Tag: God

Life

Grateful, Blessed, and Loved

Shaun Bradford

Didn’t know what I wanted to share this morning. Having a lot of mixed emotions. However, grateful, blessed, loved are what I am feeling most.

Last night I attended a birthday party celebrating my grandmother’s first cousin’s 70th birthday. It was such a beautiful celebration. I only wish my mom and grandma were still alive to celebrate it with us. I miss them both soooo much. However, spending time with family—some of which I hadn’t seen in ages—made me feel as if they were still with me, just couldn’t make it to the party.

My grandma had 11 children—7 boys and 4 girls. My mom was the oldest. My aunt, Jackie, is her last surviving sister on my grandmother’s side. She’s only four years older than me. One of my first babysitters and playmates.💗

Grateful, blessed, and loved.♥️

Shaun

Life

Friday Vibes

Shaun Bradford
I may or may not have created this image. Can’t remember.😄 Anyhoo… Image Credit: Unknown (2019)

As Aaliyah sings—

It’s Friday (Hey)
And I’m ready to swing, pick up my girls
And hit the party scene
Tonight, oh, it’s alright, mhm
So get up and let this funky mellow grove get you in the mood
‘Cause you know it’s alright, yeah

Keep on groovin’
(Don’t stop movin’)
Don’t stop movin’
Let me see you, let me see you go

Back, back, forth, and forth (Go back)
Let me see you go
Back, back, forth, and forth (Alright)
I wanna see you go
Back, back, forth, and forth (Come on)
Let me see you go
Back, back, forth, and forth (See you go back and forth)

“Back & Forth” by Aaliyah
Lyrics: Musixmatch

Life

Never Stop Creating

Shaun Bradford

On June 13, 2022, I wrote:

If you can imagine it, I wholeheartedly believe you can create it. It may not look exactly like what you’ve imagined, but create it anyway. Silence that voice that says it’s not good enough because God will step in and perfect it. So create!

This image was shared with the caption above. What a difference two years make. Smiling because I know it’s only going to get better with time.

Keep creating.

One day what you see will be what you imagined.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

Life

Your Time Is Coming

Shaun Bradford

Y’all, today was the first day in months that I didn’t wake up and go straight to my Facebook memories. Hadn’t even thought about them until now (it’s almost 9 AM). No, today was different. Today, I woke up thinking about my future, not my past. I didn’t even read past journal entries. Hmm… think I can get used to this. Anyhoo… I needed content for my second blog so of course I finally checked my memories. Here’s one from 2022. Smile.♥️ ~Shaun

Facebook Memory: June 11, 2022

God is working! You may not see it or feel it, but He is. So hang in there. Don’t give up hope. Your time is coming.

Be patient!
Life

Push Through

Shaun Bradford
You got this!

Push through feelings of awkwardness, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Push through insecurities, thoughts of inferiority, and feelings of shame. Push through the setbacks, disappointments, feelings of abandonment, and heartaches. Push through the anger, sadness, and loneliness. Push through until you make it to the other side. I can attest that it will not be easy, but it will be so worth it.

Oh… While you are pushing, make sure you are also praying. Prayer and continuous communication with God will sustain you once you get there.

Praying you have a beautifully, blessed day.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

Life

Morning Praise & Worship

Shaun Bradford

“When You Praise,” by Fred Hammond is the current song that’s playing in my head. I love how my spirit has its own little praise and worship service while I’m doing other things. It’s my intercessor, for sure. Y’all, God will always make His presence known. Grateful and blessed.♥️ ~Shaun

“When You Praise” by Fred Hammond
Lyrics: LyricFind

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.

Life

Not A Coincidence

Shaun Bradford

Just had to stop and share this!! THIS is how God works in my life. Listen, a change is coming. Change is happening even when we can’t see it. But this one, I feel. I feel it so deeply within. And it’s not a bad change. It’s a good one.

So, not even 10 minutes ago I read a post by fellow blogger, Caramel—“I’ve Been Running Ever Since.” Then, immediately afterwards, I saw a post by Trent Shelton (like it hadn’t even been posted a minute) and he had added the exact same song Caramel mentioned in her post, Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” I don’t know if it’s the song of the day or what. However, I do know a change is happening. It’s happening NOW!♥️

THIS is Year50…

Shaun

Life

Maturing, Growing, Evolving, and Becoming

Shaun Bradford

Here’s another gem from my Facebook memories. Y’all, when I wrote it, I had no idea I would ask God to make this side of 50 different. Thought I only needed to tweak a few things. Yeah, that was before the Year50 purge. (Now I can laugh.) But God knew!

As Bishop T. D. Jakes said—please read the blog below for the full impact—“You cannot be who you’re going to be and who you used to be, at the same time.”

Facebook Memory: June 8, 2022

I cannot become who I’m meant to be and be the same person I used to be, at the same time. Wouldn’t be honoring God if I did.

Maturing
Growing
Evolving
Becoming Me

Wednesday Writings

Y’all, if I wanted this side of 50 to be different, I had to intentionally make it different. And that last sentence in my caption. Whew! I would not have been honoring God had I remained the same. Loving this space I am in.♥️

Shaun

Side note: I am torn between sticking to my schedule of sharing my second post ~ 10:30 AM and posting right after I write. What do you think? Should I stick to my schedule or ditch it and post freely? Today, I’m ditching the schedule because it’s my birthday month!☺️🎉

Life

Make Your Story Beautiful

Shaun Bradford

A few years ago, I shared the following image with the caption, “What are you writing? Hope it’s something beautiful.”

Shared on Facebook on June 6, 2021. (Photo credit: Unknown)

None of us knows what the future holds. Most of the time we look at it through the lens of our past. If we are not careful, we will continue to write and create the same stories.

This year (Year50), and my mom’s death, forced me to stop and reflect on the limiting patterns and stories I kept repeating and creating. Some I had been doing my entire life. I couldn’t seem to let certain parts of my past go. Not so much physically, but mentally. However, once I decided this side of 50 would be different, I intentionally began to make it different. And I am still doing so. It’s an ongoing process that I am committed to continuing. Not sure where my story will take me, but I do know—not believe—it will be beautiful.

I pray your future is just as beautiful. My advice is to release control and allow God to do the rest.♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

Side note: I used to be terrified of giving God complete control. Didn’t fully trust Him with my future. (Being transparent.) I believed He would bypass my dreams and aspirations to only fulfill His purpose and plan. Now I realize my dreams and aspirations were always part of His purpose and plan. He’s the one who gave them to me. So I have to trust Him to do the rest.

This is Year50…