3 Reasons to Add Daily Devotionals to Your Morning Routine

Do you ever wake up in the morning and crave something, not quite sure of what it is? You know, some type of anchor you can hang on to that will carry you and sustain you throughout the day?

Many of us know that how we actively start our days have lasting effects on how our day will play out. That's why I like to make sure I do everything I possibly can to start my day out with encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Because it's easy to slip into a funk if you let yourself. 

Yesterday's disappointments can creep up on you and stir in your mind longer than you want them to. Everything you didn't get a chance to finish up last week can fill you with more worry than you can handle in your early waking moments. And sometimes unexpected stresses and worries will have permeated your mind space before you can even get up and reach for that coffee. You're all in a funk before you even hit the shower and you are wondering how you even got there.

So to combat any negative thoughts that may come my way, I try to armor myself with the Word as soon as I get up and think about it. Starting your morning off in prayer is a good way to armor yourself with the presence of the Lord. Filling yourself with His promises by the way of the Word is a way to protect and affirm yourself, should any doubt or negativity present itself to you throughout the day.

An easy way to get scripture in your system as soon as you start your day is to use a daily devotional. Daily devotionals give you the Scripture in doses, easy for consumption. and even easier to relate to and apply to your everyday life. Here, I share three reasons to add a daily devotional to your  morning routine.

WINTER GRAY NAILS | Trust Fund Beauty Polish in Zero Carbs

Since the new year is upon us, many have been thinking of ways we can make changes in our appearances. Some of us have changed our hair. Others are thinking of adding more color to our wardrobe. And if you're like me and looking to make changes on a smaller scale first, you're up to changing your lipstick and nail polish shade. Switching up from your usual nude/taupe polish doesn't sound like too big of a risk, right?

I was looking to try a new color altogether. And luckily for me, I received a nail polish from Trust Fund Beauty in my Ipsy bag unlike any shade I owned. At first I wasn't too excited about it. With a name like Zero Carbs (to a woman that LOVES her carbs) and a shade that didn't wow me when I looked at the bottle, I wasn't sure what to expect. But thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

2019 Beauty Resolutions

When you are setting goals and making resolutions for the new year, do you add beauty to the equation? As a beauty blogger, I tend to reflect on my beauty habits often to determine what works for me from one season to the next. Sometimes I realize I need to put more effort into routine hair care. Other times I've challenged myself to wear lipstick more often during the week for a quick confidence boost.

Setting these beauty goals are small, yet fun ways I remind myself to maintain optimal personal care. And we all know that taking better personal care of ourselves can make us feel a lot better about our well-being. When I've taken the time to keep my nails trimmed (or painted), hair done (or at least clean and combed), and my skin on point (especially during that hormonal time of the month), it does wonders for my confidence. And who doesn’t deserve to feel good about themselves?

Last year, I made small yet attainable beauty resolutions you can read all about here. And since I did a great job being consistent with those, I decided to adapt and create similar goals for 2019. I've seen improvement in my personal care since late 2017, and I truly believe keeping myself accountable with beauty resolutions helped.

Wild Women Do | An Ode to Natalie Cole

Have you ever longed to be a wild woman? In so many ways I long to be a wild woman--- a woman who throws caution to the wind and laughs in the face of things others fear. I want to take risks with no fear, guilt, or regret. I'd like to entertain the notion of doing something totally spontaneous before my logical self cautiously convinces me otherwise.

So that, ladies and gentlemen is what I'll BE. I'm going to do whatever feels good in my heart, what resonates with my spirit, and what I know I need to do to thrive. I can't sit here with an idle walk and tied tongue any longer. I have places to go and things to do. I'm gonna do me and I won't regret it.

NEW Pixi MatteLast Liquid Lipsticks

If you've been reading here for a while, you already know how obsessed I am with lipstick. It holds a special place in my heart and my makeup bag, so I have a tendency to ramble about it. Besides, the only thing better than lipstick is NEW lipstick. So you also know talks of new lipstick send my antennas all the way up!

Earlier this spring, I had the chance to try out Pixi Beauty's MatteLast Liquid Lip and was quite impressed. And no sooner than I heard they had new additions to the collection, I received a beautiful package from Pixi that included their entire Pixi MatteLast Liquid Lip Collection. I couldn't wait to try out the five new shades so that I could share them with you guys here and possibly add them to my winter beauty arsenal.

But did they make the cut, though? Read below the jump to find out!

Memoirs of a Beauty Blogger | Chantel Keona

Happy Wednesday, ladies! If you were here for my Memoirs of a Fashionista series last spring, then you probably know how much I love chatting it up with my fellow blogger boos. With this series, I was able to get an inside look at the lives of some of my favorite personal style bloggers. Not only did they dish details on their favorite stores and other fashionistas they admired, they also gave timeless style tips and fun anecdotes about their own adventures in finding their personal style.

And since this series was so much fun for me, not only will I be continuing it this fall, I've added the "Memoirs of a Beauty Blogger" series. This new series, Memoirs of a Beauty Blogger, features my fellow beauty lovers and blogger besties in my head. The mission of the "Memoirs of a Beauty Blogger" series is to highlight beauty bloggers I admire while allowing them to share the love of all things beauty from their unique perspectives.

And what better way to start this segment than with my dear friend and West Coast beauty, Chantel Keona.

Chantel Keona is a beauty writer and influencer at Chantel Keona. There, she shares the latest trends in beauty, tried and true beauty favorites, style inspiration, and personal accounts of her everyday life. She is also a contributor to The Runway Plus as well as the Style + Beauty Editor to digital lifestyle magazine Werk Chic Mag, where she also keeps readers up on the latest in beauty. Always connecting with a kind word and rocking a fierce lipstick, Chantel has been a positive and inspiring force in my blogging journey and I'm happy to be sharing more about her here in this space! Ladies, I present to you Chantel of Chantel Keona.