Last night I decided to start reposting on Substack (Shaun Inspires). Thought I’d give it another try. Hadn’t realized I made so many posts before I abandoned it. I was struggling with figuring out how to connect. Today, I’m not too much concerned about connecting. I’m at a point in life where I just want future generations to know I existed and that I held a space in this point in time.
Yes.
I’m here.
I exist.
Feeling like Miss Celie from The Color Purple— “Dear God, I’m here!”
Blessed to be in this space in time. Taking nothing for granted. Purposefully and intentionally setting out to do something new for ME.🥰
I pray you have a wonderful month. May it be filled with lots of love, joy, peace, and happiness.♥️
YOU are your priority. Not another task. Not another goal. Not another mission. Not another person. YOU, my friend, are your only priority. Everything else is secondary.
My kids have been telling me for the longest that I am my only priority. The last time my daughter was here, she kindly told me that although she’s glad I still consider her and my son when making decisions, they should no longer be a factor in whatever I choose to do. She said that I need to reimagine my life not centered around them.
So what did I do? I started taking on tasks and putting other people’s needs, goals, and interests before my own. Not like I hadn’t been doing it before. Smile. But yesterday was my breaking point.
Yesterday, by noon, I had become so overwhelmed by everything I had taken on that I could literally feel my blood pressure rising—plus I was having hot flashes like CRAZY! Y’all, hot flashes are no joke!! Then, yesterday evening, I saw a post about one of my step-cousins passing from an apparent stroke. He was only a year younger than me.
After finally taking time to sit and breathe, I remembered what my daughter said, I am my only priority.
Today, I need to focus only on myself and what I want to achieve. I live to help and be there for others, but who’s here for me? Who’s helping me? Umm… no one besides ME! So I need to make sure I put myself first and do it daily, not just today. I’m not being selfish. I just want to live a long, healthy life. I have at least 50 more years of life to live.😊
This is all I have for now. Thanks for allowing me to share/ramble. I pray you have a beautifully blessed day!♥️
Your future starts today, not tomorrow. God’s already equipped you with everything you need to begin working towards your goals and dreams, today. All you have to do is start.
If you’re like me, with hundreds of ideas floating around in your head and unsure where to begin, ask God for clarity and guidance. Then, allow Him to walk you through the process. From experience, it may not always be the process you’d like to go through, but in the end, it will be worth it. I’m sure of this.
Again, it’s Self-Love Saturday! Do something that makes your heart smile and future self proud.♥️
Decided to check my Facebook memories this morning. Something that I rarely do nowadays. And this memory/quote hit me like a ton of bricks!
“You’re not a perfectionist, you’re just scared.” –Gary Vaynerchuk
When I tell you I felt called out! THIS is how God usually gets my attention.
You see, perfectionism is what I’ve been dealing with lately. It’s the real culprit in me feeling drained this past week. It’s not the amount of projects I’m working on or me overcommitting. It’s me overthinking and constantly revising things to make them perfect, when perfect was never possible. Smiling because my daughter said this very thing after I submitted something I was working on.
I just love her!🥰
Here’s a sneak peek at today’s post under Shaun’s Daily Inspiration:
I believe Gary Vee is right. Perfectionism is more about fear than being perfect. Gotta overcome that fear.
Anyhoo… I’m going to take a quick nap before I start my day. Today I’m releasing perfectionism. No more reviews and revisions. Only submissions, publishes, and sends.
Happy Friday to me!☺️
This is all for now. Wishing you a beautiful day and lovely weekend. Be sure to do things that make your heart smile.♥️
I believe these last three years have pushed me outside my comfort zone more than any other period in my life. I’ve already done more on this side of 50 (at 53) than I’ve done in decades at a time. I asked for my years beyond 50 to be far different from the last, and I’m so in awe of how God is bringing my ask to fruition.
While scrolling through my photos, I came across this text between my daughter and me. Y’all, all I could do was smile. It’s a testament of me asking and God answering.
This was October 2023.
I just love my baby girl!!💗
I was at home that day, reading tweets from colleagues attending our national food and nutrition conference (FNCE). For years, I lived for attending those conferences. They gave me the annual boost I needed to stay motivated, as well as sparked new ideas. You see, after I took my big leap of faith and resigned from my job, I could no longer afford to attend the conferences. I could barely afford to attend our state conferences.
Then, a year later…
Less than six months after my daughter texted, “You are preparing for the next level!!!!”, I said yes to serving as the president-elect of our state’s dietetics association. This didn’t take me outside my comfort zone (I had served years before), but I was at a stage in my life (or so I thought) where I just wanted to live the “retired” life. Smile
Here are more pictures from that day. Y’all, I really love our conferences.
Met my fellow Potter’s House e-church member, April.😊
Okay… So maybe I go for the food.😂 Always a good time!
I also attended last year’s conference in Nashville. This year, I’m planning our state’s conference, so it’s my main focus right now.
