Category: Blog

From Pain to Purpose to Peace!  In March of 2020, the world stood still as a global pandemic took over and created a “New Normal” for everyone.  It was time to figure out what to do and how to do it, especially if you were an entrepreneur or business owner.  You needed to figure out how to pivot and create a lifestyle that would still keep you visible, and in most cases people were trying to figure out how to continue generating income although only essential workers were allowed outside.  During the hardest part of the pandemic my prayer was, “God please let me make it to “The Other Side of This!”  I promised Him that I would give Him all the honor, glory, and the praise.  I watched God meet that request in more ways than I ever imagined, including penning the words and reflections in  my new book, “On The Other Side of This – From Pain to Purpose to Peace.”  I had no idea that this journey would include a full-circle moment, which ended with me moving from South Carolina to my home State of Virginia .

                                        

As I begin to close the final chapter of my upcoming book (Title TBA soon), which captures the full-circle moment of surviving the pandemic while living in Charleston, SC, then moving back home to Richmond, VA, I find myself excited about my new journey.  I truly thought that I was going to be sad when I vacationed in South Carolina recently and visited my old neighborhood and hung out with friends and colleagues.   Although I had a great time and was glad to see everyone and vice versa, to my surprise I felt such a sense of peace in knowing that I made the best decision ever and with such short preparation time.  I still cannot believe that I was able to do what I did and keep it a secret for months, until I put everything in place and was ready to discuss my decision to return home.  However, when what you fear is calling you there is a guiding light that makes the way smooth and clear, although there may be some bumps along the way (details in the book). The closing of a major chapter in my life and my new book opens up another door as I watch God continue to amaze me on this next leg of the journey.  Please stay tuned for the book, as well as short tidbits as I capture moments along the way and provide inspiration and encouragement through my social media sites, website, (www.gerispeak.com), and of course my weekly emails. (www.gerispeak.signup).

Do It Now!  As I sit here pondering my tight schedule for today, with my cooking class at noon, errands, Uber commitment for today, along with dinner at a friend’s later this evening, I make a note to do a blog soon.  Suddenly I realize that I have made that note quite a few times in the past few weeks to no avail, so I decided to stop what I’m doing and commit to my blog.

Life has truly been a roller-coaster ride these past few months, however God has continued to bless me beyond my imagination with finances, household items for my home, health issues being taken care of, along with enjoying outings with family and friends since I moved back to Virginia from South Carolina three months ago.  My biggest takeaway from this new phase of my life is, God has not changed.  He is the same God that took me to North Carolina in 2009, the same God that took me to South Carolina in 2011, and the same God who brought me safely back home in 2022.  There are so many instances of divine intervention during this journey that I will be sharing in my upcoming book.  Stay tuned through my various social media and website links for updates:  www.gerispeak.com/links

As you look to God for guidance and clarity in your own life, remember that we change, God does not!  And that’s a good thing.

The right time!  We all are constantly looking for the right time…

• the right time to go back to church after Covid
• the right time to share the good news
• the right time to have that difficult conversation

…because we all know that timing is everything!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no right time.  The right time for you could very well be the wrong time for others.  Bottom line – the right time is when you decide…

• to go back to church
• to share the good news
• to have that difficult conversation

Each and every one of us are going through something even if we choose not to share the details with others.  In these past two months I have had many ups and downs, with times when I wanted to share stuff but chose not to, and I have shared stuff when the timing was totally off for the other person.  Many times when we do things hoping to save ourselves/others from stress we inadvertently create more stress or discomfort for others.  The best advice is to leave no questions unanswered in your decision-making process, especially if it involves the support of others. When you leave out vital details you open up the conversation to speculation, which is never good, because as a people we tend to think the worst.  We make decisions based on the knowledge that we have of any given situation and we need to remember that the other person does not have privy to that information.

