Today is the day the world lost a basketball phenomenon, Kobe Bryant. Kobe was king on and off the court. His love for the game, his family, and life was top tier. Not too many could live life like Kobe lived his. Excellence in all areas of life was his real game. He is truly missed.♥️
Facebook Memory: January 26, 2021 (a year afterwards)
When I heard Kobe had passed, I thought it was fake news. I just knew he had more time with us. He was so young. And baby Gianna.😢 As my dad said when my brother died, God doesn’t make mistakes. I just wish my heart understood.💔 Kobe was notorious for living every moment of his life to its fullest. I admired his love for the game AND his family. So many can’t balance both, or don’t make an effort to, but he did.❤️❤️❤️
Listen, we never know if today will be our last (I pray not) so I believe we should live it as if it were. Y’all, we can’t keep saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” “I’ll take that opportunity the next time it comes around,” “I’ll do what I love doing after XYZ.” Honestly, you may not get a second chance. So make things happen, TODAY! You don’t have to have it all figured out, just put an effort towards doing it. Doing something is better than doing nothing. I love y’all.🙏🏽❤️
Here are a few of the photos I shared. Back in the 90s I was a huge basketball fan and collected basketball cards. As you can see I still have some of the card collectors magazines. I loved my cards.
The song I’m currently hearing is Tim McGraw’s, “Live Like You Were Dying.” Believe me, it’s not as sad as it sounds. It just makes you think about how you’re living or not living. You know, what’s truly important and what’s not as important as you believe. It puts so many things into perspective. Makes you want to live life to its fullest.
That’s all for now. Please take care of yourselves. Love you!♥️
Earlier, someone liked a tweet I posted nearly eight years ago. Not sure how old tweets pop up because I never seem to see them, but evidently someone does. Here’s the tweet.
X (formerly known as Twitter): June 21, 2016
Looking back over the past eight years, so many things happened that could have destroyed my spirit, made me give up, made me settle, made me lose faith, yet here I am. I am still standing and moving forward. As people say, I am so glad I don’t look like what I have been through. God is so good and merciful.
Not sure what prompted me to make that post. Sometimes I just post what I feel or hear. Either way, I see that someone needed that message today.
Here’s what I will add today. God already knows the outcome of our situations. He knew before we even knew there would be one. Our job is to rest in Him while He takes us through whatever we need to go through to get to the other side. As I mentioned before, there were plenty of things that could have taken me out, but I am still here. I am so grateful I didn’t give up or give in. Y’all, God is so good!
Listen, don’t give up. God’s got you! You will get through this. Right now I am hearing this song we used to sing in church (there are different variations) — “How I got over. How I got over. My soul looks back and wonder, how I got over.” Amen
In difficult times, it seems easier to put God first. You know, that’s when we are deep in prayer so we are usually communicating with Him often. But, how about when times are good and everything is going well? Is He still first, or is He second, third, or even last to everything else?
A few years ago, I created a daily routine to ensure I put God first because I noticed when things were going well I did not spend as much time with Him as I did before. Now, don’t get me wrong I still said a quick prayer in the morning and acknowledged Him throughout my day; however, I stopped dedicating time to only Him. I would say I would get to it later, and sadly, later never came. Now, I intentionally set aside time. Y’all, so much is revealed during these times. It’s during these times that I actually feel closer to God. It’s when my faith is strengthened.
If you find yourself forgetting to prioritize God, maybe you should do as I did and create a plan where He is always first. Just a thought.
Happy 50 years 7 months to me!! Yay!! Still can’t believe I am 50! What a blessing.
As you know, today is the day my daughter is moving to another state. In fact, she and her fiancé just left. No tears, only smiles. They are in God’s hands.
Just thinking about how around 29 years ago my baby girl was preparing to make her debut. I guess you can say I am feeling what I felt the day she entered the world. It was the day my life changed and I began my new journey as a mother. Now, another journey is beginning. Smiling
At this moment I can hear Mariah Carey singing, “Butterfly.”
When you love someone so deeply They become your life It’s easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside Blindly I imagined I could Keep you under glass Now I understand to hold you I must open up my hands And watch you rise …
So flutter through the sky Butterfly Fly Spread your wings and fly Butterfly
Well, that’s all I have for this month’s birthday celebration. Only five months left! All I have to say is, “God’s will be done.” Amen
Think about it. I mean, really think about it. Are you doing what you love? Not only career wise but in life. Or…are you waiting for conditions to be right or better before you decide to do it?
