Life

Remain Open to Love

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

Hello Sunday

I actually slept all night! Believe I fell asleep around 11 PM and didn’t wake up until 5 AM. I needed the sleep.

Yesterday, one of my friends drove down to have lunch with me and we talked for hours. Y’all, I needed the company. I needed to feel like an individual again. I needed to feel like Shaun again. It felt so good to be able to freely express myself without judgement or tiptoeing around feelings. Grateful for true friendships.

I’m going to leave you with a few gems from August 6th (wish I could share them all):

Facebook Memories

All it takes is ONE.

There’s only ONE you. Chosen.♥️

I have loved basketball for decades (since high school). Went to one BIG3 game and knew I wanted to own a team. Optimistic.😊

Trust God’s plan.

I pray that you have a joyful day. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

I Received My Answer

I’m not sure what’s going on with me waking up around 3:00/3:30 AM nowadays. Like, I’m wide awake. Then around 5:30/6:00 AM, I find myself falling back to sleep. At first it was annoying, but now I just start everything two hours earlier, then take a nap before officially getting up. Anyhoo…

After waking up with Marvin Winans’ song, Draw Me Close to You/Thy Will Be Done, playing over and over in my head, and much needed prayer time with God, I received my answers. I know what’s wrong. Not going to go into details because those revelations were just for me. Now that I understand what the problems are, I can deal with them. Now, how I choose to do it is totally up to me.

Here’s what I’ll call one of the “solutions” to the revelations. Listen, it had me shaking my head and smiling at the same time. Y’all God is so good. It’s an excerpt from one of my journal entries from this date. Debating whether or not to share the entire entry. Will let you know what I actually decided before I hit publish.

Shaun’s Journal Entry: August 4, 2014

So I’ve decided not to fight it any longer. I may as well give in and just let things be. No, I’m not happy, but as I’ve told others many times before, make yourself happy. So life has given me a barrel of lemons & grapefruit. Time to make sour punch (sounds gross huh?). Oh well…

God will work it out. Turn it over to Jesus, he will work it out! He can, he can, work it out. You won’t even have to touch it. Hallelujah!!

Although that entry was about something completely unrelated to what I am currently going through, I believe it was written for this very moment. Nine years ago, God already knew exactly what I would need to get through this time. So yes, I’m smiling and now tearing up. I needed those words of encouragement. I’m turning everything over to God. I won’t have to lift a finger or touch a thing. He will work it out. Amen

By the way, I shared the entire entry. All of it was relevant. I keep telling y’all God loves me. Smiling

Praying you have a blessed weekend. Thanks for reading. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

Try Again

Here’s what I shared a year ago (August 1, 2022)–

Hello August!

It’s a new month, a new week and a new day. Today’s the PERFECT day to give that project, goal, dream or relationship that didn’t work out before, another try. Yes.. Try Again!

Wishing you a wonderful month!

If it’s something you truly want to achieve, don’t give up, try again.

This message is so timely. Lately, I have circled back to a few things I had given up on. Things that I felt were too challenging and/or time consuming to achieve at the time. Said I would give them one more try before completely giving up and moving on. One day I’ll share… probably after they are achieved or well established. Trying to stop over sharing but remain transparent.

Anyhoo… That’s all I have for you today. Wishing you a fabulous month! Remember to take care of yourself and enjoy life. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

Obedience Takes Courage

Being obedient is not always easy, but necessary. Spiritually, I have struggled with being obedient for some time. Although the struggle has became easier since intentionally allowing God to lead, I still struggle with it. I still question whether the moves are right for me, especially when those moves cause uncomfortable shifts. So yeah, I am still working on being obedient. With that being said, I can also proudly say that I am becoming better at listening and complying. Yes… patting myself on the back.

Yesterday, Bishop T.D. Jakes said the following during his sermon – “Your gift will get you there, but your obedience will keep you there.” If I want to stay where I’m going, I must be obedient. Period.

This morning I was scrolling through my Facebook memories and there was the word, “Obedience,” again. This time it was associated with last year’s blog, Hello Sunday July 31, 2022. That particular blog was about me logging off one of my main Twitter (X) accounts.

For several years, I had been struggling with the value I had placed on that account. Basically, it was my life. At first, it allowed me to get away when life became a little too much, but it did not stop there. Later it became my obsession (being very transparent). Sadly, I did not see it at the time – you know it’s hard to see things when you’re right in the middle of it. Y’all, I was obsessed and addicted to it. I was addicted to the interactions and feedback and impressions (yes, I’m a numbers person and Twitter analytics was my best friend). Well, God told me I needed to let it go (I explain all of this in last year’s Hello Sunday). I was never told to deactivate the account, nor delete it, I was simply asked to log off. To log off so that I could get my priorities and focus right. Listen, the way I reacted you would’ve thought He had asked me to throw away my entire life. Y’all, my priorities were not right. All of the glory and praise I should have been giving Him was going elsewhere.

Over the past year, I have logged off, logged on, logged off again, then logged back on… currently, I am logged on. This time I logged back on because I was instructed to do so. I was obedient. Won’t go into detail but the account wasn’t the problem, my obsession and addiction to it was. Until I had learned how to properly handle it, I could not log back on.

Y’all, I am so grateful God loves me. He loves me so much that He even protects me from myself. Honestly, I would not be where I am today had I not been obedient. I would’ve still been stuck where I was, doing the same things and getting nowhere. I’m so glad I listened and obeyed.

I am so much stronger and better equipped because I listened and obeyed.

Be obedient.♥️

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Woke up with Smokie Norful’s, “I Need A Word,” playing over and over in my head. Here are the lyrics courtesy of LyricFind and Capitol Christian Music Group.

I Need A Word

The noise of my day
The depression that steals my voice
The confusion that arrests my life
So I can’t even make a choice

Life seems so loud
I’ve been too proud
So Lord, what do I do?
I just need a word from You

Oh, I need a word
Tell me which way to turn
I need a word
Tell me which way I should go
I need a word
To tell me just what to do
Please send a word
God, I need to hear from You
Drown out the noise
Let me hear Your voice
I need a word from You

Ooh, oh, I just got bad news
Life just darkened my day
My family is in need
And I just cant seem to make a way, oh

Life seems so loud
I’ve been too proud
But I’m asking you now
Lord, send a word from You

I need a word
Tell me which way to turn
I need a word
Tell me which was I should go
I need a word
Tell me what should I do, Lord
I need a word
I need a word from You
Drown out the noise
Let me hear Your voice
Oh Lord, I know need a word from You

I hear You Lord, I hear You say

Stand still and know that You are God
Stand still and believe You’ll work it out
Stand still and see my victory walk right in
‘Cause with You, I will win

I need a word
Greater is He that’s in me than He that’s in the world
I need Your word
No weapon formed against me shall be able to prosper
Drown out the noise
Let me hear Your voice
I need a word
From You

It’s growing season. You are being pruned. Lean into God.

Praying you have a wonderfully, blessed week. Love you!♥️

Shaun