Tag: relationships

hope

June 2, 2019

Shaun Bradford

Since I began the day with a memory from June 2nd, I thought I’d end with one.

Here is what I shared on June 2, 2019.

This photo was taken at Dooky Chase’s restaurant in New Orleans in February 2018.
Taken in October 2014

You will probably see the second picture every year because meeting Marcus Samuelsson and Leah Chase was like God’s hand touching my heart and soul. I had never experienced anything like it before. I simply said I wanted to meet them, and maybe a month or less later, I was with them. After thinking about what I shared in my first post of the day, “June 2, 2014,” I believe that trip set everything into motion. (See my previous post, “June 2, 2014.”)

Anyhoo…

I wish I could have sat down with Chef Leah Chase just one more time, but it never happened. Today, I spent the day with my 83-year-old retired Air Force friend (she’ll be 84 in September). I just love being in her presence. Listening to her reminisce about her earlier years and recent adventures (she loves to travel) makes me smile.

My heart is full.🥰

I hope you had a lovely day, and pray you have a restful night.♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

hope

Never Settle For Less Than God’s Best

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

How are you?

I hope you’re doing fabulous!🌸

This Facebook memory from three years ago has me smiling.

“YOU are worthy of God’s absolute best. You don’t have to settle for less.”

When I look back over my adulthood, I can list times when I settled for “good enough.” That job was “good enough” because it paid the bills. That relationship was “good enough” because I didn’t have to be alone—but I felt lonely (Whew!). My life was “good enough” because wanting more meant stretching myself and becoming uncomfortable.

I’m smiling because I can see how my life has changed over the past few years, especially since turning 50. That’s when I stopped settling for “good enough” and began striving for THE BEST—the best for ME. Now, my “best” may not be your idea of the best, and that’s okay. For a long time, I made decisions based on what others thought was best for me, leaving me feeling miserable. Y’all, trying to live up to other people’s expectations will drain you mentally as well as physically. Believe me, you breathe a lot easier when you dance to the beat of your own drums. PLUS, I don’t know about you, but God won’t let me settle for less than His best. He just won’t.

Today is the last day of May, which is significant in so many ways. For me, it’s the day that one cycle ends and another begins. Tomorrow, I enter my 52nd birthday month. Praying that God graces me with immeasurable favor and that He blocks every weapon meant to hinder or destroy me or my progression. May He cover me with His love and surround me with His peace and joy. Amen

Repeating my affirmation from three years ago (please feel free to do the same):

“I am worthy. Yes, ME. I am worthy of God’s best.”

I pray you have a wonderfully blessed day. May God’s love and peace surround you and your family.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

The Encourager

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

How are you?

I pray you’re doing well.🌸

“The Encourager”

That was the name of my mom’s monthly newsletter. She used to send them to friends and family in the early 2000s. After she died, that was one of the things her friends remembered about her. Here’s a copy. She would’ve been a great blogger.💗

The Encourager (April 2003) written by Dorothy Bradford

“No matter what we suffer or have lack of, when we learn to put God first, to love Him, and to recognize His voice and obey, we have assurance that all things are working to our good.”

What a word! A word that she lived by.

This is a short week! I pray you have a beautiful day. May God make you feel extra special today. You deserve it!♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

Be Still And Have Faith

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

How are you?

I hope you’re well.🌸

“Be still and have faith” is how I ended last year’s journal entry (May 26, 2024). I was becoming antsy and impatient because life wasn’t moving at the pace I wanted. I felt like I needed to do something. I needed to make things happen on my own because God wasn’t moving fast enough for me. I had thought of so many things I could’ve been doing, yet I heard to “be still and have faith.” Looking back over the past year, I am so grateful I was obedient. Had I not been, I would have missed out on so many opportunities as well as the connections and relationships I’ve built. What God has done in one year was taking me years to build.

Here’s my takeaway, or what I’ve learned—

Whenever you want to take control because God doesn’t seem to be moving, or He’s moving much too slowly—BE STILL! I even wrote in that entry, “Shaun, sit on your hands if you must.” And I almost needed to. BUT GOD!

Be still and have faith that God is going to do what He said He would do PLUS more! No lie, He will blow your mind!

