Tag Archives: Life

Mar 1 2013

Don’t Quit

purposed

purposed (Photo credit: frances bell)

If you have been visiting my site and reading my post for a while, I am sure you are probably wondering what happened to all of the messages of inspiration and hope.  I have added quite a few new features which will remain, but the fact of the matter is, even the one who inspires needs to be inspired.  The other day, it was as if I could here the words “Don’t Quit” just as audible in my ears as if someone was speaking to me.

Have you ever felt like you were giving something your all and it wasn’t giving you anything in return?  These past few months have been some of the hardest.  However, each night before I go to sleep, I pray and thank God for keeping a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food to eat.  I wake up some mornings wanting to quit and something whispers and says, “Don’t Quit”.  And I am just crazy enough to keep listening.

You see, quitting is easy.  The obstacles, the disappointments and failed plans are always there waiting to get the best of you.  But determination tells you to push through all that, fight for that one yes and by all means “Don’t Quit”.  Those obstacles are there to teach you and the failed plans are for your protection.

If I had gotten everything that I wanted or if everything had gone my way, I wouldn’t be living out the purpose for my life.  Purpose is the reason I can’t quit.  It keeps me up at night and wakes me up in the morning.  It is the reason why I live and breath.  I am fulfilled merely by living out my life’s purpose.

So here is what I want you to do.  I want you to start March off with a clean slate.  February is behind you and you can’t go back.  It’s a new month, which should bring new goals, new plans and new opportunities that will help push you one step closer.  I am determined to see this vision through and fulfill my purpose and you should be too.  Don’t quit!

“I show my scars so that others know they can heal.”

Have you liked the Showing Our Scars Facebook Page? We are “Showing Our Scars”!

https://www.facebook.com/ShowingOurScarsMovement

You can also order your “My Scars” Tee!

www.rnbranddesign.bigcartel.com

Find out more about the story behind “My Scars”

Sunday Mourning

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Jul 3 2012

Day 12 – It Could Be Worse

Who would have thought that owning and operating a t-shirt line could be so difficult.  Dealing with back orders, making sure each size is in stock and then coordinating deliveries.  Well this past month or so has definitely been a rollercoaster to say the least.  As recent as Friday, I found out that my shirts were shipped to the wrong address and to add insult to injury when the driver went to retrieve them, the residents, who had called to have them returned, now have no idea what the driver is even talking about.   So what now?!?  But it could be worse.

Yesterday, I received a call letting me know that my classmate, good friend and someone who has always been like family, lost her son in a car accident.  The paper read that a 16 year-old boy had been hit head on by another car and the driver of the other car had fled the scene and the boy was found unconscious and later pronounced dead.  At first when I read, I thought for a second about my friend’s son but I knew he wasn’t 16.  Matter of fact, I remember like it was yesterday when he was born.  His birthday fell a day before mine and the last time I saw and spoke to him, we talked about staying focused, finishing high school and doing what he enjoyed doing.  He had even recentlly been in the newspaper for building custom cages for snakes.

My problems or issues became nonexistent.  I cried for hours yesterday because I can’t even imagine the pain that my friend is experiencing.

Happy Children Playing Kids

Happy Children Playing Kids (Photo credit: epSos.de)

I say all this to say, life is too short.  I could be upset about my shirts but I would rather be without them than without one of my children.  I am thankful for God’s hand of protection that has been placed around my family.  We never know what someone else may be experiencing or going through but when we just take to time to be thankful for the little things we realize that it could be worse.  So today, I am going to hug my children a little tighter, pray for them a little longer and let them know I love them ever more.

Today I am grateful for life.

Jan 26 2012

How Can I Help You?

“Its not the load that breaks you down; its the way you carry it.” Lena Horne

How can I help you?  A question that so easily parts my lips.  I am always helping someone even at times when I am the one standing in the greatest need.  I always ask myself, why it is so easy for me to recognize when someone else needs help but harder for me to ask for help of my own.  The answer is always the same.  I don’t want to be a burden.  But when you are surrounded by people who are truly for you, dividing up the load is not a burden but a blessing.  No man is an island.

I have learned that trying to be everything to everybody, will leave you depleted of all your energy.   Learn to delegate.  If you are the only source of information within your circle, either it’s time for a new circle or you have handicaped your circle.   We can not become hoarders of information.  We must empower others to grow and reach their full potential.   Remember someone is watching you climb, leave a trail for them.  They will thank you later.

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL

Jan 25 2012

And My Answer Will Be Yes...

Reblogged from Rhachelle Nicol':

"And my answer will be yes Lord, yes"  God is requiring my "yes".  At the same time I must get more comfortable with saying "no".   I do not want anyone to be more dependent on me, than they are on God.  "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." …

Read more… 182 more words

I will reblog this as often as I need a reminder. I am still learning how to use my "NO".  People can only do to you what you allow. "Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love." RATL
Jan 18 2012

Becoming Me

Blue Sky Growing a Tree Branch in the Garden o...

Image by epSos.de via Flickr

 We start off being mere leaves on a branch, but as we began to have our own families we become a branch on a tree.  Whenever you see leaves and new branches forming, it is a sign of growth.

“Tree height and branch lengthening begins with a bud. While nature provides a seed all it needs to survive, she provides great opposition to survival.”  A seed competes with its neighbors for nutrients, sunlight, water, food and space to grow.  Some seeds may even become a source of food.  Whatever purpose they end up fulfilling, they are needed.  But the seed that can withstand the
competition within its natural environment, grows into the tree that produces the fruit, leaves providing shade and wood for building.

