It’s been over two years since I’ve been to an in person conference. Although I’m excited to see everyone, part of me wants to remain in my bubble. Y’all, this bubble has become so cozy. I used to love networking and socializing. Lived for it! Now, I only desire quiet, intimate gatherings. Twenty is plenty. I’m pretty sure once I see everyone my attitude will change. However, at this moment, the only thing I’m looking forward to is my hotel room. My how things have changed. Laughing. Guess I better suck it up. I’m attending another conference in two weeks.
Have you ever woke up feeling renewed? Like it’s literally a brand new day, an actual new beginning? Well, this morning, I did! Perhaps it was the six hours of uninterrupted sleep (smile) or a delayed reaction from this day a year ago, the morning after I submitted my letter of resignation. To this day, I still don’t know how I submitted it without a bit of fear or a set plan in place. Y’all, I’m in tears because I KNOW it was God!
So here I am a year later without an ounce of regret. Still on cloud nine. However, the feeling I woke up with this morning is a little different. Today, I’m no longer anxious to take on a million projects. I have no plans of being entrepreneur or volunteer of the year. What I’m feeling is true peace and contentment. Not in a way that I’m not striving to reach new heights, but in a way that I no longer feel rushed. I’m actually going with the flow. I don’t want to mislead you into believing everything has been perfect because it hasn’t. I still have bills, unexpected things continue to pop up, and misfortunes and disappointments happen. However, I no longer allow myself to become stressed or anxious. Now, whenever I feel either creeping in, I remember that I’m not in this alone, God’s got me. That’s when I take a backseat and allow Him to lead. You know, since He knows where He’s taking me. Smile
Happy Saturday! Here’s today’s social media find. Do you remember waking up on Saturday mornings looking forward to a day of nonstop play? Well, I do! Of course there was the dreaded routine of cleaning the whole house first, but the reward was endless play. During playtime, I remember being very creative. It was like, if your mind could imagine it, you could find a way to do it, even if the majority of the scenarios were make believe. Those were the days! I believe, as we get older, we become more skeptical and less creative because we’re constantly worried about what others will think or say. (I tell you, we give “others” a lot of control.) Today, I challenge you to let go and be creative. What would your childhood self create if he/she had access to the technology and tools we have today? I create accounts, pages, blogs and whatever else my mind can imagine at the given time. I know it seems like I’m all over the place at times, but it’s the way I have fun. Lol. Anyhoo – be creative!
Now I’m drawing! There’s no telling what I will be doing three years from now. Life is too short and too good not to enjoy everything it has to offer. Have fun!
I’m just going to jump right in. A few days ago, after reviewing several pictures I had taken with a guest speaker at an event, I began criticizing my appearance. Y’all, it was like I couldn’t stop.
Transparent Moment:
I rarely take full body pictures because 1) I do not know how to pose (y’all my poses are terrible 😂) and 2) I’m not comfortable with my weight. So after taking the pictures the guest speaker, I began to openly critique every photo – I looked too fat, too short, the camera wasn’t positioned right, needed a better camera (HA.. there’s absolutely nothing wrong with mine). Y’all, I was on a roll. Couldn’t stop myself. The criticism was flowing like running water. Sadly, it wasn’t until I got in the car that I realized what I had done. Ouch! Up until that moment, I never realized how much I criticized myself. And to do it in public was completely embarrassing! It’s one thing to do it at home (which is still wrong) and another to do it in public. As I sat in my car tearing up, I promised myself that I would never criticize myself in public again. I can only imagine the impression I left. Sigh
Here’s a full body picture from another day. I’m learning that the only way I can fully embrace myself, as well as become more confident, is to stop hiding what I consider flaws and imperfections. And the negative self talk has to go, TODAY! How can I promote self-love if I’m not truly embracing all of me?
For me, there’s something so cathartic about releasing issues into the atmosphere. Once out, I imagine the words braking into fragments until they become tiny particles floating awayinto the universe. Release & Breathe
Thank you for reading! Praying you have a wonderful week.
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!
This quote was amongst my Facebook memories from seven years ago – February 16, 2022. Y’all, chills literally ran through me as I read this quote. It made me stop and ask myself what am I repeating? What have I not repaired? What behaviors am I repeating that are preventing me from moving forward?
Hmm… That’s about all I’m going to write today. If this quote has you as shaken as it has me, maybe you should do what I’m going to do, disconnect and truly think about the things I haven’t repaired. You know, the things we say we have repaired but have actually been avoiding because confrontation only brings pain. Yeah.. it’s time to do a little soul searching because life is too precious and too short to continue repeating the same cycle.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Wednesday!
At this very moment, my daughter and I should be preparing to leave for France. We were scheduled for a noon departure from New Orleans arriving in Paris tomorrow morning, January 27 – my daughter’s 27th birthday.
In September, my daughter casually mentioned that she wanted to spend her 27th birthday in Paris. Well, as a mom who absolutely LOVES birthdays, I started planning. Long story short, we were booked and ready to go then Omicron happened. Although we are both vaxed and boosted, a couple of weeks ago we decided to postpone our trip because we didn’t want to be either denied going (a positive diagnosis seemed almost inevitable) or one or both of us stuck and quarantined in Paris because of a positive diagnosis. It was just too risky, especially since my son wasn’t going (he didn’t want to miss a few days of school.. he’s so responsible – Lol).
I wish I could say we are really disappointed about not going, but honestly, I can’t. The truth is neither of us wanted to leave my son behind and he didn’t want to be left behind. So I guess you can say it all worked out for the best. When we go later this year, he will be going with us. And my daughter, she’s not missing a thing. After canceling our mother-daughter trip, she planned a solo trip to another destination. At the end of the day, I know everything worked out the way it was meant to be.
Obedience. The definition of obedience is – an act or instance of obeying (following the command or guidance of).
As many of you know, I have been on this journey of completely allowing God to lead; to follow his guidance without wavering. Well.. just imagine how that’s going. Sigh
So, there is this little thing called free will, which is the ability to act at one’s discretion. Well, I’m finding free will isn’t always my friend. During this journey, free will has popped up numerous times and continues to pop up whenever – 1) I don’t believe God is moving fast enough or He’s moving way too fast; 2) I believe things are going in the wrong direction; or 3) whenever I flat out don’t want to follow His instruction. Y’all, sometimes free will is a pain and often delays blessings. Ugh!
Last night I was given specific instructions to leave a certain matter alone, to allow God to work so that I could see His glory. Y’all know I love watching God work! Well, that didn’t happen. I kept picking at it. Checking to see if progress was being made. Kind of like putting a bandage on a wound and removing it every couple of hours to see if it’s healing. Uhh.. It won’t if you don’t leave it alone. So, this morning I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t leave things alone. I went in and started manipulating things. I was like, “God, I’m just gonna do this one little thing then give it back to You.” And that’s exactly what I did. And guess what, I feel like I have failed another challenge. Not in a shameful way, but in a way that has me regretting my decision. However, at the same time, I still have the desire to do better. I just have to know how things will turn out if I allow God to lead.
Okay.. y’all, I just had another “Aha” moment. Imagine going into a lab, starting an experiment and when the experiment isn’t moving along fast enough, you decide to manipulate the process. Guess what?! You just altered the outcome. You will never know what could’ve been had you left it alone.
Slowly but surely, I’m learning. If I am going to allow God to lead, I must be obedient. Period.
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a lovely Wednesday!
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