Today was my hair washing and trim day. If you are natural, then you already know this is a full-on production and a time-consuming routine. As I was trimming my hair today, it made me think back to how it took me several tries to finally go natural. I just wasn’t ready to give up the perms and every time my roots got too thick; I chickened out. It finally took an early midlife crisis for me to take the plunge and ironically this week will be my 8 year “naturalversary.” For many of us, our hair is our crown and glory. Many of us were taught the longer or straighter our hair, the better. However, it is something that transforms inside of you when you decide to do a big chop and let it all go! It felt freeing and it felt good. Now 8 years later as I am doing something as simple as washing my hair and trimming my ends, something dawned on me. Trimming your ends is cutting off the split ends. Doing so is good for your hair because it allows it to grow. It got me to thinking about life and how we can find ourselves in many situations. We can be too afraid to let go. All it takes is a single cut and we can drop all the dead weight that is weighing us down and finally grow. As we know, change is inevitable but as uncomfortable and sometimes painful as growth can be…it is optional but the sweetest reward from it can be the best decision you can make for your life. It’s time to grow!!
Daily positive affirmations are a great way to increase positive thinking and a excellent way to encourage positive changes in your life. I created Affirmation Cards with encouragement statements to help you remain a positive person and move toward a happy and balanced life. We encourage you to gain confidence, courage, and strength to overcome any obstacle just by using the power of your mind and faith. Our affirmation cards are meant to give you the strength to chase your dream and never give up on your goals all while loving yourself.
INSPIRING & ENCOURAGING — Our cards contain 14 affirmation statements meant to give you confidence while reminding you how valuable, beautiful, and worthy you are!
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Journaling for me has always been therapeutic because whether I’m dealing with something heavy, flushing out ideas, excited about a promotion, or just simply to say Thank you God, having a Journal to write out my thoughts and feelings has been essential to my life.
I created “Dear God…Conversations with God” Prayer Journal because when I would write in my journal, I always started with “Dear God” and then I would write to Him like we are having a conversation. No different than how I talk to my friends or family. Throughout the years, journaling this way has help me to have the most amazing relationship with God.
I dare you to try it…
Today’s Journal Prompt:
Dear God,
I feel most like myself when…..
You can find my answer in the comments.
Happy Journaling!!! 🌻🌻🌻
Here’s a sneak peek of what’s inside “Dear Good….Conversations with God” Prayer Journal!!
I have always owned a Journal since I could write. Back then we called them diary’s. Over the years, I have collected tons of Journals. 2 years ago, I decided I wanted to create my own Journal line.
Journaling is no longer about just keeping secrets much like the diary’s we grew up writing in as kids. Journaling can be used to hold your ideas, memories, desires, dreams, or whatever you choose to use it for. You can even use your journal just to draw. That’s the beauty of it! It can be anything you want it to be! Happy Journaling!!!
Dear God the prayer journal is here!! Presales are available now!!
I have literally been trying to get the pen to pad for quite some time. I have had so much to say and yet once I am at the computer, I just stare at the screen lost for words. Before I even began a sentence just now, I stalled for hours. It feels like you have a foggy head and you are unsure where to start or even what takes precedence to even began to explain it.
The last few years have been a helluva ride and that’s putting it mildly. These hills and valleys have been a force to be reckoned with and if I am being honest…scary. Just when you think you have hit a peak, a storm so mighty makes you feel like you are suffocating, like your feet cannot reach the ground, and when you think you have it all figured out, a gust of wind knocks you flat on your back and you think the likelihood of recovering is nowhere to be found and just when you are ready to give up, the light shines so bright and you see the silver lining and realize it was all apart of the plan and you just had to trust the process.
For the past 2 years, I have been an emotional wreck. For those that will read this, will probably be shocked to know that. I’ve held that in and even uttering the words make me feel funny. It makes me want to retreat, but that part of me, I’ve buried. No more retreating, it’s time to face the music and be transparent because it’s never for us, it’s always for someone else.
