Tag: memories

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Where do I begin. I set out to write about something else. Even saved a quote from a podcast I listened to last week. And now that I’m writing, I realize the quote actually fits in so well with today’s blog. Here’s the quote:

If it’s meant to be in my life, teach me how to receive it.

Sarah Jakes Roberts

So, I had every intention to write about how over the past few years I have become good at letting things go. I mean, now, if it doesn’t sit right with my soul, it’s gone. No explanation needed. However, what I have not been good at, or even thought much about, is receiving. How I receive, what I receive, or what I reject. After hearing Sarah Jakes Roberts discuss receiving and letting go, it was like a something clicked – I haven’t been fully opened to receive.

Short story…

On this day six years ago, I had the opportunity to see The Passion Live in New Orleans. It was a live reenactment of the events that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. Well, a few weeks before it was scheduled to happen, I saw a tweet about how it was going to be the event of the year and they were expecting over 20,000 people to attend and participate. I remember thinking how I wanted to attend but didn’t know if I could. I just knew the tickets were gone. Then, a few days before the event, I saw another tweet with the link for FREE tickets. You already know I clicked the link and got a ticket. That’s when I heard God say, “Now you can go.” And I went and truly enjoyed myself.

Y’all, I’m becoming quite emotional as I think about God’s gifts, especially the unexpected ones. The ones where I just think about wanting something and He delivers. So, you may be wondering how does this fit in with receiving because as you can see, I receive God’s gifts so well. Well.. at least I believe I do. Smile. The problem isn’t receiving His gifts but gifts from others. I’m saying gifts, but definitely not only referring to things that have monetary value. I’m also referring to simple things like compliments, accolades, even expressions of gratitude. It wasn’t until I listened to Sarah’s interview that I realized the reason I haven’t been open to receiving is because I have felt unworthy or not good enough. When God gives me things I know it’s because He loves me, unconditionally. When people give me things I always feel as if it’s not truly genuine or something is expected of me. Even if the expectation is for me to achieve more, it’s something that’s expected. The crazy part is I honestly give without expectations. So why do I believe others are not capable of doing the same?

Well, this year I am going to be intentional about receiving, receiving without reciprocation. Sorry for those who actually expect something in return. If God believes I’m worth receiving His gifts, then He must believe I’m more than worthy of receiving gifts from people. And for those who graciously give, I accept your gifts.

Note – I don’t believe everyone gives expecting reciprocity. I know there are people who generously give. The issue I have is accepting gifts from people I barely know or don’t interact with often.

Anyhoo.. time to move on and start receiving. Just had an “Aha” moment! Some gifts God will deliver through people. Wow, how did I miss that? And it’s my job to be open to receive them. Smiling

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my blogs. Praying you have an extraordinary week. Be Blessed.

Shaun

Here are a few pictures from The Passion Live (March 20, 2016).

I was asked if I wanted to move closer to the stage, but I declined. No regrets. I believe I had a better view from where I was because I could see the entire stage. Great memories!
Tyler Perry was the narrator.
Trisha Yearwood was Mary.
Seal was Pontius Pilot and Jesus, Jencarlos Canela.
Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

Happy Wednesday!

So, how was your February 22, 2022 or 2.22.22? Mine – it was FABULOUS! I received an email for the virtual premiere of A Madea Homecoming!! Y’all, I was so excited! I was running around the house SCREAMING like I had just won a million dollars. Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter knows I LOVE Tyler Perry’s movies. And anytime a new movie comes out, I always make plans to see it the day before it opens because it makes me feel special. You know, I get to preview the movies before everyone else. Yes.. I’m smiling. BIG grin!!

