Tag: love

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford
Final Sunday of 2020

Well y’all, we have finally made it to the final Sunday in 2020. Woohoo!! I’m not going to lie, it is a little bittersweet. Seems like I was just getting used to so many unexpectedly, weird things happening– good and bad. Now we are moving on.

So we say we are ready for 2021, but are we? Just to be sure we are somewhat prepared, I am going to end this Hello Sunday with a prayer for 2021:

Lord, please prepare us for whatever lies ahead– good or bad. Open our hearts and minds so that we are receptive of every blessing you have in store for us; and give us the strength to reject any- and everything that might cause us harm. Lord, shower us with your unconditional love, mercy and grace. Drench us with so much love and peace that we forget about the pains and heartaches of 2020. Lord, please give us the boldness to embrace our worth and walk in our purpose. Let others experience your love through us. Last, but not least, please heal our nation. We need You. Amen

I love y’all! Looking forward to celebrating a prosperous 2021 together.

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

I love how I set out to write one thing and moments into writing I decide to change directions. Whatever I was going to write can be written another time. It’s not like it was something spectacular. Lol!

Yesterday I reposted a Facebook memory from 2018. It read-

Don’t fear failure. Fear being in the same exact place next year as you are today.

Yeah, failure isn’t that scary. Failure means at least I tried. However, being stagnant.. not moving forward.. not taking chances.. means waking up 20 years from now realizing I allowed opportunities to pass by because I was too afraid to try. Now that’s scary!

Just know, this time next year I will not be in this same exact place. I will be somewhere different. Not sure where– not even concerned about where– but I know it won’t be here. I have work to do. Goals to achieve. Moving forward is not an option, it’s necessary.

Evolving.

Shaun

Life

2020– Blessed, Humbled, Grateful, and FREE!

Shaun Bradford

Just wanted to share today’s blog from A Research Diva’s Journey. It’s about expecting nothing, yet receiving so many wonderful surprises to include becoming an author. I am so blessed!

Coming January 21, 2021 – Finally Free 2020 – Although 2020 has been full of sorrow and disappointments for some, for me, it has been full of …

2020– Blessed, Humbled, Grateful, and FREE!
Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

We only have two Sundays left in 2020. Talk about mind blowing! Where did the time go? Maybe it’s just me, but this year seemed to pass by a little faster than past years. It’s like tomorrow is Monday and two days later it will be Friday! No joke! Y’all, time is moving much too fast. Perhaps that’s a good thing. God knows what He’s doing so I’m going to stop worrying about it. It’s not like I can slow it down. Lol!

Anyhoo.. I set out to write about one thing but now I’m writing about something else, something that’s currently on my mind. If you have been reading my blogs for a while you will know I have songs playing in my head all day. I rarely go a few hours without hearing a song. I wonder if everyone experiences this. I remember my great-great grandma humming all day long. So maybe it’s more common than I think.

Anyway.. got sidetracked.. the song that is currently playing in my head is Already Getting Better by William Murphy. The song says,

It’s already getting better
It’s already getting easier
God’s already moving on my behalf
He did it for me. . .
Yes, God did it

One of today’s Facebook memories was a quote by Trent Shelton from 2015. Here’s what he posted:

Sometimes we have to experience things we don’t understand just so God can bring us to a place where He needs us to be. Never doubt the season He has you in.

Trent Shelton, RehabTime 2015

William Murphy’s song and Trent Shelton’s quote are reminders that no matter where we are in life, or what we are experiencing, God is with us. At this very moment, we are where we are for a purpose, for His purpose. Like my issue with the speed of time, some things are not meant to be understood. They just aren’t. Our job, and really, our only job, is to trust God. Trust Him. Period. We may not understand the reason why things are happening, but He does. Maybe He’s preparing us for future endeavors. Or maybe He’s protecting us from harm. Whatever the case may be, we just have to trust Him. As William Murphy said, which is something we must remember, God is moving on our behalf. He’s got us!

Praying you have a wonderful Sunday and blessed week!

Shaun

Life

Never Give Up

Shaun Bradford

Here’s what’s currently playing in my head– Yolanda Adam’s Never Give Up. Listen, no matter how bleak things may seem, remember to stay faithful. God is always working behind the scenes. So keep dreaming and never ever give up! He’s got you. Be blessed.

