Tag: peace

Life

Submit and Commit to the Process

Shaun Bradford
You cannot start, skip the middle (the process), and go straight to the end. Nothing in life happens this way.

Short story…

When I was a teen, I wanted to play the piccolo. My sister and one of the girls at church played the flute. Well, I did not want to be like them (always had to be difficult different). I wanted to play the piccolo. Everyone I asked about how I should get started said that I would have to learn to play the flute first. Y’all, I wasn’t even in band or interested in playing other instruments, but I was drawn to the piccolo. I believe it was because it was so tiny and cute. I’m a sucker for tiny, cute things. Well, starting with the flute was not going to happen so I never played the piccolo. One day I’m just going to buy one and teach myself to play. That’s what YouTube is for, right? Laughing

Anyhoo… this is how my life has been since as far back as I can remember. I want what I want and I want it how I want it. Don’t judge me. Over time I have gotten better. Listen, I hate all of the in between stuff. I say I love watching God work (the progression) in my life; however, sometimes I feel He can skip a few steps. Y’all, my patience for getting from points A to Z is very short. Not sure if it’s my attention span (because I swear I have ADHD), or if I am just impatient. Either way… at 50 years old… I am finally completely submitting to God’s plan (I might get sidetracked every now and then– Lol) and following all of His steps. If I want XYZ, I have to go through the entire process. Y’all, I have to stop being so stubborn. Ugh!

My mantra for this current season is “I am submitting and committing to the process.”

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Love you.♥️

Shaun

Life

Expect the Unexpected

Shaun Bradford

Blessings are headed your way! Expect the unexpected.♥️ ~Shaun

God is so good! Just keep praising and honoring Him unconditionally, and I guarantee He WILL bless you.
Life

Transparency

Shaun Bradford

I used to believe people who only shared their successes instead of their failures were frauds. I now realize that is not necessarily the case. There’s a time, place and audience for everything. Knowing when, where and what to share is vital, even when it comes to sharing successes. Yes, I am finally realizing that good news isn’t always acceptable for some.

Facebook Memory: August 16, 2022

Everyone can’t handle your truth.♥️

Shaun

Life

Grace

Shaun Bradford

Grace: Courteous goodwill.

Thankful for God’s grace. We know we do not deserve it, yet we receive it daily. Talk about blessed!♥️ ~Shaun

We are blessed.
Life

I Love You

Shaun Bradford

This is just a friendly reminder that life is truly short and those we love are only here for a brief moment. Spend time with those you can. Acknowledge the ones you cannot physically spend time with. You do not have to have a full blown conversation with them. A simple “Hello! Have a great day.” “Thinking of you.”, “I miss you.”, “I love you.” or any combination of them all will suffice. Listen, just drop a heart or a smiley face. Anything! People just want to know that someone is thinking of them and that they are loved. You don’t have to do it daily. However, every once in a while, let those you love know you love them before you can no longer let them know.

I love you! I may not know you, but I do. Be Blessed!♥️

Shaun

Life

Thankful

Shaun Bradford

Thanking God for waking me up this morning – whole and healthy; and for allowing me to see another beautiful day. I am also so very thankful for my amazing kids, family and friends. There’s no doubt that I am truly blessed.♥️ ~ Shaun

What are you thankful for?

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Hello! Here’s a Facebook memory from last year. I should have added, wherever your heart is, your mind and soul follows. Where is your heart?

Here’s an additional caption. I added this when I reshared it to another account.

Moment of Transparency:

There was a time when I allowed thoughts of imperfection to control me. Not saying those thoughts don’t still pop up, because they do, but they no longer control me. Yeah.. caused so much anxiety. 

I keep telling y’all when I say God is sooo good, THIS is what I’m talking about. #ForeverGrateful

Y’all, God is absolutely wonderful. I just love watching Him work in my life. Used to spend most of my time watching Him work in the lives of others, now I am watching Him do the same for me. Of course it is not always pleasant to watch. Believe me, sometimes the tests and trials make me want to throw in the towel and just be; however, God won’t let me. He pushes me through. Then, I look up a year(s) later and I am so much stronger than I was before. This past week I attended a conference with women I used to feel intimidated to be in the room with. My imposter syndrome used to be on an all time high. However, this time, I knew… not only felt… but knew I belonged there. Again, God is absolutely wonderful!

That’s all I have for you today. About to get on the road. Please keep my family in your prayers. My bonus mom is really sick. We are not sure what’s wrong. She’s been sick for a while but is just now admitting it. At first I felt like this was deja vu because it is August again, but I am not claiming it. I know God is a healer. Amen

Y’all have a wonderful day. Love you!♥️

Shaun

Life

Remain Open to Love

Shaun Bradford

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

Hmmm…

Shaun Bradford

Have you ever found yourself worried about what others would think if you did XYZ? Even if you don’t want to admit it, you know you have. Well, while you were deep in thought trying make sure whatever you were planning was acceptable or palatable for others, at any moment did you ask yourself, “What will God think?”. Will He approve? Will He disapprove? Will He get the glory?

In my opinion, most of the time we consider God’s thoughts after we have already made our decisions. Although His thoughts do matter to us, we tend to believe He could not possibly understand human affairs. I mean, how could He? Especially in today’s world. So we do our thing and leave Him to handle the spiritual and supernatural stuff.

Question–What would happen if we consulted God first? Would we do what He wanted us to do (y’all remember WWJD)? Or, would we do what we wanted, then ask for forgiveness later?

I believe most of US (because I’m definitely included in this) hear that still small voice saying, “I’m here. My thoughts matter,” and we tune it out until we need help. Just pitiful. Lol

Just thinking: Would a harmonious world be boring? Does conflict keep things interesting? Guess that’s a question only God can answer. Smile. My thought – Conflict is necessary. Who wants to live in a world of Barbies – fabulous movie. Yes, I believe conflict is necessary but should never become violent.

Anyhoo, let me go before I write even more. This Zyrtec is really kicking in.

Love you! Enjoy your day.♥️

Shaun

Life

Pray & Worship

Shaun Bradford

Happy Tuesday!

This morning I visited my Facebook memories for inspiration for today’s blog. Well, I found a lot of inspiration and wanted to share it all but decided to only share a few.

Facebook Memory: August 8, 2022

Caption: Once you experience something, it’s impossible to unexperience it. Your life is forever changed by that experience.

You cannot unknow, unsee, or undo anything that has already happened. All you can do is adjust and move forward. Life…

Facebook Memory: August 8, 2022

Caption: How are you waiting? With or without expectation? You know, “Whatever happens, happens,” OR “I’m expecting exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think.” Me. I’m doing the latter. I’m EXPECTING great things to happen!💃🏽♥️ Today’s 8/8. New day. New week. New beginnings.🌸

Lately, that’s the message I have been seeing everywhere – wait with expectation. Expect great things to happen. Kinda sad though. About two weeks after sharing that post my mom had a stroke and never fully recovered. Whew…

I’m going to end with this video by my fav, Mr. Tyler Perry. The actual Facebook memory from August 8, 2018, was a snippet of the sermon he delivered (yes, he preached – smile), Climb and Maintain.

Climb and maintain means to pray and worship. As we know, life is going to do what it does. No matter what we’re going through we must continue to pray and worship. I know sometimes it’s easier said than done, but it works. Believe me, it has gotten me through some really tough times. Had to make myself do it yesterday and it worked!

This is all I have for you today. Praying you have a wonderful day. Be blessed.♥️

Shaun