Anyhoo.. About three years ago, while I was preparing to go see A Madea Family Funeral, my house flooded. Y’all.. no lie.. I was in my bathroom putting on makeup, thinking about how I was going to be laughing (yeah.. I could see myself laughing), when my son runs in my room and yells for me to come out of the bathroom. Of course I ignored him. Lol! I was in my own little world. Well, since he wouldn’t leave me alone, I opened the door to see what he wanted (still not sure why he didn’t just say the house was flooding) that’s when I saw water all over my bedroom floor. As I entered the kitchen and living room, I was devastated. I had about 2-4 inches of standing water everywhere!! Luckily, most of it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Needless to say, I did not go to the movies that night. However, I did laugh. Like really laughed. Instead of laughing at Tyler’s movie, I was laughing at my own. Y’all, God really does have a sense of humor, and the majority of the time we’re the only ones who get it. I actually laughed harder than I would have had I gone to the movies. Anyway, everything was good. I called my landlord at the time and he had someone to my home in less than an hour. A few days later, my house was dry, the baseboards were replaced and I had new drainage systems installed in the backyard and on my roof. A year later I purchased the house and haven’t had any problems since. God is good!

Okay.. back to yesterday. Y’all, last night’s premiere was everything! It made up for me missing the first showing three years ago. Now I’m in tears. I just love the way God loves me. I’m blessed.

Well, I hope your February 22, 2022 was just as wonderful. Thanks for reading and have a fabulous week!

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford
Happy Early Valentine’s Day

Before I forget, Happy Galatine’s Day to all of my Gal Pals! You are loved and forever appreciated.💘🌹

Y’all, life is good and God is awesome! Came across the following post in my Facebook memories from a year ago. Basically, it sums up how I’ve felt over this past year.

Facebook Memory: February 13, 2021

January was pretty awesome! What a way to start the year. Listen, I’m still amazed! I believe God just loves loving on me in public sometimes.☺️🥰

Y’all, never did I imagine I would be an author. I love blogging and journaling, but I never pictured seeing my name in a book. Never!! Well, besides my thesis, which I still need to have bound.🤦🏽‍♀️

Seriously, last month I stepped outside of my comfort zone and did something else I never imagined myself doing– I promoted myself. I promoted my work. It’s one thing to do it here, among family and friends, but completely different doing it among peers and strangers. First, there’s the fear of being noticed. Then, there’s the fear of being imperfect. Yeah.. over the years I’ve allowed those two things to keep me from moving forward. Well, today I can happily say, writing, promoting and launching the book gave me the confidence I needed to step into the next dimension of my purpose. Believe me, the fear is still here. However, it’s not stopping me from moving forward because there’s so much God has for me to do.

Also, I want to thank everyone for your support. I truly couldn’t have done this without you. I appreciate you giving me the space to be me. Thank you!🙏🏽❤️

That was the beginning. Since then, I have launched LaShaundreaB, LLC, created Shaun’s Daily Inspiration and expanded It’s Shaun’s World to include my love for food, travel and fun (follow me on Instagram and TikTok). As I stated earlier, I never knew being part of the book anthology (Finally Free) would give me the confidence I needed to step into the next dimension of my purpose. Never once did I imagine I needed that boost. Honestly, I thought I was good where I was. Although I’m not completely out of my shell, and sometimes still retreat to my comfort zone, I’m on a totally different level than I’ve ever been and ready to go higher. God is good!

If you would like to follow my journey, you can find me on TikTok (2 accounts):

Shaun’s Daily Inspiration (daily quotes)
It’s Shaun’s World (documenting my adventures)

Before I end, I would also like to thank you for giving me a space to be myself. A space to grow without judgment. I really do appreciate y’all!❤️

As always, thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!

Shaun

Life

Finally Free – One Year Later

Shaun Bradford

From volunteering to serve on a conference committee in the summer of 2020 – to connecting with the committee leader, Dawn Lieck – to saying “Yes” when asked to write a chapter in the Finally Free anthology – to the book launch and self promotion – to where I am today – it was all orchestrated by God long ago. Long before I began blogging. Long before I wrote my first journal entry. Y’all, God already had a plan. Isn’t He amazing!

A few days ago, I was searching though old jump drives for a picture and found one of my “progress” videos (I create videos to document my goals and progress). Well, this particular video was missing from the group of videos I have created and saved over the years. It was dated November 24, 2014 – wasn’t my first video but somehow it never made it to the folder with the rest. In this video, I talk about writing a book someday. Honestly, I don’t even remember ever thinking about actually writing a book. I know over the years people have told me that I should write a book, but in this video I said I would. Wow!

