The song of the hour—or the day—because I have been singing it for a few hours now is “Second Chance” by Hezekiah Walker. The song says—
Show me All of my wrongs Forgive me And make strong Oh Save me Restore my song For You’re the God of a second chance
You gave me A second chance You forgave me like only You can You gave me A second chance
Lyrics: LyricFind
Y’all, God is so good. I’m so thankful for second, third, fourth, and even 100 chances. Sometimes, He gives me more chances than I can count to get things right. I can’t express enough how grateful and blessed I am that He loves me.
By the way, nothing major is going on. It’s the little things He’s been working with me on that I don’t always get right. Most of the time, I don’t pay much attention to them until He says, “Look, you’re going to keep going through this cycle until you get this right.” Today, I had one of those moments. Sometimes, it’s not the things we consider significant that keep us from moving ahead. Often, it’s the small things we keep ignoring that are most important. We must remember that those small things are always connected to something greater.
I am forever grateful for God’s love, mercy, kindness, patience (boy, is He patient☺️), and grace. I am blessed.♥️
Yesterday, I shared the New King James Version of the Bible verse, Psalm 23:6, which uses the phrase “goodness and mercy.” However, not all versions of the Bible use the term “mercy.” Instead, some use “love”. Here is the New International Version (NIV) version of the same verse:
Psalm 23:6
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”
Of course, I want God’s goodness and mercy to follow me all the days of my life; however, I also want His love to follow me. I never want to be without either of these—including the last part of the verse—“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Oh, to have God’s goodness, mercy, and love with me every day and to live in His presence forever. What a beautiful gift!
No phone. No music. No distractions—not even your thoughts. Just you and God.😌
Mellow moments are so necessary.
Sitting here looking out the window, wishing I was a carefree little girl again. It’s the perfect weather for playing outside or lying on the grass gazing up at the sky. The birds are having sooo much fun. I wish I could be out there with them, enjoying God’s glory. Maybe I’ll join them for a few minutes tomorrow or Thursday.
Yes, mellow moments are necessary. If they don’t happen naturally, be intentional about creating them. Believe me, your soul will thank you.♥️
So many tears shed in silence. So many battles only God knew about. At times, the pain, disappointments, and heartaches seemed unbearable, yet you made it. YOU made it! You are a conqueror—more than a conqueror.♥️
God is always working and moving, even when it appears He’s not. Here are a few memories from April 7th.
April 7, 2022and 2018
This is a photo of a rock I painted at the same conference held four years earlier, April 7, 2018. “Trust” was one of my biggest barriers to moving forward. I had lost trust in almost every aspect of my life—family, job, profession, and myself. I was at ‘rock’ bottom and in the process of figuring out how to rebuild the trust I once had in those areas, as well as in unfamiliar areas I was tapping into.On April 7, 2022, at the same conference mentioned above, I was presented with an award for Nutritionist of the Year. I had no idea I was receiving an award and had left the conference to check out of my hotel room. I remember receiving texts from several colleagues congratulating me and asking where I was.🤦🏽♀️😅
April 7, 2024
This photo was taken last year on April 7, 2024, at our state dietetics’ conference. It was the day my colleagues learned I had decided to run for president-elect again. These ladies have been by my side throughout my entire dietetics career—almost 20 years. They are my rocks!
In 2018, I was going through a weird phase in my career and wanted change. I needed it! I was losing confidence and trust in the work I was doing and in myself. So, a few months after the conference, I enrolled in a doctoral program to pursue a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree. I had already been working in community and public health nutrition, so it seemed like the logical move at the time. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I needed a change. That was 2018.
Three years later (2021), I took a leap to become a full-time, independent consultant. That was around the end of the pandemic. At that time, I hadn’t seen my colleagues in person for over a year, so I felt pretty isolated. However, it was also during that time that I decided to promote our profession and my colleagues on my social media platform, Mississippi Thriving. I wanted Mississippians to know who we were and what our contributions were to improving our citizens’ health. So, I reached out to our dietitians asking if they’d be willing to be showcased on Mississippi Thriving’s “RDN Saturdays” (something I came up with early one morning🤷🏽♀️☺️), and several agreed! Hence, one of the reasons for the award I received.
Looking back, I’ve actually done a lot more than I thought over the past ten years. In no way am I bragging. I’m only acknowledging my accomplishments. For the longest time, I’ve felt like my life’s been stagnant, but in reality, it’s been moving. God’s been moving!
Y’all, I can’t say it enough, I am truly, truly blessed.🥰
It’s Shaun’s World 
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