Tag: authenticity

hope

My Journey With God, No. 102

Shaun Bradford

Sitting here reflecting on when my life took a major shift around 10-11 years ago. I was entering my fourth decade of life, and was in the process of getting a divorce. Looking back, I can’t believe I went through and overcame as much as I did. God is so good!

On June 13, 2015, I wrote in my journal that my house was about to be foreclosed on, and I didn’t know where I’d get the money to save it. Well, I never got the money, and it went into foreclosure. That was a difficult year—probably one of my most difficult ones—but I made it.

I started that entry with—

“Thank you Lord for all you’ve done and continue to do. Lord I thank you for grace. I thank you for loving me. So many times I don’t see a way, but you make a way.”

Well, God didn’t make a way in the way I wanted Him to. I lost the house. However, I’ve gained so much more since that loss. The knowledge and experience I’ve gained from multiple setbacks and restarts over the years have only made me stronger.

I ended the entry with a self-discovery that has shaped who I am today. I wrote—

“I’ve tried to be like others, but it didn’t make me happy. Now I’m embracing the true me, the forever evolving me, and I love it, but some don’t. They liked the fake Shaun. Well, I’m me!”

I love how I picked up on and embraced the “forever evolving me.” Because that’s who and what I am. I am forever evolving. Who I am today will not be who I am next week, next year, or ten years from now, and I’m okay with that, because I love being me!

God, thank You for making me, ME!♥️

Shaun

hope

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

How are you?

I pray that you’re well.🌸

By the way—Welcome to my Birthday Month!😌🎉

For those who don’t know, I LOVE celebrating my birthdays, and I usually celebrate the entire month of June. So, if you don’t like people being extra, you may need to mute me because I tend to celebrate any and everything. Lol. Listen, if a butterfly happens to cross my path and I smile (all it takes is a smile), baby, that’s God’s gift to me and ONLY me.☺️ Yeah… prepare to be sick of me.

I love life.

I love my birthdays.

And I absolutely love my God.

Now that I’m getting older, every day and every year I’m alive feels more and more special. Just knowing that I am still here, and that I am surrounded by love, makes my heart sing praises to my God. Father, I thank You.🙏🏽

The theme I chose for Year51 was “Beyond Blessed,” and I am blessed. I am truly, truly blessed. I’m not sure what this coming year’s theme will be. I still have a few weeks to come up with something. Until then, I hope you’ll stick around and celebrate my month with me. And to everyone celebrating a birthday in June—Happy Birthday Month to YOU! Let’s celebrate!!🎉

I pray you have the most amazing day! May it be filled with pure, unconditional love, indescribable peace, and an abundance of joy. YOU deserve it!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

Always Be Kind

Shaun Bradford

Always be kind, even when others aren’t kind to you. You never know who’s watching. Sometimes, your side is all they see.♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

**Kind, but not a doormat.😏

hope

Who Are You?

Shaun Bradford

When was the last time you took a moment to ask yourself, “Who am I?”. I recently attended an event, and that was one of the questions. Who are you outside of your relationships with others? Who are you outside of your career? Who are you outside of social media? Who are you when no one else is around? What are your innermost dreams and ambitions, or your deepest hurts and fears—you know, the ones only you and God know about? Who are you?

Once you discover who you truly are, embrace and nurture the attributes that bring out the best in you and heal the parts that need healing so you can become the best version of yourself.

God has so many blessings waiting for the true you. Discover who you are!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

Passion

Shaun Bradford

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

Follow your passion…

and stop playing small.

Never settle for less than your worth (you’re worth so much more than you know). You only have ONE life. Live it out fully!♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

hope

Authentically You

Shaun Bradford

Your authenticity is beautiful. Never stop being authentically YOU.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

hope

God Is Good

Shaun Bradford

Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

God is good.

Never lose sight of His goodness.♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

hope

I Love You

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

On March 28, 2019, I began my journal entry with—

“Note to future LaShaundrea: I love you.”

Can’t help but cry.

Shaun… LaShaundrea, I love YOU! I love you for life. I love the little girl, teenager, young adult, and now seasoned adult you’ve become, and the wise elder you will be. Yes, I love ALL of YOU.

Many thanks to my past self for leaving that message for me. I have a notification on my phone set at different times throughout the day that says, “Smile. I love you.” I set them to remind me to smile and know I am loved. Well, now it’s just something that pops up and I swipe away. However, seeing this today means so much more. I needed to see it today.

Thank you, past Shaun, for sending love to me today, of all days. Smiling while crying. The fact that I didn’t send it to future Shaun, but to future LaShaundrea is mind blowing. Although we’re the same person, we are not the same. LaShaundrea needs the love today.

Y’all, welcome to my world, where I leave messages for my future self.

I love my life. I used to wonder, and still do at times, why God created me the way He did. I believe the answer is because He loves me, and He loves what He created.

I love you!♥️

Shaun/LaShaundrea

Baby LaShaundrea.🥰
hope

Things That Make You Go Hmmm…

Shaun Bradford

As Arsenio Hall used to say, “Things that make you go ‘Hmmm’.”

Notice the time?

Found this amongst my handy-dandy saved photos. It seems like my photos are creating their own stories nowadays.🙃 As you can see, love was on my mind at 1:48 AM. Really?! Y’all, I’m cracking up. Seriously… at one o’clock in the morning, I was writing the word “Love.” The sun is cute, though. Why am I hearing, “Sunny days, everybody loves them? Tell me, baby, can you stand the rain?” I guess that’s the adult version of “Sunny Days.” See previous post.

On a serious note, though. I truly love life, even the craziness of it all—which wasn’t always the case. I believe me having a near death experience changed everything. You see, several years ago, I had a car accident not even 30 minutes after thinking I no longer wanted to be here. Yeah… I was so done with life that I wanted to be gone. It was only a thought. Then, the accident happened. Since then, I cherish life and everything that comes with it. Bad times happen. The hurts and disappointments haven’t stopped, but I’m still here! I’m still here! I would have missed out on soooo much had I not lived. Y’all, I’m still here!

Think I’ll end now. I’m not sure if I’ll share a mid-morning post or if this will be it. If I don’t, I’ll talk to you this afternoon.

Love you!♥️

Shaun

Since I mentioned sunny days, here’s “Can You Stand The Rain” by my all time favorite male RnB group, New Edition (#NE4Life!!).

“Can You Stand The Rain?” by New Edition

hope

THE Source Of My Strength

Shaun Bradford

My strength comes from God. He’s THE Source. There’s no way I could have made it this far without Him.

Beyond Blessed💗

Shaun