I pray you have a wonderfully blessed day. Today is Memorial Day here in the United States. Please remember those who sacrificed their lives for us to have the freedoms we still have today.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

This Is How God Works

Shaun Bradford

This is how God works in my life! When I tell you He loves me!🥰

Short story…

Last night, in my post, “Service Before Self,” I wrote—

“I miss that life [Air Force life]. I miss the camaraderie. We were more than coworkers and colleagues. We were family.”

I ended it with—

“I believe I need to visit an Air Force base soon. I need to see my people.”

Fast forward to God hearing and delivering!

Below is a reply from my friend, who happens to be a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel. Notice the time stamp: Friday, 8:55 PM. That was the time she replied to one of my Facebook stories. Well, I didn’t see it until after 8:00 AM this morning.

After seeing her message, I called her several times, but the calls kept failing. Then, I texted and messaged her, but she never responded. By 8:30, I was heading to her house. When I tell you all kinds of thoughts were going on in my head. “What if she was on the road and her car broke down?” “What if she was hurt or needed me to drive her somewhere?” “What if she had fallen and couldn’t get up?!” She is 84, so it’s possible (plus she’s always joking about it😅). So, what was I supposed to think?

By the time I got to her house, I was in tears and preparing myself for the worst. Her car was in her driveway, so she wasn’t stranded somewhere. I rang the doorbell, and guess who came to the door smiling? It was her, all happy to see me. All I could do was hug her. Y’all, she had forgotten that she had replied to my story. And her message was supposed to say, “Call me” instead of “Car.” Ugh… That crazy autocorrect! And when she said she needed “some help,” she meant she needed help finding something.

Anyhoo… I ended up spending the day with her and having a lovely time. It wasn’t until this afternoon that I realized God had given me what I wanted and needed—time with my Air Force family, and I didn’t have to wait.🥰

I am forever in awe of my God! I cannot express enough how truly grateful and blessed I am.♥️

Shaun

** By the way… THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! In exactly ONE MONTH, I will be 52!!!🎉🎉🎉

hope

Fix It

Shaun Bradford

Never patch what you can repair. Instead, take your time and fix it. Fix it or it will continue to fall apart.♥️

Love you,

Shaun

hope

Celebrating Mother’s Day

Shaun Bradford

When I woke up this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was celebrate Mother’s Day. I just wasn’t feeling it. But God and my daughter had different plans. I’m so glad she decided to come home this weekend. I needed her company. I needed the love, laughs, hugs (from both of my hearts), and good food. I may have lost my mother, but… I am a mother. God blessed me with two beautiful souls. How could I not celebrate this honor?

My daughter is on her way back home. We did more in about 18 hours than we would have done the entire weekend. When I tell you we laughed, danced, sang, ate, watched Netflix (started “Forever”), had a few deep conversations, and ate some more.🥰

To the mothers and mother figures who nurture and give selflessly, “Happy Mother’s Day!” You are loved and appreciated.💕🌸💗

Shaun

hope

Update: I Need To Get This Out …

Shaun Bradford

Good Evening!✨

I wanted to share an update to this morning’s post, “I Need To Get This Out, Please Bear With Me.” In short, I’m feeling so much better. I decided to drive up for the funeral today instead of waiting until tomorrow. And I’m glad I did. As much as I wanted to be alone, I needed to be around family. I needed the love, laughs, and hugs. God is good.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers! I needed them. Wishing you a peaceful, relaxing evening.🙏🏽♥️

Love you always,

Shaun

hope

I Am Grateful For…

Shaun Bradford

Good Morning☀️

I am grateful for…

Life

Love

Family

Friends

And my two hearts (my babies)

Good health

A sound mind

My relationship with God

And my connection with YOU!

Thank you for always stopping by to read, like, comment, and/or speak. Your presence and support are greatly appreciated.🙏🏽💕

I pray that you have a lovely, self-love Saturday. May it be filled with love, joy, and peace.♥️

I love you,

Shaun

hope

My Journey With God, No. 84

Shaun Bradford

Saw this quote posted by Pastor Mike Todd (author of “Relationship Goals”) and thought I’d share.

