Tag: God

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Hello! Here’s a Facebook memory from last year. I should have added, wherever your heart is, your mind and soul follows. Where is your heart?

Here’s an additional caption. I added this when I reshared it to another account.

Moment of Transparency:

There was a time when I allowed thoughts of imperfection to control me. Not saying those thoughts don’t still pop up, because they do, but they no longer control me. Yeah.. caused so much anxiety. 

I keep telling y’all when I say God is sooo good, THIS is what I’m talking about. #ForeverGrateful

Y’all, God is absolutely wonderful. I just love watching Him work in my life. Used to spend most of my time watching Him work in the lives of others, now I am watching Him do the same for me. Of course it is not always pleasant to watch. Believe me, sometimes the tests and trials make me want to throw in the towel and just be; however, God won’t let me. He pushes me through. Then, I look up a year(s) later and I am so much stronger than I was before. This past week I attended a conference with women I used to feel intimidated to be in the room with. My imposter syndrome used to be on an all time high. However, this time, I knew… not only felt… but knew I belonged there. Again, God is absolutely wonderful!

That’s all I have for you today. About to get on the road. Please keep my family in your prayers. My bonus mom is really sick. We are not sure what’s wrong. She’s been sick for a while but is just now admitting it. At first I felt like this was deja vu because it is August again, but I am not claiming it. I know God is a healer. Amen

Y’all have a wonderful day. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

It’s Okay to Cry

Shaun Bradford

Needed this Facebook memory. Last night, I was thinking about my mom and kept saying to myself, “Don’t cry.” I didn’t want to cry. I hate crying about negative things. Now, happy tears, I will cry happy tears all day. However, whenever the tears want to come when I am sad, hurt, heartbroken, frustrated or mad, I try to hold them in. I try to convince myself that I am strong enough to take blows without producing tears. Those tears make me feel weak and vulnerable so I try to hold them in. So, this particular memory I needed to see. I have a lot of built up tears on the inside that I need to release.

Facebook Memory: August 11, 2023

Heartbroken? Disappointed? Feeling BLAH? OR Just need to cry? Listen, do it because life is hard and your tears will NEVER be wasted. They will either water something new, revive something you believed was dying, or cleanse your soul (gem from my 8th grade Spanish teacher☺️). So cry! Believe me, you’ll feel sooo much better afterwards.♥️

I know I’m not the only one who needs a little soul cleansing. So cry. Get it out! Those tears will never be wasted.♥️

Praying you have an absolutely amazing weekend. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

Remain Open to Love

Shaun Bradford

Had a dream about turtles last night. Not just one particular kind but several different turtles. Two, in particular, stood out. There was this huge turtle with a turquoise shell with a baby turtle beside them. Then there was this other turtle that I first thought was a new kind lizard. It kept following me in a playful way. Now y’all, I am afraid of lizards but I love turtles. Well, I wasn’t afraid of this particular lizard. I finally turned my attention to it and discovered it wasn’t a lizard but a turtle whose shell had come off. It led me back to its shell and I attempted to put it back on. I taped it together with some clear packing tape and it was happy. Then it really followed me everywhere I went. There was also a tiny snapping turtle in my dream but I ignored it.

Of course I googled the meaning of seeing turtles in a dream but there were so many that I decided to interpret it on my own. Well, this is what came to me while I was attempting to draw a turtle and while this one particular song kept playing over and over in my head. Hadn’t heard it in forever… I Don’t Have the Heart by James Ingram. Talk about weird.

My interpretation:

It’s okay to protect your heart. However, you have to also be open to be loved. You cannot be so protected that you do not let love in. I am now realizing that that particular song is the song that has kept me from letting love in because in my experience, that was how the relationships I wanted always ended. “I care about you but…”. I have to stop assuming my story will always end that way. Guess I will never know if I stay guarded. Time to see what happens…

That’s all I have. Supposed to be getting ready to attend a conference, but know I couldn’t miss a day of sharing. I’m now on day 814, I believe.

Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

Hmmm…

Shaun Bradford

Have you ever found yourself worried about what others would think if you did XYZ? Even if you don’t want to admit it, you know you have. Well, while you were deep in thought trying make sure whatever you were planning was acceptable or palatable for others, at any moment did you ask yourself, “What will God think?”. Will He approve? Will He disapprove? Will He get the glory?

In my opinion, most of the time we consider God’s thoughts after we have already made our decisions. Although His thoughts do matter to us, we tend to believe He could not possibly understand human affairs. I mean, how could He? Especially in today’s world. So we do our thing and leave Him to handle the spiritual and supernatural stuff.

Question–What would happen if we consulted God first? Would we do what He wanted us to do (y’all remember WWJD)? Or, would we do what we wanted, then ask for forgiveness later?

I believe most of US (because I’m definitely included in this) hear that still small voice saying, “I’m here. My thoughts matter,” and we tune it out until we need help. Just pitiful. Lol

Just thinking: Would a harmonious world be boring? Does conflict keep things interesting? Guess that’s a question only God can answer. Smile. My thought – Conflict is necessary. Who wants to live in a world of Barbies – fabulous movie. Yes, I believe conflict is necessary but should never become violent.

Anyhoo, let me go before I write even more. This Zyrtec is really kicking in.

Love you! Enjoy your day.♥️

Shaun

Life

Pray & Worship

Shaun Bradford

Happy Tuesday!

This morning I visited my Facebook memories for inspiration for today’s blog. Well, I found a lot of inspiration and wanted to share it all but decided to only share a few.

Facebook Memory: August 8, 2022

Caption: Once you experience something, it’s impossible to unexperience it. Your life is forever changed by that experience.

You cannot unknow, unsee, or undo anything that has already happened. All you can do is adjust and move forward. Life…

Facebook Memory: August 8, 2022

Caption: How are you waiting? With or without expectation? You know, “Whatever happens, happens,” OR “I’m expecting exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think.” Me. I’m doing the latter. I’m EXPECTING great things to happen!💃🏽♥️ Today’s 8/8. New day. New week. New beginnings.🌸

Lately, that’s the message I have been seeing everywhere – wait with expectation. Expect great things to happen. Kinda sad though. About two weeks after sharing that post my mom had a stroke and never fully recovered. Whew…

I’m going to end with this video by my fav, Mr. Tyler Perry. The actual Facebook memory from August 8, 2018, was a snippet of the sermon he delivered (yes, he preached – smile), Climb and Maintain.

Climb and maintain means to pray and worship. As we know, life is going to do what it does. No matter what we’re going through we must continue to pray and worship. I know sometimes it’s easier said than done, but it works. Believe me, it has gotten me through some really tough times. Had to make myself do it yesterday and it worked!

This is all I have for you today. Praying you have a wonderful day. Be blessed.♥️

Shaun