Just like the seasons bring about changes in the appearance and growth of a tree, so do the seasons in our lives.  Trees shed leaves in order to sustain life, holding on could create issues if the proper nutrients is not available.  The same is true in our lives.  Pruning, clipping and shedding those things of old should not be seen as a negative.  Branches that have been clipped and pruned can grow on their own if planted.  “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:6

With growth comes wisdom and knowledge, I can recognize what needs to be shed and I’m not as reluctant to let go.  I can’t “Become Me” if I refuse to sustain MY growth.

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL

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Jan 12 2012

I Plead The 5th

what are word for?

Image by Darwin Bell via Flickr

I learned that everything is not worth uttering and if it’s not worth speaking, it isn’t worth entertaining. I have put a value on my words and they continue to appreciate. I can no longer speak my own defeat because I am a conqueror. And I won’t allow another to murder me with their words. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. I speak life because there was a time that my words were speaking my own eulogy. The only problem was that there were no words to fill in the dash. I hadn’t discovered my purpose and was living a life with no drive or motivation.

What words are you using to describe your day? Your life? Change your mind, change your life. Stop accepting everything into your life, it’s okay to throw some things back. Wake up in control of your day. When we get out of the bed, our feet are the first thing to hit the floor. That means everything else is beneath us. We are not walking in worry or defeat, but we are stepping on the seeds before they can even be planted. We allow our words to imprison us, limit our options and forfeit our goals.

Live your best life. When someone attempts to change your environment with their words, just tell them “shhh” and plead the 5th.

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL

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Jan 11 2012

One Life to Live

 

English: Serenity

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve got one life to live and I am going to do my best to live it the way it should be lived.  I am one year wiser and closer than ever to living the life that is meant for me.

My 4 Keys of Life:

1. Surround yourself with positive people.  People that are headed where you desire to go, that will hold you accountable for the choices you make and are looking out for your best interest.

2. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help.  It takes a strong person to recognize when they need help and actually seek it out.  There is NO room for pride.

3. Write down your goals.  I enjoy writing, as you can see.  Over the past year, I realize that the very things that I wrote about manifested in my life.  Think of your list as a to do list and commit yourself to it.  Make your list as detailed as possible.  You will be able to see what you can do on your own and what you need help with.  The key is getting started.

4.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you, “you can’t” because you can.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

The 5th stage of the grieving process is Acceptance.   I wanted to make sure I finished the stages of the grieving process in spite of my birthday.  However, it is definitely a process that no one can not put a time frame on.  We all have our own ways of grieving and finding healing in the midst of our pain.  Just know that you are not alone.

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL

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Jan 10 2012

Shake It Off

We suffer losses in so many aspects of life.  But rarely do we look at our losses as gains.  When we lose our job, we don’t think about the opportunity that we had to gather information and the experience gained.  I am learning that the faster I can shift my perspective and look at my situation or circumstances in a different light, the faster that things begin to come together.  I understand that sometimes we don’t know just what to feel or how to respond.  We become numb, in order to cope with the pain, loss or hurt; we have a hard time drawing connections and making decisions.

Our losses can actually be clues to get us to where we were meant to be.  I have suffered many losses, but the greater my losses, the greater my gain. 

Depression is the 4th stage of the grieving process.  We will all experience depression at one point, but the key is not allowing ourselves to stay in that place. 

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL

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Jan 9 2012

Let’s Make a Deal

Multiple choice questions being asked on Deal ...

Image via Wikipedia

Let’s Make a Deal is an old game show that I remember watching.  The audience would bring random things with them in hopes of having that one item that the host would ask for.  If they had that one particular item, they would have a chance to “make a deal”.  The contestant would then play a game, choosing behind different doors, and then came the hard part.  They would be able to trade what they had won for the hopes of something better without being able to see it first.   Some contestants traded trips, televisions, furniture and more for the chance to win something even better or bigger.  In so many cases, better was in fact worse.  Contestants would end up with a year supply of cat food or other random gag prizes. 

How many times have you said, “God if you get me out of this I will do better”?  Or, “If you bless me with this job, I will pay my tithes”?  We find ourselves bargaining when we feel as though God has not given us the desired outcome.  Sometimes God doesn’t give us what we want, he gives us what we need.   We have bargained so long, that we have missed out on some of the answers that we have been given that would lead us to our desires.   When I asked God to make a way to provide for my family, HE didn’t send money but an idea.  I listened and he has made a way.  The idea became a written vision and the vision has turned into tangible items. 

Bargaining is in fact the third stage of the grieving process.  We desire that pain to be taken away by any means. 

“If tears could build a stairway and memories were a lane,We would walk all the way to Heaven, to bring you home again.” – Anonymous

RATL

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Jan 7 2012

Blah, Blah, Blah

Words

Image by sirwiseowl via Flickr

If the tears I released this week could be exchanged for words, I could have written a few books and started a new blog.  The tears don’t ease the pain but they let me know that my pain is real.  Understanding the grieving process, I have always found to be difficult.  In my family, you always hear, “You have to be strong”.  I have always wondered, who do I have to be strong for and why can’t demonstrate the pain that I am feeling?

I have literally started three blogs today and this will probably be the only one that I can get the words to come together on.  Is this the state of a grieving heart or the presence of writer’s block.  I think it is the latter.  I’ve searched the stages of grief and the first stage is denial and isolation.  My words and writing are my first and purest forms of communication.   I am holding on to my words so tight because releasing them will force me to accept my reality.  So as I release my words, I am trusting and believing that I am taking the first step to healing. 

“Our earthly loss is always a heavenly gain
Although our hearts hurt and mourn in humanly pain
The fact still remains the same
That Heaven Has Gained more Love
To sprinkle down from above” – Antonio Talbert

“Building relationships of accountability and trust with all roads leading to love.” RATL