It’s my hope that you are doing what you love and that you absolutely love what you are doing. Sometimes we find ourselves doing what we love but because we are not in the right environment our experiences are not favorable. Been there.
I hope you are doing both. If not, I pray you will be soon. Love you!♥️ ~Shaun
Yesterday, I could not decide which Facebook memory to share so I didn’t share one. Well, instead of sharing my “Hello Sunday” on my social media accounts, I decided to share this memory. It’s a day later, but worth sharing.
Facebook Memory: January 21, 2023
Much too often we remember hurts and disappointments before we remember the good. Today, I encourage you to focus on the good times. The moments that made you smile and feel loved. Have a wonderful day.♥️
Always hold your good memories close and dear.
Praying you have a blessed day and joyful week. May God shower you with unexpected blessings.♥️
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Been hearing this all day so I decided to share it.
When searching for the quote, “Only what you do for Christ will last,” multiple scriptures popped up along with lyrics from several songs. The scripture I used above appeared to be most commonly cited with the quote.
From what I gather from both—the scripture and the quote—what is seen, or done solely for others to see, is temporary. However, what is done from the heart—often in private—with pure intentions (like Christ), will last forever.
I pray that whatever I do pleases God and lasts forever. Amen
This morning I’m just writing and rambling. Let’s see what I end up sharing.
Happy Sunday!
Honestly, I really do not know what to share today. I have a few Facebook memories that are worth sharing but I am not sure which I should share, and if I shared them all the post would be much too long. Guess I will start with this:
Yesterday, I hit 980 consecutive days of posting! Woohoo!! So, the countdown to 1000 has begun. Still unsure of how I am going to celebrate, or if I will do anything differently after 1000. Hmm…
Three years ago today, I became a published author. Another… Woohoo!! Smile. It seems like it was so long ago. Sadly, I can no longer feel the excitement of that moment. Last year I somewhat felt it, but not this year. I wonder if it’s because my mom helped me promote book sales on Facebook. So as soon as I saw the memories from that day, her name was everywhere. She had tagged me in so many posts. Now, this makes me smile. A year later, she became a first time published author fulfilling one of her dreams. Y’all, I had no desire to become an author, but she did.
Now that I am reflecting on this, perhaps my opportunity to become an author opened the door to her fulfilling her dreams. If I would have turned down the opportunity, she may have never connected with the person who initiated the anthology. The person was from somewhere in Florida and we live in Mississippi. BUT… if it was meant to be it would have been, even without me. Listen, that’s how God works, for real! Y’all, life is truly interesting. And GOD!! Whew!! Listen, the way He works is mind blowing!
Now, here I am looking at my life and doors that were opened for me due to someone saying “yes” to something they probably never thought of doing. Also thinking about how me joining the Air Force inspired two of my siblings to join the Navy. Also, how I have been told more than once how my career as a research dietitian inspired other dietitians to work in communities. Y’all, this career found me. I had no desire to become a dietitian. I wanted to be a personal chef. Then, one meeting with a dietitian during my culinary internship at a hospital changed everything. And me volunteering as a student to assist with a research project lead me to becoming a research dietitian. Isn’t God awesome?!
My experience from my research days as a student led me to hire students for my projects. During the summers, I would hire them to assist me with data collections in rural Mississippi. Y’all, we had so much fun! Most of our trips required overnight stays. So, I would rent a 15 passenger van, reserve hotel rooms and take them to local restaurants to eat. Since most of them had never seen rural areas, or interacted with people from underserved communities, I wanted them to get the full experience. Plus, I love adventures and boy did we have some! Sometimes the GPS led us to some sketchy spots. So grateful for good phone service and a full tank of gas (always kept it above 1/2 full), we always made it to our destinations and had stories to tell afterwards.
Yeah…that’s what I miss! I miss the students. I miss the trips. I miss the conferences. I miss my colleagues. I miss meeting new people. I miss the communities. I miss the adventures and stories. Now, how can I make it happen again without going back to work for a university or with people who don’t share my same values?
I guess that’s something to tackle this week. Very few people know I have a nonprofit. Been tweaking things over the years. Maybe this year is the year I finally launch a project. Gotta start somewhere and with what I have.
I needed this! Started off not knowing what to write and in the midst of writing, discovered a plan. God is absolutely amazing!! I just love how He works. I am truly, truly blessed and loved.
Thanks for reading my first official rambling of the year. Again, God is so wonderful! So grateful to know Him.
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