Fooling Thy Self-Facing Thy Fears

You can fool some people some time but you can never fool yourself. You can tell yourself almost anything to excuse away your fear. The bad news is, you will actually believe it for awhile. The good news is, there will come a time when the excuse will not be strong enough or big enough to camouflage your fear. Eventually what you tell yourself will begin to sound so weak, so lame, so utterly ridiculous that you will have a hard time convincing yourself or anyone else that it is true. When that time comes, don't be defensive. Be willing to face the thing you fear.
As long as there is something you fear lurking in the back of your mind, you cannot, will not have peace of mind. When you defend yourself for taking or not taking a particular action, you are denying the foundation upon which peace is built. Truth! When, however, you wait or prepare to the point of avoiding what you say you really want to do, when you know you are afraid but refuse to admit it, there is no way you can have peace  of mind. In fact, if you insist on defending the excuse, you may lose your mind.

Until today, you may have found yourself making excuses for not confronting the things you fear. You may have had a great excuse for remaining in a relationship, work environment or living arrangement that is not fulfilling. Just for today, lay down all of your excuses. Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of that makes me stay here?" Make a list of responses that come to mind. Prayerfully offer the list to the Holy Spirit, asking it to show you the way out. Repeat the process as often as necessary until all excuses vanish.

‘The Awakening’

There comes a time in your life when you finally get it…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out…ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying, blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.

You realize that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are…and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and everything isn’t always about you.

So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself…and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties…and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with.

You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for you next fix.

You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not your job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry.

Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drinking more water, and take more time to exercise.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people…and you learn not to always take it personally.

You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than you heart’s desire.

You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in you heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

Hater!

                    ~A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their
time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.~

They are very negative people to say the least.  Nothing is ever
good enough!
           
When you make your mark,  you will always attract some haters…
           
That’s why you have to be careful with whom you share your
blessings and your dreams, because some folk can’t handle seeing
you blessed…  
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory,  but they
don’t know my story…
   
If the grass  looks  greener on the other side of the fence,  you
can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!
   
We’ve all got some haters among us!
           
Some people envy you because you can:
      a) Have a relationship with God
      b) Light up a room when you walk in
      c) Start your own business
      d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb
           (if he / she isn’t about the right thing)
      e) Raise your children without both parents being
          in the home
           
Haters can’t stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.
Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be
on our side.
           
How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by: 
A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.
                   prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams!  You only have one life to live…when its your
time to leave this earth, you ‘want’ to be able to say, ‘I’ve lived my
life and fulfilled ‘my’ dreams,… Now I’m ready to go HOME!
           
When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, ‘Don’t look at
me…Look at Who is in charge of me…’
           
Pass this to all of your family & friends who you know are
not hating on you including the person who sent it to you.
       
If you don’t get it back, maybe you called somebody out!
Don’t worry about it, it’s not your problem, it’s theirs..
Just pray for them, that their life can be as fulfilled as
yours! Watch out for Haters…BUT most of all don’t become
a HATER!
       
‘A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man
should have to seek Him first to find her.’
                  ~Maya Angelou

 

It’s dangerous to be like somebody else… If God wanted you to be
like somebody else,  He would have given you what He gave them!  Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they
have…
 

            1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are
               *(VERY IMPORTANT!!)
           
            2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not
                mean having a job. You can have a job and still be
                unfulfilled.
             

            3. By remembering what you have is by divine

In The Valley I Grow

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan’s loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious

But it’s in the valleys I grow!

The Truth

The following is an affirmation. An affirmation if a statement that embodies the truth. If there is something you want to know about yourself or your life, faithfully and reverently repeat this affirmation three times and ask yourself about another person because their truth may be none of your business. Once the affirmation is repeated and the question asked, remain still and listen for the answer. If the answer does not come  right away, have faith! Sometimes the truth is more than you can handle at the moment.

At the right time, in the right way, the truth will make itself known to you.

I believe in the power of truth.
I believe in the presence of truth.
Truth cannot be buried or hidden.
The truth must be revealed.

I now experience the essence of truth as it moves through me.

The Spirit of truth now envelops me.
The Spirit of truth now infuses me.
I am filled with the light of the truth.
I am filled with the power of the truth.
I am filled with the presence of the truth.
The truth is revealed to me now.

Until today, you may not have known how to get to the truth of a pressing matter in your life.
Just for today, ask the truth to reveal itself to you. Remember that what you ask form you will receive!

Pay It Forward

    We have reason to have infinite gratitude to the Universe for everything we have and everything we are, yet we cannot repay the Universe. We have gratitude for our distant ancestors, yet cannot repay them. We have gratitude to our parents for our very life, and to our parents or other caregivers for our nurture, yet we cannot repay them in kind. We may have many other gratitude's that, for one reason or another, cannot be repaid to those who were so generous to us.

Pay It Forward. Gift future generations in proportion to our gratitude. The nature of life is that we pay forward our biological creation and nurture. Our parents gift us with life and nurture, and we gift our children with life and nurture. While this much is essential to continued human existence, choose to take "pay it forward" farther - much farther.

Consider making "pay it forward" a way of life. As we have observed many times, expectation (demand) is always a cause of suffering. Rather than "expecting" to be repaid when we "loan" something to someone, consider the "loans" we make to be forward payments for the "loans" we received from our ancestors, nurturers and others. Request that any "loan" that we make be repaid FORWARD, when the recipient is able, and then completely forget about the "loan." It is no longer our business if, when, or how the "loan" is repaid - or is not repaid.

We All Fall Down

Night time slumbers,
Awakening beautiful horrors.
Day dream away,
Shoe strings for play.
Recall your day,
And keep your heart closed.
Beautiful horrors,
They eat you away.
Warp your mind,
Set you for display.
Play with us,
Taunt your stars.
The moon is dreary,
You fall close to home.
Pavement mumbles,
Life so humble.
Your mind is at play,
Making their day.
Frozen by the brain,
Can not escape.
Take care of the kin,
You'll find over and over again.
When night time slumbers,
Bring out all the beautiful horrors.