What you want exists, don’t settle. – Mike Todd

Several years ago, I wrote a blog about relationship goals based off the hashtags people were using after seeing cute couples together. Everyone wanted a relationship like theirs. However, what I knew from being in one of those picture-perfect relationships (my ex husband and I weren’t famous, but we had what people assumed was perfect), looks can be deceiving. Very deceiving. So much goes on behind the scenes. Real life happens behind the scenes. And to be honest, many of those people they were hashtagging back then aren’t even together anymore.🥴

Here’s what I shared about relationship goals in 2018 (shared in its entirety).

What Is Love?, June 13, 2018

So here’s one of my randoms.

This morning I had dream about Guy. You know, Aaron and Damion Hall and Teddy Riley. I was watching one of their videos (that doesn’t even exist- lol) called Real Love. It was so vivid. It was set in the nighttime. The group was in a vacant parking lot just singing their hearts out. Oh– I can’t forget to tell you what they were wearing. You know the nineties was all about style. Aaron had on his signature black leather pants and vest set, no shirt (umm hmm). Teddy had on a burnt orange Adidas outfit with a black hat (looking fly). Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Damion was wearing. Oh well…

Anyway, they were singing about love. I felt it in my dreams! I woke up with love on my mind. Honestly, it could be because I fell asleep with love on my mind. I fell asleep after watching the preview of OWN’s new series, “Love Is ____.” So my question this morning is, “What is love?” Meaning, love between spouses, partners, companions, etc. What is love?

As a little girl, I thought love was all about the fairytale. I can’t lie, I still love the beauty of the fairytale. Fairytales do exist. By the time I was a teenager, my perception of love had changed. I realized people fell in and out of love quite often. I never had a boyfriend in high school. However, I was in love. I still get all tingly when I think about my “Blue Eyes.” That’s what I called him. That was high school. Lol

The day I graduated from high school was the day my first boyfriend found me. Yes, he found me because I was not looking. Nowadays I hear people talking about the love of your life will find you. Just know, you have to be leery of them too. Just because he finds you doesn’t mean he’s God sent. And this boyfriend wasn’t. In my mind I tried to make him a prince. He was eight years older than I was. So we were on two different levels. Mentally, I was still a child and he was looking for a woman. I was not there.

After that relationship ended, I decided to do the finding. Ha! It wasn’t any better than being found. Eventually I settled. That word, settle, really makes me cringe.

Over the years I received love advice from people who had been married for years. One person told me that the tingly love feeling wears off after the first couple of years so commitment was most important. I had others tell me to look past faults and forgive. The best one, and most deceptive– find a good hard working man and settle down. No one mentioned love in terms of longevity. Were they right? Are they right? Is love only temporary?

Honestly, I don’t think there’s one definition for love. Love is different for everyone. That’s why God made us unique. What I’ve learned is, if you don’t love yourself, you cannot fully love someone else. Self-love is so important. I also believe the person who truly loves you will love you unconditionally– just the way you are. If they want you to change (I’m talking personality wise), it’s not love. You shouldn’t have to change who you are based on “ideal” relationships. You know, those “relationship goals.” Please! Trying to live like others will have you so off course. Do you!!

People try to make love complicated. My definition of love is simple. Love is love. Period. No ifs. You know, “if they were this,” “if they did that,” “if they said this,” “if they looked like this” (now that’s a hard one to let go of– ha!!)… What I’m trying to say is, either you love the person or you don’t. Mixed feelings will make you miserable.

I would like to end this with positive vibes. Positive vibes for everyone (in my Oprah voice). My wish is for everyone to experience the fairytale kind of love. The kind that makes you tingly all over with happiness. The kind that makes your heart melt when you think about sitting on a porch at 90– not talking, just smiling, humming and enjoying each other’s company. Smile– that’s my fairytale.

Remember, the fairytale will always be tailor-made for you and your love. Forget those “relationship goals.” Make your own goals!

As I said, this was random. I’m random. Either you love me or you don’t.

Peace!
#Year45

That was pretty long! I used to share so much more back then. By the way, I’m planning to read “Relationship Goals” soon so I can get the true meaning behind Pastor Todd’s message.

Back to the quote. I do believe what I want does exist. Unlike times before, I will not settle and will wait on God. Yessss… this time, I will wait. (But honestly, God’s timing is like a gazillion years!!😩😂)

Remaining Hopeful♥️

Shaun