Tag: grateful

hope

Do You Know What You Want?

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

On November 28, 2021, I was reading Will Smith’s memoir, WILL. Meant to share this yesterday but forgot. When I tell you I took sooooo many notes. If you haven’t read it, it is so worth reading. Here’s an excerpt from my entry.

Shaun’s Journal Entry: November 28, 2021

“JL or James Lassiter asked Will these questions while trying to figure out what Will really wanted. Will had no real direction just wanted not to ever be broke again and to be able to have fun. 

Questions:

What is the dream? 

What are you trying to build?

What do you want?

Stephen Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said there are only two human problems: (1) knowing what you want, but not knowing how to get it; and (2) not knowing what you want.”

Again, I loved this memoir!

I believe we must ask ourselves JL’s questions from time to time to see if our answers have changed. Is our dream still the same? What are we trying to build? What do we want? Even though I am now on the other side of 50, the core (which I believe is most important) of my answers remain the same. I know what I want.

For years, I used to dwell on what Steven Covey listed as the first problem—knowing what I wanted but not knowing how to get it. However, today, I don’t even think about how I’m going to get it anymore. God is finally the captain of my ship and I’m sitting back enjoying this ride called life. I trust Him to get me to wherever I belong. He knows best. Listen, life is so much better when we allow God to lead, and when we’re obedient.

Question:

Do you know what you want? Your core desires, not the superficial ones.

This is all for now. Thanks for reading. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!♥️

Love you,

Shaun

hope

My Journey With God, No. 26

Shaun Bradford

Sending up praises!

Praising God for being God.

For His covering.

For His love.

For His guidance.

For His peace.

Y’all, I am truly blessed.

When I think about my 20s, 30s, 40s, even a year or so ago, compared to where I am today, all I can do is praise God. I’m no longer that same person. As I have said many times before, I am loving this space I am in. For some reason, I never truly believed it was possible, yet here I am. I said I fully trusted God, but it seems I only trusted Him with certain aspects of my life, not all. It wasn’t until I gave all of myself to Him that things really began to change.

So, yes, I’m sending up praises.

Thank You, Lord, for loving me.♥️

Shaun

hope

The Leap

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning ☀️

Today’s Facebook memory has me pretty emotional. It’s about taking leaps without knowing the details, without knowing what’s to come. All you have is God’s assurance that you won’t fall or fail. Everything else is unknown.

Here’s what I shared on Facebook five years ago (November 25, 2019), unsure who to give credit to for the illustrations.

I wrote—

“Trust God. No matter how outlandish it may seem, if He tells you to do something, do it. He knows what lies ahead. Trust Him.”

I needed this reminder today. I don’t need to see the entire staircase or where the next step will lead. All I need to do is be obedient and trust God, and the rest will unfold.🙏🏽

If there’s a leap you’ve been hesitant to take, perhaps this is your sign to take it. You won’t fail. Praying you have a great day and wonderful week.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

hope

Service

Shaun Bradford

Good morning, and Happy Veterans Day to all who have served in any branch of the military. Thank you for your service!🫡

Thirty-two years ago, when I enlisted in the Air Force, I was clueless about the path my life would take. It was a journey I was definitely not prepared for, but one I’m glad I took. Until today, although I always hear “Thank you for your service,” I never considered “service” to be service.

Since childhood, I always wanted to be of service to others. However, I thought I would do this through the Peace Corps, volunteering, or later working for the United Nations in some capacity. I never considered the military as service, mostly because it was not what I had imagined as service. Hmmm… I guess taking an oath to sacrifice our comforts and possibly lives for the freedoms of others and our country is an act of service. The ultimate act of service.

Here are a couple of photos from the beginning of my official service career.

I was tired, but I made it! I didn’t know my own strength.

Smiles were not permitted. We meant business.😁

Y’all, I still can’t believe I was in the Air Force. Forever an airman—always aiming high.🇺🇸

Shaun

A thought…

Thinking about my life and my lifelong mission to serve, does anything ever look like what we imagined? Or happen the way we imagined? When I really think about it, I have been serving in some capacity since childhood. As the oldest child, I served my siblings. As a teenager, I served as our church’s historian. In high school, my sister and I started the first recycling club (this was in the late 80s—we were going to save the planet 😊). I have been doing the work, but never considered it service.

What were/are some of your lifelong dreams and aspirations? When you think about it, have you already been doing them in some capacity? Have you already been living out your dreams?

hope

My Journey With God, No. 7

Shaun Bradford

Message received…

I appreciate God showing me, me. There are certain things isolation has shown me about myself that I would have never realized before COVID-19.

Yes, I am still somewhat isolated. Most of my work and social interactions are virtual.

Then, there are things that I have only learned by being in the presence of others, particularly those outside my circle.

I needed today.

I hear you, God.

I’m listening, God.

I’m following through, God.

Thank You for showing me, me.♥️

Shaun

hope

My Journey With God, No. 3

Shaun Bradford

I know you probably wouldn’t believe this, but John P. Kee’s “I Do Worship” is stuck in my head again. Didn’t even realize it until I sat still.

For God’s goodness and His glory. For the joy inside my story. For the peace He gave to me. For the day He set me free. I do worship Him.

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

Shaun

hope

You Are STILL Standing

Shaun Bradford

Guess what?! You know that thing you thought would take you out; that thing you didn’t think you would ever bounce back from. Yeah… THAT thing. Well… Look at you! You’re still here and STILL standing!!

Yessss…. YOU’RE STILL STANDING!!♥️

Love you,

Shaun

I can hear Marvin Sapp singing, “Here I Am.”
hope

Three Of My Top Ten

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning!☀️

Smiling because three of my all time faves—my top ten of people to meet—were in today’s Facebook memories. Gotta love it!

I’ll start with numbers 1 and 2, chefs Leah Chase and Marcus Samuelsson.

I wish I could’ve spent one more day with her, but that one left a mark on me that can’t be erased. God is good. Forever grateful.☺️

During the summer of 2014, I made a Top Ten list of people I just had to meet in this lifetime, my faves. Well, on October 24, 2014, I met numbers one and two. Y’all, I was on cloud nine!!! The crazy part is, I could’ve met Marcus Samuelsson earlier that week. He was a guest at our national dietetics conference and had stayed at the same hotel as me (had no clue!). The morning I left, I remember looking up just in time to see this guy run across the parking lot and hop into a black SUV. All I saw were his socks and I knew. I just knew it was him. A few hours later, I received a text from one of my friends telling me ‘that chef’ I liked was doing a food demo. It was him!!! Had I known he was going to be there, I would’ve stayed for that day of the conference. But it was okay because I got to meet him, along with my other fave, Leah Chase, the end of that week. See my past posts for more details—probably posts around this date. Very interesting story.

Now, my other fave! Y’all already know him—Mr. Tyler Perry! Lol. He was also on that list of people to meet. He rounded off the top five—Chef Rick Bayless was number three and Michelle Obama, number four. Well, my number five, my all time fav, also showed up on my timeline this morning, and it’s so timely, almost like it was made for this moment. Here’s the post.

Always excited to see him win.

What makes this post even more special than it showing up on my timeline today is that one of the shows under that Netflix deal, premieres today!!!! Y’all, “Beauty in Black” is streaming today! Yayyyy!!! It’s his first series produced exclusively for Netflix. Can’t wait to check it out!!

Well, that’s it for now. I pray you have the best day ever.♥️

Love you,

Shaun