I’ve been battling so many emotions. I’ve never known what anxiety felt like until a year ago. I hear people talk about anxiety. I even hear people talk about the medicine they take to even cope with anxiety. Thankfully I am not really into a ton of meds because I feel with the amount and severity of anxiety I have experienced, I would have been probably somewhere overdosed just to cope.
For starters, the anxiety began last year right after my family’s annual 4th of July vacation when my Grandmother was diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer. This was a blow that hit our family hard. My Grandmother was always so vibrant and she lit up any room she entered because of her friendly personality. My Grandmother along with my late Grandfather raised my brother, my sister, and myself. Our family was so close and finding out she had cancer was scary for all of us, including her.
We were always with my Grandmother. We were attached to her. The relationship was different than most because as we got older, the relationship shifted. She literally became our Best Friend. She once told me, she thought of me as her Best Friend. She raised her own 4 kids and then turned around and raised me and my siblings. She even retired for the 2nd time at 79. That’s how vibrant she was. She couldn’t sit still. She moved around better than most teenagers. She was known for loving music and dancing. So, to see her so down from being sick hurt and it hurt bad.
It hurt so bad, I developed anxiety. No one knew this because I kept it a secret because I knew my role as the oldest was to make sure my family stayed positive and prayed up. But, when I was alone, I was struggling bad. I didn’t sleep good at all. I was a walking zombie. There were some nights that I couldn’t even catch my breath from hyperventilating so badly. I cried so much that my eyes would be swollen and sore. Even during the day I couldn’t focus because I was thinking about my Grandmother. At night I was scared because every time my phone rung, I was in fear that it would be the “dreaded” call. Did I mention months prior to finding out my maternal grandmother’s prognosis, I had just lost my paternal grandmother. So, I had not even healed from that loss. I was just not a good headspace.
Did I also mention, my family lived in Atlanta and I had just moved to Michigan in 2015. I was torn terribly. A part of me wanted to just pack up and just run home and the other part of me had a life here with my husband in Michigan and I couldn’t just leave him. I was riddled with guilt. So, I went home as often as I could to visit my Grandmother. My Grandmother and I had developed a routine over the years. We talked every morning while on my way to work to get my daily dose of encouragement (she later revealed that it was I that was her encouragement) and I immediately would call her as soon as my work day ended to talk about my day. Our usual greeting was “Hey Girl…..” She really was my girl. I could guarantee a good laugh because she was so funny and after our greeting, we talked about our day, and then next we would usually talk about my niece Zoe whom my sister had in 2014. Zoe had surely awaken a different type of love in her because they became so close. So close that Zoe didn’t even call her Grandma, she called her by her real name….Betty.
By now you can guess where this is leading up to. But before we get to the ending, by the end of the year last year, my Grandmother had miraculously gotten better. She was back to herself. The months prior to that, we thought we were going to lose her so for it to just be a 360, it puzzled us, but we were just thankful. We wasn’t ready to lose her and clearly God was not ready to call her home.
So many times while going this process we kept asking my Grandmother to fight. She has been our strength, our backbone, our everything…..our Matriarch. We just was not ready to let her go. She kept telling us she was tired, and we couldn’t understand it because it was a side of her we never knew existed. She was our everything. She saved us so many years ago and later I believe she felt we saved her too. So, I changed my prayers. I asked God to give her the fighting strength but if He was ready for her, to help us to not be selfish and help us to see that her staying could not be because we didn’t think we could live here without. But in true fashion, my Grandmother fought and because she had always put everyone before her, I knew she was fighting for us and she couldn’t go until she felt we would be okay. She seemed to start improving and we all could breath just a little bit better.