A few posts ago, I asked the question— “What do you want most [from life]?” And in another post, I wrote—
“Listen, if you want to truly live, sit and stay in God’s presence. He will give you experiences that will satisfy your soul. Yeah…His experiences are soul deep!”
I know what I truly want, and so does God. Attending the conferences may seem like a small experience, but for me, it’s one of those soul-deep ones. Yes, I love the food (I really think food is my love language☺️), but I love being around the people most. When I’m at those conferences—and that’s any conference or event—I talk to EVERYBODY! I even talk to the janitors cleaning the restrooms. I want everyone to feel seen, valued, and appreciated. Plus, it’s how you make connections. So yeah… it’s soul deep for me.
Listen, there are so many soul-deep experiences outside of your comfort zone. Be open to saying yes to new opportunities and doing something new.
This is all for today. Have a wonderful self-love Saturday. Celebrate it by doing something new!♥️
Listen, God will check you in the most beautiful way ever. He’ll call you out and leave no room to doubt that He’s doing so. And it’s always from a space of love.
Today, God is calling me out. I have to “put up or shut up.” People I care about are watching my next moves, and I cannot afford to play small. So much is riding on how I handle this situation.
“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” –Nelson Mandela
My goal is to build bridges, not burn them.
Y’all pray my strength in the Lord.😊
This is all I have for today. Listen, when God gives you an assignment, management it well—not only well, but give it your best efforts. Also, when He puts people in your path who count on you to have their best interests at heart, you step up and fulfill your duties.
What a way to start the week, right?! I pray you have a wonderfully blessed day and a beautiful week ahead. May they be filled with an abundance of love, joy, and peace.♥️
Stay attuned to that still, small voice. God is speaking. You don’t want to miss what He’s saying.
I shared the message above on this day two years ago. I wrote about how my life changed after I forgave someone who had really hurt me. Even though I said I had forgiven them, part of me hadn’t. For years I held on to the pain, but it wasn’t until I forgave them in my heart that my life began to change. Y’all, it was the release I didn’t know I needed.
Today, I encourage you to forgive those who have hurt you. Release the pain and them to God. Once you do, great things will begin to happen. Listen, true forgiveness does set great things in motion.
As I said in 2024, “Try it!”
On a lighter note…
Who’s tried WordPress’ new podcast feature?! It popped up after I made a post for Nutrition with LaShaundreaB. After trying it there, I decided to try it with my posts under Shaun’s Daily Inspiration (links below). Although you can edit conversations, I’m not brave enough to try it with the posts I share here because I don’t know what that conversation would look like.🥴🤭
Here are the mini podcast episodes. Both are under four minutes. I really like this feature!
Before I end, I would like to invite you to watch Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again? on Netflix. We have been waiting for the final movie for years. Side note: I’m not sure why the movie was released on a Wednesday, but hey, that’s above my pay grade. I’m just glad we got one more movie. Can’t wait to watch it!😊
I’m going to end here. Wishing you a wonderfully blessed day.♥️
Marc: Shaun’s Daily Inspiration has been busy reminding us that the stars are never going to perfectly align, so we might as well get moving.
Mara: This episode covers three territories: starting fresh without waiting for ideal conditions, finding and protecting the light and heart already inside you, and the quieter work of living in…
Don’t act surprised. You already know who you are. You’ve known it forever. What began as a tiny spark as a child has now grown into a full-blown flame that’s ready to be unleashed. So stop resisting the flow. Instead, embrace it and allow it to carry you where you need to go.
Earlier, I came across a post from a renowned author and photographer (we’ll call her Lis) whom I met years ago after she spoke at an event I attended. I know I caught her off guard with my enthusiastic claim that our meeting was somehow a divine encounter. I said something to the effect that I knew God orchestrated our meeting and that we’d work together someday. Well, that day never came. Laughing. However, we became Facebook friends, and she did meet my mom. Lis interviewed my mom for a book she was writing and took photos of her—which made my mom feel so special. So, although we never worked together, the time she spent with my mom was so worth our meeting. Smiling.
The reason today’s quote and Lis’ post are so significant is because they were both divinely timed. Lis shared her post three days ago, but I didn’t see it until this morning, after today’s quote was posted. You see, Lis and I both began our doctoral journeys (in different fields) at the same time (Summer of 2018). She finished and became a professor, and I quit and started pursuing other ventures/adventures. Seeing Lis’ post reminded me of the journey I sometimes question whether I allowed fear to stop me from pursuing. I know that my heart wasn’t truly in it; however, deep down it was still a goal I wanted to achieve. It was a space that challenged me, and I caved under the pressure—just being honest and transparent.
Again, I needed to see the quote and post because I have so much work to do that will require me to operate at a different level. A few months ago, I became the southern region representative for our state’s Public Health Association. Public health, advocacy, policy making, and program development were the focus of my DrPH (Doctor of Public Health) degree.
I have a lot to think about and some decisions to make. This time I need to let hope guide my decisions and choices, not my fears.
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