Category: hope

empowerment, hope

Life, Time, and Clarity

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning!☀️

Here’s today’s quote—

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” –Nelson Mandela

Quote of the Day – 8.31.2026

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.

Y’all, pray my strength in the Lord. Smile

Have a wonderful day and week!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope, praise

When You Praise

Shaun Bradford

“When You Praise” by Fred Hammond is the song of the hour. The song says—

When you praise, when you praise,
There should be a fire in your heart.
Hands up raised, when you praise,
Consuming every part because you know
The GOD we serve will make
His presence known, when you praise,
When you praise.

Keep the praises going! God is making His presence known.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

empowerment, hope

Change Begins With YOU

Shaun Bradford

Change requires change, and that change begins with you. Whatever change you desire to see, start making moves toward that change. Do not stop until …

Change

On this day a year ago, I wrote another blog post titled “Change.” Here’s what I shared then—

“Change requires change.” [Originally shared on August 25, 2023]

This morning, I was torn between sharing this Facebook memory and one from 2018 that said, “Don’t limit God.” Then it dawned on me that both were actually connected. We limit God when we choose not to change. As we know, change isn’t always easy, and most of the time it requires more work than many of us are willing to put in unless we want it badly enough. However, if we truly want to see God do the impossible, we must be willing to release the limits off Him and be ready to change to align with where He’s taking us.

Question: Are you willing to put in the work to change?

Change is what I’ve been experiencing lately. Not in a bad way, but an empowering way. What I wrote last year is exactly what I’m experiencing today—

“We limit God when we choose not to change… if we truly want to see God do the impossible, we must be willing to release the limits off Him and be ready to change to align with where He’s taking us.”

Y’all, God is so good. It always amazes me how He subtly takes us from point A to point B, and we have no clue it’s happening. We may feel something happening, but it doesn’t actually resonate until we see reminders like past posts or journal entries.

I’m so grateful for the change I see in me. I’m embracing it—all of it. I’m so thankful and blessed that God loves me.

Have you experienced anything lately that you asked for or just thought about?

I pray life is treating you kind. Side note: Why am I hearing Whitney singing “I hope life treats you kind…”? I just love my life. It’s so random.

Anyhoo…

Have a wonderfully blessed day. May it be filled with peace, joy, and love.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration. 

hope, trust God

Happy 53 Years & 2 Months To Me🎉

Shaun Bradford

Today, I’m taking a moment to celebrate two months of being 53 years old. Y’all, it’s a blessing that I do not take lightly.

Over the past few weeks, I have witnessed so much suffering, pain, loss, grief, and sadness. So many young lives lost. So many people losing hope. Honestly, seeing it all made me want to retreat into my bubble and disconnect from everything outside my small circle. No matter how much light I tried to fill my timelines with, the more heart-wrenching stories seeped in. It was too much—so overwhelming. I know I can’t disconnect as I did before. I have too much work to do, and my purpose won’t allow it—Not this time!

As I prayed last night, God gave me this message—

You were never meant to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s far too heavy a burden to bear. If you really must help, here’s what …

Release It To God

Today, I’m giving every burden and every care to God and celebrating life.🌺

I pray that you do the same. I know it’s much easier said than done, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have to remind myself to do so throughout the day. Smile, I’m human. But we’ve got this because God’s got us!

Wishing you a wonderful day filled with peace, love, and joy. You deserve it!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration. 

hope

Good Night (71)

Shaun Bradford

Ending the night with Colin Powell’s quote—

“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

We must remain optimistic no matter how dismal things may appear. I know on some days it’s easier said than done because right now so many people are hurting. However, we must continue to believe things will get better soon. Y’all, we cannot afford to lose hope. We must remain optimistic.

Wishing you a peaceful night. Please get some rest.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration. 

empowerment, hope

Go Where You Are Wanted

Shaun Bradford

“Go where you are wanted,” says Brand Strategist Nancy Martira.

Just listened to the latest episode of Wynne Leon’s podcast, The Life of Try, where guest Nancy Martira discusses how to find your audience based on your specific brand, your personality, and the beauty of forming meaningful connections.

Nancy suggests that if you’re trying to build your audience, find people who fully embrace you and what you have to offer. In other words, you really must go where you’re wanted.

