We were created on purpose for a purpose.  But do you know what your purpose is?  I didn't.  I thought I did, but I found myself in the midst of an identity crisis as I began to bloom in my calling.  At times I felt myself in a tug of war because my identity was tied up in what I did not necessarily who I was.  

In this episode, I share some helpful questions that I asked myself to help unearth what my true calling was that will help you discover where your passion lies and how you can incorporate more of that into what you do.  

I've learned along the way, that my purpose is simple and it can be fulfilled in numerous different ways that make up who I am.  And I don't have to be just one thing.  I can and am - many things.  

 At the root of what you do and what you are is who you were called to be.  When your purpose matches who you are and your work has purpose and meaning - that's when you become limitless.  So go be it.  We need you, just the way you are because you were created on purpose for a purpose! 

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough. It turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. If you're looking to bring more appreciation into the everyday, this episode is for you!  In it, I share a few of my own gratitude practices to help you get started.  Gratitude is something that has drastically changed my perspective, my mindset and my mood.  It taught me to see each day as an opportunity to find the good in all things.

When we start to show appreciation for all things, even the small things, we open our hearts to appreciate and enjoy the big things when they come along seeing what's around us and what we've been given as a gift. 

I challenge you to start incorporating gratitude into your everyday.  It can be as simple as writing down 5 things each day that you're grateful for.  For the month of November, I've posted a 30-day Gratitude Challenge on my instagram page @liveyourlifeinbloom, be sure to hop on over and check it out so you can be intentional with gratitude in this season of thanks. 

Some of my favorite go-to gratitude journals are:

Moments of Gratitude 

Lined Journal Black Hearts

If you missed the episode where I talked about incorporating "Give Me Five" with my family, it can be found here Seeds of Happiness .  

Know that I'm so grateful for you! 

XO - Bridget

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

I had the privilege of talking with my friend Sara Aud.  Sara is a wife, mother of 4, lover of food and in this episode, she shares her birth story and journey through the darkness of infant loss and infertility.  She opens up from the depths of her heart and shares what she walked through after the loss of her first daughter, Emelia Claire and how she has now found light after loss. 

If you've dealt with loss of any kind, you know that the hurt, the pain, the sorrow never goes away, but as Sara shares, with God's promise, we get to grieve in hope.  Our hearts grow around that grief and we will always carry it.  Sara's story is proof that  the longevity of loss is real, but we can learn to live beyond our circumstance and carry on. 

Sara is such a gift and I encourage you to learn more about her story and journey.  You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sweetemelia/ or read her blog at
https://sweetemelia.wordpress.com

If this episode has touched you and you know someone that can benefit from Sara's story, share it with them so they can heal and know they are not alone.

John 16:22
So with you: now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no-one will take away your joy.   

Continue to look for things that bring you happiness.  - XO

Live Your Life in Bloom 

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

Be sure to leave a review about this podcast or share it with someone who you think would love it!

To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

Are you shrinking to fit into places you’ve outgrown?  If so, this episode is for you and it's time to GET BIG!  

Nothing big ever happens by staying small.  Too often we shrink ourselves to fit other people.  Are you not showing up authentically in order to make someone else feel better about who they are?

What would happen if you didn’t shrink and GOT BIG and showed everyone who you truly are?   If you're keeping yourself small, then keep listening! 

We need you grow and bloom and take up space.  To follow your dreams and stand up for what’s right and be unapologetically YOU!  Get BIG.  Tell yourself you’re done shrinking.  Stop allowing others to keep you small.  Show up just as you are, because you are are amazing. Keep on blooming!

Live Your Life In Bloom 

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

Our garden has produced all that it's going to produce this year and we are so grateful for the food it gave us and the lessons it taught us.  As a new season is upon us - and with a new season, we say goodbye to the previous.  As we are preparing our garden for next year, I'm reminded that like our garden, we too need to prepare ourselves for the next season.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year because the weather is perfect and the colors of the season make me  really appreciate God’s beauty.  But like our garden, the beauty of the vibrant colors of Fall are short lived. 

My friend recently shared a quote with me and it really reminded me that the seasons changing can teach us a lot.  

The trees are about to show us just how beautiful it is to let things go.  - unknown.

I love this because it is truly beautiful to let things go.  This new season is an opportunity to let go and prepare for the next season of our lives. We can give ourselves the permission to shed the weight of whatever it is that’s holding us back and keeping us from reaching our full potential.  

Think about what’s keeping you from getting closer to to where you need to be?  Ask yourself, where am I going?  Is this thing, this belief or these actions are they actually helping me or hurting me?  What’s keeping you from showing all of your beautiful colors in this season that you're in and how can I let go to get ready for the next season.  

I challenge you once you've listened to this episode, to write down 5 things that you need to let go of.  

Think about what you can do today - to get you closer to where you want to be, then make it happen! 

Live Your Life In Bloom

As promised, here is the recipe for Santa Fe Chili, you're going to love it! 

1 lb ground beef
1 lb hot sausage 
1 can golden sweet corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of rotel original (do not drain)
1 large can of tomato sauce 
1 package of taco mix 

Brown beef and sausage and combine with all other ingredients.  Cook on low all day in the crockpot or on stove top.  Serve warm with crackers or fritos chips, cheese and sour cream.  Enjoy!

XOXO 
 
- Bridget

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

Meet Molly Higgins.  She's a young entrepreneur who not only started a new venture in the midst of a pandemic, but she is learning about life beyond the mixing bowl and knows she is going to do something BIG with her life.  Owner of Molly's Mixins', Molly is doing what she loves - making life a little sweeter one cookie at a time. 

