Woke up with the thought, “Handle with Care,” on my mind. When you handle something with care, you don’t just treat it any kind of way. You hold it as a gift, a treasure.
I know it’s the end of the year, but the next few months are a preface to the year to come. So it makes perfect sense that I set and implement my theme now—
“Handle Me with Care.”
Whoever enters my life, as well as those already here, must handle me with care. No, I’m not fragile—I’m rare and priceless. I am One of One.💎
I’m God’s Child
Listen, know your worth and make sure you’re treated accordingly. You’re not asking for too much to be treated with exceptional love, kindness, and respect.
I pray you have a wonderful day and the most beautiful weekend! May it be filled with lots of love, joy, and happiness.♥️
For years now, I have had LaShaundreaB’s Wellness Wednesdays on my calendar; however, I seldom take my wellness day. Well, today, I can’t take the full day, but I plan to take at least half the day to focus on my wellbeing. Yay Me!
Anyhoo… Back to the song of the hour. The song that I’m singing this morning is Yolanda Adams’ song “I’m Gonna Be Ready.” The song says—
I say a prayer every night Whatever I do, I’ll get it right With no regret, no guilt or shame this time No not this time
Once I surrender, I won’t dare look back ‘Cause if I do, I’ll get off track Move ahead in faith, and patiently await your answer What will it be?
Sight beyond what I see You know what’s best for me Prepare my mind, prepare my heart For whatever comes, I’m gon’ be ready Strength to pass any test I feel like I’m so blessed With you in control, I can’t go wrong ‘Cause I always know, I’m gonna be ready…
Y’all, God has been so good to me. I’m so thankful for sooooo many chances to get this thing called life right. I’m finally at the stage in life where I’m moving without regret, guilt, or shame—all three!
I’m so looking forward to where this next stage of my life will take me now that I’m truly committed to taking care of myself first. I know I’ve been stressing this a lot lately, and I wish that I could fully explain what this means to me. Maybe one day I’ll be able to find the words. Just know that I’ve reached another level of freedom that I never imagined possible.
Feeling grateful and blessed.
This is all for now. Remember to take care of yourself, because when it’s all said and done, besides God, you’re truly all you’ve got! Others can only do so much. The rest is on you.
I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the past post below. It’s a reminder to LIVE!
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve always had to make an effort to put myself first. It never came naturally. One call, one sound, or one look of despair, and I’d drop everything to tend to someone else’s needs. But not anymore. I believe that last conversation with my daughter finally got my attention. She told me that I needed to focus on me, and only me. She was right. My mom’s gone; she and my son are grown; my dad and stepmom have each other; my siblings have their spouses and family; it’s just me! For the first time in my life, I’m solo.
Here’s the post I shared three years ago, when I was a new 50 year old.
You better live! Life isn’t slowing down or waiting for you to catch up. Stop putting everyone else first like they’re more important than you. Listen… and hear me good… No one is more important or more valuable than you are. No one! You’re not being selfish, self-centered or inconsiderate. Nah… You’re just recognizing your worth. Now it’s time you start living in it. Love you!♥️ ~Shaun
So far, it’s been a week since I made a conscious effort to prioritize myself and my needs. Seeing this message today confirms and encourages me to keep moving in this direction. Not sure where it’s leading me; however, I’m looking forward to meeting the woman I’m becoming. The woman God predestined me to be.
Shaun, I got you girl!😘
Just a little self-love this morning. Smile
This message is also your reminder that you matter and must take care of yourself first. Take care of YOU before you pour into others.
Where you begin rarely looks like what you envisioned. Give yourself space, time and grace to grow. Don’t give up. You’ll get there!♥️
Recently, I decided to prioritize myself and my needs first. In doing so, one of my goals is to get 5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Right now, it’s about 3-4 hours. When I wake up, I usually stay awake for 1-2 hours before falling back asleep. Then, I only sleep for another 30 minutes to an hour.
Y’all, this new self-focused version of me is something I must be intentional about working on because it’s definitely not something that is happening naturally.
Yes, growth is a process.
This is all for now. I pray you have a wonderful weekend. May it be filled with lots of love, laughter, peace, and joy.♥️
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.
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