30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 16 and 17

Day 16:  I am thankful for Premier Designs Jewelry.  They are an amazing Christian, debt-free company that truly puts people above profit.  It has been a blessing in my life the last year.  I have been able to bring in extra income for our family.  I am able to work when I want to work, without quotas or minimum monthly orders.  I also LOVE the jewelry! I love picking out what to wear every day.  It has been so rewarding to bless women who host parties with free jewelry!  I don't know always how Premier will fit into my life, but I have loved it this far, and have hope for this year to be even better.

Day 17: I am thankful that I was taught at a young age to have a love for reading.  It took a while for my mom to teach me to read, mainly because I hated saying sounds and words out loud!  But when I learned, she gave me a set of children's books and I fell in love. I used to be able to remember the series, but it escapes me now.  She fostered and fed that love of reading all through my childhood, and on into being a teenager.  I have loved mainly fiction, and that is still my favorite to read.  I have lately been diversifying to other genres, but still love my christian mystery/suspense/romance books.  Dee Henderson, Terri Blackstock, Frank Peretti, Coleen Coble, and Ted Dekker are a few of my favorite authors.  I am currently reading Dee Henderson's Taken, just released this year.

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Day 15

Find Your Peeps!

Yesterday I look a couple hours off work and headed 2 hours south to attend Premier Designs training with the ladies in the Premier group I started with.  I was great to see these encouraging and inspiring ladies!  I don't go to training every month there, because of the two hours (one-way) drive, but I am thankful for the times I am able to.

One of the biggest blessings that I have found through Premier is getting to know these amazing women.  I expected the pretty jewelry, the income, the business-y part of things, but not the relationships that I would gain.

The point of this post is not to gush about Premier designs (which I could do all day, by the way, just ask me!), but to encourage you to find your peeps! Find those people who are kindred spirits, who enjoy things you enjoy, who have kids your kids age, etc.  It is SO important, especially for women, to find those relationships and surround yourself with encouraging women.  Life is not meant to be lived alone.  It isn't meant to be lived with JUST your spouse, or JUST your kids.  We are meant to live in a community of family and friends, those people who encourage and uplift us.

Now, I realize that not all your family or friends are uplifting.  There are people in our lives that we cannot avoid, and those people are meant to be sandpaper to smooth your rough edges.  However, you should not waste all your time and energy on these people.  Life is too short to fill your time with people who put you down or discourage you.  Find those people who love you for you, and no matter what, will be there to encourage you.

Who are your peeps?

What's Up Wednesday 7/15

So I've missed a couple of Wednesdays lately, but things have been so busy! I've had wedding craziness, newlyweds moving, and Premier Designs National Rally!

Premier Designs National Rally 2015- Initially, I didn't think I would be able to go.  Summer has turned out to be pretty tight for us, due to fewer work hours for Jason and less loan money.  But we found a way to make it work (and happy birthday to me)! I rode out to Ft. Worth, TX with three other women (including my sponsor/sister!).  It was a good trip! We made good time and were able to make it to the Wednesday night festivities.  My sister and I roomed with two other women, who were great.  It was an exhausting day, but we were all excited.  The following days were filled with information, excitement, emotion, and exhaustion.  So very much to process.  This is what I took away from Rally:
1) I really got to know the heart of Premier Designs.  I knew they were a company founded on Biblical principles. Not only that, but they are still running on Biblical principles.  They really do strive to serve people, not the bottom line.  They support missions and missionaries in 62 countries worldwide! We got to meet just a handful of the amazing people and ministries that Premier supports. They are also incredibly generous to us jewelers.  There are rewards for every accomplishment and contests to challenge and reward us as well. They give us every tool we need to be a great success in this business.
2) There was so much encouragement and great ideas to help me in my business.  It takes work and dedication, but I can succeed!! Hearing from so many successful people was inspiring.  They started off much like myself and have accomplished so much!
3) There was also so much encouragement on a personal level- to be the person that God made you to be, to rely on Him instead of your own strength.  It is awesome that going to a "business conference" was so very much more that just that.  It enriches every part of your life.  I am still in awe and overwhelmed by just what happened in that conference center in Ft. Worth, TX.

Path to Graduate School-  I have finally registered for a prerequisite class for my MBA.  I am taking my prerequisites as an undergrad to give me time to take the GMAT later this year.  I was panicking thinking that I had to take it this summer in order to start classes this fall, but now I can wait until next fall to begin my master's classes.

Theme of the Moment- Consistency in my business and personal life as well.

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What's Up Wednesday 6/24

Hello faithful readers. Here's another installment of What's Up Wednesday.

My sister got married!!!- This past weekend was spent doing wedding-y things as my sister got hitched.  She had a fairy tale wedding, complete with Cinderella dress and horse and carriage! Can't wait to see the pictures!

Swagbucks- I redeemed my first gift card today!!! $25 Visa gift card for 2,200 points.  And I still had some to spare. I am going to save the gift cards for Christmas presents. Here's the link if you want to check it out.

Proverbs Bible Study-  I am a bit behind! I have been doing my morning devotional, but I got a tad behind over the weekend.  I need to catch up.  I should be on chapter 8 today, but I am at chapter 3.

Happy 1st Premier Birthday to Me!- Today marks the year anniversary of being a Premier Designs Jeweler! I love everything about Premier and  I am SOOO excited about going to National Rally and seeing all the new jewelry! Ready to hit the ground running in July.

Theme of the Moment-  Rest! The weekend was so busy, I am trying to catch up this week.

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