Feeding Your Focus!  We have all heard the saying, “What you focus on becomes your reality,” or “Ask and you shall receive.”  In other words, your manifestation is based on what you ask for and believe that you will receive in addition to what you focus on.  As we put our focus on what we want rather than what we don’t want we will see more of what we want.  The universe responds to what you focus on.  If you focus on lack then you will experience more lack.   I’m reading this book, “Ask and it is Given – Learning to Manifest Your Desires,” by Esther and Jerry Hicks.  Although I have quite a bit more reading to do, the one thing that has stuck out with me so far, and the thing that I have seen results from practicing is, the action of “Allowing.”  The act of asking creates the act of receiving, but where we fall short is our ability to allow what we ask for that has already been received by the universe.  Once we attach a “feeling” to what we have asked for and hold onto that “feeling,” then the universe automatically sends that same energy to us through our interactions with others who are “feeling” the same vibrations, thereby creating an energy field that speeds up the receipt of what we ask for and believe we should receive.  I know it sounds like a play on words, but it’s hard to explain what is happening when you practice the action of “allowing.”  The more you do it the easier it becomes to manifest what you want in life.  It goes back to my motto and belief system that there is always a positive in every negative.  The ability to turn it around lies in your ability to “feel” what you want rather than what is actually happening at the current moment.  This is something that I had been practicing all along and didn’t know it, but now I practice it on a higher energy level.  By doing so I see my needs being met sooner than later.  There is so much more to this book and I am looking forward to delving deeper.  Grab yourself a copy if it sounds like something you are interested in reading.  Definitely life-changing for me!

What’s so special about you?  That was the question that hit me in the face today!  Why do I think that I deserve better? – Better than the sick person, better than the jobless person, better than the homeless person.  Is it because I’ve served the Lord the best that I know how for such a long time?  It is because I consider myself a good person?  Because I give to those less fortunate than I am?  Why?  What is it that sets me apart and make me think that I don’t deserve the plight that comes and goes in my life?  As an author, speaker, and writer I’m always encouraging people to trust and believe but it’s so hard to practice what you preach.  I was talking with a friend the other day and she told me, “Geri let God be God!  Just relax and enjoy the moment because you know that He can change things in a split second.”  Of course I heard her words and I agreed with her wholeheartedly, but how long did that belief last?  That is the bigger question.  As I chatted later during the week with someone else I learned that you can have faith and doubt at the same time.  It doesn’t mean that you don’t believe, it simply means that you have questions.  So stop beating yourself up for wondering how things will work out.  God knows your heart and your every thought.  You can have faith and still have questions about the when, where, and how of things.  Right after you finish wondering, just take a deep breath and thank God for His all-knowing!

Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, fate is always in play no matter how much you plan or prepare.  The key to not getting caught up in a current or perceived circumstance is knowing that everything is a fragment of fate.  What you see or experience is only a snippet of the final plot to the story.  When I decided to move from South Carolina back to my home state of Virginia, I planned every detail, with some things being done two months in advance.  One would think that it would be smooth sailing right?  Not so much!  Although I thank God that I had done most of the leg work ahead of time, there were so many surprises and inconveniences along the way.  However, because I am extremely organized and had set a number of things in motion, the impact of the surprises and inconveniences were minimal.  I’m not saying that it didn’t take a toll on my mental and physical health, but it was less devastating than it could have been had I not been organized.

As a Christian and woman of deep faith I know that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), so during this whole process I simple waited to see what God had in store for me on the other side of this!  Did I cry on the journey?  Yes I did!  Matter of fact, I had a complete meltdown at DMV when I tried to get my driver’s license and my vehicle registration, and the woman said my name on the birth certificate does not match my married name, therefore I need to show my marriage license to verify how I became a ‘Mason.’  Wow!  What a shocker.  I was sixteen years old when I got married and I kept the name after my divorce.  You mean to tell me that the fact that I have a current license and a social security card that verifies my last name, I still need to show my marriage license to switch from one state to another?  But God!  I am so grateful for all the steps that I took to minimize the stress of my move, which allowed me to be patient with the necessary paperwork to make it official.  Praise God for always having my back and giving me the understanding and wherewithal to know that everything in life is truly a fragment of fate!

Snapshot from my Vision Board!

