Up

One of my favorite movies is the Pixar film "up". It's about an elderly man who after the death of his wife, is forced to move into a retirement home. He can't imagine himself there and feels his life is at its end. So Instead he decides to move his home to an isolated place in South America. He ties over a hundred helium filled balloons to his house and floats away. Just when he thought he was alone he discovers a Boy Scout was hiding on his porch the whole time. The old man tries over and over to stay alone and not talk to the boy but it doesn't  work. Together they  end up discovering South America, saving a bird and forming a lifelong friendship. 

There are times when we just want to be alone. We want to hide, isolate and just keep to ourselves. Especially when times get hard we do this the most. So many times when we think one story of our lives has ended it turns out to be just the beginning. We discover ourselves, new friends and even form a stronger faith in God. This time of change is a time to celebrate . So quit hiding and get up !!!

"This is just the beginning, the year of refreshing. His plan now unfolding, the time of your great blessing. Expect the great!" Jonathan Nelson 

Put me in coach

A starting lineup in sports is an official list, of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.

In life, our starting lineup usually consists of close friends and family. But do they deserve to be there? Do they represent their position to the fullest? Lately I've been questioning the players in my life and I've come to find that they're not who I've made them out to be.  I say that they’re not who I made them out to be because I’ve lived in denial of who they are in real life. I made excuses for toxic personalities although they themselves never did. My father always says “when a person shows you who they are, believe them.” And I’ve expected too much, loved too much, did too much for people who didn't deserve it or didn’t know how to give it back.  At the same time I’ve ignored some people because I didn’t think of them as key players when they’ve been the ones who’ve been supporting, loving and genuinely caring for me all along!!!    

So it's time to take look at the players and see who deserves to be starting, who deserves to be benched, and which substitutes need to be brought in.

 

The Purge

So it's been a little over a week I've been posting and I’ve already had days that I didn't want to write. Questioning myself if it's worth it? Is anyone reading? Am I making an impact?

The reason I started blogging is because I've been feeling "full". What I mean by full, is that feeling when you have to get "it" out. My "it" was my voice. For so long I've held back on what I thought and how I feel and I was just bursting at the seams. The holding back was because I was afraid that no one wanted to hear what I had to say nor did they even take the time to listen. I've never been one to say everything that's on my mind and I still have no intention of becoming that person. However, I do plan to share the good that's what's within me. How do I know what's good? I know if something is good if I can't sit still, or I feel like I need to get it out. And the reason I have to get it out is because the it is not just meant for me. It's meant to be shared with others and not for me to be selfish with. That's why I will continue to do this blog, because on the day I feel like I don't want to do it at all, the day when I think it's pointless , the day when I think it’s of no use, is the exact day someone else is needing IT the most !!!!!!!!!

Carfax

Happy Monday 

How many of us are impatient??? I know I'm guilty so I'm raising my hand. Lately one of my friends has been  vigilantly looking for a house and has become frustrated with not being able to buy one. Not because she's financially unable to do so but because the "pieces"won't fit together. The neighborhood is "bad". "It'll take too long to build"or something to delay the process. She said to me "I just can't win". I asked her what was the rush to buy a house? Did she have to move? What was it? There was no valid reason besides she just needed one now!! She told me that she thought she would be much further along in life than she is. She expected to be married with kids and owning a home. And to look around and see that her other friends have accomplished these things makes her feel a lack of accomplishment and that she doesn't have control in any aspect of her life. So to be able to say she bought a house would help her feel much better about herself. The question remaining is, will it really?

Whenever we fill the need to  boost our self-esteem with externals it'll always leave us yearning for more. I need a new house, a new car,or a new something. And while we are busy getting all these "new" things we are still left with the "old" self. Change starts from within. 

Remember you can take an old busted up car, repaint it, change the headlights, and even change the tires. But if you never lift up the hood and do the actual work needed inside, it will always be an old busted up car. 

Free your mind and the rest will follow

Happy Saturday 

A couple of weeks ago I participated in carnival, a tradition that originates in Trinidad.  At first look one might think it something of "lewd" or "disrespectful" behavior but there's a much deeper meaning once you take a closer look. During slavery The use of masks had special meaning for the slaves because for many African peoples, masking is widely used in their rituals for the dead. Obviously banned from the masked balls of the French, the slaves would hold their own little carnivals in their backyards — using their own rituals and folklore, but also imitating their masters’ behavior at the masked balls. For African people, carnival became a way to express their power as individuals, as well as their rich cultural traditions. 

While I'm not West Indian I wanted to participate in another culture and learn what else is out there beyond the boundaries of Baltimore. 

I believe Its important to open your mind to things that you have never experienced before. It's helps to facilitate growth and makes you a well rounded person. Besides if you continue to do things the way you've done them before you'll always end up right where you started!!!!

