Hil's rules to live by

1) Take time for yourself: give yourself breaks throughout the day to re-fuel and process things that are on your mind. You’ll find your focus markedly higher when you return to work.
2) It is more blessed to give than to receive: Blessing others by offering a helping hand or giving a surprise gift feels so good. Generosity is a great characteristic to have!
3) let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be no: being an un-reliable person is a horrible label to have. When you say you are going to do something follow up. It's better to give a "maybe" or a "no" than to let someone down. That way they will be pleasantly surprised when you can!
4) Be a person of action: thinking and dreaming about things are useless if you don't take a leap of faith and actually take steps toward doing them. It takes tremendous courage but it is so fulfilling. If you are always worrying about making the wrong decision you'll never allow yourself to make a great one.
5) Your family are people you will have in your life forever ~ invest in them! Your family are your biggest encouragers, best listeners, and love you no matter what. Spending quality time with them and being "real" and vulnerable to them is so fulfilling!
6) start your day off right~ with a cup of Joe and a quiet/prayer time with God
7) Prayer is powerful! God always hears us when we pray to Him and He always responds. If we look for it we will hear His answer. We have to be careful not to expect or look for the response we want but have faith that God's response is ALWAYS best, even though it may not seem so at the time.
8) you can't please everyone so stop trying: You’re never going to be able to control what others think, so don’t focus on being "liked" by others . Instead, work on the things you have control over – yourself, your emotions, your thoughts and your actions. Be yourself and you will find the people that are true friends will love you for who you are will love you~ weaknesses and all. Remember that our heavenly Father always accepts us and loves us unconditionally. We cannot earn His love because His grace is given freely to us.
9) Embrace the present: Be content with your circumstances knowing that where God has you is His best for you.

Ekklesia~ my cafe

"So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Romans 12:5

*open breakfast and lunch

Menu

Drinks: 

drip coffee~ regular bold and decaf

iced coffee

cappuccino

Americano

espresso

lattes- coffee & tea

flavor shots~ vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, coconut almond, chocolate, agave

hot chocolate

organic chocolate, vanilla & strawberry milk

fresh squeezed juce~ orange, orange-carrot, apple, apple-carrot, pomegranate

lemonade 

smoothies

sweet & un-sweet tea

hot tea

green tea

Super shots~ wheat grass & matcha green tea

breakfast

greek omelet

salmon & spinach scramble 

breakfast burrito

english muffin panini sandwiches~ bacon, egg, spinach & cheese

                                                               sausage, egg, & cheese

pastries~ cinnamon streusel coffee cake

                  banana walnut bread

                  strawberry bread

                  cinnamon roll

                  blueberry muffin

yogurt, fruit & granola parfait

oatmeal

pancakes

french toast

waffles

sides~ fruit cup

             turkey bacon or sausage

             eggs

Lunch

sandwiches~

B.L.T.A. bacon lettuce tomato and avacado

turkey bacon club

chicken pesto mozzarella panini

grilled cheese

veggie panini

mediterranean tuna salad wrap

asian chicken wrap

Cheese Quesadilla

tuna melt

soups~ 

tomato-basil

black bean

white chile

chicken and rice

salads

spicy chicken southwest salad

chicken caesar

greek salmon or shrimp kabob salad

My family

me and noah

daddy's girl

sistas
"our roots may say we are sisters but our hearts say we are friends"

me and caroline

me and Lydie

me & Momma

Live Life Abundantly

Everyone desires to have an abundant life. Abundance is defined as an extremely plentiful or over-sufficient quantity or supply. We all have the goal of living life to the "fullest" but it is how we come about reaching that goal that differs from each individual. One who believes fullness of life is found in status will devote themselves to climbing the ladder of success. Their happiness is most likely defined by getting a certain job promotion. Another person might believe that fullness of life is found in riches and monetary gain. They believe that they can buy happiness whether it be a big house, fancy car or designer clothes. Others may look to people in order to live abundantly, believing happiness is the result of having a close family or many friends....simply being liked by others. The source of abundant living does differ from person to person but the common factor in each scenario is the excessive amount of work we put into achieving our goal of happiness. We devote our all to pursuing happiness discovering that we are never truly satisfied. If one thing does not work we turn to another. If we look in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, we see Solomon living the same way. "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." Solomon clearly tells us in this passage that trying to do things our way and trying to fill God's place in our lives with something of our own choosing is like striving after the wind, and is foolish. Look up the word "striving" in a thesarus and you will get synonyms like, to make great efforts, to try very hard or even to struggle. When put in the context of ecclesiastes we see a whole lot of work put forth but no outcome of achievement. In John 10:10 we finally grasp hold of the source of abundance- that is Jesus, our Saviour. In Him we experience all that we could ever need. Jesus has come to heal our emptiness, he has come to fill a void, that nothing in this world can satisfy.How does Jesus fill the emptiness, He fills it with real joy, love and peace, He fills us with the Holy Spirit. A superior, superabundant spiritual life, is a life empowered by the indwelling of Jesus Christ. Because Christians "have" Jesus Christ, because he lives within them, they have the source of the superabundant life- the source of true joy which leads to complete satisfaction. Abundance isn’t an abundance of things, but rather an abundance of Him. It isn’t that God has changed the circumstances of the world we live in, but He has changed us from the inside out.

Abundance isn’t looking around, but looking up with fixed eyes on Jesus.

If you are living abundantly you can praise God through the storms of life, you can dance for joy even in difficult circumstances, and you can walk through fires and come out refined. A pastor once put it this way ~ Abundance isn’t absence from life, but rather victory through life.