Life is always a series of choices made on purpose or by default.  I am thankful that most decisions I have made in life, whether good or not so good, have been made by choice.  Some were well thought out in advance and others were simply on a whim.  However, the one constant that has remained with me during all my decisions is the love and protection of God.  He has been my source and resource, my guiding light in the dark, and my shoulder to lean on.  For the past 13 years I have lived alone, which allowed me and God to become besties.  There aren’t very many things that I do without consulting Him first.  I have found Him to attentive and reliable with my utmost care in mind.  So naturally when I started thinking seriously about returning to my home state of Virginia, He was the first person whom I sought advice.

There is something about knowing and listening to the voice of God that is unexplainable; it’s that peace that passes all understanding.  It’s waking up one day and things just fall in place through no part of your own.  It’s the ability to operate in a knowing that allows you to act as though what you want has already manifested.  It’s that lack of hesitation when you tell people that you know everything is going to work for your good.  It’s that lack of worry or anxiety moving forward not knowing what the next day or next week holds.  It’s that unexpected conversation where someone has exactly what you need, but you didn’t tell them you needed it.  One day I’ll tell the story, but for right now let’s just say I trust God with my life more than ever before.  The Law of Attraction is alive & well.  Virginia here I come!

There have been so many occasions these past few weeks where God has said, “Take your hands off!”  And being the person that I am who knows God’s voice, I did just that.  This message has been swirling around in my head for a minute now.  I kept trying to find the time and the right moment, to no avail, and things continued to pile on to the point where I thought if I keep waiting then this is going to become a book.  Whether it was dealing with money, my dreams/visions for my future, or simply something that concerns me about others.  Every time that I removed my hands (mentally), and gave it totally to God I watched Him immediately step in and take away the stress or the concern.  He did it quickly and smoothly beyond my wildest imaginations.

Maybe there are some things that you are struggling with how to fix and you feel like your prayers are not being answered or what you have done and/or are doing is not making a dent in the circumstances.  I dare you to “Take Your Hands Off!”  It doesn’t mean that you have given up.  It doesn’t mean that you don’t care.  It means that you have decided to trust God.  When God is all you have left, you come to realize that God is all you need.   I praise Him for the ability to hear His voice.

Being yourself is needed!  For several weeks now I have literally been on Cloud 9 because of how God has shown up in my life beyond my grandest expectations.  It has taken me a couple of weeks to decide if/when/how to share this particular story.  Timing is everything!  In talking with a friend recently she said that I have several testimonies in this one story so here it is.  I will try to keep it brief and organized.

During the Covid-19 crisis I have applied for and been hired for three jobs on the Indeed website.  In each instance I was either hired during the phone interview or at my in-person interview.  It has never been a situation where we will call you back.  I thank God for that.  Two weeks ago I resigned from my latest job after being there for a year, because of reduced hours through no fault of my own.  Of course, being the organized person that I am, I already had another job.  Matter of fact, I turned down one offer (by phone interview), because they called after I had accepted my current position.  When I turned down that position, the person said, “If it doesn’t work out, which I hope it doesn’t, then please call us back, because we really hate to lose you.”  Mind you now, this is someone who has never met me fact to face, only did a phone interview, and based on my resume and my responses to her questions, she offered me a position.  Now let’s go to the position that I did accept!  During my in-person interview I was asked how soon can I go for a physical?  My response was, “I can go immediately if this means that you are hiring me.”  Their reply was, “Yes I’m hiring you!”   So I went on to ask, you do know that I’m currently working for another agency and I need to give two weeks’ notice right?, which she responded yes!  So I asked, are you willing to work around my current schedule for two weeks”, and the response once again was yes.  We were so excited that we forgot to discuss salary and I had to call back.  Now back to my resignation!  When I turned in my two weeks resignation my employer was very receptive and understanding.  In fact they said if for some reason the new job doesn’t work out, then they will always be there and I’m welcome to come back.  In addition, they asked if I would be willing to fill in sometimes if they called.  Needless to say, after all of the above I was almost in tears.  When I shared this with a friend recently she said something that I rarely think about.  I told her that I didn’t do anything magical.  I was simply being myself.  Her response was, “Geri you don’t realize that being yourself is a blessing to so many people.”