Lately, everyone’s been talking about manifesting their dreams. Well, I guess I have been manifesting mine all along. All while I have been watching God work in others’ lives and celebrating their successes, He’s been working in mine. Yes.. I’m tearing up. Y’all, I’m so humbled and grateful for everything God has done in my life and is currently doing. Most of the time it seems like life is just drifting by, but when I look back I realize so many wonderful things have happened and even more is happening. Y’all, I really do love life!

Before I end, I wanted to share my Facebook post from a year ago – January 21, 2021:

Sooooo grateful for Hootsuite and WONDERFUL family and friends! I haven’t eaten breakfast or lunch. Today of ALL days, I’m super busy. Thank you all for the support and making this day so special!! Digital copies are available TODAY ONLY for $1.99 through Amazon. (See link in original post.) If you would like an autographed copy, you can purchase it through my website- LaShaundreaB.com.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SHARES!!!🥰😭❤️

Y’all, I’m still not sure where this new chapter of life is taking me. At times it feels a little overwhelming because the ideas keep coming. Thankfully, I’m finally learning how to manage and prioritize them, but it’s still a lot.

The book experience gave me a glimpse of what true freedom looked like and what I was capable of doing. Now that I am finally free, I can’t go back to the way things used to be. Nope, I just can’t. Right now.. as I type.. I know God is writing. Yes, He’s either writing or editing my story. Smiling because I know God already knows I’m not going to stick to the script. Lol. I’m pretty sure He’s written several different versions to get me where I need to be. Y’all, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. Again, I really do love life!

Anyhoo.. thanks for reading. Wishing you a wonderful Friday and fabulous weekend!

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Manifestation: the act, process or instance of manifesting (to make evident or certain by showing or displaying)

Manifestation. Have you ever thought or spoken (written or verbally) something into existence? If you have, then you know it’s like one of the most thrilling experiences ever (even the negative ones). To be able to see what you put into the universe manifested, is pretty amazing.

Yesterday, director, Matthew A. Cherry, took a picture in front of a billboard with his tweet from June 2012 stating, “I’m gonna be nominated for an Oscar one day. Already claiming it.” Well, in February 2020, he actually won an Oscar for the animated short, Hair Love. It actually happened, to include a little extra (the Oscar)! YAY!!

As a young child, I only heard about the negative side of manifestation. My mom always warned us to be cautious of the things we said because they could come true. She had witnessed it and gave examples. I don’t know about my other siblings, but after hearing her stories, I was always mindful of what I said, especially when I became upset.

Well, as I got older, I began to notice positive things could happen.. or I should say, I became more aware that I could actually think, write or speak things into existence. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. The kicker is – 1) nothing ever happened as imagined; 2) nothing was ever intentional (always a random thought); and 3) I never saw it coming. There are tons of examples I could give but I’ll only give a few (smile).

The very first major moment I can recall is getting orders to be stationed in Germany. I remember as clear as day sitting in the park writing in my journal asking God to take me far away from home. I was sad and depressed and just wanted to get away. If you have been following me for a while, you know I am very random and spontaneous. Well, one morning I woke up, took out a phone book, found an Air Force recruiter, scheduled an appointment and the rest is history. Nothing was planned. Nothing was contemplated. Just done. Well, during basic training, I was asked to select up to five bases where I preferred to be stationed (my dream list). Although I said I wanted to get away from home, I chose stations that were within a 5-8 hour radius. You know, wanted to be close enough to travel home often but far enough away so that no one could just pop up unannounced.

That was what I wanted. But the joke was on me. Y’all, God really does have a sense of humor and WILL give you what you ask for. When I got my orders, I was asked if I wanted to go to the United Kingdom or Germany. Y’all, I was devastated! I wanted to get away but never wanted to go that far. Since I had taken years of French in high school, I chose Germany because it was close to France. Two weeks after I left basic training, I was in Germany. This all happened – from me writing it down to arriving in Germany – in less than 6 months. That was my first major moment of manifestation.

