If you’d like to be a beacon of God’s love, start with compassion.🌺
On another note about an expression of God’s love, today I’m celebrating the 8th Anniversary of It’s Shaun’s World! Woohoo!!🎉
Grateful and blessed to have been here for eight years! I pray that throughout the years I have been an expression of God’s love and that I continue to be.
Thank you for supporting me over the years, giving me a safe space to grow, and for allowing me to BE. I truly, truly appreciate you!💕
“Moments of hope are found in the memories of smiles, the sounds of laughter, and stories of goodness. It’s those memories, and the anticipation of more like moments, that keep humanity alive. They keep hope alive.”
Today, if only for a moment, remember the smiles, the laughter, the good times, feelings of love, happiness, and joy. They’re not only experiences of the past but a glimpse of more like experiences to come. As songstress Maurette Brown Clark says, “It ain’t over until God says it’s over. Keep fighting until the victory is won…God has the final say.”
I’m beginning my day with joy and gratitude as I do every morning. Over the years, I’ve learned that Joy Grows with Gratitude. The more grateful I am, the more joyous I am.
God, thank You for waking me up this morning. For the rhythm of my heartbeat. For the ability to see, hear, breathe, walk, and think. These are things I often overlook because they happen so naturally. But I want You to know they’re not things I take for granted. I’m grateful to be here. Amen
What are you grateful for today?
Remember to start every morning with gratitude, and watch how your joy grows.♥️
For a little over a month now, I have been quietly seated In God’s Presence. If you’ve ever stepped away from your daily routines to sit with God, then you know “sitting” with God is not a passive act. It’s very active.
First, God shows you your life. He shows you your past, where you are now, and all of your beautiful blessings. Next, He shows you your future—where He plans to take you. Then, He lovingly tells you that you’ll never fully hold all that He has planned if you don’t surrender your plans for His. Afterwards, He gently begins to guide and mentor you through the steps of becoming the person He knows you can be. The one He’s shown you.
So, you sit quietly in God’s presence. You take in His wisdom, love, and grace. You block the outside noises. And you move as He moves.
You become aligned with God.
Being seated in God’s presence is a life changing experience. If you want to fully experience God’s love and peace, I encourage you to become quiet and sit with Him. I have to warn you though, you may not like or agree with everything He reveals at first. However, I challenge you to remain seated and quiet. That’s when the true experience happens. It’s when God reveals His love for you as His child and how He sees you. You’re Royalty!
Become quiet and sit with God. I promise you, you will not regret the experience.♥️
Today, I’m acknowledging and honoring God’s covering over my life. As I reflect on my many years on this lovely planet called Earth, I see how His covering shielded me from harm. Y’all, His protection was and is still unmatched.
Listen, stay covered. Never leave God’s covering for any reason. Nothing is worth being without it.♥️
This post has been in my drafts since January 8, 2022. I wrote it for another blog, but can’t locate the link. Glad I saved it here. This was my mother.
Title: Momma, I See You
I was born to a teenage mother, who was born to a teenage mother, who was born to a teenage mother. Yep.. three generations of teen moms. My mother was 14 years old when she became pregnant with me and 15 when she gave birth. What’s ironic is my grandmother was also pregnant. Not only was she about to birth her eighth child at 30, but she was also about to become a first time grandmother. Can you imagine being 30 years old with eight children and your first grandchild on the way? Oh… and my great grandmother, my grandmother’s mom, had 12 children at the time and she was only 43. Y’all, I’m 47 with two children. Had my first child at 21 and my second at 30. Just thinking about what it must have felt like being a teenage mother is unimaginable, let alone having multiple children and grandchildren by the age of 30.
Well, a few years ago, during one of my mom’s frequent visits to the emergency room, I thought about what it must have felt like to be responsible for another life at such a young age. When I arrived at the hospital, she was in so much pain. Every time the nurses touched her she moaned. I wanted to help but couldn’t. Finally the doctor gave her something to ease the pain and she fell asleep. I didn’t leave. I just sat there watching her sleep. Honestly, it was like watching a stranger. The person I saw lying there wasn’t the loud, strong, opinionated woman I knew. This woman was vulnerable, tired, and broken. That’s when it hit me that she was so much more than my mother, she was a woman.
While sitting there, I began reminiscing about my childhood and the sacrifices she had made for me and my five siblings. She always made sure our needs were met even if she had to go without. When I was a baby, she worked in the cotton fields to buy me clothes and pampers. She married a man twice her age, and endured abuse, so that she could support me. By the time she divorced him two years later, she had another little girl to support. Although she had two toddlers, she graduated from high school early and enrolled in college. At 18 she was walking the campus of Jackson State University with two in tow. I still remember attending night classes with her when she couldn’t find a babysitter. During that time she was always learning something new as well as introducing us to new things. For me, that was the most exciting time of my childhood. Also, she was no stranger to hard work. Throughout my childhood, I don’t ever remember hearing her complain about taking on second jobs or not being able to take off for vacations. She did what she had to do to provide for her family. I remember how one year she walked miles to work in the snow, while pregnant with one of my younger sisters. One day she slipped and fell and still went to work. That’s how dedicated and selfless she was. Although she experienced heartaches, disappointments, and abuse, we rarely saw her cry. She was the rock of the family.
Needless to say, by the time I left the hospital I was a changed woman. I saw my mom through a different lens. Not only her but my grandmother and great grandmother as well. I often wonder what kind of sacrifices and compromises did they have to make to ensure their children had everything they needed.
Listen, like most mother-daughter relationships, my mother and I have had our ups and downs. However, it wasn’t until I put myself in her shoes that I was able to better understand some of her experiences and decisions. I will admit that the woman she was throughout my childhood made me the woman I am today, and for that, I’m grateful.
The months I spent with her before she passed were a blessing I didn’t know I needed. I needed that time with her. Even though it was like caring for a child at times, I still knew I was hers. So many times I wanted to climb up in the hospital bed with her.
My momma…
She made us take pictures that day (June 1997). She just had to have a family photo even though we weren’t dressed for one.😅We were so unserious. But it was her day, and there was no way we weren’t going to comply. She was still Momma! We also took pictures with my grandma (her mom). About a couple of weeks later, my grandma suddenly died. The following year, my mom became paralyzed from the waist down.
Life can change in the blink of an eye. Make sure you cherish every moment with those you love.♥️
While we are so focused on what this or that leader will or will not do, God is trying to get our attention. Y’all, He’s our Source, not them. We must stay focused on Him. Whatever comes or goes, it’s God’s presence, love, peace, and provisions that will sustain us. He is the ultimate provider and miracle worker.♥️ ~ Shaun
Remember, God is love. Complete love. Not selective or conditional love.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 KJV
It’s all working together for our good. It may not feel like it; and we may not see it today or tomorrow, but it is. Our job is to trust God. To completely trust Him.
It’s Shaun’s World 
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