Tag: hope

Life

Blue Hearts💙

Shaun Bradford
Aren’t we all striving to exceed, excel, and/or overcome something.💙

So there’s this video trending on social media of a young man explaining how marriage has been one of his biggest adversities. He’s been married seven years and has an outside child that’s almost two years old. He said one of the ways he tried to make amends with his wife was by sending her a blue heart daily. The first day he sent one. The second day he sent two. The third day he sent three….and so forth. Y’all, he was so proud of himself. Well, he never made it past 21 days. He said sending hearts every day was just too hard to do. Listened, I tried not to laugh because he seemed so sincere, but it was so funny. How could that be difficult?

And I wasn’t alone. Most people agreed that sending hearts daily wasn’t that difficult to do nor was it special. However, he saw it as something special, as well as challenging. Who were we to judge? To him, sending blue hearts for 21 days was an accomplishment. He had achieved something he didn’t believe he could. And we don’t know, maybe his wife thought it was special too and was also proud of him.💙

Well, after searching for the young man’s name, because I had planned to use something he said during the interview as a quote (exceeding, excelling, and overcoming), I discovered he was an aspiring motivational speaker and that he truly loved his wife. When I tell you my laughter and judgment was replaced with compassion and respect. Y’all, this young man is just like everyone else trying to figure out how to maneuver through this circus called life. How many times have you wished you would have responded or said something differently? How many times have you made costly mistakes but by the grace of God you’re still standing? I believe we can agree that all of us have had similar experiences.

Listen, God’s grace is everything. I believe we need to extend more of it than be so quick to judge. Right now, that small segment of his interview has gone viral. People are in the comments telling his wife she has a loser on her hands and that she needs to find better. So many opinions…

Anyway, here’s an Instagram reel Mr. Pugh had pinned to his page: JahTheVoice. Sending prayers up for him and his wife. Praying their marriage survives this.

This too shall pass.

Life

God Feels Your Praises

Shaun Bradford

Keep those praises going! God sees you. He hears you. He knows your praises are genuine, directly from your heart, and from a place of gratitude. Keep them going!!♥️ ~Shaun

Never stop praising God!

Life

Miracles Happen Everyday

Shaun Bradford

Can’t you hear Luther Vandross singing, “Little miracles happen everyday”? He goes on to say, “What is a miracle? Love is a miracle…” Yes, love is a miracle. It surrounds us daily. It’s one of God’s greatest miracles and it’s available to all. Receive it!♥️ ~Shaun

Shared last year – February 16, 2023

I really need to start back drawing. Been slacking. I guess it’s another thing I need to be more intentional about.

Life

One Decision

Shaun Bradford
So grateful God gives us multiple opportunities to make right decisions (sometimes within seconds—those “are you sure you should do this” moments). Intuition is key. If it doesn’t feel right, steer clear.

I agree, ONE decision can change the entire trajectory of life.

I often wonder what life would have been like had I stayed in Kansas after graduation; had I not joined the Air Force. Would I still be living in the same town? Would I be married with several kids? What kind of career would I have?

There are so many instances where one decision could have significantly changed my life. Also where one decision did change my life. Overall, I am satisfied with the decisions I made. Could have made a few more wiser ones, but I didn’t, and it is what it is. Smiling

Praying God gives me the wisdom and courage (fear is a bugaboo) to make better decisions as I navigate through the next 50 years of life.♥️

Shaun

Life

Grateful For Second Chances

Shaun Bradford

Facebook Memory: February 13, 2023

God loves us so much that He gives us opportunity after opportunity to get things right. If we miss them, it’s on us. So grateful for second chances.♥️

Often, when we think of second chances, we think of opportunities we missed accepting. However, it also applies to opportunities we should have rejected or declined.

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at a familiar crossroad, to accept—which I had done many times before and felt miserable afterward—or decline an opportunity. Well, this time I declined the opportunity. Had told a friend that I felt like I was being tested. Well, I was! Not even a few days later, I was presented with another opportunity, a better one; one that was perfectly aligned with my goals and purpose, and it was completely unexpected. I didn’t even see it coming. When I tell you I cried! Had I accepted the other opportunity, I would have been miserable, again. Which would have affected my mental and emotional, and probably physical, wellbeing. Listen, it felt so good to finally pass that test and I was gifted something better. Smiling

Here is how I am moving going forward. I am no longer accepting things that are not aligned with my goals, purpose, values, or worth. I asked God for different, which means I have to move differently. I am not saying I won’t make some of the same mistakes as before (I’m human), but it won’t take me as long to correct them. I’m growing. Life is changing. And I am so here for it. This side of 50 is different.

