New Beginnings Women's Help Center

11/11/2025

What do you lean on when challenging circumstances arise? We all lean on something: physical strength, intelligence, beauty, wealth, achievements, family, and friends. The problem with leaning on any of these is that they are bound to let you down sometime. When this happens, we withdraw into ourselves for protection and only trusting in ourselves. Well even we can let ourselves down. A perspective shift needs to occur for challenges to be viewed differently. Ask this when the next challenging circumstance pops up. What in this challenge can I learn? Instead of withdrawing inward, open your mind to look for even one speck of sparkle in the difficulty. The mind can instantly go to the worst-case scenario thinking. Then anxiety and fear consume our thinking. In order to grow your sparkle, start with your thoughts first. Challenge them by writing them down and talking them out with a trusted friend. This is how we can learn a different perspective and see a speck of sparkle. Comment below what speck of sparkle you find by trying this.

11/08/2025

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed is a rough way to start the day. Everything on your to do list runs continuously through your mind. Your feet haven't even touched the floor, and you dread even getting out of bed. Then the grouchy, don't talk to me, pull the covers over the head attitude boils over. If you find yourself like this in the morning, give this a try. The night BEFORE you go to bed take 10 minutes to write down all the positives in your day. This is called practicing gratitude. Then when the clocks alarm goes off the next day, before you even start with the continuous to do list, read over what you wrote down the night before. Then repeat this activity daily for 30 days. It takes 30 days to make something a habit. At the end of 30 days, take note of your attitude. How many days did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed but reading over your gratitude list helped. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1-being total grouch/depressed, 5-handling the day with few overwhelming moments, and 10- radiating sparkle and gratitude.

11/07/2025

First Christian Church in Morris, Illinois is located at 455 West Southmor Road.

11/07/2025

11/06/2025

Something as simple as a smile can increase sparkle in your life. Ever just watched people walking into a store and wondered what they are grinning about? Maybe they are thinking of a loved one, a good thought, or memory. Just because someone puts on a smile doesn't mean that everything is wonderful in life. Some put a smile on to avoid other's questioning their well-being. Ever smiled to keep from crying or getting angry? The real reason we smile is hidden deep within us. Unless someone takes the time to ask us what has put a smile on our face, we will continue to avoid experiencing some sparkle and depth. Perhaps we really don't want to know what is going on within others because we are too busy smiling to keep others out. Give this challenge a try. The next time you are with friends or loved ones, notice the person who has a smile but isn't talking much. Go over and ask them this question: I noticed your smile, how are you feeling today? Then listen. This simple gesture makes room for others to share from their inner self and feel heard or acknowledged. This is how we can gain and spread more of our sparkle with others this holiday season. Give it a try and comment below what you learned from this challenge.

11/04/2025

Many things can cause the sparkle in life to become blurry. Things like stress, unexpected circumstances, or loss. Holidays are magnets that can cause blurred vision. It may seem like during the holidays, the mind attracts frustration, sadness, or fatigue. Ask yourself this question: What is it that is causing heart and mind not to see clearly? and What feelings are just below the surface? It is ok to have blurred sparkle during the holidays. One needs to be fully aware of what it is that has caused the blur. The first holiday without a loved one's presence can cause blurriness. The loss of a job right before the holidays can too. Whatever it maybe, take time to define what is the cause. One cannot simple clean the blur like you would if your eye glass becomes smudged. Sometimes the blur takes weeks, months, and years to clear. There will be a day that holidays will come back into focus. One must be very patient and loving towards self.

10/31/2025

There is a big difference between a speck or a full sparkle. Are you someone who focuses on the small details and gets lost in them or are you someone who can see the entire picture or circumstance? The answer to these questions is more important than you think. If you answered yes to getting focused on all the small details, then you have speck vision. This type of vision can get things done or cause you to become overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed with speck vision can be corrected with practice. This means that sparkle vision needs to be learned. When a circumstance becomes increasingly focused on all the small details that either need to be done or could happen, the iris of the eye becomes pinpoint and laser focused on one speck. In order to develop sparkle vision, perspective is the key. For example, during the holiday planning of parties and gift giving, one can get fixated on finding the one perfect gift or getting your house prepared just right for company. In order to see with sparkle vision, one must purposefully pause, stand back, and take in the moment. Maybe after preparing your house, you sit down and take in every sight around you. This is not to look for things around you that need to be fixed, but to take in the sights, sounds, and sparkle. When we pause during the holidays, let it be to widen vision and experience the moment around us. Then we can build memories that will help us to focus less on the speck and more of the sparkle during the holidays.