The new year began and low and behold it all fell apart again. We were right back to where it started and it was a slow and painful process. By February, the doctors told us there was nothing else they could do for her and we were given 3 options; rehab, hospice care at a facility, or hospice care at home. We along with my Grandmother decided on hospice home care. At that point it was all about comfort. Even with hospice home care we were still hopeful because she seemed better than what she had been previously. Even with her family and friends visiting, no one could believe she was sick.
On March 1st, 2 days before my 36th birthday that dreaded call came. I had thought about how I would react to better cope with the inevitable. But, you can’t really know until you are faced with it. The call came from my sister just as it had been 12 years ago when my grandfather had passed. I felt like my soul left my body. The only thing that was on my mind was getting to Atlanta to be with my siblings because I knew they needed me.
My Grandmother was laid to rest beautifully on March 11th. I thank God for giving me almost 36 years to spend with her. I thank God for giving her 81 wonderful years on this earth. It was her turn to rest because she had given so much of herself. Even to the very end, she was thinking of others, but I know in my heart that she was not going to leave here until she knew in her heart that we would be able to continue on without her. She was truly an example of how it is always for someone else. She was the most selfless person I have ever met. I have drawn so much inspiration for the life she lived and all the love she poured into me. With everything she taught us, we can take those lessons and continue her legacy.
The title of this post was drawn from inspiration of a line said in the season finale of “The Walking Dead”. Funny thing is the season finally was April 2nd and I have literally watched this episode specifically for the scene below between Sasha and Abraham several times. It stood out to me and it stayed with me and I found it to be so befitting to my Grandmother and what she gave to not only our lives, but to so many other lives she had touched.
“It’s always for someone else”. That line made me think about why we are placed here. I’ve always prayed for Blessings to Bless others. I whole heartedly believe a lot of what we go through; the trials, the tribulations, the struggle, the ups, and the downs. It’s not always for us, but to help others. How we get over can very well be the encouragement the next person needs.
My Grandmother is missed tremendously but I am at peace knowing that she is no longer suffering and that she can finally rest peacefully. We will always carry her in our heart and remember all the good times. I thank God we cherished her while we had her here.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 2015 for me was learning to trust God and understanding how being faithful works. For 2016, it’s time to take my faith to the next level.
Join me on my journey to remaining #Faithful and activating a movement of faith for 2016.
What better way to kickstart your journey than a cool T-shirt to rock! You can purchase your #Faithful T-shirt, Log sleeve shirt, or Hoodie at Faith2016.
When I was in 10th grade I decided I would join my school’s annual pageant. We had to perform a “talent” as one of the elements to be judged during the competition. I racked my brain at first trying to figure out what I would do. Finally I decided I would do a poem….a skit. It was befitting. See, even then I loved to write and I loved poetry. Instead of writing my own I decided to present one of my favorite poems by the wonderful Maya Angelou…..”Phenomenal Woman”. The words alone exuded exactly what I needed to convey. I didn’t win that pageant, but to be able to share such powerful words to people who might not have ever heard of Maya Angelou was a winner in my book! ~Rest in Peace Maya Angelou~
“Phenomenal Woman, That’s you.”
Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.
I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It’s the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can’t touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can’t see. I say, It’s in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I’m a woman
Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.
Now you understand Just why my head’s not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It’s in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, ‘Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.
Today I began with a heavy heart full of conviction. Today I was on a quest to not allow anyone or anything rupture my spirit. I started my day with listening to Christian Music Artist Sherrie McCrary’s rendition of Walter Hawkins “Marvelous”. Hearing her beautiful voice always wraps me in the spirit. It was exactly what I needed for my morning worship and praise session. Even though I stumbled a couple of times throughout the day and the enemy tried to rob me of my peace, I made it to today’s end. My night has ended with more praise and worship because I am thankful for all of the marvelous things that he has done.
“no one else could do it.
no one could care half as much.
Yet you thought my soul was worth it.
So you gave. Your only son.
Chorus
you gave that i might live.
you gave that i might be set free.
exchanged your life for mine.
