another screen in front of us) and do not want to admit to ourselves the severity of our addiction . The battle  for your time, health , autonomy, life, and soul is real.  The good news is that you are not alone ! Will you find your own way out of the darkness?  Before you assume you can ...

Deceitful Hearts Oh, deceitful heart !  It is easy to see hypocrisy in others.  There is so much of it in politics, that we wonder if some can even move their mouths without being deceptive. They are speaking their own truth, but not truth, because their hearts are wicked. These experts at self-deception have no problem speaking lies to others on a regular basis. Career liars may be no longer capable of telling the truth because of their self-serving hearts. How can we protect ourselves from being fooled? 

 Illusion of Reality - We are all Wrong We construct what we think of as reality by interpreting presented data and accepted facts.  Our brains are wired to perceive, and our environment and expectations can really make those perceptions differ.  Check out the cool illusions linked below and test for yourself! " Reality" is constructed by your brain, an article . So, if we are all wrong about things we think we know, and even see with our own eyes from time to time, why are we so invested in being right?  You can blame your brain for that. How do we even know what we know? We all need to examine our expectations and personal biases and commit to truth-seeking.  If we all do what is right only in our own eyes , we are not acting in a unified spirit of love or of truth, but according to our own flawed perceptions and selfish natures. Our perceptions of data itself prevent us from having anything but a subjective experience of that data, and we are all prone to di...

Pain or Suffering? Pain. All humans experience pain. While psychologists and some belief systems conclude that pain is inevitable, they say that suffering is somewhat optional. Pain is a "normal part" of the human condition; some even argue it is a gift ! While this can be difficult to understand, it can also be encouraging .  Pain is felt as a bad thing, but could be the messenger telling us important information to save us from a worse fate.  Ever try ignoring your pain? It doesn't work, and you risk hurting yourself more when you ignore the pesky messenger.  We often try to numb pain and go about our lives, but this could lead to further injury . Suffering Suffering is another thing. Suffering involves putting up with pain, even making a home for it. Beyond the physical...the mind can cling to pain and then the  soul can suffer . Christian  leaders  and philosophers grapple with the complexity of both pain and suffering in  biblical doctrine . What...

Why You Cannot Find Your Purpose What is your purpose ? Purpose is defined as the reason that something was intentionally made.  So if you wonder what your purpose is in life, you are wondering if there is a reason that you specifically were made. In other words, what were you designed  for doing?  Did you know that it is actually related to your very reason for existing?  We can only talk about your purpose by talking about the importance of you personally. You, your worth, life, and purpose are all connected. You were created with a purpose. You were created for a purpose.  You are a work of art . You are unique and possess unique talents and gifts. So What Happened? How did you lose your sense of true purpose? Did you never discover it?  Maybe the worries of life and societal expectations got in the way.  Maybe you got lost, trying to be like everyone else. Maybe you did not want a purpose, because that would mean you were meant for something, crea...

Got Aliens? You don't have to be a true believer to enjoy a good sci-fi movie   featuring aliens, but could this fascination with aliens stem from a deeper psychological need?  Even devout skeptics and scientists have expressed optimism in finding alien life. There is no dispute that  UFO , I'm sorry UAP  "sightings" are on the rise, as are new claims that the government is hiding them. The last few years have brought enough distrust , division, distraction, and drama, so I ask you...are all the problems due to our human ignorance or human evil ?  Do we need this new narrative of extraterrestrials  to save us from looking at ourselves? We do need saving, but the growing distrust of government, media, and corporate giants has created an opportunity for something else. What is that something else?   "The truth is out there."   Let's go beyond our personal assumptions about what that truth is, and take the challenge to  reason  through...

Blinded by your own B.S. (belief system)? The answer is yes. This is because you are human. So take a deep breath and let's get into it. We have all developed  cognitive biases  (see list below). These heuristics (mental shortcuts) help us to navigate the world and make sense of new information, based on our previous understanding of old information.  Confirmation Bias Hindsight Bias Anchoring Bias Misinformation Effect  Actor-Observer Bias False-Consensus Effect  Halo Effect Self-Serving Bias Availability Heuristic Optimism Bias Status-Quo Bias Apophenia Framing The Danger If we do not regularly question our beliefs and biased thinking, we are in danger of irrational thinking, resulting in illogical actions. Our minds are not as trustworthy in sorting out information, as we would like to think. Sometimes we even dismiss new information, because we are paying attention to something else. There are distractions everywhere. We are all Distracted Drivers When we ar...

Prosecution or Persecution? What's the difference? Prosecution is the formal action of legally pursuing charges against someone who may have committed a crime. The person accused of a crime always has a right to a fair trial and proper defense.  Persecution   involves harassing people who are different in terms of "origin, religion or social outlook." Persecuting is hatefully targeting an individual or people, and it is wrong. How should we respond to perceived and actual persecution? The Biblical answer is surprising and goes against our natural human inclinations. Romans 12 talks about Sacrifice, Service, and Love. God instructs His followers to respond to persecution with Love.  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share w...