10/29/2025

The Sun is the center star of our solar system. It gives brilliant sparkling light and heat. What is at the center of our world matters even more then the physical Sun to the planet called Earth. If fear is the center of our world, then we will find ourselves in a dark black hole, instead of having a sparkling sun to light the path. If anger is the center of our world, then the sun becomes dim with outbursts and judgements of self and others. We need to choose wisely what is the center of our world. The hardest choice is peace instead of fear, as well as joy instead of anger. These choices bring the full force of the Sun into the heart and mind. The only power we have in this life are the choices we make. It is a struggle to keep our lives pointed towards the light of the Sun. In order to choose a helpful center, obstacles need to be cleared from out path. Obstacles of destructive thoughts and feelings. By challenging these obstacles with the help of others, navigating life's path becomes lighter. As the obstacles are moved, the warmth of sparkling sun can be experienced. There is power in what we choose to be the center of our universe. So, ask yourself this question: What or Who is at the center of my inner world? Then share the answer with a trusted individual who will listen and give honest feedback.

10/28/2025

When the night sky is clear of clouds, go outside and look up. Take in the sparkling stars across the sky. Notice how each one shines as no two stars shine the same at any given time. Each star has a unique shine. Life can bring in storm clouds that can darken the outlook, yet each star is shining beyond the clouds. How does one sparkle more when life seems darkest? We need to reach out to others who seem to sparkle in the dark. Learn about how they have lived through the storm clouds and what has helped them to sparkle despite their circumstances. There are others who have been where you are at currently. Let them help you by being open and honest about what you are thinking and feeling. We were made to bear one another's burdens and to make sure no one walks life's path alone. A life coach can help guide you towards experiencing sparkle more. It only takes a message to reach out. Give it a try.

10/24/2025

Holidays seems to bring out the worst in people, because of hurtful circumstances that they are or have experienced throughout the year. There isn't any sparkle or strength felt within. What if this year instead of avoiding the holidays, we look for a pinch of sparkle. This can be discovered by reminiscing about past holidays that were joy filled. Think of your favorite dessert at Christmas or song. Then make that dessert and listen to that song. Sometimes life's hurtful circumstances can drain us of everything, including the memories. We have the privilege of keeping those memories fresh in the present moment. Each memory whether joy or sorrow filled can be a sparkle of strength. It is when we choose to remember the past memories that we have taken the step towards the sparkle returning. It may seem small and insignificant to remember memories. Think of this as gaining a sparkle of strength in processing the present moment. Even a pinch of sparkle can ignite us towards strengthening. A spark of remembrance can change feelings and attitudes. Give it a try. Maybe even journal those memories to share with others who may need a little sparkle.

10/22/2025

Take a minute when you are outside to take in the vibrant color of leaves on the trees. Then ponder this question: Why do the leaves of trees not all change color at once? Maybe a tree has to go through many harsh days in which the temperatures drop overnight. As this happens, the true inner beauty of color unfolds for but a brief time before the cycle of nature occurs again. It can be hard for those who go through many harsh days of anger, frustration, and disappointment in life. These harsh days do come and go over time. A tree goes through a cycle of dormancy, budding, maturity, sparkling leaves every year. Our lives can go through a similar cycle only if we learn how to navigate through. There are parts of the cycle of life that can literally cause us to get stuck. Think of the circumstances that play over and over in your mind that you just can't seem to resolve or finish. Next, determine which stage of the life cycle are you stuck in. For example, after a devastating loss of a loved one, we may get stuck in the dormancy phase of grief. This is a stage void of feelings, thoughts, and plans. With grief there is a processing through this cycle. It isn't a one time and done kind of cycle, but it is important to allow oneself to go through the cycle until a hint of sparkle can be felt within. There can be vibrancy seen even in the worst circumstances. It is a gradual change. Pause and take some time to look up at the trees this week to see how the sunlight causes a colorful sparkle. Let this be a reminder that all of life's circumstances have a cycle.

10/21/2025

You have the ingredients to sparkle. Each one of us has unique gifts and talents that we are born with. It is just a matter of discovering what those ingredients are. You may love people and parties because you were born with a sanguine personality with the gift of gab and generosity. Then there are people who love to organize and lead because you were born with a phlegmatic personality with the gift of vision and determination. This is your unique sparkle. Even though others may have been born with the same personality, your experiences and encounter in life add a distinct sparkle that no one else has. It is with these ingredients that our sparkle can become bedazzling. So, by embracing this uniqueness, we can bring the bling from us to others. Take notes and get out there and sparkle girl!