Open the box

Good morning

Yesterday one of my friends and I were discussing the topic of assumption and the common statement of "I know how you are". I absolutely hate this statement. It makes me feel that just because I've said or done something in the past that it automatically defines who I am, and the way people will treat me yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

Once someone seeks to define us it makes it hard to get out of that box. Not because we don't want to get out of the box but because others try their hardest to keep us in it. But why would someone not want us to change? it's simple, your easier to control in the box. It's easier to predict an outcome in a controlled environment. As soon as the thing that was kept in the box is freed there's no telling what they might do, what they may say, where they may go and how they will grow. So the person that puts us in a box is scared to let us out. BUT guess what that's thier problem not ours !!!!!!!

Remember permission from others is not a requirement for our growth or to get of out the box.

So get out of that box by stepping out, closing it up, walking away and never looking back. 

Judge Judy

Good Morning

I think everyone has a person in their life that is super critical of everything. You know that person who always finds a way to wrap an insult into a nice package and adorn it with a pretty pink bow. “I love your dress, but isn’t that the wrong color for this time of year” or “I love your house, but I would’ve decorated it better.”  Yeah that person, I call them Judge Judy’s.”  Well I have several Judy’s in my life that are famous for this. Everyone time I see them I wonder what “compliment” they’re going to give me.

I used to get so angry at this and think to myself “why can’t they ever say anything nice.” As I’ve stated before in previous post, there’s a purpose for everything even judgmental people.  I believe that their purpose in my own life is to push me towards the things that I didn’t think I could do and to have a stronger belief in myself. 

So be thankful for your “Judge Judy”, for they have shown you exactly who you don’t want to be and your potential to be everything you’ve ever imagined.               

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:37-38

Baby Talk

Good Afternoon

Every morning when I go to wake my daughter the first thing she says is either “UP” or “LIGHT”. She says it several times as she smiles at me.  I reply to her saying “yes there’s the light or yes it’s time to get up”.

Although she’s only 13 months old her words have great meaning. As adults we have a vast vocabulary and the majority of our words tend to be negative.  NO, STOP, CANT, WAIT, LATER ...all of them are pessimistic in connotation and we probably say them more than we can count, and the person we usually say them to is ourselves.  “Should I change? No not right now, I’m not ready.”  “I should just walk away. Well maybe I’ll wait until later.”  We live in negativity so much that we doubt our own ability to move forward or grow into the person GOD wants us to be.

So I’ve decided I’m going to take direction from my toddler and tell myself that I CAN, look towards the LIGHT and keep moving UP.

 

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”   PSALMS 121:1

 

Mother may I ????

Good Morning 

When I was a child I loved to play “Mother May I”. I’m sure everyone remembers this game from their own childhood memories. The point of the game is that one person plays the “mother”, while the others play the “children”. The mother stands at one end while the children stand at the other. The children then take turns asking the mother, MAY I__________? The mother than replies “yes you may” or “No you may not, but you may ________ “and inserts their OWN suggestion.

As I have gotten older I realize that I never really stopped playing “mother may I”.  There have been so many times when I have waited on the opinion of others to guide me in the direction I should move in my OWN life. I’ve followed advice that was not meant for good and was not from God. And while some suggestions may not have been intended as bad, it was still bad for ME. I’ve now come to understand that everything aint for everybody and everybody aint for everyone.

I know with all that’s shaking and moving in my life, not everyone is going to be excited or happy about the changes that are taking place. But the great thing about changing yourself is that permission is neither required nor should it be desired by anyone else except yourself and the God of your own understanding.

So stop standing there and say “SELF, LETS MOVE FORWARD”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me 1 Corinthians 13:11

Digging in Dirt

 
Good Morning

When I stepped outside today I was immediately hit by the cold and the street lights still being on. I thought "Ugh I hate this time of year, it’s dark and cold and miserable". I’m a summer baby so I love the sun, and the heat and all the bright colors around me. But as everything has its purpose so does the fall.

One of my green thumb friends loves being in her garden. It seems so weird to me to be doing this in the fall, but I can now understand the necessity. Fall is an ideal season for planting. The soil is perfect to plant because it allows enough time to develop a solid and strong root system, which brings forth a plethora of flowers the following spring!

So what does that mean for us? Fall is not just a time to prepare flowers for growth but ourselves as well. This is our season to bury ourselves in soil that is going to make us flourish. It’s a time to bury ourselves in God, positivity, knowledge and things that will ensure that the self we are intending to grow becomes fully established

Happy Planting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are you running towards?

Good morning,

First morning of my new blog and I'm super excited. Just to clarify this blog isn't for literal running or tips to get fit physically. It's a blog for mental, spiritual and emotional growth.

The question of the day is what are we running to? Are we moving forward to negativity or enlightenment. As I start this journey with you I'm excited to see what changes are ahead in all of us.

That's right I said US. Things having been moving and changing in my life and while change is scary it's also necessary. We can't move forward without taking new steps in life.

That being said lets us start our transformation to greatness together by not walking but running to our destiny. On your mark, get set, Go!!!!!!!! I'm