Well, that’s all I have for now. Wishing you a wonderful Galentine’s Day (you too, fellas😊)!♥️

Love you,

Shaun

Life

Fly Away

Shaun Bradford

Didn’t really know what to share for my second post of the day. Thought about not sharing anything at all. Was going to let today be a one post day. Then I kept hearing “fly away.” The first thing that popped up on Google was Lenny Kravitz’s song, “Fly Away.” Here are the lyrics. So soothing. So peaceful. Now, the actual song is anything but peaceful; however, it is somewhat soothing. I can see myself just letting go and being carefree. Anyhoo… Praying you are enjoying your day. Love you!♥️

I wish that I could fly
Into the sky
So very high
Just like a dragonfly

I’d fly above the trees
Over the seas in all degrees
To anywhere I please, oh

I want to get away
I want to fly away
Yeah, yeah, yeah

I want to get away
I want to fly away
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Let’s go and see the stars
The Milky Way or even Mars
Where it could just be ours

Let’s fade into the sun
Let your spirit fly
Where we are one
Just for a little fun
Oh, oh, oh yeah

I want to get away
I want to fly away
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Lyrics: LyricFind

Life

Self Love

Shaun Bradford
Originally shared on February 12, 2022

I used to believe doing something nice for myself was self love. I would buy myself something nice, treat myself to a fabulous meal, get a massage, or spend the day doing either everything I wanted to do or nothing at all. That was my definition of self love. Now… Now, it’s more about protecting my peace and my holistic wellbeing with my spiritual and mental wellness being most important.

Here are a few things I have finally learned and implemented:

– Saying “no” to things I don’t want to do, and without feeling guilty (yeah…it used to weigh on me), is self love. “No” is a complete sentence. No explanation needed.

– Protecting my space (physically and mentally) is self love. I am so mindful of who and/or what I allow into my space. Discernment has been key.

– Receiving good things without feeling like I don’t deserve them is self love. Yes, I deserve good things. I deserve God’s best. I mean, I am His child! Smile

– Being nurtured instead of always being the nurturer is self love. Listen, once you have been on the receiving side you can’t imagine settling for anything less.

– Putting myself and my needs first is self love. I believe this has allowed me to love even deeper. It has definitely strengthened my relationship with God.

It took me forever to get here (decades). And now that I am finally here I have no intentions of going back to life as it was. I love it here. Smiling

Guess you could say this is life beyond Year50.

I pray you have found true self love. Believe me, it’s beautiful and so peaceful.♥️

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford
You were chosen for this.

Happy Sunday! Over the last few years, I have written about being “chosen” so I am going to continue with the same theme. Here are a few captions from past years:

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find myself asking God, “Why me?”. His answer is always, “I chose YOU.”

I’m not going to lie, sometimes I have a hard time understanding why my life is as it is. Then I’m reminded that although small, I’m still a piece of God’s beautiful puzzle – uniquely made, will only fit where I’m designed to be, and will noticeably be missed if I don’t show up. It also means He’s confident that I can achieve any task He’s assigned.♥️

Whenever I wonder why God chose me, I’m reminded that He hand picked and uniquely designed me to fulfill a particular purpose that ONLY I can fulfill. I was chosen. Same with you! YOU are the ONLY one who can fulfill your unique purpose. YOU were chosen!♥️

Whew! I do not know about you, but being chosen does not always feel like an honor. Sometimes it feels like a burden.

Now, I know the word “chosen” sounds all glamorous and only applies to a select few. However, that’s not so. You, my friend, were also chosen. Smile. Whether you believe it or not, or wanted to be or not, you were chosen to fulfill God’s plan.

As I mentioned earlier, we are all pieces of God’s beautiful puzzle and here to fulfill a purpose. Although we see ourselves as one dimensional pieces, we are actually one of a kind, multi–dimensional pieces. Every facet of our lives are either fulfilling a purpose or meeting a need that only we can. We are so uniquely made that when we try to fit into other spaces we never quite fit. It’s because it’s not where we were chosen to be.

That’s all for now! It’s still early so I think I will go back to sleep. Wishing you a fabulous Sunday. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

You Are The Gift

Shaun Bradford
Your matter.

Facebook Memory: February 10, 2022

Gifts are nice and ALWAYS appreciated. However, it’s so important to recognize nothing can replace the gift of your presence. Whether physically or virtually, your presence is priceless. You ARE the gift!

Even though we are gifts to others, let’s remember to appreciate our gifts. Those who God placed in our lives to love and support us. They are priceless. Getting emotional as I think about my gifts. We must hold them dearly.

Side note: You will not be everyone’s gift, nor them yours. Learned this a lot over the past few years. I used to consider everyone a gift. They may have been for someone, but they were not for me. Yeah…took me forever to get this through my head. Listen, treasure your true gifts (don’t be fooled by the fake—the ones who pretend to love on you while intentionally draining you) and let the others go.

This is all for now. Didn’t mean to end on a sour note, but we really have to be careful. As I said before, I am learning. Anyhoo… Wishing you a lovely day and beautiful weekend! One of my gifts (my daughter) is coming home to visit! Can’t wait to love on her!!♥️

Be Blessed♥️

Shaun

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