What a Marvelous thing you’ve done.
Trio:
Some folks see my faults.
Lord you see my accomplishments.
Even the good work you have begun in me.
Soloist:
you also see my finish.
No not half done.
every battle already won.
i can’t help but praise you lord.
for the marvelous things you’ve done.
***You can find more music from Christian Music Artist Sherrie McCary on youtube and look out for her anticipated debut album “Breakthrough” coming soon!***
Traveling down the trail of life
Destination unknown
Rough patches heavily worn
The looking lens bear no resemblances
The tattered mirror reveals the emptiness
Dare I nudge the conflicted connection
Wait…..there lies no reflection
Swaying between the fact and fiction
Teetering without a mission
Where this train stops, there ain’t no telling
Mind Battered and wounded
Wrapped up tightly it stays bounded
Forceful grin to he who looks within
The only thing that captivates me is the desire to win
Constraints to stay sane
To mask the constant pain
The struggling tributes that stain
The mere existence brings rain
Trudging through the mud
How did it flood?
Walking blindly through the obstacles
Feeling bare backed without a cover
Quick…..somebody hide me
Daring to break free
Hidden solutions taunt me often
Thoughts of the internal fire outweigh the sin
11:13 means more than what the clock reads
It’s life over death
The ending to begin
The trump card to all that fell behind
Learning and relating
Relating to learn
Saying yes to the task
That had already begun
And as rambled as this all seemed
Somehow, somebody just might believe the dream
Sometimes in Life you have to just step out on Faith. Just as Martin Luther King stated, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
I came upon an awesome blog post at littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com where she and several fellow bloggers are doing an awesome project where other bloggers will “link up” and share how we all plan on #making2014count. I think this is beyond awesome and a great way to make 2014 an unforgettable year along with meeting new friends and encouraging each other through our journeys! As I have said countless times before, the blogging world is a community of mounds of very talented and creative individuals with plentiful things to share. Since joining this world, I have gained an array of wonderful friends that I cherish and adore.
Ironically before stumbling across this post, I had just written a post entitled “When Peace Finds You“. In that post I talk about how trying 2013 was and how I spent the majority of the year with this fascination about trees and I couldn’t pin point exactly why until I began a corporate fast. And that’s where I heard the word GROWTH. It meant growth….I was experiencing growth.
I plan to make 2014 count by continuing to grow. Growth in every area of my life. Individually, Collectively, Spiritually, Mentally, Physically, Financially, etc. I plan to grow as a person, in my marriage, on my job, in my business, as a friend, sister, daughter, auntie, and eventually as a mother.
2014 will be a prosperous year and I plan to make it count. In 2014 I plan to fully live, love, and enjoy my journey. No more coasting as I did in 2013.
It is always the simplest things that we encounter that reminds us just who God is. Today I was on a search to find yet another background to put on my phone of a “Tree”. I don’t know what my sudden fascination with trees are. Since I have moved back to Georgia, I have found trees to be intriguing. I dream about them and I find myself doodling them on paper constantly. Lately my screen saver at work is displayed with different stills of trees and my background on my phone has been stills or illustrations of trees. How befitting with today’s fast on “Peace” did I stumble across a background of a tree with the words “be still” written across the pic. And at this moment I had what I like to refer to as an “Aha” moment. I felt a giddy feeling in my spirit and I couldn’t help but smile because I love when I am pondering things for a while and then it seems as though God nudges me and whispers “There you go my child….there’s your answer!” I immediately reflected on my year and I thought about how it began. This has been a trying year for me and looking back over it, the one word that sticks out is growth. So, how could that relate to trees. Easily…..trees for the most part stand firm and it weathers the many seasons that come and go, but just like it loses its leaves in the winter, the spring garners a full blossom. Mark 4:39 has been a go to scripture for me the majority of this year as a friendly reminder to be calm even in the midst of a storm.
lovebugsworld 