I'm sure by now you've all heard the coined term that has cycled through the internet countless of times. "Treat yo self."

Ah yes. This is what we say to ourselves whenever we've had a terrible morning and we buy a venti coffee from Starbucks. This is what we tell ourselves when we splurge on some items at Target that we most definitely did NOT need. We tell ourselves this often, and we do it as a form of self-care. We've managed to believe that getting our nails done, buying coffee, and shopping can give fill the desire to take care of ourselves. And while it's fun to splurge once in a while, there are better and more effective ways to truly take care of ourselves.

So what does this mean? To take care of ourselves? This means that we guard our hearts. If you are in a toxic friendship, get out of it. Find the people around you that support you and lift you up and surround yourself with them. And if you don't have those people in your life, go on a lookout for them. There are always people out there that will fight for you and be on your side. Relationships can be one of the most life-giving, amazing, fulfilling things in our lives, but we have to make sure we are being careful with how we invest in those relationships. Sometimes this can look like having hard conversations with those people that you need to clear the air with, that's taking care of you. That's being courageous.

This can also mean that we learn to be okay with not always being with others. Society takes the word "alone" and turns it into this anxiety-ridden act of life, when in reality, having time to be alone can turn into some of the most beneficial parts of our day. This doesn't mean isolating yourself for hours from everyone you know, (although sometimes we may feel the strong urge to do that), it means we take time to step away from our people in our circles and find a secret place where only you can be still for a while.

For me personally, this looks like going back to the truth of my Identity that's in Jesus. Carving out intentional time to just sit in the presence of Jesus. This sometimes looks like playing worship music and laying face down on the floor, or it"ll look like writing out words of truth that reign over my life. Having this time in my week is crucial to taking care of myself. It gives me the strength I need to walk through tough days and it gives me security when I feel weak.

In the midst of your busy schedule, take time to just sit.

If you are swamped with studying all week, find an hour each day to sit and do something that gives you Joy. Letting yourself have freedom in experiencing joy changes the way we live our lives, and especially how we live our lives in difficult seasons.

Cleaning out the clutter of your room/apartment can also be extremely rewarding and provide a sense of calmness in your soul. I don't know about you, but when my room is a mess, I feel like my life is a mess. Take a couple hours in your week, whenever that may be, to just declutter your space will make a very big difference in just the way you breathe.

Lastly, friends, make sure you are getting reminded often of your worth.

Remind YOURSELF of your worth. The whole "putting sticky notes on your mirror" sounds like the most cliche thing in the world, but if that's what it takes to help you get up in the morning and remind yourself of who you are, then it is most definitely worth it. A lot of the tips I stated in this article are things that I enjoy doing in order to take care of myself, but sometimes we don't have the strength to do that. Somedays it's hard to get out of bed and its even harder to make our bed, and we just can't seem to remember the real truth about ourselves.

Guess what?

That's okay, dear ones. It's okay to have those days. It's okay to have those seasons, just remember this.

You are seen by those around you, you aren't invisible to the world. You are known by those around you, your heart is held safe, and you are loved. Taking care of yourself means you come back to those things routinely, and it means you let those truths speak louder than the lies.