One thing that resonated with me was having a niche style that many people may not embrace. Nancy said that the beauty of having your own business or brand is that you have no one to answer to. You can do your own thing. The downside—which may or may not be a downside—is that your audience may be smaller than most, but more than likely, your connection will be greater.

Sometimes I want a larger audience so that I can spread love, peace, hope, and kindness to every inch of the world. Smile. Then other times (most times), I love having a small audience because I can personally connect with everyone.

Recently, I created a nutrition and wellness Facebook group for women, and I have yet to promote it as I should. The reason is that I don’t want more people in the group than I can personally connect with.

So, here I am at this crossroads. Should I cap the number of group members and not promote it more, or should I allow as many people as possible to join the group and only focus on those who engage in the conversations?

Guess I have some decisions to make.

Be sure to check out Wynne’s latest episode— “Find Your Unique Value with Brand Strategist Nancy Martira,” and SUBSCRIBE to The Life of Try. There are so many great episodes on there, filled with gems of information and ideas.

–Shaun♥️

empowerment, hope

Let God’s Glory Shine Through You

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️ And Happy Friday!

Let God’s glory shine through you and through everything you touch and do. Allow Him to fill you with His presence. Amen

The song of the hour is Earnest Pugh’s song, “Rain On Us.” The song says—

Let your glory fill this place
Let your all-consuming fire, fill this tabernacle
Purify our hearts
Surround us in this place
And breathe new life within us
Send a refreshing glory
Purify our hearts

Rain on us, Breathe on us
Shower down, Shower down
Send your Spirit, Lord

Lyrics: Genius.com

“Rain On Us” by Earnest Pugh

Continue to be a beacon of God’s light. Allow Him to use you as He sees fit.

Wishing you a wonderful day and beautiful weekend. May it be filled with lots of love, joy, and happiness.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration. 

hope

My Journey With God, No. 146

Shaun Bradford

My desire is to please God. Period.

Today/yesterday was long and exhausting. So exhausting that I fell asleep before 7:00 PM and missed the VERZUZ battle between singers Donell Jones and Joe. UGH… This was one I was looking forward to. Don’t plan to watch the replay. To me, the battles are only good when watched live.

Now, I’m wide awake!

Been reading past journal entries from this day and began writing a new one before I decided to share my thoughts here. Overall, the main theme from all the entries I’ve read—and not just from this date, but from my life’s journey—has been to please God. To make sure He received the glory in everything I did.

And today, it’s still the same. Nothing has changed.

Before I attempt to go back to sleep (hopefully it won’t take long😊), I just want to thank God for loving me. Many praises to Him just for being God. It’s funny how that “holy-roller” image I tried so hard to get away from in my late 20s seems to be in full effect now, and I truly love it. I’m laughing because the person, or “holy-roller,” I was in my teenage years lived her life based on perfection. I wanted to be the perfect example of Christ. What I didn’t realize, and it took me years to discover, is that God never asked me to be perfect. He just asked me to be myself, to love Him, and to love those around me. And that’s exactly what I intend to continue doing.

Y’all, God is so good. I am truly, truly blessed.♥️

Shaun

hope

Always Choose Kindness And Love

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

Today’s post is a gentle reminder to always choose kindness and love—always.

These are not your weaknesses, but your strengths.

Kindness And Love

Y’all, this week has flown by! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the year. Seems like 2026 just began. I say it all the time, all you have to do is blink and it’s 10-20 years later. Smile…or Sigh

Listen, stay present, but also keep moving. Don’t let time get away from you. As I wrote a few days ago about life, time is also precious and should be respected and held dear.

I pray you have a beautifully blessed day!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration. 

hope

Optimism

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️ And happy Wellness Wednesday!

Optimism…

Cambridge Dictionary defines optimism as: “the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation, or a belief that something good will happen.”

Optimism isn’t a lost cause.

The Best

Optimism is most definitely not a lost cause, and as the late General Colin Powell put it— “perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

Listen, your optimism could be the difference between a plain old good day and a FANTABULOUS day!✨

Remain optimistic!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

**Be sure to stop by Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and get your daily dose of inspiration.