A registered dietician, now full time baker - states that her cookies are "healthy for the soul" if nothing else.   Molly shares her journey to take a leap of faith and start her own business to do what she loves.  Hard work, determination and grit has kept her grounded and moving forward while literally living out her dream. 

Molly shares how she's battled imposter syndrome, being a boundary boss and trying not to get "lost in the sauce" while she navigates the growth of her business.  She's discovered that when you say yes to yourself rather than everybody else, you will always win. 

You can find Molly and snag some of her addicting cookies on her website every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CST at www.mollysmixins.com or follow her on Instagram @mollysmixins, Facebook at Molly's Mixins or email: [email protected].

Thank you so much for being here and I hope you enjoy this sweet episode.  For more ways to bloom in between episodes, hop on over to @liveyourlifeinbloom on Instagram. 

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

Be sure to leave a review about this podcast or share it with someone who you think would love it!

To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

On August 30th, 2021, I wrote in my gratitude journal, "I'm grateful for voice memos."  The night before my daughter was born, I missed a phone call from my dad.  And now that he's gone, this message has become one of my most treasured memories.  Hearing his voice and the love in his words gives me comfort. 

At a time when I'm supposed to feel happiness, I have sadness.  I associate her birth with his death.  Do I still have joy surrounding her birth.  Absolutely.  But I also think about the events that soon followed.  For anyone listening who has lost someone, maybe you can relate. 

For me, grief is best described in this quote by Vicki Harrison:

"Grief is like the ocean; sometimes it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn how to swim."

For those of you who have lost someone, sometimes the water is calm and sometimes you're doing your best to keep your head above water. 

Death is the best teacher.  It teaches us that life is so fragile and no one is promised tomorrow.  It teaches us to live in the moment instead of rushing through life from one thing to the next. 

So slow down.  Be present and grateful for time that you have with the people you love.  Make the most out of each moment.  And if you've lost someone close to you and you're missing them real bad, know that it's ok to be sad.  It's ok to want to remember.  It's ok to cry and feel sadness.  Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.  - Psalms 30:5.

Live Your Life In Bloom

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

Be sure to leave a review about this podcast or share it with someone who you think would love it!

To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the FUEL Women's Conference.  This day was all about Firing Up Everyone's Light and leaning into the amazing community of women present. 

While I was honored to have the opportunity to allow my words to influence those present, I myself needed to hear the messages shared as we've all faced unexpected challenges over the last 18 months and still face today.  Learning how to navigate has been an uphill battle so it was fueling to allow the day to pour into me.       

In a Women At Work survey, conducted by CNBC - 65% of working women say the pandemic has made things worse for them in general and they feel more stress and anxiety than ever before.  More than half of the 3,600 female participants surveyed said they feel burnt out, and more than a 1/3 said they've thought about quitting their job in the last year. 

Women today are at their breaking point.  We are stressed.  We are tired.  And we are burnt out.  But we don't have to stay here.  We can choose to look for opportunities to bloom in any circumstance - the good ones and the bad ones. 

I hope this episode redirects your focus and reminds you that while you may not be able to control what is happening around you, you are in the driver's seat and YOU get to decide how you will react.  I hope you use this season that you're in and look for an opportunity to bloom. 

Live Your Life In Bloom

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

When you've been in the real estate business for 50 years, there are a lot of things that have changed and there are some things that haven't. This weeks guest, Steve Castlen has been a household name since he joined his parents at Castlen Realty following college.  Although his profession is selling houses, his real vocation is helping people. 

If you know Steve, you know he is one busy man.  He's up at 4:00 a.m. with his dogs, brewing coffee for his friends and neighbors who might stop by and on his front porch making sure he doesn't miss the sunrise.  As his day begins, Steve likes to reach out to acquaintances and potential buyers to let them know they are on his mind.  His parents, the late Elwood and JoAnne Castlen, believed that a business is built by putting people first.  Steve still practices that today and attributes the success of Castlen Realty to the team of people he's surrounded by and the simple principal of putting other's first and being there in times of need.

In this episode you'll find laughter, positive perspective and advice from someone who loves what they do.   It was refreshing for me to sit down and talk with Steve about his passion and I hope you walk away from this episode affirmed in the fact that your vocation is more than your job.  It's your gift.  And for Steve, helping people is his gift. 

To learn more about Steve or Castlen Realty, visit Castlen Realty.

Live Your Life In Boom 

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

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To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.

And just like that, all of my girls are in school.  No more babies at home.  After sending everyone off to a new school year, I realized that now more than ever, how fleeting time is and that I need to be present and soak up these moments while I still have them.

It's a different pace for us.  Mornings are a little busier, our evenings are a little more hectic but the stories and excitement are real.  And I know that I have to check myself regularly to make sure I'm living in the here and now. 

In this season of life that we're in, it can be easy to go through the motions and be so routined and regimented that I don't stop to look up and see what's right in front of my eyes. 

Life won't slow down unless we take action to make things slow down.  If you're busy and  overwhelmed what do you need to do to ensure that you stay in this moment so you don't miss out?

Whatever season you're in, if you're sending your kids to preschool, middle school, high school or college - let it fill you with gratitude and enjoyment. Let this season help you prioritize where you spend your time and energy.  And let it show you that the most important things, aren't things - they're people.  And while we've been trusted to watch over them, let's make this most of this time with them. 

Live Your Life In Bloom

For more ways to bloom in between episodes, follow along at @bloomwithbridget on instagram or head on over to www.bloomwithbridget.com to keep growing with me.

*NEW!!! Sign up for weekly growth texts from Bloom at 833-761-1714.

Be sure to leave a review about this podcast or share it with someone who you think would love it!

To explore the Bloom Box, you can find both boxes by checking out the Bloom Box on the website.