Never Give Up by Yolanda Adams

Visions that can change the world
Trapped inside an ordinary girl
She looks just like me
To afraid to dream out loud

And though it’s set for your idea
It won’t make sense to everybody
You need courage now
If you’re going to persevere

To fulfill your divine purpose
You’ve gotta answer when you’re called
So don’t be afraid to face the world
Against all odds

Keep the dream alive don’t let it die, if something deep inside
Keeps inspiring you to try, don’t stop
And never give up; don’t ever give up on you
Don’t give up

Every victory comes in time
Work today to change tomorrow
It gets easier
Who’s to say that you can’t fly?

Every step you take you gets
Closer to your destination
You can feel it now
Don’t you know you’re almost there?

To fulfill your life’s purpose
You’ve gotta’ answer when you’re called
So don’t be afraid to face the world
Against all odds

Keep the dream alive don’t let it die, if something deep inside
Keeps inspiring you to try, don’t stop
And never give up; don’t ever give up on you

Sometimes life can place a stubborn block in your way
But you’ve gotta keep the faith
Reap what deep inside your heart
To fly

And never give up
Don’t ever give up on you,
Don’t give up

Who holds the pieces to complete the puzzle?
The answer that can solve the mystery
The key that can unlock your understanding
It’s all inside of you
You have everything you need

So, keep the dream alive don’t let it die
If something deep inside keeps inspiring you to try
Don’t stop
And never give up; don’t ever give up on you

Sometimes life can place a stubborn block on your way
But you’ve gotta keep the faith
Bring what’s deep inside your heart
To the light

And never give up
Don’t ever give up on you
No don’t give up
No, no, no, no

Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Oh, don’t, no, no, no, no
Don’t, give, up

Source: LyricFind and Never Give Up lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Life

Hello Sunday!

Shaun Bradford

A little late with writing today, but all is well. I actually slept a good 6-7 hours. Which has not happened in ages. Guess I wore myself out cleaning out storage bins. Y’all, I am an organized mess. Lol! The bins look nice and neat until you lift the lids. They are filled with items from my military career, undergrad and grad school, bills, letters, pictures, magazines, books, movies, etc. When I say I keep everything, I keep EVERYTHING! Ugh!! I rarely throw anything away. Which is funny because I found a letter from one of my sisters that was written in 2001. She sent me a picture of my nephew and wrote, “I’m sending this to you because you keep everything.” Wow! That’s what I do.

I guess I should attempt to explain why I hold on to so many things. First of all, I shouldn’t refer to all of the items as “things,” but memorabilia. The majority of the items I don’t believe I’ll ever throw away. I have letters from friends and family dating back to 1980s. Last night I found cards my granddaddy sent me for holidays and birthdays. Something I will always cherish. These came from someone who spent his entire life trying to live up to his reputation of being this hard, cold individual. But later in life he would call just to say hello and tell me he loved me, and he would send cards. Then there’s my military memorabilia. I have uniforms, orders from different assignments, awards, evaluations. You name it, I probably have it. Will I part with them? Probably not. As I mentioned, I have work from undergraduate and graduate school. I worked too hard on some of those projects, I just can’t throw them away. My magazines! My magazines date back to the 90s. I have Jet, Essence, Ebony, Sister-2-Sister, Time, Legacy, Sports Illustrated, Beckett Sports, and a few others. I have local magazines. Newspaper articles of events or people I know. Honestly, I do not know what I’m going to do with all of these things. I told my kids that when I buy my forever home, I am going to have a room where I can display everything. I can see myself walking through the room with my grands (children, nieces, and nephews) telling them stories about all of the items. To me, that’s heaven.

Okay, as usual, I got a little off track. I also have pictures.. tons of pictures! I took pictures of everything!! I have pictures from high school. Pictures from basic training. Y’all, I was in there just snapping away. Lol. I have soooo many pictures. Right now I have over 17,000 images stored between my phone and cloud. I just can’t seem to bring myself to delete many of them. They are so much more than pictures. They’re memories! They represent times, places, and feelings. As a child, whenever I would visit family, all I wanted to do was look at old pictures and ask questions- “Who’s this?” “Where was this taken?” Those questions usually led to great stories. Now I have my own stories.

Anyhoo.. as you can see this Hello Sunday is very random. Just felt like sharing. I’m going to glance over it to make sure it somewhat makes sense, but I’m not going to do much editing. This is how I typed out my thoughts so I’m going to leave this as is. Authentically me.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Shaun