A few other big moments were – me saying I was going to have my first child at 21, and did; saying that I was going to get married before I was thirty and have my 2nd child at thirty (got married at 29 and had my son at 30); also writing a list of names of people I really wanted to meet and meeting the top two – Marcus Samuelsson and Leah Chase at the same event three months after I wrote it down. There are so many more moments I have experienced that have been just as exciting and rewarding. Maybe one day I’ll share them in a book. Of course it will happen spontaneously. Smile

Y’all, my life is very interesting. To be honest, it seems like the things I randomly think, speak or write actually happens, and the things I’m intentional about speaking or writing rarely happens. I’m not sure why, but that’s how things happen for me. Honestly, my most rewarding experiences have happened after I have randomly thought, spoken or written about them, and have always happened unexpectedly. And y’all, I love it!

I am not sure what will happen next. Can’t even remember if I have thought, written or spoken about anything in a while. Right now I’m just living, being present. Hmm… an “Aha” moment. I am already living in my manifestation. Wow! It is nothing like I imagined, but I am here.. in it! Guess I needed to write it all out to see it. Can’t say it enough, God is so good!

Thank you for reading and please enjoy your Sunday!

Shaun

Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

Happy Hump Day! It’s Wednesday again. The second Wednesday of the year, to be exact.

Feeling some kind of way this morning because I am not really feeling anything at all. I don’t feel happy, sad, excited, mad, nothing. As my son would say, “Meh.” Not sure if that’s a feeling but that is exactly where I am.

Usually, by this time of the year, I have created a vision board, made a “progress” video (I make short progression videos at least twice a year where I talk about my goals and things I have accomplished- believe I only made one last year) and have written at least ten journal entries by now. Well, I have not done any of it. So far I only have three journal entries for this year. I know, I blog and make social media posts, but it’s not the same. Five years from now, I need to be able to find out what I was doing on a particular date and without it documented, I will never know. Maybe it’s not as important as I am making it out to be. Maybe I just woke up in my feelings, or with the lack of feelings. Nah.. I’m definitely feeling but unfortunately I don’t have a name for it.

This morning, while going through my Facebook memories, I found this gem, which is more than 30 years old. I shared on Facebook in 2016 with the following caption:

My 12th grade English teacher gave me this 20+ years ago. It inspired me then, and continues to inspire me today. 💗

My Inspiration

Everyone in our class received cards from Ms. Tressin, but mine was special. Looking back, she saw something in me that I thought was hidden from the world. She knew I was a dreamer.

Maybe that’s what I am feeling this morning. I have imagined it. I have dreamed it. And yet, here I am thirty years later still chasing the dream. Or am I? Y’all, I believe I am having an “Aha” moment.

So… transparent moment… if you have been following me since last April, you know that I resigned from my job in pursuit of fulfilling my dreams. Well, over the months I have felt like a boat without an anchor, being tossed all over the place. When I resigned, I had no plan, no real direction about where I wanted to go. All I knew is, I was free! Hadn’t felt that free since I was in high school. I felt like I had the opportunity to begin again. However, I had too many years of education, degrees, and experience to just throw it all away. Plus everyone kept making suggestions about where I should be or could be heading. So, I felt compelled to continue along that path. Exactly like a high school senior! Wow!! Well, to be honest, every time I attempt to do it, I feel trapped. I know what to do to make it work. I have done it for years, but it is not where my heart lies. So far I have wasted money on trying to pursue things that would make me money but my heart has not been in anything I have done. Yeah.. it all sounded good but my heart kept screaming “NO!”

Here’s what I truly want at this moment in time, and what I wanted when I resigned. I want to be the best mom I can possibly be. I want to be able to spend as much time as I possibly can with my children. Right now I have no desire to pursue a career and be a mom. I just want to be a mom, create memories, share inspirational thoughts and spread love, kindness and hope throughout the world. Sounds pretty flower-childish, doesn’t it? Lol! But that’s what I want to do! And guess what?! It’s exactly what I have been blessed to do. I am living off of less than I have ever made and I’m okay. Question is, shouldn’t I want more?

Maybe I’m thinking too much this morning. This probably should have been a journal entry. Lol. But here it is, my first random rambling of the year. Not going to delete any of it. Just gonna publish and keep going. Everything will work out.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Shaun